Stabbing people's hearts
When speaking to a group of young Americans who had just opened up a Buddhist meditation center, [Ajahn Chah] also added the caveat, “You will succeed in truly spreading the Buddhadhamma here only if you are not afraid to challenge the desires and opinions of your students (literally, “to stab their hearts”). If you do this, you will succeed; if you do not, if you change the teachings and the practice to fit the existent habits and opinions of people out of a misguided sense of wanting to please them, you will have failed in your duty to serve in the best way possible.”
-- Ajahn Chah, quoted by Amaro Bhikkhu in the Introduction to "Food for the Heart"
Emperor Wu: "I have built many temples, copied innumerable Sutras and ordained many monks since becoming Emperor. Therefore, I ask you what is my merit?"
Bodhidharma: "None whatsoever!"
Emperor Wu: "What then is the most important principle of Buddhism?"
Bodhidharma: "Vast emptiness. Nothing sacred."
Emperor Wu was doubtless quite upset by the first response of Bodhidharma. He has been investing vast resources in spreading the dharma, and all his priests have been telling him for years these actions were accumulating for him a huge horde of bright karma.
To have this lowly monk tell him that none of that is true must have felt like a stab to the heart. The Emperor was clearly proud of his earthly achievements, and his question was a transparent setup for one more pleasant stroke to his ego, yet another affirmation of his merit, to which he was evidently attached.
Instead, Bodhidharma drops the floor from under him: "None whatsoever!"
Technically, that's a little exaggerated. Even in the Pali Canon, the Buddha repeatedly emphasized that taking such actions to spread the dharma should reflect in bright karma. Zen teachers never denied this.
What Bodhidharma meant was that accumulating bright karma is not the core of the Buddhist path. The Eightfold Path is not aimed at gaining bright karma and being reborn in some celestial heaven of sensual delight. It is aimed at Nibbana.
The emperor, at the advice of his priests, allowed himself to become complacent. Bodhidharma was attempting to shock him out of this complacency.
Similarly, I have no aversion towards people who keep shrines. It is touching to see someone whose life may otherwise be quite mundane, perhaps rough and laden with suffering, trying to establish a small refuge for himself, away from all that.
I can see how it can be an instrument helping one orient towards Buddhist thought and practice. In that sense, it can support Buddhist practice, and the title of my last post can be seen as a little exaggerated (though not quite so much as Bodhidharma's phrasing!).
Still, it's worthwhile for us to remember that this is not what Buddhist practice is inherently about. Emperor Wu built numerous shrines, copied countless sutras, ordained and maintained very large numbers of Buddhist monks. But none of that was practice in itself.
He may have accumulated vast troves of karma for these actions, but all that would only mean another rebirth. According to the Canon, celestial births are typically followed by births in hell. Samsara is a cycle, and the heavens, while pleasant, offer no refuge from anicca and dukkha.
The core of Buddhist teachings is the Eightfold Path. That includes observing moral principles, meditation, mindfulness, and gaining true wisdom. If you have a shrine, that's fine. I also keep material instruments to help my study, like my kindle and my laptop. However, the focus should be on practice.
In my humble opinion, of course. I'm not a teacher, not enlightened, you really shouldn't care too much what I say, etc.
[link] [comments]
from Buddhism https://ift.tt/2PYMjzR
Post a Comment