Upcoming Meetings

As our Fall 2009 Dharma discussion Series comes to an end, I would like to update everyone on the topics we will be covering in December. Below, please find our Sangha Meeting Schedule for December 2009:

Tue Nov 17: "Letting Go of Spiritual Experience"

Tue Nov 24: NO SANGHA MEETING / Chion in South Florida for Thanksgiving

Tue Dec 1: Discussion on the meaning and observance of Rohatsu, "Bodhi Day"

Tue Dec 8: ROHATSU / 3 year Anniversary of the chartering of this Sangha / Holiday & Anniversary Services

Tue Dec 15: Discussion, "Understanding the Heart Sutra, Part I

Tue Dec 22: Discussion, "Understanding the Heart Sutra, Part II

Tue Dec 29: OPEN for discussion-- I would like to have some sort of informal group activity such as a "Buddhist Movie Night"

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about our meeting schedule or the topics we will cover. All are welcome!

Please Note: New Meeting Start Time

I would like to advise the Sangha and any interested parties that, beginning next Tuesday night, September 15 2009, our Sangha meeting time will begin at 7:30 pm and not 7 pm. This change is at the direction of the UUCA and, since we meet in their facility, we will oblige them. Another group will now be using the Walden Room before us, hence the change in our start time.

Our Sangha meetings will now also run until 9:30 instead of 9 pm, except in those cases where the group collectively decides to end a given meeting at 9 pm. These collective decisions will be made on a week-by-week basis.

I apologize for any inconvenience, and I look forward to seeing you at the next Sangha meeting.

Bearing Witness to Persecution... Again

Unless one is completely oblivious to world news, by now everyone knows about the recent massive street protests in Iran over the results of the presidential election there in June, and the highly suspicious results that were posted by the government. As this column is being written, public show trials are being held in which apparently innocent people are being coerced into staged confessions, in a manner not unlike the public show trials once held in the Soviet Union. Far from convincing the world of the fairness of the Islamic government's case, in fact these show trials are further evidence of the inability of that government to tolerate any dissent and honest differences of opinion.

But even as these ugly and unfair mockeries of justice are unfolding, there is another story happening in Iran which is largely going unnoticed in the west: the outbreak of yet another instance of anti-Baha'i persecution, once again orchestrated by the Islamic government of Iran. Contrary to public opinion, the religious history of Iran is not a monolithic story of only one religion, but a rich tapestry of spiritual thought that includes Zoroastrianism, Mithraism, and Baha'ism, as well as Islam. The Baha'i tradition in particular is a uniquely Iranian evolution of Islamic monotheism, in which all notions of violent Jihad are rejected, women are treated as full equals, and the values of nonviolence, world peace and justice are lionized and promoted. The differences between Baha'ism and traditional Islam are sufficiently well-developed, as to mark Baha'ism as a completely distinct spiritual tradition, and not merely another version of Islam. As any fair-minded observer of Baha'ism must conclude, the Baha'i religon is not only a harmless and non-aggressive tradition, but indeed is an active and effective advocate of world peace and universal harmony.

Unfortunately, it is this peaceful tradition which, like Zoroastrianism, has received the well documented hostile attention of the Iranian government, despite government claims that there is no systematic persecution of the Baha'i community. According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, in recent years there has been a rise in the persecution of Iranian Bahai's, including (according to CNN), "Cemetery desecration, arbitrary detention, home raids, property confiscation, work expulsion and denial of basic civil rights."

For more information, see
http:www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/08/16/iran.bahai.trial/index.html?iref=newssearch

In May 2008, seven Iranian Bahai's were arrested in their homes in Tehran and the eastern city of Mashad, and charged with spying for Israel. They have been held in solitary confinement, denied regular contact with their lawyers, and prohibited contact with the outside world. The Bahai's lawyers have also been arrested in the aftermath of the disputed June 12th presidential elections, ensuring that the new court-appointed lawyers assigned to defend them will have minimal time to prepare their case.

Is there any merit to the charge that the Bahai's were spying for Israel? It is true that the World Headquarters of the Baha'i religion (the suggestively named "International House of Justice"), is in Haifa, Israel, and that devout Bahai's have legitimate cause to communicate with their brethren in Israel, as seems to have been the case here. According to the Baha'i community, it was this innocent communication relating to spiritual matters which has been seized upon by the Iranian authorities-- who are well-known for their hostile and malignant views about the State of Israel-- as a pretext for (further) persecution. This well known hostility alone, is enough to call the motives of the Iranian authorities into question.

But why is it, that a religion which originated in Iran, should now have its international headquarters in Israel? Simply, the 19th-century founder of the Baha'i faith (Baha'u'llah) was so routinely beaten, persecuted, and imprisoned in his native Iran by the religious authorities, that his final resting place in exile, simply evolved into the natural headquarters of the new religion. The presence of the international headquarters of the Baha'i religion in modern Israel, is the karmic cause-and-effect result of religious persecution which pre-dates the current Islamic regime in Iran, and which they have merely perpetuated.

I have known one Baha'i in my life, a young man who studied Kendo with me several years ago. From my many conversations with him about his faith tradition, and my own study of the Baha'i faith, I am firmly persuaded of the essential wholesome peacefulness of the Baha'i religion. As a Buddhist, I feel a certain kinship with these decent people, rooted in our fundamentally similar spiritual agenda. Given the long standing persecution of the Baha'i community in Iran, the well known malignant attitudes of the Islamic regime towards Israel, and the wretched record of the Iranian regime with regards to human rights and religious and political tolerance, there is no doubt in my mind that the current incarceration and prosecution of these seven Iranian Bahai's, is yet another sad example of religious persecution and intolerance.

No religion has a corner on truth; no religion is immune to the siren song of certainty and the kind of self-righteous intolerance and persecution that is rooted in religious triumphalism. But I do think that some faith traditions are less suceptible to antagonistic hostility than others, simply because of the emphasis of their teachings. Buddhism is one such faith tradition. Bahai'sm is another.

I don't believe the Iranian authorities. I stand with the Bahai's, and I call upon everyone who reads this column, to bear witness to the persecution of the Bahai's yet again. Perhaps one day, the keepers of the "International House of Justice" will, themselves, receive true freedom and justice in Iran, the original homeland of the Baha'i religion, and they will be free to practice their faith in the fatherland of their prophet.

The Temples Are Burning

In March of 2001, just six months before the horrible events of September 11 in the United States, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan perpetrated an act of religious terrorism which, at the time, attracted considerable worldwide attention. Acting upon the intolerant impulses which seem to motivate their particular version of Islam, the Taliban ordered the destruction of the world-famous Buddhas of Bamiyan, the collossal statues of the Buddha which had stood for centures in Afghanistan, a constant reminder that, once, Buddhism had flourished in central Asia before the coming of Islam. The act of destruction was carried out with military explosives and artillery ordanance, and in short order, a UNESCO World Heritage site was utterly destroyed and thus rendered harmless to the exquisite sensitivities of the Taliban.

The international outrage and condemnation which followed this massive act of vandalism was swift and justified. In light of the events which happened just six months later in Washington and New York, in retrospect the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan seem now to have been a harbinger of coming events, a kind of "canary in the coal mine" warning of more coming violence.

But even as the Taliban were perpetrating this widely-known act of religious terrorism, another even more deeply disturbing story was developing in Korea which has received almost no international attention whatsoever. As many people are now beginning to recognize, Korea is increasingly becoming a "Christian" nation, with some estimates citing the total number of Christians of all denominations now comprising as much as 40 % of the total population, or even higher. This stunning and little-noticed trend is the result of intensive proselytizing in South Korea by Christian Evangelicals, principally from the United States. As a Buddhist I know once quipped, "South Korea became a Christian nation while no one was looking."

As a Buddhist, I care little if people choose to practice a faith tradition other than my own. As I have taught our Sangha members at our Tuesday night meetings, any faith tradition which leads people to cultivate good karma is a positive thing, and hence it is not necessary to try and convert other people, particularly those who are already on a wholesome spiritual path. However, it is also true that there are some faith traditions --such as the version of Islam practiced by the Taliban-- which are overtly hostile towards other religions. Helping such people attain a greater appreciation of other religions is a big challenge.

In the case of South Korea, the swift and stunning mass conversion of society to Christianity has clearly been the cause of an unprecedented degree of religious terrorism against Buddhist Temples and institutions throughout the country. Where the Taliban infamously destroyed just one Buddhist site, in Korea there have been hundreds and perhaps thousands of systematic and widespread instances of Buddha-smashing, Temple burnings, and similar kinds of religous terrorism. Lest anyone think I am exagerrating the scale of this phenomenon, a few website links may be instructive:

From the International Association for Religious Freedom:

http://www.geocities.com/~iarf/tedesco1.html

And the response of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies:

http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/buddhist-christian_studies/v020/20.1wells.html

By way of illustrating the proverbial "Tip of the Iceberg," here are just three examples of the kind of systematic violence being directed towards Buddhists and Buddhist facilities in Korea:

ITEM: December 6, 1986: Several days before the annual Buddha's Enlightenment celebrations, the Taejôkkwangjôn, the main Dharma Hall, a large building of ancient origin at Kûmsansa Temple is completely burned to the ground in an event that makes top news throughout the nation. The Hall is listed as National Treasure Number 476, and is the central hall in a temple which is a regional headquarters and major monastic training center for the Chogye Order. A man active in a local church is apprehended at the scene, but is released because the police claim that, since the fire consumed everything, there is "no evidence." Although he admitted to the crime, he is released without being charged. Discounting widespread opinion and belief, local police claim that "religious heretics" are not suspected.

ITEM: May 1996: Reverend Pae Sông-ho, a Protestant minister, enters the main Buddha Hall at Ch'ôngryongsa Temple in Chinhae on the southern coast of the peninsula. He swings a microphone over his head like a bolo, smashing the main Buddha statue and damaging beyond repair the altar paintings hanging behind the main altar. Witnesses who apprehend him hear him shouting abusive statements about "idol worship" and that "now [he] will go to heaven for destroying these graven images." Though taken into custody by police, the minister is released within hours with no charges filed by the local authorities. Damage to the Dharma Hall is extensive.

ITEM: June 26, 1998: Su-jin Kim, a Christian, breaks into Wonmyong Sonwon (Zen Center) in Cheju Island, decapitates 750 granite Buddha statues and destroys a gilt bronze Buddha triad, gold-plated jade Buddha and many other Buddhist items. He is caught by people at the temple while breaking windows of the living quarters. Kim confesses to the police that he destroyed Buddha statues in order to convert the temple to a church.

Again, it is worth noting that these are just three examples of what has, sadly, become a nationwide phenomenon in Korea: systematic attacks on Buddhists and Buddhist institutions across the nation.

It may be that this widespread phenomenon has gone unnoticed in the western media, because few western journalists read, speak or read Korean-language media, where the story has clearly been repeatedly covered. But what is clear, is that the story has gone unreported in the English-language media. Given the increasingly large numbers of Koreans and Korean-Americans in the United States, particularly here in the Washington area, this is surprising and dissapointing.

It is clear that the motives of the people who are perpetrating these crimes are entirely rooted in the understanding of Christianity which has been transmitted to them by the Christian Evangelical missionaries, who have been instrumental in the conversion of South Korean society. Although such behavior by religious people would never happen in the United States (aside from the occasional murder of a family planning physician by people with religious motives, which does happen here every few years), it should come as no surprise that Christians in South Korea have merely acted upon what they have been taught and internalized.

In Buddhism, this is called 'Karma,' which is none other than the Law of Cause and Effect. Words have consequences.

The Taliban richly deserved the international condemnation which followed their barbarous acts. Many people of faith were rightly outraged by the deeds of the Taliban. But where is the outrage of the many American Christian missionaries who work in Korea, many of whom speak Korean, who must be well aware of these acts of arson and vandalism?

Is it possible that they approve of this behavior?

'Slumdog' Dharma ?

My wife talked me into going to see 'Slumdog Millionaire' over the weekend. I'm glad I saw it, because its a terrific movie. I initially didn't want to see it, because frankly I didn't like the word 'slumdog' as a description for the impoverished. It seems to me that it lacks... respectfulness, or dignity, perhaps compassion. I still feel that way, even after the movie.

Overall, the movie is a vivid portrayal of poverty, suffering, and a 'rags-to-riches' plotline that is woven into a love story. As I said, it is a terrific movie. However, aside from the name of the movie, which remains problematic for me, there were also one or two other moments that I did not care for, either.

The most problematic moment for me, was in the depiction of the anti-Muslim rioting where Jamal's mother is murdered. That there has been this kind of horrible religious violence throughout India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh is no secret-- both anti-Hindu and anti-Muslim violence has been all too common. However, in the movie, at the height of the rioting, Jamal and Salim spy a young boy, dressed up as the god Rama, painted blue (for divinity) and holding a bow in his right hand, with his left hand held up in the sign of a blessing. The scene passed in an instant; but later, when Jamal is a contestant on "Who Want's to Be a Millionaire," the host asked him-- what does the god Rama carry in his right hand?

Of course, Jamal gets the answer right; but that is what got me to thinking: was it correct, to have Rama depicted holding the bow in his right hand? I study Kyudo, which is Japanese archery, and I know from this that there are no left-handed archers, which means all right-handed archers carry their bows in the left hand. Hmmmm.....

So, I consulted Google, the Oracle of all Knowledge... and sure enough, all classical depictions of Rama show him carrying the bow in the left hand, while the right hand gives the blessing. Further research revealed to me that the Hindu deities always give the blessing with the right hand, when they do so.

How could the moviemakers get this wrong?

I know-- this seems trivial. But I don't think it is. In Buddhism, for example, the symbolism associated with the various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is very specific. What is the symbolism behind the sword carried by Manjushri, for example? Why does he carry the sword in his right hand, and not the left? How would I feel, as a Buddhist, if a depiction of Manjushri was backwords?

I was not astonished to discover that some Hindu groups are none too happy about this movie, or the depiciton of one of their deities in the movie. I do not approve of over-reaction, which (given the history of religious violence in India) is a real possibility. But they do seem to have a point: how did the movie makers get this so wrong? With so many cast members from India, did no one point this out?

On the balance, I do think this is a terrific movie. But the discovery of this error in the movie, and the reaction of some Hindu groups to the movie, reminds me that one of the teachings of the Buddha-Dharma is that we should generate respectfulness at all times. If history teaches us anything, it is that people are extremely sensitive when it comes to religion (to put it no more strongly than that). Look what happened, when a Danish newspaper innocently (thoughtlessly?) published a cartoon image of the Prophet Muhammed. They were rioting in the streets, literally.

Buddhism teaches us that anger is one of the three Poisons of the Mind (along with greed, and ignorance). Anger and over-reation to this sort of thing is never justified; but by the same token, it seems to me that when dealing with the sacred images of other cultures, perhaps we should all try to generate respectfulness whenever possible.

Which brings me back to the top: it was a great movie, but I still don't like the use of the word "slumdog" in the title. I don't think the word "dog" was meant as a compliment.

Das kindt mit dem bad vß schitten

There is a common expression in the English language, you have probably heard it before, that goes like this: “Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.” It is such a ubiquitous expression that most English-speakers assume it is of English origin. But its not— actually, this was a colloquial German expression long before, somehow, it was translated into English, as detailed by the German philologist Wolfgang Mieder, "'Das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten': Ursprung, Überlieferung und Verwendung einer deutschen Redensart.” How many of you are surprised to learn this expression is actually of German origin?

In my last post, I ended by asking the question, “Is the Buddha Dharma adapting to North America, or being ruined by our shallow commercialism and consumerism?” Like so many things of foreign origin which are translated into English, Buddhism still seems exotic and incompatible with American society, and hence there is a strong urge among many non-Asian Buddhists to “Americanize” or “Westernize” the Dharma. Clearly, there are many non-Asian Buddhists who seem to be in a big hurry to have this 2,500 year old tradition rendered into the vernacular, and purged of anything which strikes their western sensibilities as strange or uncomfortable.

From my perspective, there are clearly some aspects of the Dharma which seem to be an ill fit with the consumer capitalism and individualism of North America. Where American society extols the virtue of “rugged individualism” (a mythology held over from our long-vanished frontier society), Buddhism preaches Sangha and community. Where our economy and society is built on the consumption of natural resources and consumerism, Buddhism teaches restraint and proportion. Where our society affirms the principle of competition, Buddhism teaches cooperation. It does seem a bit subversive to the American societal ethos of bigger, faster, cheaper, “better.”

However, on the other hand, one could also say that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is also subversive of the established order of things (I don’t think I need to cite chapter and verse here, do I?). Clearly, the religion of Jesus, with its unmistakably subversive message of “love thy neighbor” and “peace on earth, goodwill towards men,” seems to operate well within the established order of things, largely because of its complete integration into western society.

So the idea that Buddhism can never adapt to Western society is simply not true. In point of fact, Buddhism is already adapting to Western society, just not as fast as many Western Buddhists would like. And it is this haste to make the Dharma fit our western-societal comfort zone, which concerns me. I have spoken with several Buddhists— not necessarily those in our Washington Tendai Sangha, but others elsewhere— who seem to demand that the transmission of the Dharma should happen only in English and not include anything too “weird,” by which they mean, “Don’t make me confront anything new or make me change.”

This perspective is shallow. In typical fashion, we North American’s want it all, and we want it NOW. But consider this— by the time that Dengyo Daishi traveled to China to study the Dharma, Buddhism had already existed in Japan for 200 years, and still there were still Japanese monks who traveled overseas for training.

Conversely, Buddhism has only really existed in North America (outside of immigrant Asian communities), for perhaps 50 years, after the end of the Second World War and the advent of Jack Kerouac and the “Beat Generation” who first popularized Buddhism in America. From a historical perspective, we North Americans and non-Asian Buddhists in general, are still newcomers to the Buddha Dharma. So how is it, then, that we seem so impatient to toss out traditions that we know little of, except that they are “foreign” and we don’t understand them? And why is it that the practice of Buddhism among non-Asians seems limited to those who can afford the cushions and puja rites and formal retreats which are the stock-in-trade of North American Buddhism?

Are we commercializing the Dharma and reducing it to a commodity?

I don’t think so… at least not yet, although there are troubling signs that it is headed in this direction, such as the transformation of the word “Zen” into a synonym for “hip” or “cool.” Likewise, so far as I can tell, the impatient push to “westernize” the Dharma has not succeeded in forcing the various Asian schools to change faster than they are comfortable with. I could be wrong about these things but, as I survey the state of Buddhism in North America, these are the conclusions I have reached.

The process of assimilating the Buddha-Dharma into western society is well underway, and there is no need to speed it up. Ancient rituals are being translated into English, Asian ceremonies are being adapted to a North American cultural context, or being discarded altogether. These developments are happening at places like the Tendai-shu New York Betsuin, where ordained western practitioners and Buddhist scholars are making educated and informed decisions about what stays, what goes, what is translated and what is not. Similar evolutionary changes are happening at other Buddhist centers in North America. In the fullness of time— not in my lifetime, but soon enough— a distinctly western form of Buddhism will emerge from these informed and gradual adaptations and changes.

In the meantime, we as western Buddhists must not be impatient or hasty to discard what is uncomfortable or unfamiliar to us, lest we fall into the proverbial trap of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” After all, everyone knows this is an old English expression… right?

Not Zen

This past week, on Friday May 9th, the Washington Post ran an article in their Weekend Section with a particularly catchy title: “Get Zen.” The subtitle was, “Four ways Washingtonians can find Zen without stressing over its cost.” The cover illustration was of an African-American woman in sunglasses, sitting in seiza near a public water fountain, while making the gassho mudra with her hands. My first thought on seeing the article title was, “Oh no… here we go again.”

Sure enough, the article had nothing to do with Zen, as I expected. The article was a survey of local spiritual groups with an Eastern emphasis: Reiki, a fairly recent method of spiritual healing invented in 1914 by Japanese spiritualist Usui Mikao; Qi Gong, the ancient Chinese system of managing the flow of Chi (or ‘Ki’ in Japanese); a local Yoga studio; and the Insight Meditation Society of Washington, founded by local spiritual celebrity Tara Brach.

While one may debate the benefits or merits of Reiki, Qi Gong, Yoga, and Insight Meditation endlessly, what is clear is that none of these spiritual practices has anything to do with real Zen Buddhism. As a meditation practice group, the Insight Meditation society probably comes closest to the mark; but the founders of the Insight Meditation movement were psychologists and not lineage practitioners of either Soto or Rinzai Zen, and neither does the practice of Insight Meditation conform to the rigorous traditions of Zenna. In short, by encouraging people to “Get Zen” and then serving up four examples of traditions that having nothing to do with real Zen Buddhism, the Washington Post is perpetuating the popular misunderstanding of the word “Zen.”

American’s are in love with the word “Zen” but we have little real understanding of what that means. “Zen” is hip; Zen is cool; everyone has heard of Zen, even news comedian Jon Stewart has his “Moment of Zen” at the end of his show which, of course, is hardly ever really Zen. Sadly, the word Zen is, in typical American fashion, gradually being commoditized and popularized and, in the process, purged of any meaningful relation to its actual spiritual content.

The word ‘Zen’ is shorthand for ‘Zenna,’ which is a cognate of the Chinese “Cha’an,” which is itself related to the Pali “Dhyana,” signifying “meditation.” Indeed, the name of the mudra which we place our hands in when we meditate, is known as the dhyana mudra. While it is true that almost all forms of Buddhism practice some form of meditation, the particularly modern forms of meditation associated with Zen Buddhism evolved in China, probably as a consequence of the encounter between the Buddha Dharma and Taoism.

The Chinese sage Chih-I, father of the Tien T’ai school of Buddhism, incorporated Cha’an methods into his systemization of Buddhism, which later was transported to Japan by Saicho, the founder of Tendai Buddhism who eventually became known as Dengyo Daishi. Centuries later, when the Tendai monk Eisai traveled to Mount Tien T’ai in China seeking to reconnect Japanese Tendai with its Chinese heritage, he found that Tien T’ai Buddhism had been supplanted in China by the Lin-Chi school of Cha’an Buddhism, which he was duly initiated into and carried back to Japan. There, the Lin-Chi school became known as the Rinzai school, and Cha’an became known as Zenna. Eisai’s disciple was Dogen, who like his master was also a Tendai monk, and who also traveled to China. Dogen encountered Tsao-tung Cha’an Buddhism in China, an even more austere form of “Zen” which he transported back to Japan, where it became the Soto school of Zen Buddhism. For complex historical reasons, Zen Buddhism became the religion of the Bushi or warrior class in Japan, whose powerful influence on Japanese history ensured the thorough penetration of Zen thought into Japanese culture and philosophy. Thus, what we now know as “Zen Buddhism” has for centuries been principally the practice of the Soto and Rinzai schools of Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, the Tendai school as well.

Of course, very few North Americans are familiar with this history, or with the specifically Zen forms of meditation or religious practice. It is this ignorance which contributes to the widespread misunderstanding of the word Zen, resulting in the kind of silly article titles published in newspapers everywhere, and not just in Washington. And I’m sad to say, that the widespread distortion of the Dharma that we see associated with the word “Zen,” is just one example of the spiritual infantilism that seems so common here in North America. In my next post, we will examine the larger question that the “Zen is hip” phenomenon raises: is the Buddha Dharma adapting to North America, or being ruined by our shallow commercialism and consumerism?

But for now, just remember that when you hear the word “Zen” in everyday conversation, chances are that whatever is being discussed is not Zen.

New Beginnings

It has been several weeks since I have had a chance to post to this blog, and the reason is simple: our Sangha has recently transitioned from our old practice space at the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department, to a new and better place at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington. Our Sangha is having a new beginning.

The space at Cherrydale was a good place to start, but after 16 months there, it was becoming pretty clear that 8 am on Sunday mornings was just not going to work for most people. For us to grow and fulfill our mission to bring Tendai Buddhism to the mid-Atlantic region, we concluded that we had to find another place where we could meet at a time that was more congenial to people’s schedules.

And so, I am happy to announce that our Sangha has transitioned to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington. We are meeting in The Walden Room on Tuesday nights at 7 pm. The space is definitely much smaller than the Dance Hall at the Cherrydale VFD, but it is infused with the spiritual energy of the Unitarian church. Even better, the UU Church of Arlington also hosts a sitting group from the Insight Meditation group of Washington, so were are able to share some synergy with another group of Buddhists.

Our new meeting space is a marked improvement over our previous circumstances, and our new meeting time on Tuesday nights at 7 pm will prove to be more convenient for most people. Come and see us sometime, we would love to meet you.

The Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5: "Herbs"

The following post in an excerpt from Chapter 5 of
The Lotus Sutra, as published in Tendai Buddhist Services for Ordained Practitioners: English Language Edition, translated by Shoshin Ichishima, edited by Monshin Naamon and the Tendai-shu New York Betsuin, Tendai Buddhist Institute, Canaan, New York 2005.

The speaker is Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, delivering his final sermon on Eagle Mountain.
________________

"The King of the Dharma,
The destroyer of delusive existence,
Appears in the world
And keeping in mind the aspirations of sentient beings,
Teaches the Dharma in various ways
According to the wishes of sentient beings...

O Kashyapa, you should know
That it is as if a great cloud
Arises in the world
And covers everything.
This beneficent cloud contains moisture
And bright lightening flashes from it.
The sound of its thunder shakes the earth from afar
And gladdens the people...

The spreading cloud hangs so low,
As if it could be touched.
Everywhere, equal and immeasurable
The rain pours down and moistens the earth.
Grasses, herbs, large and small trees,
All kinds of crops, seedlings, sugar cane and grapes
Growing in the depths of the mountains,
In rivers and in precipitous valleys,
All are watered, and completely nourished by the rain...

Out of this cloud the same rain
Waters these grasses, trees and shrubs
Each according to their capacities.
All the trees, small, medium or large
Are able to grow in accordance with their capacities.
The luster and colors of the roots, stems,
Branches, leaves and flowers
Are all freshened by the same rain.
Each of these, although receiving the same moisture,
Reaches a greater or lesser size
In accordance with their different
Dispositions, characteristics and natures.

The Buddha is exactly like this.
He appears in the world as a great cloud
Which covers everything universally.
Once appearing in this world
He illuminates and explains
The essence of the teachings
For the sake of sentient beings.
The Great Seer, the Bhagavat, expounds this
To the great assembly of all the devas and humans.

I am the Tathagata, the Best of Humans.
I appear in the world to nourish sentient beings
Just as the great cloud
Moistens all the withered trees.
I cause everyone to be rid of suffering
And attain ease of heart,
Worldy happiness, and the joy of Nirvana.
This Dharma has a single flavor
Of emancipation and Nirvana.
I expound its meaning with the same subtle voice,
Always making the Mahayana
The subject of my illustrations...

Just like the rain which gives nourishment universally,
I tirelessly rain the rain of the Dharma
Equally on those who are noble or humble,
Superior or inferior, who keep or break the precepts,
Who have good or bad conduct, right or wrong views,
Sharp or dull faculties.
According to their power to understand,
All of the sentient beings who hear my teaching
Dwell in various stages.

O Kashyapa,
The Dharma which the Buddha teaches
is just like the great cloud which enriches human flowers
With the rain of one flavor, so that each attains its fruits.
O Kashyapa!
You should know that I reveal the Buddha-path
Using various explanations and illustrations
And that this is my skillful means.
All of the Buddhas are just like this.

I will now teach the highest truth for your sake:
There are no shravakas who attain Nirvana.
What you practice is the bodhisattva-path;
And if you practice step by step,
You will all become Buddhas."

Virya

In my last two posts, we have examined "Instruments of Ill-Omen" with regards to weapons and, in the second post, the martial arts. As I have reflected on the ramifications of the sensible advice presented in the Tao Te Ching, a question has arisen in my mind: what is it, that drives humans to behave in violent ways? How is it, that even peaceful monks are sometimes practitioners of martial arts, though they themselves are harmless beings? Is there something innate in humans, that incites aggression and demands to be excercised?

I personally think there is, and it is nothing more complex than testosterone. Before I am accused of sexism, let me point out that the production of testosterone is hardly unique to men. Classified as a steroid hormone of the androgen group, testosterone is produced not only in the testes of men, but also in the ovaries of women, and thus is common to both. Derived from cholesterol like other steroid hormones, testosterone plays a vital role in the health and well-being of both men and women; but it also has a virilizing effect on both genders, stimulating the growth of muscle mass, strength, bone density, and height, among other effects. And of course, it is the hormonal source of physical prowess and the competative instinct in human beings.

So, it seems to me that humans are hormonally pre-disposed towards physical striving and even competition-- perhaps even aggression. While this is hardly a unique conclusion, I do think that this simple medical fact about human hormones has important implications for Buddhists. Plainly stated, many people seem to regard the peaceful teachings of Buddhism as a repudiation of the human instinct towards exertion and striving. Although there is some disagreement among medical professionals regarding the extent to which instincts are an inherent dispostion or learned behavior, it is clear that to at least some extent, human instincts are innate from birth.

While the Buddha-Dharma does indeed teach us to be part of a community of cooperation, it hardly repudiates this innate aspect of humanity. The Sanskrit word Paramita means "to cross over to the other shore," and carries the implication of "realization," or "perfection." Through the practice of the "Six Perfections" (Generosity, Ethics, Patience, Effort, Concentration, and Wisdom), Buddhists strive to "cross over" the sea of suffering, delusion and ignorance to the shore of Awakening and Liberation (Nirvana). Among these Six Perfections is Virya Paramita, the practice of effort, perseverance, and energy.

It is interesting to note, that the word Virya is a cognate of the words virile, virility, and vigor. But what is most interesting to me, is the way the Buddha-Dharma wisely channels the innate human drive towards striving and exertion, into the healthy process of self-development, and away from unhealthy and violent manifestations of this otherwise normal human instinct. The Buddha-Dharma does not require us to deny or suppress this aspect of our humanity; rather, it celebrates Virya as one of the "Six Perfections" and encourages us to place this human tendency into the service of the rest of humanity. Motivated by compassion, we are roused to strive not only against our own laziness, but to cultivate courage in the face of injustice; perseverence in the face of discouragement; and even physical prowess in our practice of the Dharma. When we, as Buddhists, engage in vigorous Dharma practices such as prostrations, or walking meditation, or prolonged chanting, or even manual labor, we are engaged in the practice and cultivation of Virya Paramita.

Of course, these practices best accomplish their purpose when coupled with conscious mindfulness; but that is the subject for another post. My point here is simply this-- it is a mistake, to think that Buddhism repudiates human virility. Rather, it teaches us to perfect our virility in the service of humanity, and not in the aggrandizement of the ego.

When Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, was born in ancient India, the prophets and seers who served his father, King Suddhodana, made a prophecy: either the infant Prince would grow to become a great King, Conqueror, and warrior; or he would grow to become a Holy Man who would turn the Wheel of the Dharma and relieve the suffering of mortal human beings. Thus, within the personality of this most excellent of all humans, these two possibilities were inherent from his birth. Although some Buddhists regard this story as a fable, personally I think that there is an important lesson in the legendary coupling of these apparently exclusive possibilities. Please consider this.

'Instruments' Part 2

In my last post, “Instruments of Ill-Omen,” I cited the Tao Te Ching as an example of the Buddhist attitude towards weapons: “Weapons are instruments of Ill-omen, therefore followers of the Way never own them or have anything to do with them.” But if that is the case, how can any serious Buddhist have anything to do with martial arts? I have discussed this many times with Monshin Sensei. There is no doubt that the practice of arms and the Dharma are incompatible. Yet, there are clearly many practicing Buddhists who also train in martial arts and Monshin Sensei is OK with this. Given the well-known peacefulness of Buddhism, some people may find this strange— what is going on here?

In my experience (as both a Buddhist and martial artist), much of the confusion arises from the different motives that people bring to the study of martial arts. In Japan, there are distinct terms used to differentiate between training in actual, violent combative techniques, and the more modern and recreational forms of these arts which have evolved in the last hundred years. For example, the study of ancient and deadly grappling techniques was called Jujutsu; but in modern times, Judo evolved as a sporting and recreational version of this ancient art. Likewise, the study of Kenjutsu was about combat swordsmanship, but modern Kendo is a recreational activity akin to western fencing, whose rules have been hedged about to prohibit actual injury and transform the activity into a contest of cultivated and defined skills. And so forth with all of the Japanese martial arts— Kyujutsu (combat archery) became Kyudo (ceremonial archery), and Aikijutsu became Aikido, and so forth. In this fashion, the deadly practice of Bujutsu (“martial arts”) has evolved into the recreational practice of Budo (the “martial way”), with the word “way” carrying a distinctly philosophical connotation.

Thus, the practice of the various forms of Budo have transcended their violent origins, to become cultural and athletic activities with philosophical overtones. In the modern Budo arts, all of the most violent and deadly waza (techniques) have been purged from the curriculum. But this recreational evolution is generally unrecognized in the west, or actively disdained by martial artists whose motives are rooted in typically western insecurities and delusions. In Japan, for example, the practice of Kendo is widespread among both men and women, principally because it is an athletic elective in Japanese high schools and Universities. Those who continue practicing Kendo as adults are typically motivated by cultural or recreational reasons, and sometimes philosophical reasons.

In America, however, I can say from first-hand experience that the motives of most new Kendo students are often a bit delusional—such as the widespread samurai romanticism portrayed in western culture, or the ever-popular “self-defense” motive, a particularly silly reason to practice Kendo. The idea of studying Budo to learn self-defense would seem strange to a Japanese person— in the first place, that is not what Budo has become, and in the second place, crime is low in Japan and hence there is much less physical insecurity. It is this discontinuity of motives which contributes to the confusion among some western Buddhists who may struggle to understand the coexistence of budo and Buddhism. When western Buddhists question if the martial arts are compatible with Buddhism, they are displaying a good understanding of Buddhism but a poor understanding of modern martial arts, a misunderstanding based on popular culture and perhaps suspicion of our characteristically western motives for studying these arts.

The irony, of course, is that despite this misunderstanding, the suspicion of many western Buddhists towards martial arts is actually well-founded. Factually speaking, the way many western martial artists practice their art— with a violent emphasis that generates ego enhancement— is indeed incompatible with Buddhism. Western Buddhists as a community may not actually understand modern Japanese Budo, but they understand other Americans very well. Western martial artists have all kinds of reasons why they practice the art they have chosen, and character development is usually on the list. But at the moment of introspection, it is not usually the principal motivation, which often is related to ego gratification, such as winning tournaments or getting promotions or the cool secret-thrill of handling samurai weapons, or even simply just wanting to fight and dominate others. While these motives are true even of many Asian martial artists, in the absence of clearly articulated peaceful motives, westerners are more likely to fall into the ego-trap of projecting their own fantasies and insecurities onto their chosen art. When Budo is practiced this way, it does seem in conflict with Buddhism, and hence becomes just another form of clinging.

But that is not what the various organizations which govern these arts are saying they are all about. In 1987, the Japan Budo Association (Nippon Budo Kyogikai), the umbrella Federation comprised of the national governing bodies of Kendo, Kyudo, Sumo, Karatedo, Kempo, Naginata and Jukendo, published “The Budo Charter” (Budo Kensho) outlining the purpose and objectives of the practice of these arts. Translated into English in 2004, Article One reads as follows (from Alexander Bennet, “Naginata: The Definitive Guide”) p. 78):

ARTICLE 1: OBJECTIVE OF BUDO

Through physical and mental training in the Japanese martial ways, budo exponents seek to build their character, enhance their sense of judgment, and become disciplined individuals capable of making contributions to society at large.

From there, the subsequent five articles utilize words such as courtesy, self-control, respect for others, winning with modesty, accepting defeat gracefully, cleanliness for the Dojo, and an open-mindedness that still honors tradition.

Thus, the official statement of purpose of the Japan Budo Association, makes clear that character development is the proper objective of the study of Budo. Clearly, these many organizations are aiming for something more sublime than simply kicking ass, winning tournaments, getting promoted or becoming a fantasy Jedi Knight.

It is this nuanced understanding of both Budo and Buddhism which allows me to practice both. The precise dividing line for me, came down to this question— which arts am I studying, where the weapons are real and the intention is deadly? Not Kendo— the shinai is a bamboo fencing stave, an “instrument” designed specifically not to harm people. In Kyudo, the razor-tipped arrows were long ago capped with blunted target arrowheads, making it almost impossible to injure someone save by wild misfortune. Even Iaido, the art of “drawing the sword,” is today typically practiced with an “Iaito,” a blunt-edged training sword which can’t actually cut. Of all the Budo arts that I have studied, only Batto-do— the study of Japanese military swordsmanship— is actually practiced with “live” swords, deadly intention, and practical cutting application. And so, this was the martial art that I chose to surrender to my practice of the Dharma. Ultimately, if the idea that “followers of the Way should have nothing to do with weapons,” is to have any meaning for me personally, clearly some sacrifice was necessary.

Ultimately, Budo and Buddhism can be mutually compatible, but I think that both the teacher and the student must be thinking clearly about their motives. I also think that it helps when the art being studied is evolutionary in nature, with clearly stated objectives related to human development. When all of these are in alignment, then we should not fear that the martial arts are an “Instrument of Ill-omen.”

Instruments of Ill-Omen

Well, it’s happened again— yet another deranged person, full of suffering, rage and despair, has gunned down a classroom full of innocents using modern military weaponry. Last week this all-too-familiar story played out at Northern Illinois University. Several months ago, it happened at Virginia Tech. Before that, it was the one-room schoolhouse in Pennsylvania and the slain were Amish children. Before that, it was grade-school students in Conyers Georgia… before that, in Nashville Tennessee… Santee California… the Texas Tech tower gunman… oh yeah, don’t forget Columbine too. The list of school shootings is now so long that it would fill this whole column were I to list them all. Grade school, High School, College, Kindergarten, it doesn’t matter— it seems that children and students of all ages are the easy targets of rage and despair.

As the saying goes, “What we have here, is a pattern.”

There is obviously enormous suffering associated with these events, not just with the innocent victims, but also with (and originating from) the suffering of the gunmen themselves. The Buddha-Dharma has a great deal to say about human suffering; the first of the Four Noble Truths is that Life is Suffering. Moreover, not only is life full of suffering, but the nature of suffering is that it tends to radiate outwards to affect others, like the ripples that radiate outward from the proverbial pebble dropped into a pond of still water. What all of these horrible events have in common, is that the suffering always originates with one person or perhaps two people, who then export their inner hell to others.

Modern psychology is trying to understand this violent phenomenon. In the online Crime Library website (www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/kids1/cats_4.html), I found the following quote, about one of these child-gunmen who murdered his classmates:

“While many people believed there was no motive, students who knew him disagreed.''He was picked on all the time,'' said one. ''He was picked on because he was one of the scrawniest guys. People called him freak, dork, nerd, stuff like that.''

Bullying by peers can be brutal, it's true, but what's wrong with these kids? Lots of people get picked on, but don't reach for guns and bombs as the appropriate response. Is there something that makes these kids different?

Some are just angry and may have been influenced by violence in games, movies, or on television shows. However, there does appear to be a group of children that is set apart: those with "rejection sensitivity."

According to this article, the essence of this “rejection sensitivity” is two-part: (1) that these kids (and those who reach adulthood) are thin-skinned by nature, and thus more likely to perceive hostility from others and be hurt by it; and (2) they subsequently tend to easily de-humanize their tormentors and other people generally, as a defensive mechanism to protect their psyche from the pain and suffering. Once others have been de-humanized, some of these kids and adults then act out on their suffering, with horrible results.

I am not a credentialed psychologist and so I can’t say how valid this thesis is. But I am a Buddhist and a novice priest, and my tradition has something to say about this sort of human pain and suffering. And it has to do with clinging and attachments, which the Buddha taught us will always generate suffering. In these instances, it is not only the perpetrators whose inner pain generates these horrible events. It is also our society at large which enables them as well. How so? Simply, our society is deeply attached to firearms.

Buddhism teaches us, that we are all in this together, and thus we, too, are complicit in these horrible events, to the extent that we tolerate the proliferation of weaponry. It is a kind of mass clinging, rooted in the national myth of rugged frontier individualism. We even have a popular saying for it— “Stick to your guns,” meaning someone who stands by an opinion no matter what evidence to the contrary is presented. With more than 200 million guns in circulation (!) (see www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/165476.txt), and a typical life-span of about 50 years for each well-maintained firearm, it’s clear that even if all gun sales ended immediately (which they won’t), we are going to have a problem here for a long, long time. No matter where you live in America, it’s easy to get guns, legally or illegally. Based on the regular outbreak of school shootings nationwide, this obviously applies to children as well.

What can be said about this horrible situation, from a Buddhist perspective? First, it is clear that weaponry and the Dharma simply don’t mix very well. The first of the Ten Precepts is to Not Kill Living Beings, and the tenth of the so-called “minor precepts” prohibits an ordained Buddhist from storing or owning weapons. So, as Buddhists, we can repudiate our insane national obsession with firearms by simply observing the precepts.

But that is not all we can do. We can live our lives with the kind of compassion that notices the pain and suffering of other people. We can refrain from ridicule, and we can teach this to our children. By living this way, just maybe we can help the troubled person who is prone to “rejection sensitivity”— or at the very least, we can notice their dysfunction, and flag their suffering to the attention of professionals whose intervention may prevent a catastrophe. This is how compassion can save lives, by not being always self-absorbed and instead, being attuned to the suffering of others.

And of course, we can support ideas that will reduce our insane, insecure and dysfunctional national obsession. Although it is not a Buddhist text, the Tao Te Ching has a passage which perfectly coincides with the Buddhist perspective on this problem: “Weapons are instruments of ill-omen, therefore followers of the Way never own them or have anything to do with them.”

(Almost) Everything Zoopaya

In the Lotus Sutra, which is the principal (but not the only) Sutra of the Tendai school, there is a concept set forth which is called “Upaya.” Sometimes translated as “Expedient Means,” and sometimes (more accurately) translated as “Skillful Means,” the essence of this concept is that the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and those who are on the Bodhisattva Path, will skillfully employ parables, analogies, explanations and other useful ways of teaching Buddhism that help mortal sentient beings understand and take up the practice of the Dharma. Sometimes Upaya takes the form of a “provisional” teaching which sets forth ideas that are later superseded by deeper concepts, depending upon the readiness of the hearer to grasp difficult truths. Sometimes it takes the form of “tough love,” like a parent who “grounds” an unruly child for their own good. And in Buddhist iconography, sometimes it takes the form of the various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who manifest themselves as the archetypal energies which most appeal to mortal humans. But in all cases, the motivating spirit of Upaya is compassion for human suffering, and a desire to help them grasp and practice the Dharma which leads to Liberation.

The more I contemplate the principle of Upaya, the more it seems to me that almost everything can be understood as an expedient to help people understand the Dharma. For example, if a person is prone to anger, then any situation which focuses their mind on the negative effect their anger has on other people, can be understood as Upaya. Without explicitly using Buddhist labels and terminology, the “Cause and Effect” relationship between their behavior and their outcome (i.e. “Karma”), is thus Upaya in action— Buddhism without orange robes, so to speak. And so forth— the possibilities for the application of Upaya are endless.

Of course, there are some people who, for various reasons related to their own suffering, seek to defame the Buddha-Dharma by denouncing the principle of Upaya as “the end justifies the means,” implying that Buddhists are encouraged by this concept to do anything to “convert” other people to Buddhism. But this is clearly a misunderstanding of the Dharma, and perhaps an intentional defamation to mislead others about the real nature of Buddhism. The principle of Upaya does not extend to acts of immorality or unethical behavior. For example, the use of coercion or violence to spread the Dharma is NOT an acceptable form of Upaya; the Buddha clearly rejected the idea of a “Holy War,” and Buddhists regard these two words as mutually exclusive. Likewise, lying, cheating, stealing, and other forms of immorality can never be misconstrued as forms of Upaya.

So, not everything is Upaya. But within the bounds of morality and ethical behavior, the possibilities for using the everyday circumstances of life to teach Buddhism are almost endless. It is the ideas which are important, and not the specifically Buddhist words and labels associated with them.

The concept of Upaya can also be understood as a means of comprehending the proliferation of world religions. Buddhism is NOT a possessive or triumphalist faith— there is no doctrine which says that “unless you believe XYZ, you are doomed,” or any similar kind of thinking. Indeed, Buddhism generally regards any belief system which helps people build good Karma (and thus enhance their chances for a rebirth under circumstances favorable for the attainment of Enlightenment), as something which is generally positive. Consider this passage from the Lotus Sutra, in which Shakyamuni Buddha explains the many Buddha-manifestations:

“Good man, if there are living beings in the land who need someone in the body of a Buddha to be saved, Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World’s Sounds immediately manifests himself in a Buddha body and preaches the Law for them… If they need a voice-hearer to be saved, he immediately becomes a voice-hearer and preaches the law to them… If they need King Brahma to be saved, immediately he becomes King Brahma and preaches the law to them… If they need a rich man to be saved, immediately he becomes a rich man and preaches the Law to them… If they need a monk, nun, layman believer or laywoman believer in order to be saved, immediately he becomes a monk, nun, layman believer or laywoman believer and preaches the Law to them…. If they need a vajra-bearing god to be saved, immediately he becomes a vajra-bearing god and preaches the Law to them.”

You get the idea. In this wide world of many religious faiths, it is unreasonable to expect that the whole human race will one day subscribe to a single belief system, and perhaps it is totalitarian to work for such an outcome. But through a deep understanding of the principles of Upaya, Karma, and Samsara (rebirth), the Buddha-Dharma provides us with a profound way of understanding not only Buddhism, but also how ALL of the worlds faith traditions, participate in the work of helping sentient beings attain Liberation from suffering.

Almost everything is Upaya. Like this web site, for example.

Giving Up on People

There is a member of our Sangha here in Washington— lets call him “Mark,” not his real name— with whom I have an ongoing dialogue about human nature and compassion and the Bodhisattva path. Mark is a pretty neat guy. He is a professional Biologist, and has first-hand experience working with and handling animal species from all over the world. In his long career, he has travelled all over the world in order to study and work with wildlife. In this capacity, Mark has seen first-hand the gradual and callous degradation of wildlife habitat and its effect on the animal species he has devoted his career to. He knows, better than most people, that it is humans who are responsible for the destruction of the natural world he loves so much. Returning home to Washington, Mark has witnessed the selfish and cruel ways in which people behave towards one another, whether it is bad behavior in heavy traffic on the Interstate, or the back-stabbing office politics that seem to universally plague every workplace. Or almost any news story on the evening news—war in Iraq, famine and genocide in Africa, predatory corporate greed, and so forth. It is safe to say, that Mark is pretty disgusted with the human species right now.

Mark and I share something in common: we are both very close to giving up on the human race. In my case, the revulsion I feel towards the behavior of our species, has been reinforced by the time I have spent with the books of Kurt Vonnegut, one of my favorite writers. However, unlike Mark and I, Kurt Vonnegut— who only recently passed away— actually crossed the line from almost giving up on the human race, to actively turning has back on our species. In his last book, “A Man Without a Country,” Vonnegut wrote this:

“Albert Einstein and Mark Twain gave up on the human race at the end of their lives, even though Twain hadn’t even seen the First World War… Like my distinct betters Einstein and Twain, I now give up on people too. I am a veteran of the Second World War and I have to say this is not the first time I have surrendered to a pitiless war machine. My last words? ‘Life is no way to treat an animal, not even a mouse.”

The revulsion I feel towards human behavior, as a whole, is the central conundrum I face in my practice of the Dharma and the Bodhisattva path. I have discussed this many times with Monshin Sensei. Our conversation usually goes back and forth around the Bodhisattva Vows (“Sentient Beings are numberless, I vow to save them,” etc.), eventually reaching the central question that reflects my true feelings: “But Sensei, how can I save them when I'm constantly outraged by people?”

Monshin says that the way people behave towards one another, is a reflection of their own suffering. Reading between the lines, I understand that this means that the way I feel about the human race— and thus the way Mark or Einstein or Twain or Vonnegut also feel, or felt— is therefore a reflection of our own suffering as well. This is not a very comforting insight, but at least intellectually, I accept the truth of it.

Monshin Sensei clearly shares much of the revulsion concerning human behavior which Mark and I experience. Unlike us, however, he is much better at cultivating patience and compassion towards human folly, than we are. And that is really what it means, to be on the Bodhisattva path. The Buddha-Dharma is nothing if not a systematic and logical response to human suffering and discontent. Moreover, compassion without patience is not really compassion, it is merely low-level tolerance— a grudging attitude which lacks empathy.

And so I actively resist my natural tendency towards nihilism, and I do my best to transmit the Bodhisattva perspective not only to Mark, but also to the other members of our Sangha as well. However imperfectly, we practice the Bodhisattva Path, and thus must not surrender to despair. We must resist the temptation to give up on people; we must pause and breathe deeply when confronted with human stupidity and cruelty, and then go to work for the salvation of humanity, and all sentient beings, and help them attain Liberation from the suffering and discontent that we humans multiply for ourselves.

So, despite my admiration for Vonnegut, I pity his ultimate rejection of the human race. In spite of everything, I choose not to give up on people, even when I wrestle with the almost-overwhelming temptation to do so. But I still admire his writing, and the deeply human sentiments which motivated his perspectives. And so I will now give Kurt Vonnegut the last word, with this Requiem from his final book, which I know Mark will appreciate:

“When the last living thing
has died on account of us
how poetical it would be
if Earth could say,
in a voice floating up
perhaps,
from the floor
of the Grand Canyon,
“It is done.”
People did not like it here.”

Jikan

I travelled up to the Betsuin this past weekend, as I have been doing the last several years about once every three months. Retreats at the Betsuin are usually based around a particular theme, such as O-Higan or the Paramitas or mandalas, or any number of Dharma-related teachings. This particular retreat was in commemoration of the establishment of the Tendai-shu in Japan, and remembrance of Dengyo Daishi, who was the monk known as Saicho, father of the Tendai school of Buddhism. We held a special service during the retreat in honor of Saicho, and of course there were meditation periods and group discussions and work practice and the normal range of spiritual activities which typically comprise a weekend retreat at the Betsuin. As always, the weekend was emotionally, psychologically and spiritually refreshing.

But this particular retreat was also different for me, for several reasons. For the first time, I had the pleasure of meeting Keisho Sensei, ie VK Leary, from the California Tendai Monastery, someone whose web site and (more recently) blog I had long read from afar, out here on the east coast. One of the original 1970’s-era American Tendai practitioners (along with Joshin Jonathan Driscoll and Daishin David Hall), Keisho Sensei has been Monshin Sensei’s guest at the Betsuin before, but this was my first personal contact with him. I am very happy to report that he is as wise and compassionate as his web site indicates, and he can be quite funny too. His association with the Betsuin is encouraging.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Reverend Jien Sekiguchi, from Japan. He is the new Assistant to the Abbot appointed to the New York Betsuin by the Tendai-shu Jigyodan (Overseas Mission Board). The presence of Jien at the Karuna Tendai Dharma Center is evidence of the support that the Tendai-shu has extended to the New York Betsuin. Moreover, Jien is now the second Assistant which the Jigyodan has sent here to work with Monshin and Shumon Sensei. His predecessor, Gojun Terada, made many friends in America and served the Betsuin well during his three years in New York, and we will all miss him. Happily, however, it is plain that Jien is just as conscientious and committed to the Betsuin as Gojun was, and already I can see that the Sangha has embraced him. He is helping to spread the Dharma in North America, and it is good to see. Welcome to America, Jien, we are happy you are here.

But perhaps the most reflective moment for me, was seeing a member of the Washington Tendai Sangha take Refuge Vows. The Dharma-name given to him by Monshin Sensei was Jikan, which we are told can be translated as “Vast Compassion.” People who have joined our small Sangha come in two varieties: those whose encounter with the Dharma is all-new, and those who come to us with some previous Buddhist affiliation. Such was the case with Jikan, who before our Sangha was formerly associated with one of the Tibetan schools. As I sat on the sidelines and watched Monshin administer the Refuge Vows, I was able to reflect upon my own Refuge ceremony several years ago, and the challenging vows which I heard repeated on the first night of the retreat.

On Saturday afternoon, when we returned from the walking meditation to the falls and back, we stopped before the statue of Saicho next to the Hondo. The statue was donated to the Betsuin by Shigeyuki and Risa Ito, President of the Seiko Corporation and his wife, who are Sangha members of Shinryoin (Tendai) Temple in Tokyo. The plaque before the statue cites the fact that almost all of the principal founders of Japanese Buddhism—Dogen and Eisai and Honen and Shinran and even Nichiren— all first studied the Dharma as students of the Tendai school on Hiei-zan, which Saicho inaugurated more than 1,200 years ago. Think about that— all of the Japanese Zen and Pure Land Buddhists, and the Nichiren shu and even Soka Gakkai Buddhists, as well as all of the Tendai Buddhists, trace their Dharma lineage back in time through this man. Considering the fact that all of these Dharma-streams are now flowing far beyond Japan and all over the world, it seems to me that this is plain evidence of Saicho’s powerful karma and awesome legacy. Dengyo Daishi was a Dharma-vector, not only for Japan, but in our time for the whole world as well.

Given the inspirational teachers who led the retreat and took part in it, and the significant historical anniversary over which it was held, I’d say that Jikan took his Refuge Vows on a particularly auspicious date. Not too shabby, Jikan. Gambatte!

Cause and Effect

There is a show on cable television, perhaps you have seen it, which chronicles the misadventures of rude airline passengers when things go wrong. The show is interesting because it clearly demonstrates the connection between bad behavior and bad outcomes. This well-known and even scientific principle of “Cause and Effect” is known as 'Karma' in Buddhism. When we apply the law of “Cause and Effect” to the scenario of the typical stranded airline passenger, we can clearly discern the wisdom of learning to control our thoughts.

Let’s say there is an airline passenger who has missed his connecting flight, through no fault of his own. By observing the the principles of Cause and Effect, we can track the relationship between thought and results. In this scenario, this passenger who has missed his flight allows himself to indulge the thought that, “This airline has made me miss my connecting flight—it’s their fault.” (Notice the externalization of his problem). This accusatory thought feeds his angry feelings towards the airline. Proceeding in this state of mind (and emotion) to the ticketing counter to try and get another flight out, his angry vibe puts the ticketing agent on the defensive—who is thus disinclined to exert any special effort to help this loud jerk. Result? An unanticipated night in a hotel, at the expense of the airline. Note the “Cause and Effect” relationship between his thoughts and his results.

Now lets take the same scenario from a different perspective. Instead of allowing his mind to indulge an accusation towards the airline, this passenger now sees the situation clearly—this situation is simply beyond his control. Now his thoughts are not feeding his anger— he is calm. Proceeding to the ticketing counter, he engages the agent in a pleasant way, who is thus now inclined to feel sorry for him, and exert an extra effort to help him. Result? Amazingly, a seat on a flight out has just come open. No extra night in the airport hotel.

Obviously, life does not always work out this way, but the lesson is clear enough: learning to control our thoughts can affect our lives in a positive way.

When Minds Get Stuck

Happiness is a state of mind. Of course, many people overlook this simple truism, and instead allow their sense of happiness to get wrapped up in external things, like jobs or image or possessions or wealth. But the simple fact is that we don’t need those things to attain a deep sense of happiness. In fact, when people make their happiness conditioned on external things and objects, they are setting themselves up for unhappiness when, inevitably, those things are lost or disappear.

When one examines the root causes of unhappiness, we invariably find that a person’s mind is “stuck” on a particular idea. For example, let’s suppose that a salesman has set a career goal for themselves of owning their own dealership by a certain age. He (or she) works hard and makes great strides towards that goal; but for whatever reason, the cherished goal of owning a dealership eludes him. Then one day he wakes up at the forecasted age of success, and thinks to himself: “I have not reached my goals. I have failed.” And so the thought of failure informs his feelings; he is now unhappy and feels like a failure. Why? Because his mind is stuck on an idea.

Another example of unhappiness produced by the “stuck mind” syndrome, is what psychologists call “cognitive dissonance.” Cognitive dissonance is what happens when a person experiences a discrepancy between new information, knowledge, or an interpretation, and what they already know or believe (or what they think they know). The more deeply a person’s mind is stuck on an idea or belief, the greater the cognitive dissonance and (hence) feelings of unhappiness. Of course, many people sub-consciously recognize that the implication of change conveyed by the advent of new knowledge will make them unhappy, and so they actively resist the new idea, or (at its worst) deny all new learning altogether. But trying to avoid knowledge or information like this is just a form of denial that erodes self-respect and breeds ignorance.

The way to reduce the amount of unhappiness in your life is simple to grasp but hard to do: Don’t let your mind get attached to preconceived ideas and beliefs. Because when the mind gets stuck on an idea or belief, unhappiness is sure to follow.

Why Tendai ?

I have always been a spiritual person, even when I haven’t behaved like one. When I was a kid, our family navigated an interesting but erratic path from the Lutheran Church, to Roman Catholicism, to a United Church of Christ school, eventually sending me to a Methodist College, where I thought I would become a religion major. Things didn’t work out that way, but by the time I was a young adult, one thing was quite clear to me: It’s OK to change your religion.

I ended up marrying a Jewish woman and converting to Judaism. My Hebrew name is Eliezer Pincas ben Avraham Aveinu. Judaism is a beautiful tradition, but it is also very much family-centered, and my spouse was more secular in her Judaism. She is already Jewish and never felt the need for the kind of active identification that I did. Consequently, I became interested in Buddhism, largely because I was practicing Japanese martial arts, which afforded me a gateway into Japanese culture and spirituality. In retrospect, I suppose Japanese Buddhism was part of my karma.

I thus began to study Buddhism in general, and Japanese Buddhism in particular. For a time, I attended Ekoji Buddhist Temple in Fairfax Virginia, a member of the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) and hence part of the worldwide Jodo-Shinshu movement. The people at Ekoji are wonderful, lovely people who practice the Dharma with sincerity, and the Temple is a splendid facility; but I was never really on-board with the “Nembutsu-only” approach to the Dharma, which Shinran Shonin preached in medieval Japan. The whole Tariki-Jiriki thing about “self-power” versus “other power” did not sit well with me— the Buddha clearly told his disciples to rely on themselves, and I could not square that with Shinran’s “just say Nembutsu” practice. I realized that I needed to keep looking.

In my study of Japanese Buddhism, one fact kept coming up: almost all of the various schools of Japanese Buddhism, trace their lineage to the Tendai School. It began to seem to me that the Tendai-shu, was a kind of Roman Catholic version of Buddhism—the “mother school” from which all the others emerged. This appealed to me. Moreover, I learned that in Tendai Buddhism, almost ALL of the traditional practices of the Buddha Dharma are taught— not only Nembutsu, but also Zen meditation, Bija chanting, esoteric practices like mudras, mantras and mandalas, and even practices I had never heard of, like Kaihogyo and the Goma rites. It looked like one huge spiritual menu, with something for everyone. I found this very attractive.

Eventually I found my way to the Tendai-shu New York Betsuin. The training has proven to be much more rigorous than I bargained for, but my assessment that Tendai Buddhism is wide, eclectic and tolerant of all forms of Buddhist practice was essentially correct. There is, indeed, “something for everyone” in the Tendai-shu. Tendai Buddhism is not as widespread as Jodo Shinshu, or as well-known as the Zen schools; but it definitely has more to offer, in the way of spiritual practices, than the other schools of Japanese Buddhism. If you are interested in Buddhism and live in the United States, you should consider checking out one of the several Tendai Sangha's here in North America.

Living in the Saha World...

Hello! Welcome to the blogsite of the Washington Tendai Sangha. My Dharma name is Chion, and I am a Doshu ("Temple Assistant") of the Tendai-shu New York Betsuin, the authorized representative of the Japanese Tendai school of Buddhism here in North America. It is my good karma to be one of the deshi of the Reverend Monshin Paul Naamon Sensei, Abbot of Juinzan Tendai-ji at the Tendai Betsuin in upstate New York. On December 8th of 2006-- which is "Rohatsu" or Bodhi-Day on the Buddhist calendar-- I was installed by Monshin Sensei as the Sangha Leader of the new Washington Tendai Sangha, a branch assembly of the New York Betsuin here in Northern Virginia. Since that time, I have served the Betsuin to the best of my ability, as the Sangha leader of this small assembly.

After more than a year since the Sangha was inaugurated, I recently decided to replace the original website of the Washington Tendai Sangha, with this more contemporary "blog." There are a number of reasons for this, but basically I feel that we need a forum to easily post essays and commentaries not only about the Dharma, but also about the many challenges faced by Buddhists, and especially ordained practitioners, in an urban environment.

Most people know that traditionally, ordained Buddhists are renunciants who leave the world behind, shave their heads, and live in a monastery. This is the case even with many Monks who practice one of the several Mahayana traditions, to say nothing of the Theravadan tradition. But hardly any of the ordained practioners I know, can actually sever all of their worldy obligations, without harming other people in their lives. Indeed, the spread of Tendai Buddhism in North America is largely dependant upon ordained practitioners, who (like me) lead the lives of laypeople most of the time: marriages, jobs, children, mortgages, and so forth. Not to mention a full head of hair.

Thus, few of us are real monks, with one or two exceptions-- it is more accurate to say we are priests. I am thus a part-time clergyman-- more obligated than a lay practitioner, but not quite a full renunciant, not really a true monk. And so, this blog has three purposes: (1) to serve as a web site for the Washington Tendai Sangha, so that people who visit here can find us if they want to; (2) to serve as a blackboard for Dharma lessons for our Sangha and visitors to this blogsite; and (3) as a forum for me to post my thoughts about the many contradictions and challenges faced by those of us who live our lives in the Saha World, even as we strive to live by the Bodhisattva Vow:

Sentient Beings are Numberless, I vow to save them;
Desires are inexaustible, I vow to put an end to them;
The Dharmas are Boundless, I vow to master them;
The Buddha-Way is unsurpassable, I vow to attain it.

I hope you enjoy this blog. For more information about our Sangha or Tendai Buddhism, you can reach me at http://www.wisdomcommunication@verizon.net/