Buddhism: A Path for Everyone.

Buddha said that different beings have different capacities for understanding, different ways of thinking, different personalities and mentalities and cultural attitudes; and that teachings should be in accordance with this. The essence of Buddhism is lovingkindness and compassion and understanding emptiness. And all these different approaches are just many ways of allowing these real, innate qualities to manifest.

When we teach, any example that is understood by the teacher and the student can be used. Also, sometimes with people in the West, when they try meditation, they try too hard. They become very tight, their bodies become tense. Everything becomes blocked and difficult. Then they need to learn to relax and to rest the mind - with awareness but not so much tightness.

-Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, "Trust through Reason" (Summer 2007)

James: This quote is courtesy of Philip Ryan at Tricycle Magazine.

~Peace to all beings~

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Zen Master Seung Sahn on Abortion.

Previously I had only known Zen master Seung Sahn through short YouTube clips but I was enlightened by what I heard. However, just before we left for a vacation in Costa Rica, I wanted to find a book that would help me stay grounded despite all the activity we'd be experiencing.

We all enjoy fun but given the reality of samsara, even the most enjoyable activity can become a source of suffering after too much indulgence. I don't necessarily believe in fate, (though I do believe in karma) but when selecting a book I couldn't find any of the half a dozen books that I was searching for at the local bookstore.

So, I wandered over to the Buddhist section as is my customary starting point when I don't have a specific book in mind. I perused the various ones taking time to flip through the pages and soaking up the relaxing smell of crisp paper. After going through several books I discovered Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn's book, "Wanting Enlightenment is a BIG MISTAKE."

I immediately performed my test of a book I haven't researched ahead of time. I flipped through the book to random pages to see if it caught my attention. After several minutes passed I realized that I had started reading the book from the beginning, and so I knew my decision was made up. This book is very easy to read but is full of teachings that will have you contemplating even the seemingly simplest teachings. Seung Sahn was never afraid of controversy, blunt speaking or odd language when the lesson required such behavior.

As one of his students said of his broken English, "You had to drop underneath his words to grasp his true meaning." I have found during my nearly decade long practice that the best Buddhist teachings come across in the fewest words.It is full of short but powerful teachings on everything a modern society struggles with. Including abortion, which is too often a topic that is avoided in Buddhist circles. During a visit to Poland a student asked the master if abortion was wrong. Seung Sahn first emphasized the first precept against killing is to be taken into consideration but that hte most important thing to consider in making such a decision is why do you do something?

"So what kind of direction do you have? Why would you abort this baby? Determining that clearly in your mind is most important. Whether or not you go to jail is not the way to decide this. The only thing that must be clear is why or why not you would have this abortion. Of course this baby is a human being. He goes on to tell the story of a person has to decide what to tell a hunter, which direction the rabbit he is pursuing went. "But if your direction for keeping the precepts is to truly liberate all beings from suffering, then you will maybe tell a lie. Our teaching says that you must not kill, especially human beings. But when a bad man comes and hurt many people, a policeman sometimes kills that person. But this policeman is not killing for himself, because of his own angry mind. His action of killing is to save sentient beings from suffering.

Every day, between seven and eight thousand people die from one or two diseases alone. Every day. No food, no clothes, no house. Babies are suffering. Why make all this suffering for babies? So, whether or not babies should be born is not the point. Instead, what is human beings' correction direction? How does this action help other beings? That is great love. That is great compassion.

James: This was my general thesis for being supportive of a woman's right to choose but it's nice to have a recognized Zen teacher underline the point. I believe that sometimes bringing a baby into the world actually causes more suffering for all involved than not. If the baby will simply be born addicted to crack or already dying from HIV/AIDs then to abort them would be in my view the compassionate thing to do. Or what if the child is born but like many become stuck in the cycle of foster homes--many of, which are abusive and neglectful as the parents are simply looking for the check they get from the government to care for the child/children.

Of course, not all foster parents are this way but enough to be a concern. Another concern is if giving birth to a child will endanger the life of a mother who has several children already. Is the life of the unborn child important enough to kill the mother of the three kids already living? In this case it would seem the greatest suffering would be from the several children left without a mother. Including then the newborn.

This all said, sometimes the less suffering choice is to indeed have the child. I like that Master Sahn said not to think about it as "good" or "evil" but why? This is the idea of Right Intention where an action doesn't necessarily cause one less skillful karma if the intention wasn't to cause suffering in the first place. Such as a young child (4-5 years old) who distracts their parent enough to cause a car crash, which kills them. It isn't that child's fault because his/her intention wasn't to kill their parent. All in all this book is amazing and despite it being a quick read it is full of great teachings, wisdom, laughter and insight. It is also a great desk reference book, so keep this one handy in your collection. I've give it 10 out of 10--it really was one of the best Dharma books I've read, and I've read many.

~Peace to all beings~

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Tips Melakukan Pencarian Search Engine

Search Engine atau bahasa indonesia dikenal dengan nama Mesin Pencari adalah sebuah situs yang memiliki database elektonis yang menyimpan informasi berupa alamat-alamat situs, email dan informasi lainnya yang bertebaran diseluruh dunia.




Ada banyak search engine didunia internet namun yang paling terkenal dan paling banyak digunakan saat ini adalah mesin pencari google. Selain mesin pencari

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Confession of a Buddhist Atheist. A Book Review.

I know some people find him controversial in Buddhist circles but I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Stephen Batchelor's books. So, it was with excitement that I opened the envelope from his office containing the new book, "Confession of a Buddhist Atheist."

The beginning is the story of his journey East on the "Hippie Trail" toward India and Asia where he studied Buddhism as a monk in Dharamsala with the Dalai Lama. Then, later, studying Zen in Korea.

Of course a lot of the conclusions reflect an atheistic view but rather than give away the juicy parts I'll let you discover those for yourself. I highly recommend this book to the contemporary Buddhist. To quote the book jacket, "A stunning and groundbreaking recovery of the historical Buddha and his message." Sounds interesting, huh? If so, read on.

The parts that caught my interest most were the chapters on getting back to the basics of Buddhism as found in the Pali cannon. One example that comes to mind is Mr. Batchelor emphasizing a teaching from Buddha that has been lost on some over the years, and is the idea that doubt is not only acceptable in Buddhism but essential to waking up. Batchelor underlines this with the Zen aphorism, "When there is great doubt, there is great awakening."

Batchelor explains:

This deep agnosticism is more than the refusal of the conventional agnosticism to take a stand on whether God exists or whether the mind survives bodily death. It is the willingness to embrace the fundamental bewilderment of a finite, fallible creature as the basis for leading a life that no longer clings to superficial consolations of eternity.

This is unknowing is in part why some Zen teachers purpose seemingly illogical questions for the conditioned mind, known as koans. They often confound the "logical mind" which "resets" things allowing for awareness to arise and enlighten in that open space--that open moment. Hagen's Koren Zen teacher, Kusan Sunim explains further, "If you continue inquiring in this way, the questioning will become more intense. Finally, when this mass of questioning enlarges to a critical point, it will suddenly burst. The entire universe will be shattered and only your original nature will appear before you. In this way you will awaken."

I also appreciated the author's quoting the Buddha in regards to the use of prayer. "There is no point in praying for divine guidance or assistance. That, as Gotama told Viasettha, would be like someone who wishes to cross the Aciravati River by calling out to the far bank: 'Come here, other bank, come here!' No amount of 'calling, begging, requesting, or wheedling' will have any effect at all."

Finally, I'll wrap this up with some good, old fashioned, cold, water of Buddhism being splashed on the heat of our ego-minds. "In other words: when the chips are down, the only thing you can rely on is whatever values and practices you have managed to intergrate into your own life. Neither the Buddha nor the Sangha (community) will be of any help. You are on your own." We like to flower our lives with wonderfully vivid stories of the metaphysical, and of Bodhisattvas interceding on our behalf but hard truth found in the suttas/sutras is that we're on our own. We are our own Bodhisattvas and our own saviors.

It is somewhat terrifying at first but upon further reflection it is honest, realistic, compassionate, truth. Buddhism isn't for sissies--that's for sure. If you're looking for someone to save you then you probably will find Buddhism to be a bit too honest and harsh. However, if you're looking to cut through the bullshit and the fluff then Buddhism and this book, "Confession of a Buddhist Atheist" mind be helpful along your journey. All in all I enjoyed this book as a dog savors a good bone. I couldn't put it down and read through it like a saw cuts through a forest. It was a great read. I give it a 9 out of 10 -- 10 being best. Go get it and read it.

---End of Transmission---

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The Dhamma Brothers.

This Sunday, May 9th on the American T.V. Channel PBS there will be a documentary on inmates at a maximum security prison who are studying Buddhist meditation.

It is titled, "The Dhamma Brothers." Check your local listings for times. In the Mountain Time Zone (U.S.) where I live it will air from 1:00a.m. to 2:00a.m.

I believe it's a re-airing of the original program but still might be of interest to you. I haven't seen it yet, so I'm looking forward to it.

~Peace to all beings~

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