Midnight Stroll. Theft-Proof. Buddha s Light Newsletter. March 2010 Issue 31

Transcription

1 Midnight Stroll In the monastery where Chan Master Xianyai lived, there was an apprentice monk who often took advantage of the cloak of darkness to stealthily climb over the monastery wall in search of fun and games. One night, during his rounds, Chan Master Xianyai discovered a tall stool in the corner of the monastery wall, whereupon it dawned on him that someone had been sneaking out. Without alerting the others, he effortlessly moved the stool to the side and stood in its place to await the return of the apprentice monk. In the deep of night, the sated apprentice monk returned. Unaware that someone had moved the stool, he stepped squarely on the head of Chan Master Xianyai before leaping to the ground. Only then did he clearly see that it was the Chan Master, frightening the young monk out of his wits! However, not offended in the slightest, Chan Master Xianyai comforted him, The hour is late and the ground is heavy with dew. Take care not to catch a chill! Hurry back and put on some more clothes. No one else in the monastery learned of this incident and Chan Master Xianyai never mentioned it. However, from then on, not one of the monastery s more than one hundred apprentice monks ever again wandered out at night. The best education is one of love. With encouragement instead of reproach and solicitude instead of punishment, it is even easier to bring about the desired effects of instruction. Those like Chan Master Xianyai take the principle characteristics of Chan education compassion and skillful means and develop them to the utmost. Whether through shouts and blows, or discipline, we must first consider the Hsing Yun s Ch an Talk student s capacity before we can implement great compassion and skillful means. Parents and teachers everywhere should first examine the inherent nature of their children and students, and then apply education, reform, affection, and personal example; this is indeed the best Chan teaching. The Moon Is Theft-Proof When not propagating the Dharma, Chan Master Liangkuan normally lived in a plain crude thatched shed at the foot of a mountain. His life was a very simple one. One night, as he was returning from discoursing on the sutras, he chanced upon a thief who was cleaning out his simple dwelling. When the thief saw that the Chan Master had returned, he panicked, not knowing what to do. Liangkuan amicably said to the empty-handed thief, Can t find anything worth stealing, eh? I guess you made this trip in vain. How about this: why don t you take this robe I m wearing? The thief snatched the robe and fled. Standing naked in the moonlight, Chan Master Liangkuan gazed at the retreating figure of the thief and sighed with infinite compassion, It s a shame that I can t give him the beautiful moon! The beautiful moon symbolizes our intrinsic nature, in which all people have unlimited treasures. If we can recognize the treasures within us, what need is there to steal from others? Chan Master Liangkuan s regret over not being able to give away the beautiful moon illustrates to all sentient beings, that all of us have a priceless Buddha Nature. Why need we sink to thievery? I.B.P.S. at Chicago / 佛光山芝加哥禪淨中心 1

2 The Unique Characteristics of Buddhism ~ By Venerable Master Hsing Yun (continued from prior issue) C. Karma Gives Us Hope and a Bright Future Karma tells us that even if we have done many wholesome deeds, we should not think too highly of ourselves, because the merits accumulated due to these good deeds are like a bank account. No matter how much we have saved, if we keep withdrawing, one day our account will eventually be empty. A person who has done numerous unwholesome deeds may feel heavily indebted and consider life hopeless. But if she/he works hard enough, there will come a day when all the debts are paid off. A person who has broken the law has to serve her/his sentence in prison. When his term is finished, he will be free to start a new life again. Karma is like this: it gives people hope. One's future is in one's own hands, for we are free to decide which direction we want to go. Our futures are bright. D. Karma Means that Good Begets Good and Bad Begets Bad You might think that this sounds fatalistic. It is true that karma decides our destiny and future. However, we are the ones who create our karma. The karmic retribution that we experience is dependent on the karma that we create. Someone may ask, Did the enlightened Sakyamuni Buddha still have unwholesome karma? The answer is yes. A person may have committed countless wholesome and unwholesome deeds in her/his past lives. However, if he/she does not allow them to manifest, then it is as if they do not exist. This is similar to planting seeds in the soil. If the seeds are not provided with the right conditions for growth, then they will not grow. However, when the right conditions are provided, they will grow healthily even if there are some weeds mixed among them. That is to say, we need not overly dwell on unwholesome karma that we have committed in the past. If we keep sowing good seeds in this life, then the seeds of our previous unwholesome karma will not have the opportunity to grow. Thus, with this clearer understanding of karma, we can effectively work toward happiness. II. The Second Origination Characteristic: Dependent Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was enlightened while sitting on the Diamond Throne underneath the bodhi tree in India. What truth did he realize when he achieved enlightenment? He realized the principle of Cause and Condition, and the truth of Dependent Origination. He realized that all phenomena arise from causes and conditions and that Dependent Origination is an unchangeable truth of life and the universe. During the forty-nine years in which the Buddha taught the Dharma, he directed his efforts to explaining the truth of Dependent Origination as another special characteristic that distinguishes Buddhism from other religions. Dependent Origination is based on the Law of Cause and Effect. All existence I.B.P.S. at Chicago / 佛光山芝加哥禪淨中心 2

3 (bhava) arises from causes and conditions. The existence of everything in the universe is interdependent. Broadly speaking, from everything as large as the world to something that is as small as a speck of dust, a flower or a blade of grass all arise due to causes and conditions. The principle of Dependent Origination is not something that can be explained through scholastic learning. It has to be experienced and realized through actual practice. Before the Buddha renounced secular life, he was already very well versed in the philosophy of the four Vedas, the five courses of studies, the philosophies of the ninety-six religions' practices and meditation. He then finally realized the principle of Dependent Origination and attained Buddhahood. There was a brahman named Sariputra, who had practiced Brahmanism for a long time and had many followers, but he still had not realized the Truth. One day, Sariputra was walking on a street in Rajagrha and met Asvajit, one of the Buddha's first five disciples. (to be continued ) On Sunday, February 7, 2010, I attended the class visit to the Buddhist temple service at the Foguangshan Temple in Naperville. Attending this service was a great experience that helped me take the Buddhist teachings taught in class to a new level, and see it actually take place in the local town of Naperville. Throughout the service, I couldn t help but compare and contrast this service with more western, Christian services. They are remarkably different, visually, but similar in some unexpected ways. A Comparison of the Buddhist to Western Religion s s -- Dana While I am not an avid church attendee, from the Christian services I have attended, this Buddhist service focused much more on chanting the sutras. The Christian services I have attended involve more speaking to teach and not chanting. This Buddhist service was also longer than the Christian services I have attended in the past. The chanting of the sutras helps to personalize the service, making it individualized and universalized. While attempting to chant the sutras, and follow along with the translations, I felt like the words were flowing themselves and it makes one feel like they are completely involved in the service. Some Christian services focus so much on listening, that one does not feel like they are actually involved in that service. the sutras helps one feel as though they are one with everyone and everything else in the service. Active participation in this service helps to provide the feeling that everything is interconnected within the universe. It helps one to feel the interconnectedness while internalizing these sutras, unlike Christian services where parishioners I.B.P.S. at Chicago / 佛光山芝加哥禪淨中心 3

4 are preached to. At the start of the service, the temple volunteers explained to the class what would happen, and they invited the group to participate if they chose to. The man explained that the three figures at the front were the three Buddhas. On the right-hand side was the medicine Buddha, or Yao Shi; in the center was the historical Buddha, or Shakyamuni; and on the left was the Amitabha Buddha. This had been discussed in class, but actually seeing it helped understand it in a religious sense. The service started out with striking a wooden mallet, and also ended with this. Later one of the ladies explained that the striking on wood at the end of the service signals that the service has ended and it is time to eat. The service began with three prostrations to the Buddhas followed by the chanting of the sutras. The chanting of the sutras reminded me of singing in Christian demonstrations, of the hymns sung to glorify God. Meditation or Chan practice followed these sutras. The meditation service was very interesting to me. The solemn meditation in this Buddhist service reminded me of the solecism of prayer to God in a Christian service. Both of these religious traditions try to help one to find peace within their self. While Buddha is not a God, individuals look up to him for lessons and desire to follow his path just as Christians desire to follow God s path to heaven. The class had participated in a shorter meditation in the classroom previous to this trip to the temple, but the meditation at the temple was very different. During the classroom meditation it was much more difficult to concentrate on breathing and clearing the mind because there were individuals walking in the halls, the heating system was loud, and there was loud music playing downstairs, not to mention the visual atmosphere was not conducive. The mind wandered and began to think about all of the projects and papers that still needed to be completed. Meditation at the temple allowed for more concentration with fewer distractions. Concentrating on breathing and clearing the mind came much easier in this atmosphere. There was also more time allowed for this meditation than there was in the classroom. The advantage of having more time helped to attain better concentration on the breathing. The quiet atmosphere forces one to force all other worry and stress out of the mind. Christian churches are often very symmetrical and have a similar feeling of quiet peace and harmony. The set up of the service was very symmetrical with the females on one side and the males on the other side of the room. This made the service seem very balanced within the principle of harmony. Originally, I assumed that the men and women were separated because of the tradition of women being a distraction to men, but I found it interesting in class when we discussed Yin and Yang or the male and female energy being a likely reason for this separation. Some individuals were wearing robes while others were in ordinary street clothes. Those individuals wearing the robes mirrored the individuals on the other side of the room. The colors of the robes in each row were symmetrical. Not only was there a symmetry between the men and women in the service, but almost everything in the room was symmetrical. There were flowers on either side of the room, the three Buddhas mirrored each other, and many of the other decorations in the room were symmetrical. The number of males and females participating in the service was not the same, but this did not seem to have any impact on the balanced sense of harmony in the room. Also, just as the temple had the statues of the three Buddhas in the front, Catholics often have status of saints and Jesus in the front, or within the church. Many Catholic services I.B.P.S. at Chicago / 佛光山芝加哥禪淨中心 4

5 have periods of kneeling, sitting, and standing, attempting to keep worshippers actively involved in the service. The Buddhist service also had many moments of standing and giving prostrations to the Buddha. Later, they discussed in Chinese, and translated into English, what the Pure Land Buddhism method entails. This part of the service was particularly interesting because they spoke of many of the concepts discussed in class, and hearing this provided a refresher course as well as a better understanding. It was discussed that there are different methods of practicing Pure Land Buddhism, some of which are more difficult than others. Trying to help oneself, but not others, by attaining one s own enlightenment is not the Bodhisattva way. The practice towards enlightenment should be a goal that benefits others as well as oneself. It was discussed how they were working towards being reborn in the Pure Land and their Karma would have a great affect on whether or not they would be reborn in the Pure Land, or at least closer to this achievement in their next life. Although it is a different concept, it reminds me of the moral quest for heaven and immortality in Christianity. During the service, they also chanted namo amitoufo, or, I take refuge in Amitabha. The forty-eight vows were discussed, and this also helped to clarify information learned during class. In class, it was discussed that there are at least three different ways that the phrase call my name (from the forty-eight vows) can be interpreted. One interpretation involves focusing on the devotion of Amitabha through such practice as the ninety day meditation discussed in the Tiantai Tradition. The Tiantai tradition discussed both standing and sitting meditation for ninety days straight. This is a very intense and strict interpretation. Constantly sitting meditation occurs over a ninety day period where the meditator focuses himself on sitting motionless in the traditional lotus mediation posture, only to get up for bathroom breaks and occasionally to eat. Constantly standing or walking meditation, like the sitting meditation, is practiced in isolation for ninety days and the meditator constantly circumambulates an alter to the Buddha Amitabha. Another interpretation states that one only needs to contemplate Amitabha Buddha for ten consecutive thought periods. Finally, there is the interpretation practiced at the temple visit. This is the chanting of namo amitoufo. It was especially interesting to hear this chanted at the service, and I found that it was easy to get stuck in one s head. Next, offerings were made to the Buddhas while additional sutras were chanted. This was followed by praying for the deceased, transferring of merits, and making three prostrations to the Buddha once again. Sutras were chanted throughout this process. The offerings being made to the Buddha reminded me of a Catholic mass when communion is served. The Buddha is being fed to return the good karma and allow for further teachings, while in the Catholic religion the bread is meant to be Christ s body, and the wine is meant to be his blood. The one receiving these offerings receives Christ. Both traditions involve veneration ritual to receive goodness or blessing. Although I see the cultural differences, at the most basic, the emphasis on ritual and ceremony is similar to many western religions. Both emphasize veneration in their own way. Though they venerate different things, or entities, they both set aside time and ritual to spend solely on each tradition s highest priority. I.B.P.S. at Chicago / 佛光山芝加哥禪淨中心 5

6 2010 Calendar March 7 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 10:30am :30pm Dharma Study (English) 8 9 7:30pm Meditation am Yuan-Ji Dance 10am Kung Fu Class 2pm Chinese for Kids 9am Yuan-Ji Dance 10am Kung Fu Class 2pm Chinese for Kids 14 10:30am am Yuan-Ji Dance 10am Kung Fu Class 2pm Chinese for Kids 21 10:30am 1:30pm BLIA Chicago Choir 28 10:30am 1:30pm BLIA Chicago Choir :30pm Meditation am 4pm English Dharma Seminar Please read the colored version of our newsletter online I.B.P.S. at Chicago / 佛光山芝加哥禪淨中心 6