Category Archives: Daily Buddhism

Daily Buddhism, Koans

Koan: How Grass and Trees Become Enlightened

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Koan: How Grass & Trees Become Enlightened

During the Kamakura period, Shinkan studied Tendai six years and then studied Zen seven years; then he went to China and contemplated Zen for thirteen years more.

When he returned to Japan many desired to interview him and asked obscure questions. But when Shinkan received visitors, which was infrequently, he seldom answered their questions.

One day a fifty-year-old student of enlightenment said to Shinkan: “I have studied the Tendai school of thought since I was a little boy, but one thing in it I cannot understand. Tendai claims that even the grass and trees will become enlightened. To me this seems very strange.”

“Of what use is it to discuss how grass and trees become enlightened?” asked Shinkan. “The question is how you yourself can become so. Did you ever consider that?”

“I never thought of it in that way,” marveled the old man.

“Then go home and think it over,” finished Shinkan.

Daily Buddhism

Rebirth Revisited

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Question:

I know that Buddhist belief is based greatly on experiencing teachings for yourself, and not taking what anyone says (even the Buddha himself) as truth without first examining it ourselves. However, I am confused as to where the belief in rebirth and karma comes from in Buddhism. I agree with this Buddhist belief that we should not blindly follow anything anyone says, and must figure things out for ourselves and experience them, but the belief in reincarnation seems to go against this. How can we possibly know that rebirth occurs if we cannot see it for ourselves? Thanks for the wonderful podcast.

Answer:

We’ve talked about this in the past (several times), but I think this may be the number one point of Buddhism to which Westerners cannot relate. Most non-Buddhists recognize reincarnation as the butt of uncountable jokes, scams, and is generally taken seriously only by some very strange celebrities. The fact that a huge portion of the world’s population do believe in rebirth is irrelevant if all you know are Shirley Maclaine jokes.

No one really knows the origins of the rebirth idea, it goes way back beyond Buddhism, into Hinduism, and is likely far older than that. I’m only guessing here, but I’d bet that the idea of rebirth is probably older than the concepts of heaven or hell; ancient people understood the cycle of life very well. You are born, you age, you die; it’s no great leap to see that cycle as a wheel that repeats. The idea is so old, however, that no one can say absolutely where it came from, but the idea has been refined and elaborated over the years, first by Hinduism, then by Buddhism.

As you said, it’s not a requirement that you believe anything blindly, and Buddhism encourages questioning. While it is true, that many of the writings on Buddhism concern themselves with reincarnation, it’s not really absolutely necessary to believe in it. The majority of Buddhist ideas relate to your life here on Earth, right now. “Promotion” or “demotion” in the next life is not something to be strived for (more attachment and grasping); the goal is to live a good life now. Whatever happens next time around, just happens. If the Buddhist concept of rebirth is correct, it will happen to you whether you believe in it or not, so don’t worry about it. If it causes you doubt and “suffering,” then throw it out.

Keep an open mind, do some research into different ways people explain rebirth, and maybe someday you will come to believe it. Or maybe not.

Here are links to two previous articles on the topic. Be sure to read the comments below each.

Reincarnation, God, and Things You Don’t Believe: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1323

Rebirth and Karma: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1182

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What Happens, Happens.

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Question:

After having studied Buddhism for a while, I have come to some ideas about the philosophy and in particular its’ relation to morality. For westerners especially, Buddhism seems to be paradoxical and difficult to really categorize. I can accept that some things cannot be controlled, that man cannot directly choose his circumstances all the time. However, Buddhism, in particular Zen, which is influenced by Taoism has, throughout its’ teachings a kind of ‘whatever happens, happens’ kind of ideal. It seems to me that this could be fatalistic. If life is out of our control, then what about morality. If bad things just ‘ happen’ and chaos to order, order to chaos is inevitable, doesn’t that destroy our notion of choice? This can also create a kind of unclarity in one’s mind about what is right, what is wrong and can be used as an excuse for surrender to responsibility for one’s own life.

Answer:

My own chief complaint with Taoism is that it is seems passive in the extreme. Buddhism isn’t quite so passive, however. Yes, it teaches us to accept what comes by not grasping at expectations, but that’s not the same is being helpless to control ones own fate.

Bad things do sometimes just happen. So do good things. We need to learn to roll with the punches and deal with things as they happen. A great deal of suffering and unhappiness results from broken expectations and unpleasant surprises. Learn to see past all that.

This all relates to bad things that come from outside sources, not our own choice to do good or bad. If a truck runs off the road and drives through your house, is there anything you can do about that? No. Yet, if you continually hang around negative, discouraging, “toxic” people, is it likely that you will grow to take that point of view? Yes. You do have control over that sort of thing. You have control over who you call a friend. You have control over the food you eat. You have control over the words you speak and the choice of entertainment you enjoy. Most importantly, you have the choice and the control over your own actions, and this is where the Buddhist ideas of morality come into play. You do in fact have control over your thoughts and actions, and that’s really the only thing you do have control over.

We all need to learn the difference between the things you have control over and the things you do not, and focus your energies on changing the thngs we can. There’s an old prayer (not Buddhist) that goes like this:

“Lord, grant me patience to bear the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Daily Buddhism

Wishing Your Life Away

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Question:

I am particularly concerned about a friend who always seems unhappy at work, complains about how some colleagues are making her life difficult, and how little she earns. She believes that marrying and giving up her job would bring her happiness. She reads books that teach her “10 Ways of Dealing with People Who Make Your Life Miserable”, which is not a very useful category of writings, in my humble opinion. She also believes that an ideal job is one in which she could look forward to going into office every morning.

I think she is suffering because her expectations aren’t realistic. Particularly, I find the state of “always looking forward to” something very dubious. I have only ever looked forward to work probably for the first few months in a job. To me, “looking forward to” something is an extreme emotion that can only last for a short period of time. If I look forward to the weekend, I am probably expecting that I would enjoy every minute of it. There is some amount of indulgence involved in it. If I look forward to lunchtime everyday, it would probably make the rest of my day very tiresome in comparison. Hence constantly “looking forward to” some event is not only impossible to achieve, it also causes more suffering if that event is not what one would expect.

Well, that is my layman’s opinion. I would like to hear about the buddhist view of this. Is “looking forward to” something a realistic feeling that can be sustained in the real world, or even when one is enlightened? Or is it an extreme emotion, not unlike intense passion and attachment, which a Buddhist should avoid?

Many thanks for your response. I hope my question is not too vague to you, as I have not learnt proper buddhist terms to explain it in.

Answer:

Proper Buddhist Terms? Here? Not necessary at all, and I try to steer away from all the jargon anyway.

I don’t think having hopes and dreams are unrealistic at all. I have them, and I sincerely hope you do too. The problem, from the Buddhist standpoint, is when we get too attached to the dreams and start to avoid reality. If your friend is neglecting the here and now in favor of these hopes for something better in the future, then yes, she’s probably going to regret it someday. We’ve talked before on whether or not it’s OK for Buddhists to make long-term plans and expectations for the future (it is OK, by the way), and this is a related problem.

Buddhists are realists. The simple facts are that the past is gone. Dwelling on the past is unproductive. The future may or may not happen the way we envision it, and there’s no use in getting attached to hopeful outcomes. You are in the present, here and now. NOW is the only time you really have any control over, so make the most of it. NOW is all you really have, so enjoy it, learn from it, do some good with it.

Wasting the Now, thinking about what might be (or could be, or should be, or whatever) is robbing reality to spend on dreams. Work harder to make the reality of the Now a better place.

Daily Buddhism, Koans

Koan: Zen in a Beggar’s Life

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Zen in a Beggar’s Life

Tosui was a well-known Zen teacher of his time. He had lived in several temples and taught in various provinces.

The last temple he visited accumulated so many adherents that Tosui told them he was going to quit the lecture business entirely. He advised them to disperse and to go wherever they desired. After that no one could find any trace of him.

Three years later one of his disciples discovered him living with some beggars under a bridge in Kyoto. He at once implored Tosui to teach him.

“If you can do as I do for even a couple of days, I might,” Tosui replied.

So the former disciple dressed as a beggar and spent a day with Tosui. The following day one of the beggars died. Tosui and his pupil carried the body off at midnight and buried it on a mountainside. After that they returned to their shelter under the bridge.

Tosui slept soundly the remainder of the night, but the disciple could not sleep. When morning came Tosui said: “We do not have to beg food today. Our dead friend has left some over there.” But the disciple was unable to eat a single bite of it.

“I have said you could not do as I,” concluded Tosui. “Get out of here and do not bother me again.”

Daily Buddhism, Koans

Koan: The Thief Who Became a Disciple

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The Thief Who Became a Disciple

One evening as Shichiri Kojun was reciting sutras a thief with a sharp sword entered, demanding wither his money or his life.

Shichiri told him: “Do not disturb me. You can find the money in that drawer.” Then he resumed his recitation.

A little while afterwards he stopped and called: “Don’t take it all. I need some to pay taxes with tomorrow.”

The intruder gathered up most of the money and started to leave. “Thank a person when you receive a gift,” Shichiri added. The man thanked him and made off.

A few days afterwards the fellow was caught and confessed, among others, the offense against Shichiri. When Shichiri was called as a witness he said: “This man is no thief, at least as far as I am concerned. I gave him the money and he thanked me for it.”

After he had finished his prison term, the man went to Shichiri and became his disciple.

Daily Buddhism

Sin & Skepticism in Buddhism

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Question:

Last night I was listening to the Skeptoid podcast, which examines various things from a skeptic’s perspective. The host was discussing sin and mentioned that being skeptical was a sin in Buddhism. Your podcasts have lead me to think otherwise. Was the host misinformed? Please elaborate. Thanks!

Answer:

I listen to a couple of skeptic podcasts as well; I prefer the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe. I didn’t hear the episode of Skeptoid in question, but yes, I’d guess the speaker was probably just misinformed about Buddhism; they can’t be expects in everything. Generally, I agree with the skeptics’ views on religion, but I think in this case, he was either looking at some specific sect of Buddhism or just plain wrong.

Most, if not all, sects of Buddhism encourage open-minded thought and debate. Some are more open to modern science and thinking than others, but I’m not aware of any group that would consider doubt a form of “sin.” There is a reason many people (although once again, not everyone) prefer to call Buddhism a philosophy rather than a religion, and open-mindedness is a big part of it.

If any of the Daily Buddhism readers out there are familiar with a case where skepticism or critical thinking was discouraged in Buddhism, please post a comment. I’m sure it happens, but it’s definitely not the general rule.

Daily Buddhism

Attachment TO Buddhism

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Question:

This is a general question… In studying Buddhism, we learn that attachment is undesirable. We learn we need to recognise and remove attachments that we identify we have. Is there a point where we can become too attached to the teachings of Buddhism? i.e. the Four Noble Truths, the Five Precepts, etc? In the end, does the path to Enlightenment simply boil down to the Buddha’s last words: “Conditioned things are perishable; with vigilance strive to succeed.” (from http://www.visiblemantra.org/buddha-last-words.html) i.e. simply trying one’s best at anything, the pursuit of excellence in any field, so that one loses oneself, and becomes one with the subject matter (say, like a great concert pianist, lost in the moment of playing)is what leads to Enlightment / salvation.

Answer:

Remember Buddha’s life before he attained Enlightenment. He was a wealthy, pampered prince, and then became an extreme ascetic, nearly starving to death. He definitely knew a thing or two about taking things to the extreme. One of his main teachings was that of the middle way, or moderation in all things. Too much of anything, even meditation and study, can be harmful.

That’s not to say anyone can reach Enlightenment without a great deal of effort and dedication. It’s not unusual to read about monks that went off into the wilderness for years of solitary meditation, nearly dying in the process. These stories are not told with ‚Äútoo much effort‚Äù being the point. Buddha himself abandoned his kingdom and family, and this also is not told with ‚Äútoo much sacrifice‚Äù being the point. There’s a long way between what most of us do to practice Buddhism and the ‚Äúextreme.‚Äù

That being said, there comes a point where dedication to anything can become an obsession. This is not good. It can damage your relationships, job, family, and so forth. Whether or not this is acceptable is entirely up to you. Most of us don’t go that far, but some do. They are the monks who dedicate their lives to reaching Enlightenment. That’s an admirable goal, and I applaud (and envy) those monks. Yet for most of us, we must remember the middle path and avoid the ‚Äúextremes.‚Äù

Daily Buddhism

Depression and Drugs

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Question:

Paul phoned in to ask: What’s the Buddhist view on Antidepressants? Is it looked on the same as alcohol?

Answer:

I hate to put words into Buddha’s mouth, but I suspect that his prohibition against intoxicants wasn’t intended to condemn medicinal treatments.

In a perfect world, antidepressants would not be necessary; you would have such perfect mental control that they would be redundant. In reality, that’s rarely the case. People battling depression (and it IS a battle) are not taking the drugs for enjoyment or pleasure; they are taking them in order to function. The fifth precept (‚ÄúI undertake the precept to refrain from taking intoxicants‚Äù) was not meant to harm anyone, but rather the point was to keep monks in line. You cannot meditate and reach Enlightenment when you are too drunk to sit up straight. On the other hand, you cannot meditate and reach enlightenment if your depression keeps you from caring one way or the other. If it takes antidepressant medication to get you through the day, then that’s just what it takes– there is no reason to judge it.

There is, however, a fine line between a necessary psychological/medical treatment and fueling an addiction. An addict needs his ‚Äúdrug‚Äù too, but as with many things dealing with karma, intention and motives have to be considered. We have occasionally talked about addiction and recovery here in the past, so if you are not actually taking the medication under a doctor’s supervision, I would look into some kind of treatment program.

as always, just my opinion. There ARE other viewpoints on this.

Daily Buddhism

Mindfulness At Work

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Question:

How does one stay mindful and calm at work?

Answer:

I don’t know if there is any easy or quick solution to this one. In my own case, I meditate regularly, and it’s my belief that this causes me to be naturally more calm in everyday situations. It reduces my overall stress levels, and this in turn causes me to become less likely to explode when something unexpected or unpleasant occurs.

Mindfulness at work, though, is a much harder thing to accomplish, for me at least. When I am being mindful, everything I do is controlled and deliberate. Nothing is done out of habit or instinct; it’s pure mind at work. It’s also pretty rare that I actually get to that place; usually I run around doing whatever needs to be done, acting and re-acting from instinct and habit like everyone else.

I’m sure that other readers will share their tips and tricks for staying mindful, but I suspect that it really just comes down to practice and effort. The more mindful you are, the easier it will be to be mindful; a definite chicken-and-egg problem.