Protests Among Buddhist Groups

        Protests are an often occurrence in today's religious beliefs. The protests often occur among different groups of the same religion especially in religion's with famous religious figures such as the Pope. The arguments between the groups normally happens because one group agrees with the figure and one group does not. I wondered if the same thing happens in Buddhism. After doing some research I found a video from a California news broadcast that reported about a protest that occurred when the Dalai Lama arrived in Inglewood, CA. The protest was between followers of the Dalai Lama and the protestors themselves. As we know the Dalai Lama is a Tibetan Buddhist; the people protesting are also Tibetan Buddhists, but they are part of a distinct group who belong to a sect called the Shugden Network.

I need to clarify that the group is not protesting against the Dalai Lama himself, but they are protesting his ban on the practice of Dorje Shugden worship. According to various websites, the Shugden practitioners pray to the Dolygal and they treat him as a type of 'Dharma protector'. They even treat this deity as being more important than the Buddha himself. This conflict has been going on for years and recently in India the pressure for the believers to stop their practice has gotten so bad that practitioners have been sent away as outcasts and the Dalai Lama's followers have even gone as far as destroying statues of the Dorje Shugden deity. All of which, is not in line with Buddhism's believe in peace and mindfulness.

Towards the end of the end of the broadcast, in attempt to make her case, a Shugden network spokesperson, Len Foley stated, "He [the Dalai Lama] is a Buddha of compassion and wisdom; when we make prayers to Dorge Shugden, we're basically praying for wisdom and compassion."  The protest was to the the Dalai Lama that the Network wanted a meeting with him to discuss the ban, but there has been no recent news that the Lama has agreed.

The last two books that we read in class made the case for living with religious tolerance and acceptance and I found it to be really weird that the Dalai Lama, a famous figure in Buddhism, placed a ban on a certain type of worship. It left me stunned and a little confused because it doesn't match the idea of Buddhism that we studied this semester. I do, however, understand that by worshiping a spiritual figure, this particular type of worship is leading to sectarianism, which is ultimately a narrow minded view instead of a mindful and open view.

Note: I found the above information for this post from multiple articles and websites, not just from the news broadcast. I have listed the links that I used if anyone would like to have a further insight on the controversy between the Lama and the Shugden community.

http://www.dalailama.com/messages/dolgyal-shugden/his-holiness-advice

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-faith-column/2008/08/dorje-shugden-dalai-lama-ban

http://www.atvn.org/news/2014/02/dalai-lamas-visit-us-stirs-controversy

 

Guidelines for Dating in Buddhism

            After a conversation we had in class about Buddhist’s views on marriage and love I decided to write a blog post about it. I think the idea of not getting attached/dependent to/on someone would be difficult. I think that is part of a good marriage, being able to rely on someone else. As I am googling “Marriage in Buddhism” I see a link for “Buddhist Dating.” I clicked on it and realized that there is a Buddhist dating site, just like Christian-mingle or match.com. For some reason this lead to wondering if as a true Buddhist would dating have different “rules” or “expectations”? I came across this website (link below) called If the Buddha Gave Dating Tips. This website gives “Buddha advice” and explains them in what the author calls modern terms. It lists things like “do whatever it takes to leave on good terms”, “Equality is based on shared values, shard communication, and shared self-respect”, “in equal relationships both people are challenged to grow and evolve together”, “The only constant is change”,  “We must be know and accept who we are fully before we enter a relationship, lest we end up in co-dependency. When two whole people join in a supportive relationship, the results can be magical”, and “If we believe and live as already-full beings, we don’t look to others to fulfill us.” Through this research I have realized that there are dating sites for everything. A lot of the websites I found were trying to be comical about Buddhist dating and the rules that Buddha might have. The third link listed below was by far my favorite and probably the most helpful link. It was more on a serious note and was actually talking about things that applied to the rules that might go along with Buddhism in a dating situation. Things like: “Do not indulge in sexual misconduct”, “living the precepts”, and specific sexual issues (Marriage, homosexuality, and desire).

http://www.buddhistconnect.com/site/

http://www.meetmindful.com/if-the-buddha-gave-dating-tips/

http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistteachings/a/sexbuddhism.htm

Does yoga help?

My friends lately have been trying yoga classes and have been pressuring me to go. After class on Tuesday I finally gave in and paid my $15 and went to a yoga class. After being in the class for about 10 min I began to think back to our discussions from class about mindfulness and Buddhism and as the yoga teacher was walking us through breathing exercises I was making connections to my personal image of meditation. Before this class my definition of meditation would have been sitting cross-legged in an empty room chanting or something. But now my perspective on meditation has changed. I now see meditation as a calming tool to center yourself and be able to focus on little things around you.  During yoga class I specifically jumped back to the day in class where Dr. Davis mentioned how in more advanced yoga they were focusing on moving the smallest arch in their foot and how much concentration and focus that took. So while in yoga I took his advice and started focusing on my breathing and relaxing of my body and slowly I began to feel calmer than I expected. I think I got so involved with thinking about those little things I zoned out from what we were actually doing in the class. I am really glad I took this yoga class after taking our Philosophy class because I feel like I wouldn’t have gotten as much insight into the actual benefits of meditation if I had not had an open mind about it from class. I think I'm definitely going to try yoga again. 

Homosexuality and buddhism

    Buddhism, precludes its practitioners from being involved in sexual misconduct. Lay people should not participate in any type of sex act which differs from traditional, heterosexual relations between a man and woman, while monks are required to take vows of chastity. In 1997 the Dali Lama made a statement concerning homosexuality and buddhism. He differentiates between "believers" and "believers" saying:

    "From a Buddhist point of view, men-to-men and women-to-women is generally considered sexual misconduct.

"From society's viewpoint, mutually agreeable homosexual relations can be of mutual benefit, enjoyable and harmless."

     This distinction is important in this modern world, where Buddhist leaders like the Dali Lama must uphold the tradition teachings and tenets of their faith, which state that non-heterosexual relations are inappropriate, along side a desire to end persecution and suffering of all peoples universally. This struggle reminds me of the new popes recent statement about equality for all in the LGBT community and I find the push-pull between modern fights for equality which most major religions support and the upholding of traditional faith values.  

   In the same statement, the Dali Lama also expressed that oral and anal sex even among heterosexuals were also classified as sexual misconducts, alongside masturbation. Some gay, Buddhist leaders became upset with the Dali Lamas statement, urging for a reinterpretation of the ancient scriptures, worried about the backlash that such scriptures might have on violence from homophobic people across the world who could use this statement as fuel for further inequality among gay communities. 

   In my opinion there is nothing homophobic about the Dali Lamas statement. He is simply upholding the scripture which has been passed down to him. He is still urging for universal human equality, he just feels any sex act that is not vaginal between a man and a woman is not the correct path towards liberation for those who are practicing buddhists, as is taught by his religions sacred books.   

further reading:   http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Dalai-Lama-Speaks-on-Gay-Sex-He-says-it-s-wrong-2836591.php

Buddhism and Asceticism

While the Buddha did reject asceticism, in the extreme ways practiced by indian "sadhu" (holy men) at the time he was alive. He did not entirely forgo less extreme versions of ascetic practices as a means to train the body and mind and abandon all worldly attachments. Thirteen "dhutangas" were laid out by the Buddha as means to liberate the body and mind from outside distractions, such as lavish or excessive clothes, overindulgence/over-dependence on food, and attachment to where one lives. The idea of asceticism within the confines of Buddhism sounds counterintuitive, because it is well known that asceticism in hinduism along with the caste system were two of the main things cast away by the Buddha. However, these renunciations should be separated from any notion of asceticism associated with the Hindu system. Unlike the practices of naked Sadhus, who go long periods of time without food, covered in ash, meditating for weeks on end or otherwise depriving their bodies of sensory experience, these dhutangas are simple instructions such as eating only a single meal a day, wearing only robes which have been found abandoned, or to sleep without shelter on the ground. They are much more moderate than the cryptic texts of hindu mystics. Urging practitioners only to renounce the superfluous things of day to day life which create attachment, in order to aid the process of liberation from suffering. There are five motivations which the buddha says are correct reasons to embark on the practice of these dhutangas: out of ignorance stemming from the practitioner having met others who practice the dhutangas and having been impressed by the perceived effects, to lesson greed in ones life, out of "madness", for their simple, healthy effects, because the Buddha did so. These practices, if practiced correctly and for the right reasons will yield many virtues for the practitioner.

Above is an example of a modern sadhu practicing some interesting ascetic techniques.

For more information on the thirteen dhutangas visit:
   http://en.dhammadana.org/sangha/dhutanga.htm
         

Image source:  http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/a-sadhu-or-holy-man-buries-his-head-george-f-mobley.jpg

Yoga and Buddhism

      The roots of yoga can be traced back to the Rig Veda, which is the oldest Hindu text. Although yoga in the West is not considered to be traditionally religious, the practice derives its teachings from Hinduism, the Hindu Dharma, and other aspects related to Indian culture. Although six Vedic yoga systems existed originally, those systems evolved to create the many different types of yoga the world knows today. Like Buddhism, yoga emphasizes its own form of mindfulness through the breath. Both can utilize meditation and awareness in order to help followers transcend karma and rebirth or samsara. One the surface, the two ideologies appear to go hand in hand. However, many Buddhist teachings directly reject certain teachings of the Atman, Ishvara, Brahman, and Vedanta (Hindu teachings). For example, we’ve learned that Buddhism rejects the notion of a self. Traditional Yoga-Vedanta practices emphasize followers to strive for self-realization. Therefore, self-realization through Yoga-Vedanta practices allows one to observe his or her true nature. In An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, D.T. Suzuki names a Buddhists true nature as one’s original face, or Buddha face. The differences between observing one’s true nature and discovering one’s Buddha face seem to be difficult to describe. Throughout his book, D.T. Suzuki also brings up the idea that meditation is not even necessarily required for one to be considered Zen. From his perspective, yoga could potentially create the circumstances for one to discover his or her own Buddha face, but yoga does not seem to be directly endorsed by many Buddhists. 

Additional Info: http://www.vedanet.com/2012/06/yoga-and-buddhism-similarities-and-differences/

Buddhism and Creativity

            In a lecture series given at Harvard University in Spring of 2014, Herbie Hancock discussed his life and experiences in jazz. In the fifth lecture, Hancock brought forth his own experiences with Buddhism and Creativity. Hancock begins his lecture with the explanation of how a former band member sparked his interest in Buddhist philosophy after his playing improved greatly. Hancock takes his audience on a riveting and eloquent explanation of how the relationship of Buddhism, nature, and awareness can unlock doors of creativity and spirituality.

            “Buddhism doesn’t write the notes for me, but it absolutely and positively affects how I look at everything,” Hancock states at the beginning of his lecture. He goes on to explain through certain personal anecdotes and stories of how being aware of his body and mind has allowed him to reach creative peaks that would not have been possible for him without the presence of Buddhism. Hancock explains the meaning of the title of the Lotus Sutra, which was the first aspect of Buddhism introduced to him. He says by chanting “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” he is able to achieve an external and internal experience through the process of the mind and the forming of sound. This “ultimate law of the universe” has helped Hancock to bring Buddhist practice into his life and expand upon his own creative journey in “the art of life”.

Later, Hancock stated, “Expanding your personal viewpoint will affect your daily life and influence your purpose”. This open perspective on knowledge and experience of new and different things can hold true to the purpose of this class. The idea that becoming more worldly and culturally aware will enlighten one’s self (or non-self) is not something new or groundbreaking, but hearing the words from someone as unsuspecting as the jazz great, Herbie Hancock, made the words resonate and ring with clarity.

http://www.sgi-usa.org

Music and Buddhism

When being introduced to a new culture or religion, sometimes it is introduced through music.  Music is truly a universal language and is something that most individuals can relate to.  Within Buddhism, music is obviously not something to listen to for pleasure, but music is used for chants and sutras.  The Mahayana tradition, however, was the only tradition to add instrumentation such as drums or flutes to these sacred chants. 

            In more modern music throughout Asia, some popular artists are influenced by Buddhist ideas and allow this to be included within their songs.  Artists like Faye Wong; who is popular in places such as Mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore considers herself a Buddhist and the singing group I-Gemz in Malaysia actually released an album title Cradled in Buddha’s Arms; this titular song turns out to be a praise song for the original Buddha, although some critics state that artists like this have no true grasp on traditional Buddhist music. 

            Buddhism itself is becoming more and more relevant in Western Cultures where pop music plays a large role in mainstream society.  Most musicians who are also Buddhist are a part of the Nichiren tradition of Buddhism.  A movement with 12 million members who follow the Nichiren tradition is the Soka Gakkai International.  One notable follower of this movement is Tina Turner.  She like some of the author’s we have come across in this class considers herself both a Christian and Buddhist.  Heavily Buddhist music has not made it into the mainstream of pop music, but music has become a way of teaching Buddhist ideas and culture. 

Buddhism and Food

         I've often wondered what a typical Buddhist diet consisted of so I decided to research it. I learned that Buddha himself suggested that the monks avoid eating humans, elephants, horses, dogs, snakes, lions, tigers, boars, and hyenas. However, though Buddha advised against the consumption of the kinds of meat listed priorly, there is not said to be any set Buddhist dietary laws. The Buddhist diet differs within each school of Buddhism. The Theravada and Mahayana schools of Buddhism typically refuse to eat meat and fish. Buddhists from China and Vietnam are known to avoid what they consider to be the Five Pungent Spices including garlic, onion, and leek. These Buddhists believe that these foods will increase one's anger and sexual desire. Tibetan buddhists will never consume fish and typically avoid eating fowl. The reason Buddhists avoid different kinds of meat is because it is believed that different kinds of meat can cause different emotions to occur within the individual. For instance, fish is believed to cause aggression, foul is believed to cause desires, and red meat is believed to give birth to ignorance. Many Buddhists choose to be vegetarians on the basis of the first precept which is often interpreted as "do not harm." Additionally, Buddhism is rooted in the notion of reincarnation and the belief that animals can be reborn as humans and vice versa which prevents Buddhists from eating animals.
         Buddha wanted his followers to think about five things while eating, these are known as the "Five contemplations while eating".  Buddhists should only eat if these qualifications can be met. These qualifications include:
1) One considers if one deserves the food.
2) If one's mind is not greedy
3) If the food is a necessity and a healing agent for the body
4) And if the food is eaten for the purpose of part of reaching enlightenment.

Sites Used:
http://www.faithandfood.com/Buddhism.php
http://faithinfood.org/spirituality-food/buddhism/

Modern Buddhism in the West

While I was researching this topic, I came across a Time Magazine article from 1997.  The article reminded me of how Buddhism surged in popularity during that time.  The Beastie Boys held their Tibetan Freedom Concerts, The Dali Lama won a Nobel Prize for Peace and Brad Pitt starred in Seven Years in Tibet.  Richard Gere and Tina Turner were well known practicing Buddhists and Tibetan Flags were everywhere.  That wasn't the first introduction of Buddhism to Western society, but it was a popular theme for a while and I think that many of my immediate thoughts about Buddhism prior to this class stemmed from those celebrity headlines.

I read a few different articles about how Western practitioners have adapted traditional Buddhist teachings to suit Western ideals.  Much like the protestant reformation aimed to bring christians to believe in equality over hierarchy and introspection over ritual, certain Buddhist practices have been more popular in Western society than others.  For those who brought Buddhism back with them from days of colonization, they claimed to want to return to an authentic Buddhism based on original texts rather than monastic chanting.  They dismissed idolatry in favor of meditation.

In America, Engaged Buddhism found favor over traditional Buddhist practice of withdrawal from worldly passions.  Some contributors think that Buddhism suits the American "do-it-yourself" mentality.  Meditation allows those who practice to take the time to look inside themselves and find a deeper meaning to everything around them.  From what I read, there are those who fear American adaptations are harmful to the traditional teachings of The Buddha.  Of course, there are an equal number who argue in favor of anything that offers a little calm and clarity in an otherwise hectic world.  I think that they are both correct in that not everyone is able or willing to give themselves over to monastic life, adopting certain practices are beneficial but they are not Buddhism in the traditional sense without the sacrifice of self that is the central theme of Buddha's teachings.



Van Biema, David, McDowell, Jeanne. "Buddhism in America. (cover story)." Time 150, no 15 (October 13, 1997): 72. Military & Government Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed June 30, 2014).

Steinfels, Peter. "Beliefs: The development of modern Buddhism is traced to a mix of Eastern and Western influences." New York Times. October 26, 2002.

Buddhism and Abortion

2nd Blog Post

I chose to research the Buddhism view on abortion because I thought it might be a complicated issue considering the cycle of samsara.  My researched showed that there is no universal view of abortion in Buddhism.  Traditional Buddhists seem to reject abortion and view it as the destruction of a life, however, modern Buddhists seem to feel all over the map about it. 

One of the central, if not the central, idea of Buddhism is understanding the effects of your actions and having responsibility for those consequences.  An abortion is an action that causes a very real consequence.  All over the world, whether an abortion is murder is stills something people are fighting over.

According to the BBC,

“According to the teachings of Buddha, five conditions must be present to constitute an act of killing.

·      The thing killed must be a living being

·      You, the killer, must know or be aware that it is a living being

·      You must have the intention to kill it

·      There must be an effort to kill

·      The Being must be killed as a result”

-BBC

            This metric makes it seem like abortion is killing, except the first two bullet points make it still up for debate.  Is a blastocyst or a fetus “a living being”?  And, if the person destroying the fetus doesn’t believe it is “a living being”, then is it not an act of killing?

There is also the very real issue that comedian Bo Burnham called, “the probable problem of a pro-life abortion” in his song “New Math”.  Abortions are performed in order to save a woman’s life every day.  The BBC article says that in these cases, it is the intentions with which the act is done that matter.  “If the decision is taken compassionately, ... the moral harm done will be reduced with the good intentions involved”  (BBC).

Interestingly, the Dalai Lama has spoken about abortions performed when it is discovered that the fetus will have severe developmental disabilities. 

“If the unborn child will be retarded or if the birth will create serious problems for the parent, these are cases where there can be an exception.  I think abortion should be approved or disapproved according to each circumstance.”

                        - Dalai Lama, New York Times, November 28, 1993

I think this statement is really interesting.  He starts out by basically saying he thinks that it is fine to abort mentally handicapped children – something that many would have moral problems with regardless of religion.  But he then backs off a bit saying it should be a case-by-case decision.  This is a very diplomatic answer – he basically leave the issue open for interpretation.

            The BBC article brought up an issue I didn’t even think of  - abortion is viewed as bad karma for the woman and abortionist, obviously, but apparently it is also viewed as bad karma for the fetus as well.  This is because an abortion means the ‘soul’ is immediately sent back to the cycle of death and life without the chance to accumulate good karma.

            Something that came up in multiple articles I read was Japan’s relationship with Buddhism and abortion.  Abortion is extremely common there, and so a tradition has developed of making offerings to Jizo, god of lost travellers and children, during a memorial service for the aborted fetus that incorporates Buddhist as well as Shinto and local traditions.  This practice is rejected by most Buddhist organizations because the practice has no basis in Buddhist texts.  It is also problematic because some temples will exploit women who have had an abortion by charging them money for these services and instilling fear that if they don’t use the services they could be victims of retribution from the fetus’ soul.

            I  am glad I did this research because it turned out to be a more complicated issue than I initially thought.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/buddhistethics/abortion.shtml

Monks Be Pippin' in Style

Blog post (2)
      I have been searching for the entire day about buddhist, buddhism, and monks. When I given hope on interesting topics I found this video: http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/06/buddhist-monks-having-a-louis-vuitton-scandal.html
        Apparently these young monks were being video taped inside a private jet, with expensive sunglasses and a  Louis Vuitton carry on. At first I thought it was humourous, here even a monk can not escape material things of the modern world.
      But, with further research this monk in the front seat of the video is a fugitive. His name is Wirapol Sukpho a Thailand monk on the run for several charges like rape, online fraud, manslaughter, embezzlement, and many other crimes dealing with drugs as well.
      After reading the article by NY Daily News I couldn't believe what I was reading. Apparently before the video, he was leaving a meditation retreat. What is really sick about Sukpho is how he still commits to being said monk. It's disrespect to buddhism. There is no possible way that other monks or practicing buddhists would agree with his lifestyle.
      Another sickening fact from this story is "Last year, about 300 of Thailand's 61,416 full-time monks were reprimanded and in several cases disrobed for violating their vows, according to the Office of National Buddhism."
       What is causing these monks to violate their vows? What led Sukpho to turn against his vows?

Dalai Lama Video

I watched an interview of Dalai Lama with Jim Glassman about the relationships between Tibet and The People’s Republic of China.

I was born and raised in China. As a result, my perception about Tibet has always been from the Chinese perspective. Since grade schools, I was taught over and over again that Tibet is a part of China. My brain was trained in such way that Tibet is not only a place full of religious mysteries led by Dalai Lama, but also a dangerous area where violence are used to achieve it’s political ambitions. 

By coming to America and studying Buddhism in American higher education, I start to understand the other side, the Tibetan side. My perception of Dalai Lama was wrong simply because the word “ambition” and Buddhist just don’t go together. Like Dalai Lama said clearly in the video, what Tibet wants is a democratic government in which they enjoy some political freedom from the PRC. 

In the video, Dalai Lama is very knowledgeable about the history of different kinds of societies and political systems. He seems to understand the importance of democracy and human rights in the 21st century. As of the constant conflict with China, Dalai Lama is trying to approach it with the peace within the Buddhism beliefs and the help from the external sources such as the United States and other western countries. 

The Karmapa's TED talk

I watched the TED talk of Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, a well respected religious leader in Tibetan Buddhism that devotes his life in the teaching of Buddhism. Through research, I understood that Karmapa is seen as the second highest ranking spiritual leader in the Tibetan Buddhism tradition after the Dalai Lama.

During the TED talk, the Karmapa tells the story of how he was chosen and taken away from his parents and homeland. The religious life was not as “fun” as he expected; instead, he had to work hard to adjust to the new life and practice with his heart. The Karmapa acknowledges the advancement of technology in today’s world. However, he worries that the development is slowly becoming the burden to people’s fundamental lifestyle. He uses the analogy that it is as if we are climbing higher and higher on the tree while undermining the root of the tree. 

The Karmapa says, “sometimes we develop grand concepts of what happiness might look like for us, but if we pay attention, we can see that there are little symbols of happiness in every breath that we take.” I believe that in order to pick up those “little symbols of happiness” requires a mindful person. I agree with the Karmapa that in this day and age where everything happens in a lighting speed, we really need to slow down and be mindful of what we are doing and increase people’s interactions on a mind-to-mind and heart-to-heart level.