Monthly Archives: December 2008

Podcasts

Meditation on a Whoopie Cushion

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Announcements:

I made several references to Twitter in this week’s show. If you’d like to follow my Tweets, go to http://twitter.com/DailyBuddhism and “follow” me. I’ll follow you right back. If you’re already on Twitter, please vote for Daily Buddhism to get a “Shorty” award: http://shortyawards.com/?username=dailybuddhism&category=religion

As always, the main home site for the show is the dailybuddhism.com web site, but if you are also on Facebook, you might want to visit our new fan page at http://dailybuddhism.com/Facebook and maybe also the fan page for http://taooftheday.com/Facebook

I’d love to open things up for a guest poster to cover some topic once a week. Something like what Darren Littlejohn did this week. You don’t need any special credentials or have written a book; all you need is an interesting viewpoint or story that illustrates some point. If you would be interested in writing a guest post for the show, send me an email with your topic idea.

As I mentioned last week, I have gathered all the various ways to get Daily Buddhism content together in one place for easy sign-up. www.dailybuddhism.com/sign has places to sign up for the free daily newsletter, the podcast, the RSS feeds and the Weekly Buddhism. Easy!

And now on to this week’s show!

[Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show]

This Week’s Links:

Voice Mail Number: 937-660-4949
Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com
Donate: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/donate
Newsletter: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/sign

Being in the Present, Be Here Now:
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/887

Buddhism & the 12-Step Recovery Process:
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/890

The 12-Step Buddhist:
http://www.12stepbuddhist.com

Order from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1582702233/?tag=askdrarca-20

Chanting and Prayer on Schedule:
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/900

Koan: The Strawberry:
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/903

Meditation on a Whoopie Cushion:
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/907

Follow Brian on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DailyBuddhism

Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info: http://www.weeklybuddhism.com
Our new Facebook Page: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/Facebook
Follow Daily Buddhism on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DailyBuddhism

Koans

Koan: The Strawberry

28 Comments

Buddha once told a parable in sutra:

A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.

Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!

Podcasts

Beads, Seals, Immeasurables, and Past Lives

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

A Quick Saturday afternoon addition to the announcements: I got a little carried away deleting SPAM posts and accidentally deleted a dozen or so REAL comments today. I was able to restore the comments from backups, but all of them now show up as being entered by “Brian Schell” with the original writer of the post being shown as “From: so-and-so.” Sorry about the goof, but nothing was really lost.

Announcements:

Happy Holidays, (whatever that may be to you)!

If you enjoy the daily Buddhism, you can help out by putting up a good review for the show at iTunes. I’ve added a special link to the site to make this easier for you: if you go to http://www.dailybuddhism.com/itunes iTunes will automatically open up and find the show in the iTunes store, you can just enter your review right there. Just a note, if it asks ‚ÄúBy:‚Äù put YOUR NAME, not mine. I appreciate it and so might other potential listeners.

I mentioned last week that I’m getting a backlog of questions. In the meantime I’ve decided that a lot of them were more appropriate to answer brief emails rather than post them here, so I’m pretty much caught up now.

A reminder: All of the articles and posts you hear about on the show go out in our free daily email and are posted on the DB website. Many readers go to the website and post their own comments and ideas on the topics there. So don’t just listen to me here on the show, stop in and read the comments on the website; many readers add some great insight to what I have to say.

On the website this week I changed a few things around and made some improvements. Each and every post now has a list of “Related posts” at the bottom. I think that will help follow some topics much easier.

Also gathered all the various ways to get Daily Buddhism content together in one place for easy sign-up. http://www.dailybuddhism.com/sign has places to sign up for the free daily newsletter, the podcast, the RSS feeds and the Weekly Buddhism. Easy!

On the subject of easy, I also revamped the donation portion of the site. Instead of the two little buttons, there is now a page of various options, and you can now choose to help things going for as little as ONE DOLLAR a month. I’m pretty sure it’ll never get any easier than that. http://www.dailybuddhism.com/donate

And now on to this week’s show!

Podcast Episode 36:

[Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show]


This Week’s Links:

Voice Mail Number: 937-660-4949
Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com

Review: Seeds of Kindness Beads
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/780
http://www.seedsofkindness.biz

The Four Seals
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/748

The Four Immeasurables
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/835

Mini Topics: Past Lives, Mantras, Sutras, and Chants
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/858
Past lives, Pro-: http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/personal-growth/past-life-therapy/past-life-therapy.asp
Past lives, Con-: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/9/7/lifefocus/1957870&sec=lifefocus

Book: The Tao of Now
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/866
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/157174584X/?tag=askdrarca-20

Buddha, by Deepak Chopra (iTunes link)
iTunes, download NOW: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/Chopra
Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060878819/?tag=askdrarca-20
Amazon CD Audiobook: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011MSV0C/?tag=askdrarca-20

Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info:
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/weekly-buddhism


Podcasts

Buddhist Christmas, Pessimism in Buddhism, and Meat

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Podcast Episode 35: Buddhist Christmas, Pessimism in Buddhism, and Meat

Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number thirty-five. My name is Brian Schell, and I am the your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com. Send your questions, comments, suggestions and thoughts to me at dailybuddhism@gmail.com

Announcements:

Do you like the podcast? If you do, you can help out by putting up a good review for the show at iTunes. You don’t need to write anything lengthy or complex, just a sentence or two. I’ve added a special link to the site to make this easier for you: just go to http://www.dailybuddhism.com/itunes and if you have iTunes installed, it will automatically open up and find the show in the iTunes store, then you can just enter your review right there. I appreciate it and so might other potential listeners.

A reminder: All of the articles and posts you hear about on the show go out in our free daily email and are posted on the DB website. Many readers go to the website and post their own comments and ideas on the topics there. So don’t just listen to me here on the show, stop in and read the comments on the website; many readers add some great insight to what I have to say.

Let’s see‚Ķ over the past few months I’ve had a few people as about the theme music from the show. The music is not from a CD you can go out and buy, it’s a short sound clip included with Garageband, the software I use to make the show. If you have Garageband, the clip is called ‚ÄúShogun.‚Äù I’ll play the entire clip for you at the end of the show.

Please keep your questions coming in, whether by email or phone. Please be aware however, that I am starting to build up a little backlog, and I might not get to your question the same week you send it in. Personal messages or something that sounds urgent, I’ll answer by email right away as always, but questions for the show are stacking up. I will answer every single question eventually, it’s going to take some time.

On the subject of questions, I mentioned last week that if you phone in your question and I use it on the show, you’ll win a free month of the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine. I gave away a month subscription last week, and I have another for this week and next week, but more is always good. Call in with your question at 937-660-4949.

[Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show]

This Week’s Links:

Voice Mail Number: 937-660-4949
Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com

To Meat or not to Meat?
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/768

Related links:
Are Buddhists Vegetarians? http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/59
The First Precept: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/37
Buddhist Dog Food: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/141

Book: The Method of No-Method: The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination

Book: The Method of No-Method, by Chan Master Sheng Yen


Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1590305752/?tag=askdrarca-20

Buddhism: Half-Empty or Half-Full?
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/745

A Buddhist Christmas
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/755

Book: Quiet Mind, Open Heart
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/766
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0978775767/?tag=askdrarca-20

Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info:
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/weekly-buddhism

Podcasts

If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Podcast Episode 34: If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him

Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number thirty-four. My name is Brian Schell, and I am the your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com. Send your questions, comments, suggestions and thoughts to me at dailybuddhism@gmail.com

Only one announcement this week:

I get lots and lots of emails, and that’s great, but we don’t get much action on the voice mail line. Starting right now, if I use your phoned-in voice mail on the show, you’ll win a free month of the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine. We’ll have our first winner coming up next!

[Play Sound Clip asking about “Killing the Buddha and Numb Legs”]

Well there, Chris from Texas, I appreciate your call and your questions! You just won a free month of the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine.

‚ÄúChris from Texas‚Äù, Drop me an email or call with your email address and we’ll get that set up.

And for the rest of you, the voice-mail phone is 937-660-4949. Call in now and leave your message! It’s available 24 hours a day so don’t wait!

Now on to the rest of the show and the answers to Chris’ questions: [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show]

[update!] Whoops! forgot to mention, I did get in another reader’s Shrine photos. Here they are:

Reader Shrine
Reader Shrine
Shrine Closeup
Shrine Closeup


This Week’s Links:

Voice Mail Number: 937-660-4949
Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com

If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/670

Sleepy Legs in Meditation
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/667

Buddhism and Homosexuality
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/697
Additional Sources:
http://www.religionfacts.com/homosexuality/buddhism.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_budd.htm
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-18-2004-56791.asp

CD Review: Buddha Moon, by Chinmaya Dunster
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/707
Amazon CD: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NVKY8Y/?tag=askdrarca-20
Amazon MP3: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QR1Z92/?tag=askdrarca-20
iTunes Store: See website for link

Koans: Stingy in Teaching / Joshu’s Mu
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/714

Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info:
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/weekly-buddhism

Koans

If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him

110 Comments

Question:

I have heard the phrase “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!” many times. Can you explain this?

Answer:

It actually comes from an old koan attributed to Zen Master Linji, (the founder of the Rinzai sect). It’s a simple one:

“If you meet the Buddha, kill him.”– Linji

I’m sure you already realize that it’s not being literal. The road, the killing, and even the Buddha are symbolic.

The road is generally taken to mean the path to Enlightenment; that might be through meditation, study, prayer, or just some aspect of your way of life. Your life is your road. That’s fairly straightforward as far as metaphors go.

But how do you meet the Buddha on this “road?” Imagine meeting some symbolic Buddha. Would he be a great teacher that you might actually meet and follow in the real world? Could that Buddha be you yourself, having reached Enlightenment? Or maybe you have some idealized image of perfection that equates to your concept of the Buddha or Enlightenment.

Whatever your conception is of the Buddha, it’s WRONG! Now kill that image and keep practicing. This all has to do with the idea that reality is an impermanent illusion. If you believe that you have a correct image of what it means to be Enlightened, then you need to throw out (kill) that image and keep meditating.

Most people have heard the first chapter of the Tao, “The Tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao.” (So if you think you see the real Tao, kill it and move on).