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Podcast Episode 29: Fear, Footprints, Family & Fat
Monthly Archives: October 2008
Fat Buddha, Skinny Buddha, Laughing Buddha
Fat Buddha, Skinny Buddha, Laughing Buddha
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A Listener Phoned In
(to 937-660-4949 where you can call in your questions too!)
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What’s the deal with the big fat Buddha statues? He’s got fancy robes and stuff all around him and looks very greedy. What’s up with that?
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And my response:
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Whenever you mention Buddha to a non-Buddhist american (maybe all Westerners, I’m not going to presume), the guy in the picture on the right springs to mind.
He’s fat. He’s jolly. The Laughing Buddha is fell-fed and looking happy. Rub his belly for luck!
The thing is, that’s not really Buddha; his name is Hotei. He’s a deity of contentment and abundance, originally based (the statue anyway) on a real Chinese Zen monk named Budai who lived in the early 6th century. He is almost always shown smiling or laughing, hence his nickname in Chinese, the “Laughing Buddha.” He’s also sometimes associated with Maitreya, who is a Buddha who will appear in the future.
Remember the original story of Siddhattha Gotama (The ORIGINAL Buddha). The prince left the city to go live in the wilderness for six years. While he was out there, he lived the life of an ascetic, refusing food and nearly starving to death. He probably looked something like the statue on the left. Afterwards, he turned to the Middle Path, avoiding all extremes, such as eating too much or too little. After recovering from his time as a starving ascetic, the real Buddha was almost certainly a normal-sized man, not fat like Hotei. The style of statue on the bottom-right is probably a lot more realistic.
But if you’re running a restaurant or public business, which one looks happier? Which one would you want advocating your product? Yes, in the capitalistic Western world, fat & sassy wins out over quiet and contemplative every time. Eventually people just started calling the fat man “Buddha,” possibly due to the similarity with the name Budai.
We even had a story here in the Koan section about Budai/Hotei: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/162
Special Edition- Guided Meditation
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Guided Breath Meditation
Here’s something I have been meaning to put together for weeks, but finally actually did it today. It’s a guided breath meditation session, and it’ll take roughly 16 minutes to do.
It’s the first time I’ve tried doing this kind of recording, so your comments, criticisms and suggestions are VERY much desired and appreciated.
Comment at: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/465
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| ‘Headphone Meditation by Illusive Mind’ image from http://www.illusive-mind.com/art/headphone-meditation/. |
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Reviews, Rosaries, Hindus, and Politics
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Podcast Episode 27: Reviews, Rosaries, Hindus, and Politics
Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number twenty-seven. I’m Brian Schell, your host for the show. You can find the text for everything in this show and all past episodes on our website at www.dailybuddhism.com.
This week we got into several new topics and did a couple of reviews. I have a big stack of Buddhist books and CDs here that I’ll be covering in the next few weeks. Since there’s nothing better than giving or getting Buddhist books for Christmas, I’ll be bulking up on the reviews for the next few weeks.
Some minor changes on the website to announce this week. If you look at the menu bar across the top of the screen there are a few new tabs. The new ‚ÄúAudio Archive‚Äù page has a special new Flash audio player that works like a jukebox of the older podcasts. It makes finding older shows easier than going through the menus. It doesn’t seem to work in all browsers, so if it works for you, then enjoy, and if it doesn’t, just click on the ‚ÄúPodcast‚Äù category and find the shows the old way, sorry.
Also on the top bar of the site is the new ‚ÄúMedia Store‚Äù tab. You’ll find my recorded CDs available there, and I have re-done those a bit. The Tao Remastered, The Dhammapada, and the collection old podcasts are still available, only in a new format. Rather than other that material in audio CD format as before, I’ve now changed each offering to collections of MP3s on a single CD for a lower price. Why pay for 3 audio CDs if you can get the same material as one CD full of MP3s. You can always write your own audio CDs from them if you really want to.
The third new tab on the page is for the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine. I’ve worked out what the subscription rates are going to be, and you can check them out there. You can’t buy a subscription there yet, but I’ll get that set up once I stop offering the files for free in a couple of weeks. Issues 1 and 2 are already out, and issues 3 and 4 will be sent out in the podcast feed as freebies just like before. I’m putting the finishing touches on Issue 3 and it’ll go online either tonight or Saturday morning. Keep in mind that the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine is an optional expansion to the Daily Buddhism, not a replacement. The free emails and podcasts aren’t going away.
And that should cover all the announcements for this week, so let’s get on with the show!
[Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show]
This Week’s Links
Movie: Zen Noir
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/319
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LUBZDU/?tag=askdrarca-20
Buddha’s Ghostwriters and Hinduism
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/325
Buddhist Rosary Beads / Mala
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/365
Book: The Saint of Kathmandu and Other Tales of the Sacred in Distant Lands
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/396
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0807013129/?tag=askdrarca-20
Our Buddhist President: Politics and Religion
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/399
Meditation Styles, Part 3
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Podcast Episode 26: Meditation Styles, Part 3
Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number twenty-six. I’m Brian Schell, your host for the show. You can find the text for everything in this show and all past episodes on our website at www.dailybuddhism.com.
This week we continued the series on Meditation, covering 40 meditation themes, the basic practices involved with loving kindness meditation, and a book review on L-K meditation. Finally, we concluded with a very brief overview of some other kinds of meditation that you could look into on your own if interested.
Meditation is a huge subject, and possibly the most important part of Buddhism. I’ve covered a lot of material in the past three weeks, but there is just a huge volume of things I didn’t say. Send in your questions on meditation or Buddhism in general to dailybuddhism@gmail.com or phone them in at 937-660-4949. You can also post your thoughts about anything we discuss on the website’s blog at www.dailybuddhism.com
Announcements
Last weekend saw the introduction of something completely new for us, the Weekly Buddhism ‚ÄúMagazine.‚Äù Last week’s 1st edition went out in the podcast feed, so if you are subscribed to the podcast you already have it. Otherwise, it’s available at the regular Daily Buddhism website or also at the new Weekly Buddhism site (http://www.weeklybuddhism.com). The second issue will go out the same way sometime this weekend. It’s a weekly compilation of everything that goes into the Daily Buddhism emails and the podcast, as well as expanded coverage on some topics, such as current real-world news, more classic Buddhist texts, and extra premium content. The Weekly Buddhism is formatted for easy printing, and my thought is that it would be nice to collect them over time into a binder. You’d have quite a bit of material there for alter review after a short time. It’s free for now, although it may not be free forever, so check it out and see what you think. Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated.
I’ve had several people mention in the past that the Daily Buddhism isn’t available by RSS. I always replied that it was available, just click on the RSS button. Wrong! What I had been missing all that time was that only the PODCAST episodes were showing up in that feed. The podcast was working fine, but the daily posts didn’t go into the feed. I don’t know how long that had been the case, but I don’t think it was a recent goof. Well, that’s fixed now. On the right-hand sidebar of any page at the D.B. site, there are three buttons. The top one is to subscribe with iTunes. If you use iTunes, click that one. If you use some other feedcatcher program for podcasts, then click on the second button, ‚ÄúRSS Podcast.‚Äù If you’d like to subscribe to the newly-fixed text RSS feed, then click on the third button, ‚ÄúRSS Blog.‚Äù Of course, just above those three buttons is the sign-up form for the daily email, and you’ve heard me talk about that plenty over the past months.
Let’s get on with the show!
[Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show]
This Week’s Links
The Forty Meditation Themes, Part 1
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/229
The Forty Meditation Themes, Part 2
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/231
Book Review: The Gift of Loving Kindness
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/234
Order: http://www.amazon.com/dp/157224562X/?tag=askdrarca-20
A Closer Look at Loving Kindness Meditation
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/247
Other Forms of Meditation
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/249
The Weekly Buddhism, Issue #2
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/253
or
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/podpress_trac/web/253/0/Weekly_Buddhism_Issue_2.pdf
Meditation Styles, Part 2
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Podcast Episode 25: Meditation Styles, Part 2
Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number twenty-five. I’m Brian Schell, your host for the show. You can find the text for everything in this show and all past episodes on our website at www.dailybuddhism.com.
You know, 25 episodes ago, I wasn’t sure if this thing was going to attract anyone’s attention. Half a year later, we have thousands of subscribers to the show and a great bunch of readers and listeners who don’t hesitate to support the show. Thanks everyone for following along for 25 great episodes! There’s plenty more to come, and I have a surprise or two in store for the coming weeks that I think you’ll like. Stay tuned!
This week we continued the series on Meditation, covering five different styles of meditation, the basic practices involved, and the differences between them. My descriptions have been pretty brief, so I am just going to assume that you have questions. Send in your questions on Buddhism to dailybuddhism@gmail.com or phone them in at 937-660-4949. You can also post your thoughts about anything we discuss on the website’s blog at www.dailybuddhism.com
Let’s get on with the show!
[Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show]
This Week’s Links
Meditation Part 7: Conceptual Meditation
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/200
Meditation Part 6: Mantra Meditation
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/192
Meditation Part 5: Mindfulness Meditation
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/189
Meditation Part 4: Walking Meditation and Kinhin
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/183
Meditation Part 3: Empty Mind Meditation
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/182
Meditation Part 2: Breath Meditation and Insight Meditation
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/180
Meditation Part 1: Overview & Benefits
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/175
Taking Refuge & Meditation
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Podcast Episode 24: Taking Refuge & Meditation
Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number twenty-four. I’m Brian Schell, your host for the show. You can find the text for everything in this show and all past episodes on our website at www.dailybuddhism.com.
Keep your questions coming in! Send in your questions on Buddhism to dailybuddhism@gmail.com or phone them in at 937-660-4949. You can also post your thoughts about anything we discuss on the website’s blog at www.dailybuddhism.com
I did get another phoned-in message; this one had to do with the sound quality of the podcast itself. Here goes:
(insert clip)
Good suggestion, and one that is easily fixed! When I am finished recording a show, I play it back on the same computer I use for recording, and they usually sound fine to me. Since you let me know about the problem, I’ll set the volume on those a little lower from now on. If you have any other comments or suggestions, let me know! I think the sound quality has increased tremendously since the first episode, but I’ll be the first to admit there is still plenty of room for improvement. Last week I had to record the entire show twice because Garageband crashed while it was saving the final file the first time. I enjoy doing the show, but doing it twice is no fun at all!
We had an interesting assortment of topics this week, so lets get on with the show!
[read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show]
This Week’s Links
Dhammapada Chapter 8
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/174
Koan: The Muddy Road
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/173
Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/172
Meditation Part 1: Overview & Benefits
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/175
Meditation Part 2: Breath Meditation and Insight Meditation
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/180