Sunday, February 28, 2010

Altars and flowers

My Dharma Brother Uku posted My Buddhist home altar on his blog today and it reminded me of an old story about plastic flowers and Zen Master Seung Sahn. I posted this as a comment on his blog and offer to those who have never read this story before. I have always favored imitation flowers for daily altar use, and have electric candles on my altar, for ceremonies I like real flowers which then go home with participants and guests.



One Sunday, while Zen Master Seung Sahn, who was called Daesŏnsa-nim by his students, was staying at the Chogye International Zen Center of New York. At that time there was a formal ceremony marking the end of one hundred days of chanting Kwanseum Bosal and many Korean women arrived before the ceremony to help with decorations and goodies for after the ceremony, so they had brought with them shopping bags full of food and presents.

One woman had brought a large bouquet of plastic flowers, which she presented smilingly to an American student of Daesŏnsa-nim’s. As soon as he was un-noticed by the mingling group, the student hid the flowers under a pile of coats in one of the guest rooms. Soon after that another woman found them and, with the greatest delight, walked into the Dharma Room and put them in a vase and placed them on the altar.

The student became upset and went to Daesŏnsa-nim and said, “Those plastic flowers are awful. May I take them off the altar and dump them somewhere?”

Daesŏnsa-nim said, “It is your mind that is plastic. The whole universe is plastic.” The student said, “What do you mean?” Daesŏnsa-nim said, “Buddha said, ‘When one mind is pure, the whole universe is pure; when one mind is tainted, the whole universe is tainted.’ Every day we meet people who are unhappy. When their minds are sad, everything that they see, hear, smell, taste, and touch is sad, the whole universe is sad. When the mind is happy, the whole universe is happy. If you desire something, then you are attached to it. If you reject it, you are just as attached to it. Being attached to a thing means that it becomes a hindrance in your mind. So ‘I don’t like plastic’ is the same as ‘I like plastic’—both are attachments. You do not like plastic flowers, so your mind has become plastic, and the whole universe becomes plastic. Relinquish your opinion and you won’t be hindered by anything. You will not care whether the flowers are real or plastic, whether they are on the altar or in the garbage pail. This is true freedom. A plastic flower is just a plastic flower. A real flower is just a real flower. You mustn’t be attached to name and form.”

The student said, “But we are trying to make a beautiful Zen center here, for all people. How can I not care? Those flowers spoil the whole room.”

Daesŏnsa-nim said, “If somebody gives real flowers to Buddha, Buddha is happy. If somebody else likes plastic flowers and gives them to Buddha, Buddha is also happy. Buddha is not attached to name and form, he does not care whether the flowers are real or plastic, and he only cares about the person’s mind. Those women who are offering plastic flowers have very pure minds, and their action is Bodhisattva action. Your mind rejects plastic flowers, so you have separated the universe into good and bad, beautiful and ugly. Therefore, your action is not Bodhisattva action.

Only keep Buddha’s mind. Then you will have no hindrance. Real flowers are no problem; plastic flowers are no problem. This mind is like the great ocean, into which all waters flow—the Hudson River, the Charles River, the Yellow River, Chinese water, American water, clean water, dirty water, salt water, clear water. The sea does not say, ‘Your water is dirty, you can’t flow into me.’ It accepts all waters and mixes them and all become ocean. Therefore, if you keep the Buddha mind, your mind will be like the great ocean. This is the great ocean of enlightenment.”

The student bowed and said, “I am very grateful for your teaching.”

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Friday, February 26, 2010

A Letter from Seung Sahn to a Student


Zen Master Seung Sahn had a very wide and broad mind, I think over the years many people have forgotten this fact. I came across this recently and felt it needed to be posted.

Dear William,
How are you and Dana? Thank you for your wonderful letter. I thought you were very busy, but you sent me a long letter. You make me so happy. Now I know your news and your experiences and your practicing.

In each sentence, your mind appears. That is your opinion. But this opinion is shining to others’ minds, so they understand what is the true direction. So, you are already a great Bodhisattva. You said don’t know is wonderful, that it has no beginning and no end. This is correct. Also, don’t know has no ignorance and no knowledge, also no Buddha, no God, no mind, and no universe. But, don’t be attached to don’t know. ONLY DON’T KNOW IS DON’T KNOW, which is just like this.

Just like this is: ignorance is ignorance; knowledge is knowledge; Buddha is Buddha; God is God; mind is mind; universe is universe. One by one, each thing is complete. Which means don’t know is complete. Then, you are complete. Then, everything is complete. Therefore, a dog is barking, a chicken crowing, and a car horn honking are all the truth. Already you understand. So we say don’t know means put it all down. Don’t check your mind and feelings; only go straight.

You said it was wonderful that teachers from different branches of the Zen tradition can work together. That is the correct opinion. That is wonderful. Your mind and my mind are the same. When I was in Los Angeles, Aitken Roshi and Maezumi Roshi came to Tahl Mah Sa Zen Center, and we had a very good time. At that time, I found that it was possible to work together with Maezumi Roshi and Aitken Roshi. Also, our direction is the same direction — very wide, not narrow.

Some Zen Masters do not send their students to other Zen Centers or allow them to have interviews with other Zen Masters. If they have interviews with another Zen Master, they will cut them off as their student. Their style is very strong, very narrow. They don’t understand wide space and infinite time. Their karma becomes hard and heavy. Finally, they cannot move. They are like wine that has gone sour. Nobody will drink it.

But, we are already doing together action. Maezumi Roshi’s students, Aitken Roshi’s students, and my students all can visit each others’ Zen Centers with no problem, no hindrance. So, I met you, and now, I am sending you a letter. How wonderful it is! 

Yours in the Dharma
S.S.

from Ten Gates by Zen Master Seung Sahn

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How are you?

I have always loved the forward that is in Zen Master Seung Sahn's Ten Gates which was written by Aitken Roshi. It strikes a chord with me because of my first meeting with Zen Master Seung Sahn. 


Some time in the early 1990's Zen Master Seung Sahn, gave a public talk which I had the privilege to attend: he kept talking about 'Don't Know' and 'Don't Know Mind' and my head was spinning out of control. I really didn’t know what this guy was talking about and I had problems fully understanding his Korean version of English, but I knew I wanted to attain the concepts he was putting forth. He was light hearted and he laughed constantly, even at himself. Nothing seemed to faze him, no question put to him caused him to return any type of conceptual answer. Everything he said rang true at some core of my being that I had never connected with. The next day I decided to join the Zen Center and drove back into Los Angeles to turn in the paperwork. I ran into Zen Master Seung Sahn in the living room, he was leaving with the Zen Center’s Head Monk, Musang Sunim, to go out to dinner. Musang Sunim introduced me to Zen Master Seung Sahn as the Center’s newest student having just joined the school. Zen Master Seung Sahn shook my hand and said, “How are you?” all I could find to say to this great man was “don’t know!” He immediately laughed very loudly and exclaimed; “Oh! So, you are a great Zen Student!” From this first encounter with this enigmatic teacher, I knew that I would dedicate my life to this path of Korean Zen. 


How are you?
Sŏnsa-nim begins his letters by asking “How are you?”, and his students take up the question too. “How are you?” they ask in turn in their letters to their teacher. We begin to notice this most routine of American greetings as though for the first time.
Does Sŏnsa-nim’s “How are you?” differ from his students’ “How are you?” Is their “How are you?” just an echo? Are they being imitation Sŏnsa-nims? If so, that won’t do. Sŏnsa-nim stands on his own feet, you stand on yours, I stand on mine.
If you stand on your own feet, then what do you say? “Fine!” might be all right, or maybe you are just temporizing. “Temporizing” there’s an interesting word. It means you are gaining time, but gaining time for what? The next question and the next temporizing? When will you come to terms?
“How are you?” “Fine!” That’s more like it. There are other questions like this in this book. Please pay attention.

Robert Aitken
Koko An Zendo, Honolulu
Spring Training Period, 1987

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Monday, February 22, 2010

On Kānhuà Chán



Dàhuì once said, “I cited Mazu’s comment; ‘It is not mind, it is not Buddha, it’s not a thing.’ and instructed my student to look into this matter. Moreover I added this explanation; you must not take this statement as the truth. Also, you must not take Mazu’s statement as something you do not need to know anything about. Do not take it as a flint struck spark or a lightening flash. Do not try to conceptualize the meaning of his statement. Do not try to figure it out within the context in which I originally brought it up. ‘It is not mind, it is not Buddha, it is not a thing; so, after all what is it?’”

The only possible direction for a Zen Student is that of total surrender. “You must in this moment break through this one thought—then and only then will you understand the meaning of birth and death. At this moment it will be called accessing your own awakening. You need only put it all down, all at once, your mind full of deluded thoughts and inverted thinking, your mind of logical discrimination, your mind that loves life and hates death, your mind of knowledge and views, interpretation and comprehension, and your mind that rejoices in stillness and turns away from disturbances.”

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Catholic Bishops rail against Reiki

from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Web Site


Reiki Therapy Unscientific, 'Inappropriate for Catholic Institutions,' Say Bishops' Guidelines

WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops have issued guidelines that call Reiki therapy, an alternative medicine originating in Japan, unscientific and inappropriate for Catholic institutions.
They outlined the position in "Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy." The guidelines were developed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Doctrine, chaired by Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Connecticut. They were approved by the USCCB Administrative Committee, March 24, during its spring meeting in Washington. The Administrative Committee is the authoritative body of the USCCB to approve committee statements.
The document can be found at http://www.usccb.org/dpp/doctrine.htm
The Guidelines describe Reiki as a healing technique "invented in Japan in the late 1800s by Mikao Usui, who was studying Buddhist texts." The guidelines state that "according to Reiki teaching, illness is caused by some kind of disruption or imbalance in one's 'life energy.' A Reiki practitioner effects healing by placing his or her hands in certain positions on the patient's body in order to facilitate the flow of Reiki, the 'universal life energy,' from the Reiki practitioner to the patient."
The Guidelines state that "Reiki lacks scientific credibility" and "has not been accepted by the scientific and medical communities as an effective therapy."
"Reputable scientific studies attesting to the efficacy of Reiki are lacking, as is a plausible scientific explanation as to how it could possibly be efficacious," they state.
The Guidelines note that "Reiki is frequently described as a 'spiritual' kind of healing as opposed to the common medical procedures of healing using physical means." They assert, however, that there is a radical difference between Reiki therapy and the healing by divine power in which Christians believe: "for Christians the access to divine healing is by prayer to Christ as Lord and Savior, while the essence of Reiki is not a prayer but a technique that is passed down from the 'Reiki Master' to the pupil, a technique that once mastered will reliably produce the anticipated results."
In sum, Reiki therapy "finds no support either in the findings of natural science or in Christian belief," the Guidelines state.
"For a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems," the Guidelines state. "In terms of caring for one's physical health or the physical health of others, to employ a technique that has no scientific support (or even plausibility) is generally not prudent."
The guidelines warn that in using Reiki for one's spiritual health, "there are important dangers."
"To use Reiki one would have to accept at least in an implicit way central elements of the worldview that undergirds Reiki theory, elements that belong neither to Christian faith nor to natural science. Without justification either from Christian faith or natural science, however, a Catholic who puts his or her trust in Reiki would be operating in the realm of superstition, the no-man's-land that is neither faith nor science," they state.
"Superstition corrupts one's worship of God by turning one's religious feeling and practice in a false direction," the Guidelines state. "While sometimes people fall into superstition through ignorance, it is the responsibility of all who teach in the name of the Church to eliminate such ignorance as much as possible."
"Since Reiki therapy is not compatible with either Christian teaching or scientific evidence, it would be inappropriate for Catholic institutions, such as Catholic health care facilities and retreat centers, or persons representing the Church, such as Catholic chaplains, to promote or to provide support for Reiki therapy," the Guidelines said.
Keywords: Bishops, science, USCCB, Catholic, Reiki, Bishop William Lori, Doctrine, medicine

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Shashi Tharoor: Why nations should pursue "soft" power

My friend Manisha shared this video with me and I was struck at its eloquence. I share it with you as an alternative to the American Centric ideas we are always bombarded with. It is worth watching all the way through. Author and activist Shashi Tharoor is a member of the Indian Parliament and the Indian minister of state for external affairs.
TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Why 108 Bows
















We have 6 doors of perception: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste and thought.
There are
 3 aspects of time: past, present and future.
There are
 2 conditions of the heart/mind: pure or impure.
There are
 3 possible attitudes: like, dislike and indifference.

Korean Buddhists use this formula 6 x 3 x 2 x 3 = 108 bows to cut through our Karma.

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Sunday, February 14, 2010

Dr. Who


I know that this may be a pretty weird post for this blog, but I wanted to just acknowledge a bit of my past. When I was in fourth grade my father, who was a Master Sargent in the United States Air Force, was transfered from Northern California to High Wycombe, England. I remember arriving in High Wycombe where we stayed at the Priory Hotel for several months prior to us finding a house that we could rent. Back in 1966 there were only three channels on television in England, BBC1, BBC2 and ITV, and they didn't broadcast all day either. Anyway, one show that grabbed my attention as a young boy was a show titled Dr. Who. The series is still on, and I watched a compilation of episodes tonight on BBC America titled "the End of Time." It is amazing that the show is still on all these years later, and although still a bit campy it transported me back in time, to this little boy sitting on the carpet in the Lounge area of the Priory Hotel, and old Victorian Mansion that was converted into a hotel.

There are moments in our lives, where we hear a sound, or smell something and we are instantly transported to a place in our storehouse consciousness, and those moments become real in the present. Anyway, I have followed the Good Doctor on and off over the years, PBS used to broadcast the show for a time. When my mom went back to England in the 1980's she asked me if I wanted something, and I told her that I wanted one of those real long neck scarves like Dr. Who wore. I still have it and it still brings me great pleasure all these years later.

The music for the show was so far ahead of its time, Pink Floyd later caught up with a theme song that was originally created in 1963. Maybe this won't make sense to many of you, but I had to share it.

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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Zen Buddhism: Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

If you haven't seen this before, please enjoy














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Sunday, February 7, 2010

Báizhàng’s Fox






百丈和尚、凡參次、有一老人常隨衆聽法。
While Chán Master Báizhàng was giving a certain series of dharma talks, an old man always followed the monks to the main hall and listened to him.
衆人退、老人亦退。
When the monks left the hall, the old man would also leave.
忽一日不退。師遂問、面前立者復是何人。
One day, however, he stayed behind, and Master Báizhàng asked him, “Who are you, standing here before me?”
老人云、諾。
The old man replied.
某甲非人也。
“I am not a human being.
於過去迦葉佛時曾住此山。
In the distant past, in the time of Kàsyapa Buddha, I was the Master, living here on this mountain.
因學人問、大修行底人還落因果也無。
One day a student asked me, ‘does an enlightened person fall into samsara (the realm of cause and effect?’)
某甲對云、不落因果。
I answered, ‘No, they are not subject to cause and effect.’
五百生墮野狐身。
Because of this answer, I have been reborn as a fox for five hundred generations.
今請、和尚代一轉語貴脱野狐。
I implore you now to give a turning word and release me from this foxes body.”
遂問、大修行底人、還落因果也無。
Finally, the old monk asked Báizhàng “Does an enlightened man fall into the realm of cause and effect?”
師云、不昧因果。
Báizhàng answered, “Cause and effect are clear.”
老人於言下大悟。
No sooner had the old man heard these words than he was enlightened.
作禮云、某甲、已脱野狐身住在山後。
The old monk immediately attained enlightenment and while making his bows, said, “I am now free of this fox’s body which can be found in a cave on the other side of this mountain.”
敢告和尚。 乞、依亡僧事例。
“I have a favor to ask of you: would you please bury my body as that of a dead monk.”
師、令維那白槌告衆、食後送亡僧。
Báizhàng had the temple director strike the gavel and announce to the assembly that after the midday meal there would be a funeral service for a dead monk.
大衆言議、一衆皆安、涅槃堂又無人病。何故如是。
The monks wondered aloud, “Everyone is in good health; nobody is in the sick ward. What does this mean?”
食後只見師領衆至山後嵒下、以杖挑出一死野狐、乃依火葬。
After the meal Báizhàng led the monks to a cave on the far side of the mountain and with his staff poked out the dead body of a fox and performed the ceremony of cremation.
師、至晩上堂、擧前因縁。
That evening he ascended the rostrum and told the monks the whole story.
黄蘗便問、古人錯祗對一轉語、墮五百生野狐身、轉轉不錯合作箇甚麼。
Huángbò Xīyùn thereupon asked him, “This old monk made one word mistake and was doomed to be a fox for five hundred generations. Suppose he had given the right answer, what would have happened then?”
師云、近前來與伊道。
Master Báizhàng said, “Come closer here to me, and I will tell you.”
黄蘗遂近前、與師一掌。
Reverend Huángbò went up to Chán Master Báizhàng and slapped him across the face.
師拍手笑云、將謂、胡鬚赤。 更有赤鬚胡。
Venerable Báizhàng clapped his hands with a laugh and exclaimed, “I thought that the barbarian had a red beard but now I see that the barbarian’s beard is red.”

Master Wúmén’s Comment
無門曰、不落因果、爲甚墮野狐。
Not falling under causation: how could this make the monk a fox?
不昧因果、爲甚脱野狐。
Not ignoring causation: how could this make the old man emancipated?
若向者裏著得一隻眼、便知得前百丈贏得風流五百生。
If you come to understand this, you will realize how old Báizhàng would have enjoyed five hundred rebirths as a fox.

頌曰 Master Wúmén’s Verse
不落不昧       
not falling, nor darkening:
兩采一賽       
two faces of the same coin.
不昧不落       
not darkening, nor falling:
千錯萬錯       
ten thousand errors, a million mistakes.

Seung Sahn’s Commentary: This story is very interesting; however, Báizhàng’s speech is not correct. He said, “Cause and effect are clear,” but how could the fox lose his fox’s body and get Enlightenment upon hearing these words?


I have a big question: does it mean additionally that everyone will lose their human body when they get Enlightenment? If this is so, they will become what kind of being? A God, a Buddha, or what? Not darkening, not falling: A thousand mistakes, ten thousand mistakes.


1. The first question is, “Not falling, not darkening.” Are they the same or different?

2. Why did Huángbò hit his teacher (Báizhàng)?

3. Huángbò hit Báizhàng and then laughed and said, “I thought that the barbarian had a red beard but now I see that the barbarian’s beard is red.” What does this mean?

4. Báizhàng’s speech is not correct. He said, “Cause and effect are clear,” but how could the fox lose his fox’s body and get Enlightenment upon hearing these words?

Commentary

Báizhàng Huáihái (720-814) was a Chinese Chán Master during the Tang Dynasty. He was a dharma heir of Mazu Dàoyī. Báizhàng’s Dharma Heirs include Huángbò and Línjì. Traditional Chán mythology holds Báizhàng established an early set of rules for Chán monastic discipline, the Pure Rules of Huáihái (Chinese: 百丈清規; pinyin: Báizhàng qīngguī); famous for the saying “A day without work, is a day without eating” (一日不做一日不食). The Chán Monasteries were communal communities of monks who farmed and ran their own cottage industries; consequently, these actions allowed them to survive the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution more than other sects which relied heavily on donations. The rules are used today in many Zen monasteries, but in reality these rules developed much later in Chán history, and are agreed by the monks Taixu and Hsuyún. 

This kōan was considered by Zen Master Hakuin (1686-1769) a nantō kōan, (a question that is difficult to enter.) The story deals with cause and effect (karma in Buddhism), the power of language, reincarnation, and the folklore elements involved the role of the fox in Chinese mythology.

The fox is representative of the Western image of a ‘black cat’ or perhaps a witch or sorcerer. They are considered sly and sneaky and also represent bad omens for the common population. There is also a close correlation between the concepts of karma and those of re-birth or reincarnation. The resulting insight into both of these questions is the fundamental issue within this kōan.

The kōan tells the story of an old man who, after falsely assuming that an enlightened person is not subject to the laws of cause and effect, was reborn as a wild fox for five hundred generations. The fox who appears as the Old Man attends the dharma talks given by Zen Master Báizhàng; eventually the Master confronts him and asks who he is. He explains that he was once Master on this mountain and has been living as a fox for five hundred generations and requests a “turning word,” a phrase intended to prompt one to realization, to be freed from his animal body. After Báizhàng tells him “cause and effect are clear,” the old man confirms that he has been released from his wild fox body and asks to be given a monk's funeral rites. Later, when Báizhàng’s disciple Huángbò asked what would have happened had the monk not denied cause and effect, Báizhàng tells Huángbò to come close so he can answer his question; then Huángbò steps forward and slaps Báizhàng, realizing that Báizhàng had intended to strike him with his stick. Báizhàng laughs approvingly and compares Huángbò to the Indian monk and Zen patriarch Bodhidharma.

Traditionally, interpretations since the time of the Wúménguān have stressed the non-duality of the two understandings of karma expressed within the case. Dōgen, regarded by Sōtō adherents as the founder of their practice, recast the kōan in the later part of his life as an affirmation of the fundamental importance of acknowledging cause and effect. The significance of this debate goes to fundamental issues in Buddhist thought, especially the meaning of enlightenment with respect to cause and effect.

The point of the kōan is that for the ordinary person the two conflicting views of karma are between being subject to cause and effect or not being subject to cause and effect; furthermore, most people imagine that we can be free from cause and effect and that this exists outside of the actual essence of karma. Karma exists on two levels in reality, there is fixed karma and then there is changeable karma; perhaps another analogy could be that they function as two sides of the same coin. An example of fixed karma for me would be that I was born a male in the United States in 1957. I live in a Western Society and certain societal issues because of this can work both for and against me and none of these fundamental facts can be changed. Say for example I wanted to become Korean, I could study the culture, the language, the social mores and I could even move there, however I would still be an American Male who was born in 1957. Conversely, perhaps I was born into a poor family with few resources, the traditional view of karma in the Eastern Cultures of India and China would say that because of my birth into this situation or ‘caste’ I will be destined to live a poor life. One of the fundamental insights of the Buddha was that these types of restrictions are only made by our thinking. If we awaken to our true nature we see clearly the oneness of cause and effect or karma, and realize that the two sides of karma are in fact one, additionally we realize that cause and effect are functioning outside of our true nature. Thus we can see that cause and effect are clear. Notice that this statement neither confirms nor negates the initial question, and this is the fundamental insight of the Buddha. The rest is for you to discover.

Friday, February 5, 2010

the world may be rotten























Zen Master Seung Sahn would often lecture that many people were speaking about the end of this world. As we are becoming more aware we are beginning to realize that perhaps there are too many human beings on this planet. We are also bearing the fruit of all our human impact and we have done much to throw this world out of balance. It seems as if there are more crazy people appearing and the world situation is going from bad to worse. With such enormous populations and many Governments, Religions and Ideologies that are strongly holding onto their opinions, conditions, and situations, there seems to be constant friction between these very large entities. If we don’t learn how to open our minds, World Peace will not be possible, and in the future, many people will continue to die at alarming rates.


Zen Master Seung Sahn pointed out that in 1950 there were about 2.5 billion people on this plant. He reminded us that whatever your world view about the appearance of humans, which might be as short as 10,000 years or as long as 2 million years, that from that time until 1950 only 2.5 billion people had appeared. In retrospect if we look at the world population right now, at the beginning of 2010, the population has reached more than 6.8 billion people. This means that in only 60 years the population has increased by more than 4.2 billion people which is a 2.7 fold increase in this very short time period. Some estimates are that we may reach a population of 9 billion by the year 2050.


We human beings have done much to take all we can and give back very little to this world which sustains us. Zen Master Seung Sahn was fond of saying that “human beings are number-one bad animal”. We have polluted the earth, the water, the air, leaving us with a highly questionable future. A lot of this stemmed out of the Industrial Revolution which began in England in the last 18th Century. As Western Societies gained more control over their environments we gave little regard for the abuse we were creating within our environment. Animals understand their jobs, dogs do dog things like chasing bones, cats usually run away from dogs, the animal kingdom used to have a balanced hierarchy until humans started manipulating the environment. Of course, we in the West are becoming more aware and are trying to regulate and control the damage that we have begun. On the other side of the equation, because of the life style we live, other large segments of the world are now aspiring to become Westernized and enjoy the same luxuries that we have come to expect. China and India, as they try to move their very considerable populations towards economic independence, are now repeating the mistakes that we in the West have made. We are also feeding their industrialization by consuming more and more of the products that we somehow need to feed our lives.


Zen Master Seung Sahn sometimes used the following analogy. This situation can be likened to the maturation of a fruit. In the beginning there is flower which blossoms on the tree; eventually, the petals fall away and the small fruit appears on the end of the branch. As the fruit begins its transformation it has a pleasant color, but is still not fully matured. As the fruit ripens the colors begin to fade, but is now ready for us to eat, and it has a wonderful fragrance. If the fruit is left on the branch it eventually will rot, and at this stage we won’t eat the fruit. Finally the fruit will fall off the branch and if it lands on fertile soil, the remains of the rotting fruit will help the seeds inside the fruit to sprout and grow roots. This means that a bad situation is a good situation. If we can see our mistakes, we can begin again. If we don’t see our mistakes we may be in for a lot of problems ahead. As the great Chán Master Báizhàng once said, “cause and effect are clear!”


In the early 1970’s Bhutan's then King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, opened the borders of Bhutan to the West, and set about trying to enter into the modern world. So Bhutan set up Government Ministers to move the country forward. During this process they started to adapt certain Western Style measurements which included “GDP” or “Gross Domestic Product.” They soon realized that they would always be last, so the King wanted to measure something a bit more meaningful for his country. The King decided to replace the measurement of GDP with the measurement of “GNH” or “Gross National Happiness” and this was developed in an attempt to define an indicator that measures quality of life or social progress in more holistic and psychological terms than gross national product or GDP. He used the phrase to signal his commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan's unique culture based on Mahayana Buddhist spiritual values. At first offered as a casual, offhand remark, the concept was taken seriously, as the Centre for Bhutan Studies, under the leadership of Kaarma Uru, developed a sophisticated survey instrument to measure the population's general level of well-being.


If we can begin to look at what it means to be happy, outside of our consumer economy, perhaps we can begin to grow again and make positive changes that flow in harmony with our innate humanity.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Loving Kindness Meditation

May I be well happy and peaceful. May no harm come to me, may no difficulties come to me, may I have a calm and peaceful mind. May I have patience, insight, courage and compassion in meeting the challenges of life.

May my parents be well happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them, may no difficulties come to them, may they have calm, peaceful minds. May they have patience, insight, courage and compassion in meeting the challenges of life.

May my teachers be well happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them, may no difficulties come to them, may they have calm, peaceful minds. May they have patience, insight, courage and compassion in meeting the challenges of life.

May family members and relatives be well happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them, may no difficulties come to them, may they have calm, peaceful minds. May they have patience, insight, courage and compassion in meeting the challenges of life.

May friends and acquaintances be well happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them, may no difficulties come to them, may they have calm, peaceful minds. May they have patience, insight, courage and compassion in meeting the challenges of life.

May unfriendly people and my enemies be well happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them, may no difficulties come to them, may they have calm, peaceful minds. May they have patience, insight, courage and compassion in meeting the challenges of life.

May unknown persons be well happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them, may no difficulties come to them, may they have calm, peaceful minds. May they have patience, insight, courage and compassion in meeting the challenges of life.

May all beings, with form and without form, visible, invisible, born or coming to birth, large and small, from the highest realm of existence to the lowest, be well happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them, may no difficulties come to them, may they have calm, peaceful minds. May they have patience, insight, courage and compassion in meeting the challenges of life.

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