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Daily Buddhism, Reviews

Book: The Way of Korean Zen, by Kusan Sunim

Book: The Way of Korean Zen
by Kusan Sunim
Published by Weatherhill / Shambala (c) 2009, 182 pages
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1590306864/?tag=askdrarca-20

The author, Kusan Sunim (1901-1983) was the Resident Master of the Song-gwang Sa, one of the largest monasteries in South Korea. He was the first Zen teacher to accept and train Western students in a Korean monastery. The extensive introductor section of the book was written by Stephen Batchelor, author of Buddhism Without Beliefs.

There are two major sections to the book, the introduction by Stephen Batchelor, and the bulk of the book by Master Kusan. The introductory portion explains the history of how Zen spread to Korea, life in a Korean monastery, the biography of Master Kusan, and various remarks about the rest of the book.

The final two-thirds of the book are translations of Master Kusan’s teachings, and are in four parts: Instructions for Meditation, Discourses from a Winter Retreat, Advice and Encouragement and the Ten Oxherding Pictures. There is also a very brief glossary.

Master Kusan teaches the Hwadu method of meditation. Hwadu meditation is somewhat similar to meditating on a koan, but there is a difference. A Koan is generally a complete situation or story, while the hwadu is just the central question involved. For example, a koan often involves specific characters and situations, it’s a whole story, while the hwadu is just the question, “What is this?” or something along those lines. He explains that hwadu meditation means keeping that question at the forefront of your mind non-stop while living your life. Everything you do involves that question and must apply to that question. It seems to be a super-challenging form of mindfulness and concentration.

The section From a Winter Retreat is a collection of his teachings and lectures given during one four-month long retreat that took place one winter. There are various topics and subjects, but again, many of them center around hwadu meditation. This is the largest section of the book, and includes lots of advice and wisdom.

The final portion of the book is Kusan’s explanation of the famous Ten Oxherding Pictures. We have covered those pictures here before, and I don’t think Kusan really adds much new to the interpretation.

Overall, it’s a good book. The historical introduction and the focus on hwadu are interesting; it’s always hard to really explain “koan” meditation in a coherent way, but Kusan covers it well and thoroughly. There are some superficial differences between Korean Zen and Japanese Zen, but nothing really stood out to me as particularly significant. If you are interested in Zen, give this one a try.

Daily Buddhism

Guest Post: Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra

7 Comments

by Mike Lucas

A few posts back, we briefly touched on the topic of Nichiren while talking about going to a temple. This article is the result of that, and more fully explains what Nichiren Buddhism is all about and some of the important concepts involved with that branch. Mike Lukas is a comedian, and you can check out his website at http://www.crackinupradio.com. Although his wife was raised in Nichiren Buddhism, Mike converted several years ago and it has had an incredibly positive influence on his life.

Keep in mind that this is written from the perspective of someone who follows the path of Nichiren; the beliefs of other denominations may vary significantly, but this is a good explanation from within that tradition.

Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra by Mike Lukas

Okay, so here’s how I understand it – hope I can explain it correctly. Shakyamuni Buddha wrote thousands of Sutras, or teachings, in his lifetime. He slowly revealed ’The Truth’ (the truth being the correct way to achieve enlightenment) to the people, as he thought they could understand it, starting with more basic sutras (explaining how to clean yourself, to eat properly, etc. – remember, this was thousands of years ago!) all the way up to his later teachings which explained more specifically how to practice different parts of Buddhism.

Now in the last eight years of his life, he taught only one sutra, the Lotus Sutra, and in his words, this is the teaching that all the others have led to. It contains "The Truth’ (what is enlightenment and how one achieves it). It’s actually the literal title of the Lotus Sutra, Myoho Renge Kyo that we chant, in fact. The Lotus Sutra (according to him) says (among lots of other things) that each of us is able to achieve ‘Nirvana’ or ’enlightenment in THIS lifetime, without having to depend on any thing or any one else. The other sutras do not say this. Each of us has the ability to tap into our ‘best selves’ (which is what enlightenment is!) in this lifetime. All the other sutras do not state that (because, again, in his words, people were not ready to hear/understand that truth yet) – and Shakyamuni says that because of this ommission, all prior teachings are ‘provisional’ or ‘incomplete’ teachings which were written simply to prepare the people to hear the final truth contained in the Lotus Sutra.

So then what is Zen, or Tibetan or ‘XYZ’ Buddhism then? These are Buddhist practices based on the earlier, or provisional teachings (Sutras) of Shakyamuni Buddha. Their originators heard the earlier teachings (which were partially true, of course, but incomplete, according to the Buddha) and ran with them – and since there was no internet or postal system back then, they never got the final message about the final Sutra, and so there was no one to correct them. And so they taught and spread their form of Buddhism based on an imcomplete truth – they’re all ‘partially’ true, but do not contain ‘all’ of the truth.

So then, cut to Japan in the 1200’s – lots of foreign invasion, strife for the people, cruel and greedy rulers and priests – even though they were practicing ‘Buddhism’ it didn’t seem to be working. Then Nichirin was born in the midst of this turmoil. He is considered to be Shakyamuni reborn for the sole purpose of correcting the situtation. He saw what was happening with the people and decided to dedicate his youth to studying all the sutras and figure out what the people were doing wrong. He’s the one who read and re-read the Buddha’s own words, and concluded that the Lotus Sutra is the ultimate teaching, the final truth, the single way towards enlightenment in this lifetime. Nichirin began to call out the incompleteness of the other sutras (which of course pissed off anyone who thought their sutra was ‘the truth’ – and STILL pisses people off to this day) and began teaching to the people that, by simply chanting the title of the Lotus Sutra (Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, adding Nam, a contraction which means ‘to devote oneself’) anyone (from commoners to the ruling class) can tap into the wisdom of the entire sutra and achieve enlightenment, here and now.

To me, Nicherin is like the original Obama, a guy who rose up out of turmoil and said the people must be represented. And like Obama, he still gets lots of grief for having the balls to ‘call out’ the status quo, because if what he says is true, what they say is not. Of course no one likes to have what they believe called ‘incomplete,’’ but these findings are based on the direct quotations from the guy who originally wrote it all (Shakyamuni)! When you read the actual words, it’s impossible for me (and millions of others) to arrive at any other conclusion.

This is how I understand it – and it truly makes sense to me. Before I ever found Nichiren Buddhism, I tried Zen and read about a lot of the others, but none of it sang to me. It felt incomplete, though I never used that word. Then when I began studying the Lotus Sutra three years ago, it all made sense to me and my heart began to open up to life again. Just as it said I would. I don’t think the other sects are wrong, just incomplete. Not incorrect, just not whole. They all seem to be using this lifetime to prepare for some future lifetime, some distant ‘Nirvana,’’ in the same way that Catholicism uses this life to prepare you for ‘Heaven.’ And they all claim that you must go through some level of priesthood in order to accomplish this. The Lotus Sutra, on the other hand, says now is the time for enlightenment, and everyone (not just priests or not just with their guidance), but everyone can tap into this right this second! How amazing is that?

Well, this is what I believe with my whole heart, and I hope it makes sense to you, because this distinction is extremely important.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

I am curious to hear from others on this topic as I am still searching.

Daily Buddhism

Playing Well With Others

11 Comments

Question:

I am sure you have already addressed this question in some form or another, but I was wondering if you could give me some insight into a problem I am having with tolerance and acceptance. I have a coworker who I must work with closely every day, and with whom I have had a long term disagreement. I have tried talking with this person several times about the situation and have decided things are not going to change. So I have decided to try to change my attitude about the situation instead.

As I have learned through your website, compassion for others is important. I do my best, but I can’t help but often feel angry and disappointed at times with this person. Feeling these feelings disappoints me as well. Do you have any advice for me? Thanks.

Answer:

It’s hard to give specifics on this since you don’t tell what the specific disagreement is about, but I’ll give some general thoughts. Maybe others will add their suggestions too.

Your desire to change your own attitude is the right way to go about this. It’s actually the only way to deal with it, since this other person isn’t going to change to suit you. You cannot change others. You can talk to them and try to educate them, but if they don’t want to change or see things your way, there’s not really much you can do about it. Anything more is just an attachment to your idea of what they should be like. Worse, your desire to control them and bend them to your way of thinking (even if that’s not the case, it might look like it to the other party) could damage your relationship even further.

Buddhists are realists. We see the world at it could be, and work toward that end, but we accept things as they are. We see through the illusion of attachment and grasping; this includes expectations towards others. It’s OK to share your thoughts and beliefs with others, but if they won’t accept your way, then you need to accept that.

Daily Buddhism, Koans

Koan: Open Your Own Treasure House

Daiju visited the master Baso in China. Baso asked: “What do you seek?”

“Enlightenment,” replied Daiju.

“You have your own treasure house. Why do you search outside?” Baso asked.

Daiju inquired: “Where is my treasure house?”

Baso answered: “What you are asking is your treasure house.”

Daiju was enlightened! Ever after he urged his friends: “Open your own tresure house and use those treasures.”

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Like Old-Time Radio classics? Check out http://ArcaneTales.com

Daily Buddhism

Christians and Buddhists

7 Comments

Question:

I wonder if you could point me towards any resources that focus on intersections between Christian thought and Buddhist practice? My religion is Christianity and I’m just beginning to explore Buddhist ideas/practices as a philosophy or way of being. Have you anything in your archives that would be helpful?

Answer:

If you’re looking for a place to start studying Buddhism, I would recommend getting a good understanding of the underlying ideas of Buddhism. Here are the relevant Daily Buddhism posts for any beginner:

What is Buddhism? http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1149
Who Was Buddha? http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1150
Four Noble Truths: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1151
Eightfold Path: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1152
Five Precepts: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1153

Moving specifically into comparing Christianity and Buddhism, there are many similarities between the two. Take a look at the Five Precepts of Buddhism; they’re essentially equivalent to several of the Ten Commandments. There are a great many similarities in the stories about Buddha and the stories about Jesus from the Bible. Much of the Christian concepts of this world being evil, that the meek shall inherit the Earth, and many other ideas are similar. The only major divergence between the two is that Christianity says to look to God for your salvation, while Buddhism says to look to yourself.

Here are five books that discuss the links between the two. I have read the first and last on the list, but all of them look promising:

Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh at Amazon (Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1573220183/?tag=askdrarca-20)

From Buddha to Jesus: An Insider’s View of Buddhism & Christianity by Steve Cioccolanti at Amazon (Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0980483905/?tag=askdrarca-20 )

The Noble Eightfold Path of Christ: Jesus Teaches the Dharma of Buddhism by Thomas Ragland at Amazon (Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1412000130/?tag=askdrarca-20 )

Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers by Thich Nhat Hanh at Amazon (Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1573228303/?tag=askdrarca-20)

Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings by Marcus Borg and Jack Kornfield at Amazon (Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1569754616/?tag=askdrarca-20)

Depending on the books you read or the teacher you learn from, Buddhism can be either very religious or purely philosophical. I think you’ll find that the more philosophical styles of Buddhism, Zen for example, can be practiced alongside Christianity with very little adjustment to your current beliefs.

The similarities between the two faiths is not something that has been discovered recently. Here’s an old story about a monk who lived in the 1300’s.

Koan: Not Far From Buddahood: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/674

Even if you eventually decide that Buddhism is not for you, I would still absolutely recommend that you look into meditation as a practice. The benefits of meditation are medically and scientifically proven, and the clarity of thought that it will give you is easily worth the investment of time.

Daily Buddhism

Starting Buddhist Practice … How?

2 Comments

A Reader Asks:

I grew up in the United States in a Christian-Baptist household. I always felt that this was not right for me, and formally denounced this faith as I embarked on my journey into adulthood. Lacking any faith whatsoever, I spent time researching ‚Äúreligion‚Äù as a whole and found many concepts from Buddhism that I could agree with. I was fortunate at one point, to form a relationship with a Japanese woman who convinced me to make a trip back to Japan with her. Once in Nagoya, her family introduced me to Nichiren Buddhism, though I’m unsure of the particular ‚Äúorder‚Äù of Nichiren that I was being exposed to. This didn’t really ‚Äúsink in‚Äù and, after returning to the United States, I lost my desire to focus on this study. I have recently decided to begin this study once again, and primarily have Nichiren Buddhism as a background to begin the study. I located a Nichiren Shu temple close to where I live, attended the Sunday morning service last week, and also plan to visit this service again this week. I have little knowledge of many other denominations, but learned the primary difference between Nichiren Shu and the Soka Gakkai last week. That is the difference of Nichiren Daishonin being the eternal Buddha vs. being a mere messenger of Shakyamuni.

I’ve begun reading books on Buddhism and have learned of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. These I agree with completely. One thing that I have determined is that this will be a ‚Äúlife(lives)-long‚Äù process, but I’m unsure of what’s acceptable for me to properly begin this study. For instance, I’ve read that praying is disrespectful without the use of a mala (juzu); that it is like grabbing the Buddha with bare hands. There are so many types of juzu, one I ordered from the Soka Gakkai, but am unsure still if this is right for Nichiren Shu. The bigger question (that I apologize for it taking so long for me to ask) is how do I know what is right for me to begin this journey? Am I being disrespectful by attending this service without knowing how to ‚Äúpractice‚Äù?

Answer:

You say you are in NC, so I assume that this temple is going to be familiar with Americans, and they will realize that you probably have no idea what the rituals are. As far as what is or is not respectful, that’s purely a cultural thing. In Japan, it’s often appropriate to bow to people you meet; here it isn’t. Many of the things you saw in Japan won’t apply here in the USA (unless the temple is run primarily by and for Japanese people). Although it’s simple good manners to learn how the people at your local temple do things, if you mess something up, you are not going to personally offend the Buddha. If you are unsure how to act or what to do in the local temple, then sit in the back and just observe the first few times. Phone ahead and ask if they have a beginner’s level class you can take. If not, then stay respectful and follow along as best you can; it’s no different than a Baptist visiting a Catholic church for the first time; you just have to “play along” until you understand the significance of the rituals, probably doing a lot of Googling after each visit. You have to go in order to learn; you can read books for years and not understand as well as you could with a single real-life visit.

Now that being said, you will need to decide if this is the denomination you want. This can be hard to do in America, where you may or may not even have a choice in the matter. Some cities may have only one temple, while others aren’t even that lucky. Remember that the Path to Enlightenment is mostly an individual thing. The only one who will get you to Nirvana is YOU. YOU need to do whatever works best for you. Maybe that’s by following every word laid down by Nichiren, or Dogen, or Bodhidarma, or the Dalai Lama, or some other teacher. Maybe it’s some American combination of various Eastern schools of thought.

The way you describe this sect of Nichiren, it sounds like the distinction between them is whether or not Nichiren was a reincarnation of “The” Buddha or not. My question is simply, “who cares?” Take what Nichiren said and weigh it in your mind and decide if what he said strikes you as useful. Note that I said useful, not believable, realistic, true, or respectful. Buddhism is a practice, the beliefs and rituals are secondary. Do what WORKS. Believe in what WORKS. Take to heart the words that are most useful to YOU. There’s a lot to be said for finding the right teacher and following him all the way, but that’s not easy in the west. Most of us have to take bits and pieces pf what we need from several groups unless we just happen find one that fits our personality and needs exactly.

Good luck!

Daily Buddhism

Enlightenment: Are We There Yet?

7 Comments

idea_bulbQuestion:

I have been wondering about enlightenment. How do you know if you have reached it, or if you have not? Do you think you could be enlightened already without knowing it? I know this might be a sort of zen question without a straightforward answer, but I am interested in hearing your comments on it. Thanks!

Answer:

How do you know if you have reached Enlightenment? Could you be enlightened already? In order to give a yes or a no answer, you would need to first understand what Enlightenment actually means. This is all pretty subjective, but I’ll make three suggestions to start the discussion:

  • If we go back to the basics, which is always the first place to look, the Eightfold path’s ultimate goal is to cause the cessation of suffering. So if you are Enlightened, you do not experience suffering.
  • The word for “Enlightenment” in Pali and Sanskrit literally translates as “Awake.” What have you awakened from? Mostly, you see things as they really are; the illusory nature of reality is clearly understood by you.
  • You have become completely self-realized. You will “be all that you can be.” There are many definitions of this, but in my opinion, this would probably be reached through serious long-term meditation and self-knowledge.

One who has become Enlightened would show a perfect combination of all three of these factors, and any one would have an effect on the other two. There are probably additional factors beyond these three as well.

To go back to your question, I’ve never come across anyone who seriously claimed to be Enlightened, but it seems to me that if you were Enlightened, you would know it. As one with complete self-understanding, you’d have to, wouldn’t you?

Daily Buddhism, Koans

Koan: The Voice of Happiness

3 Comments

After Bankei had passed away, a blind man who lived near the master’s temple told a friend:

“Since I am blind, I cannot watch a person’s face, so I must judge his character by the sound of his voice. Ordinarily when I hear someone congratulate another upon his happiness or success, I also hear a secret tone of envy. When condolence is expressed for the misfortune of another, I hear pleasure and satisfaction, as if the one condoling was really glad there was something left to gain in his own world.

“In all my experience, however, Bankei’s voice was always sincere. Whenever he expressed happiness, I heard nothing but happiness, and whenever he expressed sorrow, sorrow was all I heard.”

Daily Buddhism

Buddha’s Painters

5 Comments

I have something a little different for you today: a film! Actually you may want to save it for the weekend if you’re reading this at work. It’s a 55-minute film that was submitted to the Globians Film Festival.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Tibet and China. A similar story may be less familiar to some of us; Seventy years ago, the Soviet Union took over Mongolia. Buddhism was outlawed, monasteries were burned, and monks were killed. All expressions of Buddhism were banned, and the Mongolians lost much of their ancient culture. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, they were free to resume their art. This film is about the art, the artists, and the Buddhism behind that art.

The film mostly centers on Master Artist Lama Purevbat and his school of Mongolian art. The cinematography and imagery presented here is incredibly beautiful, as are the works of art that art shown. As the monasteries are rebuilt, the artwork is restored, the Mongolians simultaneously relearn Buddhism, the basis for their ancient culture.

Even if you aren’t an “art person,” this is worth watching. It’s subtitled and nearly an hour, so set aside some time to watch carefully. Comment below if you see anything you don’t understand or particularly enjoy.

If the embedded player does not work, you can download the entire film here (3 gb).

Daily Buddhism

Guest Post: Focus on the Knit, by Janice Ropers

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It’s guest post time once again, and this week we have Janice Ropers. Janice is a mother, knitter, and writer located in the far northern suburbs of Chicago. Although she’s practiced occasional meditation for years, she’s only recently started a more regular practice and connecting it with Buddhist philosophy. She can be found blogging occasionally at redwagonmusings.blogspot.com.

Focus on the Knit, by Janice Ropers

I’m new to regular meditation practice, and, like many beginners, I’ve been having trouble focusing my mind. Either I keep thinking about all the things that I should be doing, or I come up with new and exciting thoughts and ideas that tempt my mind to chase them down a rabbit hole.

I’ve tried to focus on my breath, but that only works very short-term for me. Often, watching a candle flame or a fire built up in our fireplace will work quite well, but, with a toddler in the house, flames are not always an option. But I’ve recently discovered something that works quite well for me: knitting.

I learned to knit as a child, so the basic movements come very naturally to me. They’re simple and rhythmic, and have calmed me through some of the more stressful moments of my life. Finally it occurred to me — if knitting can have such an influence on my state of mind, can’t I use it as part of my meditation practice? Can it be so different from the walking meditation practice I’ve heard of?

I’ve used knitting as a meditation focal point several times now, and it works for me on multiple levels. It helps to still all those thoughts of what else I should be doing with my time. Knitting is a productive craft, and my family appreciates the fruit of my labors, so I don’t feel guilty about spending some of my time with sticks and yarn in my hands.

Janice Ropers
Janice Ropers

If I’m working a simple pattern, my muscle memory takes over and I can watch the progress in a rather detached way, similar to the way I watch a dancing candle flame. I feel the yarn sliding over my fingers, hear the clicking sound of the needles, and watch the knitted fabric taking shape under my hands. Other thoughts usually drift away and I can just sit and observe what is happening before me.

If I’m working a complex pattern, mindfulness sets in. I need to be aware of what I’m doing, count my stitches, follow the pattern, and do the right stitch at the right time with the right colored yarn. There’s no room in my mind to think about anything else. My full attention has to be on my knitting. The electric bill will still be waiting on the kitchen counter when I’m done.

On occasion, I’ve even visualized knitting when I needed to calm down away from the needles. I close my eyes and see my hands working the needles in their familiar way. I try to feel the yarn slipping through my fingers. It’s my favorite calming technique in a traffic jam.

Okay, so not everyone knits. But the same principle can probably apply to any activity that has some basic repetitive motions such as sweeping the floor, weeding the garden, or working out on a stair-climber machine. Someday I’ll try that walking meditation, and maybe even someday I’ll manage to sit and do nothing for a period of time and not have to pull my mind out of countless rabbit holes. But until then, I can at least sit and knit, and my mind will be the calmer for it.