Buddhist Meditation
Systematic and Practical
CW35
Chapter
I
REASONS FOR WESTERN INTEREST IN THE PRACTICE OF MEDITATION
A Talk by the Buddhist Yogi
C. M. CHEN
Written Down by
REVEREND B. KANTIPALO
First Published in 1967
HOMAGE TO THE
BUDDHA SAKYAMUNI AND THE THREE GEMS
Chapter I
REASONS FOR
WESTERN INTEREST IN THE PRACTICE OF MEDITATION
We had brought with us a
bagful of young sweet maize grown in the Vihara garden as a gift to Mr. Chen
upon our second meeting. He accepted them smiling and with many thanks,
immediately taking them to his shrine room as an offering to the Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas. One fine piece he took out of the bag and, opening his back door,
he placed it in a little box high up on the wall, as a gift to the Four Great Heavenly
Kings finely depicted there in miniature. They guard the entrance to every
Tibetan Buddhist monastery just as they do the Yogi's shrine. After answering a
number of questions upon a previous topic, Mr. Chen excused himself and made a
brief salutation to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and guardian deities, for we were
about to talk and write on Dharma, a serious matter. When he had completed
this, we made a start on this chapter. Mr. Chen seemed to be particularly
exalted, as exalted as the nature of his opening section. It was not easy to
keep up with him as the information flowed out. It is hoped that everything he
said has been caught here.
I am very
thankful to you for your suggestion that I should speak on the reasons people
are interested in practicing Buddhist meditation. You have come from afar to
listen and write. Once when the Buddha was about to preach, he noted
Vimalakirti's absence from the assembly, and although he could have preached
much more thoroughly himself, out of humility he sent his Prince of Dharma, Manjusri,
to hear the words of the famed lay Bodhisattva. In the same way, you were born
in the noble country of
England
,
and although you know all this much better than I, still you have humbly come
from a great distance and I must speak.
Mr. Chen is pointing out
here that it is the duty of not only the ordained Sangha to preach the Dharma,
but it is also an obligation of the layman to do so if he is able.
The last time
our talk was from the outside inward; today it will be the reverse, and in this
chapter we shall go from the remote to the immediate cause of the interest of
the West in practicing meditation.
A. REMOTE CAUSE—BY REASON OF THE DHARMA-NATURE
The
Dharma-nature is unlimited by either space or time, and neither East nor West
imposes any limits upon it. The Buddha's Dharmakaya embraces the Dharmadhatu
and neither East nor West is outside it. There is no correspondence between
place and mind, and the dharmas of mind do not depend on direction, race, or
geography. In the Abhidharma of the
Idealist
School
, dharmas are
divided into five groups, and this point is clearly stated in the fourth group,
containing 24 elements dissociated from mind (citta-viprayukta-samskara).
Everybody,
therefore, may receive the blessings of the Dharmakaya (see the Sutra of Wei
Lang, translated by Wong Mou Lam). It appears everywhere, in every time, and in
every being; therefore, there is certainly no reason why a Westerner or any
other person in any place would be unable to practice Buddhist meditation, as
the foundation for it is everywhere present. At every point there is North,
South, East, and West, even to the sides of a finger (to demonstrate which Mr.
Chen held up a rounded hand), and so there are many of these directions all
relative to one another. How, then, is it possible for anyone not to receive
the Dharmakaya's grace?
(Note: We
should not make the same mistake as some scholars, who have equated this
Dharmakaya with the Creator-God of theistic religions. To do so is to confuse a
God who knows he is God, and moreover knows (or rather imagines) that he has
created all things at a particular time, which is a dualistic position, with
the omnipresent and superpersonal Dharmakaya, neither creating nor destroying,
void (sunya) in its nature and therefore nondual. The various "creators"
are worshiped only by their followers, but the Dharmakaya is the fundamental
nature of everything and of every person, throughout all time and quite beyond
space-time limitations.)
B. BY REASON OF DHARMA-CONDITIONS
By "Dharma-conditions"
is meant all the predictions of the past, the events then, the basic possession
by all religions of a common factor, and the correspondences between Western
religion and Buddhadharma. Let me explain these four points in detail.
1. It has
been foretold by many Buddhist sages that the Dharma would go to the West and
flourish there. Among Tibetans there is a well-known saying, "When the
iron bird flies everywhere, then my Dharma will go to the West." This I
heard from my esteemed Guru, Ganga Rinpoche, who quoted it as being the words
of the Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava.
More evidence
comes from a holy place near Xi Kang called Padmagong, the
Lotus
Mountain
.
This is not found on any map, nor is it controlled by any government, for the
local people are fierce and no one dares to go there. Through that land one may
only pass with the mantra of Padmasambhava. The country is unusual in that,
viewed from the mountains, the land looks like a lotus in bloom, but only
two-dimensional. The prophecy about it is that if this lotus should rise up,
that is, become three-dimensional, then it is a sure sign that the Dharma is
going to the West. According to some reports, this has happened and the prophecy
is now being fulfilled.
Furthermore,
the Tibetan consort of Padmasambhava, Yeshe Tsogyal, wrote down many secret
teachings which were then hidden away in all sorts of places—caves, buildings,
and stupas. Several of these have been taken out or discovered by great Lamas.
One of these, the Mahamayavajra initiation ritual, was once found by a sage of Xi
Kang. It next appeared in an old bookshop in
New York
, but how it got there is a mystery.
Since the man who purchased it did not know Tibetan and was interested in
publishing it, he asked my friend, Mr. Chen-Chi Chang, to translate it. When
Mr. Chang read the ritual describing certain secret practices not suitable for
commercial publication, he noticed a colophon that foretold that when this
Dharma was discovered, the true teachings would pass to Western lands. Not only
has this happened and is still continuing, but the very manuscript has found its
way there! It was also prophesied that after some time I should preach the
Buddha's word to the Western world, and now here you are both from
England
,
writing this book which will be read by many people there—so is it not true?
Many other
Tibetan books and teachers say the same thing regarding the Dharma and I shall
not tire you with too many examples.
2. It is the
rule of Bodhisattvas always to remain in the world to preach the Dharma, and
such wisdom-beings may be born in the East or in the West; location makes no
difference. So you have come here, both so earnest as bhikshus and strong in
your determination to practice the Buddha's teachings….
As to past
events, the West has now a long history, and just as there have been many
saints in Christianity, so there will be many Buddhist sages born in that
region. For where can the Dharma come from now?
With his voice trembling
and his eyes moist, the Yogi's concern for afflicted Buddhadharma was plain to
see.
In
India
the true
Dharma lasted long, but except for the work of a few in the present time, it
would now be unknown. I appreciate very much Mahabhikshu Sangharaksita's
efforts to restore it. Buddhism in
China
is now nearly gone. With little remaining Dharma in either
India
or
China
, where can the Buddhist
teaching flourish?
These
words were spoken with eyes full of tears.
Ancient sages
have said that in every period there is a center of Dharma, sometimes in this
country, sometimes elsewhere, and in different times and places this center
will be predominantly teaching one of the great yanas. Now the Dharma center
has long been established in the West and so has laid down very good
foundations.
Another point
is this. The English were the rulers of
India
for a long time and often seemed to regard
Tibet
as though it were their
possession also. But they also treated the Tibetans well on the whole and
allowed them to come and go freely. The Dalai Lamas have usually liked the
English better than the Chinese, who were their nominal rulers, and His
Holiness, the thirteenth incarnation of the Dalai Lama, was very friendly
towards
England
.
Tibet
became known as a holy land and was highly regarded by students of Oriental
religion. Many scholars were able to visit the country and study the Dharma
there. In this way, quite a wide knowledge was gained of Buddhadharma.
3. It is also
a Dharma-condition that all religions have the same basis as Buddhism: they all
possess its first yana. This is called "heaven-and-man" Dharma, and
we can see at once that it exists in every religion. It is the way to the Deva-worlds
preached in Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism; it is the Paradise of Islam and
the Heaven of Christianity. Therefore, this kind of foundation for Buddhism is
established everywhere, and Buddhists of the West should not think of rejecting
Christ's teaching because of this. (See Chapter II and Appendix III, II, A).
In different
countries Buddhism has had a different basis; in
India
it was Hinduism. Note the
Lord Buddha's numerous preachings to many Brahmans about the way to the
Brahma-worlds, when he used the same terms found in their systems but gave them
quite different meanings. Similar methods were employed in
China
, where
the teachings of Confucius and Lao-tzu were its foundations. Before a Buddha's
preachings are heard in any country, some wise men are sent by the gods to make
good preparation for it.
This seemed a very good
interpretation of the many religions in different lands, according to which
other religions are "expedient teachings" until people are ripe for
the Saddharma. Both listener and transcriber looked up and exchanged glances of
appreciation.
4. We now
turn to the correspondences between Western religion and the Buddhadharma. The
history of the East-West relationship opened at the time of Alexander the
Great. Buddhist missionaries, aided by the slightly later efforts of Asoka,
spread the Dharma even to
Macedonia
,
Cyrene
, and
Epirus
, through the states of the
Greek-Asiatic successors of the great conqueror. The Dharma appears to have
been quite well established in
Egypt
.
Especially in the area of
Alexandria
,
that center of spiritual ferment, early Christian writers speak, though rather
vaguely, about the Buddha and the sramaneras, his monastic disciples. But we
have very scant records of this because of later ages of destruction, first by
the Christians when they came to power and later by the Muslims who conquered
them.
It is
possible that bhikshus from these Western lands may have gone on pilgrimages to
India
or
Ceylon
, for in the Chronicle of Ceylon (Mahavamsa XXX:39) there is mention of a place called Alasandra, thought by some scholars
to mean
Alexandria
in
Egypt
.
A remarkable
find was reported to have been made by a Russian explorer in the Hemis Gompa (vihara)
in Ladakh. This was supposed to be a manuscript giving a brief account of Jesus'
life in
India
in or near
Sindh, where he is said to have studied for six years, returning at the age of
twenty-nine to
Israel
.
The book that gives this knowledge,
La
Vie
inconnue de Jesus-Christ, by Nicolas Notovitch (
Paris
1894), though rare now, is widely known in
India
in its
English translation. (The manuscript from which it was derived has not been
found, nor is anything about its existence known to the Ven. Kushok Bakkula of
Ladakh, so that this evidence must remain open to doubt.)
There are, of
course, a number of places where similes used in Buddhist works have close
parallels with the parables of Jesus. It is a possibility that some connection
exists between them, and that Jesus may have drawn upon material from the
Far East
to illustrate his meaning. The following are
among the most striking, and as they have been fully commented upon elsewhere,
they will receive only brief mention here. There are similarities between the
following: the parable of the two sons (Luke 15:11-32) and the simile of the
burning house (Saddharmapundarika Sutra); the parable of the sower (Mark 4:2-25)
and farmer Bharadvaja (Sutta Nipata); the parable of the blind men (Matthew 15:14)
and the string of blind men (TevijjaSutta, i 15); and lastly, the teaching of
heavenly treasures (Matthew 6:19-20) is paralleled by a verse from the Khuddakapatha.
John the
Baptist's life and some of the sayings of Jesus (on John see Mark 1:6, and on
Jesus, Mark 6:8-9, Matthew 10:9-10, Luke 9:3) point to Far Eastern influence in
Israel at that time which may have come in by way of the Essenes,
definitely a sect with Oriental inspiration, though it would be difficult to
say that this was specifically Buddhist. The spirit here is certainly different
from the Old Testament prophets' teachings.
At that time,
men worshipped "heaven-and-man" Dharma and were not prepared for
anything going beyond this, so we should give serious consideration to John 16:12,
"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now,"
which clearly indicates that Jesus knew much more than he could tell his
disciples, and may point to the existence of an esoteric doctrine secretly
transmitted, as claimed by followers of the Gnostic schools. Such "hidden
teaching" could well have been derived from
India
, where at that time Buddhism
was in its ascendance.
Coming to
modem times, many travelers from the West have remarked how similar to Catholic
rituals the practices of Vajrayana Buddhism are. Usually, though, such
travelers' knowledge of the Dharma has been rather slight and their comparisons
therefore superficial.
Mr. Chen, absorbed in
his appraisal of Christian and Buddhist resemblances, here looked from the
transcriber to see the smiling young postman standing outside; he had only been
waiting for a minute or less, but Mr. Chen profusely and warmly apologized for
keeping him, and, taking his letters, went on.
Much good
work was already done in the last century and a true flood of books was
published, slowly making knowledge of the Dharma available to more and more
people. But the flood of books then is only a trickle compared with the torrent
today, many of these latter being reliable accounts of different sides of the
Buddha's teachings.
C. BY REASON OF THE DECLINE OF CHRISTIANITY
Many examples
may be given here to show that this decline in Western religion not only makes
the practice of Buddhism possible (since dogmatic authority is now weakened),
but also makes it necessary, as people are wandering without any true guidance.
A few contributing factors may be mentioned that have helped to loosen the grip
which Christian teachings had over people.
1. The
awakening of the scientific spirit with such men as Copernicus and Galileo did
much to weaken Church authority, for they rejected the Church's absolute dogmas
regarding "science." In particular, such men demolished the notion of
the Earth and its highest being, man, as the center of the universe. This was a
valuable step forward in mankind's thought, giving him a greater ability to
judge his place in the universe more truly than had been possible with blind
men-centered dogmas. From that time on, when the Church's authority was thus challenged,
it began to decline.
2. The
Renaissance led to skeptical disbelief in the definitions and, later, the
origins of many things held by pious medieval Christians to be indisputable
truths. Artists of that period wanted freedom from Church restraints in the
arts generally, and particularly in literature. Escape from the control of the
Church was aided by the revival of Greek literature among European scholars,
thus giving them ideas as to how philosophers and playwrights thought and wrote
before the era of Christianity and its elaboration in medieval scholastic
philosophy.
3. An
outright rejection of the Church of Rome came in the Reformation, after which
Catholics could no longer pretend to be the only authoritative religious body
in
Western Europe
, even though they continue
to claim that their teachings are the exclusive way to salvation. Among the
Protestants there were early divisions, leading to the tendency to divide into
many sects, each one claiming to possess some new revelation or superior truth.
Since these claims are not based upon genuine religious experience, but merely
upon differing views, the real meaning of religion has been forgotten and this
sectarianism has only led to increasing degeneration. Now we find that members
of the YMCA, for example, will only come to church by force of habit—or worse,
only if they are persuaded by some sensual attraction such as films, dances, or
parties. This approach might be called "Come to church and have a good
time"; but nothing is said about salvation or religion. What all this
means is that currently there is little true religion, even of the "heaven-and-man"
variety, in the West.
4. To return
to the science of this century, its development has been very rapid and in many
fields it has rejected the traditional Christian teachings. One outstanding
example is the theory of evolution, first propounded by
Darwin
, which clearly rejects the mythical
story of creation authorized by the Bible. The scientific method, far from
finding evidence for the Creator, has been quite unable to give an absolute God
any place in the universe that he is supposed to have created; indeed, he
appears these days to exist precariously only in the scientifically uneducated
reaches of his "creation." (God's creation of the world is a view
which Buddhists recognize to be delusive, as the world is "created"
by avidya [ignorance] and trsna [craving], not by an omniscient deity.)
A recent
theory has also opposed the static ideas of Christianity: the dynamic concept
of matter-energy propounded in the theory of relativity. With this teaching,
Einstein has not only destroyed all notions of an eternally unchanging absolute
creator, but has also prepared the way for the Buddhadharma with its stress on
impermanence and a spiritual, dynamic relativity.
Here, a story came to
Mr. Chen's mind and this he told us at some length:
A Chinese
professor of no strong religious faith, Dr. Tian-Gen Peng, studied this theory
personally with Einstein. When he returned to
China
, he chanced to read the Heart
Sutra, where the Buddha has clearly preached relativity, though in a spiritual
sense, much deeper than the scientific theory. He at once recognized the
similarity between the two and so gained belief in the Buddha's teachings on
relativity, but still he could not understand and believe in rebirth. Hearing
of me, the professor tried several times to make contact, but at that time I
was dwelling alone in a cave near Xi Kang and my friend and protector, the
Provincial Governor, allowed no one to disturb me.
During the
Sino-Japanese War, the Central Government, which was in great danger,
eventually called upon masters of yoga to help repel the invaders by invoking
the power of whatever fierce deities they might be propitiating.
Mr.
Chen smiled gently at this and said:
I was also
asked to help but replied that I must first go and consult my Guru, Papung
Khyentse Rinpoche. On the way to see my teacher we met the professor, who also
chanced to be traveling that way. He was very pleased, and said, "Now I
have an opportunity to ask you some questions, and you can resolve my doubts."
He told me that he had been to many teachers in
China
(including Venerable Tai Xu
and Venerable Xu Yun) with questions on rebirth but they had not been able to
convince him by their answers.
I told him
that even in the present we are transmigrating, we go from birth to birth, even
while we are awake, and this continues when we sleep. When after a lifetime of
awakening and sleeping we come to death, how then should it be different? As
there are dreams in the night following the experiences of the day, so at our
death, because of the store of deeds committed, our karma leads us on from life
to life.
Furthermore,
rebirth is like this: when you are enjoying your wife, then your mind is at the
animal level; if she makes some mistake and you want to kill her, then you have
sunk down into the hells; if a beggar comes and you give him alms, then that is
heaven; but if you see someone else doing good deeds and are envious, you go to
the migration of the asura-demons; if you do not do anything very good or bad,
then you keep the human state; if you are greedy and give your servant
inadequate food and payment, you are in the realm of the hungry ghosts. Thus,
there is nothing more real about this life than any other, since we find upon
examining it that it is composed of many levels of existence.
Many events
of the daytime are stored in the subconscious and these are dreamed of at
night: this goes on day and night until death. As the dream continues from the
daytime, so life continues after death.
The professor
was quite convinced by this, but another doubt worried him. He had no belief in
supernormal powers; he said, "When there are natural laws governing
things, how can spiritual forces exist?" He questioned me further, saying,
"I am sure you must have these powers, so please try and make some
mischief for me." I strongly denied having any such ability and asked why
l should want to harm him. However, I prayed heartily to all the Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas and asked them to convince this man so that he might become a true
Buddhist. At once he began to suffer from a severe headache. "It's all
right," I assured him, and at the same moment the pain went. "You
have power," he declared, which I denied again, telling him that it may
have been the power of the Buddhas and had nothing at all to do with me. His
doubts regarding supernormal powers were then resolved and his faith in
Buddhism strengthened.
That night,
at the inn where we sleeping, he told me that he wanted to see the Buddha in a
dream and asked me to help him. But at night, as I told him, I only invoke the
guardian deities to protect us through the hours of darkness, and not the
Buddha, whose puja I do in the morning. I trusted that he might be fortunate,
for our ways parted the next day.
In the
morning he awoke delighted, as he had very distinctly dreamed of a green horse.
I told him to go to the Dzogchen Gompa of the Nyingmapas. In that shrine he
would see an image of the deity called Horse-headed Vajra, a green emanation of
Amitabha Buddha, and then inquire whether there was a good teacher in charge. I
told him that if there were, he should take from him the Refuges (four:
Vajrayana Guru, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha). He wanted to take these from me,
as he now regarded me as his teacher, but I did not allow him to do so as I am
not a guru and have never accepted any disciples. Since that time I have not
seen him and do not know whether he is alive or dead.
As more
educated people like this professor hold only vague beliefs, so there is room
in their hearts for knowledge of and faith in Buddhadharma.
D. IMMEDIATE CAUSE—BY REASON OF STRESSES IN
WESTERN DAILY LIFE
Many people
now believe only in science and its instruments, most of which seem to be used
to increase desires. There are so many advertisements in newspapers and by the
roadside tempting people to buy more and more things. Other desires are
awakened by the "yellow press," pornography, cheap and nasty
entertainments over the radio and television, and bad music arousing sensual
desires. None of this is strictly controlled by the government but it is all in
the hands of the merchants with their selfish desire to make more money. It is
often difficult to publish really good books, as only trashy literature brings
in much money. From all these examples we can see that mammonism is already
very strong.
The interest
of the multitude is not in the evils of sinning, for they have already rejected
God and so can easily neglect his commandments; their only interest is having
freedom to do as they please. Unrestrained freedom is now the aim of many
foolish people who do not realize that they will not get happiness from this,
but instead will only increase their miseries. So we see men and women freely
having improper relations with one another; the pursuit of fame; money gained
by wrongful methods, and the exalting of physical beauty, as in the elections
for Miss Europe, Miss World, etc., so easily leading to the degradation of the
individuals taking part.
Science has
also developed many instruments of communication, which also lead from one
desire to the next, thus: a bicycle is not enough, buy a car; even a car is not
enough; go more quickly by plane. Now all barriers of distance are broken down
and a person can easily be in contact with the whole world. In spite of being
able to do everything so easily and quickly, people are not happy. For them
every day becomes a struggle and tension mounts up in mind and body. We can see
how common this is from the number of books dealing with "relaxation."
People want to relax because they are tense, but such books do not get to the
root of why they are tense; they only tell people very common things and there
is nothing satisfying in them. There are no books of this sort in
China
.
If you want
more reasons for meditating and taking refuge in the Buddha, then think of all
the terrors of modern so-called civilization. Medical science is now very well
developed; so well, that people now have no fear of disease from casual sexual
relationships. They can commit these immoral acts without fear of consequences,
so they become more lustful. There need be no children from such unions, so
people become even more unrestrained. Newspapers often print lust-arousing news
and pictures. That this gutter-press is extremely popular we can easily see by
comparing their circulation figures with those of high quality newspapers. Then
there is the scramble for power, material possessions, money, position, and
fame—all resulting in greater worry, diseases of the body, insanity, and so
forth.
Besides
greed, we should remember that another aspect is encouraged by our misnamed "civilized
state." When people do not get what they want, they hate. They hate
anything that stands in the way of the fulfillment of desire. There being many
desires, naturally many will be frustrated, and when this happens hatred is the
result. Moreover, this hatred is fostered in many ways: by horror-comics, films
of war and violence, crime books, and, in time of war, by official mass
propaganda.
War itself
increases hate, anger, violence, and crime books, and wars become ever bigger
and more disastrous. The after-effect of wars is not "glorious victory"
and "everlasting peace," but only murder, theft, looting, rape,
sadistic violence, poverty, disease, starvation…, and thus more wars in
revenge, and thus more hatred.
Going along
with greed and hatred, there is always fear: either of losing what is "mine"—my
body, wife, family, house, car, work, fame, or influence—or of getting
something painful and unwelcome—blame, disease, old age, decay, and death. Is
it surprising that some people are afraid of losing their minds; or that
abortion, illegitimacy, youth delinquency, drunkenness, drug addiction, and
suicide are worst in those countries with the highest standards of living?
All this is
because people are blind and overcome by ignorance, and wander quite lost in
this precious human life, not knowing what should be done with it. Instead they
sink lower and lower and, blinded by delusion, become increasingly unlike men
and more like animals.
Wise men say
that you must turn back from all this. What is the way back? By way of
meditation. Where is meditation most fully and thoroughly taught? In
Buddhadharma. This is the way to freedom, which cannot be gained either through
the liberties granted by governments, or by doing simply as one wishes. Freedom
gained by the control and concentration of the mind is there for everyone to
have if they want it. The basis of real freedom is everywhere; the meditations
to realize the Dharmakaya are open for all to practice. Happily, many people in
the world are becoming aware of the cause of dukkha (suffering,
unsatisfactoriness) and that this way preached by the Buddhas is the solution
of their problems, and the way to peace, freedom, and happiness.
SUMMARY
Because of
the first reason, the ubiquity of Dharma-nature, there is no limitation of
space or time to our practice and realization. This situation is like an empty
building plot which has an excellent, strong foundation already laid in it (the
Dharmakaya).
The
Dharma-conditions may be compared to a house built upon this. However, the
rooms of the house are bare, and the whole building quite deserted (since the
decline of Christianity).
Therefore,
many may enter in and take shelter there (from the strains of modern life) by taking
refuge in the Triple Gem.
We have
discussed the objective supports for Buddhist meditation, especially in
relation to Western lands. In our next talk we come to the subjective reasons
for the practice of meditation, as well as its ultimate purpose.
Then Mr. Chen, as he was
seeing us out, said, "Please complete this, as you know it all much better
than I." To this we protested. Bhadanta Sangharaksita saying that after
all, Vimalakirti's sermon was much better than Manjusri's preaching.