Q&A #11

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A Reader recently wrote:

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I was taught to meditate by my martial arts instructor many years ago. I meditate 4 times a week. I have never had a Buddhist instructor but listen to six Buddhist podcasts a week and read books dealing with Zen. I try to live my life by the Eightfold Path. Am I considered a Zen Buddhist if I am basically self-teaching myself?

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My Response

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I’d ask my Zen Master, but I don’t have one either. They’re bit hard to find here in Ohio.

🙂

A Zen “purist” would probably say no, you need a master to learn Zen, but I am not so sure that is really true. Remember, these old lineage traditions were mostly oral, passed down from generation to generation. With today’s literacy levels, modern multimedia materials, and such easy communication, things may be different today. You have more Buddhist material available at the touch of your fingers right this second than most monks could have ever hoped to access in their lifetimes. You also have the benefit of their distilled, cleaned-up and edited teachings to help you along the path.

Still, you and I have no individual master to teach us, and it is going to be an uphill battle because of that. Zen masters aren’t exactly common in this part of the world so we just have to do the best we can with what we have. I listen to several podcasts and read a lot as well, but I am in no way a master or even close to enlightenment. I have pretty serious university training on the subject, but I’ve never been a monk. I don’t even have a local sangha/church to attend around here. But Zen is my “flavor of choice” in Buddhism, and I do what I can to progress with it.

Will I achieve enlightenment on my own? Probably not, but it is theoretically possible, and at the very least I’ll be in a better position next time around.

If a real Zen Master wanders past your house, follow him, but it the meantime, keep up what you are doing.

Q&A #12

The Three Jewels include the Sangha

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A Reader recently wrote:

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Hi,‚Ä®I first wanted to thank you for your podcast, blog etc. I’ve just started listening etc. so you may have already covered this, but I thought I’d ask.‚Ä®How important is it to join with some kind of group/congregation/whatever within Buddhism? There are a few Buddhist centers in my area but I’m not so sure that I quite agree with what they teach. Should I join one anyway?

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My Response

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The technical term for what you are looking for is “sangha,” or “Buddhist community.”

Yet another of those many Buddhists “lists” is “The Three Jewels.” The three jewels are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. You look to the Buddha as a great teacher and role model. You look to the Dharma (written and oral teachings) for rules, inspiration, stories, and experiences. You look to the Sangha for support, learning, and fellowship. So the classical Buddhist answer is yes, you should join a group.

On the other hand, here in the West, it’s often hard to find a group that fits you well. I think I’ve said before that I don’t care for the only group around here, so I don’t have a group either. With all the material available to you in books, videos, podcasts, Internet and other forms of media, there are plenty of opportunities to learn on your own. Is that enough for you? I cannot answer that.

That being said, you mention that there are a few centers near you. I’d recommend going to one of them and see if they are a good fit for you. If one doesn’t suit you, try another. If they all seem incompatible, then you’re on your own. But I would definitely give them a chance, since the ‚Äúclassical‚Äù Buddhists strongly recommend all of the ‚ÄúThree Jewels.‚Äù

Buddhist Symbology Part 1

One thing that non-Buddhists always notice are the distinctive symbols ‚Ä®involved with the various sects of Buddhism. We talked briefly about ‚Ä®the ‚ÄúWheel of Dharma‚Äù a while back, but that’s just the tip of the ‚Ä®iceberg. There are eight major symbols known as the ‚ÄúEight Auspicious ‚Ä®Symbols.‚Äù Let’s start by discussing one you may have already noticed: ‚Ä®the Lotus

The Lotus

The lotus has various symbolic meanings throughout Hinduism, and since 
Hindu influences pervade all of Buddhism, the lotus became important 
there too.

A lotus flower grows in the mud, its root stretching below the surface 
of the water, the stem reaches up through the water, and the flower 
appears to float on top of the water. This reflects symbolically the 
growth of the soul through materialism (the mud), experience (the 
water), and the sunshine (enlightenment/Nirvana).

The color of the lotus is also significant: ‚Ä®

White lotus = Mental and spiritual purity

Red lotus = The heart, compassion and love

Blue lotus = Wisdom and control of the senses

Pink lotus = The original historical Buddha

Purple lotus = Mysticism

The heart of a being is like an unopened lotus; when the virtues of a 
Buddha develop, then the lotus blossoms. This is why the Buddha is 
often depicted sitting on a blooming lotus flower.

Buddhist Symbology Part 2

The conch shell is another well-know symbol in Buddhism. This is another of the big Hindu symbols that has passed over to Buddhism. The great hero Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita carried a conch, as did most Hindu gods and heros.

A conch used as a “horn” is often used to call together assemblies of Buddhists, especially in Tibet, but other paces as well other places. As the sound of the horn goes forth, so does the fame and truthful teachings of the Buddha.

Buddhist Symbology Part 3

The Parasol

A parasol is not an umbrella. An umbrella protects from the rain, while a parasol protects from the sun. The parasol also symbolically protects against “the heat of defilements.” Another way to look at it is that the parasol represents the sky and the handle represents a mountain that holds up the sky, or possibly the axis that holds up the whole world. The proximity of the person under the parasol to the “axis of the world” represents the importance of the person.

Still another way of looking at it is that the dome of the parasol represents wisdom, and the hanging part symbolized compassion. The parasol as a whole represents the fusion of both.

Guess who is usually shown sitting under a parasol? Two points if you guessed “The Buddha.” However, other important figures, such as the Dalai Lama and others are entitled to parasols as well.

Buddhist Symbology Part 4

Golden Fish

Who wants to drown in the river of suffering? Who can avoid this fate? Fish of course! Just as fish swim where they wish and migrate as they will, an enlightened being can choose his own migration (rebirth). The fish can also represent fertility and abundance.

The golden fishes are another holdover from Hinduism, and are usually represented as a pair, historically symbolizing the Yamuna and Ganga rivers of India.

Mara The Tempter

We’ve briefly mentioned Mara a few times already. Last week (http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/83), we talked about four Maras that Buddha had to overcome. Those maras were symbolic representations of hindrances on his path to Nirvana. However, quite often Mara is portrayed as a physical manifestation of temptation.Much like Yama is sometimes considered the god of death, Mara is something like the god of temptation.

While Siddhartha Gotama (Buddha before his Enlightenment) sat beneath the Bodhi tree, Mara came to him with many temptations. He tried repeatedly to tempt Buddha to return to his wife and son, becoming a great king in the process. Failing in this, Mara hurled lightning bolts at him, but the lightning turned into harmless flowers before the got near Buddha. The thunderbolts turned into soft music.

Even today, Mara is said to tempt men’s souls, and is the lord of pleasures of the senses, and delights in confusing and misleading.

Announcements

The End of the Beginning?

As I do a quick mental inventory, I’m thinking we’ve covered most of what I would consider ‚Äúessential basic Buddhism.‚Äù It may be just about time to start covering more ‚Äúintermediate‚Äù topics. Before we start that, I want to make sure we’ve covered all the basics. So today, I’m going to put out another call for questions.

Have I missed a subject that interests you?
Is any topic that I’ve covered unclear or maybe too shallow?
Questions on anything?
Do you have any inspiring stories or personal thoughts you’d like to share?

Coming Soon…

I’m hoping to get enough reader questions and calls for topic elaboration to cover the rest of July, and then start the ‚ÄúDaily Buddhism: Book Two‚Äù in August. When we do start more advanced topics, what would you like to see?

Every Monk Has His Bowl

And once again, I need to mention that on the http://www.dailybuddhism.com website, there is a button labeled “Donate.” Buddhists around the world have survived for 2500 years on donations and gifts from others. Who am I to try to break that tradition? If you have enjoyed the emails and podcasts so far, please “drop something in the box.”

And have a great weekend!