Eastern Horizon - September 2012 Edition by Eastern Horizon by YBAM

WORLD BUDDHIST CONFERENCE 2012 TRANSCENDING NEGATIVE EMOTIONS: To Create Happiness and Well-Being in Our Lives Kuala Lumpur, November 3-4, 2012

H.E. The 12th Kenting Tai Situpa, Dönyö Nyingche Wangpo, was born in 1954 in the Palyul District of Derge, Tibet. He was found and recognized by H.H the 16th Karmapa Rigpe Dorje. Kenting Tai Situpa is a renowned Buddhist master and the main Guru of H.H. the 17th Karmapa, Orgyen Trinlay Dorje. As a Buddhist teacher, he regularly tours the world giving teachings and empowerments at the request of the Dharma centers, and holds longterm Mahamudra courses to introduce the most profound and sacred of the Karma Kagyu teachings. The 12th Kenting Tai Situpa continues the traditions of the practice lineage of the Kenting Tai Situpas.

Venerable Wei Wu was born in Penang and studied at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, where he graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1973. He worked as a quality control expert with a multinational corporation before becoming a monk in the Mahayana tradition. In 1992 he established the Than Hsiang Foundation in Malaysia and Thailand and the International Buddhist College (IBC) in Hatyai, Thailand. He is currently President of the Than Hsiang Foundation, Chairman of the IBC, and Abbot of Tham Wah Wan Temple, Kuala Lumpur. Ven Wei Wu is best known for his many socially-engaged projects for the community, including orphanages and old folks homes.

Venerable Dr Sugandha (Anil Sakya) was born in 1960 in Nepal and became a novice monk at the age of 14. He was ordained as a monk (bhikkhu) in Thailand in 1980 by Phra Nyanasamvara, Supreme Patriarch of Thailand. Phra Sugandha has a B.A. in Sociology from Mahamakut Buddhist University, Bangkok, M.A. in Anthropology from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, M.Phil. in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University, UK, and Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from Brunel University, UK. His areas of specialization are cultural and social anthropology, anthropology of religion, and Buddhism. He is also the assistant secretary to His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand.

Venerable Geshe Dadul Namgyal studied at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala, and Drepung Loseling Monastic University, South India, where he received the Geshe Lharampa Degree, in 1992. He also studied at Punjab University which awarded him a B.A. and M.A. in English Literature. Geshe Dadul was also the Religious Translator to HH the Dalai Lama since 2007. Since 2010, Geshe Dadul has served as Senior Resident Teacher at Drepung Loseling Monastery, Atlanta, USA. He is part of the team of translators for the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative engaged in preparing a 5-year science curriculum in Tibetan to be introduced in Tibetan monasteries and nunneries.

Venerable Dr Shi Zhen Jue (See Mui Yian) is a Singaporean and was born in 1969. She has a diploma in Buddhism from Yuan Kuang Buddhist College, Taiwan, and a diploma in Buddhist Dhamma and B.A. from the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University, Burma. She also studied at the University of Hong Kong where she graduated with M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. Her doctoral thesis is on “Preparation for Enlightenment: Understanding Derived from Listening, Reflection and Meditation — A Study of the Śrutamayī, Cintāmayī and Bhāvanāmayī bhūmaya of the Yogācārabhūmiśāstra” Ven Zhen Jue has also taught at the University of Hong Kong and was a recipient of the Glorious Sun Group Postgraduate Scholarship in Buddhist Studies.

Venerable Dr Dhammananda (Dr Chatsumarn Kabilsingh) was born in 1944. She received her B.A. in Philosophy from Visva Bharati University, India, M.A. in Religion from McMaster University, Canada, and Ph.D. in Buddhism from Magadh University, India. She taught Philosophy and Religion for over 30 years at Thammasat University in Bangkok, and wrote many books on Buddhism. She took novice (samaneri) ordination in Thailand and on February 28, 2003, received full bhikkhuni (nun) ordination in Sri Lanka, becoming the first Thai woman to receive full ordination as a Theravada nun in the Dharmaguptaka ordination lineage. She is now abbess of Songdhammakalyani Monastery, Nakhonpathom, Thailand.

Venerable Thubten Chökyi is Director of the International Liberation Prison Project, a social service project of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) that offers spiritual advice and teachings to prisoners interested in studying and practicing Buddhism, and Spiritual Program Coordinator and teacher at Vajrayana Institute in Sydney. She holds a B.A. from Australian National University, M.A. from University of New South Wales, and diplomas from University of Technology Sydney and Ecole Jacques Lecoq, Paris. She is now completing a doctorate on the similarities of world views and shared ethics in Indigenous Australian cosmology and Tibetan Buddhism.

Dharmachari Lokamitra (Jeffrey Goody) was born in 1947 and holds a B.A. and Certificate in Education. He was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 1974 in London. Encouraged by his teacher, Sangharakshita, he moved to India in 1978 to develop Dharma activities under Triratna Bauddha Mahasangha and social projects under Bahujan Hitay. Since 1998 he has started the Manuski project which runs social training, human rights, and women’s development programs. He also started Nagarjuna Institute in Nagpur which runs Dharma courses for new Buddhists and the Prabuddha Bharat Network to bring into communication Indians who are inspired by Dr. Ambedkar’s approach to Buddhism and social transformation.

Dr Tan Eng Kong graduated as a medical doctor from University of Malaya in 1971 and was the founder President of the YBAM. In 2008 he helped established the Malaysian Buddhist Mental Health Association for Buddhist doctors and health care professionals. He has served as Clinical Supervisor at the Australian Society of Hypnosis, and on the Training Faculties of the NSW Institute of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and Australian and NZ Association of Psychotherapists. Dr Tan has taught psychological medicine at University of Malaya, and analytic psychotherapy at University of Sydney and University of NSW. He is presently Chairman of Metta Clinic, a group practice of psychiatrists and psychologists in Sydney.

Dr Lobsang Rapgay is a research psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and researcher in the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). His area of research is in sustained, and distributed attention in anxiety from a Western cognitive and neuro-science perspective with the aim of applying the findings to validate the theory and practice of classical mindfulness and its application for the treatment of various types of anxiety disorders. He was a monk in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition for over 18 years and is well trained in Buddhist theory and practices. He is studying and maintaining a daily practice in the Four Foundation of Mindfulness.

ENQUIRIES: www.wbc.my. More details will be published in the website in due course.

Starting Young The Lien Foundation of Singapore recently came out with an index to rank pre-school provisions across 45 countries. The rationale behind this study is that better pre-schools lead to more competitive knowledge economies. In the Lien Foundation study on investments by Governments in pre-school education, Malaysia ranked number 36 out of 45 with the top three coming from the Nordic countries of Finland, Sweden and Norway. What is generally accepted now by most educationists, including many parents, is that pre-school education – whether secular or religious – is important because it helps to mould the minds of young children at a most critical stage in their lives. As such many parents, including Buddhists, now realize the importance of not just sending their children to good kindergartens or private schools for academic studies but also to religious classes for moral lessons. The parents expect Sunday Schools to teach their children values or skills that can help them cope with an increasingly difficult and stressful world as they grow up. The challenge for most Sunday Schools is how to integrate Buddhist teachings into practical examples and let the students see Buddhism as part of their lives, rather than a packaged and defined category that exists for a few hours on Sunday mornings and then forgotten as soon as they get home. If the syllabus emphasizes only the cognitive aspects of Buddhism – like learning lists such as Four Noble Truths, Eight-fold Path, or 37 Factors of Enlightenment – but does not take cognizance of the affective and psycho-motor domain of the child’s learning, Sunday Schools will not have achieved its purpose. What has also happened is that after attending Sunday Schools for some years, the children developed more independent and critical thoughts, questioning most of what they have been exposed to such as the devotional aspects of their elders like praying, incense-burning, ancestor worship, etc. Some of them even ridiculed the devotional Buddhism their elders practiced at home. The challenge for Sunday Schools is therefore to help piece together the students’ experience with Buddhism learnt from observing their elders, with what they have been taught in classes. For example – to explain that there are no two opposing or contradicting sides as Buddhism can be practiced in many ways, devotional or scholastic or both. It’s also not about my Buddhism versus my parent’s Buddhism. Young children should learn that it’s better to have a devotional practitioner who’s kind and compassionate but may not know much about the sutras, than a scholar who can quote scriptures but who is arrogant and intolerant. Many parents can’t name the Four Noble Truths or explain the idea of no-self, yet they teach very important values from their behaviors – kindness, compassion, generosity, honesty, gratitude. That is what our young Buddhists should learn. As two Vietnamese university students that I hosted recently said over dinner, “my parents are Buddhists - uneducated and living in the countryside – but they taught us since pre-school not to waste food or we will end up in the hungry ghost realm”. They remember this wonderful value till today. This is a simple example of how a young child can learn even from an uneducated elder about the value of being thankful for the food we have and thus should not be wasteful when we eat. EH

EASTERN HORIZON | 1

Eastern Horizon Contents September 2012 Issue No. 38

2 | EASTERN HORIZON

Lead Article: The Food of Kindness by Venerable Ayyā Medhānandī Bhikkhunī

News: Why Buddhist Education is Important by Venerable Wei Wu

Teaching: Countering Stress & Depression by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Feature: Buddhist Film Festival Singapore

Teaching: The Buddha as a Parent by Gil Fronsdal

Teaching: A Balanced Approach to Life by Venerable Hung I

Teaching: Creative Ways of Teaching Meditation to Children by Sumi Loundon Kim

Feature: Understanding Depression with Kindness Forum by Lee Chew Poh

Teaching: Teenage Dhamma – How To Communicate with Parents Without Tearing Your Hair Out by Ven Faxun

News: The rugby legend who became a Buddhist by reading quantum physics by Walter Jayawardhana

Teaching: How To Teach Dharma Skillfully To Children And Teens by Venerable Geshe Thubten Sherab

News: Meditating Buddhist monk saddles up for London by AFP

Teaching: Wisdom at Work by Venerable Sayadaw U Tejaniya

Eastern Horizon Radiating the Light of Dharma

Teaching: Chasing Buddhas and Ancestors by John Daido Loori, Roshi

Teaching: Ven. Thubten Chodron Offers Key Strategies for Buddhist Youth Leaders by Ow Yeong Wai Kit

....................................................................... SEPTEMBER 2012 ISSUE NO. 38 (Published 3 times a year)

eastern horizon publication board chairman

: Dr Ong See Yew

editor

: Benny Liow

sub-editors : Tan Yang Wah / Dr. Ong Puay Liu manager

: Teh Soo Tyng

art director : Geam Yong Koon publisher

: YBAM <ybam@ybam.org.my>

printer

: Vivar Printing Sdn Bhd(125107-D) Lot 25, Rawang Integrated Industrial Park,

48000 Rawang, Selangor, MALAYSIA. Tel : 603-60927818

Books In Brief

Fax : 603-60928230

Cover Design : Geam Yong Koon Cover Photographer : Hoh Cheng Meng eastern horizon is a publication of the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM). A non-profit making project, this journal is non-sectarian in its views and approach. We aim to inspire, stimulate and share.

Dharma Aftermath The Fall of Governance by Rasika Quek

The opinions expressed in eastern horizon are those of the authors and in no way represent those of the editor or YBAM. Although every care is taken with advertising matter, no responsibility can be accepted for the organizations, products, services, and other matter advertised. We welcome constructive ideas, invite fresh perspectives and accept comments. Please direct your comments or enquiries to:

The Editor

eastern horizon Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia 9, Jalan SS 25/24, Taman Mayang, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, MAlAYSIA Tel : (603) 7804 9154 Fax : (603) 7804 9021 Email : ybam@ybam.org.my or Benny Liow <Bennyliow@gmail.com> Website : www.ybam.org.my

KDN PP 8683/01/2013(031165)

Lead Article | The Food of Kindness

The Food of Kindness by Venerable Ayyā Medhānandī Bhikkhunī

Ayyā Medhānandī Bhikkhunī (1949, née Mary Fiksel), a native of Montreal, is the founder of Sati Sārāņīya Hermitage in Perth, Ontario, a pioneer Theravada Buddhist training monastery for bhikkhunīs in Canada. She began meditating at the age of 21, completed an M. Sc. in nutrition, and worked for UN and other global aid agencies managing programs for malnourished women and children in developing countries. Inspired by the meditation practice, she made a pilgrimage to India, met an Advaita sage, and trained with him as a nun for four years. His death was a call to monastic life for her and while on retreat in Burma in 1988, she was ordained as a ten-precept Buddhist nun by Venerable Sayadaw U Pandita. Two years later, with his blessings, she joined the nuns’ community at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in the UK, training for 10 years with Ajahn Sumedho as preceptor. Later, while based in New Zealand and then Penang, she taught meditation in Asia, the antipodes and the West. In 2007, she received bhikkhunī ordination in Taiwan and accepted an invitation to return to Canada the following year to establish Sati Sārāņīya Hermitage as a registered charity under the Canadian Charities Directorate. Apart from guiding the nun’s community, she leads retreats and teaches vipassana meditation courses, including programs for Hospice volunteers and staff in the Ottawa area. She is the author of ‘Gone Forth, Going Beyond’.

4 | EASTERN HORIZON

Lead Article | The Food of Kindness

y alms bowl is central to my life. A symbol of

the Theravada Buddhist monastic tradition in which I trained, it is the soul of my mendicancy - coming empty-handed before the laity to receive material nourishment and responding to their generosity.

Sometimes that means reciprocating with a teaching from the Buddha, sometimes with a blessing chant or simply an expression of gratitude and kindness.

I am a beggar, and I must also be true. It is not easy

Sati Sārāņīya Hermitage offers women the opportunity to live the monastic life as nuns.

provided. This way is rare and precious, as are acts

propelled me into a level of faith not demanded of me

to be a true beggar. I have to be worthy to be fed by the kindness of others and have all my needs of generosity in a world so driven by greed and selfishness.

Cultivating the spiritual path with integrity demands

much of a beggar, primarily a faithful allegiance to the Vinaya, the code by which I live, as well as a sincere appreciation and respect for my supporters, their

devotion and hard work to obtain, prepare and bring offerings, even at considerable sacrifice. It also calls

for contentment with little - a simplicity of being and a commitment to renounce on many levels.

These qualities develop through a vigilance of

heart that is difficult to practise in a large, well-

funded institution. In those days when my monastic

requisites, especially meals, were complete, assured and generally abundant, I used self-abstinence to

remind myself of the value of all that was given to

us. On occasion, we also went on tudong or walked for alms in the nearby villages, accepting whatever

we received as our meal for the day. But these were temporary privations - not a sustained way of life.

They bore the flavour of heroic adventure but could hardly reflect the daily grind of spiritual endeavour. It was only after I left the mother monastery to live

on my own in New Zealand, a non-Buddhist country, that I came to know true choicelessness, at times

facing physical hunger or a powerless isolation. This

before, especially on days when I received very little,

if anything, that would serve as a meal. And so I learnt

to meditate on the emptiness of my bowl - consciously relinquishing desire for food and accepting hunger.

Bearing hunger with faith led me beyond despair to

a gratitude and joy for what I did receive - a feeling of fullness that was not borne of food.

These hardships ripened me. I have gone hungry. But I have been able to keep going because every part

of my body is made up of the loving-kindness from generous people who have cared for me for years

and years, and my life is composed of pure kindness and thanksgiving.

Now, in my passage through Malaysia, I have again

taken the opportunity to walk pindapat in the local market of Penang where it is surprisingly easy to beg. I knew I would be well-fed.

With my bowl secure in its harness around my shoulder and cradling it in my palms, I stood

between the main fruit and vegetable vendors and rows of flimsy stalls that display a collage of baby

clothes, ladies’ handbags, jewellery, household items, and colourful trinkets.

I chanted for each person who stopped to make

offerings. Within minutes, my bowl was weighed EASTERN HORIZON | 5

Lead Article | The Food of Kindness

Artist impression of the to-beconstructed 900 square foot meditation hall and nun’s utility building that will seat 70 to 80 for silent meditation, Dhamma teachings, blessings, ordination ceremonies, and alms-giving events at the Sati Sārāņīya Hermitage.

down with fruits, biscuits, pancakes, rice and

coconut delicacies, and fried noodles - each wrapped in a colourful plastic bag.

The early Sunday morning shoppers, primarily local Chinese, know what to do when they meet someone

in robes going for alms. In this society, Buddhist nuns rarely go pindapat, and the monks who beg often

accept money. Today they saw a nun - a foreigner receiving only offerings of food into her bowl.

Word spread. Whenever people tried to give money, I had to be quick to cover my bowl with my hand. Amazed, they returned with sweetmeats, sticky

rice, or fruits. More came, and when my bowl was

brimming, they piled their offerings into a growing collection of pink plastic bags at my feet. With all this attention, I was distracted from my normal

practice of focusing on the bowl and meditating on emptiness.

The first time someone knelt and made anjali, I quickly removed my sandals before chanting a

blessing, Sukhi hotu, avera hotu, abhayapaja hotu. I

had not wandered out barefoot as the Buddha would have done because of the rubbish everywhere but

it felt wrong to receive her respect wearing shoes.

Remembering how I had thrown off my sandals and walked the filthy streets of Yangon last year to beg for alms inspired me to be barefoot again.

6 | EASTERN HORIZON

I continued to stand, softly chanting the

Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta to myself and giving blessings each time someone placed more food in

my bowl. I felt the turning of the wheel of Dharma

and reflected on the thousands of years that this way of begging and receiving has nurtured the faithful.

And here again, it was being upheld by simple acts of

kindness - now a child with a bag of fried rolls, now a woman with jackfruit, now an Indian man curious to know from which country I hailed.

Some asked whether to place their offerings directly into the bags at my feet when they saw the bowl

overflowing. I wanted at least to accept each offering

in my hand if I could not with my bowl, and so create a sense of connection and relationship, chant a blessing and bear witness to their kindness.

It was in one of these moments between the

overflow of the bowl and the rush of generosity that I suddenly felt a hypocrite. I was well-fed, staying

with my devotee, lacking nothing, and the bags were spilling out beside me.

What right did I have to stand there and beg? How

could I dare hold my bowl out to be filled again and again when so much had already been given? What right did I have even to begin to beg? Stifling and sweating in my robes, these questions crowded

my mind. I remembered the story of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice who tried to clean while the brooms

Lead Article | The Food of Kindness

A functional Lay-Monastic relationship at the Sati Sārāņīya Hermitage

Offering food to the nuns by the lai community.

multiplied and kept bringing more water... It seemed

smiles and grimaces, distracted expressions and

absurd to be juggling so many bags of food when I had no hunger in my belly.

Not even half an hour had elapsed. Embarrassed,

anxious, and feeling unworthy of receiving the tide of generosity, I fretfully looked about hoping my

devotee would return soon to collect me. And then, to calm my mind, I began to chant more loudly.

Contemplating the Four Noble Truths, with eyes

downcast, I watched the feet of all who passed me - sandals of every colour and style, high heels and broken shoes, human beings of all ages, shuffling,

hobbling or brisk in pace. Looking at their faces, I

saw the bent, disabled and healthy, the dishevelled and well-dressed, the shrivelled and overweight,

down-turned mouths, mothers, infants, a father

grasping the hand of his small son, bicycles and litter, traders shouting and the smells of the market, the world - the World.

My heart grew bright with compassion. I knew that I was standing there to let my bowl be filled again

and again by those who love Truth. Hungry or not,

I had every right to receive what they freely gave. I

was not abusing that beauty because it was not for

me that they filled the bowl. I was a beggar for love of that blessedness, and the filling and emptying of

my bowl was the natural process of each of our lives being remembered and honoured in random acts of kindness. I receive and I give back. EH

EASTERN HORIZON | 7

Teachings | Countering Stress & Depression

Countering Stress & Depression

by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (1936 -) His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. His life is guided by three major commitments: the promotion of basic human values, the fostering of inter-religious harmony and the welfare of the Tibetan people. His Holiness was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent approach to solving the Tibetan peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s problems with China.

t a fundamental level,

reliance on drugs or alcohol, and

great human potential gives

to happiness and each one

can give you the joy or fulfilment

mechanism that enables us to

as human beings, we are all the same; each one of us aspires

of us does not wish to suffer.

This is why, whenever I have

the opportunity, I try to draw peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention to what as

members of the human family we have in common and the deeply interconnected nature of our existence and welfare.

Today, there is increasing

recognition, as well as a growing body of scientific evidence, that confirms the close connection between our own states of

mind and our happiness. On

the one hand, many of us live in

societies that are very developed

materially, yet among us are many people who are not very happy. Just underneath the beautiful surface of affluence there is a

kind of mental unrest, leading to

frustration, unnecessary quarrels, 8 | EASTERN HORIZON

in the worst case, suicide. There

is no guarantee that wealth alone that you seek. The same can be said of your friends too.

When you are in an intense state of anger or hatred, even a very close friend appears to you as

somehow frosty, or cold, distant, and annoying.

However, as human beings we are gifted with this wonderful human intelligence. Besides

that, all human beings have the capacity to be very determined and to direct that strong sense of determination in whatever direction they like. So long as we remember that we have

this marvellous gift of human intelligence and a capacity to develop determination and

use it in positive ways, we will

preserve our underlying mental health. Realizing we have this

us a fundamental strength.

This recognition can act as a

deal with any difficulty, no matter what situation we are facing,

without losing hope or sinking

into feelings of low self-esteem.

I write this as someone who lost his freedom at the age of 16,

then lost his country at the age

of 24. Consequently, I have lived in exile for more than 50 years

during which we Tibetans have dedicated ourselves to keeping the Tibetan identity alive and preserving our culture and

values. On most days the news

from Tibet is heartbreaking, and

yet none of these challenges gives grounds for giving up. One of the

approaches that I personally find useful is to cultivate the thought: If the situation or problem is

such that it can be remedied,

then there is no need to worry

Teachings | Countering Stress & Depression

about it. In other words, if there

respect, then you can carry on

performed certain altruistic

to be overwhelmed by it. The

with less fear or worry, not being

slightest positive aspect of our

is a solution or a way out of

the difficulty, you do not need appropriate action is to seek

its solution. Then it is clearly more sensible to spend your

energy focussing on the solution rather than worrying about the problem. Alternatively, if there

is no solution, no possibility of

resolution, then there is also no point in being worried about it,

because you cannot do anything about it anyway. In that case,

the sooner you accept this fact, the easier it will be for you.

This formula, of course, implies

directly confronting the problem and taking a realistic view.

Otherwise you will be unable to

find out whether or not there is a resolution to the problem.

Taking a realistic view and

cultivating a proper motivation can also shield you against

feelings of fear and anxiety. If

you develop a pure and sincere

motivation, if you are motivated by a wish to help on the basis of kindness, compassion, and

any kind of work, in any field, and function more effectively

afraid of what others think or

whether you ultimately will be

successful in reaching your goal. Even if you fail to achieve your goal, you can feel good about

having made the effort. But with a bad motivation, people can praise you or you can achieve goals, but you still will not be happy. Again, we may sometimes

feel that our whole lives are

unsatisfactory, we feel on the

point of being overwhelmed by

the difficulties that confront us.

This happens to us all in varying

degrees from time to time. When this occurs, it is vital that we

make every effort to find a way of lifting our spirits. We can do this

by recollecting our good fortune.

We may, for example, be loved by someone; we may have certain talents; we may have received

a good education; we may have our basic needs provided for - food to eat, clothes to wear,

somewhere to live - we may have

deeds in the past. We must take into consideration even the

lives. For if we fail to find some

way of uplifting ourselves, there

is every danger of sinking further into our sense of powerlessness. This can lead us to believe that we have no capacity for doing

good whatsoever. Thus we create

the conditions of despair itself. As a Buddhist monk I have learned that what principally upsets

our inner peace is what we call disturbing emotions.

All those thoughts, emotions, and mental events which reflect a negative or

uncompassionate state of

mind inevitably undermine

our experience of inner peace. All our negative thoughts and emotions - such as hatred,

anger, pride, lust, greed, envy, and so on - are considered to be sources of difficulty,

to be disturbing. Negative

thoughts and emotions are

what obstruct our most basic aspiration - to be happy and

EASTERN HORIZON | 9

Teachings | Countering Stress & Depression

special instruction called

mind training, which focuses on cultivating concern for

others and turning adversity

to advantage. It is this pattern of thought, transforming

problems into happiness

that has enabled the Tibetan people to maintain their

dignity and spirit in the face

of great difficulties. Indeed I

have found this advice of great practical benefit in my own life.

A great Tibetan teacher of

mind training once remarked that one of the mindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most

marvellous qualities is that it

can be transformed. I have no

doubt that those who attempt

Buddhists know that Prince

of inner peace, will, over a

on the day his son, Rahula, was

emotions and achieve a sense

act under their influence,

we become oblivious to the impact our actions have on

others: they are thus the cause of our destructive behaviour both toward others and to

ourselves. Murder, scandal,

and deceit all have their origin in disturbing emotions.

This inevitably gives rise to the question - can we

train the mind? There are many methods by which

to do this. Among these, in

the Buddhist tradition, is a 10 | EASTERN HORIZON

ost contemporary

to transform their minds,

overcome their disturbing

to avoid suffering. When we

period of time, notice a change in their mental attitudes and responses to people

and events. Their minds will become more disciplined

and positive. And I am sure

they will find their own sense of happiness grow as they contribute to the greater

happiness of others. I offer my prayers that everyone who

makes this their goal will be blessed with success. EH

Source: Originally published

in the Hindustan Times, India, on January 3, 2011

Siddhartha, the Buddha-to-be, left his family in search of liberation

born. Many have been perplexed, sometimes outraged, at such a

seemingly irresponsible act. What is less well-known, though, is that after his awakening, the Buddha

became his sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary parent for most of the boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s childhood.

From the time Rahula was seven,

he was under the care of his father, who proved to be a remarkably effective parent: Rahula had

reached full awakening by the time he reached adulthood. So we can ask, what kind of parent was the

Buddha? What kind of parenting techniques did he use? How did

an enlightened teacher convey his

spiritual message to his own child?

Teachings | The Buddha as a Parent

The Buddha as a Parent

by Gil Fronsdal

Gil Fronsdal is the primary teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Metreat Center. Gil has an undergraduate degree in agriculture from U.C. Davis where he was active in promoting the field of sustainable farming. In 1998 he received a PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University studying the earliest developments of the bodhisattva ideal. He is the author of “The Issue at Hand”, essays on mindfulness practice; “A Monastery Within”; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. His talks on Buddhism are available on Audio Dharma.

The scriptures do not offer much detail about the

Buddhism so that no matter where they went in life,

of how the teacher guided his son’s maturation.

the well-being, peace and compassion I have found

relationship between the Buddha and Rahula, but various hints provide a very interesting picture An earlier story describes how Rahula came to

practice under his father, and most of these hints

are contained in three discourses, which, when read together, follow the pattern of the three successive trainings forming the path to awakening: when

Rahula was seven, the Buddha taught him about

virtue; when he was a teen, the Buddha instructed him in meditation; and when he was twenty, the Buddha taught him liberating wisdom. Rahula’s

gradual maturation to adulthood thus paralleled his progress along his father’s path to awakening.

When my older son turned seven, I began to wonder

what kind of spiritual guidance I could offer him and his younger brother. At a minimum, I wanted them

to learn enough about the practices and teachings of Buddhism so that as adults they could turn to these

resources if they desired or needed to. I also thought it would be wonderful if they could feel at home in

this home would always be available as a refuge.

And finally, because the greatest wealth I know is

through my Buddhist practice, I’ve often wondered how I can pass along these riches more broadly to

the next generation as a kind of spiritual inheritance. Remembering that Rahula had entered his father’s care when he was seven, I searched through the

Pali discourses to learn what I could about how the Buddha taught his son.

I found the question of how to leave a “spiritual

legacy” beautifully addressed in the story about the way Rahula came to practice under his father. Six

years after he left his family, and one year after his

awakening, the Buddha returned to his hometown.

Seven-year-old Rahula, on the urging of his mother, went to meet his father to ask for his inheritance.

If Siddhartha had remained at home, Rahula would have been in line to inherit the throne. But as a

renunciate living a life of poverty, what could the

Buddha pass on? In response to Rahula’s request, EASTERN HORIZON | 11

Teachings | The Buddha as a Parent

the Buddha said to Sariputta, his right-hand monk,

The Buddha then turned the bowl upside down and

dedicated to liberation.

deliberate lie.”

“Ordain him.” Rather than receiving the throne, Rahula inherited his father’s way of life, a life

While it is unlikely that my son will shave his head and take robes anytime soon, I would still like to expose him to the basic Buddhist principles that

have so deeply informed my own life. When I came across the three discourses where the Buddha

teaches Rahula, I was surprised that the teachings seemed not only still fresh but also relevant to

raising a child in modern America. In fact, these

discourses have now become a guide for me as a parent.

Virtue The first story illustrates how Rahula was taught

to live a life of integrity. When he was eight, Rahula told a deliberate lie. The sutta called The Discourse of Advice Given to Rahula at Mango Stone (Middle Length Discourse 61) tells how the Buddha dealt

with this. Having first meditated, the Buddha went to his son. Rahula prepared a seat for him and, as was the custom, put out a bowl of water so the Buddha

could rinse his feet. After his father cleaned his feet,

a little water was left in the bowl. The Buddha asked, “Rahula, do you see the small quantity of water left in the bowl?”

“Yes,” replied Rahula.

“As little as this,” the Buddha said, “is the spiritual

said, “Turned upside down like this is the spiritual life of someone who is not ashamed at telling a And to drive the point home, the Buddha then

turned the bowl back upright and said, “As empty as this bowl is the spiritual life of someone who is not ashamed at telling a deliberate lie.”

He then taught his son, “When someone is not

ashamed to tell a deliberate lie, there is no evil that he or she would not do. Therefore, Rahula, train yourself to not utter a falsehood even as a joke.”

This part of the story reminds me that there is force but no inner strength behind angry castigation of children. Calmly, when he thought the time

was right, the Buddha made his point without punishment or anger.

After this brief but sharp admonishment for lying, I imagine the Buddha had his son’s attention. He

then instructed his son to become more reflective

about all his behavior. The Buddha asked, “What is a mirror for?”

“For reflection,” replied young Rahula.

The following paraphrase conveys what the Buddha said next:

Whenever engaging in a physical, verbal or mental activity, you should reflect, will this activity bring harm to myself or to others? If, on reflecting, you

life of someone who is not ashamed at telling a

realize it will bring harm, then such activity is

I imagine Rahula taking a deep gulp upon hearing

for you to do.

deliberate lie.”

this. The Buddha then threw out the remaining water and said, “Thrown away like this is the

spiritual life of someone who is not ashamed at telling a deliberate lie.”

12 | EASTERN HORIZON

unfit for you to do. If you realize that it will bring benefit to you or to others, then it is something fit

It strikes me as key that instead of teaching his son to recognize absolute notions of right and wrong, the Buddha was teaching him to reflect on harm

and benefit; this requires both self-awareness and

Teachings | The Buddha as a Parent

empathy. Grounding moral decisions in what is

not be viewed as me, myself or mine.” In fact, the

unrelated to the effects of our behavior. Harm

concepts of me, myself or mine. Hearing this, Rahula

harmful or beneficial helps protect our ethical life from being guided by abstract and external ideals and benefit are also related to a person’s sense of purpose. Things we do can either detract from or support the direction in which we want to go.

Buddha continued, one shouldn’t see any feeling,

perception, mental activity or consciousness through felt admonished and returned to the monastery without collecting food for the day.

This teaching reinforces my belief in the importance of cultivating a child’s capacity for empathy and

an understanding of how his or her actions impact others. The powers of reflection and compassion

do not come only from being told to be reflective or

compassionate. They come from seeing these qualities modeled in others, particularly one’s parents.

The Buddha also told Rahula to notice after doing

something whether or not it caused harm. If harm

resulted from something Rahula did, he was to find a wise person to confess this to as part of a strategy to do better in the future. From this I have learned the importance of helping a child develop the integrity

I take this to be a radical teaching for a young

her parents. Again, the parents’ ways of being and

However, I remember all too well how, at that age,

to admit mistakes. And such integrity depends a

lot on how a child’s mistakes are received by his or

acting in the world are crucial to how a child’s virtue grows: if the parent is someone who can be trusted

and who is more interested in helping the child grow than in punishing the child, then the young person is more likely to be honest.

Meditation

The second story shows how the Buddha began

teaching meditation to Rahula as a way to develop a foundation of inner well-being (Middle Length

Discourse 62). This story takes place when Rahula is a young teen. It starts as he sets out with his father on their morning almsrounds. Rahula was having

conceited thoughts about his good looks, which he shared with his father.

Noticing his son’s preoccupation, the Buddha said,

“When seen with wisdom, the physical body should

teenager. I can’t imagine that as a teen I could have understood what the Buddha was talking about.

I was preoccupied with my personal appearance. I

have often heard this justified in teens as part of the important developmental process of individuating,

of finding themselves. Is it appropriate to admonish a fourteen-year-old for feelings of vanity? Was the Buddha interfering with normal developmental

issues that teens should negotiate alone? Without

developing a strong sense of self, how can a young person grow into a psychologically healthy adult?

What kind of self-concern does a teen need in order to mature?

The Buddha’s answer to these questions is seen in what he next did for his son.

The evening after he was admonished, Rahula went to his father and asked for instruction in breath meditation. The Buddha first used analogies to

EASTERN HORIZON | 13

Teachings | The Buddha as a Parent

illustrate how to have equanimity during meditation. He said,

Develop meditation that is like the earth:

as the earth is not troubled by agreeable or disagreeable things it comes into contact with, so if you meditate like the earth, agreeable and disagreeable experiences will not trouble you. Develop meditation like water, like fire, like air and like space: as all of these are not troubled by agreeable or disagreeable things they come into contact with, so if you meditate like water, fire, air or space, agreeable and disagreeable experiences will not trouble you.

Then, before actually teaching him breath

meditation, the Buddha told his son to meditate

their ability to meditate. I have been quite impressed by the ease with which some young teens can drop into deep states of meditation (though it tends not

to last long). I have known young people for whom meditation became an important tool for finding

stability and peace in the midst of their adolescent challenges.

But it is not just for the usual teenage trials that

breath meditation is useful. Breath meditation can

be drawn upon at every step in one’s journey in life.

In this story, the Buddha concluded his instruction of his son by pointing to the value of breath meditation

practice in preparation for the moment of one’s death.

Wisdom

on lovingkindness as an antidote to ill-will, on

In the third and final sutta the Buddha guides

aversion.

147). By this time Rahula had devoted the greater

compassion to overcome cruelty, on sympathetic joy to master discontent, and on equanimity to subdue

Only then did the Buddha teach breath meditation in

its classic formulation of sixteen stages. These stages go through phases of calming the body and mind,

cultivating strong states of well-being and insight,

and letting go. And then, as a powerful punctuation to his teaching to Rahula, the Buddha concluded by

Rahula through a series of questions that lead him to liberating wisdom (Middle Length Discourse

part of his teen years to the path of awakening. In one passage he is described as exemplary in his

love for training. By the time Rahula was twenty, his father understood that he was close to liberation.

stating that if mindfulness of breathing is developed, a person will have the ability to be calmly mindful of his last breath.

As I read about the Buddha’s teaching his son breath meditation to cultivate strong states of inner wellbeing, I saw how this is an alternative to building a rigid conception of “self.” I wonder how much

of modern teenage attempts at self-building and

differentiation are fueled by their being ill at ease

The Buddha then did something that I find quite

a sense of being both at ease within oneself and

the base of one of these large trees, he led Rahula

with themselves and with others. I assume that the process would be very different if based on imperturbable in the presence of others.

When teaching meditation to kids I have noticed

that at about thirteen or fourteen, a jump occurs in 14 | EASTERN HORIZON

touching: he went for a walk with his son deep into the woods in a grove of majestic sal trees. Sitting at

through a thorough questioning of every basis used for clinging to the idea of a self. The process the

Buddha used was one of progressively loosening the enchantment with finding a self in anything.

Teachings | Creative Ways of Teaching Meditation to Children

For someone as well trained as Rahula, the deeply rooted tendency to cling to

some idea of an essential self can be the

last barrier to liberation. As he listened to his father’s teachings, this clear seeing of

the impersonal nature of phenomena was

Creative Ways of Teaching Meditation to Children by Sumi Loundon Kim

the final step Rahula needed for his full liberation.

Sumi Loundon (center) with two young Buddhist teachers at Conference of Buddhist Teachers in the US.

The Buddha’s teaching on not-self can be perplexing. It is easy to see it as abstract

philosophy and so miss that this teaching

is a form of practical instruction on how to find happiness through letting go. To me it seems important that the Buddha taught

Rahula about not-self while they sat deep

in the woods. I have often found that I have

a very different perspective when in nature

than when in the middle of urban life. I find that the sense of peace and well-being that nature can provide facilitates letting go of

self-concern. To contemplate letting go while reading a book on Buddhist philosophy in

one’s own home is a lot different from doing so surrounded by a quiet grove of trees.

In reading this third discourse, I reflected on how useful it is to know oneself in the context of the natural world.

When the seven-year-old Rahula asked for his inheritance, he couldn’t have imagined that thirteen years later he would have

received the greatest gifts that any parent could pass on to a child. In Buddhism, awakening is known as the greatest

Sumi Loundon Kim is the chaplain for the Buddhist Community at Duke University and ordained lay minister for Buddhist Families of Durham. She has published two books on the path of young Buddhists in the West: Blue Jean Buddha (2001) and The Buddha’s Apprentices (2005), among other articles and chapters. After receiving a master’s degree in Buddhist studies and Sanskrit from the Harvard Divinity School, she was the associate director for the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, Massachusetts. Originally raised in the Soto Zen tradition, she has been following the Theravada/vipassana lineage for the past 20 years. Sumi and her husband, a native of Korea and professor, have two children, ages 3 and 5, and live in Durham, NC. Sumi visited Malaysia in June to conduct a Parenting Workshop for about 40 parents from the Buddhist Gem Fellowship (BGF) and gave a Dharma talk at the Bandar Utama Buddhist Society (BUBS) followed by an interactive workshop with the BUBS Youths.

hen I was seven years old, my father enrolled my

happiness. As I consider my wishes for my

younger brother and me in a summer yoga camp. One day,

provides. Perhaps in the different phases of

she instructed, “and see if you can make peanut butter

wisdom. EH

dryness, oil, dissolution, and the movement of my tongue,

own sons, I wish them the peace, happiness

a teacher brought the class out to a grassy field, sat us in a

their growth they too can be established in

in your mouth.” Five minutes later, I was still working on

and safety that the path of awakening

circle, and gave us each one peanut. “Chew this very slowly,”

the three trainings of virtue, meditation and

that peanut, exploring changing textures, multiple flavors, among other sensations. I realized from this exercise that

EASTERN HORIZON | 15

Teachings | Creative Ways of Teaching Meditation to Children

if I paid attention I would find a whole world of

rocks up; as you breathe out, your belly empties

experience in just this one, little peanut. I also learned

and goes down. Breathing in, the animal rocks up,

that all experiences in life are available for meditation,

and breathing out, the animal rocks down. You

that meditation wasn’t just about paying attention to

don’t have to change your breath or do anything

the breath or mind.

at all, just notice how it feels as you breathe in and out. Imagine you’re rocking your stuffed animal Although children

to sleep with a gentle ride on your belly as your

certainly have

breath moves in and out.

the ability to learn traditional

You may notice that by paying attention to your

breathing

breathing, it changes naturally; for example, it

meditation and it

may become slower and deeper.

is a valuable skill, they will gain

You may notice that by paying attention to your

additional insight

breathing and relaxing, the space between the in

from a diversity

and out breaths becomes longer.

of meditative The author’s son Sonjae practicing meditation to become a jedi

exercises. In this

You may notice that by paying attention to your

week’s column,

breathing, the feelings in your body change

I’d like to share

naturally; for example, your body may feel more

a number of fun, creative ways of teaching children

calm and relaxed.

about meditation. I’m happy to say that in the thirty years since I ate that peanut, meditation teachers

You may notice that as your breath becomes

have developed a wide range of engaging meditation

slower and deeper, it becomes easier to lie still,

activities for children, a few of which I present here.

and your mind may naturally slow down and become quieter as well.

Teddy Bear Breathing Meditation, adapted from the book “The Mindful Child” by Susan K. Greenland.

Hugging Meditation, adapted from Thich Nhat

Video demonstration at http://vimeo.com/26644484.

Hanh’s book Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children. When we hug, our hearts connect and

Ask your children to lie still on their backs with their

we know that we are not separate beings. Hugging

legs flat on the floor, arms by their sides and, if they

mindfully brings understanding and happiness to both

are comfortable doing so, with their eyes closed. Have

people. To do this meditation, find someone in your

them place their favorite teddy bear or stuffed animal

home to hug or, if you are alone, hug yourself.

on their belly. Once they are comfortable, encourage them to let the weight of their bodies drop into the

Stand facing a family member. Look into his or her

floor below them and relax. Then say something like,

eyes. If one person is tall, he or she can kneel down so

See if you can relax and feel your head against

that both are at eye-level. Join your palms together

the pillow. Your back against the floor. Your

before your heart and bow to each other. Then, take

arms by your sides. Feel the weight of the stuffed

each other into your arms, hugging slowly and gently.

animal on your belly. Now imagine you’re giving

Take three breaths together in each other’s arms. With

the animal a gentle ride with your breath: as you

the first breath, we are aware that we ourselves are

breathe in, your belly fills with air and the animal

alive. With the second breath, we are aware that the

16 | EASTERN HORIZON

Teachings | Creative Ways of Teaching Meditation to Children

other is alive. With the third breath, we feel happy and

jar, feel your breath going in and out, your chest rising

grateful to hold them in our arms. Now, gently let go

and falling, the cool air coming in through your nose

of each other and look into each other’s eyes. Join your

and the warmed air going out.

palms together before your heart and offer each other a final bow.

When the sand and sparkles have settled, ring a gong loudly to end and sit perfectly still until you can’t hear

Mind-in-a-Jar Meditation, developed by Kerry Lee

the sound any more. Notice how peaceful the room has

MacLean, adapted from this site. Video demonstration

become in those final moments as you hear the last

at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joYd1yfn-QY

reverberations of the gong. Has your mind returned to the clear water with which you began your day?

Supply list: •

Clear round jar

•

Water (tap water is fine)

These are just a few of the meditation activities one

•

White sand or baking soda

can do with children. I highly encourage parents and

•

About 30 grams each of different-colored sand and

teachers to obtain copies of the two titles mentioned

sparkles

above, in addition to:

•

Big spoon

Find a glass jar and fill it with clean water. This water

~*~

Baby Buddhas: A Guide for Teaching Meditation to Children by Lisa Desmond, 2004

represents your happy, healthy mind, like when you wake up in the morning feeling great and you can’t

Teaching Meditation to Children: A Practical Guide

wait to get up and see what’s going to happen next.

to the Use and Benefits of Meditation Techniques by David Fontana and Ingrid Slack, 2002

But then, you get out of bed and start thinking – in other words, you start your collection of thoughts. You

Child’s Mind: Mindfulness Practices to Help our

can use the white sand or baking soda for ordinary

Children Be More Focused, Calm and Relaxed by

thoughts (like, “I wonder what’s for dinner”), white

Christopher Willard, 2010

fairy dust for happy thoughts, and colored sand or sparkles for the rest: black for scary thoughts, blue for

Finally, don’t underestimate the role of popular media

sad thoughts, yellow for smart thoughts, and pink for

to provide images and inspiration for children. A

loving thoughts, purple for “I want,” etc. (Avoid red as

few months ago, our family was driving home when

it discolors the water.)

our four year-old son Sonjae asked us to be quiet. He wanted to meditate. After a few minutes, my husband

Stir the thoughts with a big spoon saying, “This is my

and I started to whisper something to each other and

mind in a hurry, this is my mind stressed out about

Sonjae again chastised us to be quiet. We drove quietly,

homework, this is my mind worried about getting to

puzzled by our son’s sudden interest in meditation.

school on time, this is my mind thinking about my

Then my husband said, “Aaaah, it’s because of the

birthday” or whatever. Now sit up straight, cross-

movie Star Wars.” After our son ended his meditation,

legged in a good meditation posture (no slouching,

we asked him why he was meditating. Indeed, he was

please) and ring a gong saying, “This is what happens

training himself to be like Luke Skywalker and Obi-

when I stop and let go of my thoughts.”

Wan Kenobi – a jedi master. ^^

Sit quietly for a few minutes and watch the “thoughts”

Originally published by Beopbo Shinmun Buddhist

settle down to the bottom of the jar. As you look at the

Newspaper, Korea, July 2012, www.beopbo.com”. EH

EASTERN HORIZON | 17

Teachings | Teenage Dhamma – How To Communicate with Parents Without Tearing Your Hair Out

Teenage Dhamma –

How To Communicate with Parents Without Tearing Your Hair Out by Ven Faxun

Born in Singapore, Venerable Fa Xun graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic where she was President of its Buddhist Society. In 1992 she was ordained in Taiwan by Venerable Wu Yin of Luminary Bhikshuni Sangha（香光妮僧团）, where she also went through five years of monastic training in the institute. Upon completion of her monastic training, she returned to Singapore and conducted adult’s and children’s Dharma classes in English and Mandarin. In 2001, Venerable continued to pursue her education by doing a Bachelor of Arts and Education degree at the University of Western Australia and in 2009 she completed her Honours Degree with a thesis entitled “The Other Path: The Bhikkhuni Quest for Liberation.” In 2011, Venerable authored the book “One Life, Five Precepts: Buddhist Ethics for Modern Living”. Currently Venerable is teaching at various Buddhist centres in Singapore, Malaysia and Western Australia, and contributing articles to Buddhist magazines.

Many teens often appear angelic outside their

The Buddha’s teaching on Right Speech is so very

an eyelid… and the list goes on. While they (parents

children. A good teaching is one that we can apply

homes, but parents complain just as often that their teens have no respect for elders, lie without batting and teens) may try very hard to communicate with

each other, very often, their conversations end up in heated arguments. Each party tries to suppress the

tension that builds up quickly, but then tempers flare or they end up refusing to talk to one another.

18 | EASTERN HORIZON

relevant in addressing and resolving this modern

issue of communication between parents and their directly in our day to day living and this teaching on Right Speech is certainly one. It is not only a

philosophy, but something practical which we can use to transform harsh speech into gentle speech, and false speech into truthful speech.

Teachings | Teenage Dhamma – How To Communicate with Parents Without Tearing Your Hair Out

Here is a typical conflict scenario involving parents

studying together. She would have also felt guilty

at a nearby town centre after school. She informs

probably anger too. An intended act of goodness

and their teenage children. Teenager Joan makes

an appointment with a friend to study in a library her parents out of responsibility and respect. Her parents are expecting her to be home by 5pm, as

granny is coming to visit in the evening before flying off to China. Joan promises her parents to be home by then.

So the next day, Joan and her friend proceed with their plan, but got to the library late as they were held up in school by their teacher and also got

caught in the traffic. They were very engrossed

in their study at the library when at 5pm, Joan’s

mom calls, half screaming on the phone. Hearing

her mom’s angry voice, Joan looks at her watch and

realises she’s late. She turns the phone off in a panic,

not knowing what to say at that moment! When Joan got home and was questioned on why she turned the phone off during the call, she lied that the battery had gone flat.

Teenagers often resort to telling lies out of

desperation. Most know when they are wrong;

they also know it is not right to lie. Yet often, out

of the fear of being scolded, they try getting out of

unpleasant situations by resorting to lying, with the hope of covering up their mistakes.

Taking an objective view, the teenager in the

scenario above, obviously felt agitated and frustrated about the whole situation. A noble deed of helping a friend with her studies turned into a situation beyond her control as she was held up by their

teacher and caught in a traffic jam; these matters had not been taken into account when she was

planning with her friend the previous day about

for not keeping to the promise to be home by

5pm. Emotionally, there was guilt, frustration, and turned into an unpleasant situation with her seemingly at fault! This is indeed upsetting!

The parents, on the other hand, probably felt

worried when their child did not return home at the

expected time. Could she have met with an accident? Did something bad happen? Or, they may have

felt upset that their daughter again, has no sense of punctuality. At the same time, mom probably

felt angry that her line was cut off when she called her daughter, and instinctively knew her daughter

probably lied about the battery being flat! It would

have been too easy to check on the battery level, but such an act of mistrust would only have aggravated the whole situation.

Experiential interaction with teenagers reveal that many usually do not know how to handle

broken promises (especially with authoritative

parent/s who would scold/s them on the slightest provocation, even when truth is spoken.) Out of

desperation or fear of having to “face the music,”

they resort to temporary measures of “escape” by

shutting off their phones or telling lies. Often, they

are not aware of the consequences of their actions. While they yearn so much for trust and freedom from their parents, by their very actions, they

break the very trust for which they yearn. Many are constantly caught in such situations and do

not know how to cope or get out of the cycle. Such

frustrating experiences often result in confused and conflicting emotions and feelings – often the very cause of dysfunctional communication between

children, especially young teens and their parents.

EASTERN HORIZON | 19

Teachings | Teenage Dhamma – How To Communicate with Parents Without Tearing Your Hair Out

Fa Xun giving talk on Right Speech

Visit to Special Needs Home

Visit to Home of the Aged

Some Guidelines for Teens…. 1. Reflection Instead of getting angry or frustrated, it would be

thus becoming a trustworthy and reliable person…..

when shutting off the phone and lying to your

by most (DN1). There is no more necessity to lie.

more helpful if you calm your mind, check your

action and reflect upon it. How do you see yourself

parents? How do you feel? How would your parents feel? How do you prevent something similar from happening again in the future so that you gain the trust of your parents? What would be a better

approach so that you don’t lose the trust of your

parents regarding your time management or sense

of responsibility, and at the same time, also showing care and concern for your friend?

2. Keep Calm and Be Truthful Most teens resort to lying out of desperation and try to cover up a mistake they made. As a result, they

have to tell lie after lie, each to cover for the previous one. Hence, it is good to learn to keep calm.

When confronted with a situation which might be

threatening or which you feel you do not know how to deal with, take a deep breath and breathe out

the anxiety and fear. The principle is always to be sincere and truthful.

In the Digha Nikaya, the Buddha says: “By giving

up false speech, one becomes a speaker of truth…. 20 | EASTERN HORIZON

Giving up harsh speech, he says what is gentle and

pleasant, pleasing to the ear, affectionate and liked Taking the earlier scenario as an example, simply

explain the situation, that you were held up by the teacher and caught in the traffic.

Furthermore, not only do we need to explain, we need to explain calmly and clearly, and not get

caught up in our emotions. Always be kind and gentle in your speech.

3. Courage and Acceptance Most teens know that it is their fault for not keeping a promise. But they are just too afraid to face the

music. It might be helpful to read stories of great

people in the past for some insight and inspiration.

For example, George Washington, the first president of America, chopped down his father’s favourite cherry tree but was brave enough to admit his

deed when questioned. We need to learn to be

courageous, admit our misdeeds and accept the

consequences of punishment, if any. Courage is a

good attribute (quality) to develop. It will certainly enhance our development as responsible adults.

Teachings | Teenage Dhamma – How To Communicate with Parents Without Tearing Your Hair Out

Youths at the Second Home Project

Kayaking adventure

4. Responsibility and Trust-Building It is your responsibility to inform your parents if you are going to be late. For example, if you are caught

up in traffic, you could simply use your handphone

Youth camp at Sentosa Island

few extra minutes’ allowance so as to enable you to return home in time or even earlier.

6. Empathy

to send a text message, or better, call one of your

Try to put yourself in the shoes of your parents.

Such an act of responsibility will certainly build your

They will be worried for their beloved child – are

parents informing him/her the reason why you will be late. Do not wait for your parents to call you. parents’ trust in you.

5. Time Management Some teens simply lack time management skills.

How would your parents feel when you are not home by the promised time? Most parents will be worried. they involved in an accident? Are they safe? How would you feel if your parents do not care at all?!

7. Patience

When parents ask when you will be home, you

Be patient; it takes time for you to build up the

The ultimate consequence is that your parents will

the trust. Parents will usually relax and give you

cannot simply give an unrealistic time. As a result, you will be unable to keep to the time promised.

become upset and you will lose even more trust from them.

Learn to work out how much time is needed to travel from point A to point B. Let’s take the earlier case

as an example again - from the library to home. In addition you will also need to factor in time for

packing-up , time for lunch, even answering nature’s call, and also have some time allocated for walking

between bus stops and train stations; even waiting time for the transport’s arrival. After you have

worked out a realistic time , you may wish to add a

trust from your parents. If you continue to act in a

responsible and mature way, by and by you will gain more freedom once they notice that you are mature and responsible. Saint Francis de Sales said what was necessary for a contemplative life was “a cup

of understanding, a barrel of love, and an ocean of patience.”

In essence, we need to re-learn the ancient wisdom

laid down by the ancient sages. The Right Speech in the Noble Eightfold Path and the Buddhist Teaching on Loving Kindness is a good guideline for us in communication. EH

EASTERN HORIZON | 21

Teachings | How to Teach Dharma Skillfully to Children & Teens

How to Teach

Dharma Skillfully to Children & Teens by Venerable Geshe Thubten Sherab

Geshe Thubten Sherab was born in 1967 in a small village in the province of Manang, the western part of Nepal, to a KagyuNyingma family. He entered Kopan Monastery at the age of nine and completed his geshe studies at Sera Je monastery in South India, followed by a year at Gyumed Tantric College. He then completed retreat and teaching assignments both in the U.S.A. at the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) Center in New Mexico, and Asia. He served as Headmaster of Kopan Monasteryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s school for four years, overseeing debate training and tantric training activities. Geshe Sherab understands and connects very well with Western students, presenting the Dharma in an accessible, warm, and open manner. Geshe-la is fully committed to the FPMT vision. He stayed at the Losang Dragpa Buddhist Center in Petaling Jaya in early 2012 and Benny Liow met up with him on April 1 to ask him about his approach in teaching Buddhism to children and teens.

There are many complex topics in Buddhism such as karma and rebirth and the nature of the mind. These are difficult topics to explain to children. As a former school principal in Kopan, what is your approach in teaching Buddhism to children in primary schools? The Buddha used Jataka stories to explain concepts

like kamma and rebirth to emphasize the importance of moral values. These Buddhist fables teach young people the importance of kindness, generosity,

co-operation, and mutual understanding that are

uniquely human values that we should all cultivate. The Jataka stories also emphasize the need to

respect nature and the environment we live in.

Children will thus learn how they can live together 22 | EASTERN HORIZON

in harmony with nature and the animal kingdom,

rather than dominate it. So from young we should

inculcate peaceful co-existence among all sentient beings rather than adversary relationships.

Human problems, both personal and social, were as

prevalent and disturbing during the time of Buddha as they are today. Thus, one will see in the Jataka

Tales aspects of greed, cruel ambition, foolishness,

bad company, environmental damage, addiction, and even disrespectful language. By the same token, the Jataka Tales dramatically demonstrate the tangible benefits that derive from cooperation, friendship,

respect, independent thought, responsible behavior, courage, humility, and education.

Teachings | How to Teach Dharma Skillfully to Children & Teens

live in harmony with this natural law. So you can

explain to the young child that the Buddha was like a scientist who discovered a natural law called the law of karma!

How about to teenagers? Do you use the same approach to introduce Buddhism to them? When dealing with teenagers, we should be more Kopan Monastery, Nepal

Besides their surprising relevance, the Jataka

Tales are great fun to read. Packed with action and adventure, they are earthy, humorous, direct, and

-- above all -- honest. So for young children, who are becoming more intelligent these days, we should introduce the values behind the Jatakas to them,

rather than focusing on the actual stories or telling that they actually happened.

More specifically, how do you explain simple concepts of karma to young children, especially those below 12 years old? Give them a simple example. You can ask the young child what happens when someone hits another

person – surely he will hit back at the person who hit him. Similarly, if you smile at someone, surely

that person will smile back at you. Likewise, if you help someone with a good deed, you can expect a

good deed in return, perhaps not immediately but at a later stage. Then you can explain that karma is all about cause and effect. Thus, you should always do good and avoid evil actions.

You can explain that the law of karma is a natural law, much like the law of gravity. As it is a natural

law, there is no law giver. Just as nobody created the

law of gravity, nobody created the law of Karma. The

Buddha, with his enlightened mind, realized how the law of karma works. And based on his discovery, he advised us to do good and avoid evil so that we will

analytical with them. As they are more matured,

they may not like the stories found in the Jatakas.

For a start we can explain the life of the Buddha in a fashion that teens can relate to. For instance, we

can show that the Buddha was a rebel in his time as he was not satisfied with the answers of his elders. That was why the young Prince Siddhartha left the

palace on his own in search of the answers that his

parents and elders could not provide him. Then we

can explain the Buddha’s core teachings of kindness and compassion to them, followed by more abstract teachings on karma and rebirth.

We should also relate Dharma teachings to what teens do today - school, dating, hanging out,

jobs, and other issues of special interest to them. However, we should always encourage teens to

look for answers themselves. Emphasize that a key

teaching of the Buddha is called “ehi pasikko” which means “come and see” and not “come and believe”.

In this way, the Buddha is like a modern day scientist who likes to experiment to find out answers to questions.

Teenagers prefer discussions than being told what

is right or wrong. But you first need to understand the teenagers as no two minds are the same. Some teenagers tend to be more inquisitive, so they will find arguments and discussions very interesting.

For instance, do not expect them to believe karma

and rebirth blindly. For instance, you can introduce them to simple books or articles about stories of

young people who are child prodigies or are able

to recall their past lives. Ask them to keep an open EASTERN HORIZON | 23

Teachings | How to Teach Dharma Skillfully to Children & Teens

mind about such cases, but not to reject them as mere stories, for they could actually be cases of reincarnation.

Another important attraction for teens is to

introduce Buddhism as a science. Since all teenagers

study science in school, we can introduce in a simple way about the many interactions between Western scientists and psychologists and Buddhist monks and scholars such as the Dalai Lama during the

annual Mind Life seminars. When young people

realize that Buddhism is indeed a scientific religion,

they will be attracted to it. It becomes a cool religion that is not superstitious or out-dated.

Many teenagers are also attracted by singers,

movie stars, and celebrities. Some of them from the US, India, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also sincere Buddhists. As many of their stories have been

published in the media, it is good to compile them

and show them to these young teenagers that their favorite artistes are also practicing Buddhists.

Another area to introduce teens to Buddhism is through music. We can organize music or song competition to encourage young Buddhists to

compose new songs with Buddhist meanings. In this

way, they become engaged with the Buddhist society that they belong.

As young people like to have fellowship, activities

such as visits to nearby cities or places of attraction and social gatherings will attract them. They will

to another world or to heaven to be with his or her grandparents. The main motivation is to relax the

child and not make him feel more depressed by the

loss of a parent. Assure the child that he will be well taken care of by another parent or relative, even though one has passed away. If the child is more

matured, a story may be helpful. There is the story of

Kisa Gotami who lost her only child and thus became extremely distraught and emotionally unstable. She

then went to the Buddha for a cure for her dead son. The Buddha told Kisa Gotami that he can bring back

her dead child if she can bring to him a mustard seed from a home that has not known death. Of course

Kisa Gotami went from house to house looking for

a mustard seed which she could easily find, but not from a single home which has not known death. Finally, Kisa Gotami realized that her loss is not

only hers but something every person in this world has experienced. Then she realized that death is a natural phenomenon.

So it is important to explain to young people that

death is very natural and happens to everybody at different time of our lives. Sometimes people die

young, sometimes they die old. But when a person

dies, it is not the end. He will be reborn. It is like the four seasons in some temperate countries. If there

is summer, there will soon be autumn, then winter,

then spring, and then summer again. Life is like that. So even if we separate in this life, we will meet again in another life.

To many young people, heaven and hell is a myth

then find that it is much fun to be a Buddhist!

or a belief passed down from their parents and

One of the most intriguing questions for young

found in all Buddhist scriptures, how do we

children and teenagers is the concept of death

explain them to young people?

grandparents. Since heaven and hell is very much

and rebirth. What do you say to a young child whose parent has just died that is in accordance with Buddhist teachings? It depends on the maturity of the child. If the child is very young, we can say that the parent has gone 24 | EASTERN HORIZON

One way to describe heaven and hell is to compare

it to states of mind that we experience when we are

still alive in our human existence. It is true that even in the human world we can see states of mind like

heaven and hell. If one is always in pain and suffering

Teachings | How to Teach Dharma Skillfully to Children & Teens

meditation, they have based their lives very much on basic Buddhist values which they learnt from their

parents or grandparents. For instance, they may not

be interested to study about karma as a doctrine but they have learnt that they should not harm other living beings such as insects or small animals. So

they are living a life in compassion. Slowly, we can Gyumed Tantric College in India where Geshe Sherab studied.

introduce them to meditation.

When and how should we teach meditation to children and teenagers?

because of illness, or is starving, one is experiencing hell. On the other hand, one is in heaven if one has wealth, happiness, a loving family, and no physical pain or illness.

Slowly we can introduce them the concepts like the

Six Realms of Existence. For instance, when one has

too much greed, it is like the realm of hungry ghosts. If one is always jealous, one is like the asuras or

titans; if one is ignorant, one is like an animal; if one has desires, that is a human realm; if one has pride, then it is like the devas. And if one has anger, one is in hell being. If the teenager has a good knowledge

of Buddhism, then you can introduce him to the six

syllables of Om Mani Pade Hum which represent the purification of the six realms of existence.

In the West, young people seem attracted to meditation. That does not seem to be the case in Asia. Do you agree?

Teaching young children and teenagers how to

practice loving kindness meditation would be a good start. Explain to them the basic techniques, such

as start by mentally wishing all beings to be well

and happy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that they be free from mental suffering and free from physical suffering. Then extend

this thought of goodwill to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents, siblings, relatives, friends, teachers, indifferent ones and

finally enemies. And they should be taught to radiate loving kindness to themselves too.

The other common meditation practice is

mindfulness. Learn to be more aware and observant of our thoughts, speech, and action. Once they have the basic practice, you can introduce the more

technical practice based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

Any final advice you would like to give to our young Buddhists in Malaysia?

Young Westerners are very interested in the

practical aspects of Buddhism like meditation and

The essence of Buddhism is about transforming the

them as a religion as it did in Asia. Buddhism in the

life. We will not be easily disturbed by external

mind transformation rather than ceremonies or

rituals. This is because Buddhism did not come to

West is largely seen as a way of life or a mind science that helps one to calm or develop the mind. In Asia

most people who are Buddhists have a rich tradition

behind them which includes an elaborate devotional legacy that has many cultural elements as well. But then even if young Asians are not so attracted to

mind. If we are able to do that, there will no doubt be practicing the Dharma well and will have a peaceful conditions, and can easily adjust to situations. As

Buddha said, never do evil, do good, purify the mind. That is my simple message for the young people of Malaysia. EH

EASTERN HORIZON | 25

Teachings | Why Buddhist Education is Important

Why Buddhist Education is Important by Venerable Wei Wu

Venerable Wei Wu was born in Penang and studied at University of Canterbury, New Zealand, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree in 1973. He worked with Hewlett Packard in Penang, Malaysia, as a Quality Manager before starting his own consultancy company in 1987 to serve various multinational companies including Procter and Gamble, Philips, Fiat, and Astec in Asia, Europe and the United States of America.

Venerable Wei Wu was ordained as a Buddhist monk in the Mahāyāna tradition in 1992 and established Than Hsiang Foundation in Malaysia and Thailand and the International Buddhist College (IBC) in Hatyai, Thailand. He is currently the President of the Than Hsiang Foundation and the Council Chairman of IBC. IBC currently has its main campus in Southern Thailand and a new branch campus in Korat, Thailand. He is also Abbot of Tham Wah Wan Temple in Kuala Lumpur where many IBC courses are being conducted for participants in the central region of the country. Though ordained in the Chinese Mahāyāna tradition, he is well-versed in all three Buddhist traditions.

Venerable Wei Wu is also very active in social welfare projects, having established homes for the poor, as well as kindergartens throughout Malaysia. 26 | EASTERN HORIZON

any years ago, when I was in Hong Kong, I was

introduced to a very generous supporter of a temple who agreed to HK$4 million to the International Buddhist College (IBC). She told me that she had sent her daughter to one of the best schools in Hong Kong which was run by Christians. Most of the good schools in Hong Kong are run by Christians, especially Catholics who started schools a long time ago. After her daughter attended the Christian school for some time, she decided not to follow her mother to the temple anymore. When I visited Burma recently I noticed that there were many international schools which are privately run by foreign organizations, mostly Christian, even though Burma is a very devout Buddhist country. Many Myanmar people send their children to these schools even though they charge very expensive fees because they want the best education for their children. I was in Myanmar to attend the second conference of the Association of Theravada Buddhist Universities. When the panel on engaged Buddhism discussed this topic, there was a strong agreement that we should do something to avoid this kind of situation persisting. So maybe we should ask ourselves why Buddhists cannot build and run quality schools. We all know that the Christians have been building and running educational institutions for a long time. During the colonial days, in many colonized countries including our own, the Christians started to promote education and run schools in remote areas. As a result, today we see in this country, many top schools which are run by Christians.

Teachings | Why Buddhist Education is Important

During an introductory meeting in Kuala Lumpur when

as the centres for promoting education. Subsequently,

we were planning the IBC, an audience asked me,

as in most countries, the government took up the role

“Why do you want to build another (third) Buddhist

and responsibility of education. However, we all also

university in Thailand when there are already two

know that in some advanced countries, private schools

existing government supported universities there (the

or universities are doing better than government

Mahamakut University and the Mahaculalongkorn

sponsored schools and universities.

University with Thai as their medium of instruction)?” In reply, I asked, “Do you know how many Christian

In Than Hsiang Temple, we went into formal education

universities there are in Thailand?” It is a Buddhist

with a kindergarten in 1991. The temple is situated

country but there are 7 Christian universities there.

in the middle of the high technology industrial park.

In fact, we should not only be concerned about the

We saw the need to have a kindergarten with good

number, but more so the quality of the universities. In

facilities for the young population there because many

Bangkok, there is the Assumption University which is a

young couples at that time started to have children

Catholic university with 20,000 students out of which

which were ready to join a kindergarten. 18 years later,

2,000 are foreign students. There were 1,000 students

we now run 6 kindergartens in the northern states;

from China alone.

Penang island, mainland of Penang and in Kedah.

Here in Malaysia, we have the International Islamic

Our approach now is to go into the community and

University. There are many others in countries with

run smaller kindergartens with less than 100 students

a strong following of Islam even in Indonesia. In

each. We have the main kindergarten in Than Hsiang

many countries in the Middle East, they are many

Temple with about 350 students. But the other five are

universities which have produced a large number of

relatively smaller in size. It is actually quite easy to run

Islamic scholars. So even compared to Islam, we are

a kindergarten if you have 80 to 100 students as it is

behind in two ways; we started much later and while

easier to manage.

the other religions were promoting their education and building universities aggressively, we were rather

We also run a senior citizens home. We try to put the

conservative.

kindergarten and old folks home side by side in order to bring the young kids and the old people together.

In countries like India (where Buddhism once

Unlike 50 years ago or even 30 years ago when we

flourished), Sri Lanka, Thailand and Tibet, Buddhist

have an extended family structure, the trend now is

monasteries used to be the centres of education.

for young couples to start their own family, and stay

If you want to receive the best education including

separately in a flat or apartment. Sometimes, the

secular education, you go to the temple. Even today

children rarely see their parents during weekdays. The

in Sri Lanka, there are some traditional schools or

elderly people also face the situation where they have

institutions which belong to the Buddhist temples or

no son or daughter or even daughter-in-law to look

monasteries from ancient times. There are special

after them because they are working. So in terms of

schools but of course in those areas they don’t have

serving the community and society, we operate and

other schools. So it is quite interesting that some

try to have this centre not only with religious activities,

students of other faiths sometimes study in these

but also to run small scale kindergartens as well as old

schools with even some young monks. In Thailand,

folks homes. We also plan to run the old folks homes

many schools, whether they are primary or high

on a smaller scale with about 25 residents.

schools are built within the temple compound. But they are not necessarily run by the temple because the

Now, I would like to share with you the history of the

education department from long ago used monasteries

Phor Tay institution. The word Phor Tay in Sanskrit

EASTERN HORIZON | 27

Teachings | Why Buddhist Education is Important

another younger monk, the most Venerable Fa Fan. Both of them had also been exposed to the Theravada tradition. Venerable Ci Hang was very good with the mind-only school. In India, it is known as the Yogacara school. Venerable Ci Hang was invited by this institution and with his help as well as some people who were teaching in another good school in Penang, they International Buddhist College, Hatyai, Thailand

established first the primary school and then the high school. When Venerable Ci Hang was there as a

means Bodhi, which refers to the enlightenment of

religious advisor or teacher for 3 years, many younger

the Buddha. In 1935, a nun from Xia Men, China came

monks went to learn from him. The most Venerable

to Penang and established this institution which was

Kim Beng, after learning from Venerable Ci Hang, went

a nunnery she named Phor Tay, suggesting that even

back to Malacca to establish another Buddhist high

then, this nun already had an idea that education is

school and named it after his teacher, 香尼学校.

important. After the most Venerable Ci Hang, there was another The nun subsequently worked together with her

monk, Venerable Fa Fan. He went to study in Sri Lanka

disciples and students to establish a Buddhist Free

and was a student of the reformist monk, the most

School to provide free education for the less fortunate

Venerable Tai Xu. Venerable Tai Xu sent many monks to

and the children. They also established an orphanage.

different countries to learn from the different Buddhist

Eventually, they needed to set up a primary school

traditions. He sent some to Sri Lanka and some to

for the children. When the primary students

Tibet to study Theravada Buddhism as well as Tibetan

completed their education, they continued to plan and

Buddhism.

subsequently built the Phor Tay High School. So this was a very forward looking nun who started all this

As Venerable Fa Fan was sent to Sri Lanka, he could

educational institutions as early as the 1930s.

speak and write English very well. After that, he was invited by a Buddhist college in Sri Lanka to teach

Today under the Phor Tay institution, there is a

Chinese Buddhism. On his way to Sri Lanka, he stopped

kindergarten, primary school and two high schools.

over in Penang and was invited by the Phor Tay

The high school was established in 1954. In

institution to be the religious teacher and advisor.

1962, many of the Chinese high schools accepted

At that time, they were going to build the Phor Tay

government assistance but the Phor Tay school board

High School. He gave them word of encouragement

decided to continue to operate it as a private high

and said that Phor Tay High School is even more

school. As a result, there are two types of schools now,

important than the primary school which they had

one is government assisted and the other is a private

established earlier. He said that he had to fulfill his

high school. Recently the government assisted school

commitment to teach in Sri Lanka first but that he will

was relocated to the industrial area not far from Than

be happy to return to teach Buddhist classes after they

Hsiang Temple.

have established the high school. He also said that in case he could not return, there is a young monk

There are some very interesting figures that were

in Macau, Venerable Zhu Mo, who is very young and

connected to the Phor Tay institution; a very famous

capable whom they can also invite.

monk from China, the most Venerable Ci Hang and

28 | EASTERN HORIZON

Teachings | Why Buddhist Education is Important

The first time I went to Sri Lanka, Venerable Professor

In fact, she passed away at an early age of 37 but her

Dhammavihari, who was not ordained yet at the time,

work was continued by many of the disciples.

was the director of the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist study at the University of Kelaniya. He

There is also another Buddhist Free School in Penang

told me that they had a set of Chinese Tipitaka in

established by Venerable Guang Yu and his Dharma

the library of the college which were brought over

brother, Venerable Guang Yi about 40 years ago with

by Venerable Fa Fan. He taught in Sri Lanka and died

the help of many teachers from Chung Ling High

there. As a result, the Venerable Chu Mo was invited

School, which is an elite Chinese school in Penang. The

by the Phor Tay institution to be the religious teacher

idea was to provide education for people who lost the

or advisor in the high school.

opportunity to complete their education when they were young by establishing an evening school so that

When the high school was to be built, many of the

they can continue to improve themselves even after

elderly monks during that time in the 50s went on a

they have started working.

tour of Singapore and Malaysia to raise funds. They bought a piece of land with the funds and donated this

This government assisted Phor Tay High School or

piece of land for the building of Phor Tay High School.

SMJK Phor Tay used to share the same school building

So from its inception, the high school had a very

with the private high school because they were owned

special connection with Buddhism and especially the

by the same board. However, about 2 years ago,

Bodhi sangha.

the school received approval to be relocated to the southern region of the Penang island. Today, there

If you talked to some of the students who graduated

are 9 Chinese primary schools in that region. After

from the Phor Tay High School, they will share with

they had completed their primary education, they

you their experiences of having been taught by the

have to travel more than an hour just to go to one of

most Venerable Chu Mo himself.

the Chinese schools in town. By relocating the school to this region, it has the potential to become a very

After he taught for some time, he established the

good school because it is the school of first choice for

Malayan Buddhist Association (which later became

students living in that area.

known as the Malaysian Buddhist Association) with some other elderly monks during this time. He also

We were racing against time to complete the

established the Malaysian Buddhist Institute (MBI)

construction of the school building which can

which provides Buddhist education primarily for young

accommodate about 3500 students. We raised about

monks and nuns but is also open to lay students. The

30 million to build the school in the past 2 years. The

institute has been running continuously for more than

construction of the school took about 14 months. In

30 years until today. As a result of the establishment

January with the new academic school year, the school

of the MBI, many young Chinese monks and nuns

was relocated. Many students were trying to get into

became well-educated and could live in different

the school.

temples and also work with different Buddhist organizations with many Buddhist activities in South-

If we run this school well, we can turn it into one of

East Asia.

the top schools in Penang. The school is unique in that we also teach Buddhism as a subject. For the primary

MBI as a Buddhist education institute not only exerted

school, the private high school and also the SMJK

its influence in Malaysia, but the whole of South-East

Phor Tay, we have monks and nuns from Than Hsiang

Asia as well. So all this started because of the Phor Tay

Temple together with some lay teachers who volunteer

institution established by the nun Fang Lian in 1935.

to teach in these schools. Of course we also hope that

EASTERN HORIZON | 29

Teachings | Why Buddhist Education is Important

the school would not only do well academically, but

Buddhist studies or religious studies and another for

would apply and practice the teachings of Buddhism

liberal arts.

in order that the students will have a well-rounded education. This is important so that our students will

For a start we offered some general subjects – core

also have good religious sentiment or good conduct.

subjects with four under liberal arts – languages, anthropology, computers and statistics so that our

Let me share with you finally our endeavor into

students doing BA can have a broader foundation.

tertiary education especially in Buddhist studies. In

We obtained the license to operate this college and

1992, when I was studying in New Zealand, I had two

a year later in 2004, we received the first batch of BA

university mates - Venerable Professor Dhammajoti

students.

and Venerable Mahinda. Venerable Dhammajoti went to Sri Lanka and completed his MA and PhD and

When we started to offer the BA course, we did not

continued to teach there. He spent about 25 years in

know that the Thai education policy was very liberal.

Sri Lanka. When I visited him, he came up with the

We were not required to teach in Thai. After 2 years,

idea of setting up an institute to promote Buddhist

we noticed that some students, especially those

studies in Malaysia. With his help, we worked with

from China, struggled with English. They had to study

the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka and in

English for one year or more before they could do

1992, we started first to offer a Diploma course and

the BA course. So we felt that if we could also offer

then Bachelor of Arts (BA) course. During that period,

Chinese medium courses, it will be easier for students

Professor Karunadasa came to teach in Penang and

from China and also some from South-East Asia, e.g.

was very interested in the uniqueness of Malaysian

Malaysia and Singapore.

Buddhism. Here, he saw the meeting of two major traditions that are Theravada and the Chinese

So when we applied to start the MA course, our

Mahayana tradition. At that time, Tibetan Buddhism

curriculum was both in Chinese and English languages.

had started to come to Malaysia as well. He came

It was approved. In 1996 [should this be 2006 since the

up with the idea of establishing a university which

college was established in 2004?], we received the first

embraces all three major traditions.

batch of MA students in two classes – both English and Chinese. Last year[note to Benny, when was this talk

After giving serious consideration, we decided that

given?], we produced the first batch of BA graduates

Thailand would be a better place to start this college

and the first batch of MA graduates. Some of the MA

because Thailand itself is a Buddhist country and in

graduates wanted to continue their studies, so we

terms of geographical location, it is centrally located

applied to offer PhD courses, also in two languages

in the heart of the South-East Asian region. We also

and those were also approved.

chose Thailand because it is close to Malaysia and the southern part of Thailand is the nearest to us.

For the BA and MA courses, we went through an accreditation process and did very well. The first

In 1999, we registered Than Hsiang Foundation

convocation was held on 20th August 2011 and

Thailand primarily to register the IBC. At first, we

today we also have four PhD students, two registered

wanted to call this International Buddhist University

in Chinese and the other two in English. We also

but later on the advice of some consultants we opted

submitted a revised curriculum for BA and now our

for a college as there was no need for us to establish

students are also allowed to choose either Chinese or

three or four faculties as that would be more costly.

English as a medium. Therefore at present, we offer

If we were only going to offer Buddhist studies, then

both Chinese and English mediums for BA, MA and

we only needed to establish two faculties, one for

PHD courses.

30 | EASTERN HORIZON

Teachings | Why Buddhist Education is Important

About a month ago, we had to go through an external assessment of the quality assurance system for higher education which is similar to the ISO9000. In Thailand, all universities have to undergo this assessment once every five years. As 2012 was our fifth year in running the college, we had to go through that assessment which was organized by ONESCA. We passed this assessment with good results. Our emphasis is to start with a small batch of students and we have continued in this way for five years. It was an opportunity for us to learn through this process. It was a wise decision to

Classes at IBU for Sangha and laity

start small and focus on the quality of the education

However, after they have settled in IBC, I think they

rather than to try to recruit many students. We

appreciate this diversity because they can learn

stressed on quality instead of quantity.

different Buddhist traditions from fellow students and many other interesting things.

In our first year, we had 65 applicants from China who applied through the internet out of which we

It is only in Thailand that we can start a college or

only accepted 13. However, only 8 came because in

university by first focusing on Buddhist studies. In the

many parts of China, it takes a long time to apply for a

past 20 years, many Buddhist organizations started

passport if you are living in remote places.

universities in Taiwan, but all of these until very recently were not allowed to offer Buddhist studies.

Every year in the month of April, we organise a

They were running secular courses with huge amounts

Dhammaduta Tour. Our fifth academic year is over. We

of investments. For some of these universities, they

had about 80 students in that year. We also started a

study Buddhism not in the Buddhist faculty but under

pilot phase of e-learning, choosing some subjects from

Philosophy or Comparative Religion. When we operate

our BA curricular. Now, we are planning to offer a 3

a college in Thailand, we can offer Buddhist studies

years MA course through e-learning from September

first.

2012. This e-learning approach is very important for us because the internet is now so common and if you

However, from our experiences in Malaysia acquired

have access to the internet, you can study anywhere in

from running kindergartens, old folks homes and

the world and we can reach a very broad target.

counseling centres, we would also like to offer courses relating to these areas in future. In fact, Buddhist

Based on our experiences, the most difficult part of

psychology actually has a greater text compared to

running the IBC is not the academic side, but problems

Western psychology. Our idea is to offer counseling

relating to the students. Therefore, if the students stay

courses and to bring in the element of Buddhist

at home and study at their own pace, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have

psychology. Furthermore, in almost all countries their

to organise their accommodation or deal with the

population are aging, so we need to look after old

language problems of these students who come from

people. Then, geriatric nursing is also a course that will

different countries.

be useful. We will also offer Chinese medical course because we have been running clinics using the service

The 80 students came from more than 14 countries

of Chinese physicians in Penang and other parts of the

with different Buddhist traditions and languages.

northern state for more than 20 years. So it is in our

At first, it was very tough for us to look after these

plan to subsequently introduce these secular courses

students because of their different backgrounds.

in IBC.

EASTERN HORIZON | 31

Teachings | Why Buddhist Education is Important

The first course that we will most likely focus on is pre-school education because we have run our kindergartens very well. We will continue with the concept of getting the best of both the traditional Eastern education whereby the children learn through reciting classics and also from the Western education in terms of pre-school education which let the children learn through play. Both of these systems have their respective wisdom. When we combine them, we come up with something unique. The idea is that we don’t have to build so many old folks home and kindergarten ourselves, but by providing these courses in our university, our graduates can go back to their respective countries

Buddhist Film Festival Singapore The Thus Have I Seen (THIS) Buddhist Film Festival 2012 will return this September 22-29 at Shaw Theatres Lido, Singapore, and it is set for another spectacular edition with a bigger and more exciting movie line-up from around the world. Themed “Open your mind”, the festival presents specially selected films that reflect the cultural, social and religious aspects of Buddhism, told through 16 original, thought-provoking films

to start international school, kindergarten and so on.

by emerging and accomplished filmmakers from 11

In conclusion, my observation is this, if we do not

Sweden, Thailand, and the US.

countries, including China, France, Indonesia, Japan,

invest in education, Buddhism will be replaced by other religions as the religion with the most number

THIS Buddhist Film Festival debuted in Singapore in

of followers in Asia. At present in many countries

2009 with 11 unique films, with more than 5,000 tickets

in Asia, Buddhism still has the biggest followers

(more than 93 per cent) taken up over the week-long

but if we continue at our current pace, we will be

event. This year, the film festival will present 16 films

replaced. One day we may become irrelevant. This

from 11 countries, selected by a dedicated panel from

phenomenon has already happened in South Korea.

the organizer, Dharma In Action. The suite of selected films will all be screening for the first time in Singapore,

When I was in China recently to attend the World

giving moviegoers an excellent opportunity to catch

Buddhist Forum, I observed the same thing there.

some of the most dazzling productions yet. All films will

The Christians are going there very aggressively

be screening for the first time in Singapore.

because in the West, the Christian churches especially the traditional ones are declining. As

The chairman of the organizing committee, Teo Puay

a result, they have taken their resources and

Kim, said, “This year, the 16 films selected are varied

invested them in this region very aggressively. Even

in their depiction of Buddhism and Buddhist cultures.

in Thailand, they are very aggressive. Venerable

Some films will challenge our perception of Buddhist

Dhammodaya told me that Sri Lanka also faces the same thing. In South Korea too, there are already more Christians than Buddhists. If we don’t change our attitude, this will happen in China too in the not distant future. My estimate is within 20 years. Let us reflect on this and put the emphasis on Buddhist education. It is a sad thing that when we want to build temples, there are a lot of supporters. But when we want to promote Buddhist education, people are not so supportive. EH

32 | EASTERN HORIZON

films while others will provide us with more insights into Buddhist cultures and practices worldwide. We are deeply excited by the films selected. Enjoy them and open your mind through these films.” The Outrage (U Mong Pa Meung), a captivating Thai adaptation of Rashomon, will open the festival this year, with an intriguing tale of truth and morality. The story, told through different perspectives by four characters, possibly with their own respective agendas,

Buddhist Fi

Features | Buddhist Film Festival Singapore

will capture the audiences’ attention with its compelling script, its starstudded cast, and fight scenes choreographed by Ong-Bak stunt master Panna Rittikrai. The film won the Best Costume Design and Best Special Effects at the 21st Thailand National Film Awards 2011, and Best Art Direction and Best Supporting Actress at the 20th Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards 2012. Closing the film festival will be One Mile Above, based on an incredible true story about a young Taiwanese man’s attempt to cycle from Lijiang, Yunnan to Lhasa, Tibet, in a bid to fulfill his late brother’s dream. His

The Outrage (U-Mong Pha Meung): The elusive nature of truth is explored as the protagonists struggled to solve a puzzle involving a heinous crime.

quest brought him through the most magnificent and hostile terrain in the world, and in the process, he discovered his true self during this solitary, 2,000 mile trip. One Mile Above won Best Artistic Contribution at the 24th Tokyo International Film

Crazy Wisdom: A documentary about Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche - once called “one of the greatest spiritual teachers of the 20th century,” and ”the bad boy of Buddhism” taught Buddhism as if it was a matter of life and death. He fled the Communist invasion of Tibet, studied at Oxford during England’s Swinging Sixties, and then made a decision to break with the 1,200 year tradition of his lineage.

Festival 2011 and Audience Award at the 14th Udine Far East Film Festival 2012. In addition, Thai director Pen-ek Rataranuang will be in town to attend post-screening dialogues on his crime noir piece, Headshot. It is a thrilling feature about a policemanturned-assassin, whose world turns upside down – literally – after he gets shot in the head during an assignment. The film picked up five awards, including Best Picture, at the Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards 2012. EH

One Mile Above. A road movie and drama adventure that depicts a young man’s cycling journey to the highest point in Tibet to fulfil his brother’s final wish. Through his interactions with people along the journey, the audience is brought into the lives of locals, pilgrims and fellow adventurers.

Tickets are now available through SISTIC website: www.sistic.com.sg or hotline +65 6348 5555, at S$11.00 per ticket, excluding SISTIC charges. For the full screening schedule, please visit www. thisfilmfest.com.

lm Festival Singapore

Teachings | A Balanced Approach to Life

A Balanced Approach to Life by Venerable Hung I

Venerable Hung I was born in Yunnan Province. He and his family moved to Burma in 1957. He took vows at Chung Hua Temple under Ven. Shi Chen in 1962. In 1969, he went to Taiwan to continue his study of Chinese Buddhism at the Buddha Light Mountain Buddhist Academy. At the same time, he studied Pure Land Buddhism under the tutelage of Ven. Chan Yuan. Upon graduation, he became a lecturer at Eastern Buddhist Academy and Abbot of Pu Chao Temple in Ping Dong. In 1978, Ven. Hung I came to the United States to visit Ven. Shi Chen and to improve his English. In the summer of 1980, he arrived in Houston with Ven. Hao Lin to visit Ven. Jan Hai, who had fallen ill at the time. Upon earnest invitation by members of Texas Buddhist Association, Ven. Hung I graciously agreed to stay and look after the newly established Buddha Light Temple. To better meet the needs of spreading Buddha Dharma among the diverse population in Houston and to take better care of its members, the Texas Buddhist Association built Jade Buddha Temple in 1990. Later on, American Bodhi Center was also established in 2008. Ven. Hung I took the lead in all aspects of the projects and personally attended to every detail. Ven. Hung I is well versed in Buddhism and devoted to the spreading of the Buddha Dharma. He is currently Vice President of the Texas Buddhist Association, and President of the American Bodhi Center. His published collections include Green Mountains and Rivers in a Bowl, A Brief Interpretation of the Heart Sutra, Buddha Dharma in the Human World, Observations and Reflections, Human and Dharma Relationships, and A Life of Happiness and Equilibrium.

34 | EASTERN HORIZON

Teachings | A Balanced Approach to Life

Buddhist education consists of aspiring to

understand Sakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment,

wisdom, and courage and using this knowledge to improve one’s karma and achieving nirvana. The

education begins with a lesson in becoming a good person. Master Tai-hsu said we should look to the Buddha’s teachings for guidance in all that we do; when we achieve this standard of perfection, we

will realize our Buddha nature. We should strive

to be good people and help others reach the same

goal. If everyone leads a moral life, our society will

be peaceful and harmonious. Learning to be a good

person requires adopting a balanced approach to life. A Buddhist sutra mentions this concept of the

Middle Way. According to the Buddha, those who

implement balance in their lives will be free of vexations. The fourth master of the Zen Buddhist School was named Dao-shing. In his youth, before he be-

came master, he asked the third master, Sheng-tsan, to lead him to enlightenment. In response, Shengtsan asked him, “Who has bound you?” Dao-shing replied that no one had bound him. Then Master

Sheng-tsan taught Dao-shing that he could achieve

enlightenment through his own will and actions. “If

no one has bound you, then you already possess the ability to become awakened.” As soon as Dao-shing heard his master’s words, he understood how to

reach his goal. His story teaches us that no external

factors, such as environment or other people inhibit

our potential; the only force that holds us back is our own limited perception of the world.

We must understand that all things have more than one dimension. Consider the ocean. Still water and

waves are not the same phenomenon. Though they exist in different forms, they are composed of the

same natural substance. A balanced approach to life requires recognition of the multifaceted nature of

all things. I would like to share five suggestions for achieving such an approach.

Transforming confusion into enlightenment: According to a Buddhist sutra, sentient beings see things in a negative light whereas Buddhas see

things in a positive light. Vexations are neither external nor objective. One’s own perception determines whether something exacerbates confusion

or contributes to enlightenment. Without a positive

attitude, even phenomena that typically help people

become awakened appear to be sources of confusion. As volunteers at the temple, we sometimes en-

counter criticism of our work. These criticisms

cause vexation, and then a generous act that should contribute to enlightenment becomes a source of

confusion. When we encounter obstacles, we must

encourage ourselves to overcome them and even use them as tools to train our endurance and wisdom.

Then we can increase our good will even in the face of adversity, and the criticisms will not be able to deter our original kind intentions.

At a deeper level, we should recognize that suffer-

ing is not completely bad. To become a Bodhisattva, EASTERN HORIZON | 35

Teachings | A Balanced Approach to Life

Celebration of Kwan Yin Bodhisattva’s Birthday at Jade Buddha Temple

Meditation retreat at the American Bodhi Center, Texas

one must relieve suffering, which requires that it

into great vexations and place conditions on our

precept, patience, diligence, concentration and wis-

meeting new people because we feel at ease inter-

exists in the first place. This state of being is attained through fulfilling the six perfections: generosity,

dom. When we encounter sources of displeasure, we should transform them into opportunities to perfect these requirements.

Increasing compassion and improving interpersonal relationships: In general, people in love see only the positive qualities of their loved ones, and people who hate see

only the negative qualities of their enemies. Because these perceptions are extreme and unrealistic, they cause many vexations. To maintain objectivity and

respect for one another, people must keep a certain

distance and give others their space. Being too close

affection. To eliminate self-centeredness, we should

extend our love to more people. Sometimes we forgo acting with our friends and do not want to step out of our comfort zone. However, we should not only

maintain our already-existent friendships but also widen our circle of friends and acquaintances.

Affection without wisdom is dangerous. We need to

use good judgment in our relationships. For example, we should not ask our friends about their private

business because it may offend them. Additionally,

since we genuinely care about our friends’ feelings, we should not inquire about past sources of pain. Escaping the influence of external conditions:

does not imply a physical or emotional distance or

Some people feel overwhelmed when they have a lot

Expectations — a form of attachment — spawn

are alone, they feel lonely. We have to learn not to

even refer to how much time spent together; rather, it refers to having expectations of the other person. vexations.

Someone once asked me if practicing Buddhism

would change the way he treats his wife and children. I do not believe Buddhism would decrease

the love he feels towards his family. But, at the same time, he should use Buddhism to eliminate the

impurities in this love, namely self-centeredness,

which leads us to magnify insignificant occurrences 36 | EASTERN HORIZON

to do; they want to escape from their responsibili-

ties and retreat to peace and solitude. Yet when they feel overwhelmed in crowds and lonely in solitude.

Usually, when a couple has been married for decades and one passes away before the other, the surviving

spouse has difficulty dealing with the loss. Buddhism trains us to feel comfortable no matter what our external circumstances may be.

I greatly admire Master Shin-yuen because despite receiving many people everyday, he never feels

Teachings | A Balanced Approach to Life

ing emotions, are always in flux. Anger, sadness, joy -these feelings come and go.

Negative emotions are uncomfortable and unproductive. If we can understand the concept of “non-self” and recognize the fleeting nature of our emotions,

we will realize the futility of vexation. Then we will be less likely to form antagonistic feelings towards others, and our interpersonal relationships will Sangha members welcoming the new year 2012 at the Texas Buddhist Association

vexed. He does not dwell on past occurrences, and

he always lives in the present moment. Because he

is free of attachment and vexation, Master Shin-yuen can accomplish many goals.

Contemplating on conditional origination, impermanence, and non-self: Conditional origination means that no phenomenon arises independently. Each occurrence is the result

of a complex web of causes, each of which, in turn, is the result of countless other factors. Observe that all

phenomena are ephemeral and in a constant state of flux. Whether circumstances change for the better or for the worse depends on our own perception.

With an optimistic outlook, we will welcome change as improvement; with a pessimistic outlook, on the other hand, we will perceive it as undesirable. Im-

permanence should not be a bad thing: when we see transition approaching, we can take steps to ensure

the change is for the better by recognizing and seizing opportunities to improve our circumstances. Because everything is ephemeral, we should not

form attachments because they will lead to unsatisfied desires. Each individual is composed of vari-

ous physical and non-physical components that are

constantly changing. Buddhism teaches the concept of “non-self” to help us understand that there is no

fixed, independent entity that embodies the essence of an individual; all the aspects of a person, includ-

improve.

Seeing reality clearly and having self-confidence: We filter the world through the lens of our mind, but we constantly have to focus the lens to see things

as they truly are. We cannot presume to get a clear picture after only one adjustment. In interacting

with people, we should put ourselves in their shoes; this way, we will be more considerate of others and increase mutual understanding and harmony.

When doing volunteer work, we should always smile and keep in mind that any job, be it sweeping or

other manual labor, offers a chance for positive interpersonal interactions. These good relationships will

aid us in spreading the Dharma and helping sentient beings.

Towards others, we must have equanimity, and

towards ourselves, we must have confidence. Self-

confidence eliminates anxiety and anger in the face

of criticism. One’s self-confidence, moreover, should not depend on compliments from other people. In

addition, self-reflection is crucial: we need to identify and correct our mistakes, and if we have done nothing wrong, we should not let criticism bother

us. Consequently, whether justified or not, criticism actually helps us become better people. To recog-

nize that typically vexing occurrences offer valuable

chances for self-improvement, we must first adopt a balanced approach to life. EH

Source: The Edge newsletter, USA, July/August 2003

EASTERN HORIZON | 37

Feature | Understanding Depression with Kindness Forum

Understanding Depression with Kindness Forum

by Lee Chew Poh

6th July, 2012 - I attended a special forum organized by KL Buddhist Mental Health Association (BMHA) with the title, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Understanding Depression with Kindness.â&#x20AC;? It was a very informative and inspiring forum, whereby Dr. Phang Cheng Kar (psychiatrist & president of BMHA) explained that depression is more than just occasional low mood - it is a serious psychological illness! Among the main common symptoms of depression are persistent feelings of sadness with crying spells, easily tired, and lost of interest in doing things. More serious symptoms include suicidal thoughts or attempt.

38 | EASTERN HORIZON

Dr. Phang stressed that just

minutes each time) stimulates the

like physical illness, patients

production of feel good chemicals

who have depression can use

in the brain. Healthy eating

antidepressant medication to

habit with balanced nutrition

treat their depression effectively.

is important. Moderate coffee

Antidepressant is non-addictive

consumption (not more than 2-3

and safe. However, effective

cup a day) may be helpful for

treatment of depression should

boosting energy (provided that you

be individualized and include

do not have anxiety symptoms,

non-medication strategies. Thirty

able to tolerate coffee, and do

minutes of daily exposure to

not take it at night). Food rich in

sunlight can brighten up mood.

omega fatty acids, e.g. fish, soy

Regular exercise, (e.g. brisk

milk, canola oil are nourishing for

walking at least 3 times a week, 30

the depressive brain. Counselling

Feature | Understanding Depression with Kindness Forum

and more specialized psychotherapy, (e.g. cognitive

swings, crying most of time and having suicidal

behavioural therapy - CBT) are also helpful. Last but

thoughts. She was referred by her general practitioner

not least, friends and family support is extremely

to a psychiatrist for further assessment. She was given

important.

a set of questionnaires to answer and went through a thorough interview. Both ‘tests’ showed that she had

Dr. Phang ended his sharing by giving a meaningful

depression.

quote, “If you have depression, it doesn’t mean that you are weak - it probably means that you’ve been too

For the second Sister, she was having negative

strong for too long.”

personality since young. She had a few times committed self-injury. But due to lack of awareness,

It is crucial for patients with depression to ‘ACCEPT’

her family members did not send her for treatment.

their illness with kindness and seek for professional

However in 2004, when she had very strong urge to

help. This message was echoed by all the three special

end her life, she was finally admitted to a psychiatric

guests, who had experienced the dark moments of

ward for treatment. Even though she realized that she

depression, and sharing their experience in the forum.

had repeated low moods since 15 years old, she never sought professional help. She tried to cope by reading motivational and religious books. However all were in vain. “Please get professional help early!” emphasized the Sister, who is on treatment for Bipolar Depression. Even now and then, she has unpleasant thoughts and feelings. She is aware of them and reminds herself, “I must keep myself busy in doing work, e.g. jogging and charity work. The bad feeling will come and go eventually.” Another Sister said that after learning

Venerable Kumara (Buddhist monk and meditation

techniques in Mindful-Gym, she is more mindful of her

teacher from Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary)

thoughts, able to think positively, and response wisely

explained that, from a Buddhist perspective, the root

to problems in life. Mindful-Gym is a mindfulness based

cause of depression is mental defilements like craving

stress reduction and wellness program organized by

and aversion. In this state, the wholesome qualities

BMHA.

of the mind, such as confidence, energy and wisdom, are weak. Hence, it is very important to increase the

As for the last Sister, it began with poor concentration

wholesome qualities. In line with this, BMHA has

in doing things, lost of interest in activities that she

developed “3G-Gratitude,” which is a card game for

used to like, excessive fear without reasons, reluctance

cultivating these beautiful qualities.

to talk, feeling moody and sad.

The moderator, Ms. Low Mi Yen (clinical psychologist)

Ms. Mi Yen explained that a lot of people cannot

then invited 3 specials guests, all Sisters who had gone

accept the fact that they are having depression. This

through depression to share on how they discovered

is worsen by social stigma and wrong views about

their illness, cope with it, and their friends and family

depression. Kindness from friends and family members

had supported them.

is therapeutic and it facilitates acceptance. We also need to understand that acceptance is not an on-off

The first Sister shared that she started off with mood

switch - it is a gradual process. People may need to go

EASTERN HORIZON | 39

Feature | Understanding Depression with Kindness Forum

through stages

depression. For those with severe depression (e.g.

of shock or

suicidal, hearing voices, extremely restless), meditation

disbelieve, anger,

is not suitable; stabilization with medications and family

blaming before

support are more important at this phase of the illness.

final acceptance.

Venerable Kumara shared that for people with mental

Venerable

illness, such as depression, it is better to meditate while

Kumara added

walking, as it is easier to practise awareness that way.

a witty remark

They can also do that in daily activities, e.g. sweeping

to that, “If you

the floor, exercising, washing. It is important that we

cannot accept, at least accept that you cannot accept.”

do not use meditation as an avoidance strategy to run

When asked how they wish they can be supported by

away from life problems, stressed Ven. Kumara.

their friends and family, they said, “a listening ear and smiling face.” Physical touch with care, e.g. holding

Another audience asked if depression is genetically

hands, hugging, a pat on the shoulder also mean a lot

inherited. Dr Phang said, “Yes,” but it is not 100

to them.

percent. That is why some people with family history of depression do not get it. There are many things

In short, kindness, friendship, listening ears are all very

that we can do to influence gene expression and

meaningful to people suffering with depression; be kind

prevent depression. Related to that, someone asked

to them and slowly guide them out from the darkness

Venerable Kumara on whether depression is due to

of depression.

past kamma? “If you are referring to something bad you did in the past life, I honestly don’t know. What

“People surrounding them must be kind and

we experience now is a result of past conditions. We

understanding to them. They don’t choose to be

can’t change that. What’s important though is how

like that, e.g. lack of energy, slow in thinking, not

we relate with what is happening now. That’s the

motivated, not productive. The worst thing to tell a

new kamma that would make all the difference. For

person with depression is, ‘Why are you so lazy!?” Why

example, if we regard depression with kindness, then

do you have to do that to me?! (ignoring the fact that

that’s good kamma, that is a condition for the healing

‘laziness’ is part and parcel of the illness),” reminded Dr.

of depression,” commented Venerable Kumara.

Phang, championing the voice of his patients. It is so inspiring to see several audiences openly shared An audience shared her own experience, “Loving

their journey with depression - they are so courageous!

ourselves doesn’t mean that we are selfish. We must

By the end of the forum, the shadows of depression

love ourselves first; then we are able to love others

were transformed into melody of kindness, hope and

better. Ms. Mi Yen affirmed her view by adding a

wisdom - it is truly wonderful. I am so grateful for the

comment by Ajahn Brahmavamso (Buddhist meditation

opportunity to attend this forum. Thank you.

monk), “When we have worked too hard and are tired of holding a bottle for so long, we should put it down,

Lee Chew Poh is a homemaker and volunteer in

even for a few minutes; it is always easier when we

school recycling projects and loves to tell moral

take it up again - be kind to ourselves.”

stories based on Jing Si Aphorism. She has a passion to share good ideas with others, and has

An audience asked if a patient with depression

of late written articles to Sin Chew Daily and Tzu Chi

is suitable to practice meditation. Dr. Phang said

magazine, and created a blog www.caringsociety.

meditation is only suitable for those with mild

blogspot.com. EH

40 | EASTERN HORIZON

NEWS

The rugby legend who became a Buddhist by reading quantum physics by Walter Jayawardhana, The Buddhist Channel, June 10, 2012 Colombo, Sri Lanka -- The rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson hit world headlines due to his 2003 World Cup final heroics, when his drop goal in the last minute of extra-time delivered the trophy to England. He made another sensation when he told the London Times that he became a Buddhist by reading Quantum Physics. Wilkinson, a millionaire by then has revealed that he has found inner peace through Buddhism.

The former England Rugby star, who became a national hero after the world cup victory, said Buddhism had helped him overcome a fear of failure which was ruining his life ironically due to the victory.

London’s Daily Mail said, “His obsessive perfectionism had been making him miserable but Buddhism had liberated him from being motivated by ‘money, status tars, or ego’.” He said moments after he won the world title against Australia in Sydney he was having strong feelings of anti-climax.

He was quoted having said later

“I did not know what it really meant to be happy. I was afflicted by a powerful fear of failure and did not know how to free myself from it.”

After winning the World Cup serious injuries put him out of international rugby for four years. During this derailment he tried to learn guitar, piano, French and Spanish as a distraction. A report said, “In the end he had a ‘Eureka’ moment while reading a book on quantum physics – the study of sub-atomic particles.” ‘Quantum physics helped me to realise that I was creating this destructive reality and that all I needed to do to change it was to change the way I chose to perceive the world,’ he told the Times.

‘I do not like religious labels, but there is a connection between quantum physics and Buddhism, which I was also getting into. His epiphany came after reading about a famous experiment in quantum physics known as Schrodinger’s Cat, a report said. “It was all about the idea that an observer can change the world just by looking at something; the idea that mind and reality are somehow interconnected,” Wilkinson explained. “It is difficult to put into words, but it hit me like a steam train.”

He continued: “I came to understand that I had been living a life in which I barely featured. I had spent my time immersed in EASTERN HORIZON | 41

NEWS

the fear of not achieving my goals and then spent my time beating myself up about the mistakes I made along the way. Quantum physics helped me to realise that I was creating this destructive reality and that all I needed to do to change it was to change the way I chose to perceive the world. ‘Failing at something is one thing, but Buddhism tells us that it is up to us how we interpret that failure. ‘The so-called Middle Way is also about having the right intentions. “[Buddhism] a philosophy and way of life that resonates with me,” he revealed. “I identify with it. I agree with so much of the sentiment behind it. I enjoy the liberating effect it’s had on me to get back into the game.” ‘Are they decent and honest and are you giving consideration to other people? Selfishness can

never be the route to happiness or success.’

Wilkinson’s live-in girlfriend Shelley Jenkins, 27, the daughter of a scaffolding magnate, is apparently ‘really happy’ about Wilkinson’s new enlightenment. ‘I have improved as a person in my relationships, not just with her, but with friends and family,’ he said.

Asked to explain the deeper reason for his Buddhist faith, he added: ‘I think it was rooted in an even deeper fear of death.

‘I couldn’t figure out how to avoid death: it was like a game I could not win. The closer I got to family and friends and the better things got, the more I had to lose. ‘I have accepted my career will finish one day and I am in a place that will enable me to make that transition comfortably. I will not

have to reinvent myself to cope with life after rugby.’

He told the French news agency AFP, “Buddhism, with its concepts of karma and rebirth, have freed me from the twin fears of death and life without rugby. It has given me the ability to understand that rugby, like life, will also come to an end.” “My motivation today has nothing to do with status, money or ego. Before I wanted to be the best in the world and I would watch other players to see how I measured up. Now when I do something great on the rugby pitch it is not about being better than others but about exploring my talent ... My fulfillment is no longer about self-gratification; it is about seeing the happiness of others.” EH Source: Buddhist Channel

Meditating Buddhist monk saddles up for London

AFP, July 10, 2012

OGAWA, Japan -- He’d prefer enlightenment to a medal, but when Japan’s horse-riding Buddhist monk Kenki Sato saddles up for London 2012, he’ll be representing one of the Olympics’ more unusual families. Shaven-headed Sato, who starts each day with a morning prayer, is following his younger brother Eiken, who also trained as a priest and rode at the Beijing Games. His sister, Tae, 24, is a five-time national showjumping champion. 42 | EASTERN HORIZON

And his father, Shodo, who heads a 460-yearold temple and adjacent horse-riding club, was a member of Japan’s equestrian team before the 1980 Games in Moscow - only to have his Olympic dream dashed when Japan boycotted. Kenki Sato is on extended leave from the Myoshoji temple in mountains near Nagano, where his father is the 25th master, to train for London where he will compete in eventing, which combines dressage, cross-country and showjumping.

NEWS His journey to London began at the age of seven, when he started training for competition under his father. “I think it was largely because my father could not become an Olympian,” he admits.

Sato senior, 61, paired the disparate worlds of Buddhism and equestrianism after growing up around horses in the mountains of Nagano, where they were still the main mode of transport when he was a child.

Among his team-mates is Hiroshi Hoketsu, 71, the oldest competitor in any sport at Beijing 2008, who is entered in the separate dressage category.

They are not strongly tipped to end Japan’s 80-year wait for a second equestrian medal, following Baron Takeichi Nishi’s showjumping gold of 1932. But Sato said the experience would have spiritual value. “I may learn something as a human being when I encounter various people with different religions and languages abroad,” says the diminutive Sato, 27. “I want to feed it back into my path to Buddhist enlightenment.” Four years ago, while his brother competed at the last Olympics, Sato was serving a year’s apprenticeship for the priesthood, secluded in a prestigious Zen temple.

“My old master secretly showed me a newspaper clipping about my younger brother. I was so happy I shed tears,” he remembers.

“Somewhere in my mind, I didn’t want to be outdone by my brother. This turned into enormous energy for me to continue as a sportsman.” In 2010, Sato claimed team and individual eventing golds at the Asian Games and finished 35th at the world championships.

He practised horsemanship while attending a Buddhist university in Tokyo and opened an equestrian park next to the temple in 1979. The facility’s clubhouse overlooks the riding ground from a hillside dotted with tombstones.

When his children were young, he would carry them around on horseback. Asked about his disappointment of 1980, when Japan joined a boycott over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the elder Sato is philosophical. “I don’t dwell on the past,” he says softly. “It was all due to the circumstances of the times.” His son, who stands just 163cm (5ft 4in) tall, has been training with reigning world and European eventing champion Michael Jung at a stable near Stuttgart.

But a vital part of his preparation is meditation, especially at home before competition. “When I cross my legs, it somewhat calms me and makes me feel like going all over again,” he says. However, Sato does not rely on the power of prayer alone. “In principle, my sect doesn’t recommend reliance on others,” he smiles. “But for a moment when the competition is over, I think it is very important to give thanks to my horse, groom and family. EH Source: Buddhist Channel

EASTERN HORIZON | 43

Face to Face | Wisdom at Work

Wisdom at Work by Venerable Sayadaw U Tejaniya

Sayadaw U Tejaniya began his Buddhist training as a young teenager in Burma under the late Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw (19132002). After a career in business and life as a householder, he ordained as a monk some ten years ago. He teaches meditation at Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya in Rangoon, Burma. He now teaches meditation in the West, most recently in June 2012 at the Insight Meditation Society’s (IMS) Forest Refuge, in Barre, Massachusetts, USA, where he led a three-day retreat. U Tejaniya’s relaxed demeanor and easy sense of humor belie a commitment to awareness that he encourages his students to apply in every aspect of their daily lives, and his earlier role as a householder gives him a rare insight into the challenges faced by his lay students. U Tejaniya’s delightfully illustrated book, Don’t Look Down on the Defilements, They Will Laugh at You, aptly characterizes his teaching style—accessible and true to the traditional teachings of the Buddha. The following is an interview that appeared in Tricycle, a US Buddhist magazine.

Can you say something about the title of your book, Don’t Look Down on the Defilements, They Will Laugh at You? I never intended to write a

book. One of my yogis had taken a lot of notes during interviews and wanted to make them available to

others. Those notes were then edited and expanded

the defilements, because only through understanding them can we learn to handle them and eventually

become free of them. If we ignore them, the joke’s on us: they’ll always get the better of us.

If they cause us so much grief, why do we ignore

by me and some other yogis. We picked the title

them? People often become attached to what

I emphasize the importance of watching the mind.

don’t acknowledge their weaknesses. They become

because it is important not to underestimate the

power of the defilements. When I teach meditation While doing this you will see a lot of defilements.

In their grosser manifestations, the defilements are anger, greed, and delusion. And they have plenty of

friends and relatives, who often show up as the five

hindrances: desire, aversion, torpor, restlessness, and doubt. I advise yogis to get to know and investigate 44 | EASTERN HORIZON

they’re good at, to what they’ve achieved; they only want to see their good sides. Therefore they often proud and conceited because they don’t see their negative sides. But if you cannot see both sides,

the good and the bad, you can’t say the picture is complete. If you do not observe the defilements wisdom cannot grow.

Face to Face | Wisdom at Work

Is wisdom an absence of defilements? Yes, when

You had a very full life as a layperson. Why did

there is right understanding there won’t be any

you become a monk? What motivated you?

attached to it. It shies away from what is not good,

As a layperson, we can’t do this full-time? After

defilements. They are opposites; non-delusion is

I chose to because I can practice full-time as a monk.

but has no aversion to it. Wisdom recognizes the

all, you say we can practice in any situation. You can;

You seem to emphasize practicing mindfulness

Is it easier as a monk to practice full-time?

wisdom. Wisdom inclines toward the good but is not difference between skillful and unskillful, and it sees the undesirability of the unskillful.

in everyday life as opposed to sitting meditation. Can you say something about that? This is basically what the Buddha wanted, for people to practice all the time. I’m just advertising the

Buddha’s words. Sitting meditation can still be part

of the practice. I emphasize mindfulness in daily life because people neglect that so much, and it’s a very helpful, valid practice—especially when there’s not

it depends on the individual. It’s a little different, and you have to give it a lot of time.

[Laughs.] Actually, I can’t say being a monk makes it

easier to meditate. Being able to meditate has nothing to do with being a monk or a layperson. I chose to

ordain because I wanted to become a monk. Becoming a monk did not do anything to help my practice, nor was being a layperson detrimental to my practice.

What can you do as a monk that you couldn’t do

that much time to sit.

as a layperson? I get many opportunities to share

I often say that it’s not the posture that’s meditating;

You became a monk because you felt an

What role, then, does sitting meditation play? it’s the mind. That’s how I understand meditation. How do you define meditation? It’s cultivating

good qualities in the mind. It’s making conditions right so good qualities can arise. If, while sitting,

my knowledge of dhamma and meditation. [Laughs.] I meet a lot more people!

obligation to teach? I had no intention to teach; I

had no idea I would. But then my teacher told me to teach, so I did.

So you’re a monk because you wanted to become

you’re dreaming up things the mind can feel greedy

a monk, no other reason. Yes. Exactly.

important than the posture. But people associate

experienced as a layperson, and how you got

There are two kinds of meditation. In samatha [calm

experienced depression I’d already developed the

about, I don’t call that meditation. That’s why I say

that the mind working to do the meditation is more

You’ve spoken often of the depression you

the word “meditation” with “sitting.” The two words

through it. Can you say something about that?

abiding], you need to sit and be still. My emphasis

ability to regard anything that came up in my mind

have become synonymous, but this is a mistake.

I began practicing at age fourteen, so long before I

is Vipassana [insight meditation]. For Vipassana

and deal with it objectively, without getting involved

practice, sitting is not necessary. The purpose of practicing Vipassana is to cultivate wisdom.

To what end? We cultivate wisdom to understand, to see clearly, to know. You don’t remove the defilements; wisdom does.

or taking it personally when ugly stuff came up.

When I became depressed I could apply all these skills. I’ve been depressed three times. The first

time I made a strong effort, just snapped myself out of it. And the second time, too. But each time the

depression came back, and each time it came back

stronger. The first two times I overcame depression, EASTERN HORIZON | 45

Face to Face | Wisdom at Work

U Tejaniya

Insight Meditation Society Meditation Hall

my recovery didn’t last long. I know now that the

Why do you think “interest” was successful

first two times I’d used effort but no wisdom, no

understanding. During the last depression, I had

no energy left in me to make the effort. Depression followed me everywhere.

What did you do? The key for me in dealing with

my depression was right attitude. I realized I’d have to use my wisdom to learn about it, understand it.

How? By just recognizing the depression and being present with it. I would just recognize that this was nature, that this was just a quality of mind; it was

not personal. I watched it continually to learn about it. Does it go away? Increase? What is the mind

thinking? How do the thoughts affect feelings? I became interested.

You often use the word “interest” to describe this attitude of investigation. Why? I saw that

when I’d do the work with interest, my investigation would bring some relief. Before that I’d been at the

depression’s mercy, but I learned I could actually do something. I was choosing to be proactive, to find out about depression, and then it lightened.

Was it acceptance that changed it? That was

the main thing, complete acceptance. I saw I was

helpless to do anything, so I just let it be there. But I could examine it, do something with myself. I

couldn’t do anything to it, but I could investigate it and come to know it. 46 | EASTERN HORIZON

while “effort” ultimately failed? With interest and

investigation there’s wisdom. Effort alone, without wisdom—the way people generally understand

it—is associated with strained activity because it is usually motivated by greed, aversion, and delusion. Effort with wisdom is a healthy desire to know and

understand whatever arises, without any preference for the outcome.

Are you using “interest” for right effort? Right

effort is effort with wisdom. Because where there is wisdom, there is interest. The desire to know

something is wisdom at work. Being mindful is not difficult. But it’s difficult to be continuously aware.

For that you need right effort. But it does not require a great deal of energy. It’s relaxed perseverance

in reminding yourself to be aware. When you are

aware, wisdom unfolds naturally, and there is still more interest.

And what is wrong effort? You have to look for yourself; someone on the outside can’t tell you.

You must recognize the mind that is using effort,

and how it’s using effort, and whether it is wasting energy with forced effort. When you try too hard, you squander your energy. If you’re a serious

practitioner, you cannot afford to do this. It’s a lifetime practice, a marathon, not a sprint.

You say that we can cultivate awareness in all our activities. Yet the challenge is great. Can you

Face to Face | Wisdom at Work

give a practice that is particularly suited to lay life, one you found useful as a businessman? For laypeople, speech is a great opportunity to practice. The four precepts of right speech [the precepts

cautioning against false speech, malicious speech,

harsh speech, and useless speech] gave a real boost to my awareness as a layperson and businessman. Since awareness and wisdom had to come into the picture whenever I spoke, I had to apply them all day.

Saying things you shouldn’t say or speaking much

more than is necessary brings a lot of agitation to the

label. The mind knows what it’s thinking, the mind has already recognized its thinking by the time

you label it. And there’s a risk. For example, if we

label “pain, pain, pain,” it can get worse because the

mind knows the meaning of the words it uses. It can

reinforce pain. The point is not to change states, just to know them as they are. I would also like to add

that we say the mind “wanders,” but in fact it doesn’t go anywhere. Thoughts arise, that’s all. The only problem is that we think they shouldn’t!

You’re sitting in the middle of a retreat center

mind. The other extreme, complete silence, or not

that is devoted to silent sitting meditation. It’s a

beginning; it takes practice. But if you practice every

and walking as long as you do it in the right way.

speaking up when it is useful or necessary, is also

little ironic. [Laughs.] If they have nothing else to

time you talk to someone, the mind will learn how

But humor aside, different things work for

problematic. Applying right speech is difficult in the to be aware, to understand what it should or should

do, then fine. There is nothing wrong with sitting

not say, and to know when it is necessary to talk. Of

different people. What would indicate we’re

do better next time.

when we feel light, alert, and awake. Over time, you

course you will make many mistakes. Every mistake

practicing in the right way? When there is

You point out again and again that silence

find you’re discovering that awareness becomes

is a learning opportunity that will teach you how to

and sitting aren’t the be-all and end-all of practice. Why? [Laughs.] It’s when I began to really understand the nature of Vipassana that I began to

say that. Very often we start with sitting, but we must remember what it’s used for. We sit to calm the mind, but once it’s calmer, we need to develop wisdom. To develop wisdom, we don’t have to be sitting. I don’t say people shouldn’t sit, I don’t want to eliminate

sitting. But people begin to think, “I must sit.” You don’t have to.

You also discourage the common technique in Vipassana practice of “labeling” thoughts as a means of identifying them and letting them go.

awareness, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom; more firmly established and that the mind becomes

steadier. You understand things you didn’t before. If,

however, you’re getting tired, agitated, or depressed, you are practicing the wrong way. You always need to check the quality of mind; only if the quality is good are you practicing in the right way. This is

how the quality of practice should be measured;

not by posture or by the number of hours of sitting, walking, or standing meditation you do.

Do you recommend intensive retreat? Yes, I do. It’s like going to a training camp to prepare for a competition.

So often, awareness fades quickly after an

Why? Labels are to explain things to other people.

intensive retreat. If we practice correctly while on

The mind wanders—can’t labeling bring you

maintain it longer.

Do you need to explain them to yourself?

back to yourself? You don’t have to use a conscious

retreat, we won’t lose it so easily. Also, if we have

enough understanding about the practice we can

EASTERN HORIZON | 47

Face to Face | Wisdom at Work

It does fade away for many of us. How do we maintain and deepen awareness after retreat? People have the wrong perspective with regard

to objective. The objective of a retreat should be to learn how to use the mind in a way that we

can continue to use it back at home and at the

workplace. Retreat is like going to school. Can you be in school all your life?

You’ve been teaching for ten years. You teach a lot of people from Asia and a few from Europe, and now a lot of Americans. Any particular challenges working with Americans? It’s more

need to believe anything. People become atheists

because they think—they cannot believe, but they

still want to know. In the beginning, just start with

wanting to know. Everyone has some curiosity, some basic need to know. Just encourage that. A good

education is motivating a person to want to know for himself. All the cramming and rote learning

is never a good education. You won’t get the best out of people that way. Their potential is stifled.

Only people with an inner urge to learn will keep developing.

In your book, the illustrator depicts the

interesting.

defilements as little mice, and, of course, they’re

They have a natural curiosity. Westerners are taught

Wisdom is never upset. When you see the truth, it’s

laughing at us. How does humor play into our

Why? Because they think, and they are not believers.

practice? Wisdom sees the joke in everything.

And this questioning leads to greater wisdom?

really difficult, but when you really understand, you

to question.

Yes, because wisdom is investigation, the desire to know. Once there is interest in investigating, the mind is no longer involved in what is happening

and takes an objective view. As soon as we have any vested interest in the results of our investigation,

we can no longer see things as they are. Wanting to understand is wisdom, wanting a result is greed.

But we need to have a goal. Is wanting to know motivation enough? Yes. And when wisdom grows, it leads you by the nose. You can’t stop. That’s why I like the atheists. There’s hope for them. There is no

48 | EASTERN HORIZON

easy to laugh. You can be going through something

can laugh. People don’t want to be sad; they want to laugh.

Anything else? Stay interested. There is no reason

for failure. If you don’t practice at all, surely there’s nothing to gain. But if you practice, you cannot fail.

The moment you’re doing it, you’re already profiting. EH

Feature | Chasing Buddhas & Ancestors

Chasing Buddhas & Ancestors Dharma Discourse by John Daido Loori, Roshi Koans of the Way of Reality Master Yunmen’s Zen Warnings

The Main Case Master Yunmen entered the dharma hall, ascended

further complicated in this century since we are in

times, and that this generation is living at the end

with the seal of sanction and then run around saying

the high seat and said, “It is well known that silence is a virtue and that clarity is common in these

of the imitation period of Buddhism. So nowadays, when monks go north they call this worshipping

Manjushri. And when they go south they journey to Nanyang. People who go on such pilgrimages, though they are called mendicant monks, just

squander the alms of the faithful. What a shame!

What a shame! When questioned, they turn out to be as ignorant as lacquer is black. They just pass their days following their fancy. Some, who manage to

absorb a meager bit of the teachings, then frantically search for someone to approve them. If they manage to get approved as venerable, they immediately see themselves as superior to others, thus creating a karma of separation and misfortune.

“Don’t say, when some day the king of hell, Yama,

pins you down, that nobody warned you. Whether

you are an innocent beginner or a seasoned adept,

you must show some spirit. Don’t vainly memorize

other people’s sayings. A little bit of reality is better than a lot of illusion. Otherwise, you’ll just go on deceiving yourself. What’s the matter with you? Come forward and say a word!”

The Commentary

Many of the ancient masters maintained a wary and vigilant eye on self-styled and decadent Buddhism. Yunmen was teaching during the imitation period of Buddhism. The problem he addresses is even

the degenerate period of Buddhism. Master Linji warned, “Don’t have your face stamped casually

‘I’ve got it.’ Documents of transmission or seals of

sanction are just that, documents and seals, not the dharma. They don’t liberate people, nor do they

relieve suffering. The truth does. The dharma does.

And this is not something that can be given to you. It can only be realized.

We should understand that degenerate Buddhism is

not something that happens in the world, but rather,

it’s a product of our own consciousness. We create it.

We make it the living reality it becomes. It is a product of our collective and individual conditioning. It is our self-centeredness, corruption and deceit. It is our

institutional mentality which manifests as corrupt

government, greedy corporations, war, repression and discrimination. It is the three poisons, which reveal themselves as self-absorption, attachment, anxiety, depression, malevolence and fear.

Within heaven and earth, and through space and

time, there is a jewel hidden within each one of us. How can it be found? We must learn the backward step and meet the wisdom that has no teacher. We

must discover our own inherent and unconditioned compassion and give it life. Let the three poisons

manifest as the three virtues. Each one of us must

sweep ourselves clean of all beliefs and dogmas in order to be free and at ease.

EASTERN HORIZON | 49

Feature | Chasing Buddhas & Ancestors

But tell me, how will you do it? When will you do it? You are a fully equipped buddha. How will you give it life?

had something to say. I think it’s very relevant to our time and condition, as well as the direction

that the dharma is taking in America. He says, “It is well known that silence is a virtue and that clarity

is common in these times, and that this generation is living at the end of the imitation period of

Buddhism.” The imitation period of Buddhism is

one of three periods mentioned in the sutras. The Buddha predicted that the first 500 years of the

dharma would be known as the “Age of the True Law.” The next thousand years—which include Yunmen’s lifetime—was called the “Period of

Imitation or Counterfeit Law.” During this time, the John Daido Loori, Roshi

The Capping Verse Buddhas and ancestors have not appeared in the world, nor is there any truth to be given to the people. They were just able to observe the hearts of beings and dispense medicine according to the ills. Master Yunmen was one of the great masters who

lived during the Tang dynasty in China, and he was the founder of the Yunmen school of Zen. He was

noted for his very short, cryptic sayings. A monastic asked him, “What is buddha?” and Yunmen replied, “Sesame cake.”

His style was to not elaborate; he didn’t give longwinded explanations. It is said that in each of his

teachings were contained three aspects: one, the

cutting off of myriad streams of consciousness—it can’t be figured out intellectually; two, following the waves—that is, responding in accord with

circumstances; and three, covering heaven and earth—taking everything away.

A long commentary like the one in this case was extremely unusual for Yunmen, so obviously he 50 | EASTERN HORIZON

Buddha said that practitioners would not attend to

the dharma seriously, but would simply imitate each other. They would quote the sutras and mouth the teachings, but would not really embody them. The third period, which would last for three thousand years—the period we find ourselves in now—is

called the “Decline of the Law” or the “Degenerate period.” According to the traditional definition,

this is the period in which people are no longer

capable of achieving enlightenment. It is interesting to understand these three periods as a kind of

existential commentary within Buddhist philosophy, but we can also see them as a reflection of our inner spiritual condition, which is then reflected in the

world by the way we lead our lives. This is another

way of saying that religion becomes corrupt because the people within it cease to maintain high spiritual standards. Just look at the state of religion in the

world today. War, racism, and sexism are promoted by governments, by institutions, by individuals,

as being morally right. Politicians call for peace,

equality, and justice, but fail to cultivate the means

and methods to achieve it. And so here we are—the degenerate age of Buddhism completely manifest. Yunmen continues, “So nowadays, when monks go north they call this worshipping Manjushri.”

Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, is said to

live on Wutai Mountain and during Yunmen’s time, doing a pilgrimage to Wutai was considered a very

Feature | Chasing Buddhas & Ancestors

important and valuable thing to do. “And when they

go south they journey to Nanyang.” Nanyang was the

place where the National Teacher Nanyang Huizhong came from, and supposedly those who traveled

there became enlightened. “People who go on such

pilgrimages, though they are called mendicant monks, just squander the alms of the faithful. What a shame! What a shame!” The modern equivalent of these

pilgrimages are the twenty-thousand-dollar trips in

which a guide—sometimes even a Buddhist teacher— takes a group to Bodhidharma’s cave in China or to

visit temples in Japan, India, or Tibet. But what does this mean in terms of the dharma? How does going

to Bodhidharma’s cave—if it is indeed his cave—help you to transform the way you live your life and treat other people? How does it empower you?

“When questioned, they turn out to be as ignorant as lacquer is black. They just pass their days

following their fancy. Some, who manage to absorb

a meager bit of the teachings, then frantically search

it goes. “Whether you are an innocent beginner

transmissions between teachers and students who

little bit of reality is better than a lot of illusion.

for someone to approve them.” That’s another

practice that is beginning to grow in our country:

don’t really know each other. It’s like getting a degree from a college you never attended—worse, in fact.

“If they manage to get approved as venerable, they immediately see themselves as superior to others,

thus creating a karma of separation and misfortune.” Of course, if you haven’t realized yourself, you’re

just going to magnify the separation, thinking that

somehow you are special, and everybody else is just ordinary.

Don’t say, when some day the king of hell, Yama,

pins you down, that nobody warned you.” Keep in

mind that Yama, the king of hell, is really the karma of our lives, the consequences of our actions.Our

actions continually affect our lives. They affect how we see things, how we respond to other people,

and they create more karma. Each action becomes

a cause which has an effect, and that effect becomes the next cause and that produces an effect and so

or a seasoned adept, you must show some spirit. Don’t vainly memorize other people’s sayings. A Otherwise, you’ll just go on deceiving yourself.

What’s the matter with you? Come forward and

say a word!” Here Yunmen is challenging us to get

real, to practice. Not to talk about it, not to imitate it, not to believe it, not to understand it, but to

realize it. Because it is only with realization that transformation occurs.The commentary reads,

“Many of the ancient masters maintained a wary and vigilant eye on self-styled and decadent Buddhism.” The teachers in our own lineage were very

concerned about what they called buji or self-styled Zen. “Yunmen was teaching during the imitation

period of Buddhism. The problem he addresses is even further complicated in this century since we

are in the degenerate period of Buddhism. Master

Linji warned, “Don’t have your face stamped casually with the seal of sanction and then run around saying ‘I’ve got it.’” Linji is talking about inka, the seal of sanction to teach in the Linji school.

EASTERN HORIZON | 51

Feature | Chasing Buddhas & Ancestors

Students often say to me things like, “There are 750

good story line, so people gather around and support

another hundred and fifty years to finish my training.”

the face variety that imitates what is happening

koans, right? I’ve been practicing for five years, and

I’ve done thirty of them, which means it will take me It doesn’t work that way.

The first koan usually takes a long time, but slowly, as you get into the swing of things, you begin to

move faster. Then you start a different set of koans

and you get stuck again. And this happens over and over in practice, so that there is no way to predict

how long it’s going to take. But, after all, what does it matter? We all understand that there is no goal, right? We just practice. We just do. Practice and

enlightenment are one. How many of us actually realize that truth?

Regardless of how long formal training takes, there is after that a period of maturation called “the

nurturing of the sacred fetus.” This is a period of

them. But mostly, they don’t last very long.

Then there is another trend of the stamping of

in Japan—basically, the sausage factory. There are now about 25,000 temples in Japan which need

at least 25,000 priests to manage them. There are

also two major Soto monasteries, Eiheiji and Sojiji, whose purpose is to train the monastics who will

take over those temples. And obviously, the need is

continuous, since when one generation dies, another generation is needed to replace it. Unfortunately, the result is that thousands of temple priests get

trained, but very few of them become real spiritual teachers. This is not true of all Japanese temples,

of course. There are some extraordinary teachers

and monasteries, but they are few and far between, maybe fifteen or twenty out of that 25,000.

time in which the teachings are allowed to penetrate

one’s flesh and bones and blood so that they become a manifestation of our being. It’s only then that a person is really ready for the seal of approval.

In the literature of Zen there are many examples where after the transmission, the teacher asked the disciple to disappear and let his or her

understanding mature. The Sixth Ancestor, Huineng, spent sixteen years in hiding before he emerged and began to teach. The process of training takes a long

The commentary continues, “Documents of

Nowadays we see teachers running around with

a trophy doesn’t make you a hunter. What does

period of time. There are no quickies in Zen.

seals of approval who’ve been practicing a year, two years, four years. Some even deny their teachers.

This is not new, however. It’s not just a by-product of American greediness. It happened in China,

and it happened in Japan. Monastics were buying

documents of transmission all over the place. The

same is happening now. Self-appointed charlatans

are springing up like mushrooms. They have some basic skills—charisma is especially important—a 52 | EASTERN HORIZON

transmission or seals of sanction are just that,

documents and seals, not the dharma.” Having

the trophy tell us about the owner? What do the

documents of transmission tell us about the teacher? “They don’t liberate people, nor do they relieve

suffering. The truth does. The dharma does.” The dharma relieves suffering by transforming our consciousness. “And this is not something that

can be given to you. It can only be realized.” The

Buddha couldn’t give it to you. My teacher didn’t give anything to me. His teacher didn’t give anything to

Feature | Chasing Buddhas & Ancestors

him. They facilitated the realization of that which

was already there, but they didn’t give us anything.

“We should understand that degenerate Buddhism is not something that happens in the world, but rather,

it’s a product of our own consciousness. We create it.”

There’s a teaching in the Yogacara school of Zen which says that the three worlds are nothing but mind. In

other words, we create everything. We create reality. “We make it the living reality it becomes.” What we do and what happens to us is the same thing. And

enlightenment the Buddha said, “All beings, the

action can promote good, harmony, and compassion,

insentient. But when we don’t understand this truth,

that “doing” includes our actions, our words, and our

thoughts. All three produce karma or action, and that or it can produce greed, anger, and hatred.

“It is a product of our collective and individual

conditioning.” Our parents, our society, our culture, and education condition each and every one of

us, as individuals, and as a society. “It is our selfcenteredness, corruption and deceit. It is our

institutional mentality which manifests as corrupt government, greedy corporations, war, repression

and discrimination.” When we begin with a premise of self-centeredness, corruption, deceit, and the

like, necessarily follow. We think that who we are is this bag of skin, and whether that translates as

an individual bag of skin or a country, we think we need to defend it. But we don’t do it through skill,

understanding, or compassion, but with bayonets

drawn. And so, “It is the three poisons, which reveal

themselves as excessive self-absorption, attachment, anxiety, depression, malevolence and fear.” But

keep in mind that the three poisons are only one side of the equation—the side with a self. When

the self is forgotten, greed becomes compassion, anger becomes wisdom, and ignorance becomes enlightenment.

The next line says, “Within heaven and earth, and through space and time, there is a jewel hidden

within each one of us.” That jewel is our original

perfection. It’s the buddha nature. Upon attaining

great earth and I have at once entered the Way.” His realization included all beings, sentient and

we run around thinking that what we do does not affect the rest of the universe.

How can that jewel be found? Where will you search for it? Since you already have it, it follows that the only way to get to it is to discover it. That’s what the Buddha did. That’s what an endless array of

Buddhists have done for 2,500 years. Now it’s our turn. “We must learn the backward step and meet

the wisdom that has no teacher. We must discover our own inherent and unconditioned compassion

and give it life.” To be born human is to be born with

wisdom and compassion. They may get covered over

with greed, anger, ignorance, and discrimination, but they’re there, buried beneath layers and layers of conditioning.

The Buddhist teachings offer a process. It’s not

salvation coming from above, or salvation by some priest or teacher, but realization springing out of

our own power to transform ourselves and our lives.

That’s how we “Let the three poisons manifest as the three virtues. Each one of us must sweep ourselves clean of all beliefs and dogmas in order to be free

and at ease.” How do we do that? We must be aware and awake. We have to acknowledge them, throw

them away, and come to the ground of being. And

having arrived there, we learn to trust it. We learn to live our life out of that trust.

EASTERN HORIZON | 53

Feature | Chasing Buddhas & Ancestors

“But tell me, how will you do it? When will you do it? You are a fully equipped buddha. How will you give it life?” How important is it to you to give it life? That’s what matters.

The capping verse says, Buddhas and ancestors

have not appeared in the world, nor is there any truth to be given to the people. We shouldn’t waste time chasing buddhas and ancestors,

whether it’s here or abroad, through books or the internet, lectures or discussions. Simply

trust yourself. Really be yourself. Give yourself

Ven. Thubten Chodron Offers Key Strategies for Buddhist Youth Leaders by Ow Yeong Wai Kit

permission to be yourself. They were just able to observe the hearts of beings, and dispense

medicine according to the ills. The medicine they dispense is the process. But it doesn’t happen by itself, and no one can do it for you. You have to

engage it. There are no shortcuts. Ultimately, the question is, will you do it?

Koans of the Way of Reality is a collection of koans complied at Zen Mountain Monasery over the last thirty years. It includes both koans that appear in the traditional collections as well as pieces taken

SINGAPORE – How can Buddhist youth leaders today

from other sources and treated as koans because of

better handle the challenges involved in leading their

their relevance for modern Western practitioners.

organizations so as to serve the community and spread the Buddha‟s teachings more effectively?

John Daido Loori, Roshi (1931-2009) was the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery and the founder of the

Venerable Thubten Chodron, founder and ab-bess

Mountains and Rovers Order of Zen Buddhism. A

of Sravasti Abbey (Washington State, USA), offered

successor to Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi, Roshi, Daido

some useful advice during a dialogue with lead-ers of

Roshi trained in rigorous koan Zen and in the subtle

Buddhist youth groups in Singapore on Sunday.

teachings of Master Dogen, and was a lineage holder in the Soto and Rinzai schools of Zen.

During the dialogue held at Pureland Marketing (Singapore), Ven. Chodron, 61, emphasized the

Source: Mountain Record: The Zen Practitioners

importance of cultivating a healthy motivation in order

to benefit others and the need to purify one‟s mind by

by Dharma Communications. Reprinted by

developing compassion and wis-dom.

For information on Dharma Communications,

shared several strategies that Buddhist youth leaders

permission of Dharma Communications.

please contact: PO Box 156, Mount Tremper, NY 12457, USA. www.dharma.net EH 54 | EASTERN HORIZON

Drawing on her personal experience, Ven. Chodron can keep in mind to improve their skills and aid their practice.

Teachings | Ven. Thubten Chodron Offers Key Strategies for Buddhist Youth Leaders

At a recent dialogue with youths, Venerable Thubten Chodron shared some sound advice about how young Buddhist leaders can benefit themselves and others.

1. Think deeply and set your own priorities.

would not be paying much attention to the Dharma anyway.

Like all youths, Buddhist youth leaders have to deal with the expectations of family, friends and society

So the message to youth leaders is to make their own

in general. Young people are usually sub-ject to

decisions, but to get input from their seniors who

heavy doses of social conditioning, and often the

have learned things through experience. After all, as

expectations of others can impose pressure to take

Ven. Chodron wryly noted, the youths of today will be

certain courses of action.

„dinosaurs‟ too in forty years‟ time.

But attempting to please everyone simply means that oneself gets lost in the process, Ven. Chodron

3. Manage conflicts openly and calmly.

noted. The Buddha pointed out that individuals need

Whenever there are two human beings together, there

to think deeply about things for themselves and

will be different ideas. This is normal and natural.

consider the longterm effects of their actions. Rather

However it doesn‟t have to turn into conflict that

than trying to please every-one else, which is an

involves anger and head-butting.

impossible endeavour, youth leaders should develop the discriminating wisdom enabling them to set wise

In Singapore, many people tend to avoid directly

priorities and discern the right course of action in

addressing those whom they are in conflict with,

particular situations.

observed Ven. Chodron, who lived in Singapore from 1987 to 1989. They would rather make nasty comments

2. Consider the advice of elders and seniors, but make your own decisions.

to others about those involved in the conflict behind their backs, which leads to disharmony that interferes with accomplishing a group‟s positive goals.

It‟s easy to dismiss the “old fogeys who grew up with the dinosaurs”, and as Ven. Chodron commented, a

To manage differing opinions and ideas, youth leaders

common demand among some youths is “give me the

should discuss areas of difference openly and calmly,

car keys but don‟t tell me what time to be home”.

rather than gliding over them as if they did not exist. A

Yet while youths need the space and freedom to

culture of respect and mutual understanding needs to

experiment and be creative, they also need to

be cultivated, so people understand that they can have

acknowledge that their own knowledge and ex-

differing ideas, but that there is no need to fight over

perience is limited.

them.

Consider if a group of youths had the idea of organizing a booze party to attract people to the

4. Be flexible with your plans.

Dharma: seniors would point out that this would be

To prepare for events, some youth leaders may come

contrary to the fifth precept, and people com-ing

up with impressive plans, detailing every step of the

EASTERN HORIZON | 55

Teachings | Ven. Thubten Chodron Offers Key Strategies for Buddhist Youth Leaders

process towards the achievement of their goals. But thinking that activities will go exactly the way that they were planned is an unrealistic expectation. Life simply

commitments joyfully. 6. Balance time and resources to increase effectiveness.

unfolds in the way that it always does, and things can

Buddhist youth groups often need to balance the

happen when one least expects them to.

limited time and resources that they have to deliver effective programmes and activities. Ven. Chodron

Of course, this doesn‟t mean that youth leaders

suggested that a youth group can alternate its

shouldn‟t think ahead. As Ven. Chodron ad-vised, it‟s

priorities year by year; for instance, it can focus on one

good to make plans, but one should be flexible with

goal for one year, and on another for the next.

them. Alternatively, the group can divide into small Youths should recognize that things can change

committees; for example, one committee can

and plans are not cast in stone. Flow with new

concentrate on charity work, another on Dharma

circumstances as they arise, and always be ready to

propagation, and another on study and medi-tation.

revise plans whenever necessary. Who knows, what

This will allow for a more efficient management of

happens may be better than what you had planned!

resources, increasing the group‟s effectiveness.

5. Think carefully before making commitments. Some people may make commitments too quickly

7. Evaluate monastic and lay teachers before accepting their teachings.

without thinking things through, while at other

Before becoming the student of any monastic or lay

times, they may have thought things through, but

teacher, Buddhists should get to know the teacher well

circumstances change. Then when deadlines approach,

first, Ven. Chodron recommended. After observing the

the pressure induced by such commitments result in

teacher for some time, youth leaders should decide for

stress and anxiety for everyone concerned.

themselves whether or not to have the teacher give teach-ings to their groups.

It‟s important to think more deeply about commitments before making them and to communi-

Youth leaders can ask specific questions about

cate your commitments clearly to others, remarked

prospec-tive Dharma teachers. Who is their teacher,

Ven. Chodron. In particular, setting a time commitment

and do they have a good relationship with their

can be useful: for example, youth leaders can say, “I‟m

teacher? How does the teacher act? Do they practise

going to be on the com-mittee of the Buddhist Society

what they preach? Are they compassionate towards

for the next year.”

others? Such questions can help in an evaluation of their suitability as a teacher for the youth group.

In this way, there is a manageable time-frame in which goals can be set and activities can be planned. If circumstances change and you are unable to fulfil your commitment, communicate that to others right away.

8. Reach out to nominal Buddhists by emphasizing the Buddha‟s love and compassion. If Buddhist youth leaders go up to others and say, “We have the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha; and karma,

After you have made a commitment, do your best to

samsara, nirvana”, people will respond, “What planet

maintain that commitment, without allow-ing self-

do you come from?”

centeredness to derail you. Go about fulfilling your

56 | EASTERN HORIZON

Teachings | Ven. Thubten Chodron Offers Key Strategies for Buddhist Youth Leaders

Instead, youth leaders should bring Buddhism to

can become more confident in spreading the Dharma

people by speaking about love and compassion,

to others. Besides cultivating the fundamental

because everyone understands the language of love

motivation of loving-kindness, Buddhist youths avoid

and compassion. Every-one appreciates the values of

being trapped by the Eight Worldly Concerns: praise

forgiveness and ethical con-duct and wants to learn

and blame, fame and shame, loss and gain, pleasure

how to cultivate those qualities in themselves.

and pain.

Ven. Chodron noted that Buddhism should never

Young Buddhist leaders should also devote at least

be pushed onto others. But we should make the

some time each day meditating, chanting, or reading

Buddha‟s teachings available for anyone who wants

Dharma books. Getting in touch with your-self and

to hear them. We shouldn‟t be shy about sharing

becoming your own friend by practicing the Dharma

the Buddha‟s precious and beneficial teachings with

is important. Even just ten minutes of meditation, for

others, and Buddhist youth leaders can help to make

example cultivating the four brahmavihāras, will plant

this possible.

seeds in one‟s mind.

9. Be sensitive to the differences between people. Individuals have their differences, and Buddhist youth leaders should be sensitive to this fact. For example, some learn best by seeing (visual intelligence), others by hearing (auditory intelligence), and some by doing (kinaesthetic intelligence). This is why Buddhist groups should ensure that people have access to Dharma books, talks, and other

Buddhist Youth Leaders with Ven Chodron and Ven Chonyi

activities, so as to cater to diverse individuals who learn best in different ways.

As Ven. Chodron quipped, if more youths cut down just a little time texting or using Facebook each day,

Gender equality is important, Ven. Chodron

they would have more time to devote to spiritual

emphasized. When Buddhists translate docu-ments,

practice and thus become more effective Buddhist

words like „humankind‟ should be used, rather than

leaders.

„mankind‟, and „she‟ should be em-ployed in addition to „he‟.

The session concluded with the dedication of merit, a group photo, and lots of lively individual discussions.

To use only masculine words is equivalent to ignoring

This dialogue was organised by Camp Lions and

all female individuals, and Buddhist youth groups

Dharma In Action with support from Pureland

should be inclusive and respectful by promoting

Marketing (Singapore) and FOSAS Singapore.

gender equality. Women should be as active and noticeable as men in Buddhist groups.

To find out more about Camp Lions, visit http://sbmyouth.blogspot.sg/p/camp-lions.html.

10. Develop self-confidence. By practising the Dharma themselves, youth leaders

Venerable Thubten Chodron’s Dharma teachings can be accessed via www.thubtenchodron.org or www. sravasti.org. EH

EASTERN HORIZON | 57

Eastern Horizon needs your support! The Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia publishes the EAsTErN HorizoN journal every four months. The journal is a non-profit making project and needs the support of wellwishers like you to ensure that the Buddhist com munity continues to have a good quality Buddhist journal for their reading pleasure. You can support the EAsTErN HorizoN through the following means. Be an Honorary Patron of EAsTErN HorizoN and receive 3 copies of each issue published for one year by contributing RM500/SGD250/USD150. Be an Honorary Director of EAsTErN HorizoN and receive 2 copies of each issue published for one year by contributing RM200/SGD100/USD60. Be a Sponsor of EAsTErN HorizoN and receive 1 copy of each issue published for one year by contributing RM 100/SGD50/USD30. Any General Donation. Subscribe EAsTErN HorizoN as a gift for your love ones/ friends/colleagues.

Eastern Horizon Radiating the Light of Dharma .......................................................................

Published every January, May & September Newsstand price: RM10 per copy (Malaysia) Subscription Yes! I want to subscribe for 1 year 3 Issues (RM25/SGD27/USD27) 2 years 6 Issues (RM50/SGD50/USD50) 3 years 9 Issues (RM70/SGD70/USD70) Please commence my personal subscription with the next issue with issue no. renewal; subscription no.

I would like to be an Honorary Patron/ Honorary Director/ Sponsor* of EAsTErN HorizoN for

year/s. via cheque/bankdraft no.

Enclosed is RM/SGD/USD

as my contribution to EAsTErN HorizoN. Name (Dr/Mr/Mrs/Ms) : Add : Postcode : Tel :

(Off)

(Hse)

(H/P) Email : Date :

Signature :

All payment to be made payable to EAsTErN HorizoN. Please send your payment to: EAsTErN HorizoN 9, Jalan SS 25/24, Taman Mayang, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, MALAYSIA Tel : (603) 7804 9154 Fax: (603) 7804 9021 Email : ybam@ybam.org.my

Name:

Add : Postcode : Tel :

(Off)

(Hse)

(H/P) Email : Date : Gift | Please send to the following as a gift. Name:

Add : Postcode : Date : I herewith enclosed

SGD

USD

crossed cheque/bankdraft

no All payment to be made payable to EAsTErN HorizoN. Please send your payment to: EAsTErN HorizoN 9, Jalan SS 25/24, Taman Mayang, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, MALAYSIA Tel : (603) 7804 9154 Fax: (603) 7804 9021 Email : ybam@ybam.org.my

BOOKS IN BRIEF Sumeru Press Inc. PO Box 2089, Richmond Hill, ON L4E 1A3, CANADA www.sumeru-books.com Charles S. Prebish. An American Buddhist Life. Memoirs of a Modern Dharma Pioneer. 2011, pp264. From the beginning of Charles Prebish’s involvement with Buddhism in 1965, Buddhism has made huge inroads on the North American continent, and world-wide, both in terms of its scholarship and globalization. He has been fortunate enough to know and work with an incredible group of brilliant scholars who remain alive: Luis Gómez, Lewis Lancaster, Donald Swearer, Frank Reynolds, Stanley Weinstein, Jeffrey Hopkins, Robert Thurman and others. Unfortunately, none of these great scholars seems as yet to have shared their reminiscences of these exciting times with readers. Equally, because of his pioneering work in studying Western forms of Buddhism, Dr. Prebish was able to meet not only the many Asian Buddhist teachers who appeared in North America after the change in immigration law in 1965, but virtually all of their first and second generation Dharma heirs. His friendships with Chögyam Trungpa and John Daido Loori Roshi, for example, gave him insights into the rapid development of what he began calling “American Buddhism” in the 1970s. In the nearly half century that he has been involved with the Buddhist tradition, an enormous number of major events have occurred in North America (and worldwide), and he has been involved with almost all of them. Apart from being the leading pioneer in the study of Western forms of Buddhism, as mentioned above, he was the leading advocate for establishing this new and exciting avenue of inquiry as a valid and important sub-discipline in the larger discipline of Buddhist Studies. Now there are many dozens of courses devoted to this topic, and it has become one of the most vibrant areas of scholarly publication in Buddhist Studies. When technology began to creep into academe, he was there to found, with Damien Keown in 1994, the online Journal of Buddhist Ethics, which was the first online peer-reviewed scholarly journal in the field of Religious Studies. Five years later, with Martin Baumann, he began the Journal of Global Buddhism. In 1996, he and Keown founded the Routledge “Critical Studies in Buddhism” series which published more than sixty scholarly titles under their editorship over the next 10 years. So Dr. Prebish has been involved in virtually everything exciting in the Buddhist world over the past 45 years. Because of his unique involvement and longevity, he has an incredible historical record to document and share, and a huge number of stories to tell. These stories allow us to share his incredible personal journey, and provide a true “insider’s” viewpoint. It also gives us a rare and largely unknown snapshot into the world of sport, where he became a nationally respected Olympic-style wrestling official and one of the leading, early scholarly proponents of the exploration of the relationship between sport and religion. The book is divided into 9 chapters and a picture galley of over 40 leading, present and past, Buddhist teachers and scholars in the United States. EH 60 | EASTERN HORIZON

BOOKS IN BRIEF New Harbinger Publications, Inc 5674 Shattuck Avenue Oakland, CA 94609 www.newharbinger.com Thomas Bien. The Buddha’s Way of Happiness. Healing Sorrow, Transforming Negative Emotion & Finding Well-Being in the Present Moment. 2010, pp 228. US$ 17.95 TThe central idea of the book is that happiness is the result of letting go of our concepts and stories about life, and learning to live deeply in the present moment instead. In other words, it’s about living mindfully - “living with deep, clear, non-interfering awareness.” This involves two basic strategies: first, opening ourselves to what is pleasant and healing around us. We often fail to do this, taking the rich smell of the rain or the wonderful sunset for granted because we are preoccupied. The second strategy is to take care of our pain. When we learn to hold our pain in mindfulness, opening to it rather than resisting having it, we begin to change our relationship to our pain. Our experience of it becomes less tight, less claustrophobic, which already begins to ease our experience of it. In addition, when we can hold our pain in mindfulness, we begin to find ways to change what we do and say that help us walk in the direction of well-being.” This book is for anyone who wants to be happier, perhaps especially those with an interest in meditation and Buddhism. But the book will also be of interest to those who don’t know much about either and serve as an introduction. From the other side, in keeping with the origins of the book, people with mild to moderate depression will also find it helpful.” Besides an Introduction, the book has 9 chapters as follows: Chapter 1: Being Happiness Chapter 2: Releasing the Concepts Chapter 3: Releasing Habit Energy Chapter 4: Transforming Thoughts and Feelings Chapter 5: Self, No Self, and Other Chapter 6: Taking Care of our Sorrow Chapter 7: Practicing Happiness Chapter 8: Living Happiness Chapter 9: Death and Rebirth EH

EASTERN HORIZON | 61

BOOKS IN BRIEF The Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive PO Box 636, Lincoln, MA 01773· USA www.lamayeshe.com Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Bodhisattva Attitude: How to Dedicate Your Life to Others. Edited by Sarah Thresher. Boston: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archives. 2012. Pp 266. Free but donations welcomed. This book comprises several motivations taught by Lama Zopa Rinpoche called Bodhicitta Motivations for Life, intended for use first thing every morning to generate the mind of bodhicitta (altruistic mind) and dedicate our life to numberless sentient beings. The verses are meant to be recited each morning to remind us of how we are going to dedicate our lives to others. We all understand the importance of motivation and attitude and how they affect the quality of our work and the result that can be achieved. Lama Zopa Rinpoche particularly emphasizes the need for us to have a very clear direction and purpose for life. The real meaning of our lives is to bring both temporary and ultimate happiness to all sentient beings and to do this we need to achieve enlightenment. Enlightenment depends on first generating bodhicitta and training our minds in the bodhisattva attitude enables us to do that. The book is divided into four parts. Part one presents selected verses from Shantideva’s Guide to a Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. Part two contains five of Rinpoche’s teachings titled: 1. Everything Depends on Your Attitude: an introductory talk 2. Cutting the Concept of Permanence: bodhisattva motivation for life 1 3. Give Up Stretching the Legs: bodhisattva motivation for life 2 4. Bodhisattva Attitude: how to dedicate your life to others 5. Four Wrong Concepts: a motivation for taking the eight Mahayana precepts Part three contains a long version of the motivation based on the teachings. It includes Lama Zopa’s teachings on attitude and understanding the concept of impermanence. Finally in part 4, based on her many years of teaching, Ven Sarah Thresher, the editor, distilled each teaching to its essence. She presents it in an easy-to-read format to gently guide the meditator’s stream of thoughts. The appendices contain the mantras that Lama Zopa Rinpoche suggests we offer every morning to multiply the merit of our virtuous acts. Other short teachings and advice on practicing bodhicitta are also included. This book is published by Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archives and is available for free as a gift of the Dharma. However, donations to defray the cost of printing future editions or other teachings by Lama Zopa or Lama Yeshe will be most welcomed. You may contact the publisher at their website: www.LamaYeshe.com EH

62 | EASTERN HORIZON

The Fall of Governance

Dharma Aftermath

by Rasika Quek

It’s that silly season again when scandals seem to break out in the international media one after the other. And we are not even talking about the tragic “Batman” shootings in the US of A. People of above average intelligence who should know better are embracing crime like ducks to water. This goes to show that intelligence and cleverness can be misused in the minds of misguided souls time and time again. In Facebook, I find righteous Buddhists venting their fury on my non-partisan views of the Malaysian political scene. Whatever happened to Right Thought, Right Speech and Loving-kindness? Methinks an intellectual understanding of Buddhism or any secular matter, without the accompanying emotional intelligence (EQ), i.e. empathy, will spell disaster for any individual concerned. Mere knowledge alone does not mean that understanding or wisdom will come automatically. It needs to be properly guided by experience and discernment, balanced with healthy doses of EQ to avoid self-destructive behavior. Recently, a young girl in Youtube coined the term “bankster” to describe the brazen criminal actions of top bank officials in the UK in manipulating inter-bank lending rates as well as another pan Asian bank who had admitted to money laundering activities in South America and Asia. It does not take a genius to realize that banks are not above the law and should be held accountable for any improper behavior just like ordinary individuals are held accountable should they cheat or steal. I often wonder whether the violation of the Five Precepts has become so institutionalized at the highest level that the common man seems powerless to do anything about it. Charities have also jumped into the acts of infamy, to wit, a wealthy city church in Singapore is being investigated for CBT. It seems some religious personalities have misused their influence and authority over their gullible followers to fulfill their personal financial goals in the name of God. Clearly, the issue of governance has become more and more pressing in the light of these scandals. Only a few years ago, a monk with a penchant for fast cars was jailed in Singapore, also for CBT. We should not imagine that our clerics and monastics in Malaysia are beyond financial temptation. It is possible that some of the laity may be knowingly or unknowingly abetting questionable transactions. It is high time that religious organizations be more forthcoming in presenting their annual accounts to their members. These should not be prepared in a slip-shod and “generalized” manner where off-balance sheet items may be concealed from scrutiny. People who run societies should realize that a higher standard of accountability is required of them as they are collecting public money meant for charitable purposes and not for commercial or vested interests. Moreover, donors tend to perceive religious organizations as trustworthy and for that reason alone are willing to part with their money quite unquestioningly. Any improper behavior by committee members should attract heavier penalties, whether from the legal or moral points of view. As such, how the affairs of the organization are run should be transparent to all as it will ensure good governance rather than cronyism. I will be extremely suspicious if renunciates or monastics were to play a part in deciding how the finances of the organization are

EASTERN HORIZON | 63

allocated and utilized. It will be red flag for me. Isn’t it clear that those who have renounced worldly concerns should not be engaged in financial affairs. Otherwise, what is the point of renouncing? In this regard, I suggest the bigger Buddhist societies in Malaysia take the lead in the area of governance by appointing a strong Audit & Finance Committee comprising of both members and non-members or a Chief Integrity Officer (CIO) to ensure that the finances of the organization are “truthful”. Monks should be prohibited from taking part in deliberations involving money to protect their dignity and the sanctity of the priesthood. Subcommittees for fund-raising in any guise should be subject to periodical and regular audits as they may not be subject to the regular scrutiny of the main committee who may only have three or four meetings in a year. It is easy for the casual observer to say that there must be trust for the organization to run properly and ethically. No doubt about that. But in my years of experience in charitable organizations, I have personally witnessed as well as heard of horror stories involving the misuse of funds. If we are all enlightened beings, there would be no problems, of course. But are we? The answer is so obvious. As long as we are still attracted to the objects of the five senses, temptation is bound to be there. Putting the right structure for governance will not guarantee freedom from impropriety. But it will act as a deterrent for those who harbor illusions of a personal fiefdom by getting involved in a religious organization. One may talk about the law of karma but whether he has any conviction not to do anything unseemly is quite another. Ultimately, the onus lies with our personal choice. To do the right thing or be tempted to do the wrong thing. May All Sentient Beings be Happy and Soothed of their Pain. EH Rasika Quek 22 July 2012

Are you searching for a spiritually challenging work? Do you enjoy meeting fellow Dharma practitioners, Buddhist leaders, and Dharma masters? Would you like to introduce the latest Buddhist book you read recently? How about researching into the latest web-sites on Buddhist activities around the world? And of course, what about telling us how you first came in contact with the dharma and what the dharma means to you today. Well, if you find all of these interesting, we can make it spiritually challenging for you too! In every issue of eastern horizon, we publish special chat sessions with leading Buddhist personalities, essays on all aspects of Buddhism, book reviews, and news and activities that are of interest to the Buddhist community. We need someone to help us in all these projects. If you are keen to be part of this exciting magazine, please e-mail to the editor at Bennyliow@gmail.com, and we will put you in touch with what’s challenging for the next issue!

Let us share the dharma for the benefit of all sentient beings!

64 | EASTERN HORIZON

YBAM 21st Biennial National Convention

YBAM newly elected President, Bro.Goh Qing Song

Immediate Past President of YBAM, Dr. Ong See Yew

Past Presidents and current President of YBAM, from left,Bro.Poh Joo Song, Bro.Leong Kok Hing, Ven.Khai Sear, Bro.Chong Hung Wang, Bro.Liau Kok Meng, Dr.Ong See Yew and Bro.Goh Qing Song

Dr. Pornchai Pinyapong, President of WFBY (Left) and Bro.Goh Qing Song, President of YBAM

Group photo of all delegates and observers

Bro.Lim Teck Hee, Organising Chairman hand-over the YBAM Flag to Bro.Choy Seong Keong, Chairman of YBAM Perak State Liaison Committee, and also the host of Biennial National Convention in 2014.

Delegates from member organisations.

Opening ceremony of YBAM 21st Biennial National Convention.