Does Santa leave presents under the Bodhi tree?

Can Buddhists Celebrate Christmas?

by Sean Robsville, Source: http://seanrobsville.blogspot.com

London, UK -- Other non-Christian religions can get a bit uptight about Christmas, but Buddhism is fairly laid back.

 
<< Does Santa leave presents under the Bodhi tree?

A few years ago the city of Birmingham renamed Christmas to 'Winterval' as a result of protests by non-Christian faith communities, but as far as I'm aware it wasn't the Buddhists who were complaining.


Of course, there are aspects of Christmas which a Buddhist might have reservations about - rampant consumerism and so on, but these are the same excesses that are often denounced by Christians who complain that in recent years the spiritual aspects of Christmas have been replaced by a credit card orgy.
 
But in general Buddhists are quite happy with Christmas and have no hangups about hanging up Christmas decorations and enlightening Christmas trees.

Presents under the Bodhi Tree

In the Simpsons episode She of Little Faith , where Lisa converts to Buddhism, Reverend Lovejoy tries to dissuade her by saying that she can't celebrate Christmas because "Santa doesn't leave presents under the Bodhi tree". Richard Gere puts things right by explaining that Buddhists believe that those religions that are founded on Love and Compassion are valid spiritual paths.

So you can eat your Christmas cake and still be a Buddhist, though of course you can never finally have the cake whether you eat it or not (all cakes are compound phenomena and thus subject to impermanence).


Excessive consumption of Christmas cake may also promote the realisation that there is no inherent difference between an object of attachment and an object of aversion. ("Can't you manage just one more slice? Look here's a nice piece with extra thick icing... What's the matter, aren't you feeling well?")

Was Jesus a Buddhist?
Many Buddhists believe that Jesus was a High Bodhisatva or manifestation of Enlightened Mind. There is also some evidence that in the 'lost years' Jesus travelled to the East and studied Buddhism - certainly you can't get any more Buddhist than the traditional Christmas message of 'Peace on Earth - Goodwill to All'. And who exactly were the Wise Men and where did they originate? Were they Buddhists?

A Buddhist Christmas Carol
Dickens' well-loved story A Christmas Carol sometimes upsets the more fundamentalist Christian evangelicals with its 'ghosts' (to an evangelical all such spirits are apparitions of Satan). But from a Buddhist perspective the story makes perfect sense:
Marley's miserliness has resulted in him becoming a Preta (ghost) after death. His attachment in life was to money, and in the Preta realm his attachment manifests as fetters to chains of money-boxes, keys, ledgers and heavy purses.


In order to help purify his karma, Marley sets out to warn Scrooge that the same destiny awaits him. Marley is assisted in his task by two peaceful Buddhas (Christmas Past and Christmas Present - Buddhas can manifest in any form that is beneficial to sentient beings), and one wrathful Buddha ('Ghost of the Future!' I fear you more than any spectre I have seen). The Buddhas take Scrooge through a sort of mini-Bardo experience, where he reviews his life from the perspective of what he has done to others, or not done for others, rather than what he has done for himself. He awakens into a state of mind transformed by compassion and generosity.

Ho Ho Ho ... Hotei! The Buddhist Santa Claus
I'm a mince pie junkie, so when it comes to the the annual Christmas Battle of the Bulge, I've long ago taken Langri Tangpa's advice and adopted the practice of 'accepting defeat and offering the victory'.
 
Unfortunately, this does have a slight problem with the self-generation visualisations. Most of the Buddhas are portrayed as young, slender and sitting upright, which means that those of us with a more Homeric appearance (in the Simpsonian sense) need rather vivid imaginations to 'bring the result into the path'.


So I was quite pleased when I discovered a Buddha with whom I could easily identify - Buddha Hotei - a manifestation of Buddha Maitreya with an amply proportioned physique (The Wikipedia article rather unkindly calls him 'fat').
Buddha Hotei is very popular in China and Japan. He's often portrayed sitting in a semi-reclining posture and laughing uproariously, while distributing presents to children out of an inexhaustible sack. The similarities with Santa are quite intriguing, see Hotei_1, Hotei_2, Hotei 3

The winter solstice
Of course the origins of Christmas long pre-date Christianity. The majority of the world's religions originated in relatively low latitudes (around 30°N) where the difference in day length between Summer and Winter is not particularly noticeable. However, for us folks who live further from the equator, the long dark nights and short dull days of midwinter are definitely a big psychological issue. That is why the Winter solstice has always been of such importance to Northern Europeans. It symbolises, if not the rebirth, at least the conception of the new year. In the Celtic calendar Imbolc (Candlemas) was the actual birth of the New Year, with the appearance of the first lambs and green shoots.


The early church failed to suppress the solstice celebrations and instead adopted them (much as they planted churches on pagan sacred sites), overlaying the scarcely concealed Druidic symbolism with Christian attributes. There is actually no historical evidence that Jesus was born on the 25th December.


The Celtic annual cycle of Imbolc, Halloween and Winter Solstice offers a rich source of symbolism and analogy for the process of rebirth, life, death, bardo and conception that would not be as apparent in traditional Buddhist countries, which are mostly at lower latitudes. So it is likely that as Buddhism continues to spread in the Anglo-Celtic cultural areas, it will adopt some of the Winter Solstice customs. There is no reason for in not to do so, for it is often remarked that unlike most other religions, Buddhism is not tied to a particular culture. It is effective for any sentient being, anywhere, any time.

Smile

WHAT'S IN A SMILE?

Notes by Billy Tan, December 25, 2013 at 8:28pm

Smiling is therapeutic. It triggers the brain to release two powerful neurotransmitters / hormones - oxytocin and endorphin.

Oxytocin is the hormone of empathy and affinity which helps with bonding, feeling of mutuality, stimulates a sense of selflessness, and most of all boosts the immune system. Every time a mother picks up her child onto her arms, her body is naturally flooded with massive dose of oxytocin, triggering lactation.

Endorphin is the most powerful natural painkiller, it relieves one of physical and emotional pain, immunizes one from depressive moods, and again most of all, boosts the immune system.

Both make us more healthy physically and emotionally through their immune system boosting and positive mood stimulation capabilities.

Ironically, the smiler is the first and greatest beneficiary of these priceless therapeutic effects. Now, that's a GREAT reason to smile for!



S.M.I.L.E. is an acronym that reflects your attitude towards others - your friendliness, sense of selflessness, and your empathy for others - in a nutshell, your "metta".

S for Sincere: Your sincere and genuine intention and joy in greeting people;

M for Magnanimous: Your warm-hearted generosity and willingness in caring and sharing;

I for Inspiring: You inspire a sense of mutuality and empathy (“metta”) in others;

L for Likeable: You express your friendly disposition, true nature & charisma;

E for Enthusiasm: You let people know how happy and delighted you are to greet them and to be of service to them.



Remember this... Let your SMILE change the world, but never let the world change your smile.
 
"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,
and sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."
(Thich Nhat Hanh)

So, SMILE, stay HEALTHY, and be HAPPY!

Vajrayana Part 8

KARMA-THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT

Nature of Karma: is a 'seed energy' deposited in our mind as a result of any kind of physical, vocal and mental action.  Karma is the performing actions: positive or negative.  Karma means action or deed.

  

Two Main Types of Karma:

1. Samsaric, which ripens in any of the 6 Realms of existence.

2. Non-samsaric, which is free from the possibility of ripening in any of the 3 unfortunate realms (animal being, hungry ghost, hell)

The karma of ordinary beings is of the 1st kind and the karma of arya/noble beings is of the 2nd.

Varieties of karma:

Virtuous, non virtuous and neutral,

Merit, demerit and unshakable,

Bright, dark and balanced
Joy, suffering and balanced

Divisions of Samsaric Karma:

1) Unskillful Karma - which results in suffering.  How is unskillful karma produced? When for instance, you feel irritated with someone, a strong attachment to the 'I' arises and you feel that the self which works, eats, studies and dies has true independent existence. You feel irritated because your ignorance obscures the true nature of relative SELF and you cling to it, as if it were self existence.  This ignorance is the basis of all afflictions.   

2) Skilful karma - which is the cause of happiness.  For example if you see someone who is about to kill a bird, this provokes a feeling of compassion. Should this compassionate intention take the form of action through body or speech and the bird is freed, the strength of this skilful karma is increased. The result is happiness for yourself and others.

3) Aspects of Karma:

a) Individual karma is created by 1 person and he alone will experience the results.

b) Collective karma: is produced by a group of people & the results are experienced by that same group in similar circumstances. It is because they have collected the same cause that when the circumstances are present people will face the sufferings or joys.

4) Characteristics of karma/(action):

a) Karma is definite:  a good and positive karma will never produce pain, suffering and unhappiness.  A bad and negative karma will never produce happiness, enjoyment, bliss.

b) Karma multiplies rapidly:  It is evident that external seeds multiply and grow very fast in quantity if provided conducive conditions. Karma is inner seed of pain or joy.  Tiniest bad karma may multiply and grow to huge mass of bad karma if it is not purified within time.

c) One never meets the result if one does not create the cause:  A person will enjoy or suffer the result of karma that is only done themselves.

d) If one creates the cause, no matter how much time passes, the result will happen when the conditions are right:  A bad karma committed can be cleared only through proper practice of purification-through standard remedial purification practices of Dharma.

Purify Your Karma: (Karma is your own creation: good or bad): in both cases I did it: It is important to contemplate and understand the disadvantages of samsaric existence - of falling into 3 lower realms (animal beings, hungry ghost, hell). As long as we are under the control of karma and its result, there is no guarantee that our future lives will be protected.

You create your heaven and hell here: If you act according to moral principles by upholding human dignity, you can create your own heaven right here in this world.  You can also create the hell-fire on this earth itself if you abuse valuable human life.  By helping others morally, you help yourself and by helping yourself morally, you help others.

Key Results:

a) The fully RIPEN results: committing harmful acts while motivated by hatred bring about birth in the hells.  Committing harmful acts out of desire leads to birth as a preta (hungry ghost) and out of ignorance to birth as an animal. Also, strong impulse of desire, anger or ignorance motivated with actions causes birth in the hells.  Should the impulse be less strong and the number of actions less, it causes rebirth as a hungry ghost and if still less strong and numerous, as an animal.

 (10 harmful actions to be avoided: taking life, taking what is not given; sexual misconduct; lying; sowing discord (causing rift between 2 people); harsh speech; worthless chatter (gossip); covetousness; wishing harm on others; wrong views) 

b) Effect similar to the Cause: even when we finally get out of the lower realm in which the fully ripened effect had caused us to be born, and obtain a human form, we go on experiencing the effect similar to the cause. In fact in the lower realms there are many different kinds of suffering similar to particular causes.  These effects that are similar to the cause are of two kinds: actions similar to the cause & experiences similar to cause. For example taking life: to have killed in previous life makes our present life not only short but also subject to frequent disease.

c) Actions similar to the Cause; All such tendencies are the residue of former actions. For example if we kill before, we still like to kill; if we stole, we enjoy taking what is not given-driven by their karmic urges.  Some enjoy doing good instead.  The same is true for animals too. The instinct of animals such as wolves to kill or mice to steal, is in each case an effect similar to and caused by their former actions. This is why it is said:

To see what you have done before, look at what you are now.

To see where you are going to be born next, look at what you do now.

Reliance on the Knowledge of the Buddha - (Method):

1st STEP OF TANTRA PATH (AIM OF NGONDRO/PURIFY PRACTICE) - FOUNDATION

Aim of Ngondro practice refers to 'lay the foundation'. Only then practice + teachings of Buddha prepare us for Sacred Path of Tantra. Profound and powerful effect a deep purification and transformation at all levels of practitioner's being (body, speech & mind):

a) To purify our ourselves

b) Transform our mind

When we take our 1st step on the Path (Noble Eightfold Path), after purification then we are capable of helping others.  For example, if we did not lay the foundation,  its like building a palace on thin ice.

Powers of Purification:

a) The Power of Base: You created negative actions through (body, speech, mind).  You take refuge in the enlightenment beings and you generate compassion for non-enlightenment beings.  

b) The Power of Regret: If there is no regret no repentance.  To renounce evil and adopt good in whatever one does through a detailed understanding of the effects of actions.  To confess harmful actions and downfalls, the root of all evil, through the 4 strengths using meditation and recitation on Vajrasattva.

c) The Power of Antidote: Mental action is more important than physical. 

d) The Power of Non-repeating:  Promising not to do it again.

A traveller's view of Borobudur

Borobudur: A Reminder of Indonesia’s Buddhist Past

By Jonathan DeHart, The Diplomat, June 6, 2013

Jogjakarta, Indonesia -- In the misty jungles of Central Java’s Kedu Valley, builders in the 8th and 9th centuries hauled 2 million stones from rivers and streams to erect Borobudur, a dazzling, 95-foot-tall, 55,000-square-meter step pyramid and Buddhist temple complex. Today, it serves as a reminder that a Buddhist kingdom, the Syailendra Dynasty, thrived for around five centuries (until the 10th century) in the heart of what is now Indonesia.

This would seem unlikely today, given the nation’s status as the world’s largest Muslim nation, but the Borobudur Temple compound (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is in fact the world’s largest Buddhist monument. The temple’s historical significance is matched by its architectural grandeur, which is made all the more dramatic by views of steaming Mount Merapi, an active volcano that erupted as recently as 2010.

Vajrayana Part 7

Roadmap to Enlightenment & Liberation

According to the scriptures (Tantras) - Vajrayana refer to 1 of the 3 Vehicles or Routes to Enlightenment.

Our starting-point is the sacred texts with their vision of a "higher truth and their deep insights" into the nature of "humanity and the universe" we inhabit.

Buddha said they are 4 types of People:

1) Those who pray for this life issues; basically 'worldly concerns'. eg. pray for family well being, children success in studies etc

2) Those who pray for better future; eg. better life now and in future.

3) Those who pray for Liberation; eg pray for Nibbana-liberation from cyclic existance.

4) Those who pray for Enlightenment; eg. attain liberation and be safe, liberation for oneself and other beings.

Basically there are these 4 types of attitudes. Buddha says only 3 of these qualities are true Dharma practitioners: pray for future life, liberation and Nibbana.  The prayers has more power than the #(1) stated above.  One should embarked on Dharma practice with these motivations.

The essence of Buddha's teachings can be summed up in  2 principles: the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The first covers the side of doctrine, and the primary response it seeks is understanding; the second covers the side of discipline and the primary response it calls for is practice.

1) The Four Noble Truths is the basis of all the Buddha's teachings.  

a) the Truth of suffering (negative truths)

b) the Truth of the cause of suffering (negative truths)

c) the Truth of the cessation of suffering, which is nibbana, joy and peace (positive truths)

d) the Truth of the Way you get to this cessation (positive truths)

First, it has to set forth a full and accurate picture of the range of suffering; second it must present a correct analysis of the causes of suffering and third it must give us the means to eradicate the causes of suffering.  The Buddha said life is tied to some thing he calls dukkha. The (pali) word is translated as suffering but it means deeper than pain and misery.  It refers to a basic unsatisfactoriness running through our lives of all but the enlightened. Here, dukkha shows up in the events of birth, aging and death.  Our lives are strung out between the thirst for PLEASURE and the fear of PAIN.  Then in the end we have to die: to give up the identity we spent our whole life building, to leave behind everything and everyone we love.  Life ends in one place with one body, the mental consciousness springs up again elsewhere with a new body as its physical support.

The last of the Four Noble Truths, the truth of the Way is the Noble Eightfold Path, while the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, Right View is the understanding of the Four Noble Truths.

2) The  Noble EightFold Path: the practical discipline he prescribes to uproot and eliminate the deep underlying causes of suffering. The Path, the Fourth Noble Truth is capable of delivering the total result of cessation.  

The Eight Path factors divide into 3 groups the Moral discipline group:

1. Right Speech

2. Right Action

3. Right Livelihood

The second group the Concentration group:

4. Right Effort

5. Right Mindfulness

6. Right Concentration

The third is the Wisdom group:

7. Right View

8. Right Intention

These three groups represent 3 stages of training: the training in the higher moral discipline, the training of higher consciousness and the training in higher wisdom. Wisdom unfolds by the degree but even the flashes of insight presuppose as the basis a mind that has been concentrated, cleared of disturbances and distraction. With moral discipline as its foundation for concentration; concentration the foundation for wisdom; and wisdom the direct instrument for reaching liberation.

3 Types of  Suffering:

a) Suffering upon Suffering: experience before one suffering is over, we are subjected to another. eg. our father dies and then our mother dies soon afterwards. 

b) Suffering of Change - is the suffering that we feel when a state of happiness suddenly changes into suffering. eg one moment happy and the next moment an enemy steal our wealth.

c) Pervading Suffering - associated with the disliked;

- Separation from the liked

- Not getting what one's wanted.

What causes the suffering? The 6 Principles of Afflictions/ Defilements:

a) Anger

b) Attachment

c) Ignorance

d) Doubt

e) Wrong views

f) Pride/petty ego

These rob us of happiness. The work of removing these afflictions has to proceed in a methodical way.  By investigating how it lies within our power to remove their support.  This root is ignorance which hold them in place. Wisdom can be cultivated to replace ignorance.  It comes through a set of conditions which we have the power to develop.  These conditions are mental factors, components of consciousness which fits together into a structure called a path for movement leading to a goal. The goal here is the end of suffering and the path leading to it is the Noble Eightfold Path. 

A Story about Rebirth

Chanting in the 6th century 

August 9, 2008 by theravadin

Just recently i came across this fascinating story, which is especially valuable 
 to those among you who read or chant pali texts:

Dhammaruwan Story :
Dhammaruwan was born in a small village near Kandy , Sri Lanka in November, 1968. From the age of about two, before he could read or write , he spontaneously started to chant the ancient Buddhist scriptures in the original pali language , known only to a few scholar monks.

Each day, somewhere around two o’clock in the morning, after sitting in meditation with his adopted and devoted Buddhist foster father for about twenty to forty minutes, he would spontaneously start to chant pali suttas. On the Poya or lunar Observance day, he would sometimes chant for two hours.

Dhammaruwan’s foster father started making amateur recording of the chanting and invited prominent scholar monk to listen. The monk verified that it was indeed the ancient pali language and the boy were chanting it in an ancient style which no longer existed in world.

That a young boy shows signs of having been a Buddhist monk in his former live is not that unusual by itself. See related past-life memories captured in these scientific studies. But this boy remembered a life from the 6th century, during a phase in medieval Sri Lanka where Buddhism florished and pali learning and scholarship reached a peak:

At the age of three in “Kelstan” Kandy he started to chant a certain verse of “Dammacca Sutta” (“Chakkukarani Nayanakarani….”). Ever since that day he has been chanting suttas from the tripitaka (Pali Canon) with little or no mistakes. 

The chanting style of these suttas are his own and nowhere else to be found or trace back to. As the child grew in age and was able to speak more, he related where he learnt this particular style of chanting the suttas and how he was able to chant such deep and profound suttas, which even an adult find difficult to chant precisely. He has said that in 6th century A.C. he together with few monks accompanied the scholar Monk, Bhadanthachariya Buddhagosa to Sri Lanka. He has said that including him (Mudithagosa) the others were monks who had by-hearted the tripitaka or part of it. He says it is from this memory that he chants the suttas by recollecting that life. Until the age of 10 he was able to chant the suttas. The earliest recorded chanting was at the age of three.
 
If you like to listen to his chantings here is a beautiful website which provides the chantings for download or online listening: www.pirith.org
Here a sample which is my favorite
If you know some pali you will quickly recognize that this young boy’s stress and intonation goes according to the meaning of the texts. Even scholars reading the suttas sometimes will put in stops where – according to the meaning – you need to continue and vice versa. Not so this three year old boy. Chanting the Dhammacakka sutta like he does, in my opinion, could only be done, if you

1. learnt the text by heart
2. know pali very well so as to know the meaning while chanting
3. chanted the text a million times.

Anyway, the chanting style he uses is definitely closer to the texts as something like this which is the current style of chanting in Sri Lanka and sounds more like a mixture of Tibetan monks meeting in a mosque
So, what happened to Dhammaruwan? I was curious to find out more about him, expecting him to have become a monk in this life too. Almost These days Dhammaruwan is an experienced meditator and founded a very support-worthy meditation center in central Sri Lanka (called “Nirodha” – good choice).

Proof of Meditation Benefit

Harvard Yoga Scientists Find Proof of Meditation Benefit

By Makiko Kitamura - Nov 22, 2013

Scientists are getting close to proving what yogis have held to be true for centuries -- yoga and meditation can ward off stress and disease.

While hundreds of studies have been conducted on the mental health benefits of yoga and meditation, they have tended to rely on blunt tools like participant questionnaires, as well as heart rate and blood pressure monitoring. Only recently have neuro-imaging and genomics technology used in Denninger’s latest studies allowed scientists to measure physiological changes in greater detail. John Denninger, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, is leading a five-year study on how the ancient practices affect genes and brain activity in the chronically stressed. His latest work follows a study he and others published earlier this year showing how so-called mind-body techniques can switch on and off some genes linked to stress and immune function.

“There is a true biological effect,” said Denninger, director of research at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of Harvard Medical School’s teaching hospitals. “The kinds of things that happen when you meditate do have effects throughout the body, not just in the brain.”

  
The government-funded study may persuade more doctors to try an alternative route for tackling the source of a myriad of modern ailments. Stress-induced conditions can include everything from hypertension and infertility to depression and even the aging process. They account for 60 to 90 percent of doctor’s visits in the U.S., according to the Benson-Henry Institute. The World Health Organization estimates stress costs U.S. companies at least $300 billion a year through absenteeism, turn-over and low productivity.

 

Seinfeld, Murdoch

The science is advancing alongside a budding “mindfulness” movement, which includes meditation devotees such as Bill George, board member of Goldman Sachs Group and Exxon Mobil Corp., and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch recently revealed on Twitter that he is giving meditation a try.

As a psychiatrist specializing in depression, Denninger said he was attracted to mind-body medicine, pioneered in the late 1960s by Harvard professor Herbert Benson, as a possible way to prevent the onset of depression through stress reduction. While treatment with pharmaceuticals is still essential, he sees yoga and meditation as useful additions to his medical arsenal.

 

Exchange Program

It’s an interest that dates back to an exchange program he attended in China the summer before entering Harvard as an undergraduate student. At Hangzhou University he trained with a tai chi master every morning for three weeks.

“By the end of my time there, I had gotten through my thick teenage skull that there was something very important about the breath and about inhabiting the present moment,” he said. “I’ve carried that with me since then.”

His current study, to conclude in 2015 with about $3.3 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, tracks 210 healthy subjects with high levels of reported chronic stress for six months. They are divided in three groups.

One group with 70 participants perform a form of yoga known as Kundalini, another 70 meditate and the rest listen to stress education audiobooks, all for 20 minutes a day at home. Kundalini is a form of yoga that incorporates meditation, breathing exercises and the singing of mantras in addition to postures. Denninger said it was chosen for the study because of its strong meditation component.

Participants come into the lab for weekly instruction for two months, followed by three sessions where they answer questionnaires, give blood samples used for genomic analysis and undergo neuro-imaging tests.

 

‘Immortality Enzyme’

Unlike earlier studies, this one is the first to focus on participants with high levels of stress. The study published in May in the medical journal PloS One showed that one session of relaxation-response practice was enough to enhance the expression of genes involved in energy metabolism and insulin secretion and reduce expression of genes linked to inflammatory response and stress. There was an effect even among novices who had never practiced before.Harvard isn’t the only place where scientists have started examining the biology behind yoga.

In a study published last year, scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles and Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn found that 12 minutes of daily yoga meditation for eight weeks increased telomerase activity by 43 percent, suggesting an improvement in stress-induced aging. Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco, shared the Nobel medicine prize in 2009 with Carol Greider and Jack Szostak for research on the telomerase “immortality enzyme,” which slows the cellular aging process.

 

Build Resilience

Not all patients will be able to stick to a daily regimen of exercise and relaxation. Nor should they have to, according to Denninger and others. Simply knowing breath-management techniques and having a better understanding of stress can help build resilience.

 “A certain amount of stress can be helpful,” said Sophia Dunn, a clinical psychotherapist who trained at King’s College London. “Yoga and meditation are tools for enabling us to swim in difficult waters.”