Buddhism: What's Hot Now: War and Buddhism

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War and Buddhism Jun 30th 2012, 11:08 To Buddhists, war is akusala -- unskillful, evil. Yet Buddhists sometimes fight in wars. Is war always wrong? Is there such a thing as a "just war" theory in Buddhism? Buddhists at War Buddhist scholars say there is no justification for war in Buddhist teaching. Yet Buddhism has not always separated itself from war. There is historic documentation that in 621 CE monks from the Shaolin Temple of China fought in a battle that helped establish the Tang Dynasty. In centuries past, the heads of Tibetan Buddhist schools formed strategic alliances with Mongol warlords and reaped benefits from the warlords' victories. The links between Zen Buddhism and samurai warrior culture were partly responsible for the shocking collusion of Zen and Japanese militarism in the 1930s and 1940s. For several years a virulent jingoism seized Japanese Zen, and teachings were twisted and corrupted to excuse killing. Zen institutions not only supported Japanese military aggression but raised money to manufacture war planes and weapons. Observed from a distance of time and culture, these actions and ideas are inexcusable corruptions of dharma, and any "just war" theory that arose from them were the products of delusion. This episode serves as a lesson to us not to be swept up in the passions of the cultures we live in. Of course, in volatile times that is easier said than done. In recent years Buddhist monks have been leaders of political and social activism in Asia. The Saffron Revolution in Burma and the March 2008 demonstrations in Tibet are the most prominent examples. Most of these monks are committed to nonviolence, although there are always exceptions. More troubling are the monks of Sri Lanka who lead the Jathika Hela Urumaya, "National Heritage Party," a strongly nationalist group that advocates a military solution to Sri Lanka's ongoing civil war. Is War Always Wrong? Buddhism challenges us to look beyond a simple right/wrong dichotomy. In Buddhism, an act that sows the seeds of harmful karma is regrettable even if it unavoidable. Sometimes Buddhists fight to defend their nations, home and family. This is not "wrong." Yet even in these circumstances, to harbor hate for one's enemies is still a poison. And any act of war that sows the seeds of future harmful karma is still akusala. Buddhist morality is based on principles, not rules. Our principles are those expressed in the Precepts and the Four Immeasurables -- loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. Our principles also are kindness, gentleness, mercy and tolerance. Even the most extreme circumstances do not erase those principles or make it "righteous" or "good" to violate them. Yet neither is it "good" or "righteous" to stand aside while innocent people are slaughtered. And the late Ven. Dr. K Sri Dhammananda, a Theravadin monks and scholar, said, "The Buddha did not teach His followers to surrender to any form of evil power be it a human or supernatural being." To Fight or Not to Fight In "What Buddhist Believe," the Venerable Dhammananda wrote, "Buddhists should not be the aggressors even in protecting their religion or anything else. They must try their best to avoid any kind of violent act. Sometimes they may be forced to go to war by others who do not respect the concept of the brotherhood of humans as taught by the Buddha. They may be called upon to defend their country from external aggression, and as long as they have not renounced the worldly life, they are duty-bound to join in the struggle for peace and freedom. Under these circumstances, they cannot be blamed for becoming soldiers or being involved in defence. However, if everyone were to follow the advice of the Buddha, there would be no reason for war to take place in this world. It is the duty of every cultured person to find all possible ways and means to settle disputes in a peaceful manner, without declaring war to kill his or her fellow human beings." As always in questions of morality, when choosing whether to fight or not to fight a Buddhist must examine his own motivations honestly. It is too easy and too common to rationalize one has pure motives when in fact one is fearful and angry. For most of us self-honesty on this level takes extraordinary effort and maturity, and history tells us that even senior priests with years of practice can lie to themselves. Love Your Enemy We are called upon also to extend loving kindness and compassion to our enemies, even when facing them on a battlefield. That's not possible, you say. Maybe it isn't; I can't say I've ever tried it myself. Yet this is our path. However, over the years I've met people who seem to think that one is obligated to hate one's enemies. I hear them say how can you speak well of someone who hates you? Well, if people want to hate me that's their business, but I can choose not to hate them back. And if you have to fight someone, then fight. But hate is extra. So often in human history, war has sewn seeds that ripened into the next war. And often, the battles themselves were less responsible for evil karma than the way occupying armies treated civilians, or the way the victor humiliated and oppressed the conquered. At the very least, when it is time to stop fighting, stop fighting. History shows us that the victor who treats the conquered with magnanimity, mercy and leniency is more likely to achieve the lasting victory and eventual peace. Buddhists in the Military Today there are more than 3,000 Buddhists serving in the U.S. armed forces, including some Buddhist chaplains. Today's Buddhist soldiers and sailors are not the first in the U.S. military. During World War II, approximately half of the troops in Japanese-American units such as the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Infantry were Buddhists. In the Spring 2008 issue of Tricycle, Travis Duncan wrote of the Vast Refuge Dharma Hall Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy. There are 26 cadets currently at the academy who practice Buddhism. At the dedication of the chapel, the Reverend Dai En Wiley Burch of the Hollow Bones Rinzai Zen school said, "Without compassion, war is a criminal activity. Sometimes it is necessary to take life, but we never take life for granted."

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Buddhism: What's Hot Now: What Is Dharma in Buddhism?

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What Is Dharma in Buddhism? Jun 30th 2012, 11:08 Dharma (Sanskrit) or dhamma (Pali) is a word Buddhists use often. It is the second gem of the three jewels -- Buddha, dharma, sangha. The word often is defined as "the teachings of the Buddha," but don't think of dharma as just a label for Buddhist doctrines. It means something more than that. The word dharma comes from the ancient religions of India and is found in Hindu and Jain teachings as well as Buddhist. Its original meaning is something like "natural law." Its root word, dham, means "to uphold" or "to support." In this broad sense, common to many religious traditions, dharma is that which upholds the natural order of the universe. This meaning is part of the Buddhist understanding also. Dharma also supports the practice of those who are in harmony with it. On this level, dharma refers to ethical conduct and righteousness. In some Hindu traditions, dharma is used to mean "sacred duty." For more on the Hindu perspective of the word dharma, see "What Is Dharma?" by Subhamoy Das, the Guide to Hinduism. Dhamma in Theravada Buddhism Theravadin monk and scholar Walpola Rahula wrote, "There is no term in Buddhist terminology wider than dhamma. It includes not only the conditioned things and states, but also the non-conditioned, the Absolute Nirvana. There is nothing in the universe or outside, good or bad, conditioned or non-conditioned, relative or absolute, which is not included in this term." [What the Buddha Taught (Grove Press, 1974), p. 58] Dhamma is the nature of what-is; the truth of what the Buddha taught. In Theravada Buddhism, as in the quote above, it is sometimes used to indicate all the factors of existence. Thanissaro Bhikkhu wrote that "Dhamma, on the external level, refers to the path of practice the Buddha taught to this followers" This dhamma has three levels of meaning: the words of the Buddha, the practice of his teaching, and the attainment of enlightenment. So, dhamma is not just doctrines; it is teaching plus practice plus enlightenment. The late Buddhadasa Bhikkhu taught that the word dhamma has a fourfold meaning. Dhamma takes in the phenomenal world as it is; the laws of nature; the duties to be performed in accordance with the laws of nature; and the results of fulfilling such duties. This aligns with the way dharma/dhamma was understood in the Vedas. Buddhadasa also taught that dhamma has six attributes. First, it was taught comprehensively by the Buddha. Second, all of us can realize dhamma through our own efforts. Third, it is timeless and present in every immediate moment. Fourth, it is open to verification and does not have to be accepted on faith. Fifth, it allows us o enter Nirvana. And sixth, it is known only through personal, intuitive insight. Dharma in Mahayana Buddhism Mahayana Buddhism generally uses the word dharma to refer to both the teachings of the Buddha and the realization of enlightenment. More often than not, use of the word takes in both meanings at once. To speak of someone's understanding of dharma is not to comment on how well that person can recite Buddhist doctrines but on his state of realization. In the Zen tradition, for example, to present or expound upon the dharma usually refers to presenting some aspect of the true nature of reality. Early Mahayana scholars developed the metaphor of "three turnings of the dharma wheel." This is a metaphor still in use in the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. It refers to three revelations of teachings. According to this metaphor, the first turning occurred when the historical Buddha delivered his first sermon on the Four Noble Truths. The second turning refers to the perfection of wisdom teaching, or sunyata, which emerged early in the first millennium. The third turning was the development of the doctrine that Buddha nature is the fundamental unity of existence, pervading everywhere. Mahayana texts sometimes use the word dharma to mean something like "manifestation of reality." A literal translation of the Heart Sutra contains the line "Oh, Sariputra, all dharmas [are] emptiness" (iha sariputra sarva dharma sunyata). Very basically, this is saying that all phenomena (dharmas) are empty (sunyata) of self-essence. You see this usage also in the Lotus Sutra; for example, this is from Chapter 1 (Kubo and Yuyama translation): I see bodhisattvas Who have perceived the essential character Of all dharmas to be without duality, Just like empty space. Here, "all dharmas" means something like "all phenomena." The Dharma Body Both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhists speak of the "dharma body" (dhammakaya or dharmakaya). This is also called the "truth body." Very simply, in Theravada Buddhism a buddha, an enlightgened being, is understood to be the living embodiment of dharma. This does not mean that a buddha's physical body (rupakaya) is the same thing as dharma, however. It's a bit closer to it to say that the dharma becomes visible or tangible in a buddha. In Mahayana Buddhism, the dharmakaya is one of the three bodies (trikaya) of a buddha. The dharmakaya is the unity of all things and beings, unmanifested, beyond existence and non-existence. In sum, the word dharma is nearly indefinable. But as much as it can be defined, we can say that dharma is both the essential nature of reality and also the teachings and practices that enable realization of that essential nature.

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Buddhism: What's Hot Now: Karma

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Karma Jun 30th 2012, 11:08 Definition: Karma means "intentional action" and refers to the universal law of cause and effect. Karma is created not only by physical action but also by thoughts and words. Just as action causes reaction, karma causes effects that come back to the original actor. Karma also tends to generate more karma that reaches out in all directions. We bear the consequences of the karma we create, but everyone around us is affected by our intentional acts as well, just as we are affected by theirs. Buddhists do not think of karma as "destiny" or as some kind of cosmic retribution system. Although the fruits of "good" karma might be pleasant and beneficial, all karma keeps one entangled in the cycle of death and rebirth. Actions free from desire, hate and delusion do not create karma. The enlightened being ceases to create karma and thus is liberated from rebirth. Alternate Spellings: Kamma

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Buddhism: What's Hot Now: Soka Gakkai

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Soka Gakkai Jun 29th 2012, 11:06 Most non-Buddhists who have heard of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) know it as Buddhism for the stars. If you saw the Tina Turner bio-flick “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” you saw a dramatization of Turner’s introduction to Soka Gakkai in the late 1970s. Other well-known members include actor Orlando Bloom; musicians Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter; and Mariane Pearl, the widow of Daniel Pearl. From its origins in pre-war Japan, Soka Gakkai has promoted personal empowerment and humanist philosophy combined with Buddhist devotion and practice. Yet as its membership grew in the West, the organization found itself struggling with dissension, controversy, and accusations of being a a cult. Origins of Soka Gakkai The first incarnation of Soka Gakkai, called Soka Kyoiku Gakkai ("Value-Creating Education Society"), was founded in Japan in 1930 by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944), an author and educator. Soka Kyoiku Gakkai was a lay organization dedicated to humanistic education reform that also embodied the religious teachings of Nichiren Shoshu, a branch of the Nichiren school of Buddhism. During the 1930s the military took control of the Japanese government, and a climate of militant nationalism gripped Japan. The government demanded that patriotic citizens honor the Japanese indigenous religion, Shinto. Makiguchi and his close associate Josei Toda (1900-1958) refused to participate in Shinto rituals and worship, and they were arrested as “thought criminals” in 1943. Makiguchi died in prison in 1944. After the war and his release from prison, Toda re-formed Soka Kyoiku Gakkai into Soka Gakkai ("Value-Creating Society") and shifted the focus from education reform to the promotion of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism. In the post-war era, many Japanese were attracted to Soka Gakkai because of its emphasis on self-empowerment through socially engaged Buddhism. Soka Gakkai International In 1960, Daisaku Ikeda, then 32 years old, became president of Soka Gakkai. In 1975 Ikeda expanded the organization into Soka Gakkai International (SGI), which today has affiliate organizations in 120 countries and an estimated global membership of 12 million. In the 1970s and 1980s SGI grew rapidly in the West through aggressive recruitment. Patrick Duffy, who played Bobby Ewing on the popular 1980s television series Dallas, became a convert and spoke glowingly of SGI in many widely read interviews. SGI also drew attention through splashy publicity events. For example, according to Daniel Golden of the Boston Globe (October 15, 1989), "NSA [Nichiren Shoshu of America, now known as SGI-USA] stole the show at Bush’s inauguration in January by displaying on the Washington Mall the world’s largest chair â€" a 39-foot-high model of the chair that George Washington sat in as he presided over the Continental Congress. The Guinness Book of World Records has twice cited NSA for assembling the most American flags ever in a parade, although in one mention it misidentified the group as 'Nissan Shoshu,' confusing the religious organization with the automaker." Is SGI a Cult? SGI came to widespread public attention in the West during the 1970s and 1980s, a time of growing concern about cults. For example, it was in 1978 that 900 members of the Peoples Temple cult committed suicide in Guyana. SGI, a rapidly growing, sometimes flamboyant non-western religious organization, looked suspiciously like a cult to many people and to this day remains on some cult watch lists. You can find diverse definitions of "cult," including some that say "any religion other than mine is a cult." You can find people who argue all of Buddhism is a cult. A checklist created by Marcia Rudin, M.A., a founding director of the International Cult Education Program, seems more objective. I have no personal experience with SGI, but over the years I've met many SGI members. They don't seem to me to fit the Rudin checklist. For example, SGI members are not isolated from the non-SGI world. They are not anti-woman, anti-child, or anti-family. They are not waiting for the Apocalypse. I do not believe they use deceptive tactics to recruit new members. Claims that SGI is bent on world domination are, I suspect, a tad exaggerated. Break With Nichiren Shoshu Soka Gakkai was not organized by Nichiren Shoshu, but after World War II Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu developed a mutually beneficial alliance. Over time, however, tensions grew between SGI President Ikeda and the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood over questions of doctrine and leadership. In 1991 Nichiren Shoshu formally renounced SGI and excommunicated Ikeda. News of the break with Nichiren Shoshu rippled like shock waves through the SGI membership. However, according to Richard Hughes Seager in Buddhism in America (Columbia University Press, 2000), a majority of American members remained with SGI. Before the break they had had little direct contact with the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood; SGI-USA had always been run by laypersons, and that did not change. Many of the issues causing the rift made little sense outside Japan. Further, Seager wrote, since the break with the priesthood SGI-USA has become more democratic and less hierarchical. New initiatives placed women in more leadership positions and enhanced SGI's racial diversity. SGI also has become less exclusionary. Seager continued, "Religious dialogue, both interreligious and inter-Buddhist, is now on the SGI agenda, which would not have been the case under the sectarian leadership of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood. All of these initiatives have contributed to an opening up of Soka Gakkai. A frequent statement in leadership circles is that a new, egalitarian SGI is a 'work in progress.'"

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Buddhism: What's Hot Now: Sutra

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Sutra Jun 29th 2012, 11:06 Definition: The name sutra (Sanskrit for "thread") in Buddhism originally was given only to the sermons of the historical Buddha. The sutras were recited from memory by the Buddha's disciple Ananda at the First Buddhist Council. From Ananda's memory they were collected in the part of the Tripitaka called the Sutra-pitaka. For more about how the Tripitaka originated, see "The First Buddhist Scriptures: The Tripitaka or Pali Canon." The Mahayana sutras, however, were most likely written no earlier than five centuries after the death of the Buddha, possibly later, which would seem to make them unlikely candidates for the title. Even so, they were written in the style of the original sutras as if Ananda had recited them. Those later sutras considered essential texts by at least some Mahayana schools are included in what is called the Northern or Mahayana Canon of sutras . To confuse matters further, there are some texts that are called sutras but are not. An example of this is the "Platform Sutra," which contains the biography and discourses of the 7th century Ch'an master Hui Neng. The work is one of the treasures of Ch'an and Zen literature. It is generally and cheerfully agreed that the Platform Sutra is not, in fact, a sutra, but it is called a sutra nonetheless. Alternate Spellings: Sutta

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Buddhism: What's Hot Now: Brahma-vihara

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Brahma-vihara Jun 29th 2012, 11:06 The practice of compassion is essential to Buddhism, and the practice of compassion begins with the cultivation of compassion within. The Buddha taught his monks to arouse four states of mind, called the "Brahma-vihara" or "four divine states of dwelling." These four states are sometimes called the "Four Immeasurables" or the "Four Perfect Virtues." The four states are metta (loving kindness), karuna (compassion), mudita (sympathetic joy) and upekkha (equanimity), and in many Buddhist traditions they are cultivated through meditation. These four states inter-relate and support each other. Metta, Loving Kindness "Here, monks, a disciple dwells pervading one direction with his heart filled with loving-kindness, likewise the second, the third, and the fourth direction; so above, below and around; he dwells pervading the entire world everywhere and equally with his heart filled with loving-kindness, abundant, grown great, measureless, free from enmity and free from distress." -- The Buddha, Digha Nikaya 13 The importance of metta in Buddhism cannot be overstated. Metta is benevolence toward all beings, without discrimination or selfish attachment. By practicing metta, a Buddhist overcomes anger, ill will, hatred and aversion. According to the Metta Sutta, a Buddhist should cultivate for all beings the same love a mother would feel for her child. This love does not discriminate between benevolent people and malicious people. It is a love in which"I" and "you" disappear, and where there is no possessor and nothing to possess. Karuna, Compassion "Here, monks, a disciple dwells pervading one direction with his heart filled with compassion, likewise the second, the third and the fourth direction; so above, below and around; he dwells pervading the entire world everywhere and equally with his heart filled with compassion, abundant, grown great, measureless, free from enmity and free from distress." -- The Buddha, Digha Nikaya 13 Karuna is active sympathy extended to all sentient beings. Ideally, karuna is combined with prajna (wisdom), which in Mahayana Buddhism means the realization that all sentient beings exist in each other and take identity from each other (see shunyata). Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is the embodiment of compassion. Theravada scholar Nyanaponika Thera said, "It is compassion that removes the heavy bar, opens the door to freedom, makes the narrow heart as wide as the world. Compassion takes away from the heart the inert weight, the paralyzing heaviness; it gives wings to those who cling to the lowlands of self." Mudita, Sympathetic Joy "Here, monks, a disciple dwells pervading one direction with his heart filled with sympathetic joy, likewise the second, the third and the fourth direction; so above, below and around; he dwells pervading the entire world everywhere and equally with his heart filled with sympathetic joy, abundant, grown great, measureless, free from enmity and free from distress." -- The Buddha, Digha Nikaya 13 Mudita is taking sympathetic or altruistic joy in the happiness of others. The cultivation of mudita is an antidote to envy and jealousy. Mudita is not discussed in Buddhist literature nearly as much as metta and karuna, but some teachers believe the cultivation of mudita is a prerequisite for developing metta and karuna. Upekkha, Equanimity "Here, monks, a disciple dwells pervading one direction with his heart filled with equanimity, likewise the second, the third and the fourth direction; so above, below and around; he dwells pervading the entire world everywhere and equally with his heart filled with equanimity, abundant, grown great, measureless, free from enmity and free from distress." -- The Buddha, Digha Nikaya 13 Upekkha is a mind in balance, free of discrimination and rooted in insight. This balance is not indifference, but active mindfulness. Because it is rooted in insight of anatman, it is not unbalanced by the passions of attraction and aversion.

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Buddhism: Dharma, an Indefinable Word

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Dharma, an Indefinable Word Jun 28th 2012, 11:15 I've been writing an article on the meaning and usage of the word dharma. It's an essential word that we all use, but we don't always define it. And what definitions there are usually sell the word short. The standard glossary definition of "dharma" is "the teachings of the Buddha." But that's a really bad definition. It isn't incorrect, but it conveys the misunderstanding that "dharma" is synonymous with "doctrine." The Sanskrit word dharma is taken from the pre-Hindu Vedas. Its original meaning is something like "natural law," from a root word that means "to uphold." In this sense, dharma is the name we give to whatever holds the universe together and causes everything to be as it is. Those of you who have dabbled in Taoism might see a resemblance to the Tao. In Buddhist usage, most of the time dharma refers to both the Buddha's teachings and the true nature of reality revealed by those teachings. It's important to understand that those meanings are linked together. An intellectual presentation of Buddhist doctrines that shows us nothing about the true nature of reality is not a presentation of dharma. In Zen, usually when we talk about someone's understanding of dharma we're referring to what that individual has realized; or, crudely put, his "degree" of awakening. The ability to present dharma as the true nature of reality distinguishes a master dharma teacher from a lecturer on Buddhist doctrines.

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Buddhism: What's Hot Now: Greed and Desire

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Greed and Desire Jun 28th 2012, 11:14 It's fair to say that in Buddhism, greed is not good. Greed is one of the Three Poisons that lead to evil (akusala) and that bind us to suffering (dukkha). It also is one of the Five Hindrances to enlightenment. Defining Greed I've noticed that many English translations of the old Pali and Sanskrit texts use the words "greed" and "desire" interchangeably, and I want to come back to that in a bit. But first let's look at the English words. The English word "greed" usually is defined as attempting to possess more than one needs or deserves, especially at the expense of others. We're taught from childhood that we shouldn't be greedy. To "desire," however, is simply to want something very much. Our culture doesn't attach a moral judgment to desire. On the contrary, desire in the romantic sense is celebrated in music, art and literature. A desire for material possessions also is encouraged, and not just through advertising. People who have earned wealth and the possessions that go with it are held up as role models. The old Calvinist notion that wealth accrues to people who are worthy of it still clanks about in our collective cultural psyche and conditions how we think about wealth. Desiring things isn't "greedy" if we feel we deserve those things. From a Buddhist perspective, however, the distinction between greed and desire is artificial. To want passionately is a hindrance and a poison, whether one "deserves" the thing wanted or not. Sanskrit and Pali In Buddhism, more than one Pali or Sanskrit word is translated as "greed" or "desire." When we speak of the greed of the Three Poisons, the word for "greed" is lobha. This is an attraction to something that we think will gratify us. As I understand it, lobha is fixating on a thing we think we need to make us happy. For example, if we see a pair of shoes we think we must have, even though we have a closet full of perfectly good shoes, that is lobha. And, of course, if we buy the shoes we may enjoy them for a time, but soon enough we forget the shoes and want something else. The word translated "greed" or "desire" in the Five Hindrances is kamacchanda (Pali) or abhidya (Sanskrit), which refers to sensual desire. This kind of desire is a hindrance to the mental concentration one needs to realize enlightenment. The Second Noble Truth teaches that trishna (Sanskrit) or tanha (Pali) -- thirst or craving -- is the cause of stress or suffering (dukkha). Related to greed is upadana, or clinging. More specifically, upadana are attachments that cause us to remain wandering in samsara, bound to birth and rebirth. There are four main types of upadana -- attachment to senses, attachment to views, attachment to rites and rituals, and attachment to a belief in a permanent self. The Danger of Desire Because our culture implicitly values desire, we are unprepared for its dangers. As I write this, the world is reeling from a financial meltdown, and entire industries are on the edge of collapse. The crisis has many causes, but a big one is that a great many people made a great many very bad decisions because they got greedy. But because our culture looks to money-makers as heroes -- and money makers believe themselves to be wise and virtuous -- we don't see the destructive force of desire until it is too late. The Trap of Consumerism Much of the world's economy is fueled by desire and consumption. Because people buy things, things must be manufactured and marketed, which gives people jobs so they have money to buy things. If people stop buying things, there is less demand, and people are laid off their jobs. Corporations that make consumer goods spend fortunes developing new products and persuading consumers through advertising that they must have these new products. Thus greed grows the economy, but as we see from the financial crisis, greed also can destroy it. How does a lay Buddhist practice Buddhism in a culture fueled by desire? Even if we are moderate in our own wants, a great many of us depend on other people buying stuff they don't need for our jobs. Is this "right livelihood"? Manufacturers cut the cost of products by underpaying and exploiting workers, or by "cutting corners" needed to protect the environment. A more responsible company may not be able to compete with an irresponsible one. As consumers, what do we do about this? It's not always an easy question to answer. A Middle Way? To live is to want. When we are hungry, we want food. When we are tired, we want rest. We want the company of friends and loved ones. There is even the paradox of wanting enlightenment. Buddhism doesn't ask us to renounce companionship or the things we need to live. The challenge is to distinguish between what is wholesome -- taking care of our physical and psychological needs -- and what is unwholesome. And this takes us back to the Three Poisons and the Five Hindrances. We don't have to run screaming from all of life's pleasures. As practice matures, we learn to distinguish between the wholesome and the unwholesome -- what supports our practice and what hinders it. This in itself is practice. Certainly, Buddhism does not teach that there is anything wrong with working to earn money. Monastics give up material possession, but laypeople do not. The challenge is to live in a material culture without getting snared by it. It isn't easy, and we all stumble, but with practice, desire loses its power to jerk us around.

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Buddhism: What's Hot Now: Jataka Tales

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Jataka Tales Jun 28th 2012, 11:14 So did you hear the one about the monkey and the crocodile? What about the story of the contended quail? Or the rabbit in the moon? Or the hungry tigress? These stories are from the Jataka Tales, a large body of stories about the earlier lives of the Buddha. Many are in the form of animal fables that teach something about morality, not unlike Aesop's fables. Many of the stories are charming and light-hearted, and some of these have been published in sweetly illustrated children's books. However, not all of the stories are suitable for children; some are dark and even violent. Where did the Jatakas originate? The stories come from multiple sources and have a multitude of authors. Like other Buddhist literature, the many stories can be divided into "Theravada" and "Mahayana" canons. The Theravada Jataka Tales The oldest and largest collection of Jataka Tales is in the Pali Canon. They are found in the Sutta-pitaka ("basket of sutras") part of the canon, in a section called the Khuddaka Nikaya, and they are presented there as the record of the Buddha's past lives. Some alternative versions of the same stories are scattered about in other parts of the Pali Canon. The Khuddaka Nikaya contains 547 verses arranged in order of length, shortest to longest. The stories are found in commentaries to the verses. The "final" collection as we know it today was compiled about 500 CE, somewhere in southeast Asia, by unknown editors. The overall purpose of the Pali Jatakas is to show how the Buddha lived many lives with the goal of realizing enlightenment. The Buddha was born and reborn in the forms of humans, animals, and superhuman beings, but always he made a great effort to reach his goal. Many of these poems and stories come from much older sources. Some of the stories are adapted from a Hindu text, Panchatantra Tales, written by Pandit Vishu Sharma around 200 BCE. And it is probable many of the other stories are based on folk tales and other oral traditions that have otherwise been lost." Storyteller Rafe Martin, who has published several books of Jataka Tales, wrote, "Formed of fragments of epics and hero tales arising from deep in the collective Indian past, this already ancient material was taken over and revised, reworked, and reused by later Buddhist storytellers for their own purposes" (Martin, The Hungry Tigress: Buddhist Myths, Legends, and Jataka Tales, p. xvii). The Mahayana Jataka Tales What some call the Mahayana Jataka stories are also called the "apocryphal" Jatakas, indicating they come from unknown origins outside the standard collection (the Pali Canon). These stories, usually in Sanskrit, were written over the centuries by many authors. One of the best known collections of these "apocryphal" works does have a known origin. The Jatakamala ("garland of Jatakas"; also called the Bodhisattvavadanamala) probably was composed in the 3rd or 4th century CE. The Jatakamala contains 34 Jatakas written by Arya Sura (sometimes spelled Aryasura). The stories in the Jatakamala focus on the perfections, especially those of generosity, morality, and patience. Although he is remembered as a skillful and elegant writer, little is known about Arya Sura. One old text preserved at the University of Tokyo says he was the son of a king who renounced his inheritance to become a monk, but whether that is true or a fanciful invention no one can say. The Jataka Tales in Practice and Literature Through the centuries these stories have been much more than fairy tales. They were, and are, taken very seriously for their moral and spiritual teachings. Like all great myths, the stories are as much about ourselves as they are about the Buddha. As Joseph Campbell said, "Shakespeare said that art is a mirror held up to nature. And that's what it is. The nature is your nature, and all of these wonderful poetic images of mythology are referring to something in you." ["Joseph Campbell: The Power of Myth, with Bill Moyers,"PBS ] The Jataka Tales are portrayed in dramas and dance. The Ajanta Cave paintings of Maharashtra, India (ca. 6th century CE) portray Jataka Tales in narrative order, so that people walking through the caves would learn the stories. Jatakas in World Literature Many of the Jatakas bear a striking resemblance to stories long familiar in the West. For example, the story of Chicken Little -- the frightened chicken who thought the sky was falling -- is essentially the same story as one of the Pali Jatakas (Jataka 322), in which a frightened monkey thought the sky was falling. As the forest animals scatter in terror, a wise lion discerns the truth and restores order. The famous fable about the goose that laid golden eggs is eerily similar to Pali Jataka 136, in which a deceased man was reborn as a goose with gold feathers. He went to his former home to wind his wife and children from his past life. The goose told the family they could pluck one gold feather a day, and the gold provided well for the family. But the wife became greedy and plucked all the feathers out. When the feathers grew back, they were ordinary goose feathers, and the goose flew away. It is unlikely Aesop and other early storytellers had copies of the Jatakas handy. And it's unlikely that the monks and scholars who compiled the Pali Canon more than 2,000 years ago ever heard of Aesop. Perhaps the stories were spread by ancient travelers. Perhaps they were built from fragments of the first human stories, told by our paleolithic ancestors. Read More -- Three Jataka Tales: The Selfless Hare The Golden Deer The Golden Mallard

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Buddhism: Shaping the Container

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Shaping the Container Jun 27th 2012, 18:24 Most of the people fired up to "westernize" Buddhism (or "naturalize" it, which amounts to the same thing) argue about changing the philosophical foundations and teachings. Basically, they want to bring Buddhism into line with western cultural bias. (My drawing abilities arrested sometime in the third grade, but if I could draw, I would draw this cartoon: Imagine a western philosopher sitting at a table. On the table is a cube labeled "western philosophy" and a ball labeled "Buddhism." The philosopher frowns at the ball, picks it up, and begins to pinch off the parts he doesn't like while re-shaping other parts. Pretty soon he's turned the ball into a cube that looks just like the other cube. And then he says, "Hey! This Buddhism thing is OK after all!") I think the real work of "westernizing" Buddhism is more about re-shaping the container, not changing the contents. Buddhist teachers sometimes speak of "containers" of the dharma. A dharma center is a container. Practice is a container. A lineage is a container. Buddhist institutions are containers that have served to pass the dharma along from one generation to the next. In "A Thought or Two on Zen Training in the West," Zen teacher / Unitarian Universalist minister James Ford writes about traditional Zen monastic training as a very tight container. Sometimes it "works," and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't work, people can be "twisted to the container without ever quite getting it." Often what passes for Zen in the West has hardly any container at all, however, and the result is more Zen Lite than Zen. And a lot of the reason for that, I think, is the Zen Mystique that grew out of the "beat Zen" phase of the 1950s; I wrote about this in the last post. The Rev. Ford writes that there is a "growing fringe of Zen teachers in the West with people who have credentials, and sometimes just making 'em up, but whatever the credentials, who lack much by way of serious practice leading to those titles. When challenged they make romantic assertions and proof text quote references to how it's all about awakening, and training doesn't matter." In other words, they don't see the need for the container. This is bigger than just Zen; I run into romantics keen to smash all kinds of traditional dharma containers. Still, the Rev. Ford says, what he sees emerging in the West is "really rich and really interesting." In Zen, what's emerging is more centered in lay practice than monastic practice. There have been Zen lay practitioners since there has been Zen, but nothing on the scale that's being attempted in the West. So already we're re-shaping the container. Can we make it work?  I think we can. Key, I think, is forming communities of practitioners, preferably with a teacher close at hand. By "communities" I don't necessarily mean that we'd all be living in an ashram together, just near each other. Communities are containers. However, the old containers are critically important. If we get sloppy at this point, much could be lost. This means respecting lineage and maintaining ties to Asian traditions. The Rev. Ford says that without a larger tradition, the container can become mere capriciousness, making it up as we go along. There's a lot of that going on already.

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Buddhism: What's Hot Now: The Five Dhyani Buddhas: Vairocana Buddha

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The Five Dhyani Buddhas: Vairocana Buddha Jun 27th 2012, 11:06 Vairocana Buddha is sometimes called the primordial Buddha or supreme Buddha. He represents the wisdom of shunyata, "emptiness." He is considered a personification of the dharmakaya -- everything, unmanifested, free of characteristics and distinctions. When the Dhyani Buddhas are pictured together in a mandala, Vairocana is at the center. Vairocana is white, representing all colors, and his his symbol is the Dharma wheel. His hand mudra represents the turning of the wheel. He is associated with the first skandha, form. Meditation on Vairocana vanquishes ignorance.

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Buddhism: What's Hot Now: Four Dharma Seals

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Four Dharma Seals Jun 27th 2012, 11:06 In the 26 centuries since the life of the Buddha, Buddhism has developed into diverse schools and sects. As Buddhism reached into new regions of Asia it often absorbed remnants of older regional religions. Many local "folk Buddhisms" sprang up that adopted the Buddha and the many iconic figures of Buddhist art and literature as gods, without regard to their original meaning. Sometimes new religions sprang up that were Buddhist in appearance but which retained little of the Buddha's teachings. On the other hand, sometimes new schools of Buddhism arose that approached the teachings in fresh and robust new ways, to the disapproval of traditionalists. Questions arose -- what is it that distinguishes Buddhism as a distinctive religion? When is "Buddhism" actually Buddhism? Those schools of Buddhism based on the Buddha's teachings accept the Four Seals of Dharma as the distinction between true Buddhism and "sorta looks like Buddhism." Further, a teaching that contradicts any of the Four Seals is not a true Buddhist teaching. The Four Seals are: All compounded things are impermanent. All stained emotions are painful. All phenomena are empty. Nirvana is peace. Let's look at them one at a time. 1. All Compounded Things Are Impermanent Anything that is assembled of other things will come apart -- a toaster, a building, a mountain, a person. The timetables may vary -- certainly a mountain may remain a mountain for 10,000 years. But even 10,000 years is not "always." The fact is that the world around us, which seems solid and fixed, is in a state of perpetual flux. Well, of course, you may say. Why is this so important to Buddhism? Thich Nhat Hanh wrote that impermanence makes all things possible. Because everything changes, there are seeds and flowers, children and grandchildren. A static world would be a dead one. Mindfulness of impermanence leads us to the teaching of dependent origination. All the compounded things are part of a limitless web of interconnection that is constantly changing. Phenomena become because of conditions created by other phenomena. Elements assemble and dissipate and re-assemble. Nothing is separate from everything else. Finally, being mindful of the impermanence of all compounded things, including ourselves, helps us accept loss, old age and death. This may seem pessimistic, but it is realistic. There will be loss, old age and death whether we accept them or not. 2. All Stained Emotions Are Painful. His Holiness the Dalai Lama translated this seal "all contaminated phenomena are of the nature of suffering." The word "stained" or "contaminated" refers to actions, emotions and thoughts conditioned by selfish attachment, or by hate, greed and ignorance. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, a Bhutanese lama and filmmaker, said, "All emotions are pain. All of them! Why? Because they involve dualism. This is a big subject now. This we have to discuss for a while… From the Buddhist point of view, as long as there is a subject and object, as long as there is a separation between subject and object, as long as you divorce them so to speak, as long as you think they are independent and then function as subject and object, that is an emotion, which includes everything, almost every thought that we have." It is because we see ourselves as separate from other things that we desire them, or are repulsed by them. This is the teaching of the Second Noble Truth, which teaches that the cause of suffering is craving or thirst (tanha). Because we divide the world into subject and object, me and everything else, we continually grasp for things we think are separate from ourselves to make us happy. But nothing ever satisfies us for long. 3. All Phenomena Are Empty. Another way to say this is that nothing has intrinsic or inherent existence, including ourselves. This relates to the teaching of anatman, also called anatta. Theravada and Mahayana Buddhists understand anatman somewhat differently. Theravada scholar Walpola Rahula explained, "According to the Buddha's teaching, it is as wrong to hold the opinion 'I have no self' (which is the annihilationist theory) as to hold the opinion 'I have a self' (the eternalist theory), because both are fetters, both arising out of the false idea 'I AM'. The correct position with regard to the question of Anatta is not to take hold of any opinion or views, but to try to see things objectively as they are without mental projections, to see that what we call 'I', or 'being', is only a combination of physical and mental aggregates, which are working together interdependently in a flux of momentary change within the law of cause and effect, and that there is nothing permanent, everlasting, unchanging and eternal in the whole of existence." (Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught, 2nd ed., 1974, p. 66) Mahayana Buddhism teaches the doctrine of shunyata, or "emptiness." Phenomena have no existence of their own and are empty of a permanent self. In shunyata, there is neither reality not not-reality; only relativity. However, shunyata also is an absolute reality that is all things and beings, unmanifested. 4. Nirvana Is Peace. The fourth seal sometimes is worded "Nirvana is beyond extremes." Walpola Rahula said "Nirvana is beyond all terms of duality and relativity. It is therefore beyond our conceptions of good and evil, right and wrong, existence and non-existence." (What the Buddha Taught, p. 43) Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche said, "In many philosophies or religions, the final goal is something that you can hold on to and keep. The final goal is the only thing that truly exists. But nirvana is not fabricated, so it is not something to be held on to. It is referred to as 'beyond extremes.'" Nirvana is defined in diverse ways by the various schools of Buddhism. But the Buddha taught that Nirvana was beyond human conceptualization or imagination, and discouraged his students from wasting time in speculations about Nirvana. This Is Buddhism The Four Seals reveal what is unique about Buddhism among all the world's religions. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche said, "Whoever holds these four [seals], in their heart, or in their head, and contemplates them, is a Buddhist."

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Buddhism: What's Hot Now: Beginner Zen Books

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Beginner Zen Books Jun 27th 2012, 11:06 There are truckloads of books about Zen, but many assume the reader already knows something about Zen. And, unfortunately, many other were written by people who don't know something about Zen. If you are a genuine beginner and don't know a zabuton from zucchini, here are some books for you. 1. The Miracle of Mindfulness, by Thich Nhat Hanh Strictly speaking, this little book by the Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh is not about Zen. It's more of an introduction to mindfulness and Mahayana. But in the West, this seems to be the book that everyone reads before they show up at the Zen center. I read a review of A Miracle of Mindfulness that said it was not about Buddhism. It is; it's just written in such a way that non-Buddhist readers might not recognize that it's about Buddhism. Certainly it's a book that can be appreciated by non-Buddhists. But for me, it was the book that told me Buddhism might be my religion. Most of all, this book holds out the hope that practice can be integrated into anyone's life, no matter how bleeped up it is. 2. The Eight Gates of Zen, by John Daido Loori, Roshi This book is as close as you're going to get to a nuts-and-bolts explanation of formal Zen training. It's wonderfully clear and keeps Zenspeak to a minimum, yet there's depth to it as well. I recommend this book in particular to people in the "why do I need a Zen teacher to do Zen?" phase. Of course, you don't need a Zen teacher. You don't need to brush your teeth or tie your shoes, either, unless you want to keep your teeth or not trip over your shoelaces. It's up to you. This book explains zazen, the Zen teacher-student relationship, Zen literature, Zen ritual, Buddhist morality, Zen arts (including martial arts) and how all of these tie into the everyday life of a Zen student, in or out of a monastery. 3. Taking the Path of Zen, by Robert Aitken, Roshi Robert Aitken is one of my favorite Zen teacher-writers. His explanations of even the most vexatious koan can be wonderfully accessible. Taking the Path of Zen covers much of the same territory as Daido Roshi's Eight Gates of Zen. The difference is that Aitken's book might be better for someone who's already got a foot in the door at a Zen center. In the Preface, the author says "My purpose in this book is to provide a manual that may be used, chapter by chapter, as a program of instruction over the first few weeks of Zen training." It does, however, provide a nice preview of what the first few weeks of Zen training are like. 4. Other Books Not for Beginners Nearly all "beginner" Zen book lists contain some books that I'm not putting on this list, for various reasons. The first is Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. It is a wonderful book, but in spite of the title it is not a good book for beginners. Sit one or two sesshins first, and then read it. I am ambivalent about Philip Kapleau's Three Pillars of Zen. It's very good, but it gives the impression, I think, that the koan Mu is the be-all and end-all of Zen, which is very much not the case. Alan Watts was a great writer, but his writings on Zen don't always reflect a clear understanding of Zen. If you want to read Watts's books on Zen for fun and inspiration that's fine, but don't read him as an authority on Zen.

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Buddhism: The "Crazy Cloud" Fog of Zen

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The "Crazy Cloud" Fog of Zen Jun 26th 2012, 13:47 We talked recently about the "crazy wisdom" traditions in Buddhism. At Patheos, Justin Whitaker has a post touching on crazy wisdom called "Eccentric Buddhist Masters" that I want to address and compare to another post at Patheos by James Ford, "A Thought or Two on Zen Training in the West." (Note that Whitaker is commenting on the book The Making of Buddhist Modernism by David McMahan, which I discussed in several blog posts last November; here is one. On the whole I find Whitaker's criticism puzzling; I think he's reading things into McMahan that aren't there. But for now I just want to address the issue of "eccentric masters.") James Ford writes that in traditional Asian Zen, "the container for Zen training is very tight": "One enters the monastery and from that moment every single aspect of one's life is controlled. And this means everything from brushing one's teeth to going to the toilet. Even your bed is not your own. The Rinzai wrinkle appears to include virtually no instruction. Soto doesn't provide much more. Rebuke becomes the major currency. ... "...In this way one just does it. There's your pillow. Sit down. Why is not a question. How is not explored in any detail. Doing is all." This control may not be apparent to someone visiting a Zen monastery and just watching the goings-on. But even in my experience at an American monastery, I've gotten a taste of this. When it's time to sit, you sit. When it's time to light incense you light incense, and you do it in a very specific, ritualized way. And so on. Nobody explains why; you accept it and do it. Victor Sogen Hori writes, "A Japanese Zen monastery, on the other hand, substantially discounts rational teaching and learning and teaches both ritual formalism and mystical insight. In fact, it teaches mystical insight by means of ritual formalism." "Teaching mystical insight by means of ritual formalism" is a pretty good one-sentence explanation of Zen training. Taigen Dan Leighton says that Dogen saw even Zen meditation, zazen, as an "enactment ritual." My impression is that this is the generally accepted view within Soto Zen. But to say that traditional Zen monastic training amounts to one ritual after another -- which it pretty much does -- flies in the face of popular western views of Zen. Western "pop" Zen isn't anything like religion, you know. And Zen "masters" are these cool, inscrutable guys who don't conform to social conventions. Yes, there is a tradition of eccentric masters even in Japanese Zen, fellows who broke rules and social convention without inhibition. However, I suspect that for every "crazy cloud" Zen teacher there have been a hundred or more hard asses who would take a monk's head off (figuratively speaking) for not bowing correctly. So where did the western popular view of Zen come from? And the answer is that Zen was introduced to the West largely by the "beats" such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and also Alan Watts, who romanticized the "crazy wisdom" tradition of Zen because it  and blew it way out of proportion. As I wrote in the earlier post, unconventional behavior by legendary eccentric masters should be understood in the context of their times and cultures. A realized master such as Ikkyu, who was "crazy" in 15th century Japan, was perhaps a tonic to an overly rigid social order. And it's easy to see how this appealed to the beats, who were pushing back against the rigidly conformist, gray-flannel-suit 1950s. But the crazy wisdom stuff, while present in Zen, is not necessarily representative of Zen. And to define Zen as being primarily about being freed of social convention is a bit like defining an elephant as an animal with a rope-like tail. It's not completely inaccurate, but it doesn't really tell you anything useful about elephants.  Unlike some other Buddhist traditions, Zen was not first established in the West in ethnic Asian communities, as Whitaker implies. The Chan/Zen tradition was not popular among the Asian immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It's true that a handful of Zen teachers came to America before World War II and had a small number of students. But I believe the only permanent Zen center of any sort established in the U.S. before World War II was the Buddhist Society of America (now the First Zen Institute of America), which was launched in New York City in 1930. The founder, Sokei-an, was Japanese, but the officers and members of the institute mostly were white converts.  After that, I do not believe any other permanent Zen centers or monasteries were established anywhere in America, including in ethnic Asian communities, until after World War II and the "beat Zen" phase. And then Zen largely was embraced by white western converts who had read Kerouac and Watts. A small part of those early Zen enthusiasts would drop their beat Zen romanticism and go on to formal training. But the popular crazy cloud cool beat Zen romantic ideal lingers in popular imagination to this day, and it gets in the way of seeing Zen as it is. And as I remember this was McMahan's point, which Whitaker utterly misses. I want to say some more about what James Ford wrote, but I will save it for the next post.

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