Find us on Google+ Zen Rooster: July 2010

Saturday, July 31, 2010

NEVER GIVE UP

The 14th Dalai Lama, a renowned Tibetan Buddhi...Image via Wikipedia
"NEVER GIVE UP

No matter what is going on

Never give up

Develop the heart

Too much energy in your country

Is spent developing the mind

Instead of the heart

Be compassionate

Not just to your friends

But to everyone

Be compassionate

Work for peace

In your heart and in the world

Work for peace

And I say again

Never give up

No matter what is going on around you

Never give up" Dalai Lama

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Friday, July 30, 2010

The Buddha's First Sermon from Buddha Space

Dharmachakra, symbol of the Noble Eightfold Pa...Image via Wikipedia
 by G
 
In this sermon, the Buddha presents the basic teachings of Buddhism in the form of the Four Noble Truths, which include the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to complete enlightenment. He also sums up this Path in terms of the Middle Way, an avoidance of the extremes of self-indulgence and self-torture. Not only is this sutra recited on Asalha Puja Day, but it is frequently chanted and reflected on by Buddhists across the world, for it contains the very heart of Buddhism. It is, therefore, well worth spending a few moments of our time reflecting upon this seminal teaching of the Buddha.
 
“These two extremes, bhikkhus, should not be followed by one who has gone forth: sensual indulgence, which is low, coarse, vulgar, ignoble, and unprofitable; and self-torture, which is painful, ignoble, and unprofitable. Bhikkhus, by avoiding these two extremes, the Tathagata has realized the Middle Way, which gives vision and understanding, which leads to calm, penetration, enlightenment, to Nirvana.”
 
That the Buddha is addressing monks – both ‘bhikkhu’ and ‘one who has gone forth’ refer to monks - should not be interpreted that the teachings themselves are not intended for nuns and laypeople; it’s just that when he delivered this sermon it was to five fellow monks. For, although it is often argued that the Buddha’s teachings are more easily lived in a monastic setting, many householders have also benefitted from them, realizing Nirvana just as their baldheaded brethren had done. The word Tathagata is a title the Buddha often used to refer to himself in the scriptures, and it is usually rendered in English as either ‘the Thus Come One’ or ‘the Thus Gone One’, both suggesting a being that is spontaneously living in the moment. 
 
As to the Buddha’s description of the two extremes that we should avoid, they are both described as being “ignoble and unprofitable.” They are ignoble in that they are not worthy of someone endeavouring to lead an enlightened life, and unprofitable in that they will prevent us from leading such an existence. Self-indulgence is singled out for further criticism; the Buddha stating that it is “low, coarse, and vulgar.” That lax morals and their resultant actions are not conducive to living an enlightened life is no big surprise, for even in more worldly lifestyles they are generally considered undesirable, so even more so for one walking the Path of the Buddha.
This avoidance of self-indulgence and self-mortification is dubbed by the Buddha “the Middle Way.” If perfected, this way of living “gives vision and understanding” and “leads to calm, penetration, enlightenment” and “Nirvana.”
 
These benefits are listed in this order deliberately; it is no accident that vision precedes understanding and that both come before calm, which is followed by penetration, enlightenment, and finally Nirvana. Again, it is worthwhile giving our attention to this process so that we at least have a broad understanding of what the Buddha was getting at. In doing so, we may gain the insight needed to progress along the Middle Way far enough to meet the Buddha himself, for as he famously declared, whoever sees the Dharma sees the Buddha.
The first step in awakening to the Dharma (the truth of the way things are) is to obtain the vision that sees life as it really is, and not as we usually misperceive it.
 
This involves a radical shift in our awareness, a kind of profound simplification that opens us up to be able to understand the Dharma, the way life is. This understanding, which is not intellectual, but can be expressed intellectually at least to a degree, is a wisdom that arises out of direct perception of the Dharma.
With this understanding comes the calmness that Buddhists are often – correctly and incorrectly – attributed with. This calm arises from knowing the way things are which allows for a certain acceptance of life as it is. 
 
For, if we know and accept life, then we will not be upset by its challenges and problems, but simply recognize that this is the way it is and act appropriately. Resting in this calm wisdom, we will then penetrate to the heart of the Buddha’s teachings, indeed we will fly like an arrow straight to the bull’s eye of the universe, seeing and knowing people and things just as they are, all flowing out of that which is neither a person nor a thing. 
 
Next in the Buddha’s description the fruits of the Middle Way comes enlightenment, which is not so much seeing things as they are, but seeing ‘No-thing’ as it is. That is to say, it is seeing and living from the naked awareness of a Buddha. In this enlightenment, not only is the Dharma the Buddha, but so are we; there is no thing to separate “us” from “him.” Finally, the Buddha talks of Nirvana, a state of being that is literally beyond words, out of reach of the intellect, and so sublime that to even label it “Nirvana” should only be done with the knowledge that it is just a pointer and nothing more. Indeed, many Buddhist masters have often avoided mentioning Nirvana altogether, fully aware that much misunderstanding can arise from such talk. So, let’s swiftly move on to the next part of the sermon!
 
“And what, bhikkhus, is the Middle Way realized by the Tathagata, which gives vision and understanding, which leads to calm, penetration, enlightenment, to Nirvana?
It is just this Noble Eightfold Path, namely: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.”

Where the Buddha’s teaching on the Middle Way gives us a broad outline, the Noble Eightfold Path is a more detailed exposition of the route to enlightenment. Too detailed to go into here, the Eightfold Path is often summarized into the three trainings, Morality, Concentration, and Wisdom. Morality comprises Right Speech, Action, and Livelihood, and details how to live in harmony with the society and world we live in. Concentration includes Right Effort, Mindfulness, and Concentration, and guides us how to cultivate both peace and focus, and includes meditation amongst its tools. Wisdom is made up of Right View and Intention, and it appears at the beginning of the Path, when we learn of the Way, and at the end of the Way, when it is an expression of our own understanding. To perfect the Eightfold Path is not to be fully enlightened, but to be perfectly ripened awaiting “it” to occur spontaneously.

“This, bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of dukkha: Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha, grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and despair are dukkha, association with the disliked is dukkha, separation from the liked is dukkha, not to get what one wants is dukkha. In brief, clinging to the five aggregates is dukkha.”

Here, the Buddha introduces the notion of dukkha, or suffering, which is a central idea in his teaching. Life is full of suffering, in the many ways that he describes above, and even when we are enjoying ourselves, suffering is waiting for the good times to end, so it can rear its ugly head. It has many levels of intensity, from mild irritation all the way up to full blown-agony, and from the egoistic point of view it is impossible to completely eradicate from our lives. The Buddha, however, is suggesting that a life without suffering is realizable, if we walk the Path, and the reason is that dukkha has a cause:

“This, bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the cause of dukkha: The craving which causes rebirth and is bound up with pleasure and lust, ever seeking fresh delight, now here, now there; namely, craving for sense pleasure, craving for existence, and craving for annihilation.”

Craving is the cause of our suffering; because we desire life to be certain ways, when it doesn’t live up to our expectations we experience dukkha. Three basic kinds of craving are listed by the Buddha: craving for sense pleasure, for existence, and for annihilation. It’s pretty clear why desiring certain forms of pleasure will inevitably result in suffering, for as the Buddha stated earlier in the sermon, when we do not get what we want, we will suffer. As to craving for existence, this doesn’t only mean desiring to be alive, but also includes wanting to exist in a particular way or form, and when this is threatened or absent, we will suffer. Craving for annihilation causes suffering because while we are alive, the desire not to be, or not to be the way we are, will create dukkha. Furthermore, if we accept the theory of rebirth, even suicide is not a way out of suffering, for we will face the consequences of our actions in our next birth.

“This, bhikkus, is the Noble Truth of the cessation of dukkha: The complete cessation, giving up, abandonment of that craving, complete release from that craving, and complete detachment from it.”

This may sound a bit of a tall order, to say the least, for while we are alive as human beings, we will surely have desires that will sometimes be fulfilled and sometimes not, resulting on suffering. The Buddha, however, teaches that it is indeed possible in this very life to achieve “the complete cessation” of dukkha, for whilst on the conventional level of experience we are human beings, at the “deeper” or more fundamental level of being, we are ‘No-thing’ at all. It is human ‘things’ that experience dukkha, so if we let go of identifying with being these ‘things’, and realize the ‘No-thing’ that we truly are, we are realized from suffering, for ‘No-thing’ has no desires whatsoever, and therefore no suffering. And how are we to achieve this? The Buddha has already told us: the Noble Eightfold Path:

“This, bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the way to the cessation of dukkha: Only this Noble Eightfold Path; namely, Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.”

 The Buddha goes on in the sutra to explain in some more detail how he used the Four Noble Truths as reflective tools to meditate on and achieve full enlightenment, but the gist of his teaching is contained above, and it is this which is recalled on Asalha Puja. If we can appreciate these teachings and then put them into practice, we will be walking the Middle Way of the Buddha established roughly two thousand years ago. This Path has many interpretations from Thailand to Japan, Tibet to Vietnam, not to mention all the newer forms arising across the globe today. If they keep to the well-trodden Path that the Buddha taught all those centuries ago, they will lead to the same place: no place at all. For, it is as this ever-present ‘No-thing’, this ‘Buddha Space’ that contains all, that we are freed from our desires and the suffering that arises from them. May all beings be truly happy!
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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Cherishing Others

The determination, "I must always cherish all living beings" is the object of the twelfth Lamrim meditation in Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's The New Meditation Handbook. The actual title of the meditation is "The Advantages of Cherishing Others."

I did the meditation today, and gained a deeper experience of it than I ever have before. That seems to be the way it is with Lamrim meditations -- they are never quite the same. Even though you may meditate on the same topic every twenty-one days, you are never really doing the same meditation twice, in my opinion.

In The New Meditation Handbook, Geshe Kelsang lists several advantages to cherishing others. The first has to do with the law of karma.

Karma is very simple, really. All of our actions of past, present, and future are causes, and all of our experiences of past, present, and future are effects. Therefore, if we are experiencing positive circumstances now (being taken care of, being loved, living in a comfortable environment, good health...), they are the result of our having performed related virtuous actions in this or previous lives. And the motivation for performing such virtuous actions almost always involves cherishing others in one way or another.

So. Whatever pleasant circumstances we have, we can thank ourselves for cherishing others to generate them, and if we want to have similar circumstances in the future, we must keep cherishing others to create the necessary good karma.

If we are not enjoying pleasant circumstances -- if others are taking advantage of us or treating us poorly -- we can turn this situation around. Our cherishing others now always results in positive effects later. One of the laws of karma is that an action is never wasted. The virtuous seeds we plant will ripen.

One catch, though, is that we need to take the long view. Virtuous seeds planted in this life may not ripen until our next life, or in lives after that. But one thing we can be sure of is that any time we perform an action of cherishing others, we are creating positive circumstances for ourselves sometime in the future.

But what about now?

That leads us to the second advantage of cherishing others. Geshe Kelsang says, "The immediate effect [of cherishing others] will be that many of our problems, such as those that arise from anger, jealousy, and selfish behaviour, will disappear, and our mind will become calm and peaceful."

When I think about this, I can see that it is true. When I am seeing life through the distorted magnifying glass of my own wants and needs, I can often find it lacking. But when I set down the magnifying glass, and instead think of others wants and needs, I often find there is something I can actually do to help, even if it is only to offer a prayer. I benefit because this makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and makes me feel good about myself. Giving just has a way of doing that. I feel peace when I lay my head down at night. I feel I have accomplished something meaningful, something worthwhile. And that generates a deep sense of satisfaction.

Geshe Kelsang says, "The precious mind that cherishes all living beings protects both myself and others from suffering, brings happiness, and fulfills our wishes."

Wow.

It's a win, win, win situation. We win later, we win now, and others win too. With all this winning going around, it seems shocking that more of us aren't scurrying to engage in cherishing others all the time!

It's very, very unfortunate that our imprints and our environment set us up to cherish ourselves instead of others. It causes so much unhappiness, and takes us out of reach of a potential source of limitless joy.

How fortunate some of us are to have discovered Dharma and "seen the light!"

I cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, claim at this time to have achieved the realization of cherishing others. If I had, I would always cherish all living beings all the time, and I would not be plagued by self-cherishing as much as I am.

But I feel excited today, because this was the strongest experience I have had so far of "getting it" that cherishing others is a source of potential happiness beyond my wildest dreams. If I come to believe this truth deeply enough, if it gets firmly ingrained in my mind, the juggernaut of my self-centered existence will begin, gradually, to change course.

And I and everyone I associate with will benefit from it.

From Buddhist At Heart
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Sunday, July 18, 2010

Quote of the Week: Bhikkhu Bodhi

From Jizo Chronicles

An American Buddhist monk, Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi is both a scholar and a truly engaged Buddhist. Perhaps best known for translations of the Pali Canon (one of my favorite books is his anthology In the Buddha’s Words published by Wisdom), he has been issuing a call to action to Buddhists around the world over the last few years.

In 2007, Bhikkhu Bodhi wrote an essay for Buddhadharma magazine titled “A Challenge to Buddhists,” in which he took American Buddhism to task for being excessively inwardly-focused. Not long after that, he and a group of his students and friends founded Buddhist Global Relief to provide aid to the poor and needy around the world. This is one monk who walks his talk.

This quote comes from an essay in BGR’s Spring 2010 “Helping Hands” newsletter:

Buddhism offers us two complementary perspectives to guide us in our engagement with the world. One pertains to our way of understanding things; the other pertains to our relationship with living beings. These two perspectives are respectively the wisdom of selflessness and universal compassion. Though distinct, the two are closely bound together, mutually embracing and reinforcing. In their integral unity they provide the most effective remedy to the contemporary crisis brought about by blind self-interest and the threat it poses to our planet’s fragile eco-system, economic security, and equitable relations among people and nations.
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Monday, July 5, 2010

Daily Practice from the Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama, a renowned Tibetan Buddhi...Image via Wikipedia


The Dalai Lama has asked that the following practice be shared with as many people as possible. A group recently spent five days visiting with the Dalai Lama focusing upon what they believe are the five most important questions to be considered as we move into the millenium. The five questions were:

1. How do we address the widening gap between rich and poor?
2. How do we protect the earth?
3. How do we educate our children?
4. How do we help Tibet and other oppressed countries and peoples of the world?
5. How do we bring spirituality (deep caring for one another) through all disciplines of life?

The Dalai Lama said all five questions fall under the last one. If we have true compassion in our hearts, our children will be educated wisely, we will care for the earth, those who "have not" will be cared for. The group asked the Dalai Lama, "Do you think love on the planet is increasing or staying the same? His response: "My experience leads me to believe that love IS increasing." He shared a simple practice that will increase love and compassion in the world. He asked everyone in the group to share it with as many people as they can.
The practice:

1. Spend 5 minutes at the beginning of each day remembering we all want the same things (to be happy and to be loved) and we are all connected to one another.
2. Spend 5 minutes breathing in cherishing yourself, and breathing out cherishing others. If you think about people you have difficulty cherishing, extend your cherishing to them anyway.
3. During the day extend that attitude to everyone you meet. Practice cherishing the "simplest" person (clerks, attendants, etc.) as well as the "important" people in your life, cherish the people you love and the people you dislike.
4. Continue this practice no matter what happens or what anyone does to you.

These thoughts are very simple, inspiring and helpful. The practice of cherishing can be taken very deep if done wordlessly, allowing yourself to feel the love and appreciation that already exists in your heart.
Will you commit to creating Peace in yourself and thereby "On Earth" by spending 10 minutes a day with this simple meditation? Peace on Earth, Good will To All. It’s not a season. It’s a daily practice. Please pass this on to as many people as you can.
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Saturday, July 3, 2010

Top Six Buddhism-Inspired Comics

By John Pappas
From elephant journal

*The inner dork strives*

This was originally inspired by a great post on Buddhist Images in Comics by the Rev. Danny Fisher.

At the suggestion of the Ven. Dr. Yifa, who told me that the kids were all huge fans of the film Bulletproof Monk (which is based on a comic book), I presented on Buddhism and comic books. My presentation, entitled Bulletproof Monks, Green Lamas, and Thunderlords: Images of Buddhism in Popular Comic Books, was thrown together rather quickly (with invaluable assists from the super-fun website Comic Book Religion Database), but I think I still able to start an interesting conversation with the kids and parents.

I might make a real paper out of this material some day, but I’ll tell you a little bit about it now (with a few examples).

I hope that he does do a real paper off of this material…The seedy kingdom of dork would be pleased. I’ve been wanting to list a few of my favorite comics that have a heavy or light dose of Buddhism present within the pages (and ideally not as sub-standard as Wolverine bowing to a Shinto shrine once in a while).

After reading Blake Wilson’s “Six Buddhists that wil kick your ass” I decided to reprint (in true comic fashion) this old post and provide my own “ass-kicking” Buddhist comic characters and comics.

* Lone Wolf and Cub ~ Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima: There is a nice undercurrent of the koan Mu running through this entire series. Granted, its flowing underneath an orgy of death, violence and boobs but it is there none-the-less. Also as a prime example of Zen practice in parenting; The interactions between Daigoro and Ogami Itto are simply amazing and the ending of this series will haunt you for weeks.

After Ogami Ittō’s wife Azami gives birth to their son, Daigorō, Ogami Ittō returns to find her and all of their household brutally murdered, with only the newborn Daigorō surviving. The supposed culprits are three former retainers of an abolished clan, avenging the execution of their lord by Ogami Ittō. However, the entire matter was planned by Ura-Yagyū (Shadow Yagyu) Yagyū Retsudō, leader of the Yagyū clan, in order to seize Ogami’s post. During the initial incursion, an ihai (funeral tablet) with the shogun’s crest on it was placed inside the Ogami family shrine, signifying a supposed wish for the shogun’s death. When the tablet is “discovered” during the murder investigation, its presence condemns Ittō as a traitor and thus forfeits his post.

The 1-year-old Daigorō is given a choice by his father: a ball or a sword. If Daigorō chose the ball, his father would kill him, sending him to be with his mother; however, the child crawls toward the sword and reaches for its hilt. This assigns him the path of a rōnin, wandering the country with his father as “demons” – the assassin-for-hire team that becomes known as Lone Wolf and Cub, vowing to destroy the Yagyū clan to avenge Azami’s death and Ittō’s disgrace. (from Wikipedia)

* Vagabond ~ Takehiko Inoue: More violence and a fictional retelling of the life and times of Miyamoto Musashi (a famous Japanese swordman). One of the main characters is Takuan Soho – A practicing Zen Monk in the Rinzai tradition (the writings of which can be found in the book “An Unfettered Mind“). Takuan runs through the series as trainer/father-figure and guide to Miyamoto Musashi (and, ironically, his rival Sasaki Kojiro). Blunt and honest, Takuan helps to capture Miyamoto Musashi by appealing to his human frailities and then sets him free to become a better swordman. In true Buddhist fashion those same frailities that got him caught in the first place are the ones that make him a stronger swordman.


* Shaman King ~ Hiroyuki Takei: Loaded with more religious references than a camel has spit. Its fun and it makes me laugh….especially the duo of Buddhist monks that turn into a mega-metal band. Silly for the most part and not really ass-kicking. Miyamoto Musashi pops in as a (hungry?) ghost in this series.


* Butsu Zone ~ Hiroyuki Takei: The adventures of Senju (The Thousand-Hand Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) who is quested by Amitabha to protect Sachi, an incarnation of the Buddha Miroku. Miroku is supposed to appear in an era when the Dharma is completely forgotten, become enlightenmented, reiintroduce the dharma, becoming a successor of Śākyamuni Buddha. Senju is there to guide and help plus Bodhisattva MECH-SUITS!! So awesome. Read it for free here


* Buddha ~ Osamu Tezuka: Well, its a comic version of the life and times of Gautama Buddha and it looks like Astro-Boy. To be honest I have not read this one yet. But I have admired it from afar and I have a Borders Gift Card burning a hole in my pocket…

And Lastly….

* Buddha for Beginners ~ Stephen Asma: I can’t recommend this book enough. It gives an accurate and humorous explainations (and illustrations) of Buddha and Buddhist thought. An outstanding graphic novel with good content that is useful for beginners and experts alike.

I am sure that I missed a few good comics out there with a flavoring of Buddhism…I’ve been out of the “Comics-Geek” game for a while so if you have some other additions, please throw them into the comments section below!

The Reverend Danny Fisher, Blake Wilson and John Pappas…Buddhist dorks unite! The Trifecta of Geekdom!

Cheers,

John
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