A Jack Mormon Confession (satire)

Since June I personally have refrained from hot drinks, alcohol, illegal drugs and tobacco. As well, I am celibate.

Between myself and God, I am repenting my past sins in private. On Friday, August 29, I am to be baptized as a Mormon.

So all that talk of remaining a Jack Mormon is pure satire. My epiphany came when I read the anti-Mormon views on the interviews preceding baptism: they gave me the wrong impression.

Nobody in the hierarchy asks you to confess your darkest sins to them, for that isn't supposed to be shared with another mortal soul.

While I am still going to be liberal and still write about Buddhism, politics and other topics that I am interested in, I am also going to write about Mormonism as objectively as I am able. Though the anti-Mormon propaganda will no longer be of interest to me, except perhaps to provide inspiration for commentary.

For now, this post will provide me with the opportunity to explain simply why I decided to be baptized as a Mormon.

With eyes open and an open heart, I attended all the instruction hours since the end of May until now and will continue to do so.

While I am convinced that Joseph Smith Jr was inspired by God to write the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price, the Testimony of the Three Witnesses only convinces me of his inspiration. However, I will go along with the cover story that the angel Moroni took those brass plates back to wherever he went.

My own statement above is not a confession of doubt but is made because I have never been shown the original literature by the angel Moroni.

As well, the Egyptian hieroglyphics which inspired Joe Smith to write the Book of Abraham do not translate as that book. Even so, I would consider Mr Smith as inspired by God to write all the scriptures specific to Mormonism and consider him a Mormon prophet.

Nothing I have written so far will fully explain why I became a Mormon. I am sure that it's because I am a people pleaser.

Also, the fact that this local Mormon community is the least judgmental of all Christian denominations has also convinced me that my choice is the best one to make out of all the choices that I faced.

For I could have rejected Mormonism and dealt with being a Buddhist whose spirituality accepted that there is a God and even allowed for the Christ. On closely examining my sarcastic statement that "my Christ is the Buddha", I realize that the statement is considered a religious one by Christians of other denomination.

So my explanation for becoming a Mormon is actually summed up by the concept of the Buddha as my Christ, due to the religious pluralism that I have been quietly practising since 1990. This has been confirmed for me by the Mormon cosmology regarding the souls of pre-mortal times to today's current incarnation on Earth and to the Afterlife. Even Spirit World and Spirit Prison fit into my Buddhist worldview, though the Celestial, Terrestrial and Telestial Kingdoms would become similar to Buddhist heavens.

Of course, at first glance, the Mormon cosmology is in my eyes more like a rough draft of the more complex Buddhist cosmology. Though it is more likely that I am not going to revert to Buddhism because of this revelation.

Another reason why I became Mormon because I like the fact that the Mormon literature has had articles on Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism written without critique of each religion.

It is that religious pluralism which confirms my belief that Mormonism is going to be the most wonderful part of my spiritual journey.

Even so, everyone who thinks I have gotten sucked into a cult have no idea at all because they might keep forgetting that I have become Mormon with my eyes open and my heart open to the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints. That does not mean I am going to forget my roots as a Buddhist. Instead, Mormonism will take what I have learned about Buddhism to a new level.

Because this blog is semi-private, I will only refer to the Elders and the wonderful brothers and sisters of my local Mormon ward without specifically identifying anyone.

Thank you too to the brothers and sisters, and especially Elder M and Sister M who all served as hosts for dinner - three wonderful dinners that led from uncertainty to confusion and finally to understanding.

However, my thanks goes out to Elder L who invited me to church, Elder M who patiently instructed me, Elder F who knows his wushu very well, and Elder T, whose words impress me the most. Also thanks to Brother C for his sponsorship.

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A poem on My Baptism (which I plan to read after baptism): http://gandhara.blogspot.com/2014/08/my-baptism-poem.html

Forgiveness the Economy of the Heart

Forgiveness is the economy of the heart... Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits. — Hannah More

Moderation is encouraged by forgiveness. When for anger is spent, hatred is cast away, and the spirit is redeemed.

Just as gold is refined by fire, so too do we pass through the hells of life to transcend and encounter briefly the momentary joy due to the power of love, namely loving-kindness which is the wellspring of human compassion.

Due to the working of the Primal Vow, which is enabled through the power of love, it is said in Pure Land Buddhism that the Buddhist is truly assured of rebirth in the Pure Land of Bliss.

With this mantra am I reborn there: Namu Amida Butsu.

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Original posted: January 7, 2006 8:56 PM

Reference:

Primal Vow: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primal_Vow‎

Eye of Wisdom

Having obtained the eye of wisdom,
I will remove the darkness of ignorance;
I will block all the evil paths
And open the gate to the good realms. — Bodhisattva Dharmakara

"Having obtained" refers to years of study (of the three sutras of Amida Buddha) and meditation (particularly Nembutsu or Buddha Recitation) which uncovers the "Eye of Wisdom".

"Eye of wisdom" refers to the eye that sees the Dharma and the inner spiritual world. Also known as the Dharma Eye, the Eye of Wisdom is the complement of the physical eye that sees the external material world, which is called the Worldly Eye.

"Darkness of ignorance" refers to the state of the unenlightened mind that delights in sensuous desire and the evil passions which distract the Buddhist from the spiritual journey. Evil in context with the passions refers to any confusion and distraction from that journey due to wrong action resulting in wrong-mindedness.

"Evil paths" refers to the many paths which distract the Buddhist from achieving calm abiding and peace of mind. Calm abiding refers to the mind that is content with itself and is free of evil passions.

Through regular meditation, it is possible to "remove the darkness of ignorance" and "block all the evil paths" through calm abiding and continued reflection on Enlightenment. By removing the darkness of ignorance and blocking all evil paths, confusion and distraction from the spiritual journey is dispelled. As a result, the clear mind is achieved in which calmness abides.

With calm abiding, it is possible to "open the gate to the good realms" of spiritual contentment, which prepares the way to the Pure Land of Bliss.

---

Juseige - Verses confirming the 48 Vows:
http://web.mit.edu/stclair/www/larger.html#Juseige%20-%20Verses%20confirming%20the%2048%20Vows

Eye of wisdom: http://www.buddhapadipa.org/dhamma-corner/the-eye-of-wisdom/

My Street version of Japanese Buddhist History From Kukai to today

In this blog entry I'm going to write in my words what I learned about Buddhism in Japan on my own.

While I might meander a bit, you'll get a gist of why I might annoy people with my style of writing. >:)

You will also see why Japanese are born Shinto, live like Buddhists, and despite the current trend with those church weddings, are nominally Christian except for the whipping and the martyrdom. If you're Christian back in ancient times, you might meet up with a Buddhist or Shinto fanatic who might either beat you up or worse, force you to trample on Christian icons to prove you are Shinto.

While that does not happen anymore except when the far-right Shinto fanatic gets rowdy and so jealous of too many church weddings by gullible people who become Christianity.

So gaman, suck in your gut, and drink a bit of sake before you read this entry, because it's brutal. Man, sitting on your ass for the 99 minutes it might take you to read through it may be straight up brutal! Sorry, I kid. :)

Please note that this is a street version of Buddhism in Japan.

Due to my writing style, I am currently going to skip what I forgot and write of what I remember.

Bearing that in mind, Google "Japanese Buddhism" and look for the wikipedia entries. For the adventurous who are learning Japanese, I dare you to use the Japanese characters to find the hidden information on the Japanese version of Wikipedia. It will help you learn why we Japanese are religious, no matter whether it is Shinto, Buddhism and the occasional church weddings. :p

As for the less adventurous I have added a few references pointing to wikipedia articles used in updating this blog post.

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First, we begin with Kukai and Shingon, the Vajrayana gone K-town i.e. Kyoto for political reasons. Though East Asia practices Mahayana Buddhist, Vajrayana was sufficiently compatible with Mahayana to inspire its introduction to Japan by Kukai.

Kukai's inspiration began while learning to memorize Akasagarbha Memory Retention Practice in three months whilst hiding out in Shikoku.

In ancient times, Shikoku was popular for Shinto pilgrims being the most rural of all Japan over a thousand years ago. Today, it's for Buddhist pilgrims. However, that's because the Shinto of today aren't allowed oppress Buddhists. Back in ancient Japan, the Shinto had the right to oppress others if need be due to the divine Emperor dogma.

One day a long time ago, Kukai had a dream in which the Buddha Akasagarbha appeared to him saying: "Go read the Mahavairocana sutra. It is the mother of good magic, and can protect the Emperor."

When he checked out the temple that had a copy of the sutra, Kukai found it was written in Chinese so old that even he had a hard time understanding. Obviously, whoever copied it copied what they couldn't understand as is, even preserving the Sanskrit. So it had major mojo!

On realizing this, Kukai set sail for China to find the monk who knew this sutra to teach him to read Sanskrit and improve his Chinese.

By the time he arrive in China, the monk was on his deathbed. After realizing this man was the only one who could memorize the Mahavairocana perfectly, the old man made Kukai his Successor. Many Chinese monks helped Kukai learn Chinese & Sanskrit well. Then they let him read the Mahavairocana in the raw, in Sanskrit, preserved for centuries.

Thanks to the Tang emperor, who was a Taoist fanatic and a faithful Confucian, the old monk knew esoteric Buddhism was going to die out soon. This realization was contained in the concept of Mappo, which is the Japanese Buddhist term about the Buddhist End of Days, a time when few people will wish to know what the Buddha said, his Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. That dying monk realized that Kukai was the man destined to revitalize faith in Mahavairocana.

Then the monk achieved mahaparinirvana which happens when a Buddhist priest passes away and his body is prepared for cremation, while his consciousness is said to return to the Absolute. Right after succeeding as head monk, Kukai thanked all of remaining monks and left China with the Mahavairocana memorized leaving the country without any scrolls on him.

After the old monk's death, Kukai became head monk, and other monks asked him to wrote the old man's eulogy. It was so well done the other monks helped him learn Sanskrit to faithfully translate the Mahavairocana sutra into Chinese for them. Later, he also translated the sutra into Japanese when he came home.

After that was done Kukai sailed back to Japan, and introduced the Japanese emperor to esoteric Buddhism in the Buddhist sect known as Shingon. Being a superstitious man who believed in magic keeping the empire going, and the crops and women fertile, the Emperor willingly became his best pupil.

Overall though, Shingon Buddhism didn't find popularity among the people because it was for the elite. Its mojo just couldn't be learned overnight.

Later on, Shingon would become popular for accepting a devout nobleman's family's child to a nunnery or a monastery. Pretty soon, power brokers like shoguns and their samurai security guard guards were getting into this trend.

Isn't it amazing how the laws of karma can be abuse? ;)

In ancient Japan, the elites may have originally been foreigners themselves who needed to invent a class system to separate themselves from the common people, who originally may have been the conquered people, and were destined to remain peasants.

Above them were boss men called merchants. Usually they became bosses of villages because business leads to relations with samurai, the level above that. The samurai originally body guards of Emperor, later shogun and other nobles and later merchants.

It is said that noble families were of two kinds: originally they arrived from Formosa (today's Taiwan) and possibly Ryukyu Island. Later they came from Korea — most likely from Paekche. When Kukai was born, they came from Korea, and married into the Emperor's family and his first cousins.

That's Feudalism 9th century style.

If you mention this to a knowledgeable Japanese national, then he might reply "Korea never contributed to the lineage of our Emperor, and they never appreciated all we did for them when we occupied Korea before the war." That's true, but I never said they did. It would make sense for the Imperial bloodline pure "Even so," he'll add, "that's OK now since we give all Korean musicians their big break to fame and fortune by introducing them to JPOP fans all across Japan!" What he means is, "I don't believe your BS about Japanese emperor lineage because it causes cognitive dissonance to listen to your crackpot theory about the pure line of emperors who were Japanese first! You're dissing my main god and that's not right! Oh, and you just implied the shoguns were not native to Japan!"

At this point in the conversation, it is preferable to agree politely and not argue the point. A wise man lives a long life when he is tactful when in dialogue with learned men.

Moving right along...

Even though the peasants had to produce food for the needs of each fiefdom, according to the understanding of the noblemen, it is not acceptable for peasants to learn Buddhism due to their coarse nature. It was more appropriate for Buddhist priests — usually of the noble class, and sometimes of the samurai class, provided they gave up the sword — to perform Buddhist rites for the lower classes (peasant and merchant) after accepting their offering, be it produce, food, or even their children.

In the case of Shingon, it became a respected Buddhism due to the superstitious nature of the elite.

Even the Shinto priests learn some Buddhism while gossiping over sake. That might lead to a lot of trouble like wars due to professional jealousy since Buddhism was considered a foreign religion that was not good for anything but monks on a mountain.

See what happens when a religion becomes organized? ;)

Because a few of the Japanese nobility's sons who became monks were just biding their time until they became the new power brokers, Buddhist monks on a mountain made an army of sohei (warrior priests) to protect their interests from the rival Shinto priests, who had the backing of the oldest family of samurai.

Yet Shinto priests controlled a faction that led to the myth of divine emperor, and had originally tried to drive out Buddhism because the emperor lacked faith in the Buddha and lost face when a foolish Shinto priest who adopted Buddhism didn't know the magic words and couldn't stop a small plague or even keep crops and women fertile. In response, the Shinto faction took the bell donated to the Buddhist faction and threw it into a marsh.

And thus began a rivalry with Shinto, the way of the gods, and Buddhism, the way of the Buddha that was only ended when the shogun in later times made Buddhism a school of Shinto with the Buddhist pantheon of gods, buddhas and bodhisattvas being whittled down to a more manageable handful rather than the whole thing.


In time Shingon was followed by the adapting of T'ien T'ai Buddhism from China and making it their own as Tendai Buddhism. Yet the nobleman Buddhist priest still offered himself an intercessor in the form of Buddhist priest for the common people with the usual exchanging of offerings such as food, goods or child for much-appreciated assurances about afterlife.

Other forms of Japanese Buddhism also arrived, but those warrior priests were getting feisty.

Then it happened: a monk decided that Tendai Buddhism was good for nothing because the playboy sons of samurai were biding their time in the monastery during the day and sneaking out to enjoy the usual pastimes of rich kids.

His name was Honen. He formed Jodo Shu, which represent a Buddhism around a Buddha whose early worship originated in Gandhara Kingdom of western India (1500 BCE to 11th Century CE) called Amida Buddha.

This Buddhism states that if you chant the name of this Buddha Amida you get reborn in a land of bliss where you listen to the Buddha preach the dharma until it's time to be reborn again.

One of Honen’s star pupils was Shinran. He too was fed up with the shenanigans of Tendai opening the gates to rich kids who never learned the dharma but wanted to fight with you to the death just because you wanted to learn the dharma in earnest rather than sneak out, have a few brewskies and return to the temple before the head priest locked the gate.

One day Shinran had left his life at the Tendai on a retreat at a famous temple in Kyoto. It was a Shinto temple, but had a Buddhist monk running things, because the Shinto priests were out at Nara for their own safety to cater with the nobles who were their patrons.

One night, Shinran was allowed to sleep rest after helping out with cleaning the place and other work, like explaining that there's not much difference between Buddhism and Shinto practice, because the Buddha had conquered the Shinto gods and now they work for Buddha.

That night he dreamed of Prince Shotoku who is considered an incarnation bodhisattva (angel) of of Avalokiteshvara, who has a male and a female form due to his gender-free form. He was an interesting bodhisattva that might appeal to gay Buddhists and straight Buddhists today.

Overall, in ancient times, we might view Japanese noble men and women as pansexual with limited opportunity to be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual and of course, transgender. Even so, they had Japanese terms for sexuality and gender that are less precise than the ones the modern world uses.

In Japan, Buddhism got in the way of all that because if you sent your kids to a nunnery and a monastery, they would only know their fellow gender kind and not marry, have kids and follow their father's wishes about a career.

Shinto is all about fertility - end of story. Hence all of the gossip by Shinto priests that sometimes led to war.

In the dream, Prince Shotoku said to Shinran, "Go talk to Honen. He knows the way to enlightenment to free the common people from ritual."

So he did that, got tutored and began preaching the Nembutsu cult's message.

when the monks of Tendai heard about it through their contacts, they instructed their warrior priests to talk to these potential rivals, who preached to commoners and nobles alike, about a novel approach to salvation by chanting the Nembutsu ten times rather than making an offering to priests of Tendai, thus assuring of rebirth in the Pure Land of Bliss.

Each side of this battle claimed that the Pure Land is the land that all living beings go, but they differed in who gets to go there. Though the Nembutsu cults said that anyone can be reborn there in the afterlife if they recite Nembutsu ten times. Tendai said only a priest recite for a devoted peasant or merchant.

Most likely, they either read the sutras wrong or adapted the intercessor aspect of Tendai priest from the Shinto.

Eventually a couple pupils of Honen got executed because they were bad boys with slippery tongues, and annoyed the Tendai school and their political allies in Kyoto.

As a result of this tragic turn of events, Honen was banished mainly because by that time in Japanese history, the Buddhist precept of not killing a sentient being was considered a useful social more.

Additionally Shinran was banished because he didn't argue with the warriors priests either. There were also other students of Honen who didn't argue and thus they just carried on their own. Most of this latter group each formed their own separate schools of Nembutsu Buddhism, but later they were absorbed into both Jodo Shu and Shinran's Jodo Shinshu with most of them being absourbed into Shinran's.

Jodo mean Pure land School; Jodo Shinshu means Pure Land School of Truth or True Pure Land School. However, I think they were named much later than has been written because putting the schools' names on a temple might have annoyed the Tendai monks.

Additionally, a new rival of both Jodo Shu and Jodo Shinshu, the emperor-worshipping Nichiren became popular for his firebrand style of proselyting. After many trials with the noble court, Nichiren started to be critical of Jodo Shinshu, so the ruling elite reduced their persecution of him.

We now leave this history and segue into the modern era circa WW2.

Back then Japan's military government pressured the Japanese Buddhist community into compliance, except for the Nichiren lay Buddhist organization Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, whose leadership was jailed, including Soka Gakkai founders Makiguchi and Toda.

After the war, both men went on to make Soka Gakkai the strong humanistic Buddhism that shines around the world as Soka Gakkai International (SGI).

During the modern era, Jodo Shu and Jodo Shinshu leaders were pressured by military police to play by the rules during WW2 and not saying peace is better than war.

Anyone faithful to Amida and knew the truth about militarization (it steals boys from families and now the crops can't be picked so the elites, now secular militarists, can be well fed while the common people starve and are oppressed by the elites.

It is said the faithful Shin Buddhists had a woman who was arrested on trumped up charges for helping starving children and protecting her fellow Buddhists from paranoid military men who thought learning about Amida is a traitor's way because only Shinto would help them win the war against British India, and especially the Americans.

According to Shinto rhetoric, Buddhism might still be a foreign religion. You know how rabid fanatical military types can get in the Far East, like that communist leader Mao, who purportedly was of a son of a farmer.

So this lady suffered in prison, but survived and her followers of fellow Shin Buddhists welcomed her home. After all, by then Japan was occupied by the US.

I present the case of this lady because it shows that, contrary to propaganda in the Americas, some of the Japanese Buddhists were never enemies of peace in wartime Japan.

Returning to Buddhism proper, Mahayana in particular comes in different flavors, but it's the meditation that's been helpful when -simplified- the religious parts are filtered out, inspiring even psychotherapy such as cognitive behavior therapy & dialectic behavior therapy.

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Originally posted: October 29, 2012 10:14 AM PDT

Reference:

Japanese Buddhism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Japan
Gandhara: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhara

Japanese Buddhism: How to Ensure Nirvana in Pure Land for Departed Loved Ones

This article is a short guide to ensuring that departed loved ones will remain the Pure Land and eventually become Buddha.

First of all, they were True Pure Land School members and practised the Nembutsu, especially near death.

That guarantees them rebirth at the gate to the Pure Land. To open the gate to Pure Land for them, that is the purpose of the Buddhist funeral service and the memorial days. Yearly services ensure that he will stay in the Pure Land and become Buddha.

If this is but a superstition designed by Buddhist priests to ensure a livelihood, then it is a good livelihood since the Buddhist member who survives the death of a loved one are still taking care of him, even after death.

This is the epitome of filial piety. Sadly, Western society is sorely lacking in this kind of dedication to loved ones who are deceased due to superstitions about death, the dead, and dying itself.

Small wonder there are more people in the West who suffer needlessly yet admit to being Christian, Jewish, Muslim and even atheist.
=== translation: jp ===
日本仏教：ディパーテッド愛する人のために浄土に再生を確実にする方法

この記事は去っ愛する人が浄土に残り、最終的には仏になることを確実にするのショートガイドです。

まず第一に、彼らは真の浄土学校のメンバーであった、特に死の近くで、念仏を練習した。

それは彼らが浄土にゲートで復活を保証します。彼らのために浄土にゲートを開くには、それは仏教の葬儀や記念日の目的です。毎年のサービスは、彼が浄土に滞在し、仏になることを確認してください。

これはですが、愛する人の死を存続仏教のメンバーはまだ死の後、彼の世話をしているので、生活を保証するために僧侶によって設計された迷信は、それは良い生活であれば。

これは親孝行の縮図である。悲しいことに、西洋社会が痛んにより死、死んで、そして自分自身を死に約迷信に死亡している大切な人への献身のこの種のに欠けている。

小さな不思議不まだクリスチャン、ユダヤ人、イスラム教徒、さらには無神論者であることを認めるに苦しむ欧米の多くの人々があります。
=== transliteration: romaji ===
Nihon bukkyō: Dipāteddo aisuruhito no tame ni jōdo ni saisei o kakujitsu ni suru hōhō

Kono kiji wa sa~tsu aisuruhito ga jōdo ni nokori, saishūtekini wa Futsu ni naru koto o kakujitsu ni suru no shōtogaidodesu.

Mazu daiichi ni, karera wa shin no jōdo gakkō no menbādeatta, tokuni shi no chikaku de, nenbutsu o renshū shita. Sore wa karera ga jōdo ni gēto de fukkatsu o hoshō shimasu. Karera no tame ni jōdo ni gēto o hiraku ni wa, soreha bukkyō no sōgi ya kinenbi no mokutekidesu. Maitoshi no sābisu wa, kare ga jōdo ni taizai shi, Futsu ni naru koto o kakuninshitekudasai.

Korehadesuga, aisuruhito no shi o sonzoku bukkyō no menbā wa mada shi no ato, kare no sewa o shite irunode, seikatsu o hoshō suru tame ni sōryo ni yotte sekkei sa reta meishin wa, sore wa yoi seikatsudeareba.

Kore wa oyakōkō no shukuzudearu. Kanashī koto ni, seiyō shakai ga itan ni yori shi, shinde, soshite jibun jishin o shini yaku meishin ni shibō shite iru taisetsunahitohe no kenshin no kono tane no ni kakete iru.

Chīsana fushigi fu mada kurisuchan, yudayahito, Isuramu kyōto, sarani wa mushinronshadearu koto o shitatameru ni kurushimu Ōbei no ōku no hitobito ga arimasu.

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Original post: April 15, 2013 2:39 PM PDT

Whenever / Itsudemo (poem)

私が言うときは
いつでも 念仏
教祖コール：
「ナム阿弥陀仏像」
__ Translation: Romaji __
Watashi ga iu toki
wa itsu demo Nenbutsu,
Kyōso kōru:
`Namu amida butsuzō'.

__ Translation: English __
Whenever I say
The Nenbutsu, Oyasama Calls:
"Namu Amida Butsu".

Why My Buddhism Turned the Devil into a Dharma Protector (Satire)

This morning I am moved to write about religion, both Buddhist and Christian. If you have an aversion to such things, feel free to stop reading right now because the following prose is beyond your comprehension. Otherwise, please be warned: I am writing from the viewpoint of a Japanese Buddhist. All I can add to this, is in my writing, anything is possible. >:)

So I'm going to start with Jesus, because his story gets a lot of press these days.

Suffice it to say, Jesus did these things: feed the poor, clothe the homeless, cure psychosomatic illness.

Not once in the Bible did I read about him saying, "Persecute homosexuals and other sinners." He never diabolized sin to that extent. Rather, this is dogma of church people who mix up the Old Testament stories about Lot with the New Testament.

In fact, he freed sinners from the diabolizing of people that the Jews did to sinners, which led the early Jewish nation to become a tribe of warriors.

IMO Christianity borrowed heavily from pagans such as Plato and Aristotle, so much so that good and evil became personified as god and satan -- as though they were friend and enemy of Christians.

For Christians, good and evil ae extremes; there is no middle ground.

It's stuff like that makes me glad I was born Buddhist, because Buddhism is the middle ground, and good and evil the result of what each sentient being create.

I don't open myself to spiritual attack from demons by meditating because such a thing is ridiculous to a Buddhist -- we are not devil worshippers; we are worshippers of truth.

Yes, I am suggesting that Christians who use the satanism card to diabolize other faiths as pagan are authors of lies, because their lies began with denying the syncretic roots of Christianity.

In contrast, Buddhism was not founded by the Buddha. Rather, it was renamed by Christian and secular scholars alike in the modern age. For it is the Buddhadharma that was founded by the Buddha over 2500 years ago to address the problems of the nascent Hindu religion called Santanadharma, which was renamed Hinduism by modern Western scholars.

Dharma has many meanings to a Buddhist such as law or teaching. Its meditative techniques work, even without the spiritual teachings of the Dharma. However, meditation works more efficiently with those teachings to guide the meditator.

In contrast, the history of Christianity shows the Church declaring Gnostics to be anathema to their cause, solely because Gnosis is not subject to the control and power of Christians e.g. only elite members of the Church are allowed to "know God" so thoroughly that you become a Bishop or even the Pope.

Gnostics were considered enemies of the State to both Byzantium, the Eastern Roman Empire that followed Greek rituals of Christianity, and the Western Roman Empire that followed Roman ones, but mainly to Byzantium. For the Western Roman Empire's enemies were mainly Gothic, Norman and Vandal mercenaries who practiced a heretical form of Christianity.

Suffice it to say that under these conditions, Gnostic meditative practices were forgotten when Byzantine armies crushed them in the Middle East. It is even said that the libraries of Alexandria in Egypt were put to the torch by a Coptic Pope to ensure that Gnosis was never to be freely available to Gnostics, let alone pagans.

Meanwhile in India, wherever the Buddhadharma spread, local gods were subjugated and added to the Buddhist pantheon of divinities who pledged to protect the Buddha. Thus, when Western civilization entered the Dark Ages, the East became enlightened by the Buddhadharma with the Santanadharma advocates making the Buddha one of its many gods, leading to the famous Hindu-Buddhist university of Nalanda and the spread of Santanadharma into Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines).

Perhaps, the proto-Polynesians may have took to the sea so that their gods would not be subject to control by invaders.

In any case, by the time the darkness that befell Western civilization was cast off during the Renaissance, religious ignorance forced Galileo to recant and corruption arose within the Papacy to the point where bestiality, incest and murder became part and parcel of intrigues arising from Christianity's inability to control human desire. IMO this was because Christianity considered the world evil and especially the body as a tool of sin.

Yet, if God made the world, then everything in it is his creation, and thus is good. This even includes the human soul, if both it and God exist. Furthermore, sin is not the same as evil. It is alike to evil karma i.e. the fruit of actions associated with the negative emotions and feelings such as anger, fear, lust, and other confusing feelings.

Even ignorance of god does not make a person evil. Only what he creates by what he does and says may cause the rise of confusion due to negative emotions. This is known as "evil passions" to the Buddhists, and also includes the mental calculations a person makes before she acts on them to make it so in the world.

To a Buddhist, a god being a Dharma protector of the Buddha is the protector of the Buddhadharma. Thus such a divine being is a friend of the Buddha, much as Jesus is a friend of Christians, whose angels protect them from birth. The only difference is, the bodhisattvas, gods and other Dharma protectors all protect the Buddhadharma. A wise Buddhist knows that they do not exist in this reality and that he would thus be foolish to worship any one of them including the Buddha.

If the cosmology of Buddhism actually exists, then it is not in the real world but in the mind of fervent worshippers who may not grasp the symbolism but worship them out of respect for all things divine, especially the Buddhadharma which enshrine the Four Noble Truths.

Such respect is sometimes mistaken by Christians as blind worship akin to paganism, due to their ignorance about Buddhism, which sadly is due to their sole reliance on the Bible. More enlightened Christians have studied Buddhism and have compared it to the Protestant form of Christianity called Methodism minus Jesus.

Indeed, in most Asian countries where Christianity is preached, the word "God" is often replaced with that Asian nation's most often worshipped god, e.g. in Chinese Taoism with the lesser gods being akin to angels and saints. Though, in Japan, Christianity is not as easy to sell because of the Japanese myth that their people are born of the gods.

Thus many of the New Religions in Japan have a corrupted form of God speaking through the founder and even his edicts are made through spirit writing, which predates Pentacostalism's corruption by occultism when they added shamanistic practices to their worship. Of course, most Pentacostals will deny occultism and shamanism in their religious practice, because Christians deny that their religion is of this world.

Yet most of the successful Protestant sects borrow heavily from worldly sources e.g. Billy Graham and other televangelists. Though, Mr. Graham's Christianity is his own, and is thus non-denominational. He actually believes in an immortal soul which is derived from neo-Platonism (a form of paganism developed before the Dark Ages which was revived during the Renaissance. It's not Biblical though, because the New Testament only mentioned "everlasting life", which has nothing to do with immortality, which is more associated with alchemy (an occult art) than with religion.

In Buddhism, the closest one gets to immortality is reincarnation, which has nothing to do with souls reincarnating because Buddhism denies the existence of a soul. Therefore, reincarnation is not about immortality of a soul but it is about karma. For only one's actions are affected by time itself: the karma (actions) I created in the past affect my present condition and my present actions (karma) affect my future (destiny). Indeed, there is no fixed point in time as far as karma goes.

Today, I am a Buddhist, quite possibly due to past karma, both in my lifetime and in the lifetimes of previous incarnations. I might have been a god, a demon, a man or woman, an animal, a hungry ghost or even a hell being. When I die, I am sure to be reborn in the Pure Land. But for now, just sitting is enough for me.

Posted via Blogaway

from Zen Master Dogen's "The Practise of Meditation"

In your meditation you yourself are the mirror reflecting the solution of your problems. The human mind has absolute freedom within its true nature. You can attain your freedom intuitively. Do not work for freedom, rather allow the practice itself to be liberation.

— Practice of Meditation, Dogen (1200-1253)

"In your meditation" refers to zazen with the objective being liberation, the freeing of the mind from conditioning, which arises as a result of socialization. The objective of meditation is to act naturally, rather than act as though being a social being is normal. For the truth is, normal is relative to the situation.

When we act as though a sentient being is the norm, what would meditation be but something boring?

"You, yourself" refers not just to the disciple sitting in zazen meditating, but also to his original nature.

"The mirror reflecting" refers to the pure mind attained through breath meditation, which is purified by being calmed until the clear mind arises. This is seen as clarity of mind.

"The solution to your problems" refers to the assumption that the disciple's own mind has the answer to all of one's problems. Also, "solution" refers to the liberating aspects of meditation. Thus, "problems" refers to the lack of attention and focus due to socialization, where distraction is the constant. For it is possible to "get lost" on this journey called "life."

"The human mind" refers both to cognition (manas or specifically manovijnana) and also the higher state of mind (alayavijnana) found through meditation after gaining control of the ego (manas-vijnana). This higher state of mind is said to store the seeds of karma yet it does so without discriminating between good and evil karma.

"Absolute freedom" refers to the liberating aspects of satori that arises as a result of the calm mind reflecting on insight into the problems of human life, which are due to lack of attention and focus due to causal factors such as personal conduct (how you conduct your life) and the distractions of daily life (work, go out with friends for dinner and similar activities).

"You" refers to the disciple.

"Attain" refers to the result of meditation, using the calm mind achieved by just sitting quietly to gain insight and relying on gut feeling.

"Your freedom" refers to the liberating aspect of meditation. Once the mind is calm, it becomes as clear as a pond of water. Such a mind is able to gain insight readily into the nature of the disciple's problems.

"Intuitively" refers to intuition, which involves the use of gut feeling to free the disciple from being caught up with his problems.

"Do not work for freedom" refers to seeking freedom by vainly striving for a solution almost by chance, relying not on intution but almost by blunt force. Working for freedom also implies forcing a solution. Often this indicates that mental calculation went into discovering the solution to the disciple's problem, only to have the it itself grow into more problems.

"Allow" refers to considering the circumstances of my problems, based on open-mindedness — the feeling that anything is possible.

"The practice" refers originally to meditation; but also it refers to mindful practice, which consists of being of service to others, and implies the willingness to help other sentient beings.

"Itself" implies that meditation is foremost the solution to the disciple's problems.

"Liberation" refers to satori, the "A-ha!" moment when the solution to my problems arises, just like that. This is possible with single-minded focus on the fruits of insight which result in samadhi. In context with Zen, satori is the closest term to liberation.

---

Reference:

Original post: February 21, 2004 0208H
Update posted: March 11, 2013 1141H

January 04 Journal - Zen Readings, "On the Way", The DailyZen Journal: http://www.dailyzen.com/zen/zen_reading0401.html

Ego: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manas-vijnana

Hariti, Buddist Patron Goddess of Little Children

"The Japanese Buddhist patron goddess of little children. Her name means 'mother goddess of the demons' and she was originally a monstrous demon from India (called Hariti). She abducted little children and devoured them, until the great Buddha converted her. Now she represents the Buddha's appeal to compassion, and his devotion to the welfare of the weak. Kishimojin is portrayed as a mother suckling her baby, and holding a pomegranate in her hand (the symbol of love and feminine fertility). She is also called Karitei-mo."

According to Iranian Gandharan legend, Hariti had hundreds of children whom she loved and treated affectionately. In order to feed them, she kidnapped and killed the children of other mothers.

Then all the mothers appealed to Shakyamuni Buddha, asking him to help prevent children from the same fate.

So Śākyamuni steals Aiji, youngest of Hariti's sons by hiding him beneath his rice bowl. Desperately Hariti searches for her missing son throughout the universe.

Finally, she asks Shakyamuni for help. The Buddha then reploess "Hariti, you are suffering because you have lost one of hundreds of your own children. Could you could imagine the suffering of those parents whose only child you have devoured?"

Hariti replies contritely, "Their suffering must be many times greater than mine! Thus will I protect all children."

Repenting thusly, she converts to Buddhism. From that moment on, Hariti only eats pomegranates instead of children's flesh.


Once an Iranic demon, she becomes the Buddhist goddess of easy birthing, and protection and parenting of children.

As well, Hariti is mentioned in Journey to the West.

---

Originally posted: October 6, 2003 0224H
Update posted: March 8, 0329H

"Kishimo-jin." Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online.

[Accessed March 08, 2013].

Hariti: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hariti

The Primal Vow

It is said that Dharmakara made 48 Vows, and through the action of good karma, reincarnated as Amida Buddha.

Especially dear to Pure Land Buddhists is the 18th Vow, which is known as the Primal Vow:

"If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and call my Name, even ten times, should not be born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five gravest offences and abuse the right Dharma."


It is this vow that sets the minimum times to recited Amida Buddha's name using the Nembutsu (Namu Amida Butsu). When one utters the Nembutsu out of sincerity with thanksgiving and gratitude, one's mind becomes settled.

As well, in excluding "those who commit the five gravest offences and abuse the Right Dharma", the Vow also suggests that Amida Buddha offers a hand to those sentient beings who are incapable of reaching Enlightenment through their negative karma.

Ultimately, devotion to Amida Buddha help prepare the Shin Buddhist practitioner for rebirth in the Pure Land at the end of her life.

For mindful practice of the Nembutsu does reduce mental suffering when practiced over one's lifetime.

Namu Amida Butsu

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Primal Vow: The Power of Love: http://buddhistfaith.tripod.com/beliefs/id10.html
Primal Vow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primal_Vow
Nembutsu: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nembutsu
Shin Buddhism (another name for Jodo Shinshu): http://www.bffct.net/id72.html

Mixing the Stream of Rebirth

It's been said that the mixing of Tibetan Buddhism with Pure Land Buddhism may lead to confusion. For when studying both the Vajrayana and the Mahayana, the disciple may lose all faith in the Dharma due to the chaos such mixing makes to understanding your purpose in the life into which you were born. That purpose is, once awakened spiritually to the Bodhi Mind, the disciple aspires to rescue all sentient beings with the determination to attain Buddhahood.

In the case of the dedicated Buddhist born into the faith who has heard of the Buddha from an early age, and who has regularly practiced Buddha Recitation, he learned how to use breath meditation to calm his mind, and achieves more gains than losses in his faith. Though his speech may become incoherent when fatigued, his mind still remains as sharp as ever, all thanks to Buddha Recitation and insightful meditation.

The Virtue of Gullibility

I believe in Amida's Pure Land of Bliss, and have faith in the Primal Vow.

Even if this was just another Jataka Tale then I would still believe in the Teaching.

For were I to not believe and lose faith, I would suffer the deluded doubt,
and my mind would become confused. That kind of suffering leads me to mindful practice of meditation and Buddha Recitation, so that I remember Amida Buddha and his Forty-Eight Vows.

To an outsider who will never study the True Pure Land School and its three Nembutsu Sutras, this appears to be a superstition proselyted to a truly gullible old fool.

However, if my mindful practice leads me to hell, then I will surely follow the True Pure Land School's founder Shinran to hell.

For his faith, and the Pure Land Sangha's faith are the same as my faith in the Primal Vow.

Indeed, Pure Land Buddhism is no superstition.

When you're done (poem)

When you're done
with just sitting,
and have augmented
your meditation sessions
with Buddha Recitation,
Buddhist mindful practice
helps you confront the Truth
with eyes open —
it grants you the courage
not to look away to wonder
if Heaven or Hell surely
is a place on Earth.

The Power of Dharma Practice

I'm a Buddhist, and have the power called Dharma practice consisting of the skillful means of Buddha Remembrance and meditation, both of which aid mindful practice.

It has the potential to burn away evil karma, and accumulate merit through good thoughts and deeds.

As a True Pure Land School (Jodo Shinshu) Buddhist, the skillful means called Buddha Remembrance (Buddha Recitation) consists of 7, 21 or 49 recitations of Amida Buddha's name (Namu Amida Butsu).

Known as the Nembutsu, it has a special name only within Jodo Shinshu circle as the Name-that-calls. For when a Pure Land devotee calls out Amida's name, it is Amida calling through her.

When I was young, I went to the Fraser Valley Buddhist temple to learn about our faith. However, as a child I was prone to taking wring action that built up evil karma.

In Buddhism, evil karma is defined as calculated actions that serve the self, and through ignorant craving, leads to the ego controlling the mind.

It wasn't until over 20 years ago, that I first started meditating.

Though, it's been only about a month since I started reading Thich Thien Tâm's book Buddha of Wisdom and Faith, and was moved to commit myself to Chinese Pure Land School and using my education as a True Pure Land School student.

Even though a few Buddhist claim that it isn't wise to study outside of Pure Land tradition, I have studied Vajrayana but only have an intellectual grasp of it. It's only been very recently that I have discovered that tantra can be practiced by one person without delving into the intimacies of tantrism.

Additionally, to help empower the mindful part of my Dharma practice, I also listen to Buddhist chants and dharanis, along with Hindu Veerashaivist chants.

My Buddhist chants and dharani playlist consists of:

• Amitabhâ Buddha Dharani and Mantra,
  
• Buddha Bar Meditative Music,
  
• Shingon Buddhist Chant,
  
• Karanda Mudra Dharani by Ani Choying,
  
• Mantra of Avalokitshvara (a Tibetan incantation), and
  
• Relaxing Buddhist Music

My Veerashaivist chants playlist consists of

• Akka Mahadevi Vachana,
  
• Rudram,
  
• Skanda Sashti Kavacham (sung by the Soolamangalam Sisters), and
  
• Vachanadalli Nâmâmruta Tunbi (sung by Sangeeta Katti)

And just for variety, while not distinctly Buddhist, I listen to the Yoshida Brother's Ibuki and to Yoshida Kiyoshi's Rising Sun, since I find music using the three-stringed shamisen to be pleasing to the ear, and very invigorating.

As well, I also have started a music hobby in which I remix music of the Experimental genre. After creating each of my songs, I take pictures to compile into a video to be used with that particular song. Often though, the video portion does not match the music.

Currently I am thankful to Thich Thien Tâm for writing Buddhism of Wisdom and Faith, which has inspired me to recommit to my Buddhist faith. As a result of reading his book, I have a strong faith in the Primal Vow, and sincerely believe in Amida Buddha's Pure Land of Bliss.

Meditate On and Develop Compassion

If we pick up the handle, we pick up the pot. Similarly, if we meditate on and develop compassion—the wish that all others be without suffering—we hold within us the essence of all other Dharma practices.

-Geshe Hgawang Dhargyey, "Advice From a Spiritual Friend"

May all beings be without suffering,
May all beings be without want,
May all beings be free.

In believing what the Buddha said, I mindfully believe in the Buddhadharma.

For the Four Noble Truths tell us that life is full of suffering, that suffering is due to ignorant craving, that suffering can be remedied, and the cure for suffering is the Eightfold Path which I follow by practicing meditation with Buddha Recitation.

Of course, this is the Buddhist practice I currently follow because it is the best of what I have leaned in the Pure Land School of Buddhism. However, there are other Buddhist practices which also work, but my practices work for me.

Nothing in my practices are New Age. From meditation, I do not develop magical powers like telepathy or astral projection. Rather, my mind is made calm by meditating so that I am able to think clearly and critically.

As well, I am able to practice mindfulness in my daily activities by remaining in the present moment.

By meditating, I develop compassion for all sentient beings.

When someone hurts, I am concerned for their welfare, especially when they are close friends and loved ones.

Thus my concern goes beyond empathy. When I meditate, it is done for all sentient beings.

By burning off my evil karma through meditation and Buddha Recitation, I fulfill my commitment to being a Buddhist.

I am thankful to the Buddha, Dharma, and the Sangha.

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Originally created on January 17, 2006 at 2258H
Last updated on February 12, 2013 at 1400H

A Peace Offering to Zen Buddhists

This article is addressed to Zen masters of the mind that Pure Land Buddhists are "cheating" by having attachment to the reward of the Pure Land.

First of all, I choose disbelief with regard to other people's doubt about my sincerity regarding Pure Land Buddhism. As well, I have no faith in their doubts about my faith in the Primal Vow. Indeed, their doubt is even hidden in their fear of the Pure Land path being a "cheat" with "attachment" to "reward."

This assumes that the Pure Land devotee does all his practices solely by self-power which is not the case, as it is other-power that inspires the devotee to use self-power to utter the Nembutsu.

For the chanting is for the good of all sentient beings, which is one of the meanings of other-power.

It is redundant to say "for the good of all sentient being, include myself", since "all sentient being" mean everyone including you and I.

My suggestion is for the bold Zen Buddhist to read that even they recommended chanting the name of the Buddha. Indeed, the Lotus Sutra includes a homage to Manjushri before getting into the nitty-gitty of Emptiness.

Also as evidence are that all Zen Patriarchs endorsed chanting homage to Amida Buddha before Hakuin took out Pure Land practice while "reforming" Obaku Zen.

For they suddenly received Bodhi Mind, and even samadhi and satori, by Buddha Recitation and meditation.

Therefore, the Zen masters who decry Buddha Recitation as a "cheat" due to "aatachment" of "reward" show that they are only looking at externals such as the uninformed word of a Pure Land practitioner

Indeed, such Zen masters as these call attention to the external signs of practice, rather than seeing that both Zen and Pure Land followers are able to achieve Bodhi Mind, samadhi and satori.

In conclusion, I invite bold Zen masters to find a suitable chant such as "Namamdah" which works, and work it into a hymn of monks.

If nothing happens within six months, then I expect that nothing was done to work Buddha Recitation into zazen due to enforced silence.

It's a pity to waste silence by calling a Pure Land practitioner a cheat who took a short-cut, and to claim desiring the reward of the Pure Land is a form of attachment.

Such accusations are groundless, and expose a sort of ignorance about Pure Land practice, which only shows the single-mindedness of Zen masters to focus solely on Hakuin's austerities when Ch'an meditation without Buddha Remembrance is like substituting gold-plated jewellery for the real thing.

I hope this leads to closer ties between Pure Land and Zen Buddhism.

Meditation at Work Pays Off

Homage to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

Earlier this morning, I worked from midnight until 6 AM.

Afterwards, I felt my emotions and feeling with a freshness that happens after being up all night, being of service to my boss.

Work consisted of patrolling an underground parkade.

In between each other, I decided halfway through the shift to meditate, specifically breath meditation. Additionally, I also quietly chanted the Nembutsu after finishing the final patrol.

Later, on the bus home I felt sad that my roommate is back under psychiatric care temporarily.

Then it happened: the same joy I had experienced last month.

This joy though had a loving-kindness touch to it. Yet I cannot discount it as the result of fatigue.

Because I put my sincere faith in Amida Buddha's Primal Vow and belief in rebirth in the Pure Land, this explains how meditation for three hours resulted in the pure joy that loving-kindness causes bubble out of my heart-mind.

Through meditation, the heart of feelings was brought closer to the mind of reason to become one as the heart-mind.

After Buddha Recitation (Buddha Remembrance by chanting the Nembutsu - Namu Amida Butsu), the heart-mind became Bodhi Mind.

Arising from the Bodhi Mind came this joy, all due to loving-kindness.

Once again, meditation and Buddha Recitation in earnest results in liberation from repression and introversion for this follower of Amida Buddha.

In giving homage to Amida Buddha's boundless life of compassion and boundless light of wisdom, Buddha Remembrance set my heart-mind free.

Now this follower of Amida is humbled, for this joy arose out of loving-kindness due to the Name-that-calls!

Namu Amida Buddha!

Nirvana: Sudden and Gradual (poem)

Nirvana is of the sudden and the gradual.
The gradual is by one's self power
while the sudden is by the Buddha's other power.
Self power begins with one breath despite hardship,
while other power continues onwards with ease.
With single-mindedness in meditation
the sudden happens easily
aided with recitation of
Namu Amida Butsu.

Meditation, Dhyana and Samadhi

Hui Neng said:

What is sitting for meditation? In our School, to sit means to gain absolute freedom and to be mentally unperturbed in all outward circumstances, be they good or otherwise.

To meditate means to realize inwardly the imperturbability of the Essence of Mind.

What are Dhyana and Samadhi? Dhyana means to be free from attachment to all outer objects, and Samadhi means to attain inner peace. If we are attached to outer objects, our inner mind will be perturbed. When we are free from attachment to all outer objects, the mind will be in peace. Our Essence of Mind is intrinsically pure, and the reason why we are perturbed is because we allow ourselves to be carried away by the circumstances we are in. He who is able to keep his mind unperturbed, irrespective of circumstances, has attained Samadhi.

To be free from attachment to all outer objects is Dhyana, and to attain inner peace is Samadhi. When we are in a position to deal with Dhyana and to keep our inner mind in Samadhi, then we are said to have attained Dhyana and Samadhi. The Bodhisattva Sila Sutra says, "Our Essence of Mind is intrinsically pure."

Let us realize this for ourselves at all times. Let us train ourselves, practice it by ourselves, and attain Buddhahood by our own effort.

Dhyana

Hui Neng said:
In our system of meditation,
we neither dwell upon the mind
in contradistinction to
the Essence of Mind nor upon purity.
Nor do we approve of non-activity.
As to dwelling upon the mind,
the mind is primarily delusive;
and when we realize that it is only a phantasm
there is no need to dwell on it.
As to dwelling upon purity,
our nature is intrinsically pure;
and so far as we get rid of all delusive 'idea'
there will be nothing but purity in our nature,
for it is the delusive idea that obscures Tathata (Suchness).
If we direct our mind to dwell upon purity
we are only creating the delusion of purity.
Since delusion has no abiding place,
it is delusive to dwell upon it.
Purity has neither shape nor form;
but some people go so far as to invent the 'Form of Purity',
and treat it as a problem for solution.
Holding such an opinion, these people are purity-ridden, and
their Essence of Mind is thereby obscured.
Those who train themselves for 'imperturbability' should,
in their contact with all types of men,
ignore the faults of others.
They should be indifferent to others' merit or demerit,
good or evil, for such an attitude accords with
the 'imperturbability of the Essence of Mind'.
A man unenlightened may be unperturbed physically,
but as soon as he opens his mouth he criticizes others and
talks about their merits or demerits, ability or weakness,
good or evil; thus he deviates from the right course.
On the other hand, to dwell upon our own mind or
upon purity is also a stumbling-block in the Path.