Comments (23)

The humble satisfied heart of the Buddhists is the goal that God has for us all.

The God who is One God over all agents of God is one over all prophets. His teaching does not contradict the teachings He gave to the Children of Israel through Moses and other prophets of the Bible. They confirm the Bible and the following of the law. In 2 Nephi 29 God condemns people who think that only the Bible contains His words.

The world is so caught up in sin, that we don't understand the danger we are in. Among other things, the Ten Commandments command against images. Exodus 20. When we use images for worship, it stands in the way to realize that God is His word and His word is God. It is in meditating on the word of God so it can cleanse our way of thinking and acting in which we are purified. That is the power of God's teaching to all prophets.

Many religions have focused on the prophets and their goodness and have ignored the message God commanded him to give, and have not understood that God cannot lie. If he says you will be cursed for being uncircumcised, unbaptized, or for not valuing His word to do it, He must cause it to be. It is not because He is evil or vindictive, it is because the most important lesson for us to learn is that he blesses a nation with peace and prosperity with no bondages and sorrows, only when we follow His wisdom. When you know Leviticus 26, you know the past, the present and the future.

Marie Devine
Divine-Way

JWTHOMAS,

Very nice!

"The Great Way is not difficult
for those who do not pick and choose.

When preferences are cast aside
the Way stands clear and undisguised.

But even slight distinctions made
set earth and heaven far apart.

If you would clearly see the truth,
discard opinions pro and con.

To founder in dislike and like
is nothing but the mind's disease."

-Sengtsan, third Chinese Zen patriarch

http://www.amazon.com/Noble-Eightfold-Path-Way-Suffering/dp/192870607X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200959213&sr=8-4
All of your comments are very interesting. Myself confused about the myriad if "Buddhism's" shown by many learned persons, but I finally found the The Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End of Suffering (Paperback)
by Bhikkhu Bodhi (Author)
to be very good one to study.
For serious readers, and all of you are serious readers.

It is amazed to me that it would take only 10usd to clear up quite a bit of my doubts on the noble truths. However, I did not have any doubt in rituals: there is no such thing as rituals in Budhism.
However, if it helps somebody then budhist would respect it.
We can use that case to practice the compassion. Compassion comes from insight. Insight comes from calm. Calm comes from happiness. Happiness comes from knowledge of the noble truths. The knowledge comes from the practice of the noble eighfold path. The practice of the noble eightfold path comes from the practice of compassion. It is circular, therefore, I can jump in at any step, I still am in a good start.
Along the line I will find happiness and all others.

Actually, I agree with both sides in this debate and should have expressed my thoughts more clearly.

If the garb and rituals shown in this article work for those who employ them, more power to them.

I was put off by the article's implicitly saying to the readers and viewers, "This is Buddhism" - another tale of alien and strange practices in the United States. It's one mode of Buddhist practice but not the only one.

As a descendant of New England Puritans, the practices shown here, if I tried to adopt them, would be a serious impediment to any Buddhist practice of mine.

As would my believing that making 100,000 circumambulations of a monument on my hands and knees would accrue "great merit" for me, as many Eastern Buddhists have believed.

I should simply have said that, rather than expressing the same kind of dislike that my ancestors felt for the Roman Church's trappings and rituals..

Good luck and encouragement to all in their Buddhist practices, by whatever means.*

*My best medition took place while I was walking around our high school track.

the buddhists that said that the americans have to filter out the asian culture in the transmission of Buddhism to the americas is correct. We need an american Buddhism. that doesn't mean that we can't study or practice with asian buddhists and when in Rome do as the Romans do would apply.

I've noticed that in the practice of Buddhism in the west that there are a lot of advertisements for buddhist related products. Statues and things. Some are helpful like a nice cushion. Some are materialistic and fit into the consumer mould of the american culture It's a good to support the TIbetan refugees that make available to us thangas and prayer flags and singing bowls and I suppose statues also.

Just in the practice of the dharma make sure that as we practice we neither get materialistic in out attitudes and out religious paraphenalia.

david weiss

the buddhists that said that the americans have to filter out the asian culture in the transmission of Buddhism to the americas is correct. We need an american Buddhism. that doesn't mean that we can't study or practice with asian buddhists and when in Rome do as the Romans do would apply.

I've noticed that in the practice of Buddhism in the west that there are a lot of advertisements for buddhist related products. Statues and things. Some are helpful like a nice cushion. Some are materialistic and fit into the consumer mould of the american culture It's a good to support the TIbetan refugees that make available to us thangas and prayer flags and singing bowls and I suppose statues also.

Just in the practice of the dharma make sure that as we practice we neither get materialistic in out attitudes and out religious paraphenalia.

david weiss

prostrating before a gilded idol does not fit with my readings and seems so anti-buddha. All suffering comes from desire and attachment. it seems impossible to obtain enlightenment if you DESIRE enlightenment. this buddhism and that buddhism - each of those sects has a sliver of truth that they focus on- like the blind men and the elephant none see the whole beast. "Ah, buddhism is like a snake". "No, you are wrong, it is like a tree trunk". "Ah, but you both err buddhism is as a rope".

Also in Cambridge, MA, is Larry Rosenberg's Cambridge Insight Meditation Center.

Rosenberg, a Ph. D. in social psychology from the University of Chicago, studied Zen with Seung Sahn in Korea, and trained in Zen in Japan before arriving at 'vipassana' through the (Thai) Theravadin tradition.

The Cambridge Insight Meditation Center is different but no less "Buddhist" than the Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center.

They are both simply examples of the wisdom of Ikkyu's poem:

"Many paths lead from
The foot of the mountain
But at the peak
We all gaze at the
Single bright moon."

I agree with Paul, you all act like you were with Buddha when he reached enlightenment.

As to the argument that attire does not matter, this is partially true. Buddhism is very much an inner, personal journey. However, robes signify that you are on this journey towards nirvana. Buddha shed all his earthly possession to seek enlightenment, including his princely attire. Basically, you can't be freeing yourself of earthly desires if you got a Gucci bag at your side and wearing some CK jeans. The differing colors of the robe is arguably a "cultural" practice. But the true followers of Buddha, the Sangha, did in fact wear robes.

As for the issue of "idols," it is true that Buddha did not teach the "praying to" a statute. But as a monk once told me, we are human, most of us no where near the ultimate truth and freedom that is nirvana. Thus, we need symbols and statues to remind us about the tenents that we should live by. Unlike Islam, Buddhism does make room for followers to use symbols of Buddha to remind us about his teachings. The comparison is meant with no disrespect.

Lastly, I think there is such a variety in practices that it is actually ignorant for one to say "this is Buddhism" and then proceed to belittle other forms. Within Christianity, there are so, so many sects - Catholicism, Baptists, Methodists, etc. Yet no one accusses other followers of not being the "right" Christian faith.

Ultimately, Buddha said that there is no one path towards enlightnment. He found his way and shared it with the world. Other people in other countries have interpreted his words and teachings differently. It is a different path, but one still towards nirvana.

There are many kinds of Buddhism, and many kinds of Zen Buddhism (Chinese, Japanese and Korean). Most are different not in their essence but in their cultural trappings.

Your article is about the cultural trappings of a particular form -- and not about the essence.

Rites and rituals (and all the forms of Buddhism) are an obstruction to Enlightenment and, eventually, if one has practiced correctly, they will drop away -- all by themselves (since they are mental constructs without lasting substantiality).

As Yamaoka Tesshu put it: "Zen is like soap. First you wash with it, and then you wash off the soap."

Apart from rites and rituals, the other major obstructions to Enlightenment are views and opinions.

As Azuki said, "Truth is silent. It's views and opinions that make all the noise."

There are many opinions in the comments posted here -- including some that profess that American Buddhism (whatever that may be) is superior to Asian Buddhism.

When considering those comments, it would perhaps be worthwhile to remember some other words of Azuki's:

"I'm a Pure Land Buddhist;
I'm a Theravadin Buddhist;
I'm a Tibetan Buddhist;
I'm a Zen Buddhist;
In the midst of this ego and attachment -
Listen!
Buddha never says a word."

Finally, always worth remembering is this Zen saying:

"To know that there is nothing to know, and to grieve that it is so difficult to communicate this "nothing to know" to others -- this is the life of Zen, this is the deepest thing in the world."

Shakyamuni Buddha's last admonishion was, "Depend upon the Law and not upon person's"

Seek the Law of life from within your own life and not from some external source.

Rituals and atire have nothing to do wtih enlightenmnet. True happiness or enlightenment based on an internal understanding of suffering and and joy is the direct path to enlightenmnet.

Nichiren Buddhism teaches, "it is the heart that matters most!"

Revolutionize the tenents you hold dear in your heart and free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death.

Patrick

Hmmmm. Seems to me people can get just as attached to their ideas about Buddhism as they do to statues, rituals and robes. I just wonder: What would the Buddha say?

Paul,

They don't need to read "our books". They should read Buddhist books. Nothing they are doing with their rituals will advance them one step toward enlightenment, any more than rote recitation of Christian teachings will advance anyone toward the goal of becoming Christ-like.

And, by the way, Buddhism is today a thoroughly American belief system, and, in this country, the American version has next-to-nothing to do with the traditional oriental baggage that obscures the heart of the Buddha's teachings.

How interesting that so many posters here claim perfect knowledge of the true essence of Buddhism, part of which seems to be a rejection of what Buddhists, like those in the video, actually do. There's something sweetly American in this--those foolish foreigners don't even understand their own religion! They'd better read our books to get clear on things.

Perhaps a read of the book entitled

What the Buddha Never Taught would also be enlightening !!!

Perhaps a read of the book entitled

What the Buddha Never Taught would also be enlightening !!!

I agree with Michael and Datdamwuf:

Rituals, dress, statues and similar items and events have nothing whatsoever to do with the essence of Buddhism.

At best, they are merely historical encrustations of oriental cultural baggage which are irrelevant to the teachings of the Buddha.

At worst, they mislead beginning students of Buddhism as to its nature, and make their progress toward understanding and enlightenment more difficult.

[See the book, "Buddhism Without Beliefs".]

Christy McKerney writes:

"Chanting the sutras is not only a form of worship but also of meditation designed to turn the mind inward."

Sorry, but no form or variety of Buddhism, at any place or time in history, has ever involved any form of worship of anyone or anything. "Worship" is completely alien and antithetical to the Buddha's teachings.

Yow Paganplace, I hope you find that book. Try "Everyday Zen" by Charlotte Joko Beck. This article can't be intended to describe but, perhaps to peak interest, the essence cannot be explained in a few paragaphs.

"At a Boston temple, what you wear shows how enlightened you are."

OK, what inna Holy Holly Hel is *that* quip about?

I know the place. When I've been there, I didn't find the staff long on the English skills, never mind knowing what to make of a gregarious-but-arthritic white chick looking for some books to help out a Buddhist friend, but the 'big golden Buddha' is maybe four or five feet tall, tops. Nice. Impressive, even. But hardly St. Ignatius'.

So, it's maybe a little insular for Mass Ave, but, really.

I agree with Michael, this article tells one little about the Buddhism, just about some of the rituals if you attend formal place of meditation. Very short on what it's all about

Statues, rituals, and other formalities are unimportant, yet they seem to be the focus of the article, perhaps because of the author familiarity with other religions where truth comes from authorities outside the person.

This is a great article on Buddhism in general and Zen Buddhism in specifics. Buddhist prqactice ar just as varied as Christian practices.

Myself, i practice Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhsism of Sowing, which takes Shakyamuni Buddha's teaching and makes them accessable through observing the mind by repeating the name of the Lotus Sutra or nam myoho renge kyo to activate individual buddhahood.

The core of Shakyamuni Buddha's teaching are the teaching of mutual respect of all life.

Shakyamuni Buddha teaches through the Lotus Sutra; Boddhisattva Never Disparaging Chapter; that all life equally possesses the Buddha nature or enlightenment.

Patrick