Buddhist Perspective on Vegetarian Diet

Buddhist Perspective on Vegetarian Diet
The Buddhist perspective on vegetarianism is one rich in moral history and perspective. Many of the worlds problems of the health and environment problems could be solved by utilizing a strict vegetarian diet. “Vegetarianism, "a natural and logical ramification of the moral precept against the taking of life"(5-1) is a diet that includes no animal meat. In modern terms, we might use the word "vegan" to describe the strict Mahayana diet. The term "vegan" refers to one that does not eat any animals, but also any animal products or derivatives, including milk, cheese, honey; or using animal furs, leathers, skins, etc. “A well-planned vegetarian diet has health advantages. Vegetarians are less likely to have heart disease, gallstones, or be overweight. Being overweight is associated with other health problems like adult-onset diabetes, so a vegetarian diet may have additional benefits. Vegetarians are also less likely to have a stroke and certain types of cancer. The Buddha recommended that pure “Bodhisattvas follow this ideal:
[they] who do not wear silk, leather boots, furs, or down ...and who do not consume milk, cream, or butter, can truly transcend this world. Both physically and mentally one must avoid the bodies and the by-products of beings, by neither wearing them nor eating them. I say that such people have true liberation. (6-2)
The Buddhist term; many secular vegans are now adopting ahimsa. Ahimsa refers to the compassionate, non-violent treatment of animals and all sentient beings. Not only does the practice of ahimsa keep the Buddhist on the right path, it also enforces a "better life and better health"(7-3).

“Foods, and the guidelines involving it, play significant roles in the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha talks about how in a past life he had to "eat the grain meant for horses" (6-4) to pay a karma debt. One unusual passage in the Shurangama Sutra tells how the Buddha created "pure meat...a transformation brought into being by my spiritual powers. It basically has no life-force". (6-5) It is believed that the Buddha himself actually died from food poisoning.
‘The ironic paradox of my topic is that in Buddhism - food, eating, and taste are all illusions in the first place, not a part of our true seeing nature. But our true seeing nature, which is distorted by our ignorance, which is caused by the cycle of death and rebirth. All suffering stems from this cycle. And so, ahimsa, the compassionate treatment of animals; and the resulting Buddhist vegetarian diet, are essential to the ending of all suffering and ignorance; and a mandatory practice in the quest for true enlightenment for ourselves and all living beings” (1-6). All sentient beings desire to live. All animals try to escape when being killed for food; like a fish, which is thrown on dry land, taken from his home in the waters, the mind strives and struggles to get free from the power of Death. (7-7-)
When one kills an animal, either directly or indirectly by requesting the meat, s/he is taking the life of a living being (or beings). So to the Buddhist, a butcher is the worst trade. However, as a consumer, purposefully buying or consuming animals is a part of the killing process. By creating demand, it is the same as killing the sentient beings yourself. Doing so goes against the "highest and most universal ideal of Buddhism, [to] work unceasingly for permanent end to the suffering of all living beings, not just humans". (8-8) “The grief and hatred brewed up in a pot of meat stew is as deep as the ocean. It could never be fully described. The wars and massacres in the world are brought about by the convergence of the evil karma of living beings, causing beings to undergo retribution at the same time. If you listen carefully to the cries of misery coming from a slaughter­house in the middle of the night, you will realize the horror of the ceaseless killing that goes on in there.”

“Scientists have discovered that people who eat a great deal of meat tend to get cancer. This is because the resentful energy in the bodies of slaughtered animals accumulates in the bodies of those who eat meat and eventually turns into a harmful toxin. We should cut off this relationship of causes and effects with animals and stop the vicious cycle of creating offenses against cows, sheep, chickens, and other animals. Then we will gradually be able to lessen the inaus­picious energy in the world’ (9-9).
“ Killing for feasts is wrong. At this great event, picture the happy, generous hosts and their honored guests. With vegetarian food and soups on the table, nothing obstructs this pure occasion. What need is there to cruelly wrench the life from many living creatures so that every dish we serve can be rich, fatty food?

Envision musical instruments, and voices rose in song, abundant toasts, and resonant good cheer. Imagine then, if at the table we heard wretched screams of anguish and hatred coming from the butcher's block!

Alas! How could anybody with a human conscience avoid feeling great anguish? Yet the entire world is in the habit of killing, and we don't feel that it is wrong. This is the fifth cause for tears and sobbing, for wails and cries, for deep regrets, and mournful cries.

Since we know that the meat on the plate came from the butcher's chopping block, amid screams of outrage and pain, to swap the animal's extreme misery for my extreme happiness simply makes this food unpalatable. Who could swallow it down! Isn't it simply too sad?” (10-10).
In the Lankâvatara Sutra. For thus it is said: "No flesh must be eaten; so I say to the pitiful Bodhisattva . . .. Because of kinship, because of its wrong, because it is produced by semen and uterine blood, the devotee should avoid flesh as improper for living creatures. The devotee should always avoid flesh, onions, intoxicants of different kinds, garlic of all sorts. He should avoid oil for anointing; he should not sleep on beds with hollow posts or holes or where there is danger for living creatures . . .. For gain a living creature is killed, for meat money is given: both these sinners are burnt in the Raurava Hell and other hells . . ..” And so on to this: "He that eats flesh in transgression of the words of a sage, the man of evil mind, for the destruction of the two worlds, after being dedicated under the gospel of Sâkya, those sinners go to the most awful hell; the flesh-eaters are burnt in terrible hells like Raurava. Flesh free from the three objections, not prepared, unasked, unsolicited, there is none: therefore one should not eat flesh. A devotee should not eat flesh, which is blamed by me and by the Buddhas: members of a family that eats carrion flesh, devour each other." . . . And so on to this: “Ill-smelling and abominable, mad, he is born in a Candâla, or Pukkasa family, amongst low-caste again and again. He is born to one sprung of a female imp, in a flesh-eating family, he is born to a she-bear or a cat, the vile wretch. In the Hastikakshya, the Nirvana, the Angulimàlika, and the Lankavatara Sutra, I have reproved the eating of flesh. By Buddhas and by Bodhisattvas and by religious persons it has been reprehended; if one eats it, he is always born shameless and mad. But by avoiding those who eat flesh men are born among brahmins or in a family of devotees, and one is intelligent and wealthy. In suspicion touching things seen and heard one should avoid all meat; philosophers understand nothing if members of a family that eats carrion flesh. As passion would be an obstacle to deliverance, so would be such things as flesh, or intoxicants. In future time, the eaters of flesh, speakers of delusion, will say that flesh is proper, blameless, praised by the Buddhas. But the pious should take his morsel in moderation, against the grain, like a useful physic, as though .it were the flesh of his own son. I who abide in kindliness have always reprehended this food; [such an one] should keep company with lions and tigers and other beasts. Therefore one should not eat flesh, which disturbs men's natures because it hinders deliverance and righteousness: this is the work of the noble.”

“What I strongly believe is that if a person wants to take joy in the Buddhist way and enter into the mercy and knowledge of the Buddha, he must begin at the dining table. There is a British promoter of vegetarianism named Dr. Walsh who once said that "To prevent human bloodshed one must start at the dinner table." (11-11).
In far more instances, we see the Buddha stating that no living being should be killed or caused to kill.
“For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.”
The Buddha, Lankavatara Sutra
“The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion.”
The Buddha, Mahaparinirvana Sutra
Q: The above quotes and most of the sutras that are pro-vegetarian are from the Mahayana tradition and their scriptures. Are there any pro-vegetarian sutras in the Theravada Pali Canon?
A: The Pali Canon is permeated with sutras that also espouse the virtues of not killing or causing to kill.
“All beings tremble before danger, all fear death. When a man considers this, he does not kill or cause to kill. All beings fear before danger, life is dear to all. When a man considers this, he does not kill or cause to kill.”
Dhammapada, 129-130
“Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins, feeding on the food of the faithful, remain addicted to the enjoyment of stored-up goods such as food, drink, clothing, carriages, beds, perfumes and meat, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such enjoyment.”
Brahmajala Sutra, Digha Nikaya

In the following verse, the Buddha describes the only thing that should be killed:

“What is the one thing, O Gotama, whose killing you approve? Having slain anger, one sleeps soundly; having slain anger, one does not sorrow; the killing of anger, with its poisoned root and honeyed tip: This is the killing the nobles ones praise, for having slain that, one does not sorrow.”
Samyutta Nikaya, chapter 2

In the following verses, we find even more direct causal connections to refrain from meat eating in the Theravada Pali Canon:

“Monks, one possessed of three qualities is put into Purgatory according to his actions. What three? One is himself a taker of life, encourages another to do the same and approves thereof.
Monks, one possessed of three qualities is put into heaven according to his actions. What three? He himself abstains from taking life, encourages another to so abstain, and approves of such abstention.”
Anguttara Nikaya, 3.16

"He should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should he incite another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak, in the world.”
Dhammika Sutta, Sutta Nipata, Khuddaka Nikaya

"Monks, possessing forty qualities one is cast into purgatory . . . he takes life himself, encourages another to do so, approves of taking life, and speaks in praise of thereof . . ." Anguttara Nikaya 10. 213

“The above quotes show that is not just okay to not do the killing yourself, it is also unacceptable to encourage another, approve of another's killing, or speak in praise of it, such as defending the eating of meat.” (12-12)

Vegetarianism and the Environment

Eating less meat and junk food could cut energy use almost in half. An estimated 19 percent of total energy used in the U.S. is taken up in the production and supply of food. By curbing junk food and over-eating, reducing processed food intake, switching to more traditional, organic farming methods and converting to diets lower in meat, that number could be cut to 10 percent. Conventional meat and dairy production is extremely energy intensive. Half of the energy used to make food in the U.S. is spent making animal products - meat, dairy and eggs.

The most accurate calculators (such as the one by the Berkeley Institute of the Environment) take a cradle-to-grave approach, tallying everything related to an individual's consumption. For example, the Berkeley calculator will count not only tailpipe emissions from driving, but also those from a vehicle's manufacture. Most calculators are comparatively simple, counting only driving emissions. Food can also play a large role in a person's carbon footprint. Cows are notorious for their methane emissions, but feeding them also requires fuel and energy. A University of Chicago study found switching from a diet laden with red meat to a vegetarian one can lower a carbon footprint by 1.5 tons. Feast or famine: Meat production and world hunger. The United Nations estimates that 854 million people – nearly 13 percent of the world’s human population – go hungry every day. And the problem is only getting worse. Josette Sheeran, executive director of the UN’s World Food Program, says, “The world’s misery index is rising.” So is our hunger for meat. Every year industrial animal factories in the U.S. feed 157 million metric tons of legumes, cereal and vegetable protein to livestock, resulting in 28 million metric tons of animal protein for human consumption (for a ratio of 5.6 to 1). Nutritious plant-based food that could feed humans instead goes to feed animals in a very inefficient use of resources.





Meat-type chickens

Canada has around 2,800 farms where broiler chickens are raised for meat. Unlike laying chickens used for eggs, broiler chickens are not kept in small cages but roam around large sheds that can house up to 50,000 birds.

According to Canadian Professor of Veterinary Surgery Andrew Fraser, these conditions expose the animals to extreme suffering.

"At the beginning the young chicks have adequate space to move around, but at the end of the seven-week growing period they are under very crowded conditions. As a result of this, many broiler chicks go unnoticed when they become injured or sick and therefore die without attention. In addition, this large population of individuals experiences circumstances occasionally which cause hysteria to spread throughout the birds, with resultant crowding and suffocation of large numbers."

Further, ammonia emitted by the massive buildup of urine and feces in sheds will "irritate the birds' eyes and upper respiratory tract."

Female pigs

Piglets are "due for a few unpleasant surprises in the form of minor surgery. Piglets' tails are usually clipped as a precaution against tail-biting ... Most male piglets are [also] castrated. Castration is done because consumers are thought to find the meat of intact males objectionable."

For six months per year, most sows are confined in crates and stalls in which they cannot turn around. This confinement "can make it impossible for animals to perform natural behaviour .... We sometimes speak of intensively housed pigs suffering from boredom or under-stimulation or thwarting of natural behaviour. The problem is very real. Confinement can also put considerable stress on the legs and hooves of pigs. As a result, lameness and hoof injuries are important problems in some herds."

The Canadian pork industry counters that sows must be confined to prevent them from crushing their piglets, but scientific experts say that "most crushing occurs in the first few days after birth."56 Furthermore, according to a University of Guelph study, an estimated " 30% of growing pigs suffer from ulcers, and between 10 and 40% may eventually die from the ailment." The same study reveals that the high percentage of waste in the pig's diet can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

Dairy cows

People who regard milk as "the perfect food" rarely think about milk as a commercial product – prone to the hazards of mass-production. John Robbins, author of May All Be Fed, puts it well; "The modern-day Bessie is now bred, fed, medicated, inseminated, and manipulated for a single purpose – maximum milk production at a minimum cost."

While sometimes permitted to range in open pasture, dairy cows still spend most of their lives chained by the neck in milk stalls, reduced to lethargic milking machines. Even Ottawa's Experimental Farm, known for relatively "humane" standards, says its dairy cows are chained by the neck 23 hours a day during winter months.

In order to produce milk, a dairy cow must give birth. To maximize their milk supply they are artificially inseminated every year, meaning they are pregnant for a physically demanding 9 months out of every 12. Their calves are traumatically taken from them shortly after birth. The resulting surplus of calves feeds the veal industry.

With genetic manipulation and intensive production technologies, Canadian cows produce an average of 9,519 kg of milk per year7a — seven times more than they would produce naturally. When their milk production wanes after about four years, dairy cows are sent to slaughter where their worn out bodies are ground up into hamburger.

These unnatural conditions make the modern dairy cow highly prone to stress and disease.

Veal calves

Dairy cows must produce offspring every year to keep their milk supply flowing. The result is large surplus of calves. According the Ontario Farm Animal Council, "Veal farming has made it possible to turn by-products of the dairy industry into a positive contribution to our food chain."7b Unfortunately that comes at the expense of the animals involved. Male veal calves are sold to the veal industry and raised in dark sheds. Motherless and alone, they may suffer from anemia, diarrhea, pneumonia, and lameness and see the light of day only on their way to slaughter. Female calves are added to the dairy herd or are slaughtered for the rennet in their stomachs (used to make cheese).

Many calves are isolated in stalls, a practice described by Agriculture Canada as "thought to have a negative effect on animal well-being" in the form of restricted movement and lack of outlet for natural behaviour. As well, "anemia can affect special-fed veal calves during all stages of growth," which is caused by iron reduction to make their flesh pale.

There are approximately 500 – 700 veal farms in Ontario worth about $450 million.
Beef cattle

After being castrated and dehorned, these animals may initially be permitted to run free with their mothers on the open range for 6-11 months. After that period of freedom, however, calves are taken from their mothers, with whom they share a powerful instinctive bond, and are shipped to barren feedlots. On some larger feedlots, thousands of cattle can be lined up side by side in cramped quarters.

Severe heat stress

During severe heat waves, death and suffering among farm animals is both widespread and expected in Canada's pork and poultry industries. Since industry believes that the cost of air conditioning outweighs the economic cost of death, most pigs and chickens are left unprotected when heat waves increase the temperature of their indoor quarters to extreme levels.

In Ontario, the poultry industry reports that hundreds of thousands of hens can be wiped out in a single heat wave, while many more will suffer intensely.
And according to Pork News and Views, "Heat stress usually occurs in hot weather or during periods of physical activity when the pig can no longer maintain its body temperature by panting (pigs have no sweat glands) and the animals' body temperature rises to an uncontrollable level. A pig that is in distress makes loud, deep gasping sounds...."

For animal agriculture, heat stress is so widespread that it's generated a thriving industry: "Ontario presently has some forty-five organizations involved in a large network of dead stock processing."

Traumatic transport

"The final hours for too many animals are unspeakably painful," says the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) in reference to transport of animals to slaughter in Canada. "There isn't the staff to enforce transportation regulations and the penalties have not been stiff enough to discourage careless truckers."

Confirms Agriculture Canada research scientist Dr. David Fraser with reference to pigs, "Several rules of good husbandry may be broken all at once in the few hours before the animals are killed or moved to a new farm." 5 Without question, farm-animal transportation in Canada is fundamentally inhumane.

Animals crippled in transit are sometimes dragged alive from the truck by a chain or rope. For example, livestock rigs do not contain air-cooling systems, meaning millions of animals are exposed to "extreme suffering due to severe heat stress." Approximately 2.5 to 3 million poultry die annually in Canada during shipment to federally inspected slaughterhouses, due to what poultry scientists call primarily "severe heat stress" and additional trauma.

Despite Canada's bitter cold winter, transport vehicles are also not generally equipped with heating systems. "Too often the animals are left unattended for long periods in the back of a freezing cold truck," exposing animals to extreme suffering and even death.

En route, animals may face severe food and water deprivation. Federal regulations allow farm animals to be transported without food or water for 36-72 hours, depending on the species.

Furthermore, overcrowding of animals on vehicles is routine and expected in Canada. According to Pork News and Views "...there should be an adjustment in the number of pigs per load to avoid bruising, stress, and possibly death losses during transit."

The combination of harsh farm life, rough handling and severe overcrowding on trucks is known to cripple large numbers of farm animals in Canada. Animals crippled in transit are "sometimes dragged alive from the truck by a chain or rope." Referring to what the industry calls 'downers', Dr. Gord Doonan, Acting Chief of Humane Transportation, Agriculture Canada, confirms: "This has been a big problem in Canada." In Ontario, for example, approximately 7,000 crippled dairy cows arrive at provincial slaughter plants annually.

Inhumane slaughter

A 1982 survey revealed that animals are abused or inhumanely slaughtered at a majority of Canadian slaughterhouses. Abuses included improper stunning leading to painful slaughter; dragging of crippled animals; leaving crippled animals to die lingering deaths; and castration of boars without anesthetic.

In 1993, another survey recorded improvements in 11 Canadian slaughterhouses representing approximately 40% of hogs and cattle slaughtered. The plants, however, were not selected randomly, meaning unsatisfactory plants could be excluded; all plants received advance notice; and no provincial or poultry plants allowed inspection.19

A 1995 survey of 21 Canadian slaughterhouses was undertaken, but "The itinerary was predetermined by representatives of Agriculture Canada, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, the Canadian Meat Council and the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council." Nonetheless, even this highly controlled survey revealed that some slaughterhouses exposed animals to unreasonable suffering before and during the slaughter process: "Twenty one percent of the livestock plants and half the ritual and poultry plants were out of compliance."

Problems noted included: catheterizing of conscious sheep; bashing of sheep repeatedly with a wooden board; throat-cutting of conscious hens; ineffective throat cutting in ritual plants; extreme pre-slaughter stress for terrified animals, including intense noise, slick floors and tying up of conscious animals.

To industry's credit, the survey reports that at least some problems will be rectified; however, it is likely that similar problems will continue to exist in many other Canadian slaughterhouses, the vast majority of which were not covered in this survey.

Researched and written in March 1996, partially updated May 7, 2005


Factory Farms

In the last few decades, consolidation of food production has concentrated power in the hands of fewer and fewer corporations. Many of today's farms are actually large industrial facilities, not the green pastures and red barns that most Americans imagine. These consolidated operations are able to produce food in high volume but have little to no regard for the environment, animal welfare, or food safety. In order to maximize profits, factory farms often put the health of consumers and rural communities at risk.
Does Industrial Agriculture Feed the World?

Some argue that factory farming is the only way to meet the growing demand for food in the world today, but this is not true.

Industrial production of food has resulted in massive waste,i while hundreds of millions of people still live with hunger.i
Many believe that the answer to global malnutrition and famine is small farms and sustainable agriculture, not industrialized food production.iii

What is a Factory Farm?

The government calls these facilities Concentrated (or Confined) Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines a CAFO as "new and existing operations which stable or confine and feed or maintain for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period more than the number of animals specified" in categories that they list out. In addition, "there's no grass or other vegetation in the confinement area during the normal growing season."

Numbers for both large and medium CAFOs (factory farms) are listed on the EPA's site. A large CAFO includes 1000 cattle (other than dairy, which is 700), 2500 hogs over 55 pounds, or 125,000 chickens (as long as a liquid manure system isn't used). A liquid manure system is when the animal's urine and feces are mixed with water and held either under the facility or outside in huge open air lagoons - these manure systems create a lot of pollution (which many times taxpayers end up paying for). The chickens they refer to are chickens other than laying hens – laying hens must number between 30,000 - 82,000, depending on how the manure is handled.

A medium factory farm (CAFO) has between 300-999 cattle other than dairy (200-699 if dairy), 750-2,499 hogs if 55 pounds or more, and 37,500 to 124,999 chickens (other than hens that lay eggs) if the facility doesn't use a liquid manure handling system.

These industrial facilities share many characteristics, including:

Excessive Size

* Unnaturally large numbers of animals are confined closely together. Cattle feedlots generally contain thousands of animals in one place, while many egg-laying businesses house one million or more chickens. The main animals for such operations are cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys, but this practice is also applied to sheep, goats, rabbits, and various types of poultry.

Disregard for Animal Welfare

* Metal buildings confine animals indoors, with minimal room for normal behaviors and little or no access to sunlight and fresh air.
* Animals are mutilated to adapt them to factory farm conditions. This includes cutting off the beaks of chickens and turkeys (de-beaking), and amputating the tails of cows and pigs (docking).
* Pens and cages restrict the natural behavior and movement of animals. In some cases, such as veal calves and mothering pigs, the animals can’t even turn around.

The Meatrix Parlour! Misuse of Pharmaceuticals

* Low doses of antibiotics are administered regularly to animals in a preemptive move to ward off the diseases bred by unnatural, unsanitary conditions.
* In addition to preventive medicines, animals are fed hormones and antibiotics to promote faster growth.

Mismanagement of Waste

* Excessive waste created by large concentrations of animals is handled in ways that can pollute air and water.
* Man-made lagoons on industrial farms hold millions of gallons of liquid waste, from which contaminants can leach into groundwater. The manure is normally sprayed on crops, but often excessively, leading it to run off into surface waters.
* Nutrients and bacteria from waste can contaminate waterways, killing fish and shellfish and disturbing aquatic ecosystems.

Factory farms are also known as:

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO)

Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO)

Industrial Agricultural Operation (IAO)

Industrial Livestock Operation (ILO)

In conclusion

The following are 5 good reasons one should become a vegetarian.
1. Personal well-being- No disease can come from a balanced vegetarian diet. Medical proof states that all kinds of diseases can spring from meat-eating, while having a vegetarian diet can not only prevent, but help cure many diseases. Our body constitution is also not designed for meat digestion. For example, our teeth and intestine structure are virtually identical to that of herbivorous, not carnivorous animals. Eating animals which die in great fear and hatred, we devour along their toxins of fear and hatred, which affects both our spiritual and physical health.

2. Well-being of animals- Animals live imprisoned and tortured lives before the final horror of being slaughtered. While alive, they suffer from overcrowding, castration and countless other cruelties.

3. Well-being of the environment- Animal-rearing depletes the Earth’s resources of energy, land, crops and water. It also creates large amounts of harmful animal sewage and greenhouse gases..

4. Well-being of fellow humans- More than two-thirds of the Earth’s cropland is used for cultivating animal feed for animals to be slaughtered as meat. No human starvation would exist if animal rearing for the rich meat-consumers was lessened, converting the crops as food for citizens of the Third World Countries.

5. Peace on Earth- Wars, racial riots and other forms of related human unrest are collective karmic results of generated hatred when group-slaughtered animals, which die in great fear and hatred, are reborn as humans.











FOOTNOTES and Kudos:
Information regarding animal cruelty were taken from Toronto Vegetarian Association (TVA)
17 Baldwin St, 2nd floor
Toronto, Ontario M5T 1L1 Canada and Lingyen Mountain Temple is respectful that is to be used for only to copy, distribute and transmit the work.
5-1) The Buddhist Diet- by Michael Ohlsson December 9, 1998
(6-2)Epstein, Dr. Ron, Buddhism A-Z, selection: "liberating living beings"
[http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhist%20Dict/BD%20H%20to%20O.htm]
(6-2)Shurangama Sutra, p.145-7, translation Buddhist Text Translation Society, see: [http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Shurangama/Shurangama.htm]
(7-3)Wu Hung Bhiksu, "The Buddhist Perspective on Animals and Life Conservation...", [http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Buddhist%20Perspective%20on%20Animals.htm]
Religion and Vegetarianism
[http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Shurangama/Shurangama.htm]
(1-6) The Buddhist Diet- by Michael Ohlsson December 9, 1998
(7-7)Dhammapada. p. 34, from [http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~bp239/dhamma.html]
(8-8) Epstein, A Buddhist Perspective on Animal Rights,
[http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism%20and%20Animal%20Rights.htm]

(9-9)The Horror of Taking Lives and Eating Meat by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua” and PART FIVE: IT IS WRONG TO KILL WHEN ENTERTAINING GUESTS talk given on November 20, 1979
(10-10)On Stopping Killing An Essay By Great Master Lianchi Zhuhung 1535-1615 Provisional Translation By Bhikshu Heng Sure

(11-11)A Buddhist Perspective on Vegetarianism
by Lin Ching Shywan, from Vegetarian Cooking -- Chinese Style, 1995

(12-12)www.veggiebuddhist.com

WHICH BUDDHISM IS FOR ME?

The biggest question after considering the practice of Buddhism is what school or teacher do I choose? Choice is really not a thing you must do quickly in Buddhism as all knowledge if done with a sincere mind and good intention can help your Buddhist practice.Buddhism as practiced today is still divided into these three schools-- (1) Theravada, meaning School of the Elders, but pejoratively known as Hinayana or Lesser Vehicle; (2) Mahayana, meaning Greater Vehicle;and (3) Vajrayana, meaning Diamond Vehicle; also known as Tantric or Esoteric Buddhism. 'Yana' is the Sanskrit term for vehicle. The bewildering number of sects are categorized into one of the three schools.
One of the first ways to choose or not to choose is take up the study of all three schools.You can easily find a Tibetan or Chinese Mahayana or even Theravada school in Vancouver by doing an Internet search.In my case after considerable thought I choose the Pureland vehicle taught by the monastic nuns at Lingyen Mountain Temple in Richmond.There are only a few non-Chinese who regularly attend here however the temple is very disciplined and has a wonderful library on all Buddhist schools in English.Recitation meditation is with the nuns daily and there is a morning, afternoon, and evening service. The services encompass sitting meditation,walking meditation,kneeling and standing meditation.The services include liturgy's, the major sutra's and dharanis,The meditation hall is beautiful and stunning and free lunch is served donations are welcome .

Mahayana is usually translated as 'great vehicle', in opposition to Hinayana 'small vehicle'. This translation is obviously derogatory and offensive to the only early Buddhist school still in existence: Theravada Buddhism. Mahayana can actually also be translated as 'great path', that is: a path for every being. Hinayana would then mean: small path, or path only for monks actively striving to become arhats.



The following aspects are associated with Mahayana:

Universalism,Everyone will become a Buddha.
Enlightened wisdom (prajna paramita), as the main focus of realization.
Compassion to help sentient beings reach enlightenment: become a bodhisattva yourself
Salvation- as opposed to Liberation- supported by a rich cosmology, including celestial realms and powers, with a spectrum of Bodhisattvas, both human and seemingly godlike, who can assist followers.
Universalism- everybody will become a Buddha
The main idea that sets apart Theravada from Mahayana is this idea that everybody can and will become a Buddha at some point. Theravada Buddhism sets a limit to the amount of Buddhas that can exist: only one in each global time-period. According to Mahayana Buddhism each of us has inherent Buddha Nature. This is a sort of divine consciousness. For instance in Zen Buddhism the idea is that one need only realize this as a fact, to become a Buddha. The difference between you and a Buddha is that you don't know that you are a Buddha and a Buddha does know he is a Buddha.

Enlightened Wisdom or Prajna-Paramita
The central insight in Mahayana philosophy is the insight of sunyata or emptiness.This can by definition not be put into words, but it does seem to boil down to the following: Everything is illusory, everything is temporary.Your personality has no inherent stable core and knowing this is wisdom.

Compassion and Bodhisattva-ideal
On one level Mahayana means a more active role for non-monks, or the laity. The ideal of the Bodhisattva means that everybody, regardless of family-situation, can become enlightened and help humanity. The bodhisattva-vow means that an individual vows to gain enlightenment and simultaneously to avoid final Nirvana until every sentient being has been saved.Helping humanity can start right now, by practicing the 6 virtues of perfection and the paramitas.

Salvation through devotion
This aspect of some Mahayana-schools is controversial. Mahayana philosophers ignore or disagree with it.

On the other hand in Mahayana countries devotion to divine Bodhisattvas in ritual and prayer is central to the Buddhism of most people. The feeling is that people in this age cannot reach enlightenment. What they can do is ask a Bodhisattva for help, and they will, in return for devotion, make you reincarnate into a heavenly world (the pure land), after which enlightenment is a simple step.

Salvation through devotion is a controversial belief, because a main Buddhist doctrine is that one can only reach enlightenment through one's own effort. Devotion as a means to salvation also contradicts the idea of karma

Where is Mahayana Buddhism?
Since Hinayana Buddhism is only represented by Theravada Buddhism, every other type you may have heard of is Mahayana Buddhism. For instance:

Tibetan Buddhism: all of Tibet's many schools of Buddhism are Mahayana
China:Chan-Buddhism is Mahayana
Japan: Zen(descended from Chan) is Mahayana Buddhism, so is Nichiren Buddhism
Vietnam:Both Zen and Theravada Buddhism are represented here.
Take you time learning with an open heart make no judgments, no commitments, analyze the teachers well and spend time after words reflecting on your own impressions.Make sure the teacher is devout and I myself prefer a monk or nun who has taken monastic vows as the safest bet for honest and full teachings.The most important thing is too take a major amount of your time meditating on the teaching and learn how you mind reacts to disturbances.Don't be so concerned with doctrinal differences between the schools.Each one has the essence of the Buddhas teachings.
Practices

Recitation is one of the central practices of Pure Land Buddhism. It involves the concentrated and heartfelt repetitive recitation of 'Namo Amitabha Buddha' (Homage to the Buddha of Boundless Compassion and Wisdom). In Chinese this phrase is 'Namo Omito-Fo,' in Japanese, 'Namu Amida Butsu.'

Recitation practice has long been recognized as an easy practice that carries with it the benefits of practice offered by the major schools of Buddhism:

It encompasses the Meditation School because concentrated recitation enables us to rid ourselves of delusions and attachments.
It encompasses the Sutra Studies School because the sacred words 'Amitabha Buddha' contain innumerable sublime meanings.
It encompasses the Discipline School because deep recitation purifies and stills the karmas of body, speech and thought.
It encompasses the Esoteric School because the recitation of the words 'Amitabha Buddha' have the same effect as when one recites a mantra.
Visualization is another practice that is central to Pure Land Buddhism. Most of the visualizations are of Amitabha Buddha, the attendant Bodhisattvas and the Realm of Bliss itself. These visualizations, 16 in all, are described in detail in the Visualization Sutra.

Yet another practice is the reading of the Pure Land sutras. This practice assists us in keeping the name of Amitabha Buddha firmly in mind, as well as strengthening our resolve for rebirth.

The elements of most Pure Land rituals are based on the Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu's concept of the Five Gates of Mindfulness:

Praise and Veneration.
Visualization.
Sutra Recitation.
Making the Vow for Rebirth.
Dedicating Merit.
One fact become undeniably clear: Pure Land practice can accommodate people of any and all capacities. This is why Pure Land Buddhism is a marvelous path for those who are seeking liberation in this modern age when there are so very many distractions and impediments to Enlightenment.
The Unified Practice

The unified practice of Ch'an and Pure Land is the unified practice of Compassion and Widsom. Pure Land practice allows one to open up the heart, thus developing Compassion; Ch'an practice shows one how to concentrate the mind, thus developing Wisdom. When Compassion and Wisdom combine in a dynamic relationship, our True Mind is realized, our True Heart comes forth, and Enlightenment is assured (For a comparison of Ch'an/Zen and Pure Land, see Comparing the Paths.

The unified practice of Ch'an and Pure Land, known in Chinese as 'Ch'an-ching I-chih,' has a long history. As early as the 4th century C.E., the Chinese Ancestor Hui-Yuan (334-416), considered to the be first Pure Land Ancestor, incorporated meditative discipline into Pure Land practice.

Ancestor Tao-Hsin (580-651), the Fourth Ancestor of the Ch'an school, taught what he called the 'Samadhi of Oneness,' utilizing the recitation of the Buddha's name to pacify the mind. It should be noted that since this practice involved reciting the name of any Buddha, a practice dating back to the origins of Buddhism, it was not specifically designed to produce rebirth in the Realm of Bliss; but it did act as a bridge linking Ch'an and Nien-Fo practices. Tao-Hsin taught that the Pure Mind is the Pure Buddha Land.

The unified practice was also advocated by the Fifth Ch'an Ancestor Hung-Jen (601-674) who saw recitation as a good practice for beginners. Hung-Jen also advocated the visualization practices laid out in the Visualization Sutra.

Buddha recitation not concerned with rebirth was taught by a number of Hung-Jen's disciples including Fa-Chih (635-702), the Fourth Ancestor of the Ox-Head School of Ch'an. It was also put forth by the Ching-Chung School which was descended from Chih-Hsien, one of the Fifth Ch'an Ancestor's 10 eminent disciples, in the early 8th century C.E.

Descendants of Chih-hsien who advocated the unified practice included Wu-Hsiang, a former Korean prince who made invocation Nien-Fo practice a key part of the Dharma Transmission Ceremony. Although the practice was still not centered around Buddha Amitabha or rebirth in the Realm of Bliss, it marked the first time that Nien-Fo practice was explicitly adopted as part of a Ch'an school. Subsequent schools which taught Nien-Fo as part of their training included the Pao-T'ang School, the Hsuan-Shih Nien-Fo Ch'an School and the Nan-Shan Nien-Fo Ch'an School.

Ancestor Tz'u-Min (679-748) is said to have been the first Pure Land Ancestor to advocate harmonizing Pure Land practice and Ch'an. Tz'u-min developed his Pure Land faith after a pilgrimage to India, where he was inspired by stories centered around Buddha Amitabha and Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.

The Ch'an Ancestor Pai-Chang Huai-Hai (720-814), who wrote the '20 Monastic Principles' which were the blueprint for Ch'an monastic practice, included 'Recitation of the Name of Buddha Amitabha.' Pai-Chang stated, 'In religious practice, take Buddha Recitation as a sure method.' The practice of chanting Amitabha's name during a Ch'an monk's funeral was also put forth by Master Pai-Chang.

The T'ang Hui-Ch'an Persecution (845 C.E.) and the Huei-Ch'ang and Shih-Tsung Persecutions of the late Chou Dynasty (10th century C.E.) served to bring Ch'an and Pure Land even closer together. These government crackdowns on Buddhist sects enervated the academically oriented Buddhist schools such as the T'ien-t'ai and Hua-yen sects. Correspondingly, the rise of Neo-Confucianism drew many speculative thinkers away from those schools. But the Ch'an and Pure Land schools, marked by their emphasis on practice, their extreme degree of portability and their non-reliance on Imperial patronage, survived intact. By this time, the Ch'an school had incorporated true Nien-Fo Amitabha practices into its training regimens, and the Pure Land school had incorporated more meditative elements into its own system.

The Ch'an monk and Pure Land practitioner Yung-Ming Yen-Shou (905-975) is said to have been the key figure in the synthesis of Ch'an and Pure Land during this period. He taught that the Pure Land is the Realm of the Purified Mind.

The unified practices were taught in Vietnam by the Thao-Duong School, founded by the Chinese monk Ts'ao-Tang, who was taken to Vietnam as a prisoner of war in 1069 C.E. Other eminent Chinese monks who promoted unified practice were Chu-Hung (1535-1615) and Han-Shan (1546-1623).

During the 17th century C.E., the monk Yin-Yuan Lung-Chi, known as Obaku in Japanese, brought the unified Ch'an/Pure Land practice to Japan. His school is known as the Obaku Zen School, and survives to this day as a minor sect in the shadow of the much more influential Soto and Rinzai Zen sects.

The unified practice of Ch'an and Pure Land continues to this day, although it was de-emphasized in the major Japanese Zen schools. The large Shin sect of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism discounts any efforts on one's own part to attain Enlightenment; superficially, Japanese 'Other-Power' Pure Land Buddhism and 'Self-Power' Zen Buddhism do not complement each other the way the Chinese Ch'an and Pure Land schools do. However, there are recent movements which may yet be influential in returning Japanese Zen to its syncretic roots.

In the 1970s, the formation of the Zen Shin Sangha by Rev. Koshin Ogui in Cleveland, Ohio was one of the first instances of a Shin Buddhist priest in the United States combining Japanese Zen and Pure Land practices. Similar movements have been reported in England, continental Europe and India.

As the esteemed Ch'an Master Hsu-Yun (1840-1959) put it, 'All the Buddhas in every universe, past, present and future, preach the same Dharma. There is no difference between the methods advocated by Shakyamuni and Amitabha.'

Namo Amitabha Buddha! Omitofu!

108 BOWS FOR HEALTHY LIFE

I found this is interview with a Korean Doctor enjoy .

Interview] 108 Bows for Exercise: Oriental Doctor, Kim Jaeseong
Translated from a Korean article of Kyunghyang Newspaper


We would all like to have mental and physical peace. However, it's not easy. In reality, most people need to exercise to stay healthy.
Specialists advise that to stay healthy, you have to exercise until soaked with sweat at least three times a week. How many people follow this advice? One survey says that only 8.6% of adults exercise like that. If you consider your physical health as important as your mental health, then pay attention to oriental doctor Kim Jaeseong's recommendation of "108 bows for exercise."
Doctor Kim insists that 108 bows should become "the second national exercise". He believes that anyone can learn and do bowing easily, and at the same time the effect of bowing is great.
The way you do bowing in temples is touching five points of your body to the floor. They are: both knees, both elbows, and the forehead.
"108 bows for exercise is just the thing for us. It's exercise for the whole body, low intensity breathing exercise, and it's exercise which is suitable for treating and preventing adult diseases. It takes only 15 minutes to do 108 bows, but the effect is great.
You can do it whenever and wherever you want."
It was four years ago that he started doing 108 bows.
It was after he heard about his apparently healthy friend who had collapsed from some disease, then recovered his health in three months after he started doing 108 bows.
It was hard to believe at first.
He felt like rejecting 108 bows since he is Catholic.
But at the time he wasn't feeling very well, so he decided to begin 108 bows, half in doubt. However, the effects showed up right away.
"Usually it was hard to wake up in the morning, but in a week I could greet mornings without effort. In two weeks my urine got clear and strong. In two months my thin hair got very thick. My chronic back pain that I got from bending over while treating patients with acupuncture disappeared without a trace."
Since he experienced these effects, Doctor Kim actively started recommending 108 bows to his family, relatives, and acquaintances. The reaction has been great. Doctor Kim studied how to bow while collecting documents related to 108 bows.
He wanted to make motions to increase the exercise effect to the utmost. He considered the fact that Buddhist bowing could impact the knee joints. He made "108 bows for exercise" after research and making up for weak points. The effect of 108-bow exercise has been proven scientifically. In May 2004, the Oriental Hospital in Gangnam affiliated with Dongguk University checked people who were in their 30's and 40's, two people each, before and after a 108-bow practice period. The results showed that good cholesterol, which prevents hardening of the arteries, increased. Immunity indicators also increased. Also, Cotijol, which is the main stress hormone causing abdominal obesity, was greatly reduced. Among the people who participated in the experiment, the ones who did 108 bows had better effects. Doctor Kim emphasized that the excellency of 108 bows is that it's good for mental health, too.
He said that while you are putting your hands together in front of your chest, going down on your knees, and bending your head, you can reflect on yourself with inner tranquility and an open mind.

The Way to do 108 Bows for exercise
1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart while putting your palms together in front of your chest.
2. Drop your arms straight down, then slowly raise them straight up, until your arms are farther back than your head.
3. Lower your arms forward while bending at the waist, until your body is parallel to the floor and your arms are hanging straight down.
4. Bend your knees to a squatting position, with your hands on the floor in front of you.
5. Bend your knees to the floor and touch your elbows and forehead to the floor. At this time, the bottom of your toes remain on the floor, and your heels stick straight up.
6. Push your body up until your arms are straight, straighten your waist, then stand up with the power of your legs, and finally put your palms together in front of your chest again.

He also said that there have been many changes since he started 108 bows for exercise with his family.
"My family, who used to sleep late in the morning, became morning people and started each day actively. My kids used to be tired all the time from studying, but they slowly recovered, and they became bright and positive. Their concentration ability for studying increased, and they entered university without much problem. My relationships with my whole family are getting much better. Especially when I have to give my kids some kind of punishment, I try to solve the situation by doing 108 bows together with them instead of yelling at them or giving punishment.”
At present there are many people who have fallen under the charm of 108 bows. They are mostly Buddhists, but there are quite a few Christians and people who don't believe in any particular religion. A Korean classical musician, Kim Yeongdong, has taken the lead to spread 108 bows as a social and cultural movement. He published the album "The Sound of Life," which helps people do 108 bows. His album harmonizes sounds of nature, like water, birds, raindrops, and others, and the sounds of a large flute and a short bamboo flute. You can do 108 bows while listening to 108 writings recorded on the album. He hopes that he can let the world know the benefits by having tens of thousands of people bowing all together at Gwanghwamun District in Seoul. These two questions, "How many times do I have to bow?", and "Isn't bowing bad for your knee joints?", are the ones Doctor Kim hears the most from people. "The important matter is to make my body and mind healthy and peaceful through bowing exercise. Then the number doesn't matter if it is 108, 107, or 109. Training mind and body is necessary for every one, regardless of religion. In addition, 108 bows exercise that I recommend doesn't give any excessive pressure to your knees. Rather, it strengthens knee muscles. Doctor Kim said that spreading 108-bow exercise is like his destiny.
"Everyone, start bowing right away. It's better if you bow with a smile on your face. You will feel happiness and peace well up in your heart, like fresh and clear spring water.”
Doctor Kim has written and published the book 108 Bows a Day: the Ten Minute Miracle Saving My Body.

MY PRACTICE

MY PRACTICE




People have begun to ask me about my progress in Buddhism and practice. I am a regular person with some talents and problems, and quirks like everyone else. I suffered from a severe bought of shingles brought on by extreme work stress caused by my working environment and a litigious legal case. During my bout of shingles I would go out into nature by myself on long very physical walks and jogs and would force the pain of my disease out of my mind by clearing my mind of negative thoughts I looked at the trees, put my face into the sun, watched the rivers flow by me, saw the beauty of wind brushing against the long grass. I thought if leaves on trees could change color and again re-grow than like a tree I could heal myself and grow new beautiful green leaves. I did this visualization a lot, I thought of nothing but the changing cycle of nature and its impersonal, simple elegant regenerative process. I than started to see real changes in my personality and I call this my first awakening to the possibilities of spirituality and meditation. I have witnessed some terrible things and I have seen friends become drug addicts and my family and I have not seen eye to eye on many issues. Before my shingles out break I also entrenched myself on a course of overwork, high expectations, endless meetings and entertaining clients, long trips away from my wife and children all of which created a toxic mind mix. I have seen friends commit and dedicate themselves entirely to the rat race, material world with devastating consequences these include ill health, alcoholism, divorce and in the worst cases suicide. Many of my so-called high- net worth associates all seemed to lack compassion and human kindness and pleasure in simple things. In most cases they have turned into monsters whose focus on 'money and profit at all costs' have left them petty, angry and very narrow in approach. I began the Buddhist practice to understand myself and understand my world and relieve some of the profound suffering I had witnessed and anxiety I carried in my mind. I hope what I have learned can help you.
'All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.’


I get angry, I get short with people and if you cut me off in my car I won’t be the best representative I should be. However I have lowered my anger output I am less liable to get angry and I deal with things now in a very concentrated and compassionate way, not always but better than before, noticeably better. Also my concentration and mindfulness have also greatly increased. I am a beginner and don't want anyone to think I am guru or a monk I am a layman household practitioner trying to find happiness and serenity in this world .The Buddha stated that,’ A man should first direct himself in the way he should go. Only then should he instruct others. ' This is a very personal experience and I believe the most important thing I have learned is to do all things with sincerity and believe in yourself, that you have the ability to transform from an ugly form to beautiful form.

Buddhism doesn’t work without practicing. Practicing means setting aside at least an hour a day of chanting time, or if you prefer breathing meditation that is good as well. Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gautama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills.
I utilize recitation meditation or mantra which has often been riled as a 'religious thing' through invocation of the names of deities or Gods, it is not actually so. Mantra and chanting is a sound form. It is a Sanskrit word, which etymologically means 'by the repetition of which the mind becomes free of external experiences'. That is how it is to be seen and experienced.

This non-sectarian technique aims for the total eradication of mental impurities and the resultant highest happiness of full liberation. Healing, not merely the curing of diseases, but the essential healing of human suffering, is its purpose.

Don’t however expect any breakthroughs for at least 3-6 months. I have been practicing everyday for 1 year. I have also regularly attended a Buddhist temple and have stayed overnight in a retreat waking at 2:45am chanting and practicing all day until 10:00 pm and starting again the next day under strict monastic rule. As well on Sundays I work with a Buddhist translation group at Lingyen Mountain Temple in Richmond BC. This path requires hard, serious work. It is challenging.

There are three steps to the training. The first step is, for the period of your training, to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, speaking falsely, and intoxicants and changing your diet to more vegetarians. Not all Buddhists are vegetarians; much of it depends upon personal preference or the teachings that they subscribe to. Although one of the precepts for ethical conduct does call for refraining from intentional acts of killing, there are no prohibitions for eating animals that are already dead in some schools. So, it can be said that intentional acts such as hunting and fishing are forbidden but buying meat at a grocery store is not. This interpretation of the first precept can be tricky for some followers of Buddhism and there are many who eventually choose to give up the consumption of meat. In the Pure land practice vegetarianism is necessary for the monks and lay practitioner. I find vegetarianism a correct and ethical choice, we don't kill animals by eating vegetables, we can have a healthier body and I find the mind seems to be much clearer and sharper when a strict vegetarian diet is followed. I now notice a certain malaise and dullness comes over my mind & body when I now eat meat. I once also stopped accidentally near a slaughterhouse the screams, stench and the vicious efficiency in which animals were put to death has always stayed with me.

I also chose to take a formal refuge in the Buddha at a ceremony put on by the monks of the Lingyen Mountain temple. We take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. When we take refuge in the Buddha, we are returning from our deluded state of mind and relying upon an awakened, understanding mind. When we take refuge in the Dharma, we are returning from deviant views and relying upon proper views and understanding. When we take refuge in the Sangha, we are returning from pollution and disharmony and relying upon purity of mind and the Six Principles of Harmony. Don't think you are becoming a saint just think of it as cleaning house rearranging your house. Most people don't kill or steal but when we mean killing that means even insects you become aware and mindful of your surroundings you view everything as sacred and interconnected. Think of yourself as a steward of nature. This simple code of moral conduct serves to calm the mind, which otherwise would be too agitated to perform the task of self-observation. You will have a lot of problems establishing all of these precepts but if you persevere you will gain a newfound control and strength and confidence. All the infinite afflictions can be summed into six basic afflictions: greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt and erroneous viewpoints. These six can all be categorized under 'greed.' Anger arises when one cannot satisfy the greed within. Once the greed is satisfied, the anger naturally subsides. The practice of giving neutralizes greed, the worst of the three poisons of the mind.
You must establish a daily practice have a designated area of your house - a room or a corner for your practice. It is important that you use the same area for your regular practice. I find chanting focuses the mind quickly and the concentrated rhythm effect alters my thinking pattern, even listening to chanting is good, but you must clear your mind of all thoughts. I actually practice about 3 hours a day. I practice first in the morning by doing 108 full body prostrations in front of a shrine I and my wife have built in our upper living room in our house, while listening and chanting to monks chanting from a CD we received from Ling yen Mountain temple. These prostrations takes 25 minutes during these prostrations I am lucky a shining light enters my mind, after that I do 4 sets of 20 sit-ups, 4 sets of 25 push-ups, 4 sets of lateral push ups and 3 sets of yoga’s like deep leg bends approximate total time 15-20 minutes. I have added these small workouts to my practice because I believe a body in good condition allows the mind to be more easily focused, also when in University I used to be a wrestler, I find Spartan exercise is a good mental discipline also if you sit all day in an office I can guarantee your body is suffering.

Workplace stress is becoming an increasing concern in many Canadian workplaces. It is defined as the harmful physical and emotional response that can happen when there is a conflict between demands on a person and the amount of control the person has over meeting these demands. Basically, workplace stress occurs when the demands of the job and the working environment on a person exceed their capacity to meet them.

Fear of job redundancy, layoffs due to an uncertain economy, increased demand for overtime due to staff cutbacks can all act as negative stressors. People who start to feel the ‘pressure to perform’ find that they experience an increasing effort to meet rising expectations with no increase in job satisfaction. The relentless requirement to work at optimum performance takes its toll in job satisfaction, employee turnover, reduced efficiency, illness and even death. Absenteeism, illness, alcoholism, poor decision-making, indifference, lack of motivation and creativity are all by-products of an over stressed workplace. In addition, stress that the person is experiencing at home (marital difficulties, financial problems) can make its way into the work place, affecting their ability to perform. -Stress Map

I could dissect the above quotation but in a sense it speaks for its self the majority of stress comes from an unrealistic view of yourself and the world.
Once you really take on the Buddhist lifestyle many of your original views will change you may find yourself changing your career even friend's, that is good because I can tell you that being unhappy and dissatisfied is helping no one. In fact an unhappy mind is very inefficient and harmful to yourself and society. You cannot move ahead without first taking care of yourself. One cautionary note Buddhism cannot always improve your material pocket book however it will improve your spiritual happiness and physical health. Also as you begin to unwind your condition self expect many obstacles and doubts. Doubts are the other little ugly thief of the mind. Doubts arise because of ego and comfortable conditioning and illogical thinking. How can concentrated effort on making yourself happy be doubted! It is very funny how the mind works but it seems it doesn't always like change; you must bend it and sculpture it like clay. Think of ignorance and negative thoughts as a big dumb red monster with lights that only moves after it is kicked. The monks taught me to think of chanting like a ray gun zapping negative thoughts away. Each word of the chant is like a one shot you has endless shots to slay negative thoughts.... Zap Poof, Zap Poof go away. It can be a struggle but after awhile you will enjoy doing it just like a game. You can never rid your mind of all negative thoughts you just learn to understand them and control them they are apart of the millions of years of conditioning we have all been involved in. The Buddha’s last words were: “All conditioned things are impermanent. Strive on with diligence.” The Buddha approached suffering differently. He said that suffering is not inherent in the world of impermanence; suffering arises when we attach and hold. When clinging disappears, impermanence no longer gives rise to suffering. The solution to suffering, then, is to end clinging, not to try to escape from the transient world. All is impermanent. And what is the all that is impermanent? The eye is impermanent, visual objects [ruupaa]... eye-consciousness... eye contact [cakku-samphassa]... whatever is felt [vedayita] as pleasant orunpleasant or neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant, born of eye contact is impermanent. [Likewise with the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind]' (SN35.43/vol. iv, 28)

After this I end with approximately 20 minutes of sitting (attempting half lotus position) recitation chanting the Shurangama Sutra and or one word Omitofu chanting. Than finish with silent meditation and transference of merit, there is a concept in Buddhism of merit. Merits could be said to positive karmic influences. As the adept of Buddhist meditation practices there naturally arises merit, which can be dedicated to others. This is an expression of the Bodhisattva Vow to strive for perfection and enlightenment but to forego it to help all beings.

My Verse of Transference:

May the merit and virtue accrued from this work, Adorn the Buddha’s’ Pure Lands.
Repaying four kinds of kindness above, and aiding those suffering in the paths below.
May those who see and hear of this, All bring forth the resolve for Bodhi.
Spend their lives devoted to the Buddha Dharma
And when this retribution body is over, be born together in ultimate bliss.
Student Todd McMyn would like to dedicate my praying to every living being in the whole universe and would like to dedicate to my family members for my past and present and to the people I caused suffering from my past and present

In the various Bodhisattva vows (sometimes called the Bodhisattva Precepts) of Mahayana Buddhism, the bodhisattvas take vows stating that they will strive for as long as samsara endures to liberate all sentient beings from samsara and deliver them into Nirvana. The Bodhisattva does not seek bodhi (Awakening) solely for him/herself, but chiefly for the sake of freeing all other beings and aiding them into the bliss of Nirvana. This can be done by venerating all Buddhas and by cultivating supreme moral and spiritual perfection, to be placed in the service of others. Bodhisattvas vow to amass inconceivable amounts of merit (punya), which they will dedicate to all other sentient beings, so as to help them attain Nirvana and Awakening. Such great vows are made out of compassion and the bodhisattva devotes his/her powers to helping others attain Nirvana. A fine example of a Bodhisattva vow is found at the very end of the Avatamsaka Sutra by Samantabhadra.

At that time, having praised the exalted merits and virtues of Buddha Vairocana, the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra addressed the assembled Bodhisattvas, along with Sudhana, as follows:

'Good men, even if all the Buddhas of the ten directions were to speak continuously, for as many eons as there are fine motes of dust in an incalculable number of Buddha lands (worlds), the merits and virtues of the Buddha could never be fully described. 'Those wishing to achieve these merits and virtues should cultivate ten vast and great practices and vows. What are these ten?

First, Pay homage and respect to all Buddhas.

Second, Praise the Buddhas.

Third, Make abundant offerings.

Fourth, Repent misdeeds and evil karmas (actions).

Fifth, Rejoice in others' merits and virtues.

Sixth, Request the Buddhas to teach.

Seventh, Request the Buddhas to remain in the world.

Eighth, Follow the teachings of the Buddhas at all times.

Ninth, Accommodate and benefit all living beings.

Tenth, Transfer all merits and virtues universally.

' [After explaining the significance of the first eight vows, the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra continues.]


After this work I feel strong composed and happy. At night I read Sutras and may do short chants or light incense. Actually the real trick is to be chanting and clearing your mind all day everyday, every hour.

You might think that is a lot but if you think about many hours in our day is wasted on eating foods we don’t need watching TV, emailing in idle conversation and gossip or shopping in malls looking for that perfect shirt, shoe or computer product. TV is a real killer it attacks the sub-conscious with many ego messages. Every message is trying to get you to be and do something that you are not. Be on guard with everything and everyone reflect deeply on outcomes and their positive or negative effect. Get rid of these negative ego-inducing types of distractions as you attempt for real change. Think of your training perspective like a sign in a highway with busy traffic,'Detour Men Working.’ It’s rational to say and think,' Look crazy world give me some personal time I 'm working on my psyche with Buddha as my guide.'
Idle chat is a way of the mind to keep you grasping at simple concepts it drives all of your concentration and wisdom to the floor. All materialism is just mind food and sometimes we overeat and over dwell in these material realms at the expense of ourselves. When we interact with the world we create an infinite number of new conditions. We don’t require as much as we think we do. Our bodies are strong and our minds with training become more disciplined from grasping. Just think if the elementary schools could teach our children to meditate. Just think if the whole world was given one to two hours a day to meditate on the Buddhas words. We could slow down understand ourselves, and reach new insights into our inter connected existence. I really believe a Buddhist practice of meditation and chanting can change the world.
We waste so many hours on just feeding our conditioned irrational selves just watch you mind how it reacts when it thinks it needs something. When I mean clear your mind of all thoughts don’t focus on your past, present or even the itch you have just watch your mind see how it moves about but don’t give any attachment to emotion or history or even that cool item you just think you need or that hot love. This doesn’t mean that you suppress your feelings you just watch the mind interact in your field of consciousness. Its like watching a movie don’t judge the movie just watch it let it run its course.

Look at yourself as onion with each peel of the onion skin you remove part of the onion. Look at each peel as your conditioned self. The conditioned self is all experience good and bad look at as just pages in a book that you’re just throwing away. As you peel away the onion, the peels sit in a different location just watch them. Don’t think about them don’t think how they came to be just look at them with your minds eye. Look at each onionskin from the bottom than the top. Than you might ask the skins of your conditioned self some questions: Where did you come from? Why are you here? Why do you bother me so? Don’t look at all the skins at once just separate the ones that keep arising in your mind and disturbing your concentration. Once the skins of your conditioned mind starts to hear these words and questioning they will just shrivel up and blow away. Remember thoughts and especially angry thoughts are very fleeting. Negative thoughts demand attentions they require an interaction they look for dynamite like fire does they want an explosion. All things are separate and are not true and real because they cannot function without the whole. Angry thoughts also hate and are frightened by critical thinking and evaluation, basically angry thoughts are like little thieves caught with their bothersome hands in your mind. Please once you see this please laugh out loud at your angry thoughts they hate that!!! Once you see them disappear focus on just the mind, just watch it, as it ebbs and flows, just like water moving in a vessel, see how colors swirl in your mind, see how you ears listen, see how your nostrils breath see how your throat swallows. . Therefore, mind and negative thoughts involves items coming in and out of existence from a false field of perception. This is, simply put, to describe things as flashing in and out of existence, or, as the Indian Buddhists describe it, it is to describe reality as involving staccato motion. What we must do is understand the impermanent nature; the unruly behavior of our own thought patterns, as small storms, little tornadoes on a clear pond. Force your concentration not to connect to the past or present lift your mind into concentration and serenity with calm detachment come back to your chant and only let compassion, equanimity and wisdom creep in.

Equanimity is one of the most sublime emotions of Buddhist practice. It is the ground for wisdom and freedom and the protector of compassion and love. While some may think of equanimity as dry neutrality or cool aloofness, dispassion mature equanimity produces a radiance and warmth of being. The Buddha described a mind filled with equanimity as 'abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will.'

The English word 'equanimity' translates two separate Pali words used by the Buddha. Each represents a different aspect of equanimity.

The most common Pali word translated as 'equanimity' is upekkha, meaning 'to look over.' It refers to the equanimity that arises from the power of observation, the ability to see without being caught by what we see. When well developed, such power gives rise to a great sense of peace.

The mind chases things; it tries and feeds on sensation and thoughts just try denying your mind these mind food attachments. If you have thoughts focus on your breathing, replace anxious thoughts with visions of Buddha realms. These are the realms of bliss!!! The advantage of this realm is that things are so very comfortable there. Think of it as place where you are free to be yourself free of your problems free of your conditioned self to focus on total pure transformation.

However to begin the practice of visualizing Buddha and Buddha realms you must read Sutras with total concentration, by yourself in solitude, close the door tell you kids you need a break tell your spouse to give you a break, replace your TV time with Sutra time. TV is the killer it is mindless and has many hidden messages that attack the ego get rid of it .As beginner you will need to discern and understand all incoming messages both evident and hidden . Believe in Sutras as guides of transformation, they are maps leading you back to your true undefiled, unpunished, no violated mind, don’t doubt the words, don’t question them enter in to them as if they were your friend your confidant your only mirror or light in a cave. Use them as if they were the last water you were given in a desert. Sincerity is important if you want to change you will, cause and effect are so simple and true.
When I read the Flower adornment Sutra I used it as medicine I believed it was medicine and that if I consider it sacred that it would change my belief and understanding of myself.

One day I was looking for a sutra to read to help fill my voracious appetite for Buddhist knowledge in fact had never heard or even thought about the sutra in my life. The Flower Adornment Scripture as translated by Thomas Cleary was sitting there in the library at the Lingyen Mountain temple and I took it out.

I took it home to read . I can tell you that in 8 hours straight I never put that book down. The next day it was the same I read at night and at day. I was sitting in bed reading it late at night with full concentration for about 4 hours without break and I asked my wife if she had lit any incense. I smelled flowers and nature at my nose as if the sweet smell of all the flowers was coming into my nose. As soon as I tried to grasp this smell it went away. It was somewhere in my calmness, non grasping , meditative and concentrating mind that this beautiful smell arose as I read the Sutra.

I can tell you that the Flower adornment Sutra is about Buddhism it is self, it is living breathing entity, it is the perspective of a vast and complete mind, the flavor, scent, touch, width and breadth and symphony of a Buddhist perspective that is so complete and so awe-inspiring that it takes you to a new world .I felt like I was standing on a mountain with all of the world being run in front of my face as if all the highest mountains where standing end on end and when I thought of the universe as complete another one greater and wider and more beautiful is placed on top inside and around every sense in my body reaching into every direction and crevice. Each step each layer put into my mind for it to expand.

The sutra is not a book, not a novel, not a map, not a poem, not a song, not a guide, not science, not biology, not a manifesto. But it is all of these things and more.Please also note don't get hung up on questions of its validity.I have come to believe that anything after careful examination that has truth or opens a door to a new door of understanding are the Buddha's words. Buddhas words arise because of conditions ,the conditions were right so the Sutra's wisdom arose .Wisdom and compassion arises because conditions are right.We must cultivate causes to give good conditions.



The Avatamsaka Sutra(Flower Adornment Sutra) (Hua Yen Jing-in Chinese), the basic text of the Avatamsaka School, is one of the longest sutras in the Buddhist Canon and records the highest teaching of BuddhaSakyamuni, immediately after Enlightenment. It is traditionally believed that the Sutra was taught to the Bodhisattvas and other high spiritual beings while the Buddha was in Samadhi. The Sutra has been described as ‘the epitome of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment and Buddhist experience’ and is quoted by all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, in particular, Pure Land and Zen.

The main protagonist in the next-to-last and longest chapter of the AvatamsakaSutra is the youth Sudhana. Seeking Enlightenment, he visited and studied with fifty-three spiritual advisors and became the equal of the Buddha one lifetime. When he was born, myriad treasures suddenly appeared in his father's home. Thus the name 'Sudhana' or 'Good Wealth.'

When I practice I summon all of my concentration and belief of the good words of Buddha and my mind begins to calm and when I open my eyes from meditation and chanting the world seems a kinder place colors and nature seem more beautiful and more bright. Shakyamuni Buddha taught about a Buddha named Amitabha ('Boundless Light,' also known as Amitayus, or 'Boundless Life') who presides over a Buddha-realm known as Sukhavati, a realm of rebirth in which all impediments to the attainment of final Enlightenment are nonexistent. This realm, or Pure Land (also known as the Realm of Bliss) is the result of the accumulated merit of the Bodhisattva Dharmakara, who practiced for eons before becoming the Buddha Amitabha. Dharmakara vowed that when he attained Buddha hood, the realm over which he would preside would include the finest features of all the other Buddha-realms. His teacher, the Buddha Lokesvararaja, revealed these other realms to Dharmakara.

Pure Land Buddhism is described as the Path of Serene Trust, or 'prasada' in Sanskrit. This term is broadly interpreted as 'faith,' and means that one has serene trust and confidence in the power and wisdom of Buddhas, or that one has the firm conviction that the Bodhisattva Vow made by all Buddhas, namely, to lead all sentient beings to Enlightenment, has been or will be fulfilled.

Praising a Buddha's virtues and keeping a Buddha in mind at all times has been practiced since the earliest days of Buddhism. Indeed, the act of taking refuge in the Buddha means to put one's trust in the Buddha as an honored teacher. In the Pratyutpanna Sutra, an early Buddhist text, Shakyamuni Buddha talks about the practice of Pratyutpanna Samadhi, in which one can directly perceive the Buddhas of the Ten Directions face to face.

The object of Pure Land Buddhism is rebirth into the Realm of Bliss. This may be seen as literal rebirth into the Buddha-realm called Sukhavati and/or as experiencing the direct realization of the realm of the Purified Mind, in which a person becomes one with the limitless Compassion and Widsom which are the prime characteristics of Buddha Amitabha. Pure Land Buddhism rests on the following tripod:

* Faith.
* Aspiration or the Vow for Rebirth.
* Practice, single-minded effort aimed at Buddha Remembrance Samadhi,

Upon development of Samadhi, one's mind becomes purified of defilements, calm, tranquil, and luminous. Once the meditator achieves a strong and powerful concentration, his mind is ready to penetrate and see into the ultimate nature of reality, eventually obtaining release from all suffering.'Buddhanusmrti' in Sanskrit, 'Nien-Fo' in Chinese. Buddhanusmrti means, 'To stay mindful of the Buddha,' and has been a central practice of Pure Land Buddhism since its beginnings. Nien-Fo also refers to the recitation of the Buddha's name, among other practices.

I suggest any beginner practitioner to also read the Flower Adornment sutra, the Diamond Sutra, the Shurangama Sutra and or the Path of Purification or the Amitabha Sutra if you need your mind to focus on other subjects rather than those thoughts that cause disturbances in your mind like lust, overeating, money, business, family or even more serious issues relating to abuse. I say read all the sutra’s until you find one that works for you. When I mean one that feels comfortable, that you understand most of it, you feel good when you read it and it feels like it was meant for you.

In the Shurangama Sutra, Great Strength Bodhisattva taught us to use the Buddha name chanting method, to constantly maintain a pure mind void of thoughts. This will eventually un-cover our true mind, leading us to the state of Samadhi.

'Like the past incalculable Buddhas, may I become a great teacher to all living beings in the nine realms.' (Infinite Life Sutra)

Dharmakara wished that one day he would be a teacher to the be-ings in the whole universe like other countless Buddhas in the past, present and future.

'And liberate everyone in every world from the myriad miseries of birth, old age, sickness and death.' (Infinite Life Sutra)

A great teacher helps to liberate all beings in the six realms from the suffering of birth, aging, sick-ness and death. He also helps those enlightened beings who have transcended reincarnation, but have not yet become a Bud-dha, to transcend their remaining ignorance.

'I will constantly practice the Six Paramitas of giving, precept observation, patience, diligence, concentration and wisdom.' (Infinite Life Sutra)

Bodhisattvas themselves not only practice the Six Paramitas (Principles)

But also encourage others to practice as well.

The first of the Six Principles is Giving. There are three kinds of Giving.
1. Giving of wealth, which will result in wealth in return.

2. Giving of knowledge, either worldly or spiritual, which will result in intelligence or insight.

3. Giving of fearlessness, which will result in longevity and good health.

Speak to many teachers and monks listen on the Internet for talks on Buddhism on You tube.
Go to community talks, join a temple eventually if you feel comfortable, become ferocious with this subject, don’t skimp on your minds training or intellectual questions you may have about Buddhism. The Buddha stated that he wanted a questioning intellectual curiosity on Buddhism.
'Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own commonsense.’

But don’t think this is a religion it is a practice of the mind, which leads you to the understanding of how the phenomenal mundane everyday life and ultimately universe works as it relates to your mind and how those causes and conditions interact to cause you to have negative experiences or positive experiences, it gives you a picture of the phenomenal world in which you can carry with you safely in the wallet of your mind. You can and will be able eventually to quickly discern wrong thinking and wrong views; wisdom will arise where it may have been dormant because of your incorrect focus.


Don’t be afraid to take this very seriously, it is serious, it is the most serious thing you will do as it involves yourself and your mind and these things are the most important and precious tools you have been born with. As you continue on your path your mind, your practice will reveal many things both good and bad you will have many interesting and unusual events occur enjoy them all learn from them and always stay on the path. However, I would like to emphasize the fact that Buddhist practices can lead to the following:

1. The development of inner strength and tranquility that pacifies the storms and calamities of life.
2. The increase of favorable circumstances and the reduction of misfortunes.
3. The ability to give effective help to others through meditative prayers.

Above all, the most precious thing about Buddhism is its ultimate goal of achieving complete liberation from all suffering for all sentient beings.

MY REASON FOR BUDDHISM

OSAKA SUICIDE
It was early morning and I was to see a manufacturer regarding some new business we had been working on in Japan.The morning air was stale and dry and as I entered the train station I noticed the grayness and efficiency of the station the smell of human sweat and soap ,shampoo ,cologne filled the air.
The trains were always on time and today was no exception. As I was waiting for the train I noticed an old woman ,a man holding his stomach dressed in track pants he was older perhaps 60 or so. Immediately my eyes and consciousness focused on the man.He had a terrified look and seemed agitated.I thought this man was strange and I felt something terrible was going to happen .As soon as this thought entered into my mind the man lunged in front of me throwing his body in front of the oncoming train.The breeze of his lunge and leap lashed my eyes and in my mind I saw it in slow motion , time stopped a frozen horrid picture, and my scream and the screams from the surrounding rush hour passengers jolted the reality and time again into regular flow again, I tried to grab his back jacket .I screamed ,'No stop, don't ,don't!! '.He seemed to hear me and register my comments.He looked at me with hopelessness. He was gone never to return.
The thud of his body against the train was like a hammer hitting a clam.The air and life was pulverized out of him he disappeared and I watched as a thousand faces peered outside through the windows in the train, seemingly one by one watching me ,as I stood there with horror on my face.The woman beside me screamed and fainted.Another man was running around looking for help.I bent on one knee breathing heavy,anger ,disbelief,took my breath away the vision stinging in my mind I looked around to see if it might not be true ...it was all horribly true.
The police came and took a statement.The policeman was surprised to see a foreigner kneeling and was more surprised when I could explain everything in Japanese this surprise angered me a little.
I went back to my hotel room and called my appointment I told him to pick me up at my hotel.He said he would be right over .I explained to my appointment the occurrence and he was more concerned with the meeting.His mind was focused on business and executing his duty to bring me to the meeting.I sat at the meeting dazed,my hands on the expensive boardroom desk,men in suits asking me questions I didn't care to answer.I thought to myself ,'Fools a man has just died in total despair and loneliness''

I knew he did not want to kill himself in this way, he was overcome by a multitudes of of hatred , ignorance and loneliness. I vowed in my mind that no man should die like this in the future. I thought of the mans face before he jumped his family , I started to wonder what brought him to this point .I could see his family receiving the news of his broken body laying in the tracks of the Osaka station.He was once a child born from his mother.

I returned back to my hotel after the meeting and I received a package from the mayor apologizing.I threw the package in garbage.I looked out the window over Osaka that night,alone , in shock .I asked the embassy to call me a priest, the Catholic Priest listened, and asked me if 'I was going to commit suicide?' I said 'no' and hung up.

SHOOTING IN COQUITLAM

It was early ,clear, morning ,the air had heat in it and also a trace of coolness.I was driving my scooter to work along Lougheed Highway.In the West I could see blue sky.I passed a van with a woman driving the car,I saw the steam from her coffee rise along her dash board ,she was singing to the radio.
About a quarter of mile up on the left hand side I could see police lights and vans all huddled together .I thought for sure an accident had occurred.As I got closely the lights of the police cars filled my eyes and couldn't make out clearly what kind of accident it was.I than realized that it was not an accident but some sort of shoot out.I pulled my scooter to the side and drew it on its side and ducked for cover.The woman in the van hadn't quite noticed what I had seen and I flagged her to stop with my waiving hands.In horror she looked at me trying to make sense of the activities up ahead.
The man in the Van was pointing a gun and shooting it at police officers huddled behind their cars.The man ran shooting backwards while trying to find a place for cover.Than an officer with a shaved head,and large athletic build came out from behind the car chasing him and shooting the man as he ran.Each bullet that hit him seemed to enter his body with no affect he seemed to be like an animal trying to find its den when chased by predators .The man was not like an man anymore but an animal.
The man ran toward the bushes,like deer shot in nature, near the train tracks, filled with bullets he died in anger and hate.
I found out later that the man had gone a rampage throughout Coquitlam and he had killed his wife.An officer came to take a statement from me.I cried in front of the officer and wondered why I must see this.

PROSTITUTE IN VANCOUVER

It was a late dark night .I was out with friends drinking at a local bar .I didn't feel like going home to my children and wife ,this week had been tough,my boss was attacking my credibility in order to cement his position with his boss. Long hours at work had me moving away from my family emotionally.I was all business.I was surrounded by false statements and under the wrath of a greedy boss . I wanted to continue the party.The alcohol fueled my opinions. I was sure of myself, sure I was funny,sure I was handsome,sure that I was the life of the party.I was sure my tie was the best silk and suit was the days fad.
As I stumbled out on to the street I was admiring my reflection in the pooled water on the curb.I noticed a red dressed women brush by me.I caught the outline of her body beneath the tight dress but took no more notice.
I hailed a cab as I sang the latest karaoke hit.I felt this arm come up to me and say ,'Lets go'.I spun around and drunkenly focused my attention on this woman appearance.She said ,'Do you want some company'.
Her skin was terrible and her make up was poorly applied.Her dress was to tight and her skin had holes and pock marks.I said 'No'.The comment scared her and her face filled with surprise and a hint of sadness although I was not reading emotions correctly.Her reactions unnerved me and I sat down on the curb shooing the cab away.'Where are you from',I asked.She said,'Toronto,Seattle,Vancouver'.In a drunken,cocky drawl I said,'I wanna see where you live.'
She grabbed my arm and we were off in a cab.I don't know what I was doing at this moment .I felt as if I was on a slope that I had no choice but to fall down into.
I opened the taxi window and the cool night air and slight rain against my face started to awaken my senses.
I looked at the woman in the taxi and she was sick in appearance and disgusting like a ghost.
She took me to the East side of Vancouver's Hastings.We stopped at a very run down apartment hotel were the drug addicts and street people live.We got out of the taxi and she went to the door of the hotel.She had to be buzzed in by the downstairs attendant .The man looked at me and eyed me up and down I was now embarrassed to be with this women and I tried to hide my face I am sure he thought I was just another John.Maybe I was.
As we started to walk up to the stairs the alcohol started to wear off and I became completely aware of my surroundings.I smelt the pungent odor of cooked ham and urine,cockroaches and bugs were on the stairs and pieces of moldy paper stuck to my feet.I was entering the steps of hell.As she grabbed my arm she started to say ,'Help me,help me.'
We reached her apartment door and the lights were on in almost institutional light brightness every corner was such disgust and stench.Bloody tampons littered the floors,open condoms,the toilet was overflowing with tissue paper and feces and urine, old needles some with blood in them and burnt spoons ,matches and cigarette butts were piled into the corners.Old papers and unopened and opened tins of food with mold hovering on the top.Her bed was blotched with blood stains and seminal fluid as well used tampons and condoms.She looked at me and said ,'Help me, Help me'.She asked me if,' I was her angel.'As soon as she said this her face turned into a child, a helpless child ,abandoned in the world ,beaten by the world in utter torment.I lowered her body in the bed and wrapped her dirty sheets around her slim, undernourished, body.I sat in the room ,sitting on her bed rail stroking her hair I whispered into her ear ,'Yes I am an angel.'As she looked into my eyes like child to a father,like a sick,dying patient to a doctor,she said,'an angel,an angel,an angel' and fell asleep.I took all the money I had in my pocket and put it under her pillow.
I walked down the stairs of that apartment,through the doors ,to the dirty street of the East side.I was devastated and profoundly embarrassed about my previous arrogant state of mind.


MEDITATION PRACTICE

I am diligently studying Buddhism using the Mahayana Pure land Vehicle in fact as soon as I walked into the temple Lingyen Mountain Temple in Richmond British Columbia I felt a very strong affinity and understood very quickly all of the basic truths of Buddhism(Karma,Independent origination,the 3 jewels,mindfulness and the various relationships of mans mind to the causes of suffering and ignorance.)I will tell you immediately upon entering that temple in Richmond I decided and committed my self to Buddhism immediately,right at that moment as if there was a clock ticking !!! My wife and I follow the Mahayana 5 precepts without question. I have had a few obstacles and obstructions on my way to becoming a Buddhist mainly family and friends who have called me ..'weird ..'and ..'Why do you meditate ?..' people even call it a ..'cult..' as well I even had a Christian friend call it 'witchcraft', but I continue the journey as I believe the end reward is so great and the teachings are the perfect teachings and it has had a very positive effect in my life.
When I did commit myself ,I thought or imagined or had a vision ,I saw the eye and face of Buddha from high .I was at his feet , looking at me from upon high the whole body of Buddha was rolling toward my face like a wheel but his body or statue looked old and weathered as if he was in an attic.His face came to mine and he opened his eye which was very bright an intense clear light.However this message was very precise and different,very subtle it also seemed to tell me if I did not follow the Buddha eye, his eye would turn dark towards me.It than immediately went dark.In a whisper the Buddha apparition said ,..'What are you waiting for?I'm' very busy come or be lost'..'I tell you at that time I never fully understood the Dharma wheel until later.I know that teachers of Buddhism tell you not to get to attached to these visions because all new practitioners may think they see this sort of thing.Also I don't want you to think that I am holy or something like that .The Buddha or my mind ,was there to help me ,only me and if you had said anything else to me or made it anymore elaborate I would have not listened.It was the right message at the right time.

Also I have been visiting with a local Rinpoche in West Vancouver BC and have been also studying the Theravada Tradition and Vipassana Meditation which is so simple and perfect.I call Vipasanna The Occam's Razor of Meditation '.All other things being equal, the simplest solution are the best.Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills. The method is used to develop some mastery over the mind by learning to fix one's attention on the natural reality of the ever changing flow of breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils.

After a while the mind is calmer and more focused, better able to undertake the practice of Vipassana itself: observing sensations throughout the body, understanding their nature, and developing equanimity by learning not to react to them.

Finally, one learns the meditation of loving kindness or goodwill towards all, in which the purity developed is shared with all beings.

I also feel as if the bells and symbols that the Rinpoche uses are chasing the evil thoughts away and purifying my mind.I feel most happy after the sutra and the bells and symbols chase away all of my minds defilements.


In my meditating,I practice everyday with my wife for about an hour in the morning ,we first do 108 prostrations to the Chinese chant of Guanyinpusa than ending with Omitofu ,than we chant the Shurangama sutra ,and with some yoga like exercises than quiet reflection ending with a transference of merit and read for 2-3 hours a night various dharma texts and sutras.

I am beginning to see and /or visualize great pools of water with the various evil thoughts arising detached from this pool .This is good !!!
The evil thought are now separated and controlled they are like twisted smoke trying to find fire!!!

I can now partially control some of these thoughts and merely have to think them way and they will go way.I say to them directly ..'who are you ,why are you here,I look them up from the top and than down to their root..'and they disappear and I replace the nothingness space with compassion .Negative unproductive thoughts float in the pools of our minds and arise as serpents with no reason ,no place,no truth and no beginning they live in this world to cause us suffering and attach themselves to our original pure minds.Left unchecked these attachments of hate,jealousy and anger can sour our minds and can be let loose under the influence of alcohol or drugs with greater consequences the dangers of unknown occurrences.Our pure minds float on an ocean of unbelievable time and beauty,out of this ocean , seeing the reflection and understanding the afflicted self, sprinkled with compassion ,we can do anything!

Surrounding the pool of water I see great people Buddha-like sitting in mediation,many in trees watching us, they don't talk ,nor do they move they merely sit with wisdom.They are always here ,and have been here always, they are my new home.I know they are helping me if I ask.

Buddhism is so natural and one cannot deny the essential teachings of Buddha because they are the laws of the universe.Buddhism is the medicine for me...



I give you this little story I tell to people so that you may use it one day with those materialists or students who use science as their compass.

This happened to me a few weeks ago with a friend of mine while discussing Buddhism .


I had my smart science oriented minded friend ask me, ..'Why should I meditate?..'
I first asked him a few questions
1)Do you have a computer he said,..' yes..'
2)Do you have software he said,..' yes..'
3)Do you use virus software he said again ,..'yes..'

I said fine and good, the computer is your brain,the software are your accumulated actions both good and bad and mediation on the Buddha's words is your virus software.