The Buddhism Community

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:32:49 GMT

Would anyone mind explaining to me what a Vanaram is?
I have a building close to me thats calling itself a 'Buddha Vanaram, Buddhist Monastery. I've been googling this all afternoon and I'm so interested in learning about this! I drive by every now and again and see Monks checking the mail box. Its really something that brightens my day. :)

Zen Party!

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:53:17 GMT

Does anyone have any awesome ideas for Buddhist themed parties?

Slaughtered cows

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:27:47 GMT

I've been a meat-eater all my life, but in recent years I've slowly been getting more and more into Buddhism and that first precept of non-harm to living beings & developing compassion has me leaning towards vegetarianism. I went on a week long meditation retreat where all the food was vegetarian, and ever since I've been back I can't get the image of cows and chickens leading horrible lives on factory farms out of my head.

Problem is, I've always been a bit fussy about food & I don't really like most veggies. I'm one of those people who pluck tomatoes & cucumbers off her salad. A lot of the "hippie-health food" stuff turns me off too - like tofu, millet, miso, tahini, lentils etc etc etc. Plus neither my boyfriend or I cook much, or have much time to, so long complicated recipes don't work well for me. I know I know, I sound like a huge complainer...but I worry about being able to stay healthy if I cut out meat. I would pretty much be living on a diet of cheese quesedillas, pasta, yogurt, rice, humus and tomatoe soup. Since I don't like beans or soy a huge amount, most of my protein would be coming from dairy..don't know if that's good or not.

I feel like I can't be a "true" Buddhist if I am still eating meat. I know that labeling yourself as anything, even Buddhist or Vegetarian, is attachment in it's own way. But I'm having trouble reconciling my wanting to be compassionate to all creatures with taking on a vegetarian diet that would probably have me eating the same three foods all the time. I'd love to be able to just force-feed myself all the healthy non-meat food that's available...but to be realistic, I'd just gag on it and end up not eating. You can dress up an eggplant any way you want, I'm still not gonna like it.

Any advice/words of wisdom/good recipe books for those of you who might be in similar shoes of not liking veggies & such? Or easy meal ideas?

5 Year Old Teaches How to Chant

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:18:43 GMT

I've been researching different Mantras and kinds of Chanting. I happened to come across this:

Too cute!!

I hope people don't mind that I posted this. :X Let me know if you do.

"Did you never see..."

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:35:14 GMT

I'm having problems with this scripture. I think I have grips until the very last paragraph, where i'm completely lost. I understand the first paragraphs are trying to point out the impermanence of our bodies, but I feel like it's all leading up to a crescendo that i'm just not hearing. Literary criticism has never been my strong point...

This is adapted from the Majjhima Nikaya, translated by Nyanatiloka.

Did you never see in the world a man, or a woman, eighty, ninety, or a hundred years old, frail, crooked as a gable-root, bent down, resting on crutches, with tottering steps, infirm, youth long since fled, with broken teeth, gray and scanty hair or none, wrinkled, with blotched limbs? And did the thought never come to you that you also are subject to decay, that you also cannot escape it?

Did you never see in the world a man, or a woman, being sick, afflicted, grieviously ill, wallowing in his own filth, was lifted up by some and put to bed by others? And did the thought never come to you that you also are subject to disease, that you also cannot escape it?

Did you never see in the world the corpse of a man, or a woman, one or two or three days after death, swollen up, blue-black in color, and full of corruption? And did the thought never come to you that you also are subject to death, that you also cannot escape it?

Suppose a man who was notblind beheld the many bubbles of the Ganges as they drove along, and he watched them and carefully examined them, then after he had carefully examined them they would appear to him empty, unreal and substantial. In exactly the same way does the monk behold all physical phenomena, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and states of consciousness-- whether they be of the past, or the present, or the future, far or near. And he observes them, and examines them carefully; and, after carefully examining them, they appear to him empty, void, and without Self.

Denial and suffering

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:47:58 GMT

Commenting on an LJ friend's post about having a hard time bearing up under the weight of compassion the subject of YouTube came up when I refered her to "Unbearable Compassion" by my dear Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso, Rinpoche.

Curious, I googled and (after happening upon http://dpr.info ... my own teacher's new site) found a great YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/tenam15

Here's the part 1 of 8, a talk by the Dzogchen Ponlop, Rinpoche on "Mind Beyond Death":

Rinpoche drew attention to this quote:

"The truth that many people never understand until it is too late is that the more that you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt."
Thomas Merton [I'm guessing from "Zen and the Birds of Appetite"]

"Rain, O Sky!"

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:52:19 GMT

First of all, i'm new to this comm, so I wanted to say 'hello'!

Secondly, i've been reading through some Buddhist scriptures, and have come across some that I don't quite understand. If you all don't mind humoring me, i'd love some help with these once in a while.

This is a passage from the Sutta-Nipata, Translated by V. Fausboll, as found on http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/sbe10/

It seems like it's making a point, but I always have problems with the more parable-esque scriptures than ones that are more straightforward. Any insights are much appreciated!

1.
I have boiled (my) rice, I have milked (my cows),'--so said the herdsman Dhaniya,--'I am living together with my fellows near the banks of the Mahî (river), (my) house is covered, the fire is kindled: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!'

2.
'I am free from anger, free from stubbornness,'--so said Bhagavat,--'I am abiding for one night near the banks of the Mahî (river), my house is uncovered, the fire (of passions) is extinguished: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!'

3.
'Gad-flies are not to be found (with me),'--so said the herdsman Dhaniya,--'in meadows abounding with grass the cows are roaming, and they can endure rain when it comes: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!'

4.
'(By me) is made a well-constructed raft,'--so said Bhagavat,--'I have passed over (to Nibbâna), I have reached the further bank, having overcome the torrent (of passions); there is no (further) use for a raft: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!'

5.
'My wife is obedient, not wanton,'--so said the herdsman Dhaniya,--'for a long time she has been living together (with me), she is winning, and I hear nothing wicked of her: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!'

6.
'My mind is obedient, delivered (from all worldliness),'--so said Bhagavat,--'it has for a long time been highly cultivated and well-subdued, there is no longer anything wicked in me: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!'

7.
'I support myself by my own earnings,'--so said the herdsman Dhaniya,--'and my children are (all) about me, healthy; I hear nothing wicked of them: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!'

8.
'I am no one's servant,'--so said Bhagavat,--'with what I have gained I wander about in all the world, there is no need (for me) to serve: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!'

9.
'I have cows, I have calves,'-- so said the herdsman Dhaniya;--'I have cows in calf and heifers, and I have also a bull as lord over the cows: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!'

10.
'I have no cows, I have no calves,'--so said Bhagavat,--'I have no cows in calf and no heifers, and I have no bull as a lord over the cows: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!

11.
'The stakes are driven in, and cannot be shaken,'--so said the herdsman Dhaniya,--'the ropes are made of mu/ñg/a grass, new and well-made, the cows will not be able to break them: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!'

12.
'Having, like a bull, rent the bonds; having, like an elephant, broken through the galu/kkh/i creeper, I shall not again enter into a womb: therefore, if thou like, rain, O sky!'

Then at once a shower poured down, filling both sea and land. Hearing the sky raining, Dhaniya spoke thus:
13.
'No small gain indeed (has accrued) to us since we have seen Bhagavat; we take refuge in thee, O (thou who art) endowed with the eye (of wisdom); be thou our master, O great Muni!'

14.
'Both my wife and myself are obedient; (if) we lead a holy life before Sugata, we shall conquer birth and death, and put an end to pain.'

15.
'He who has sons has delight in sons,'--so said the wicked Mâra,--'he who has cows has delight likewise in cows; for upadhi (substance) is the delight of man, but he who has no upadhi has no delight.'

16.
'He who has sons has care with (his) sons,'--so said Bhagavat,--'he who has cows has likewise care with (his) cows; for upadhi (is the cause of) people's cares, but he who has no upadhi has no care.'

and now for some Buddhism

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:24:24 GMT

Can you dig it?

Edit: For those who don't recognize the guy in the video, this is none other than Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, a Soto Zen priest who was one of the first Buddhist teachers to teach large numbers of Western students in the Sixties. Certainly he had a big hand in the growth of the Buddhadharma here in the West. His dharma talks were collected into a couple of books which are among the best books about Zen in the English language. I think he's pretty awesome.

I'm new :)

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:47:20 GMT

I am really new at Buddhism, and I'm wanting to learn more about it. Is there any sort of books or websites you recommend for me to look at?
I am not any one religion, but a collection of many. I'm trying to broaden my insights on religion, and I'm working on them one at a time. :) (Is that OK in buddhism, by the way?) Though I think it fit more into buddhism more than any of them.
So any help is appreciated. Thank you! :)

Rosary Beads?

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:58:01 GMT

I was interested in knowing how many people use rosary beads (Juzu) in their practice of Buddhism? If you have them, where did you get them? I bought some inexpensive Juzu at the shops by Kiomizudera that I keep with my little statue of Buddha, and then I also ALWAYS wear two pieces of Juzu that I bought at temples in Kyoto. I haven't yet studied long enough to actually USE them, but I plan to eventually in the future. For now, the ones that I wear daily are just reminders to keep studying Buddhism. :)

(Crossposted to zen_buddhists)

Social Activism

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:48:45 GMT

Besides maybe trying to be nice to your family and co-workers, how else do you practice compassion? Do you volunteer at a soup kitchen? Are you a social activist of some kind? Would you set yourself on fire as a protest against war?

Are Buddhists obligated to try and change the world like Christians following the Social Gospel attempt to do?

Place of study

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:30:56 GMT

I am looking for a place where I can study about Buddhism and the Buddhist teachings. I am in Miami, Florida.

This past Sunday (yesterday) I attended a Buddhist meditation service?? It wasn't exactly what I had expected it to be.

We knelt down on meditation pillows did a few minutes of reading out loud, chanting, about 10 minutes of meditation and then we sang songs. This was my first time. Is this what usually happens? I expected more chanting and meditation.

I really want to find a place where I can study, chant, and meditate.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!

"What Makes You Not A Buddhist"

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:22:38 GMT

I'm currently reading "What Makes You Not A Buddhist." I remember reading a review of this book posted some time ago, and it wasn't favorable if I remember right based on a few differences in opinion.

However, I like one of the things that is mentioned in the book.

"Furthermore, Buddha realized that there was no almighty power who could reverse the path to death; therefore there was no hope to trap him. If there is no blind hope, there is also no disappointment."

I can see how that would turn anyone off about Buddhism or not accept that reality of Buddhism, and it's truly a scary thought when you think about it if you've never gone that deep.

Bodhichitta Teachings In Rastafari

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:58:34 GMT

I listen to a lot of dub reggae. When I spend time in dancing and singing meditations, I'm inclined to sing reggae songs of praise. Often the lyrics and ideas expressed in reggae music echos universal spiritual goals for all beings. My favorite reggae song is "Fisherman" by the Congos. The poor fisherman is an embodiment as well as a common lifestyle for virtuous rasta men that grow dread locks, eat an ital diet, and live by the teachings.

The chorus in "Fisherman":
row fisherman row
keep on rowing your boat
we've got to reach on higher grounds
rain is falling
we've got to reach on higher grounds

If you'd like to hear a version of this song, my current favorite version (there are many versions) can be heard in this youtube.

When I hear the term fisherman, to me this symbolizes the humble and virtuous follower of the way. When I listen to this particular song by the congos, I cannot help but consider the poetry involved is a metaphor for all beings as fishermen and that we all need encouragement to row our boats.

Time and things.

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:15:40 GMT

Temporal duration and the identity of objects through time do not exist outside of imagination. They are merely the mental constructions of the non-nirvanic mind. Actual reality involves no real duration, no real time-flow, no events that are side-by-side one another where some events are past, others are future, and one is present.(1)

For change to occur there must be substantial time.
If time is not substantial, then how can something change?

For a "thing" to change, a substantial "thing" must be found.
If not such substantial "thing" that is self-existent can be found, what is there to change?

All distinctions and ideas are mental constructs. Empty. If this is so, then so much more the treasured idea of "self".

If all things are empty, why do we use words? Because without words one does not awaken. If words are not explained, there is no understanding, so said Seng Rui. (2)

1)http://www.abstractatom.com/the_r_theory_of_time_by_jeff_grupp.htm (Page 55)
2)http://www.cbeta.org/result/normal/T30/1564_001.htm (Chinese; starting line T30n1564_p0001a08(00))

Kids Love Irony

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:54:47 GMT

I vow to never teach emptiness to those whose minds are unprepared.

— One of a list of Bodhisattva vows of the Gelukpa and Kagyu traditions of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism

I found this vow very interesting. Why do you think it would be dangerous to teach emptiness to the unprepared?

Put Dhamma In Your Pocket

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:32:23 GMT

Two of my three favorite books are Buddhist in nature. I like to chant often from the Ways Of Bodhisattva as well as the Dhammapada. What I've come to find is that there are many versions of both and that they can be very different in their translations.

For example, my favorite version of the Dhammapada thus far is the penguin classics version. I call this my favorite because the words seem to flow better for me thus aiding in a more fluid incantation. I have picked up a few other publishings such as the Shambhala pocket edition but haven't felt the same with them. Sometimes I pick them up instead of my favorite just to get myself out of its comfort zone. There is a certain magic in how the poetry flows from penguin classics Dhammapada. The first verse I ever read in it became my instant favorite.

from the Flowers Of Life(Flowers)
the perfume of flowers goes not against the wind
not even that of sandalwood, of rose-bay, or of jasmine.
But the perfume of virtue goes against the wind
And reaches unto the ends of the earth.

It is this very verse that I often(unfairly) compare other versions of the Dhammapada to.

Do you have a favorite text or version of texts that you chant/read from? If so, how did you arrive at it? Was your first love your favorite or did you sample a few before settling on 'the one'. Or maybe you have several versions and you change them out to keep things fresh?

Blob Theory and Buddhism

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:44:07 GMT

Lastly, blob theory involves the amazing position that mental states can only be propertyless and unstructured. This, of course, leads to the difficult-to-understand position that a self's empirical experiences of color patches, for example, are not actually happening, and if one could experience properly, experiencing what actually exists, one would experience a structureless, colorless, immaterial, and undifferentiated reality. This is, ironically, the very reality described by Advaita Vedanta, and by early Indian Buddhists (see abstract atomism for discussion).

http://www.abstractatom.com/blob_theory.htm

What we believe to be reality -- one ascertained through senses, generated by our brains and then processed by our consciousnesses -- is much like a dream, so it is often said. We map out a reality from the moment we take rebirth using the physical means that is a brain and then posit this map to be a truly existent reality. We objectify and create "things" that are thought to be independent from the rest of the universe in their own right. Ignorance gives rise to a self, which gives rise to afflictive emotions, which in turn give rise to the unsatisfactory condition of suffering.

I think the author above hits the nail on the head. Perhaps if we could experience this correctly then there are ultimately no substantial differentiations to be found between pain and pleasure, existence and non-existence, life and death, because no such differentiations are to be found outside a mind that erroneously posits them as having a kind of true, substantial reality.

As one Tibetan said, "Chair is lacking chair." Maybe we can also say, "Mind is lacking mind."

Monestaries and Communities in the US

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:08:25 GMT

Hi y'all,
So, over some of the next year, my roommate and I plan on doing a bit of a tour around the United States (some in CA and I'll be going, hopefully, across MX as well).
As such, I was wondering where y'all recommend.
Besides visiting friends and family, we're interested in Buddhist communities, Temples, or Monasteries.
Specifically, if you know a place with a good visitor policy, or a place that allows travelers to stay for cheap/free in exchange for work, etc. that would be best.
Thanks!
enku the soon-to-be wandering

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:14:25 GMT

About confusion, what guidance do the sutras give us?

(I didn't mean to phrase this like Yoda. It's just how the question was in my head.)

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:36:32 GMT

Shu jo mu hen sei gan do
Bon no mu jin sei gan dan
Ho mon mu ryo sei gan gaku
Butsu do mu jo sei gan jo

Beings are numberless; I vow to save them all.
Obstacles are countless; I vow to overcome them all.
Dharma gates are limitless; I vow to enter them all.
The Buddha Way is endless; I vow to follow it.

Last night on the way home I stopped at a drive-thru liquor store on 7th avenue. While I was idling in line a man approached my car to ask for money. His shirt and the side of his face were covered in dried blood. When I asked if he was hurt he bent over and showed me the wound on the side of his head, and said that he had been attacked and beaten with a lead pipe. I could see the white of his cracked skull showing through his blood matted hair. He didn't want me to call an ambulance. He just wanted a dollar.

I gave him the dollar then called the police as soon as I pulled out. The dispacher said he would send a car to check on him, and I hope that they found him and took him to a hospital. I hope that he is okay.

When I got home there was a man sleeping in the alley behind my complex. He has been there nearly every night for the last couple of weeks.

New Transmission Methods of the Dharma

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:47:26 GMT

Respect of teachings?

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:58:39 GMT

Over at e-sangha, there was a discussion about skepticism and whether we should have respect for the old buddhist teachings.

Now, I can believe a teaching, or I can reject it. I can be right in that or wrong, I might even end up in some hell-realm if I don't believe it - and perhaps no one can really decide the issue.

Still, I don't understand the concept of being respectful towards a TEACHING. Towards a human being, anytime. Towards all sentient beings - well *cough* working on it. But towards a TEACHING? I simply don't understand that. There are no feelings to hurt, there's no scar to be taken - it's just a concept. Why would I be respectful of a concept?

Any thoughts?

Приглашение к сотрудничеству в журнале "Удивительный Восток"

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:23:39 GMT

Журнал «Удивительный Восток» приглашает сотрудников – хороших пользователей Интернета – со знанием европейских, восточных и африканских языков для работы над рубрикой «Блоги». В данной рубрике мы публикуем записи из ЖЖ восточных людей, переведенные с европейских, восточных и африканских языков. Для публикации требуется тщательно отбирать блоги. Это должны быть не скучные описания, а довольно-таки любопытные наблюдения самих представителей восточных культур за теми или иными культурными, религиозными, социальными и другими реалиями жизни в своей стране, так сказать, жизнь изнутри, чего ни один турист и не всякий исследователь может подметить. Материал, содержащийся в блогах, должен быть удивительным и способным привлечь внимание человека, который не интересуется востоковедением и африканистикой.

Контакты:

(495)322-21-62

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Dogen Shobogenzo

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:04:58 GMT

Dogen's Shobogenzo in full English translation can be found here:

http://www.shastaabbey.org./shobogenzo1.htm