Wake Up and Laugh!

I’m forever asking questions I’ve asked before, it must be really annoying for Sunim and everyone in the group. But there I was, asking, once again, about relying on the Buddha and transference of merit. Surely the Buddha, in all his compassion, sees my suffering and will give me a hand. Isn’t that what Amida Buddha promises?

“What you mean” someone laughed, “is that you want the Buddhas to do all the work for you!”

Sunim laughed too and gave her response. “It’s like those children’s toys” she said “that always spring up into their original position. So even if someone were to pick you up and carry you to another place, who’s to say you wouldn’t just re-find the position that you are most comfortable with?”

The whole group took Sunim’s analogy and ran with it, saying that it is possible to make our Buddha-naure, or Juingong, our centre of gravity rather than giving that role to our small selves, and that we can rely upon that Buddha-nature to always spring us back up. I’m sure they are right.

I’m also sure that Sunim is spot on; even if (or rather, when) Amida Buddha does carry (or perhaps kick!) me to the Pure Land, unless I make some effort and unless I develop the skill and habit of relying completely on my own inherant Buddha-nature, I may soon find myself back where I started!

“Amitabha Buddha existing within my mind, I vow to hurry and meet.”
 – A Thousand Hands of Compassion

Marcus’ post on Monday really had me thinking. It touched on some half-realized thoughts I’d had for a while now and made them whole.

This world” Sunim replied with gravity as well as a smile, “is perfectly fair. Everything you create eventually comes back to you.

The momentum of our Karmas surrounds us, pulling and pushing like magnets. Through our thoughts, our words, our actions we direct this momentum, we control it, as much as it may seem the other way around. As Sunim spoke, “Everything you create comes back to you.”

When we can see our Karma unfold from this lifetime, it’s easier to accept, but when it’s Karma from a life long ago, it can seem unfair.

The realization I had was, what if we could see into each other’s past? What if we all saw exactly what we’ve all created and have coming back to us? What if if knew where the Hitlers, the Mussolinis, the Pol Pots were today? Would we doubt the fairness of their suffering for a moment?

What I know about the people who are able to see into the Karmic affinity of others (Dae Haeng Kun Sunim is the first to come to mind) is that they would still have compassion, even knowing what they’d done. It can be difficult to accept, but these are the ones who need compassion the most. Perhaps that’s why, for the most part, we can’t see into each other’s past, through rebirth we’re given a clean slate.

JiJang Bosal is one of the great Bodhisattva because he vowed to enter the Hell realms and help the suffering there. But who are the beings there who he’s sacrificed his Nirvana to help? Most likely beings who have committed despicable actions. With Seung Sahn Daesanim there to help him now, they must have a half-decent Zen Center on the go! Maybe even a Sangha!

My point is, when we see suffering in the world, as unfair or undeserved as it may appear, the only way to respond is with compassion.

Here’s a guest post by Barry Briggs of Ox Herding

Recently someone new to Buddhism asked how it was that the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Quanyin, could serve as the “patron” of both vegetarians and fishermen.

There was an aggrieved tone in the person’s voice:  How could she?

I replied that true compassion does not depend on conditions.

Without hesitation, Quanyin offers unstinting compassion to vegetarians and carnivores, fishermen and farmers, and saints and murderers.

That’s because Quanyin has laid down the mind that picks and chooses based on like and dislike. She only responds to what is.

Indeed, love can only arise in response to what is. Everything else is fantasy.

These are easy words to write, but to live without dependence on conditions . . . well, that’s something else. That’s why clear-eyed direction is so important.

Here’s a nice mantra posted by Nathan at Dangerous Harvests a while back.

Repeat it out loud three times, and see how you feel! 😉

There were only five people at Seon Club last week; me, Young, Arthur, MJ, and, of course, Hyedaeng Sunim, and yet the discussion was incredibly rich and covered a whole range of topics of concern to all in the group. I wish I’d taken notes, but some things stood out for me very clearly, and this month I’ll try to relate a little of it here on this blog.

The first was Sunim’s response to a question from me. I’ve asked this before, but it still bothers me. I understand, and can see in my own life, how everything we suffer is a manifestation of the Buddha-nature and necessary in order to learn and make progress, and in fact, last time I raised this, Sunim talked about how suffering is itself the compassion of the Buddha.

It’s like a father, she explained again to me on Saturday night, who cares for his child. Sometimes the father will reward the child, sometimes the father will need to use discipline. But the child, far from seeing the love, might see only the suffering and not the bigger picture and the opportunity to learn.

“Yes”, I argued, “Yes, I understand that, I see that, but look at the awful suffering in the world, the poverty, the hunger, the concentration camps. Rape, murder, torture. Surely there are better ways of disciplining, ways that don’t involve flaying the child alive. I mean, it’s just not fair.”

“This world” Sunim replied with gravity as well as a smile, “is perfectly fair. Everything you create eventually comes back to you.”

Link: Wake up and Laugh!: Suffering

Here’s a translation of a short but powerful Dharma talk by Daehaeng Kun Sunim.

Everything that confronts you-
take it all and entrust it to one place, one hole,
change negative things into wholesome things
by firmly entrusting them to that one place.

Do this with everything that confronts you.
Even when something arises from within you,
even when something confronts you from outside,
remember that all of those things are your foundation
testing you,
to see how you react.

Even when things seem overwhelming,
don’t be afraid.
Without dwelling on like or dislike,
just silently entrust it all.
Take what confronts you, and know
“This is what I have to do,”
and silently take care of it.

Answer others gently,
speak gently, think gently,
think gently,
and trust that one place with everything.

If you keep doing this,
if you become adept at this,
then the time will come when
your true self makes itself known to you.
This will absolutely happen.

I have personally confirmed and verified this.
There is the core inside of an electric cable
that makes it possible for energy, for light, to go back and forth.
Likewise, there is a core that underlies this shell of ours.
Taking everything and returning it to this core  
is the path of completing yourself.

                                              -Daehaeng Kun Sunim

 
 
copyright 2010, The Hanmaum Seonwon Foundation

An exhibit of Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) Buddhist paintings is being held at the National Museum of Korea until November 21. There are only 160 of these paintings in the world, and 61 are displayed here. Chances to see these paintings are very rare, so don’t miss this exhibition if you’re interested. These tend to be wall-size paintings, and are quite old, so the photos here really don’t do them justice. 
      Here’s the info from the museum’s webpage:http://www.museum.go.kr/eng/Special.do?cmd=1001&gc_no=580 There’s a small entrance fee, and the museum is closed Mondays.

Masterpieces of Goryeo Buddhist Painting – A Long Lost Look after 700 Years

This exhibition brings together Goryeo Buddhist paintings from all over the world in the largest exhibition of these works in history. Goryeo Buddhist paintings are widely seen as some of the most beautiful religious art in the world. Their delicate and graceful forms indicative of the high aesthetic standards of the Goryeo people, their brilliant primary colors and resplendent gold pigment, and their beautiful yet powerful flowing lines combined to create an unparalleled world of beauty in the East Asia of the day. 

 Currently, there are known to be approximately 160 Goryeo Buddhist paintings around the world. Of these, a total of 61 are to be included in this exhibition, including Hyeheo’s Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara, currently housed at Japan’s Senso-ji temple. These 61 paintings include 27 from Japanese collections, ten from U.S. collections, five from European collections, and nineteen from Korean collections. In addition, the exhibition will feature 20 Buddhist paintings from China’s Southern Song and Yuan Dynasties and Japan’s Kamakura period, allowing visitors to examine trends in East Asian Buddhist painting over a similar time period. Also on display will be five Buddhist paintings from the early Joseon era, inheritors to the tradition of Goryeo Buddhist painting, along with 22 statues of the Buddha and metal crafts from the Goryeo era, for a total of 108 paintings and other artworks.

61 Goryeo Buddhist paintings including Hyeheo’s Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara (middle) will be on display.

 The exhibition has been organized by theme.

The introductory section, “Goryeo Buddhist Paintings: The Flower of Truth,” provides information about the historical background and themes of Goryeo Buddhist paintings, helping visitors to more fully appreciate these works.

 The first section, “Buddha: The Enlightened One,” features those works of Goryeo Buddhist painting that focus primarily on depicting the Buddha. Many of them depict Amitabha, in what is perhaps a reflection of the flourishing of Sukhavati belief in the Goryeo era. The Amitabha from the collection of Japan’s Shobo-ji temple is an example of the “descent of Amitabha” form, showing Amitabha approaching the departed to welcome them into paradise, and evokes wonder with its vivid primary colors and beautiful, intricate patterns, which survive intact to this day.

 The second section, “Bodhisattva: Savior of Sentient Beings,” features paintings of Avalokiteshvara and Kshitigarbha, familiar figures to adherents of Buddhism. The Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara from the collection of Japan’s Danzan-jinja shrine depicts a solemn and graceful Avalokiteshvara sitting on a rocky outcrop of Mount Potalaka and greeting Prince Sudhana, who has come seeking the wisdom of the Buddha.

The third section, “Arhat: Paragon of Spiritual Practitioners,” includes the Five Hundred Arhats series painted in the years 1235 and 1236 during the Goryeo era. Painted as a plea for peace in the kingdom and the well-being of the royal family, this series contains around 14 known works, seven of which are housed at the National Museum of Korea. All seven of these are to be shown at the exhibition, along with three others on loan from the U.S. and Japan. Through these ten works, viewers will be able to see the majority of extant paintings from this series.

 The fourth section, “Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in Neighboring Countries,” features works of Chinese and Japanese Buddhist painting that were painted during the same time period as the Goryeo Buddhist works, affording visitors a broader perspective in appreciating the era’s East Asian Buddhist culture and painting. In particular, it features three Western Xia Buddhist paintings from the 12th and 13th centuries, excavated at Khara-Khoto in 1909 and currently housed at the State Hermitage Museum in Russia. These works are well known among academics to have a strong affinity with Buddhist painting, but this marks the first time the actual works have been shown in Korea.

 The final section, “Succession of the Tradition,” examines the ways in which the tradition of Buddhist painting was carried on in subsequent eras, with a primary focus on Buddhist paintings commissioned by the royal house during the early Joseon era. The works on display include two pieces from the Medicine Buddha Triad, part of a commission of 400 Buddhist paintings by Queen Munjeong to honor the rebuilding of Hoeam Temple in 1565.

 * Paintings are alternated during the exhibition period, so exhibition times for the different works may vary.

A while back, Barry at Ox Herding had a great cartoon about spiritual swag that reminded me of an amazing street in Seoul. It’s the street in front of the main Buddhist temple in Seoul, Jogye Temple.

What I love is the variety of stuff that’s available. When I was practicing in the US (twenty years ago), if one wanted a mala, incense, or a Buddha statue, you had to look through a catalogue, (Shasta Abbey and Dharma Crafts were the best), and then mail in your order. Four or five weeks later, it would arrive, and you’d hope it was what you wanted. You had to order from a catalogue description or tiny picture, so you could never be quite sure.

 

 

Of course, none of this makes practice any easier, and we shouldn’t mistake this stuff for the essence that we have to uncover, but, sometimes, it is kind of fun to wander through here and see what’s new and check out the different varieties of incense. And when you get tired, there’s always a very nice tea shop nearby.