The Bodhisattva Ideal

Buddhism teaches that there are three alternatives for attaining the final goal of Nirvana. Firstly there is the Arahant Ideal which is emphasised by the Sthaviravada or as it is currently known - the Theravada. This is release from the Samsara by following the teachings of an enlightened Buddha by the cultivation of Sila (Good Conduct), Samadhi (Mental cultivation or meditation) and Prajna (Trancendental Wisdom of seeing things as they really are).

The Mahayana, on the other hand emphasises the Bodhisattva Ideal of postponing one’s liberation so that one may bring all sentient beings with you to that state of Nirvana by becoming a fully enlightened Buddha. The Mahayanists claim that the Arahant Ideal of the Theravadins is selfish because it limits the release to oneself. However, it must be noted that Arahants, although lacking the higher wisdom of a Buddha, also teach and also must transcend the idea of self and greed, so such a charge can be disputed. The Theravadins also suggest that attaining Buddhahood is the highest ideal but it is difficult and beyond most people’s capabilities.

The final method of liberation is that of a Pratyeka Buddha. One who usually arises during a world period when the Buddha Dharma is extinct and attains Buddhahood through self realisation but is incapable of teaching others.

Six Perfections (Paramita)

One who is following the bodhisattva path must cultivate the six perfections of giving or generosity, morality or good conduct, patience, vigour, meditation and wisdom.

Compassion and Skill in Means

Karuna or Compassion is considered by the Mahayana to be as important as Wisdom. They are the Supreme Combination. Compassion may be considered as feeling the sorrows of others as one’s own with the wish that one could take them on to oneself to relieve that suffering in others. Skill in Means is the ability to use the appropriate means to help each individual case. It is a case of the end result justifying the means employed.

30,000 hits!! Hence, instead of writing a long exposition, I’m going to present to you an awesome cartoon.

Here’s a hint at how awesome my favourite cartoon is: the opening introduction is NOT what the cartoon seems to protray.

An important article for those interested in the education and nurturing of future Buddhists.

Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Link here.

Link here, especially for those who live in the Anglosphere.

Last part is interesting:

“I understand many Asians and other non-Westerners may feel insulted by demeaning stereotypes that Westerners hold about them. However, I also hope they can understand that people cannot know what they have not been told. If all an individual sees is a certain kind of image in the media, he can hardly be faulted for accepting it as ‘reality’. Therefore, I would like to extend an invitation to those who feel insulted and exasperated by ’stupid stereotypes’ to take the constructive role of teaching others, instead of limiting their reactions to scolding and blaming, which does not move anyone forward.”

- But if an individual accepts a certain kind of image in the media uncritically as ‘reality’, isn’t he just an uncritical, gullible, unthinking twit in the first place? After all, who really bases their information in movies, TV shows, or TV at all (I certainly don’t - there’s a lovely little medium called books, you see)? Unfortunately, a lot of people, from youngsters to adults.

Therefore, those who scold and blame those who accept things in the media as reality may be doing a moral thing, in fact. After all, some ethicists say that anger can be a moral reaction to some injustice. But that’s another story.

Constructive role in teaching others? Let’s see if anyone comes knocking on the classroom door first. But Asians make shit teachers anyway. The latest Hollyweird movie told me so! *rolls eyes*

I’m still alive, but I’ve become complacent ever since my trip back from Egypt.

This is an old move, but quite a good one.

I am holidaying in Egypt right now with my family. I will update within a couple of weeks. Unfortunately conditions have not been conducive to updating my blog with a proper post. I am, however, alive and well (and loving Luxor),

Cheers!

Rogue monk defrocks self

Phuket Gazette, June 26, 2008

NONG KHAI, Thailand - As every good clergyman knows, improper sexual conduct is a quick way to get defrocked – cast out of the Buddhist clergy.

Perhaps sensing that his own defrockment was inevitable, one naughty abbot in Tha Bor District decided to beat his detractors to the punch.

At a meeting of villagers and local religious authorities to discuss allegations of sexual impropriety against him, he showed his contempt by lifting up his robe and giving the assembled a good look at the organ that had got him in trouble in the first place.

The problem stemmed from the alleged relationship between Phra Wanchai Mahapanyo, 35, abbot of Wat Khok Klang in Tambon Nakha, and a married devotee, 44-year-old Lampang Khambai.

Lampang’s husband, 43-year-old Wichai Khambai, told police that he and Lampang have been married for almost 20 years and that they have two children together.

They never had any problems in their marriage until last year, when Wichai went to work on a construction site in Bangkok, he told police.

When he came back to Nakha, friends and relatives told him that while he had been away, his wife was rarely at home and seemed to spend nearly all of her time in Phra Wanchai’s room.

At first Wichai didn’t believe what people were telling him, he said. However, late one night, Lampang asked if she could go to the temple, which made him suspicious. A couple of days later, on May 29, Lampang again asked if she could go and visit the temple in the evening.

When it became late and she was still not back, Wichai decided to take action.

He gathered up a posse of friends and relatives, who took up positions around Phra Wanchai’s room in the temple to see what was going on.

Nothing happened until dawn, when Phra Wanchai emerged from his cell. Wichai rushed up to him, demanding to know the whereabouts of his wife.

Phra Wanchai denied having seen her that night and, according to Wichai, then pushed him out of the way and punched him in the face.

Wichai’s friends rushed in to break up the scuffle, at which point Lampang strolled out of the monk’s room as if nothing at all was amiss.

As often happens in small Thai villages, news of the incident spread quickly.

Before long, the kamnan (tambon chief) of Nakha, Phemphun Meuncharoen, and the local dean, Phrakhru Praphatson Praphatsaro, rushed to the scene to invite all concerned to a meeting at the house of Lampang’s mother, Noolee Burikham.

The villagers unanimously called for Phra Wanchai to be defrocked on the spot for his behavior, at which point the abbot suddenly stood up, lifted up his robes and waggled his genitals around in the startled faces of his accusers.

Being a media-savvy village, many of those present whipped out mobile phones to get photos and videos of the scene. With the shocking incident duly recorded in digital format, Phra Wanchai fled the room and sped off in his pickup truck.

Wichai, still smarting from his confrontation with Phra Wanchai, reported the altercation at the Tha Bor Police Station, where he filed a complaint accusing the abbot of assault.

At about 2 pm that afternoon, Phra Wanchai turned himself in at the station and admitted to punching Wichai in the face. He was fined 1,000 baht and released.

Villagers also filed complaints to the local Sangha authorities, who have launched an investigation into Phra Wanchai’s conduct.

The following day, the images of Phra Wanchai appeared on the front page of the country’s top-selling newspaper, Thai Rath, the editorial staff of which chose to blur out the offending organ.

This has nothing to do with the philosophy of religion, nor with Buddhism, but I just thought it was cool. :)

One’s experience of religion is most authentic and true when one dispenses with a ‘What’s in it for me” attitude when subscribing to a movement (something that the West has come to understand Buddhism as: nothing more than self-help). The individualistic approach of Buddhism that many modern people take towards it is, in fact, missing the point entirely. Rather, one must never lose sight of the very ambitious purpose of Buddhism. Buddhism indeed has a divine objective which all practitioners should orient their practice and devotion towards. This is liberation for all sentient beings. But what is liberation? The word, after all, is used in many different contexts. Understood in the Buddhist context, it is the generation of bodhicitta, the path of the Bodhisattva, and attainment of Buddhahood by all sentients. Therefore, one cannot pay lip service to Buddhism simply by saying it’s an inclusive and all-embracing religion. It is, but its inclusiveness is based on complex doctrines too many people are ignorant of. In other words, one cannot understand Mahayana Buddhism simply by having a ‘feel good’ emotion arising from reading its sublime texts. The psychological health that comes from Buddhism is a byproduct of a greater agenda. What is this greater agenda, and how does one embark upon it?

The generating of bodhicitta is perhaps the first and most important step. Understood in the context of Buddhism’s dialectic, it goes far beyond human rights, secular humanism and other ‘benevolent’ ideologies because it is the striving for all sentient beings to be ENLIGHTENED. Not simply happy; not simply prosperous, but for them to attain Buddhahood. It is a desire that exceeds even that of parents and gods, according to Santideva, because parents desire their children to have successful, meaningful, satisfying and acknowledged lives. Gods hope for their creations to thrive and acknowledge their love in return. As noble as these two things are, bodhicitta goes much further. Therefore, to learn to generate, maintain and intensify bodhicitta is the first step. I would recommend beginning with Santideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva.

Next, is to attain the cosmic vision of the multiverse as is the focus of the congregations in the Avatamsaka Sutra. This is the step not only to deep meditation leading to real insight, but also a scholastic study of the doctrines and practices, which is the first step to teaching others of the divine purpose. Only through this can we eradicate all mistaken assumptions of what it means to be religious; what it means to be Buddhist.

Yesterday I began invoking another Mahayana divinity. He is the bodhisattva associated with doctrine, wisdom, and awareness. His name is Manjusri (Gentle Glory).

He forms the Sakyamuni Trinity alongside Sakyamuni and Samantabhadra. Depicted as a powerful, princely and majestic young man, he commonly wields a flaming sword in his right hand, representing his realisation of wisdom which cuts through ignorance and wrong views. The scripture supported by the flower held in his left hand is the Prajnaparamita, representing his attainment of ultimate realisation and Enlightenment.

His mantra in Chinese is Namo Wen Shu Shi Li Po Sha (南無文殊師利菩薩).

When I fly back to Hong Kong (tomorrow) I hope to be able to purchase a small statue of this sword-wielding Lord to invoke and meditate on (Object meditation) alongside my Guan Yin statue. It is the end of the semester and as a result, I’ve had plenty of time to meditate and invoke Buddhas. The power and majesty of Manjusri is something more than worthy of my alleigance, and my before-bed and after-awakening invocations to the Gentle Glory were of a doctrinal and psychological eminence that was realized probably due to my more scholastic slant. Manjusri’s patronage of spiritual clarity is, to me, welcome any moment, particularly as a student of religion.