Wake Up and Laugh!

I’ve been thinking a lot about Marcus’ last post on interfaith dialogue, and sometimes, I think all dialogue is interfaith.  All dialogue is people (or beings) trying to reach out and understand the other.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 In Korea there’s a saying, “East question, west answer”, that it, the question and the answer are coming from completely different directions.

 
  
  
 
  
In working on translations with Korean speakers, this comes up a lot. But if I let go of everything, what I think I know and what I think I don’t, little by little I begin to understand where the other is coming from. 
 
 
 
 
 

I’m always delighted when I see examples of genuine contact and interaction between traditions with which I am familiar. All traditions are not the same of course, that would be like saying that all languages are the same, but sometimes they do come beautifully together, as seen in this event described by Kyōshin at Echoes of the Name:

The end of my formal retreat coincided with a visit by two Korean monks, of the Seon Jogye order, who had come to present our temple with some relics of Sakyamuni Buddha. How this amazing event came about is a rather complicated story which I am not entirely familiar with.  However  the essential point is that despite all the historical problems between Korea and Japan – involving war, occupation and cultural destruction – individual people in the Korean and Japanese Buddhist communities have worked hard over decades to create friendship, understanding and reconciliation between their countries, cultures, and faiths.  The presentation of the relics is just a small chapter in that story, albeit one of huge symbolic significance.

Please do visit Kyōshin’s wonderful group blog, a thoughtful and pretty comprehensive site in the Japanese Jōdo Shinshū tradition, to read the rest of his account of the ceremony. The full blog post is here.

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NB: the image for this post was shamelessly stolen from the Japan galleries on Joseph’s amazing photo site here. Thank you Joseph!

The profound ability within me
is awakened not by words
but by the determination
to save all beings
– from The Great Compassion Dharani

Phra Pandit Bhikku, who so kindly supported the workshop through Littlebang in the weeks leading up to it, had warned me that some people who sign up for retreats don’t turn up on the day for one reason or another, but my fear was greater than that, I was worried that almost nobody would come at all.

And I was worried when nine o’clock came and went and nothing had started. I was worried about the fact I don’t have a camera and so wouldn’t be able to put up a picture for this post. I was worried about writing this post. About how the chants would work, about the tea and coffe, about a million things.

But after the first sitting meditation I opened my eyes and saw that all my worries were groundless. As we were sitting, Dr Lee Bhikkuni and two other Bhikkunis in their Thai orange robes had come in and taken seats, here from their centre in Rayong to support the event. And behind them sat some 25 to 30 participants, all enjoying that first deep restful sit.

Then Chong Go Sunim spoke about just what we do when we practice. I didn’t take notes, rather I listened intently. The hall was silent and Chong Go was unhurried, he didn’t use a microphone and that helped establish a calm and concentrated atmosphere. I became at ease. I smiled, glad of this chance to hear the Dharma.

“My own teacher” Chong Go Sunim said, talking about Seon Master Daehaeng Sunim, “describes it as having something like a furnace within yourself. But don’t just let go of problems, you can go even further. Let go of your whole self. Let go completely of even what you think you are. And then you can move beyond any limitations.”

There was a short time for questions and then we stopped for lunch – and more questions. Chong Go Sunim talked to everyone, was available to everyone, and spent time listening to everyone. And we all asked questions. About practice, about Karma, about the name and nature of this inner essence, about all aspects of the teachings.

One of the best features of the day was, for me, this encouragement for everyone to talk and to share their experiences. Rather than just a series of lectures, this was a true group workshop. After lunch Chong Go split everyone into groups to discuss how, in our daily lives, we strengthen the light within us and develop our spiritual muscles.

In my group George talked about climbing the steps of the BTS and reciting “here” and “now” with each footstep. Someone else talked about the walking meditation she does around her bed morning and night. Lynn talked about her relationships with friends and family and how, ultimately, no one can carry out spiritual practice for you.

After the feedback session we practiced some walking meditation in the Korean style, which is very different from the slow individual style usually taught here in Thailand. Walking around the Dharma hall in a large circle, each time I passed the window, the red flowers on the trees outside became more and more intensely beautiful. An experience I shared later in the afternoon.

After some tea we split into a singing group (Joe, the Seonwon’s music teacher, kindly came by for this) and a Sutra copying group led by Chong Go Sunim. I joined the writing group with the others afraid of singing, Don, Ralph, Nat, Paul. We copied, in English, from the Great Compassion Dharani. A wonderful way to allow the teachings to sink deep.

Hyedan Sunim then led us in some bowing, and explained the spiritual as well as physical aspects of the practice, and a small choir from the Seonwon sang a Dharma song which Chong Go Sunim introduced by giving us the translation and meaning. The day ended with a small closing ceremony of bows, refuges, vows, and the the Great Compassion Dharani.

It was, for me, the most nourishing English-language Dharma event I’ve ever attended. The atmosphere throughout was quiet but light, there was a closeness between everyone that was almost intimate. Chong Go Sunim led us, but we all seemed to move as one body anyway. And I came away both nourished and refreshed. It was beautiful.

Thank you.

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(And thank you to Nat for the image!)

Last Saturday, Mingyur Rinpoche gave a talk at a small temple in Suwon. His talk was centered around the Prayers for Long-Kindness and compassion. Near the beginning, he spoke a bit of Buddha-nature, and I thought it complimented Dae Haeng Kun Sunim’s teachings nicely;

We are all looking for our home. We are homesick. I think we’ve all got homesick, so we are trying to return to our home. Our home is Buddha-nature.

The Buddha gave one example; There is a bird and the bird has a nest. Sometimes the bird flies away, flies very far. But the bird doesn’t think he’s going to stay there. Always he’s going to return to its nest, because the real home for a bird is its nest. The real home for us is our true-nature, our Buddha-nature.

Because I wish to be happy and I don’t want to be suffering is a sign of Buddha-nature. And this is also the basis of Loving-Kindness and compassion.

You’d think, from the picture, that we are all in Seoul! But in fact this photo was taken last night in the best Korean restaurant in Bangkok, Jang Won on Sukhumvit soi 12. Twelve people came along to meet and eat with Chong Go Sunim and we were very kindly given a private room and the food and conversation was wonderful.

Earlier in the day some of us travelled down to Nackom Pathom to see one of the oldest and largest Buddhist structures in Thailand, a huge stupa with very beautiful shrine rooms around the outside. We also stopped off at Buddhamonthon, a large Buddhist park with a magnificent statue of the Buddha in its centre.

Today has been equally busy, with another magnificent lunch at the wonderful Indian restaurant Annapurna (on Tanon Pan, near the Hindu temple) with Chong Go Sunim, Phra Pandit Bhikku and a dozen or more people from Bangkok’s ‘Littlebang’ Sangha. At the prompting of the Brits in the group, deserts were had at the nearby British Library restaurant!

Food, and ancient sites, and great weather, form, of course, just a very enjoyable backdrop to the real business of this visit. People are getting to know each other better, friendships are being made, and made stronger, between Dharma brothers and sisters, and everyone is busy listening to and sharing the Dharma.

The full one-day workshop led by Chong Go Sunim takes place this Saturday and if you’re in Bangkok and haven’t already signed up, well, I’m sure we can squeeze in one or two more people! Click on the link on the sidebar for more details. And see everyone on Saturday!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For practitioners, there’s no such thing as a new year,
yet from time to time,
it’s worthwhile to reflect upon how
we can meet the demands of the world this body lives in
and to think about how we can go forward with wisdom and generosity.

 
The birth of this body is not our birth.
Our birth starts with this fundamental mind,
which has existed before our flesh.
Whether something arises from others,
or arises from within,
knowing that it is all being done by this Buddha-essence
is the foundation of spiritual practice.

 
If you use your body with a little care and concern
you won’t end up ruining this temporary house of yours.
Likewise, if we make just a small change in how we use our minds,
we can cure even the Earth.
Then, even when you think you’re doing something for yourself,
it actually ends up benefiting others.
Everyone and every thing are all working together,
so if you can help people live accordingly,
you’ll bring harmony, laughter, and love to your entire family.

 
Be sincere!
If you’re sincere, steadfast, and genuine,
there’s no reason for our life to be overly difficult.
Be wise, peaceful, and positive in your thinking.
This life lasts for only a season,
don’t be stupid in how you spend it.
 
 
If you would truly learn the teachings of the Buddha,
empty yourself while remaining upright,
remain upright while emptying yourself,
and harmoniously gather everything together in one place.
This is our true path.

      — Daehaeng Kun Sunim
 
 
 
 
 
copyright 2011, the Hanmaum Seonwon Foundation

I suspect many readers of this blog have been doing yoga for years. For me, it’s all new. And packed full of discoveries and surprises. It started about six months ago during a period when the ‘Littlebang’ Bangkok Sangha had a regular Monday night meditation session. Someone was offering a pre-sit yoga class and I thought I’d go along.

The weekly meditation sessions came to an end sadly (strange, there are stacks of great Dharma talks all the time in Bangkok, but there’s no regular Thai-Buddhist English-language meditation group), but the yoga continued. The teacher, I soon learnt, is amazing. Her name is Nat, she’s Japanese and she speaks great English and Thai.

I have a bad back, tending (after being involved in a collision with a car years ago and decades of neglect) to painful muscle spasm and having very little flexibility. Nat has helped me, in just the few months I’ve been studying with her, to understand my back a little better and work on strenghtening and lengthening it.

She has been practicing and teaching yoga for years and is a breast cancer survivor, and she sometimes talks about how yoga helped in her recovery, physically, mentally and spiritually. And she smiles. She really smiles. And gets her students all smiling too. “Lift”, she says, “higher, higher, and smile”, and we can’t help but grin!

Last month she helped me with something called the tree pose (my apologies to all you yoga practitioners out there, but this is all new to me) in which you stand on one leg and lift your arms above your head! I practiced for a week and then tried again in class. Of course, I wobbled all over the place – even despite using a wall.

“Don’t forget to breathe”, Nat said. “Breathing will bring you stability and balance.” I tried again. It did. Later Nat showed me how to place my feet and said that as well as breathing I had to grow deep roots, that energy and connection comes from those roots. The connection to the Dharma here is obvious to most no doubt, but for me it was a revelation!

Because the tree exists, you can know the root; because the fruit exists, you can know the seed. Likewise, even though the body is only a temporary, karmic combination of the four elements, through it you can know the fundamental place, Hanmaum Juingong, which is the source of all life and all phenomena.
 – Seon Master Daehaeng Sunim

Links:
Nat’s blog: A summer day in the city of Angels
The Bangkok Sangha: Littlebang