Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to... (Zen)

Roshi Jeff Albrizze, Don, Ron, Richard, Pasadharma.org; Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

There are four traditional vows in Zen, a Mahayana Buddhist sect of the Ch'an school as it developed in Japan. They are customarily translated as:

1. Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to save them.
2. Desires are inexhaustible; I vow to put an end to them.
3. The Dharmas are boundless; I vow to master them.
4. The Buddha-Way is unsurpassable; I vow to attain it.

A practitioner at ZCLA (Zen Center of Los Angeles) recently called this translation into question hoping to change it to a new and improved four:

1. Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to serve them.
2. Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to put an end to them.
3. The Dharmas are boundless; I vow to practice them.
4. The Buddha way is unsurpassable; I vow to embody it.

Why would anyone tamper with tradition? While Zen Buddhism as practiced in the US is iconoclastic and tends toward rebellion, is it any reason to make this gatha less of a conundrum?

  

Some Zen Buddhists are recovering fundamentalist Christians. And whenever they hear, "Desires are inexhaustible; I vow to put an end to them," they can only assume it refers to sex. Population control advocates (who seem to im0plicitly favor mass die offs helped along by government interventions) might be put off by the first vow. And similarly the remaining two vows present their own difficulties.

In thinking about these changes for a few weeks, it seems to me that there are several perspectives about this old Sanskrit hymn (gatha) to sit with.

The old version has always been a bit of a koan, an inscrutable riddle that might lead one to enlightenment when one breaks free or lets go of linear reasoning. 

   

Each vow is impossible to fulfill. Yet, many of us have chanted them daily for many years. They speak of a spiritual intention, a higher aspiration. They are a manifestation of attaining the unobtainable. In this way, "Zen" is bigger than I am, bigger than I can wrap my mind around.

  

Do we change them now to make them more accessible? Does making them more palatable by using a more devotional translation take away from the spirit intended?

Admittedly, the old translation is a bit cryptic, even clunky. There is a better flow, a clearer connection between the first state mentioned and the vow that flows from it.

What do folks think about this debate?

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Israel jonesing for war with Iran

BBC News (BBC.co.uk; Wisdom Quarterly (ironically) Q: Why do wars happen?

"Rahm was right. You look cute when you cooperate." - "Hey, you're not so bad yourself."

  

"Bibi, I can back you better than Barry can."

Israel's outgoing home front defense minister says an attack on Iran would likely [only] trigger a month-long conflict that would leave [only] 500 Israelis dead.
  
[This would, of course, be in addition to countless civilian casualties, mere "collateral damage," and thousands of evil jihadi Islamist Iranian terrorists intent on threatening Israeli rule in the geopolitical Middle East. Happy reports like this leave Israel/US jonesing for war and more war].

  

Matan Vilnai told the Maariv newspaper that the fighting would be "on several fronts," with hundreds of missiles fired at Israeli towns and cities [in a desperate attempt to engage in asymmetrical warfare with a nuclear armed aggressor, Israel, and its superpower ally, the USA].

  

Israel was prepared, he said, though strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities had to be co-ordinated with the US [of course. Israel does nothing without orders or tacit approval from the USA/CIA/MIC].

   

Israeli-Palestinian peace dove (Avi Katz)

Meanwhile, a US blogger has published what he says are Israel's attack plans: Richard Silverstein (Tikun Olam blog) told the BBC he had been given an internal briefing memo for Israel's eight-member security cabinet, which outlined what the Israeli military would do to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons.

  

Tehran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful [But they can show the evidence to Saddam Hussein in Hades for all the international courts have in terms of an ability or eagerness to intervene]. More

  

"Oh, great god of Kolob, you know my heart. This is for the greater glory of our faith."

• [Barak and] Bibi's Secret War Plan
• This is Shock and Awe, Israel-style. It is Bibi’s effort to persuade high-level Israeli officials that Israel can prosecute a pure technology war that involves relatively few human beings (Israeli, that is) who may be put in harm’s way, and will certainly cost few lives of IDF [Israeli Defense Forces]
• Leaked memo: propaganda or war plan?
• West sabotages peace talks with Iran
• Painkiller abuse can lead to heroin addiction
  

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British Buddhism

BBC Religion

How many Buddhists are there in Britain?

In 2001, according to the census, there were 151,816 Buddhists in Britain. However, that does not take into account those who regard themselves as Buddhists as well as Christians, or Jews, or Taoists, or anything else.

  

The census form made no provision for such people to be counted. There are also those who refuse to label themselves as "Buddhists" because it runs counter to the principle of selflessness or egolessness. They prefer to think of themselves as free spirits.

  

Irrespective of how many Buddhists there are in Britain today, there is unquestionably a growing interest.

  

How has Buddhism developed in Britain?

Japanese-style Buddhist garden in Europ

Buddhism first found its way into Britain in the 19th century through translations of scriptures from the various schools in different parts of the east. In 1879 Sir Edwin Arnold compiled an epic poem, The Light of Asia, describing the Buddha's life. This was to become a classic and is still in print today.

  

The limited number of books available in those early years was enough to inspire a few to begin actually practicing Buddhism as a way of life. One of those, Allan Bennett, went to Sri Lanka in 1898 and returned as Ananda Metteyya, the first Englishman to be ordained as a Buddhist monk (bhikkhu) of the Theravada tradition.

   

[An Irishman -- Lawrence Carroll a.k.a. Lawrence O'Rourke or William Colvin -- preceded Bennett. He became Venerable Dhammaloka, the first Westerner to become a Buddhist monk, which he did in Southeast Asia years before.]

 

The Buddha sent the Dharma far and wide

In 1907 a number of people got together and formed The Buddhist Society of Great Britain and Ireland. This was succeeded in 1924 by The London Buddhist Society, founded by Christmas Humphreys. It was the first really successful organization in Britain to provide a platform for all schools and traditions of Buddhism. It stood alone for almost 50 years as the focal point for Buddhists in Britain.

Sixties Britain brought eastern religions into fashion for the first time, including Buddhism. The Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950 eventually led to the exodus of thousands of Tibetans with the Dalai Lama in 1959. This brought lamas to the west. These two factors in particular led to the mushrooming of new Buddhist groups. As a result, today almost every Buddhist tradition is represented in Britain. More

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