Wesak Reflections

Like other institutionalized religions, Buddhism has its share of bad publicity in the Press from
time to time. From firebrand monks in Burma and Sri Lanka who espoused violence against
followers of other religions to Cambodian and Thai monks charged for rape and drug abuse, as
well as Korean monks fighting over temple property in Seoul, the Saṅgha has indeed been badly
tarnished.

The Saṅgha — the order of fully ordained monks and nuns — is the visible representation of the
Buddha in the world; for more than 2500 years, it has sustained the continuity of the Teachings
of the Buddha among humanity. By its procedures of ordination and transmission it has ensured
that the Buddha’s legacy remains alive till today. The Buddha’s own teachings that we have in
the Pāli and Sanskrit scriptures have come down to us today thanks to the Saṅgha.

There is, however, concern and even fear that the Saṅgha may not survive in the future or that
it will not be able to make vital and important contributions to human society like previously.
This is a task that depends on the members of the Saṅgha themselves, especially each new
generation of monks and nuns, and this is an extremely important task, because the future of
Buddhism depends on the future of the Saṅgha.

Buddhism has traditionally stood on three legs: The Buddha, the Dharma and the Saṅgha.
However, if one of those legs has become wobbly, it is not necessary to abandon the other two.
We should instead fix the wobbly leg. But assuming it cannot be fixed, then we continue with the
remaining two. After all, the essence of the Buddha’s teachings is about personal transformation.
The Saṅgha as a religious organisation was created to support that process. But the process can
still be carried on even if the organisation is flawed.

However, we can also look at it from another perspective. If our faith and confidence in
Buddhism depends solely on the good behavior of its monks and nuns, that belief rests on very
shaky ground indeed. If the teachings taught by the Buddha are true, no amount of misbehavior
by monks or nuns – or even lay disciples – can make them untrue.

Lay Buddhists who are disillusioned with some of the unfortunate things they read in the Press
about the monks should instead reflect on what Steven Covey calls “areas of concern” and “areas
of influence”. For instance, they may not be able to control the outer conditions of the religion,
but they can certainly control the inner ones. That means turning their attention within and
strengthening and deepening their own practice. We can learn to “let go” – to stop fretting about
all this external experience, none of which we can control, and just focus on our own inner
practice where we have direct influence. This is my reflection for this year’s Wesak.
CONTENTS ISSUE NO.52
MAY 2017

04 10 17 23

04 LEAD ARTICLE 23 The Bodhisattva Path In

Zen Garden The Trump Era
By Karen Maezen Miller By Dr David Loy

10 FACE TO FACE 32 The Role Of Devas In The

Caring For Mother Buddha's Career
Earth: A Buddhist By Susan Elbaum Jootla
Response
By Venerable Chang Ji 37 Holistic And Sustainable
Development
17 TEACHINGS By Venerable Pomnyun Sunim
The Buddha Talks To A
Brahmin Supremacist: 40 FORUM
How A Buddhist Teaching Is Karma Fate?
On Dismantling The By Venerable Āyasmā
Superiority Of The Aggacitta, Venerable Ming
Brahmin Class Can Help Wei & Geshe Dadul Namgyal
Us Take On Racism
By Krishnan Venkatesh 46 PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
How I Became A
20 The Significance Of Buddhist And What It
Transference Of Merits Really Means
To The Departed By Sandra Pawula
By Venerable Dr K Sri Dhammananda
50 It’s Not Love - It’s Chan
By Venerable Chang Zao
41 44

......................................................................
MAY 2017 ISSUE NO. 52 (Published 3 times a year)

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4 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS

ZEN GARDEN
By Karen Maezen Miller

Karen Maezen Miller is a Zen Buddhist priest at the Hazy

Moon Zen Center Los Angeles, California. She writes about
spirituality in everyday life. Her latest book is Paradise in
Plain Sight: Lessons from a Zen Garden (New World Library,
May 2014). She also wrote  Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions
for an Ordinary Life (New World Library, 2010) and Momma
Zen: Walking the Crooked Path of Motherhood (Shambhala,
2006) Her writing is also included in several anthologies. The
most recent are  Buddha’s Daughters (Shambhala 2014), The
Best Buddhist Writing 2013 (Shambhala, 2013), The Mindful
Way Through Pregnancy (Shambhala, 2012),  The Mindfulness
Revolution (Shambhala, 2011) and Right Here With You:
Bringing Mindful Awareness into Our Relationships (Shambhala,
2011).

As her family begins the restoration
of a traditional Japanese-style
garden, Zen teacher Karen Maezen
Miller receives a teaching of love—
and of letting go—in the fleeting
beauty of its flowers.
Camellia japonica is a mainstay of
Japanese temple gardens but was
once avoided around private homes.
That’s because the flower has no life
span to speak of. It does not adorn
the branch for long but falls off at its
peak. You can see why some people
would think this peculiar feature
unappealing, even disturbing, but
the Buddhists saw a lesson in this.
(We see a lesson in everything.) In
life there is death. In form, there
is emptiness. In eternity there is
fragility. What are you holding on
to? What will you leave behind? Like
the blossoms in their evanescent
beauty, throw yourself into this
moment and leave no trace.
“It’s not a flower garden,” I say
about this place, meaning this isn’t
the kind of garden where you fill
a bed with blooming annuals and
replace them when they fade. But
then again, that’s not quite right.
This is a flower garden, and it’s a
bed of roses too. I don’t have to
do anything, and yet flowers are
appearing all the time: azalea,
jasmine, and wisteria in spring;
agapanthus, water lilies, and day
lilies in summer; camellia, bird of
paradise, and orange blossoms
in winter; floribunda roses and
gardenias nearly all year long. Even

the dandelions count. By some
mysterious and unerring hand,
flowers all appear right on time.
They seed the fruit. They feed the
bees and butterflies; they sweeten
the breeze. They are subtle and
selfless, here and gone, appearing
and disappearing, part and parcel
of life’s perennial display. By this
definition everything is a flower; by
this lesson, all is love. Life is indeed
love, continually pouring itself into
itself—for my benefit and delight,
I might add—but by my egocentric
thinking I can be blind to the gift.
Love is abundant, but if you’re
like me you may live a good part
of the time thinking otherwise.
That’s because love doesn’t always
fit your idea of love. It doesn’t
feel like you think it should. It
doesn’t go your way. When I move
through my own full house and go
virtually unnoticed by my distracted
cohabitants; when I set a meal
on the table and no one answers
my call, takes a seat, or applauds;
when I hang up someone else’s
clothes, rinse someone else’s dishes,
straighten someone else’s mess,
and fix someone else’s mistakes,
leaving no one the wiser; when I cry
for someone else’s pain and sweat
someone else’s small stuff; when
the neighbor doesn’t invite me over
and the party goes on without me;
when the critics are brutal and
the fans are slow to muster—I’m
rather convinced that I’ve gotten a
raw deal from love, that I’m party
to an uneven exchange. But that’s
TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 5
wrongheaded. This is my universe,
and all the love in it is mine. If
I detect a shortage, it’s because
I’ve been picky, closed-minded, or
stingy. Can I love a bit better and
give a bit more? Considering that
I’m the only one stopping me, well,
yes, I can.
Whatever you love will bring you
to the final test of love: letting go of
what you think love is.
Buddhists don’t try to cause trouble,
but one thing that troubles people
about Buddhism is the concept of
nonattachment. That’s because we
think attachment means love, and
we think love means I can’t live
without you. We are always hung up
on our self-serving notions—what I
need, what I want, what I like, what
6 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS
I think, what is best, what is right—
and that’s the cause of suffering. We
attach to those ideas as though they
were life itself. The truth is never
the phony thing we attach to in our
heads. The truth is as it is.
Buddha taught what he called the
Four Noble Truths:
1. Life is suffering. Things change.
2. The origin of suffering is
attachment. It hurts when
things change.
3. The cessation of suffering is
attainable. Accept that things
change.
4. There is a way out of suffering.
By changing yourself.
When we try to imagine what
it means to overcome our
attachments, we picture cruel and
unfeeling indifference. But that is
never the outcome of overcoming
attachments. That is never the
outcome of accepting what happens.
That is never the outcome of
allowing people and things to
be as they are. The outcome of
nonattachment is love.
I don’t have to preach this. You
know it yourself by waking up
to life as it is. Your children grow
up and grow distant. They might
upset, alarm, and even despise
you, but your eyes still flicker at
the sight of them. Your parents
grow old, enfeebled, and afraid,
dependent and encumbering, but
you care for them. Sickness comes,
disaster strikes, and seasons
change. Everything falls apart no
matter how hard you’ve tried: all
that forethought, planning, and
prevention! This life of ours is
strewn with faded blooms. You
didn’t sign up for the hard part,
but this is the way it is. How will
you love what you don’t even like?
There’s only one way: selflessly.
When you act with compassion, all
your doing is undoing—undoing
ignorance, suffering, fear, anger,
exploitation, alienation, injury,
blame, you name it—simply by
undoing the stingy hold you keep
on yourself. Thinking poor me
impoverishes your entire world.
When my daughter was about six
years old, someone asked her what

it was like to have a mom who was a
Zen priest.
“She screams a lot,” she said. It
wasn’t the answer they were
expecting. There were polite
chuckles all around.
I can comfort myself with the fact
that children only remember when
their parents scream, not when
their parents don’t. Silence, after
all, is a nonevent. No matter what I
was hollering about, I wish I’d had
the presence of mind to let it go.
I wish I’d dropped my rage, fear,
frustration, or despair: whatever
illusory part of me I was cherishing
at the time. I wish love could be my
legacy instead, the way a camellia
launches its blossoms into the
oblivion of time without causing a
quiver of pain. No one ever notices
when a flower has fulfilled its
purpose in life, just as no one ever
regrets a moment lost to love.
“He was the kindest person I ever
met.” These words were spoken
by Taizan Maezumi Roshi’s widow
after his death, after their public
troubles and private pain, and after
she was left alone to raise three
children. When flowers fall, you
realize the gift of their presence by
their absence.
Maezumi, my teacher, introduced
me to a dimension of love that we
do not often experience. His love
was not administered in the guise
of charity or sympathy. He did not
TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 7
serve as a counselor, advocate, or
intermediary. He had no suggestions
for how I could improve myself.
He simply sat in a room. When he
rang a bell, you could enter, sit in
front of him, and be seen. The two
of us would talk a little and laugh
or cry: whatever. Gradually, I would
relax and stop trying to make an
impression. His kindness was the
profound kindness of seeing a
person or thing completely, without
judgment. I learned two things by
this: that it is rare to be seen and
that seeing without judging is an act
of love.
Zen practice is facing yourself as
you are. And by accepting yourself,
you come to accept everything.
Self-consciousness dissolves and
8 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS
separation disappears. Free of
deception, you are no longer afraid
to be yourself. You are no longer
afraid of much of anything. There
is nothing to hide; no self-image
to defend; nothing to assemble,
control, or avoid. It’s simply a
matter of taking care of what
appears in front of you.
Whatever appears in front of you is
your liberation—that is, until you
judge it. Then you imprison yourself
again.
“Be intimate with your life,”
Maezumi used to say, over and
over, and in every way he could.
Meditation is about cultivating
intimacy with your life—not
intellectually, as in I get it, but
literally, as in I am it—intimacy
with your breath, your sweat, your
body odor, the pain in your back
and knees, the crazy rage and riot
in your head, and the saliva at the
back of your throat. Intimacy with
food and sleep, light and air, earth
and sky, everyone and everything.
When you leave nothing out, there’s
no end to it. This intimacy goes far
beyond the companionship and
gratification we seek from another
person. Keeping company with
yourself changes the expectations
you place on a relationship. You
see firsthand what it means to
take responsibility for your own
fulfillment, and you experience love
of a different kind—compassion,
which arises spontaneously as your
true nature.
Every time I meet with my current
teacher in dokusan, a face-to-
face interview, we talk about my
practice. After a little back and forth,
he’ll wrap up the interview with
what sounds like small talk.
“How’s your family?”
I roll my eyes and repeat the usual
about how worried or anxious I
am, how busy, how burdened, how
bothered, and then I realize. That
was the big question.
The big question is always a little
question. What’s it like to have a Zen
priest for a mother?

One time after a mountain retreat,
Maezumi asked me to come to his
home nearby and meet his family. At
the time there was only one phone
on the property of the Zen Center
(this was before cell phones would
add another layer of egocentric
disengagement to modern life),
a pay phone strung up outside
the bathhouse, and when it rang,
someone ran up to the dorm to fetch
me. I was packing to leave.
“Roshi is calling for you!” the
messenger said, out of breath.
I was feeling pretty special on
the way downhill to take the call,
but when I heard his invitation, I
had to say no. It was impossible,
TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 9
what with the drive to LAX and a One more thing.
plane to catch. Perhaps he didn’t
understand how impractical it was “Mom, you don’t have to keep telling
for me. Maybe he didn’t grasp how me because I know.”
far I had to travel or what I had to
do. I thought he was a little naive I love you.
to the ways of the world I lived in.
No, I couldn’t come but maybe some Excerpted from Paradise in Plain
other time. We all know how that Sight: Lessons from a Zen Garden,
kind of thinking turns out. by Karen Maezen Miller. New
World Library, 2014. Reprinted with
In between the self-important permission from Karen Maezen
student who has no time and the Miller. EH
mom who terrifies her kid, I’ve
gotten a good look at what I hold
dearest—myself. It’s what I must
let go of completely before it’s time
to go. Then this one life will have
flowered into something beautiful
without my getting in the way.
10 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE

CARING FOR MOTHER

EARTH: A BUDDHIST
RESPONSE
By Venerable Chang Ji

Venerable Chang Ji (常濟) is an ordained nun in the Chinese

Mahayana tradition of Buddhism since 2004. In her role
as the International Affairs Special Assistant to the late
Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen (1930-2009), founder of
Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association, she developed
her knowledge on international development affairs from
participating in many international conferences, including
the World Economic Forum, World Bank World Faiths and
Development Dialogue, as well as United Nations conferences
all over the world. She is committed to teaching the tenets
of contemplative action to young adults worldwide and
has led many workshops and 1 day meditation retreats to
this effect for young leaders from Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan,
Cambodia, India, Korea, USA, Japan, Kenya, etc, and works to
spread awareness of Spiritual Environmentalism as taught
by her teacher, the late Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen.
She is currently serving as the representative to the United
Nations for Dharma Drum Buddhist Association, USA.
Venerable Chang Ji was in Malaysia in March 2017 to give an
environmental awareness talk organized by Dharma Drum
Mountain Buddhist Association Malaysia titled “A Tale of Two
Futures: Planetary Realism in the Time of Climate Change” on
April 5, 2017 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. She also met up with
Benny Liow for a short interview with Eastern Horizon on
March 28, 2017.
 FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 11

Can you share with us briefly your professional background before you
became a Buddhist nun, and what motivates you to champion the cause for
environmental protection?

Chang Ji: I was born in Malaysia but left for Canada when I was just two years old. I
was trained as an accountant and also pursued graduate studies after graduation.
I started my career in international relations in Canada which I liked very much as
it provided me an opportunity to travel. I also had a great career going for me. But
somehow deep inside I wasn’t satisfied. I then started to do charity work where I
found some fulfilment. At the same time, the seeds for a monastic path were also
planted as I became more interested in dharma study and practice. I began to read
more about Buddhism especially the teachings of Master Sheng Yen. In 2004 I decided
to ordain as a nun under Master Sheng Yen. It was a decision I did not regret till
today as I got to work closely with Master Sheng Yen. I was his English secretary and
International Affairs assistant. The guidance from Master Sheng Yen and the nature of
my work fill the void within me.

Working for Dharma Drum Mountain gave me the opportunity to meet with many
young people, especially from war-torn countries. I interacted with youths from
Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Cambodia. We partnered with non-Buddhists who had
different expertise to help these young people recover from the trauma of war and
conflict.
12 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE

But when I encountered young Americans I realized that they don’t share the same
emotional problems as those from war torn countries. Even though they live in the
most advanced consumer society and most powerful country in the world, they feel
life is deteriorating as rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, and crime
make their cities un­healthy dangerous places. They also feel disenfranchised and
ignored, particularly as cash-strapped governments are cutting back on many of their
youth support programs. For instance, they are not responsible for the mess in the
environment but have to bear the consequences. So they felt angry and frustrated.
After deep reflection, I found a connection between protecting the environment we
live in and promoting a spiritual dimension to the environment. As young people are
full of energy, I help them to channel their emotional rage to something positive. I say
to them, “if you think you are a victim, you will feel angry and frustrated. But let’s do
something to transform the world, to make it a better place for everybody.” So through
Buddhist principles, they learn how to transform their negative energies to positive
energies. They then realize that climate change is not the end of the world but a great
opportunity for human solidarity.

In what ways as a Buddhist nun are you able to generate greater awareness
among the public about the dangers our earth is facing in terms of climate
change?

As a Buddhist nun I can see many advantages in helping to create awareness of the
importance of protecting the earth. For instance, my contemplative training allows
me to engage with difficult issues such as ecological imbalance with a clear mind.
 FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 13

Likewise, with my training I can teach others how to cultivate kindness, compassion,
joy, and equanimity in their everyday lives as they deal with problems. There’s also a
large congregation of Buddhists that I can relate easily as a Buddhist nun as we can
speak the same language based on Dharma principles. It also allows me as a nun to
speak as a representative of the Buddhist faith with other co-religionists on the topic
of environmental degradation.

As a Buddhist nun, my actions should be reflective of the fundamental message that

the Buddha gave to mankind. Besides the carbon dioxide pollution of our physical
environment, we can speak of the spiritual pollution of our human environment:
the toxic and destructive atmosphere we’re creating with our way of excessive
consumption. A saṅgha member sets an example with its moderate lifestyle. This
moderation in our consumption pattern has sustained our peace and happiness. So it
is a good example for others to follow.

Are there many other Buddhist leaders or Buddhist organizations that are
also actively working together to support a global movement to protect our
environment from further degradation?

There are many Buddhist leaders and Buddhist organizations actively involved
in protecting our environment, and their roles have been well-recognized
internationally. In 2014, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) approached Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, who has been in the
forefront to protect the environment, to request his support to issue a brief statement
about climate change. Likewise, HH the 14th Dalai Lama has repeatedly said that
strong action on climate change is our human responsibility and we should limit
global warming and protect fragile environments. He reiterated this again during the
recent UN Conference on Climate Change in Marrakech in November 2016. Bhikkhu
Bodhi, one of the foremost thinkers of Theravāda Buddhism, has always taught that
as Buddhists we should be committed to the “timeless values of compassion, peace
and wisdom” and to mobilize an “inspired action to protect the climate.” It is also very
encouraging to know that our Buddhist leaders are all working together jointly as
members of the Buddhist faith, as well as with leaders of other faiths.

Are there explicit references in the Buddhist scriptures that speak clearly about
the need for mankind to protect the environment?

Buddhists are taught to observe the Five Precepts, and the first precept is not to kill or
harm living beings. But the real meaning goes beyond merely not harming others to
cultivating kindness and compassion for all beings. And by implication if we harm the
environment we will also harm human beings who live there. In Buddhist cosmology,
other life forms such as animals, birds, insects and even spirit beings (devas) inhabit
the trees, caves and rivers. If we harm these places, we also harm these living beings,
and this goes against the very first precept that Buddhists are expected to observe.
14 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE

In the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra, the Buddha told his disciple Mahākāśyapa that “if a
forest-dwelling monk is given much food, he should gladly put a handful of it on a
clean rock, thinking, ‘I give this to the birds and beasts that can eat it. I am the donor
and they are the recipients.’ . . .” This is a message that the environment is not just for
humans but also for other living beings.

In two Pāli discourses, the Aggañña Sutta (Dīgha Nikāya 27) and the Cakkavatti-
Sīhanāda Sutta (Dīgha Nikāya 26), the Buddha explained that human greed causes
the environment to decline, and this will eventually result in suffering, punishment,
violence, and war – ultimately leading to total social breakdown. Both discourses
present a remarkable explanation of what happens when we cause problems to the
environment, and why we need to redress them.

Though the Buddha lived 2600 years ago in India, are there examples in the
life of the Buddha where we can say that he was an environmentally friendly
spiritual master living in India?

If we look at the life of Sakyamuni Buddha, there are clear imageries about the
importance of respect for nature. For instance, he was born at the foot of a tree
in Lumbini. He attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, and
passed away in Kushinara under two Sal trees. And he started preaching at Sarnath
surrounded by different types of deer and other animals. In the Vinaya, monks are
also not allowed to cut trees. And throughout Buddhist history we can find evidence of
planting trees and nurturing tress as virtuous acts.
 FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 15

The well-known story of Thai monk Phra kru Pitak Nanthakthun, abbot of Wat
Arunyawas in north-east Thailand, conducting ceremonies to “ordain” trees is a good
example of how the Sangha respects the environment. He once told BBC that “When
you ordain a tree, that tree becomes sacred,” and “once a tree is ordained nobody will
want to destroy it.”

You have used the word Spiritual Environmentalism which was taught by the
late Master Sheng Yen. Could you share with us what are the approaches of
Spiritual Environmentalism?

My master Venerable Sheng Yen has used the term Spiritual Environmentalism to
refer to four key aspects:

(a) Protecting the Spiritual Environment. This refers to the practice of mindfulness
meditation so that we can clear our minds of negative thoughts and be calm in the
face of difficulties.
(b) Protecting the Living Environment. This refers to ensuring the sustainability of
earth resources through reducing wastage and over consumption, and living a
moderate life style.
(c) Protecting the Social Environment. This refers to the respect for human diversity
and fostering good will in the community irrespective of race, creed, nationality,
or political differences.
(d) Protect the Natural Environment. This refers to recognizing our planet as the
property of all human beings and that it also belong to our future generations. We
must be grateful for the planet that we have inherited and take good care by not
polluting it.

Some Buddhists are more concerned about the next life – for instance, some in
the Mahāyāna practice only for the purpose of being reborn in the Pure Land,
while those in the Theravāda say this world is Saṃsāra and so we should aspire
to get out of it. How do we explain to them that they should also take care of this
world that they are living in now?

Buddhism is not about how to leave this world but to be in this world – to make
it a better place. When the Buddha was alive he addressed the ills of his time, and
this included the caste system where he spoke strongly against it and called for
equality. He went against the norms of society then by ordaining both the low caste
and high caste Indians into the Saṅgha. Just as the Buddha was concerned about the
contemporary issues of his time, we too should be concerned about similar ills that
affect our environment today.
16 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE

Since the Buddha’s time, we have been fortunate to have far sighted monks such
as Master Tai Hsu (1890-1947), Master Yin Shung (1906-2005), Master Hsing Yun
(1927- ) and Master Sheng Yen (1930-2009) who have addressed contemporary
issues affecting the people. If we follow the Buddha’s teaching on cause and effect, we
will understand that it is necessary for us to create the conditions of happiness and
well-being in society. If we destroy the earth by polluting it, we are also sowing the
seeds or causes of suffering for mankind.

How can contemplative practice helps us in our efforts to protect the

environment?

Contemplative practice allows us to step back from our frenetic life so that we can
reflect upon our role as an activist, educator or ordinary person to help protect the
environment. It allows us to have an insight into the meaning of our individual and
collective lives. It is easy for us to become frustrated, angry and burnt-out trying
to help save the planet. This is where meditation or contemplative tools comes in.
When we are calm and have control of our thoughts, we will be able to maintain,
deepen, and grow in our environmental commitments. Likewise, a calm and serene
mind allows us to mobilize and educate others about the importance of caring for the
environment and the well-being of future generations yet to come.

What advice would you give concerning personal action that we should take as
part of a long-term process in caring for the future well-being of our planet?

Start with the practice of the Five Precepts where the first precept tells us to respect
life. And since the environment sustains life, we endeavor to keep it safe for the
benefit of all beings living now and in the future. Our personal practice and how we
safeguard our environment are closely connected. This is because both of these efforts
require us to overcome our three main defilements of greed, hate, and delusion.
These three defilements are behind all the large scale human destruction of the
environment. Greed drives exploitation of our natural resources, hate destroys vast
lands through the ravages of war, and delusion perpetuates environmental harm
when we don’t understand the impact our actions have on our fragile planet. As
Dharma practitioners, we must understand the inter-dependent relationship between
this planet and ourselves, i.e. when we properly care for ourselves, we will care for the
world, and when we do what’s best for the world, we benefit ourselves. As Dharma
practice emphasizes the impact our individual actions have on our lives and the world
around us, it follows naturally from this perspective that caring for our planet must
first begin with each of us. EH
 TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 17

THE BUDDHA TALKS TO A

BRAHMIN SUPREMACIST:
HOW A BUDDHIST TEACHING
ON DISMANTLING THE
SUPERIORITY OF THE
BRAHMIN CLASS CAN HELP
US TAKE ON RACISM
By Krishnan Venkatesh

Krishnan Venkatesh has taught at St. John’s

College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, for more
than 20 years and helped shape its Eastern Classics
graduate program. From 2003 to 2008, he was the
dean of graduate studies at the college, and his
recent works and studies explore the Pāli Canon of
the Buddha, the Japanese philosopher Dōgen, and
the mathematical books of Johannes Kepler. Born in
Malaysia in 1960 to a South Indian Brahmin father
and a Hakka Chinese mother, Venkatesh studied
English literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge,
where he obtained First Class honors. He researched
Shakespeare at the University of Muenster,
Germany, and from 1986 to 1989 he taught
literature and philosophy at Shanxi University,
China. The lifelong companions on his bedside
table include Montaigne, Chaucer, the poet Thomas
Hardy, Blake, Wordsworth, Zhuangzi, Chekhov,
Tolstoy, Austen, Balzac, Laxness and Shakespeare.
18 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS
The belief that a group of people can be born superior
to all other groups has been around for a very long time,
and even existed during the time of the Buddha. For
3,000 years, society in South Asia has been dominated
by the caste system, according to which a person is born
into one of four major castes (varna), or social stations:
laborers, merchants, warriors, and brahmins. According
to the earliest Hindu scriptures, brahmins — scholars
and priests—were the highest caste and viewed as
morally and spiritually superior to the others; indeed,
they are called “brahmins” because according to one
of the hymns of the Rg Veda, they were born from the
mouth of Brahman [God].
In the Pāli Canon, the Buddha has many conversations
with brahmins who, clearly provoked by his ideas of
radical equality, routinely approached him to argue and
learn. Late in the Middle Length Discourses, we meet a
group of 500 brahmins who live in the town of Savatthi,
where the Buddha is staying at the time. When they
hear that the Buddha has been teaching that all the
castes are equally “pure,” they are outraged, and decide
to send a smart young brahmin to go and debate him.
In the following conversation between the Buddha
and the proud brahmin Assalāyana (after whom the
Assalāyana Sutta, MN 93 is named), the Buddha offers
some ways to address the obdurate belief in superiority
of caste, race, or any other birth group.
Master Gotama, the brahmins say, ‘Brahmins are
the superior caste; any other caste is inferior. Only
brahmins are the fair caste; any other caste is dark. Only
brahmins are pure, not non-brahmins. Only brahmins
are the sons and offspring of Brahma: born of his mouth,
born of Brahma, created by Brahma, heirs of Brahma.’
What does Master Gotama have to say with regard to
that?
The Buddha begins to dismantle Assalāyana’s notions
of superiority by noting that we all enter the world the
same way:
But, Assalāyana, the brahmins’ brahmin-women are
plainly seen having their periods, becoming pregnant,
giving birth, and nursing [their children]. And yet the
brahmins, being born through the birth canal, say,
“Brahmins are the superior caste . . .”
The Buddha grounds this initial discussion in physical
reality, as it is difficult to argue that people who give
birth the same way are fundamentally different. Besides,
how delightful is it that a creature who emerges from
the nether end of its mother can entertain fantasies
about its own transcendent superiority! We see from
this exchange that the Buddha has a wry sense of humor
as well as a comedian’s gift for drawing out the absurd.
The Buddha then proceeds to ask questions that he
already knows Assalayāna’s answers to. First, whether
a person is a brahmin, a warrior, a merchant, or a
laborer, if he does bad things, can he expect to suffer
bad consequences? And if he does good things, can he
expect to be rewarded with good consequences? Surely,
replies Assalāyana. Good people are good people, and
bad people are bad people, no matter what they come
from, and all can be expected to suffer the appropriate
consequences. Even a brahmin supremacist has to admit
to knowing some brahmins who are terrible people and
some farm laborers who are wise and noble.
Next, the Buddha asks whether brahmins, warriors,
merchants, and workers have the same relationship to
their bodies and to the physical world. When anybody
from any caste goes down to the river to bathe, do they
not all scrub their skin and then rinse with water? And
when they start a fire using logs, kindling, and a lighter,
do they not all produce fire and heat, and smoke that
makes everyone cough? Using the same materials and
techniques, every human being will produce the same
fire; thus notions of caste superiority have no basis
whatsoever in the physical nature of the world.
At this point, in case Assalāyana doesn’t believe that the
laws of physics, chemistry, and biology have any bearing
on the issue of ethical supremacy, the Buddha swerves
back to the question of merit within the same caste.
Between two brahmin brothers, is it possible for one
to be worthier than the other—for example, the hard-
working, respectful brother, versus the lazy, slanderous
one? That is, when we’re dealing only with brahmins, it
is clear that merit has nothing to do with birth; at least,

we behave as if the more virtuous brother has deserved
more respect.
To his credit, at this point in the conversation
Assalāyana has already understood the weakness of
his prejudices. The brahmin student Assalāyana sat
silent, abashed, his shoulders drooping, his head down,
brooding, at a loss for words. He is too intelligent not
to see that when he thinks about it, the supremacist
posture turns out to be an embarrassment to the
intelligence. The Buddha then delivers an amusing coup
de grâce by retelling the legend of the ancient Hindu
sage Devala the Dark's challenge to seven arrogant
brahmins:
But do you know, masters, if the mother who bore you
went only with a brahmin, and not with a non-brahmin?
No, master.
And do you know if the mothers of the mother who bore
you—back seven generations of mothers—went only
with brahmins, and not with non-brahmins?
No, master.
And do you know if the father who sired you went only
with a brahmin woman, and not with a non-brahmin
woman?
No, master.
And do you know if the fathers of the father who bore
you—back seven generations of fathers—went only
with brahmin women, and not with non-brahmin
women?
No, master.
We know next to nothing about the sexual behavior
of our parents, let alone our ancestors; about some
things there is just no knowing. If we do not know the
circumstances of our conception and the conceptions
of those who conceived us, we have no right to claim
superiority because of birth.
That being the case, do you know who you are? the
Buddha asks.
That being the case, master, we don’t know who we are.
Assalāyana has learned something, as have we:
how a Buddha dispels an inveterate, vehemently
held prejudice by calmly asking what it is based on.
Throughout all of this, the Buddha has expressed no
TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 19
irritation, anger, or indignation. He is engaging with
Assalāyana on Assalāyana’s own terms, using images
and vocabulary from ordinary life. He treats Assalāyana
with respect, trusting his intelligence and knowing that
the young man is smart enough to put two and two
together for himself. If the Buddha had asked leading
questions, Assalāyana would have been put on the
defensive and potentially found ways to argue back.
Instead, the Buddha appears to be genuinely interested
in what Assalāyana will say, but he also knows what a
reasonable response to the questions will be because
the Buddha himself—having been born in the warrior
caste—has thought them through.
Did the Assalāyana Sutta shake the caste system to
its foundations and transform Indian society? No.
Even today, the matrimonial pages of South Asian
newspapers will specify not only castes but sub-castes
and sub-sub-castes, and fairness of complexion is still
explicitly preferred.
But still, for today’s practitioners, this Buddhist
sutta illustrates a tactic we might use against racist
sentiment: it demonstrates a method of unraveling
deep-rooted prejudice by asking questions that activate
intelligent reflection. In these times in which racism
is openly espoused both in-person and online, this
persistent form of questioning might serve as one of the
more trustworthy tools we can use against it. EH
20 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF
TRANSFERENCE OF MERITS
TO THE DEPARTED
By Venerable Dr K Sri Dhammananda (1919-2006)
If you really want to honor and help your
departed ones, then do some meritorious
deeds in their name and transfer the
merits to them.
According to Buddhism, good deeds
or ‘acts of merit’ bring happiness to
the doer both in this world and in
the hereafter. Acts of merit are also
The late K Sri
believed to lead towards the final goal of
Dhammananda Maha everlasting happiness. The acts of merit
Nayaka Thera was can be performed through body, speech
the chief abbot of the or mind. Every good deed produces
Buddhist Maha Vihara ‘merit’ which accumulates to the ‘credit’
in Brickfields, Kuala of the doer. Buddhism also teaches that
Lumpur, and Spiritual the acquired merit can be transferred
Advisor to various to others’ it can be shared vicariously
Buddhist organizations with others. In other words, the merit
in Malaysia, Singapore, is ‘reversible’ and so can be shared with
and Sri Lanka. He was other persons. The persons who receive
a prolific writer and the merit can be either living or departed
ones.
has authored numerous
books on Buddhism
The method for transferring merits is
in English. His “What
quite simple. First some good deeds are
Buddhist Believe” is one
performed. The doer of the good deeds
of the most popular has merely to wish that the merit he has
introductory books gained accrues to someone in particular,
for new Buddhists to or to ‘all beings’. This wish can be purely
understand the theory mental or it can accompanied by an
and practice of the expression of words.
Buddha’s teachings.
This wish could be made with the
beneficiary being aware of it. When the
beneficiary is aware of the act or wish,
then a mutual ‘rejoicing in’ merit takes
place. Here the beneficiary becomes
a participant of the original deed by
associating himself with the deed done.
If the beneficiary identifies himself
with both the deed and the doer, he can
sometimes acquire even greater merit
than the original doer, either because
his elation is greater or because his
appreciation of the value of the deed is
based on his understanding of Dhamma
and, hence, more meritorious, Buddhist
texts contain several stories of such
instances.
The ‘joy of transference of merits’ can
also take place with or without the
knowledge of the doer of the meritorious
act. All that is necessary is for the
beneficiary to feel gladness in his heart
when he becomes aware of the good
deed. If he wishes, he can express his
joy by saying ‘sadhu’ which means ‘well
done’. What he is doing is creating a kind
of mental or verbal applause. In order
to share the good deed done by another,
what is important is that there must
be actual approval of the deed and joy
arising in the beneficiary’s heart.
 TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 21

The Buddha says that the greatest gift one can confer on one’s dead
ancestors is to perform ‘acts of merit’ and to transfer these merits so
acquired. He also says that those who give also receive the fruits of
their deeds. The Buddha encouraged those who did good deeds such as
offering alms to holy men, to transfer the merits which they received
to their departed ones.

Even if he so desires, the doer of a
good deed cannot prevent another’s
‘rejoicing in the merit’ because
he has no power over another’s
thoughts. According to the Buddha,
in all actions, thought is what really
matters. Transference is primarily
an act of the mind.
To transfer merit does not mean
that a person is deprived of the
merit had originally acquired by his
good deed. On the contrary, the very
act of  ‘transference’ is a good deed
in itself and hence enhances the
merit already earned.
Highest Gift to the Departed
The Buddha says that the greatest
gift one can confer on one’s dead
ancestors is to perform ‘acts of
merit’ and to transfer these merits
so acquired. He also says that
those who give also receive the
fruits of their deeds. The Buddha
encouraged those who did good
deeds such as offering alms to holy
men, to transfer the merits which
they received to their departed
ones. Alms should be given in the
name of the departed by recalling to
mind such things as, ‘When he was
alive, he gave me this wealth; he did
this for me; he was my relative, my
companion, etc. (Tirokuddha Sutta
--  Khuddakapatha). There is no use
weeping, feeling sorry, lamenting
and bewailing; such attitudes are
of no consequence to the departed
ones.
Transferring merits to the departed
is based on the popular belief that
on a person’s death, his ‘merits’ and
‘demerits’ are weighed against one
another and his destiny determined,
his actions determined whether
he is to be reborn in a sphere of
happiness or a realm of woe. The
belief is that the departed one
might have gone to the world of the
departed spirits. The beings in these
lower forms of existence cannot
generate fresh merits, and have to
live on with the merits which are
earned from this world.
Those who did not harm others and
who performed many good deeds
during their life time, will certainly
have the chance to be reborn in a
happy place. Such persons do not
required the help of living relatives.
However, those who have no chance
to be reborn in a happy abode are
always waiting to receive merits
from their living relatives to offset
their deficiency and to enable them
to be born in a happy abode.
Those who are reborn in an
unfortunate spirit form could
be released from their suffering
condition through the transferring
of merits to them by friends and
relatives who do some meritorious
deeds.
This injunction of the Buddha to
transfer merits to departed ones is
the counterpart of the Hindu custom
which has come down through
the ages. Various ceremonies are
performed so that the spirits of
dead ancestors might live in peace.
This custom has been a tremendous
influence on the social life of certain
Buddhist countries. The dead are
always remembered when any good
deed is done, and more on occasions
connected with their lives, such as
their birth or death anniversaries.
On such occasions, there is a ritual
which is generally practised. The
transferor pours water from a
jug or other similar vessel into a
receptacle, while repeating a Pali
formula which is translated as
follows:
22 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS
As river, when full must flow
and reach and fill the distant
main,
So indeed what is given here
will reach and bless the spirits
there.
As water poured on mountain
top must soon descend and fill
the plain
So indeed what is given here
will reach and bless the spirits
there.
(Nidhikanda Sutta in
Khuddakapatha)
The origin and the significance of
transference of merit is open to
scholarly debate. Although this
ancient custom still exists today
in many Buddhists countries, very
few Buddhists who follow this
ancient custom have understood the
meaning of transference of merits
and the proper way to do that.
Some people are simply wasting
time and money on meaningless
ceremonies and performances in
memory of departed ones. These
people do not realize that it is
impossible to help the departed
ones simply by building big
graveyards, tombs, paper-houses
and other paraphernalia Neither
is it possible to help the departed
by burning joss-sticks, joss-paper,
etc.; nor is it possible to help the
departed by slaughtering animals
and offering them along with other
kinds of food. Also one should not
waste by burning things used by the
departed ones on the assumption
that the deceased persons would
somehow benefit by the act,
when such articles can in fact be
distributed among the needy.
The only way to help the departed
ones is to do some meritorious
deeds in a religious way in memory
of them. The meritorious deeds
include such acts as giving alms to
others, building schools, temples,
orphanages, libraries, hospitals,
printing religious books for free
distribution and similar charitable
deeds.
The followers of the Buddha should
act wisely and should not follow
anything blindly. While others
pray to god for the departed ones,
Buddhists radiate their loving-
kindness directly to them. By doing
meritorious deeds, they can transfer
the merits to their beloved ones for
their well-being. This is the best
way of remembering and giving
real honor to and perpetuating
the names of the departed ones.
In their state of happiness, the
departed ones will reciprocate their
blessings on their living relatives. It
is, therefore, the duty of relatives to
remember their departed ones by
transferring merits and by radiating
loving-kindness directly to them.
EH

Dr David Loy is a professor,
writer, and Zen teacher in
the Sanbo Kyodan tradition
of Japanese Zen Buddhism.
He lectures nationally and
internationally on various
topics, focusing primarily
on the encounter between
Buddhism and modernity:
what each can learn from
the other. He is especially
concerned about social
and ecological issues.
David holds a Ph.D from
the National University of
Singapore.
TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 23
THE
BODHISATTVA
PATH IN THE
TRUMP ERA
By Dr David Loy
It’s been two weeks today since the election, and many of us are still
in a state of shock — traumatized, disheartened if not depressed,
anxious, angry, fearful and somewhat confused, wondering what’s
going to come next — and wondering if there might be some silver
lining to what’s happening. My response today has two parts. First I’d
like to identify a very real silver lining, or at least the possibility of a
silver lining, depending on how we respond to the situation.
And then I’d like to say a bit about what I think is the most important
contribution of Buddhist teachings to this situation, which can help
us understand and respond to it.
Let’s begin with a Zen story that’s been circulating on the Internet.
A student asks the master, “When times of great difficulty visit us,
how should we meet them?” And the answer is, “Welcome.” This path
that we’re on is not about avoiding difficulties. That doesn’t mean
passively accepting those difficulties when they present themselves,
but it does mean engaging with them, not trying to avoid them.
Another story is also quite relevant here: the student asks the master,
“What is the constant activity of all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas?”
In other words, what is it that awakened people are doing all the
time — what is special about the way they live in the world moment
by moment?” And the answer from the master is, “Responding
appropriately.” In one way that seems very simple, but in another way
it’s not, because in order to know how to respond appropriately, we
have to understand the situation that we are in. There are different
ways of understanding a situation, different perspectives. And one
24 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS

of them is how short-term or long-term, how closely we are looking at the situation, and
how much can we step back from it and look at the larger perspective.

Anyway, here’s the silver lining that I’m wondering about. Again, I’m not saying it’s
definitely a silver lining, but it has the possibility to become a silver lining: is the distress
that we are feeling now opening up a new potential that’s exactly what’s needed? And
here I have to immediately qualify that, because as an older, white, heterosexual male,
there are certain types of anxiety that I’m probably not going to have to be concerned
about, compared to many women, or gay people, or people of color, or some immigrants.
I acknowledge that, yet again, I am in a very privileged situation. Yet there are other
important issues here too, other aspects to our distress that need to be emphasized as
well, and even to be appreciated. Because perhaps the shock of this election can also help
to wake us up. You will remember that Hillary ran her a campaign basically on the status
quo: more of the same. And from what I can see, that’s why she lost. Because for an awful
lot of people in this country, that’s not what they wanted. It’s important to remember
here, among other things, that Democrats have controlled the presidency for 16 of the
last 24 years, and that the gap between rich and poor during that period has continued to
accelerate. So much for the party of the working class.

So how much has the election of Donald Trump shaken us up, and maybe, in the process,
is it waking us up in a way that the election of Hillary Clinton would not have done? I
am struck by something that the philosopher-provocateur Slavoj Žižek expressed very
succinctly: “The real calamity is the status quo.” In which case, if people are responding,
showing their dissatisfaction with the status quo, even if they are doing it for different
reasons than I do, is that expression of dissatisfaction what’s needed? Again, that
response can be understood in different ways, but let me share with you the way that
stands out most for me. Here are a few sentences by James Gustave Speth, from a book
he published back in 2008, which means he actually would have written it in 2007.
Please keep that year in mind as you listen to what he wrote: “Half of the worlds tropical
and temperate forests are now gone. The rate of deforestation in the tropics continues
at about an acre per second, as it has for decades. Half the planet’s wetlands are gone,
an estimated 90% of the large predator fish are gone. 75% of marine fisheries are
now overfished or fished to capacity. Almost half of the corals are gone or seriously
threatened. Species are disappearing at rates about a thousand times faster than normal.
The planet hasn’t seen such a spasm of extinction in 65 million years, since the dinosaurs
disappeared.”

(More recently, a week or so ago it was announced that from 1970 to 2020, a short 50-
year period, two-thirds of all the wild animals on this planet will have disappeared.
Some years ago E.O. Wilson, the renowned Harvard biologist, predicted that by the end
of this century, half of the earth’s species plant and animal species may be extinct, or so
weakened that they will disappear soon thereafter.)
 TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 25

Anyway, back to Speth now: “Desertification claims a Nebraska-sized area of productive

capacity each year globally. Persistent toxic chemicals can now be found by the dozens in
essentially each and everyone of us.”

Something else I recently came across is that in the last 40 years, that is to say in the
lifetime of almost all of us here, about one-third of the world’s cropland has been
abandoned because of soil erosion, or because it’s otherwise unusable.
“All we have to do,” continues Speth, “to destroy the planet’s climate and biota and leave
a ruined world to our children and grandchildren, is to keep doing exactly what we’re
doing today, with no growth in human population or the world economy. Just continue to
generate greenhouse gases at current rates, just continue to impoverish ecosystems and
release toxic chemicals at current rates, and the world in the latter part of this century
won’t be fit to live in. But human activities are not holding at current levels. They’re
accelerating dramatically.”

Remember, he wrote this back in 2007. Did you notice that just last week it was
announced that this will be the third year in a row that set a new record as the warmest
in recorded history?

If all this is true, we need to wake up to it in a way that we haven’t yet. Why haven’t we,
and what does it take to wake us up to it?

Now in response to this, you might say that Hillary, unlike Donald Trump, acknowledged
climate change, and intended to do something about it. But, given her public record, just
how much was she prepared to do?

The analogy that comes to my mind is that we are all in a big bus, a bus that’s hurtling
very, very fast toward a precipice. We don’t know what lies over that precipice, we don’t
know if it’s a sudden drop or if it’s a bumpy collapse, but we have good reason to suspect
it’s a very long way down. What happened in this election is that two people were fighting
for the steering wheel.

One person wanted to speed up, step on the accelerator and go faster, because he’s not
concerned; apparently he doesn’t believe there is a precipice. But what about the other
person?

Was she determined to stop the bus? Maybe she would have slowed down a little
bit, maybe turned the wheel a bit, but it seems to me that neither of our two main
political parties is interested in acknowledging the crisis in the way that it needs to be
acknowledged. Why? I’m reminded of the Louisiana populist Huey Long, who put it very
well: “Your government is like a restaurant with Republican waiters on one side and
Democratic waiters on the other side. But no matter which set of waiters brings you your
food, the legislative grub is all prepared in the same Wall Street kitchen.”
26 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS

Suppose Hillary had won as expected. Would we all have sat back on the bus more
comfortably into our seats? If Trump had been defeated, would that have encouraged us
to become – or remain – more comfortable? I think you can see what I’m getting at here.

The other side of the question that constantly comes back to me, and it’s a question for
myself as much it is for anyone else, is: why is it so difficult for us to respond in the way
that’s necessary? The answer, it seems to me, is that for most of us our concern is not
generated by personal discomfort. If you look at the history of the French Revolution or
the Russian Revolution, the people who revolted did so because they were desperate,
because they had no choice, because they had to put their lives on the line. And let’s be
honest, for most of us here in the “Boulder bubble,” for how many of us is life essentially
very, very comfortable? Whether you look at our lives historically or geographically, we
are incredibly privileged. We are the most fortunate generation in h istory when you
consider the levels of disposable income, of medical care, of freedom and ability to do
what we want. Or you can look at it geographically, in contemporaneous terms of what’s
going on in the world now, and you will come to the same conclusion. How incredibly
fortunate, how extraordinarily comfortable we are, compared to life for the vast majority
of people on this planet. This is not a criticism, but it’s a statement about — and I’m
talking as much to myself here — about how difficult it is, therefore, to generate the level
of passion and concern and response that is necessary if we’re going to leave a decent
planet for our descendants and for the other species on this earth.

Because we are all in this bubble together, it’s very hard not to take it for granted, and
just assume that that’s the way things are. But we need to remember that the kind of
life that we now enjoy — our great-great-grandchildren are not going to have that kind
of life. The Boulder bubble is a bubble; it will be popped. The quality of life here that to
some extent we can’t help but take for granted, that’s not going to go on forever. And it’s
important for us, rather than simply enjoy our comforts until the bubble pops, to actually
respond to this new challenge as much as we can now.

So that’s the sense in which the kind of discomfort and anxiety and trauma that most
of us have been experiencing in one way or another during the past two weeks might
become something positive. It’s been encouraging to see the sense of community that has
been forming within some groups, people bonding together in the way that is needed if
we’re going to be able to respond appropriately to the kinds of difficulties that we can
now expect.

So please reflect on that. My concern is that those of us who feel momentarily moved to
do something will over time -- being surrounded by other people who are not so moved
-- lose that energy, and slip back into old, more familiar life-style habits. I think we have
to be careful and ask ourselves whether we are doing that and really try to help each
other rise to this particular kind of challenge rather than seeing this as a temporary
difficulty that we eventually adjust to. And to some extent our practice can encourage
 TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 27

that. It’s possible to use our meditation practice, our Buddhist practice, as a kind of refuge
from all of this. I’m concerned that we Buddhists have discovered our own solution to
the climate crisis and other ecological and social crises. When we read something of the
sort that I mentioned earlier, quoting Speth, we tend to become anxious, but hey, we’re
Buddhist practitioners, and we know what to do when we are anxious, right? So we sit
facing the wall for a while (laughter), let go of our thoughts and feelings and so forth, and
after a while, okay, I feel better! That’s one kind of Buddhist response — but that’s not the
kind of response that’s needed.

The second thing I want to talk about is perhaps the most important thing that Buddhism
has to offer us at this particular point: the bodhisattva path. The most essential thing
about the bodhisattva path is that the bodhisattva has a double practice, or a two-sided
practice. On the one hand he or she continues to work for their own awakening, they
continue their own meditation and so forth. They work on their self-transformation
and thereby realize or get in touch with that dimension or perspective in which there’s
nothing missing, nothing lacking, no better, no worse, nothing to gain. But they also
realize that that dimension by itself is insufficient, is one-sided. Although it’s important
for us to ground ourselves in meditative equanimity (in Zen we talk about realizing
emptiness), it’s important that that grounding enables or invigorates us to engage more
compassionately and wholeheartedly in social and ecological activities. And, on the other
side, it’s just as important for activists to have a meditative practice, because otherwise
it’s very, very difficult to avoid getting frustrated, burned out, angry, and even despair.

I’ve spent a lot of my time recently talking to Buddhist groups about how important it is
to be socially and ecologically engaged. Here I’m reminded of one of my all-time favorite
quotations, by Nisargadatta, who expresses this point very well: “When I look inside and
see that I am nothing, that’s wisdom. When I look outside and see that I am everything,
that’s love.

Between the two my life moves.” This shows the relationship between the two pillars
of Buddhism -- wisdom and love, or wisdom and compassion -- because insofar as we
overcome the delusion of a separate self, insofar as we’re able to let go of ourselves in
our practice and realize our non-duality with other people and the world generally, the
love that he refers to is how one embodies that realization in how we actually live day by
day. This kind of love is not a feeling but a way of being, the way of living in the world and
relating to other people that’s implied by this realization of non-separation.

Many things about the bodhisattva path could be mentioned here. Traditionally one of the
most important things would be nonviolence, consistent with the first Buddhist precept
that we don’t injure living beings. And along with that, the idea of non-polarization, which
seems especially important now. By non-polarization I mean not objectifying or feeling
separate from other people who have different ideas, people that we’re trying to convince,
or struggling with.
28 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS

It’s important not to label them as “evil.” From the Buddhist perspective, we’re not in
a struggle of good against evil, but on a path that transforms delusion into wisdom (or
ignorance into awakening), and that involves recognizing how we are all complicit to
some degree within webs of delusion such as this election demonstrated.

It’s very heartening to see the resistance that’s already starting to catalyze. I’m sure most
of you have heard about an incident that happened a few days ago at the Broadway show
“Hamilton” in New York, where Vice-President-elect Pence was booed by many in the
audience, and following the performance some of the cast came back onstage to make a
statement. I think we’re going to see a lot more of that. My sense is we are going to see
the strongest resistance movement since the Vietnam War, maybe since the Civil War. But
what isn’t clear yet is whether this kind of movement is going to bring us all together in
response to Trump and his administration, or are we going to see a growing gap between
the people who are appalled by what Trump is doing, and the many people who elected
him. Are we going to see greater and greater division, or are we going to accept that,
despite the fact that they have different ideas and a different understanding, Trump
supporters are also responding to pain, they too are suffering.

Will we be able to find ways to communicate, to actually relate to them rather than
deepening the chasm between us?

There are other things that the bodhisattva path emphasizes, such as pragmatism
and skilful means – which highlights the importance of creativity -- but I want to
focus on what may be the most important thing: that the bodhisattva acts without
attachment to the fruits of action. This is really important, but it’s also very dangerous
if we misunderstand it, because it can encourage or rationalize a kind of half-hearted
commitment. We might decide, for example, that we need to help convert a fossil fuel
plant into a renewable energy plant. And we work hard for a little while but it doesn’t
seem to be happening and so we say, “Oh well, I tried. It isn’t happening, but I’m not
attached to the results of my actions, so I’ll just return to my cushion.”

Is that kind of nonattachment to the fruits of action that we need? No, I would say that
is a misunderstanding of what nonattachment means. One way to make this point is
to emphasize the distinction between a 100-yard dash and a marathon. When you’re
running a 100-yard dash, the only thing that counts is getting to the goal line as quickly
as possible; you don’t have to think about anything else. But you can’t run a marathon
that way. If you do, you’re going to exhaust yourself awfully quickly. In order to run
a marathon, yes, you are running, you are not just sitting by the side, meditating or
watching the runners. You are moving in a certain direction. But at the same time, in
going that direction, it’s one step at a time. [Demonstrates walking deliberately, one step
at a time] Just this! Just this! Only this step! Well, maybe a little faster.
 TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 29

In Japanese Zen the term tada means “just this!” In this single step nothing is lacking,
nothing is missing. We don’t have to be thinking about the goal, as long as we’re moving
in that direction. You are completely one with every moment. And that is one way to
understand what it means to be non-attached to the goal, non-attached to the fruits of
one’s action.

Nonetheless, a marathon is only 26 miles or so, and even if you are quite slow, even if
you walk it, you’re going to be able to finish it within a day. But what about the actual
situation we’re faced with today, where we don’t know how far the goal line is, or how
long it will take us to get there. Where we have to be in it for the really, really long haul,
which is more discouraging or intimidating in the sense that we don’t know what or
where the goal is, or if there even is a finish line. Here I’m reminded of something recited
in Zen centers every day, the four bodhisattva vows, the first of which is very pertinent:
“Living beings are numberless. I vow to save them all.” Or liberate them all, help all of
them to realize their true nature. Basically one is taking a vow to do something that
actually can’t be done, that can’t be fulfilled, which makes it a “goal-less goal.” Which
means that it’s not actually about achieving a particular goal at all.

It’s about a fundamental reorientation in the meaning of one’s life, away from my
usual preoccupation with my own comfort, my own separate well-being. The vow is
a commitment to transform those habits: “No, the fundamental meaning of my life is
working for the well-being of everyone.” You can call this a goal, you can call this an
attachment if you like, but I think it’s something deeper: it really is a transformation at
the core that cuts through one’s usual self-preoccupation. And the reason I emphasize
that is, if you think about what that vow really means and take it seriously, you are not
going to be intimidated by the comparatively minor task of working with others to
save global civilization from destroying itself. The point is, whether or not we become
temporarily discouraged, we don’t stop, we get on with it. Because this bodhisattva
commitment and activity becomes the only game in town, as the meaning of one’s life.
And I think it’s not a vow that many of us can embody very successfully unless one also
has a meditation practice, or some other spiritual practice.

However, that still doesn’t get at the most important thing that we need to say about what
it means to act without attachment to the results of that action. What pushes me in this
direction is what some scientists seem to be saying, among themselves behind closed
doors: It might be too late. What if it is too late? Well, first question, too late for what? Too
late to avoid a breakdown of the kind of global civilization that we’ve achieved in the last
couple of generations? As Paul Ehrlich put it, in pushing other species to extinction, we
are busy sawing off the limb on which we perch. It’s quite ironic, isn’t it, that just as we’ve
achieved a truly global civilization, it’s busy destroying itself.
30 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS

I’m not a scientist and not in a position to offer any authoritative judgment on this matter,
but scientists themselves are very concerned about what are called tipping points: for
example, the fact that Arctic ice is melting ever more quickly than expected, and without
the white ice the ocean absorbs more heat, which causes more ice to melt and so forth.
And another example is methane gas, which is much more potent than carbon dioxide.
I’ve read that there are approximately 400 billion tons of methane frozen at the bottom of
the Arctic and Antarctic Ocean, and also buried in the permafrost, the tundra – and both
of these are now melting. We seem to be getting into a positive feedback loop, positive in
the sense that the problem tends to aggravate and escalate itself.

So is it may be too late? And if so, what does that mean? We just don’t know, do we?
The extra problem with that, of course, is that normally there is something paralyzing
about “not knowing.” It’s scary that we don’t even know what’s happening right now,
and that we don’t really know what’s likely to happen, or what’s possible. We just…
don’t… know. But wait a minute! In Zen “don’t know mind” is an essential aspect of
realization and practice. Enlightenment or awakening isn’t about suddenly, “Oh, now I
understand everything about the way the world is and what’s happening.” It’s just the
opposite. It’s opening up to a one’s “don’t know” mind. Bernie Glassman, founder of the
Zen peacemakers, made this the first of his three principles: don’t know mind. And for
practitioners, there’s something very invigorating about don’t know mind. One of my
teachers, Robert Aitken, said, “Our task isn’t about clearing up the mystery, but rather
making the mystery clear.” When we open up to what’s actually happening, we open up
to a world that’s fundamentally mysterious. And essential to that mystery is how little we
actually know. But that doesn’t stop us from acting.

When we open up in our practice, and “return to the Source,” it’s not about grasping that
ground, to cling to it or rest in it, indifferent to what’s happening in the world, but to be
taken by it, and thereafter we find ourselves manifesting something greater than our egos.
We become a vehicle of something greater than ourselves. We become instruments of that
Source. And that means our job is to respond appropriately to whatever situation that
arises for us, as well as we can. What that implies, I think, is this: our task is to do the very
best that we can, not knowing if anything we do is going to make any difference whatsoever.
That’s an important part of what don’t know mind means. We don’t know if what we do
is important, but it is very important that we do it. Because it’s what we are here for and
what we find ourselves called to do.

Again, I think we can only do this if we have a meditation practice. That brings us back to
that two-sided practice that I started out referring to. If we are able to ground ourselves
in the equanimity, in the emptiness, in this fundamental perspective where nothing
is lacking, then we can act in the world in the ways that are becoming necessary, with
nonattachment. Continue to walk step-by-step and moment by moment in the direction
 TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 31

that’s needed, as part of a fundamental reorientation of what it means to be a practitioner

living in a world that’s changing so quickly. And doing the very best that we can, joyfully,
without knowing if anything we do makes any difference whatsoever. We don’t know, but
that’s okay. Knowing is not part of the job description. There’s a famous Jewish saying
from the Perkei Avot which says something like that: “It’s not your responsibility to finish
the work of healing the earth, but neither are you free to desist from it either.”

Let me conclude by saying that, if we’re not able to respond in these ways -- if we still
understand our practice only as a refuge, simply as away of avoiding the great challenges
that we are now faced with – then perhaps Buddhism isn’t what’s needed right now. But
I think this is exactly why and where Buddhism is so important, because it can teach
us that our engagement with the world is not a distraction from our practice, but an
essential part of our practice.

A talk given at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, November 22, 2016

Transcribed by Jeffrey Fuller and edited by David Loy EH

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32 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS
THE ROLE OF DEVAS IN
THE BUDDHA'S CAREER
By Susan Elbaum Jootla
Susan Elbaum Jootla was
born in New York City and
obtained B.A. and M.A. degrees
in Library Science from the
University of Michigan. She
lives in the Western Himalayan
hill station of Dalhousie with
her husband, Balbir S. Jootla.
They have both been practicing
Vipassanā meditation in the
tradition of the late Sayagyi U
Ba Khin of Burma since 1970
and are now students of his
leading disciple, Mother Sayama,
who directs the International
Meditation Centres in England
and Rangoon.
At pivotal moments in the
Buddha’s career, deities often
played supporting roles. We read
of devas showing respect at these
turning points, helping him to
overcome obstacles, and frequently
proclaiming his feats far and wide.
THE BODHISATTA’S LAST
BIRTH
At the moment of the Bodhisatta’s
final conception the gods rejoiced.
They knew that such a special being
was arising after the long “darkness
of ignorance” that set in when the
Buddha Kassapa’s Dispensation
disappeared. After having perfected
all the pāramīs, every Bodhisatta
is born on the Tusita deva plane
(No. 9) in his next to last existence.
There he waits until all the requisite
conditions on earth are ripe for the
rekindling of the Dhamma. Then the
Bodhisatta passes away and enters
his mother’s womb, and after ten
months he is born. The attainment
of Buddhahood requires a human
existence with its characteristic
combination of suffering and
pleasure.
From the Venerable Ānanda, the
Buddha’s personal attendant,
we learn about “the Tathāgata’s
wonderful and marvellous
qualities,” which he himself had
heard directly from the Buddha:
“Mindful and fully aware... the
Bodhisatta appeared in the Tusita
deva plane... Mindful and fully
aware the Bodhisatta remained
in the Tusita deva plane... for the
whole of his lifespan... When the
Bodhisatta passed away from the
Tusita deva plane and descended
into his mother’s womb, then
a great immeasurable light
surpassing the splendor of the gods
appeared in the world with its gods,
its Māras and its Brahmās, in this
generation with its recluses and
brahmans, with its princes and its
people... When the Bodhisatta had
descended into his mother’s womb,
four young deities came to guard
him at the four quarters so that no
humans or non-humans or anyone
at all could harm the Bodhisatta or
his mother.” (MN 123.7-8)
The conception of a Buddha-to-be
in his final body causes unusual
physical phenomena in various
realms. In fact, certain natural
laws govern the major events in
the careers of all Buddhas, past,
present, and future: “It is the rule,

monks, that when a Bodhisatta
descends from Tusita into his
mother’s womb,” such a light
appears and all these special
phenomena occur (DN 14.1.17).
The devas protect the Bodhisatta’s
foetus inside his mother so he
can grow perfectly. They shelter
the mother so she is at peace, free
from sensual desire, and relaxed,
enabling the baby to develop in
ideal conditions.
The description of his final birth in
this discourse shows how important
the devas are to this unique baby.
Queen Mahāmāyā gave birth
standing under a tree in the woods
near the village of Lumbini:
“When the bodhisatta came forth
from his mother’s womb, first the
gods received him, then human
beings... He did not touch the earth.
The four young gods [the Four
Great Kings of plane No. 6] received
him and set him before his mother
saying: ‘Rejoice, O queen, a son of
great power has been born to you.’...
Then a great immeasurable light
surpassing the splendor of the gods
appeared in the world... And this
ten-thousandfold world system
shook and quaked and trembled,
and there too a great immeasurable
light surpassing the splendor of the
gods appeared.” (MN 123.17-21)
The recluse Asita, who was
associated with the court of the
Bodhisatta’s father, witnessed these
heavenly celebrations. Asita was
visiting the deva worlds at the time
so he asked them, “Why are you all
so happy and joyful?... I’ve never
seen such excitement as this.” The
devas explained to him:
“In a village called Lumbini, in the
Śākyan country... a bodhisatta
has been born! A being set on
Buddhahood has been born,
a superlative being without
comparison, a precious pearl of the
health and goodness of the human
world. That’s why we’re so glad,
so excited, so pleased. Of all beings
this one is perfect, this man is the
pinnacle, the ultimate, the hero of
beings! This is the man who, from
the forest of the Masters, will set the
wheel of Teaching turning — the
roar of the lion, King of Beasts!” (Sn
vv. 679-84)
Some of these devas were
probably ariyas themselves, and
others would have been aware of
the infant’s future destiny. They
rejoiced that the way to the end of
suffering would soon be expounded,
and Asita, stirred by their
revelation, went to see the new-
born child with his own eyes.
PERIOD OF RENUNCIATION
AND ASCETICISM
After living a refined life as a prince
for many years, the Bodhisatta
gradually became dissatisfied with
this tedious round of hollow sense
pleasures. His pāramīs, built up
for aeons, came to the fore, ripe
for the attainment of Buddhahood.
He knew he had to find the way
TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 33
to release from suffering, so on
the very night his wife gave birth
to their only child he renounced
the home life to become a recluse.
Over the next six years he mastered
the stages of concentration under
various gurus and tormented his
flesh with the most severe ascetic
practices. Deities observed his
progress from the deva planes
and occasionally intervened. For
example, when the Bodhisatta
considered abstaining from all food,
deities came and offered to infuse
heavenly food through the pores of
his skin, but the Bodhisatta refused:
“Deities came to me and said:
‘Good sir, do not practice entirely
cutting off food. If you do so, we
shall infuse heavenly food into the
pores of your skin and you will live
on that.’ I considered, ‘If I claim to
be completely fasting while these
deities infuse heavenly food... and
I live on that, then I shall be lying.’
So I dismissed those deities saying,
‘There is no need.’” (MN 36.27)
The gods, observing the Great
Being, would not let him kill himself
through voluntary starvation, but
he on his part would not allow
himself to speak untruth even by
implication; thus he would not
accept their offer. Although the
Bodhisatta undertook long grueling
fasts, he still did not come any
closer to what he really sought:
the way to uproot all the causes of
suffering and so end rebirth once
and for all.
34 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS
UNDER THE BODHI TREE
After the Bodhisatta spent six years
pursuing ascetic practices to their
limit, he finally set out alone to
discover another method to fulfil
his aim. He had realized that self-
torture was not the solution, so he
started to consume normal food
again. He walked to the place now
known as Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India.
There he began to meditate under
a tree, using a method he recalled
from a spontaneous childhood
experience of meditation. He was
determined either to attain full
liberation then and there or else to
die in the attempt.
According to tradition, as the
Bodhisatta struggled against
Māra beneath the Bodhi Tree,
when Mara challenged his right
to attain awakening, he asked
the earth to witness how he had
perfected himself for so long to
reach Buddhahood. Many devas
and brahmas joined the battle,
vouching for his completed pāramīs.
Thereupon Mara, along with his
evil troops, was routed and fled
the scene. This “calling the earth
to witness” is memorialized in
innumerable paintings and statues:
the Bodhisatta, seated cross-legged
in meditation posture, touches the
ground by his knee with his right
hand, a gesture intended to draw
forth its testimony.
In the eighth week following
the awakening, while the newly
enlightened Buddha was still near
the Bodhi Tree, he hesitated to
teach the Dhamma, apprehensive
that it would be too profound for
human comprehension. Brahmā
Sahampati then became aware of
what was going on in the Buddha’s
mind. This brahmā, according to the
commentaries, had become a non-
returner under a previous Buddha
and resided in one of the Pure
Abodes. Distressed at the Buddha’s
hesitancy, he thought: “The world
will be lost, utterly perish since the
mind of the Tathāgata, Arahant,
Supreme Buddha inclines to
inaction and not towards preaching
the Dhamma!” So he appeared
before the Buddha, respectfully
stooped with his right knee to the
ground, paid homage and appealed
to him to teach:
“Let the Exalted One preach the
Dhamma! There are beings with
little dust in their eyes; they are
wasting from not hearing the
Dhamma. There will be those who
will understand the Dhamma.” (MN
26.20)
The Buddha then gazed out
upon the world with his “eye of
a Buddha,” and having seen that
there are beings “with little dust in
their eyes” who would be capable
of understanding the truth, he
announced, “Open for them are the
doors to the Deathless” — a gift
that has come down to us through
the centuries. Brahma Sahampati
was gratified and joyously thought,
“Now I am one who has given an
opening for the Buddha to teach the
Dhamma to beings.” The Brahma
then bowed to the Buddha and
vanished.[18]
One might wonder why the Buddha,
who had prepared himself for
numerous lifetimes just to teach
the Dhamma to other beings,
needed the prompting of Brahma
Sahampati to set out on his mission.
The commentary offers two
explanations: (1) only after he had
attained Buddhahood could the
Buddha fully comprehend the actual
scope of the defilements saturating
the minds of beings and the
profundity of the Dhamma; and (2)
he wanted a brahma to request him
to teach so the numerous followers
of Mahā Brahmā would be inclined
to listen to the Dhamma.
TURNING THE WHEEL OF THE
DHAMMA
Now that he was committed to
transmit the Dhamma, the Lord
had to find his first students. He
determined that the five ascetics
who had assisted him in his struggle
for the last few years would be the
appropriate auditors. Aware that
the group was staying at Isipatana,
a royal deer reserve not far from
Varanasi, he made his way there
in stages. When the ascetics first
caught sight of him in the distance,
they decided not to greet him, for
they believed he had reverted to a
comfortable life and had abandoned
the search for truth. However,
as the Buddha approached, his
unique demeanour dispelled this
assumption and they listened keenly
when he spoke. He taught them the
Middle Way between the extremes

of asceticism and immersion in
sense pleasures, the path which
he himself had followed when
he abandoned futile austerities.
The Buddha next explained the
Four Noble Truths and the Noble
Eightfold Path. While he spoke
devas and brahmas paid close
attention, and at the conclusion they
sounded their applause upwards
from the lowest plane of the earth-
bound devas, through each of the six
sense-sphere deva planes, even up
through the Brahma-world:
“The matchless Wheel of Dhamma,
which cannot be stopped by any
recluse, brahman, deva, Māra,
brahmā, or by anyone in the world,
has been set in motion by the
Blessed One in the Deer Park at
Isipatana near Varanasi.” (KS V, 360;
SN 56:11; also Vin. I,10)
Under the impact of this
momentous event, the entire
ten-thousandfold world system
shook and reverberated, and
a brilliant light appeared, far
superior to that of all the devas and
brahmas, matched only by wisdom
illuminating the Truth. The gods
were messengers conveying this
wonderful news throughout the
universe.
WHEN THE BUDDHA WAS ILL
Devas came to the Buddha several
times when he was physically
unwell. Once the renegade monk
Devadatta, who wanted to take
over the Saṅgha by force, hurled a
massive boulder at the Buddha. The
stone splintered before it hit the
Lord, but a small fragment lodged
in his foot, causing severe pain. So
for some time, the Buddha lay down
“mindful and discerning,” observing
the painful sensations (KS I, 38-
40; SN 1:38). Then a large group
of devas came to see the Teacher,
anxious for his welfare. Impressed
by the perfect equanimity he
displayed despite the wound, they
spoke in turn, praising him as a bull
elephant, a lion, a thoroughbred, a
bull, an ox, for his ability to patiently
endure painful bodily feelings —
“racking, sharp, piercing, harrowing,
disagreeable” — mindful and clearly
comprehending, without becoming
distressed.
A few months before the
Parinibbāna, the Buddha spent the
rains retreat near Vesāli, where he
suffered from dysentery. According
to the Dhammapada Commentary
(to vv. 206-8) Sakka, king of the
devas, found out the Blessed One
was ill and came to nurse him. The
Buddha told him not to bother as
there were many monks to handle
this task, but Sakka stayed on and
looked after the Buddha’s physical
needs until he had recovered.
Some monks were surprised to see
the great deva doing such menial
chores. The Buddha explained to
them that Sakka was so devoted
to the Tathāgata because he had
gained stream-entry by learning
the Dhamma from him. The Buddha
then pointed out that it is always
good to associate with the wise, to
be in their presence and learn from
TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 35
the example of their actions as well
as from their verbal teachings.
THE PARINIBBĀNA
Devas and brahmas were active
at several phases of the Mahā
Parinibbāna — the Buddha’s
final passing away at Kusinara
— as recorded in the Mahā
Parinibbāna Suttanta (DN 16).
This event was not just the demise
of a greatly revered being but it
also represented the personal
consummation of his teachings. It
was the utter, permanent cessation
of the aggregates of the one who
discovered and taught the way to
the end of suffering.
A short while before the Buddha
attained final Nibbāna, he lay down
to rest between two sal-trees.
They began flowering profusely,
out of season. After some time, the
Buddha told the monk who had
been fanning him to go away. Then
the Venerable Ānanda, his devoted
attendant, asked him why he had
dismissed that monk. The Buddha
replied:
“Ānanda, the devas from ten world-
spheres have gathered to see the
Tathāgata. For a distance of twelve
yojanas around the Mallas’ sal-grove
near Kusinara there is not a space
you could touch with the point of
a hair that is not filled with mighty
devas, and they are grumbling, ‘We
have come a long way to see the
Tathāgata. It is rare for a Tathāgata,
a Fully Enlightened Buddha, to arise
in the world, and tonight in the last
watch the Tathāgata will attain final
36 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS
Nibbāna, and this mighty monk
is standing in front of the Lord,
preventing us from getting a last
glimpse of the Tathagata!’” (DN
16.5.5)
The indomitable Ananda, who had
permission to ask the Buddha any
question, next wanted to know what
kinds of devas were around them.
The Buddha said he saw lower
devas who are “weeping and tearing
their hair” in distress, moaning, “All
too soon the Blessed Lord is passing
away, all too soon the Well-Farer
is passing away, all too soon the
Eye of the World is disappearing!”
But there were devas free from
craving who endured this patiently,
saying. “All compounded things are
impermanent — what is the use of
this?” (DN 16.5.6).
After passing through the successive
jhānas, the Buddha finally expired,
attaining Parinibbāna, the
immutable cessation of rebirth. At
that moment the earth quaked, as
it does whenever Buddhas pass
away. Brahma Sahampati, who had
entreated the Buddha to teach forty-
five years earlier, spoke a verse as a
short eulogy:
“All beings in the world, all bodies
must break up:
Even the Teacher, peerless in the
human world,
The mighty Lord and perfect
Buddha has expired.”
Sakka repeated a verse of the
Buddha’s on the theme of
impermanence. While Sahampati
used conventional speech adoring
the deceased Lord, Sakka spoke in
impersonal and universal terms. His
verse makes an excellent theme for
meditation and is often chanted at
Buddhist funerals:
“Impermanent are compounded
things, prone to rise and fall,
Having risen, they’re destroyed,
their passing is truest bliss.” (DN
16.6.10)
All the “compounded things,” which
make up everyone and everything
in all the world, come into being
and perish. Only when they cease
utterly never to rearise (“their
passing”) can there be the perfect
bliss, Nibbāna. These stanzas by
the renowned brahma and the king
of the devas show how the beings
on the higher planes applied their
insight into impermanence and
suffering, even to the Parinibbāna of
their Lord and Master.
After they had honored the
Buddha’s body for a full week, the
Mallas of Kusinara decided it was
time for the funeral. They began
to prepare for the cremation but
could not lift the body and carry it
out the southern gate of the city.
Puzzled, they asked the Venerable
Anuruddha what was wrong. This
great elder, renowned for his “divine
eye,” told the devotees that the
devas had their own ideas of how to
arrange the funeral. The deities, he
said, planned first to pay “homage
to the Lord’s body with heavenly
dance and song” and then take it
in procession through the city of
Kusinara to the cremation site.
The devas intended the cremation
to be at the Mallas’ shrine known
as Makuta-Bandhana. The Mallas
were happy to change their plans
and proceeded unhindered to
arrange the funeral as the devas
wished. Out of respect the gods
participated in all phases of the
funerary proceedings. It is said that
“even the sewers and rubbish-heaps
of Kusinara were covered knee-high
with [celestial] coral tree flowers.
And the devas as well as the Mallas...
honored the Lord’s body with divine
and human dancing and song.”
They transported the body to the
Makuta-Bandhana shrine and
placed it there. They wrapt it many
times in layers of finest cloth,
built the pyre of scented wood,
and placed the bier bearing the
Buddha’s body on top. But when the
men tried to light the fire it would
not ignite. Again the reason lay with
the devas. Anuruddha explained
that the devas would not allow the
pyre to be lit until the Venerable
Mahā Kassapa arrived for the
cremation. Once MahāKassapa and
his group of bhikkhus had arrived
and paid their last respects to the
Exalted One’s body, the pyre blazed
up spontaneously, burning until
almost nothing remained behind.
(DN 16.6.22-23) EH

Ven. Pomnyun Sunim who was born on
April 11, 1953 in Ulsan, South Korea,
is the founder and Guiding Zen Master
of Jungto Society. He entered Buddhist
Sangha as a novice guided by his
teacher, Ven. Bulshim Domoon Sunim,
at Boonwhangsa Temple, South Korea,
in 1969, and was ordained a bhikku
by his teacher in 1991. He is not only
a Buddhist monk and Zen master
but also a social activist who leads
various movements such as ecological
awareness campaign; promotion of
human rights and world peace; and
eradication of famine, disease, and
illiteracy. Venerable Pomnyun is also
chairman of the Join Together Society,
an international relief agency with
offices worldwide, including in North
Korea. He has worked extensively
to supply humanitarian aid to
famine victims in North Korea and
defend the human rights of North
Korean refugees in China. He is also
a Zen master with the Seoul-based
JungTo Society, which he originally
established in 1988 to facilitate self-
improvement through volunteerism.
Jungto Society’s motto is ‘Open Mind,
Good Friends, and Clean Earth.’
TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 37
HOLISTIC AND
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
By Venerable Pomnyun Sunim
It is a great honor for me to speak to you today. The theme is
holistic development, a subject that raises the issue that the world
we live in is making piecemeal, rather than holistic, progress.
Another problem is that our spiritual development, or mental
progress, is not keeping pace with our material development,
which is unfolding rapidly.
In regional terms, unequal development is a problem because
some regions advance rapidly while others fall behind, creating
inequality. We are also faced with the fundamental question: “Is
today’s development sustainable?”
When we think based on the teachings of the Buddha, holistic
development, i.e., sustainable development, is certainly what
will bring us happiness. Desire is often the driving force behind
human action. People act according to their desires. Most people
are happy when their desires are fulfilled and are unhappy when
their desires are not met. The problem is that the world we live
in cannot fulfill all our desires. You cannot say that having your
desires fulfilled is always good. Nevertheless, we tend to be overly
attached to the pleasure gained when our desires are gratified.
Due to this attachment to pleasure, the cycle of pleasure and
suffering, which the Buddha called samsara or reincarnation, is
repeated.
The task the Buddha addressed was how to make happiness
sustainable. The goal was to become liberated from
the samsaric cycle and attain nirvana. Nirvana is a sustainable
state where you and other people enjoy happiness together and
that happiness does not lead to suffering in the future.
The gratification we receive when we fulfill our desires is not
sustainable. Pursuing the pleasure that comes from fulfilling
one’s desires is called hedonism. On the contrary, curbing and
38 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS
suppressing desires is called asceticism. This ascetic
practice, however, is also not a path to nirvana since it
causes stress.
From his six-year practice of asceticism near Bodhgaya,
the Buddha discovered two significant contradictions,
that both following desires and oppressing desires
are no different than being fettered by desires. So he
discovered a third way, that is, the middle way, which
is to neither follow nor suppress desire but simply
to recognize desire as desire. The Buddha ultimately
attained enlightenment through the middle way, and
this is called dependent origination.
Dependent origination means that all beings in this
world are not a collective gathering of separate and
independent entities, but are interconnected. If you
look at one part of something, it will appear to exist
independently. However, if you look at it holistically, you
can see that it’s all interconnected.
This was also an answer to the questions that the
Buddha asked himself as a child. The young Siddhartha
Gautama, while attending a plowing festival, spotted a
bird pecking at a bug and asked himself: “Why one being
has to take another being’s life in order to survive? Is
there not a way for them to live together?” He asked
his teachers and parents these questions. Since no one
could answer his questions, he began contemplating
them. After going beyond the palace walls, the young
Siddhartha was able to see the phenomena of one being
taking another’s life more clearly. Outside the East
Gate, he saw a weak old man who had been abandoned.
Outside the South Gate, he found a dying man who was
also abandoned. When going outside the West Gate,
he encountered a corpse, abandoned without a proper
funeral. The Buddha did not just observe the suffering
of people growing old and dying, but had compassion
toward those who were suffering. He realized that the
affluence and comfort he enjoyed within the palace
had been built upon the suffering of slaves. So, when
asked later by the King Pasenadi of Kosala, the Buddha
answered, “Do not build your happiness upon other
people’s suffering.” And his answer was based on what
he had experienced as a child.
The Buddha could not find the answer to those
questions through the values and faith of the Brahman
tradition in which he had been brought up. Then,
Siddhartha found a new hope when he went through
the North Gate and encountered a practitioner from a
new movement that opposed the mainstream teachings
of Brahmanism. Siddhartha joined the movement and
attained Enlightenment after six years of practice. The

Enlightenment was his awakening to the truth that
one did not exist by one’s self but in relationship with
and as part of a family; that one’s family is part of a
village; that the village is part of a region which along
with other regions is part of a country that along with
other countries is part of humanity; that human beings
are part of the entire ecosystem of all living things;
that life exists along with non-living things; and that
that exists together with everything else. Based on this
understanding, he came to see the world holistically.
If we are to follow the Buddha’s teachings in today’s
world, i.e., the Buddha dharma, we need to see nature
not as an object of conquest but as the foundation of
our life. And yet, we have seen nature as the object
of conquest and development which has caused the
environmental problems we face today. We have
contaminated the water and food we eat, causing
suffering. We have staged wars with our neighboring
countries over resources. We ignore the suffering
of people in other countries because we are only
interested in pursuing our own prosperity. We only
think of our own interests which leads to conflicts with
others and eventually suffering. The most fundamental
causes of these problems are ego-centric desire (greed),
ego-centric view (anger) and ego-centric assertion
and ignorance (delusion). The Buddha said these three
TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 39
poisons are the root causes of all our sufferings. But we
have not been able to abandon these traits.
We need to let go of our desires. We need to abandon
consumerism with its over-production and over-
consuming as the definition of living well. Until
we abandon consumerism, we cannot solve our
environmental problems. If we consume less, we
can share the unused resources with the poor. If
we consume less, we would not have to compete
for resources and could live peacefully together.
Individually, we could live peacefully without constantly
pursuing material goods in our lives.
Peace does not come to us just because we practice
meditation. We need to have the right understanding
of the world we live in. Also, we need to live our lives
based on right understanding. Today, even we Buddhists
are letting ourselves be swept up by consumerism,
thinking the development of Buddhism equates with
materialistic development. We should, however, see and
live our lives from a more holistic and comprehensive
perspective. Thank you.
Translated by Jinah Lee. The talk was delivered on
January 27, 2016 EH
FORUM
IS KARMA FATE?
If we believe in fate, then we believe that we are
helpless. This is not a Buddhist concept because the
Buddha taught that we have the potential to transform
our lives for the better. Ultimately, because of our innate
Buddha nature, we can all become enlightened. Starting
with observance of precepts, we overcome negative
thoughts and actions, resulting in positive karmic
consequences. Understanding karma we also develop
many important insights. Living mindfully with karma,
we move rapidly along the path to Enlightenment.
The Buddha showed us that understanding karma is
empowering, and he gives us hope that no matter what
negative karma we have accumulated in the past, we
can still strive for final liberation from all our suffering.
Eastern Horizons asks three of our teachers to respond
to a series of questions on karma frequently posed by
both our readers and listeners of Dharma talks.
 
Can you briefly explain what did the Buddha teach
about karma (kamma) and how it is directly related
to our everyday lives?
Aggacitta: The Buddha defines kamma as volition
(Nibbedhika Sutta, AN 6.63), the first and subsequent
urges to think, speak or do something. The first line
of the first verse in the Dhammapada, “Mind is the
forerunner of all things (dhammas)”, probably refers
to this, which has far-reaching implications in our
everyday lives because we think, speak or do things all
the time.
Ming Wei: Karma is a fundamental concept in Buddhism.
The concept of karma explains how our intentional
actions keep us tied to rebirth in samsara. Karma is
neither fatalism nor a doctrine of predetermination. In
Buddhism, there is no God to direct karma to reward
some people and punish others. We must never forget
that karma is always just. It is neither loves nor hates,
neither rewards nor punishes. It is simply the law of
cause and effect.
It is therefore necessary for us to do a good, wholesome
action daily which will return to us in good karma and
make us strong enough to start a better karma. So we
should be very careful about our actions, so that their
effect will be good.
Namgyal: The principal meaning of karma is volitional
action driven by afflictions—an action done with
intention underlined with afflictions. Therefore, what it
means is, just as things and events in the external world
are caused by their preceding causes and conditions,
likewise our experiences of pain and pleasure, joy
and misery, fortune and misfortune, follow conditions
preceding them. With these resultant experiences being
associated with feeling and sentience, it takes internal
conditions in the form of intentions and mind-sets,
and actions induced by them. As obvious from this,
all karmic conditions originate within the mind. The
Dhammapada, in its first two opening verses, says:
Mind is the forerunner of all [miserable] states.
It is mind that leads the way.
Just as the wheel of the oxcart follows
the hoof of the ox,
so suffering will surely follow
when we speak or act impulsively
from an impure state of mind.
Mind is the forerunner of all [happy] states.
It is mind that leads the way.
Just as our shadow never leaves us,
so well-being will surely follow
when we speak or act
from a pure state of mind.
The practical message of the teaching on karma is that
our experiences are results of our actions and mind-
sets, and that we must take charge of our thoughts and
actions if we care about our future well-being, as well as
undertake purification practices if we want to avoid the
consequences of past unripen negative karmas.

Why is karma not a fatalistic doctrine but an
empowering one that can lift us out of our suffering?
Aggacitta: The workings of kamma is extremely
complex. Even during the Buddha’s time, there was
a simplistic belief that one is the helpless product of
one’s past kamma, good or bad, one which the Buddha
refutes (Saṅgārava Sutta, AN 3.61). Instead he explains
that while one’s six sense faculties are the products of
past kamma, how the mind reacts to what is sensed
constitutes new kamma (Kamma Sutta, SN 35.146)
which is classified into unskilful and skilful depending
on the moral quality of the volition. Thought, speech
and action motivated by greed, hate and delusion
constitute unskilful kamma that will give unpleasant
results while those motivated by non-greed (e.g.
detachment, generosity, liberality), non-hate (e.g.
compassion, loving-kindness, forgiveness) and non-
delusion (e.g. knowledge, insight and wisdom related
to the nature of experiential reality) will give pleasant
results and even liberation from all forms of suffering
(Akusalamūla Sutta, AN 3.70).
Ming Wei: Although the concept of karma is sometimes
seen as a fate when viewed from hindsight, Buddhism
rejects fatalism. Buddhism teaches that evil karma
can be overcome by good. Also it can be moderated
by producing good conditions that inhibit the fruition
of bad karma. In Buddhism, we do not consider evil
karma as enemies we have to fight, to destroy, rather
we can only convert it into a more constructive karma.
Therefore, the deeper reason in Mahayana Buddhism
for being Buddhist is not simply to acquire good karma
and benefit oneself but to uplift and work for others’
welfare.
Namgyal: The maturation of karma is not fatalistic
because we have some ability to influence which seeds
ripen and which do not. We also get a sense of the
incredible swirl of countless causes created in previous
lives that come together to bring about just one event
in our lives. We can alter past unripen karmas, both
positive and negative, through purification practices or
by being caught up in anger and wrong views.
Similarly, once karmic seeds have ripened, we cannot
FORUM | EASTERN HORIZON 41
undo their results. However, we can accept unpleasant
events in our lives rather than rile against them and
create constructive karma when dealing with difficult
situations.
The key teaching in Buddhism is suffering and how
to get out of suffering. Is karma the cause of our
suffering?
Aggacitta: The Four Noble Truths is actually two pairs
of causes and effects. The first pair: suffering is caused
by craving, which is unskilful kamma. The second pair:
cessation of suffering is the result of developing the
Noble Eightfold Path, which is skilful kamma.
Ming Wei: Suffering occurs when we cling to desire for
a permanent self that is impossible and illusory. And
release from that suffering requires no longer clinging
to the illusion. Every action produces an effect and it is
a cause first and effect afterwards. Therefore, we speak
of karma as the law of cause and effect. We create karma
by the intentional acts of body, speech, and mind. Only
get rid of desire, hate and delusion do not produce
karma. The theory of karma is the theory of cause and
effect, which has nothing to do with the idea of justice
and punishment. As the Buddha pointed out, a Brahmin
could be a superior person not because he came out of
a Brahmin womb, but only if he acted with truly skilful
intentions.
Namgyal: Acharya Nagarjuna says in chapter 18 of his
Fundamental Treatise:
Liberation occurs by eliminating karma and afflictions.
They (karma and afflictions) arise from (distorted)
thoughts.
These (distorted) thoughts arise from grasping at
inherent existence.
This grasping at inherent existence is ceased by (the
wisdom of) emptiness.
Here, we see a clear sequence of how existence in
samsara, with its dissatisfaction and sufferings, comes
FORUM
42 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS
about and what it takes to obtain freedom from it.
Afflictions, the dissonant mental states both in the form
of affective and cognitive mindsets, are the forerunners
that give rise to intentions and physical actions,
respectively the mental and physical karmas. These
karmas, depending on their gravity, will lead to rebirths
within samsara, both slightly fortunate ones and the
unfortunate ones, along with their dissatisfactory
conditions and sufferings. Therefore, yes, karma, both
positive and negative, instigated by afflictions, is also
the cause of our limited conditions in samsara, and
within that, the negative karmas lead to manifest
sufferings, both in terms of rebirths and the conditions
therein. All such karmas are polluted by afflictions and,
thus, fall short of the capacity to lead us out of samsara
(into freedom). Only the unpolluted path of wisdom of
emptiness and paths conjoined by it can lead us out of
suffering.
If our lives are determined by karma, how can we
change it – or at least dilute the bad actions we did
in the past?
Aggacitta: As mentioned above, our six sense faculties
are the results of past kamma, but they are also
affected by present kamma, i.e. the volitions involved
in the unskilful hedonic pursuit of sense pleasures
or the skilful abstention from them for health and
spiritual reasons. The effects of bad past kamma can
be ‘diluted’ by cultivating the mind until it becomes
fully developed (Loṇakapalla Sutta, AN 3.101), i.e.
liberated from greed, hate and delusion―the three
roots of all unskilful kamma. It is also possible that
creating new skilful kamma (such as charity, chanting,
meditation) may generate significant positive effects
here and now that defer the ripening of bad past kamma
(Mahākammavibhaṅga Sutta, MN 136).
Ming Wei: Certainly, the karma of the past impacts our
present life, but change is always possible. To change
our karma and change our lives, we have to change our
attitudes. First of all, we should repent for all those
ignorance, unwholesome actions and so on which we
had been done before, once we have sworn of not doing
these actions anymore, the strong cause of samsara
have already been controlled basically. Secondly, we
should vow to uphold the five precepts and practicing
the ten wholesome actions which are based on the vow
to get rid of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying,
slander, harsh speech, meaningless talk, covetousness,
anger, and wrong view.
Namgyal: Our karmas are created by ourselves, not
by anybody else. The system of karma is dynamic and
ever evolving, not something static and fixed, simply
waiting to be experienced by the person no matter
what. Even our past karmas, both positive and negative,
until they have already ripened, are subject to being
altered and even undone. Just as past positive karmas
can be thwarted by strong anger and wrong views,
making them less strong and less vibrant and even
inhibit them from ripening at all, likewise past negative
karmas can be inhibited from ripening by the four
remedial powers as mentioned in the Sutra Showing the
Four Dharmas (Caturdharmanirdeśa Sutra) and others.
The four powers are the power of regret, the power of
the antidote, the power of resolve, and the power of
reliance, incorporated in every purification practice at
all levels of spiritual engagement and in all different
forms. It would be worth considering this aspect of
practice and applying it on a regular basis.
We read stories of even great masters like
Moggallana who could not escape his karma of a
previous existence because he killed his mother.
Does this mean we have to repay every action we did
in the past?
Aggacitta: Yes, but not in exactly the same way that they
were performed. For example, if one murdered someone
in the past, the effects could be (1) death by murder,
execution or accident, (2) grevious injury or sickness,
(3) slight discomfort, or a combination of all of them at
different times, depending on the level of one’s spiritual
development at the time when that bad past kamma
ripens. This is explained by the Buddha in Loṇakapalla
Sutta (AN 3.101): Two persons might have committed
two identical trifling acts of bad kamma in the past. One
of them then suffers significantly when it ripens. On the
other hand the other may not even feel any significant
effect of its ripening.

Ming Wei: Moggallana was best known for the
possession of the supernatural powers. He was capable
of creating manifold living shapes and assuming any
form. The Buddha said that because Moggallana had
contracted such karma in a previous life, so he had no
escape from reaping the consequences. In fact, no one
could escape the karmic result due to cause and effect.
I believe that you cannot escape past karma but you
can escape creating future bad Karma for yourself by
recognizing your bad actions as their happening and
making amends for them. You may escape the law, but
not your karma. There is no escape, there is only your
own improvements, and it’s just universal law basically.
The only thing you can do is using it at your own
advantage.
Namgyal: Teachings like this are primarily meant
for instructing ordinary sentient beings like us to
avoid negative actions. At other times, they point to
the gravity of karma committed, and that despite the
purification practices one may have undertaken, certain
residues remain to be experienced at some point before
attaining liberation. Mostly, this is the case with definite
(nitaya) karmas, not the indefinite (anitaya) ones,
where the karma committed is extremely grave due to
several factors.
It’s mentioned in the scriptures that one can go mad
trying to understand how karma works (Acintita
Sutta, AN 4.77). So should we then even bother to try
to understand how karma actually works?
Aggacitta: Despite that warning, there are
many passages in the suttas where the Buddha
talks about the workings of kamma and its
result (e.g. Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta, MN 135;
Mahākammavibhaṅga Sutta, MN 136). These
expositions explain the basic principles of the moral law
of cause and effect but do not elaborate on details, such
as exactly when and how the results ripen and manifest,
which are probably so complex that the Buddha
considered them incomprehensible. Nevertheless,
although the exact results of kamma cannot be verified
by the practitioner, belief in its workings is central to
the Buddha’s teachings and is the first factor in the
TEACHINGS
FORUM | EASTERN HORIZON 43
Noble Eightfold Path. It is also a useful source of solace
in times of misfortune and sobriety in times of fortune.
Ming Wei: The way I understand it is, karma is not a
moral system of justice but laws governing the nature
of reality. Karma is more cause and effect. If there’s no
karma, everything would be unorderly, random and full
of chaos. If karma is a strict system, there would be no
room for hope and change.
Karma is action based on positive or negative intentions
i.e. selfishness or ignorance, love or compassion. You
cannot change the things you have done in the past or
the karma connected to and created from those actions.
You can be mindful of your actions now and create
wholesome karma rather than concerned about your
past affecting your future.
Namgyal: The intricacy and complexity of the
functioning of karma and its effect is far more than
we can currently grasp. We limited sentient beings do
not have the capacity to specify exactly the interplay
of karmic forces and other causes and conditions at
work in a specific event. Therefore, there is no point
struggling to ascertain workings of karma at that
minute level. Nevertheless, learning the general and
specific characteristics of karma and its results aids us
in making wise decisions.
What does it mean that in order to attain
enlightenment we need to eliminate all karma –
both good and bad?
Aggacitta: The suttas (e.g. Kukkuravatika Sutta, MN 57;
Vitthāra Sutta, AN 4.233) use the terms “bright” and
“dark” kamma; the former giving pleasant, desirable
results in a favourable plane of existence (e.g. brahma
realm) and the latter, unpleasant, undesirable ones in
an unfavourable plane of existence (e.g. hell realm). A
combination of both will give a mixture of pleasant and
unpleasant results in a plane of existence where they
can be experienced (e.g. human, animal or deva realms).
On the other hand, development of the Noble Eightfold
Path (Ariyamagga Sutta, AN 4.237) or Seven Factors
FORUM
44 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS
of Awakening (Bojjhaṅga Sutta, AN 4.238) constitutes
“neither bright nor dark” kamma because it does not
lead to rebirth.
Therefore, “to eliminate all karma – both good and bad”
means that one abandons any aspiration to be reborn
in a fortunate realm and unskilful thought, speech and
action that can lead to rebirth in a woeful realm. In
other words, one practises the Noble Eightfold Path
with the sole purpose of liberation from all forms of
existence.
Ming Wei: The cause of rebirth is only conditioned
by the workings of karma, while it is caused by the
continual workings of craving and ignorance. The only
kind of karma we should stop creating is bad karma,
which harms oneself and others, while it is good to
create good karma for the benefits of oneself and others.
However, the fruits of good karma used with wisdom
can aid the path to enlightenment too. That is why the
Buddha often encourages us to ‘do good and avoid evil’.
He didn’t teach us to ‘avoid evil, avoid good’. What the
Buddha taught instead, is that to reach enlightenment,
we need merits (positive karma). This is especially
so for the attaining of Buddhahood, which requires
boundless merits and wisdom to benefit many.
Namgyal: Although past karmas do not get lost by
themselves, resulting events are not predetermined and
inevitable. The ripening of karma is an interdependent
occurrence, with many contributing factors and
variables. Besides, not all of our unripen karmas
necessarily have to be experienced by oneself before
becoming arhats or Buddhas. With the attainment of
arhatship, unripen karmas from the past are left with no
maturing factors in the afflictions, and thus cannot ever
ripen. With the attainment of Buddhahood, unripen
karmas from the past would have been completely
purified and eliminated even to the subtlest instincts by
the strength of the advanced realizations leading to it.
When something happens – both good and bad – we
like to say “it’s due to our karma”. How true is this?
Aggacitta: Very true; though not just due to past life
kamma but a complex interaction of that and the past
kamma done in this present life. As mentioned above,
our sense faculties are originally the results of past life
kamma but they can be modified for better or worse by
the mind’s reactions (which is kamma in the present
life) to what they perceive, which changes all the time
due to intricate networks of causes and conditions.
Ming Wei: Although Buddhism attributes karma is a
law of cause and effect, however, not everything that
happens to a person is seen as due to karma. Any
unpleasant feelings or illnesses that one has can arise
from a variety of causes. In the Sivaka Sutta, a wanderer,
asked the Buddha what he thought about some of the
priests teaching a deterministic view of the world,
where everything that one experiences is a consequence
of past deeds. The Buddha replies by giving some
common sense examples where if your health is not
good, or when the weather changes, or when we do not
take good care of ourselves, or when accidents occur, we
experience pain not directly due to intentional action by
ourselves. So Buddhism is really not a deterministic
religion, as though everything were fixed and decided
for us already.
Namgyal: This, as I understand it, is a true statement.
It should not, however, imply that it was meant to be,
no matter what. Rather, depending on one’s efforts
or lack thereof, one is reaching out for corresponding
karmic causes and conditions one may or may not have
accumulated before, and thus they materialize in this
personalized way. It’s important to remember that,
irrespective of success in the present, we are creating
new karmas with our present actions and thoughts in
the face of the situation at hand.
Can the practice of meditation help us reduce our
bad karma?
Aggacitta: Absolutely (in the sense of diminishing the
effects of bad past kamma). This is specifically stated
in Loṇakapalla Sutta, AN 3.101, although the simile of
the salt crystal there has been popularly misinterpreted

to mean that performing more merits will dilute the
effects of bad past kamma. In truth, the immense
quantity of water in the Ganges that makes the taste of
the lump of salt dissolved in it insignificant, represents
the immense virtues of an arahant achieved through the
cumulative results of meditation, not to the immense
quantity of worldly merits, such as giving, social welfare
service, volunteerism, etc.
The only way to eliminate the effects of good and bad
past kamma that can generate rebirth is by developing
the Noble Eightfold Path—which includes meditation—
to perfection. According to the Pāli Canon (e.g.
Saupādisesa Sutta, AN 9.12) the Stream-enterer, having
fulfiled the preliminaries of the Noble Eightfold Path,
has eliminated all bad past kamma that can generate
rebirth in the lower realms as well as all good past
kamma that can generate more than seven rebirths in
the sensual realm. Correspondingly, the Once-returner
has eliminated all good past kamma that can generate
more than one rebirth in the sensual realm, and the
Non-returner not even a single rebirth in the sensual
realm.
Ming Wei: Meditation is definitely a way to reduce our
unwholesome karma. To practice meditation is to see
deeply into things, to see how we can change, how we
transform our situation. To transform our situation
is also to transform our minds. For example, if you
do good things, if you’re kind and generous, and you
sit in meditation, the memory arises, “I just helped
someone; I did something good.” what comes is a happy
feeling. That happy feeling helps in meditation. There
is a kind of joy, a rapture that comes from reflection
on the good deeds you’ve done; it is one of the factors
of enlightenment. That is why it is so important for us
to practice meditation in order to look, to see, and to
understand deeply.
Namgyal: Contemplating on the general workings
of causality and the four general characteristics of
karma, and being observant in one’s daily dealings
with mindfulness is very effective in reducing our bad
karma. The four general characteristics of karma are:
TEACHINGS
FORUM | EASTERN HORIZON 45
1) Karma is definite in that happiness comes from only
constructive actions and suffering from only destructive
ones. It never occurs the other way around;
2) Karma is expandable in that a small action can bring
a large effect in the same way that a small seed can
produce a large tree;
3) We will not experience the effect of an action we have
not done. If we have not created the cause to experience
a contagious disease, we will not contract it, even
though others around us may, unless one goes out of
one’s way in contracting it in this life;
4) Karmic imprints do not get lost or magically vanish.
The effect of an action will be experienced unless it is
counteracted.
Geshe Dadul Namgyal would like to thank Martha Leslie
Baker for her assistance in editing his article.
Venerable Āyasmā Aggacitta is
the founder of the Sāsanārakkha
Buddhist Sanctuary (SBS) in
Taiping, Perak, a Pāli scholar and a
meditation teacher.
Ven. Ming Wei is a teacher of e-learning at the
International Buddhist College (IBC) and an
independent translator of Buddhism.
Geshe Dadul Namgyal is a Geshe
Lharampa and senior resident
teacher at Drepung Loseling
Monastery in Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Geshe Dadul Namgyal will like to
thank Martha Leslie Baker for editing his contribution to
this article in Eastern Horizon. EH
46 EASTERN HORIZON | PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

HOW I BECAME A
BUDDHIST AND WHAT IT
REALLY MEANS
By Sandra Pawula

Sandra’s background includes working as an executive director

for non-profit organizations, fundraising consultant, and freelance
copywriter.  Now, she writes about personal and spiritual development,
and instruct online courses on mindfulness, meditation, loving-
kindness, stress reduction, and the universal teachings of Buddhism.
Sandra lives on a small farm in Hawai’i with her husband and
three cats, Chitta, Tara, and Eleau.  She loves nature, permaculture,
meditating, writing, and soaking in the nearby lava-heated warm
pond. Sandra had the good fortune to receive teachings from some
of the greatest spiritual masters of our time.  She has been studying
and practicing Buddhism for more than 25 years – which is all about
working with your own mind to transform limiting beliefs, dissolve
difficult emotions, and actualize your full potential.

When I was in my mid-twenties, my frazzled emotions and helped me to

housemate went to see a psychic.  relax.  But I knew it wasn’t healthy
Surprisingly, the psychic began
speaking about me, the young
woman who drank and smoked
too much.  She predicted I would
either meet a spiritual teacher or
cross over in my early thirties.  That
means die, in case it’s not clear.
I found this strange and spooky
and largely put it out of mind.  I
wasn’t spiritually inclined at the
time so the possibility of becoming
so seemed unlikely.  I started to
drink less, but not because of the
prediction.  Alcohol soothed my
or helpful on the long run.  It would
be a long time before I gave up
smoking, but I continued to breathe
and walk on this earth, nevertheless.
At the time, I lived by the sea in
Santa Cruz, California, magnet to
surfers, valley girls, tourists and
alternative lifestyle seekers.  The
town and surrounding areas hosted
a panoply of spiritual culture from
WICCA covens to the Mt. Madonna
Center, where the main yoga teacher
had been silent for more than 20
years and communicated by writing

It is said that Shayamuni Buddha gave 84,000 different teachings and taught in different ways
according to the minds and capacities of different individuals.  His teachings are divided into three
main categories (known as “vehicles”), which respectively emphasize peace, love and compassion,
and skillful means for developing wisdom.
on a small chalkboard he wore
around his neck.  (He’s brilliant, by
the way.)
I never gave a second thought to any
of this as I was busy running a non-
profit that helped battered women.
Then, suddenly in my early thirties,
as predicted but still unexpected,
I fell into Buddhism.  A brand new
housemate was fired up about
meditation and Buddhism.  She took
me to talks and sittings held in a
remodeled garage.  But, I found the
atmosphere of this particular group
too stiff. Buddhism, I concluded, was
not for me.
Or so I thought. Soon after, I was
lured to another talk given by
a different teacher. I felt deeply
moved by his words and the special
ambiance created by the power of
his presence.  Since I was between
jobs, I went for a weekend seminar
too and then a ten-day retreat held
at the end of a long and bumpy dirt
road.
Although I had to stay in a tent and
got a rip roaring case of poison oak,
by the end of the retreat, there was
no question:  I was fully hooked on
Buddhism.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS | EASTERN HORIZON
Buddhism captured me because:
1. It made so much sense to my
mind and heart.  Even though
I didn’t understand everything
and I thought all the Tibetan
mumbo jumbo didn’t concern
me, the truth of the teachings
spoke so clearly to both my
conceptual and non-conceptual
mind.
2. I probably had a karmic
connection from a past life that
had come to fruition bringing
me squarely into the heart
of Buddhism.  But, a karmic
connection won’t necessarily
keep you there unless you
create new karma by applying
yourself in study and practice.
Since then, I’ve attended hundreds
of talks, seminars, and retreats
on the teachings and practices of
Buddhism, include a three-year
study and practice retreat.  Of
course, I’m still a beginner and
have much to learn. Until the three-
year retreat, you would usually
find me busy working.  Remember,
I was a workaholic.  But, I made
up for the lost practice time once
on the extended retreat and have
continued a daily practice since
then.
47
The Many Colors of
Buddhism
By the way, I’m not trying to sell
you on Buddhism.  But, if you’re
curious about Buddhism, it may
help to know that it comes in
many different shapes, sizes, and
colors.  There’s the black and white
simplicity of Zen, the vivid orange
and red of Tibetan Buddhism, and
the saffron colored robes seen in
Southeast Asia.  Different hues exist
even within a single tradition.
There are peaceful monks, learned
scholars, wild, unconventional
teachers, householders, and cave
dwelling yogis.
It is said that Shayamuni Buddha
gave 84,000 different teachings and
taught in different ways according to
the minds and capacities of different
individuals.  His teachings are
divided into three main categories
(known as “vehicles”), which
respectively emphasize peace, love
and compassion, and skillful means
for developing wisdom.
As you can see, there isn’t just “one”
Buddhism.  Although there are a
few core principles that run the
gamut of traditions, the language
and approaches vary dramatically. 
48 EASTERN HORIZON | PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
Meditation is the method used to transform the mind and there are several different forms of
meditation.  For example, there’s the basic meditation of mindfulness, contemplative meditation,
practices of loving kindness and compassion,  and, in some traditions, deity practices that involve
visualization and mantra and both the investigation of mind as well as resting in the nature of mind
That doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all
thanks to lineage.  The authentic
teachings are carefully passed down
from one teacher to the next.  But,
of course, ultimately you need to
realize the teachings within your
own mind.
The Essence of Buddhism
The teachings of the Buddha are
vast, indeed. Just the words of the
Buddha alone fill 100 volumes and
the commentaries by great Indian
scholars fill more than 200. And,
that’s just the tip of the iceberg
when you consider all the Buddhist
teachings that have been spoken
and written since then.
At the same time, the Buddhist
teachings can be encapsulated in
a few words.  For example, The
Buddha summarized his teachings
in these four lines:
“Commit not a single unwholesome
action.
Cultivate a wealth of virtue.
To tame this mind of ours.
This is the teaching of all the
buddhas.”
-the Dhammapada
An entire book could be written
about this verse.  But simply said,
once it’s been introduced.
it means to refrain from harm, to
cultivate love, compassion, and
beneficial actions, and to purify
your own mind and heart from its
patterns of negativity.
Meditation is the method used
to transform the mind and there
are several different forms of
meditation.  For example, there’s
the basic meditation of mindfulness,
contemplative meditation, practices
of loving kindness and compassion,  those words and the associated
and, in some traditions, deity
practices that involve visualization
and mantra and both the
investigation of mind as well as
resting in the nature of mind once
it’s been introduced.
It all depends on the approach of
your tradition.  You may be drawn
to the simplicity of sitting or love
the complexity and symbolism of
rituals.
I’d like to mention one other
simple explanation of Buddhism:  we can see than any happiness or
The action of Buddhism is non-
harming and the view (core
principle) is interdependence.  It’s
important to realize that Buddhism
isn’t just about understanding your
own mind, but it also addresses
the nature of reality.  Its most
fundamental tenet proposes that
everything is impermanent, empty
of inherent existence, and comes
about due to cause and effect. 
Therefore, what we think, say, and
do has an effect for better or for
worse.
To sum up, Buddhism
can be described in two
words: compassion and
wisdom.  But then again, each of
practices could be explained in
volumes.
Why It Matters:  Putting An
End to Suffering
In essence, Buddhism is about
transforming negative emotions,
cultivating positive qualities,
remaining present in the moment,
and seeing reality as it is rather
than through the projections of your
ordinary mind.
“If we know this, (if we are wise)
any suffering, depends entirely on
the mind and how it perceives.  So
we will seek to find happiness and
well-being within our own mind,
and nowhere else.  We know that
since all the causes of happiness
are already here, complete within

us, it doesn’t depend on anything
outside of us.” – the 3rd Dodrupchen
Rinpoche
When you lack the capacity to
work with your own mind and
emotions, you suffer.  Thoughts and
emotions easily sweep you away
making you feel distressed and
uncomfortable in your own self.  At
the same time, you’re more likely to
cause suffering for others because
you are reacting from habitual,
self-focused patterns.  And, that’s
how the world becomes a turbulent
mess.
Instead of identifying with
transitory thoughts and emotions,
you could switch your allegiance
and begin to rest in the essence of
mind (pure awareness).  This is
what we learn to do in meditation
and why it is so powerful.  From this
spacious perspective, thoughts and
emotions are just clouds sweeping
through a vast, open sky.  They
can’t really harm you if you don’t go
along for the ride.  Learning to take
your emotions less seriously is the
beginning of true freedom.
You don’t have to be a Buddhist
to believe in the core principles
of Buddhism.  I’m not bent on
converting anyone to Buddhism. I
would, however, love to convert the
whole world to peace, compassion,
and wisdom.  Then, we would see
heaven on earth.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS | EASTERN HORIZON
Resources
These days, it can be difficult to
distinguish between an authentic
teacher and someone who claims
to be self-realized.  And, there are
plenty of people who say you don’t
need a spiritual teacher at all.  Just
listen to your inner voice!   That
might be a big mistake though,
because ego can be very cunning.
I place my trust in lineage: The fact
that a teacher has learned from
a bonafide teacher who in turn
learned from another.
For those who are curious about
Buddhism, I’ve compiled a list of
resources you can explore that
features a selection of teachers who
are part of an authentic lineage.  • When Things Fall Apart: Heart
They’re slanted toward Tibetan
Buddhism because that’s my thing.
Video, Audio, and Articles
• A Treasury of Free Resources
to Inspire Your Meditation,
Compassion and Wisdom –
video, audio, and written
teachings from a range of
Eastern and Western Buddhist
teachers.
• Dare to Meditate: Free 10-Step
Introduction to Meditation –
Shows you mindfulness
meditation step-by-step.
• The Posture in Meditation with
Elizabeth Namgyel Mattis
49
Books on Meditation,
Compassion, and Wisdom
• The Tibetan Book of Living and
Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche
• The Joy of Living, Unlocking
the Secret and Science of
Happiness by Yongey Mingyur
Rinpoche
• Rebel Buddha, A Guide to
a Revolution of Mind by
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
• Open Heart, Open Mind,
Awakening the Power of
Essence Love by Tsoknyi
Rinpoche
• Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by
Shunryu Suzuki
• The Power of An Open
Question by Elizabeth Mattis
Namgyel
Advice for Difficult Times by
Pema Chodron
• Loving Kindness, The
Revolutionary Art of
Happiness by Sharon Salzberg
That’s the story of my love affair
with Buddhism.  To this day, the
practice and teachings open my
mind and soften my heart.  I feel so
blessed! EH
50 EASTERN HORIZON | PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

IT’S NOT LOVE - IT’S CHAN

By Venerable Chang Zao

Ordained as a Buddhist nun in the Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition,

Venerable Chang Zao is currently the Director of Dharma Drum Mountain
Buddhist Centre Malaysia.

She graduated from the National University of Malaysia, KL Campus and later
pursued her studies at Dharma Drum Sangha University, Taiwan, in 2007. She
ordained and learned Chan meditation under Master Sheng Yen, the key figure
in the revival of modern Chinese Chan Buddhism.

After she graduated from Dharma Drum Sangha University, she was appointed
as a lecturer and advisor for various faculties at Public Education Center of
Dharma Drum Mountain Taiwan. During her time at the center, she supervised
the development of dharma syllabus and course planning. She is also advisor
for Dharma Drum Mountain Singapore and Dharma Drum Mountain Thailand.
Currently, she conducts meditation classes, retreats, religious services, dharma
classes and various inter-varsity Buddhist camps in Malaysia.

“What’s wrong with our society?” helplessness and discouragement, and

“Malaysians live a hard life!”
In the past year, I have heard frequent
complaints and cries for help from many
people. What’s unusual is that those
seeking help are from all walks of life,
and not just those who are struggling to
make ends meet.
Having seen much suffering in society,
some people have developed a strong
motivation to help others find happiness.
Unfortunately, the task to alleviate the
suffering of others is difficult and many
fail despite trying very hard. Soon the
heart that was so full of eagerness
to help others would be engulfed by
countless obstacles. It was a feeling of
not knowing what I can do. This situation
will then give rise to more vexations,
and some may also become embroiled in
the emotions or the difficulties of those
suffering. If they are unable to extricate
themselves from these situations, they
ended up needing help themselves too.
Our initial plan to help others always
stems from good intentions. Being
emphatic of others’ suffering makes
us want to become good Samaritans.
However, when we feel too strongly for
their suffering, we began to lose control
of our emotions or become entangled
with them emotionally. Thus despite our
good intentions, we are unable to help
them.
 PERSONAL REFLECTIONS | EASTERN HORIZON
I truly understand this feeling of
helplessness, discouragement and
not knowing what I can do because
I am a second-born child who
possess all the characteristics of
being a second-born in my family.
When young, I did not like to
speak much. As such, I could easily
feel the negative emotions felt by
others. Yet, I did not know what
to do with it because when others
are uneasy, I feel uneasy too; when
other people are upset, I also feel
the same and became upset. During
my adolescence, I experienced
“You don’t need to be wave after wave of this emotional
fluctuation. As grownups, our
a good speaker – just perspectives can also change in an
instant. So I was easily swept away
being a good listener by my emotions, unable to be an
is enough to create a objective bystander that I wanted
to be. I could feel I was powerless to
warm and comfortable stop it.
atmosphere.” I was therefore at a loss on what
to do as I lacked the power to
do anything about it. But I still
had aspirations to bring peace to
other people as I wanted to help
them very much. Thus, when I
encountered Buddhism while
studying at the university, I began to
immerse myself in the teachings and
practices. I started to participate in
regular hospital visits.
Before my first visit to a hospital, a
senior classmate shared this, “We
will be faced with various situations
when we visit the patients at
the hospital. Do not be scared or
nervous, because all of these are
manifestations of impermanence,
but experienced on a more personal
level.”
51
Faced with their deep suffering,
I tried in vain to recall my senior
classmate’s advice, “Try your best
to chat with them about their
happy experiences and encourage
them to recall events in their lives
where they can be proud of. In this
way, you can help them bring out
the positive aspects of their life.
Help them feel that life is full of
hope.” But within a few moments,
I began to succumb sensing their
helplessness, sadness, and pain. I
really wanted to tell them, “Look,
I can understand your feelings.
I know that this illness has been
very hard on you,” yet I lacked the
strength to say this out loud.
“You don’t need to be a good
speaker – just being a good listener
is enough to create a warm and
comfortable atmosphere.” These
words of encouragement from
my senior classmate stayed in my
mind. I put it into practice – so I
listened hard and listened well,
and it seemed to have an effect.
The patient appeared happier and
at ease with himself, but instead I
became more and more depressed
and upset. In fact, I was becoming
afraid that my depressed state of
mind would start to influence the
patient; so I bade farewell and left
quickly.
I felt discouraged and confused.
“How can I become a person who
can truly help others?” “Is there
a way for me to keep calm and be
at ease while helping others, and
not let the situation influence me?”
I only found the answer to my
question after several years.
52 EASTERN HORIZON | PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
This is the Chan
practice of “Neither
resisting nor seeking,
clearly perceiving
all the conditions
presented before us.”
The wonderful power
of serenity will lead
us to experience the
present moment
clearly.
It turns out that my nervousness,
anxiety, and fear that I felt
previously were all because I placed
too much focus on myself. I was
fearful of the fragility of life, and
even more fearful of experiencing
the impermanence of my physical
body. As I was able to see it so
clearly in the patient, I was made
more aware of the eventuality of all
these things happening to me. So
while I started my visits with the
aim to care for others, my attention
was focused on myself. The result
was that I failed to understand what
others were feeling and what they
really needed.
I also did not know how to maintain
a calm state of mind. Thus, when I
saw their helplessness, sadness, and
pain, I succumbed to their suffering
within me. Instead of being able to
help them recover from their pain,
it soon became clear that I was
the one who needed help the most
because I lacked the inner strength.
Through Chan, I began to study
myself. Initially, I immersed myself
in all daily activities but with
a withdrawn mind, i.e. looking
inwardly all the time in order to
train myself by looking inwards,
and not to seek answers outwardly.
This does not mean that I ignore
the suffering of others or became
apathetic; rather, by studying myself
I developed a clearer understanding
of the nature of our existence. By
initially withdrawing my mind,
I have developed the power of
calmness and serenity, allowing
me to remain equanimous no
matter how chaotic the external
surroundings get.
After studying Chan, I applied
Chan practice in my interpersonal
interactions. It is not difficult
to notice that after resting our
minds internally, we are able to
perceive the needs of others much
more clearly, while remaining
unperturbed. We learnt to let go
of past burdens as well as future
worries. With no other thoughts,
we are truly there with the person,
and are not easily distracted by
external thoughts or the external
environment.
This is the Chan practice of
“Neither resisting nor seeking,
clearly perceiving all the conditions
presented before us.” The wonderful
power of serenity will lead us to
experience the present moment
clearly.
Chan practice methods are practical
for our daily life, and is not exclusive
to Buddhists only. Chan empowers
us to engage with society and to
provide the best care and concern
that people need.
Previously, I only possessed a loving
heart but lacked guidance, resulting
in repetitive setbacks. It was only
through the power of Chan practice
that I was able to understand that an
uninvolved, tranquil mind was the
way to implementing care. What can
really bring warmth and calmness
to others and to myself at the same
time is not love, but Chan.
Ven. Chang Zao (translated by Lisa
Su ) EH

HARVARD HAS A FREE
ONLINE COURSE ON
BUDDHISM THAT YOU
CAN TAKE RIGHT NOW
By Paul Ratner, Think Big, December 4, 2016
If you wanted to learn more about Buddhism, but
needed an easy and authoritative resource, you are in
luck. Harvard University made a great course on the
religion available online for free.
While the “Buddhism Through Its Scriptures” course
is no longer interactive and has been archived, all of its
rich lecture and supplemental materials are available
upon registration.
The course is taught by Professor Charles Hallisey from
Harvard’s Divinity School, who is also the Yehan Numata
Senior Lecturer on Buddhist Literatures. His 2015 book
highlights poems by first Buddhist women.
The introductory course is meant for both a complete
novice and a more seasoned practitioner as it goes over
Buddhist teachings, selected readings and practices. Art
and devotional acts are also considered.
The course is designed to take 4 weeks, asking for 6-10
hours per week of your attention.
Professor Hallisey is interested in presenting the
course to people of “diverse backgrounds” in order to
“interact constructively around topics that too often
divide us”. His philosophy is to not impart the “right”
interpretation of Buddhist scriptures but rather to keep
and foster an open-mindedness, allowing for different
perspectives, which Buddhists themselves often have
even on their main documents.
NEWS | EASTERN HORIZON 53
While there is no one central Buddhist text like the
Bible or Koran, there are Buddhist writings like the Pali
canon, the writings of the Japanese Zen Master Dogen,
or the collection of meditation topics Mumonkan that
are explored by Hallisey.
He further addresses his approach to teaching the
course on Buddhism this way in his syllabus:
“When we turn to the Buddhist heritages for help in
answering some questions that we bring to the study of
Buddhist scriptures, we open ourselves to the possibility
of not only learning about Buddhism, but also learning
from Buddhism. This openness to learning from Buddhists
is not in the sense of saying that a Buddhist interpretation
is automatically the “right” interpretation. Rather, it
is to see that Buddhists themselves have thought about
many of the same questions that we bring to Buddhist
scriptures, and many of the same questions that we have
about ourselves, as persons, and about this world in which
we find ourselves. “
Ready to start your journey into Buddhism? Register
here.
https://www.edx.org/course/buddhism-through-its-
scriptures-harvardx-hds3221-3x
Source: Buddhist Channel (www.buddhistchannel.tv)
EH
54 EASTERN HORIZON | NEWS
WHAT A
BUDDHIST MONK
TAUGHT XI
JINPING
By IAN JOHNSON, The New York Times, March 24, 2017
<< Linji Temple, the birthplace of one of the best-known schools of Buddhism, is frequently visited
by China's President Xi Jinping
ZHENGDING, China -- In 1982, two
men arrived in this dusty provincial
town. One was Shi Youming, a
Buddhist monk who was taking
up a post in the ruins of one of
Zhengding’s legendary temples. The
other was Xi Jinping, the 29-year-
old son of a top Communist Party
official putting in a mandatory stint
in the provinces as a bureaucrat in
the government he would eventually
lead.
Mr. Xi’s early encounters with
religious life give insight into a
man who has run China with a
firmer hand than any other leader
since Mao Zedong. Although he is
best known abroad for his efforts
to expand China’s territorial
reach in the South China Sea or
his high-profile campaign against
corruption, at home the president
is engineering a remarkable about-
face for the Communist Party: an
effort to rejuvenate China’s spiritual
life through an embrace of some
religions.
As an organization that has tried
to squelch religion, the Communist
Party under Mr. Xi is now backing
it in ways that echo the approach of
strongmen like Vladimir V. Putin of
Russia, who use faith to legitimize
their rule. Faced with growing social
tensions and slowing economic
growth, the government is turning
to religion to bolster its hold on
power.
Mr. Xi, by making China a guardian
of a major faith like Buddhism, also
sees religion as a way to promote
China’s position in a world still
dominated by the United States,
which he tentatively plans to visit
for a meeting with President Trump
The two forged an unusual alliance
early next month.
that resonates today. With Mr. Xi’s
backing, Youming, who like most
Indeed, one of Mr. Xi’s signature
Buddhist monks preferred to go by
lines is, “If the people have faith, the
one name, rebuilt the city’s Linji
nation has hope, and the country
Temple, the birthplace of one of the
has strength.”
best-known schools of Buddhism.
Even after Mr. Xi was transferred,
China’s Communists were not
he regularly visited Youming in
always antagonistic toward religion.
Zhengding and sent officials there to
Before winning the civil war in
study the partnership between the
1949, the party found refuge in
party and religion.
China’s northwest. Its numbers
reduced by disease and attacks,

the Communist Party needed local
allies, such as Tibetan Buddhists
and Hui Muslims, and pious
Chinese farmers. So the party took
a pragmatic approach, basically
leaving religion alone as long as it
didn’t challenge party rule.
This changed in the late 1950s,
when Mao entered the 20-year
megalomaniacal final phase of
his life. Mao presided over the
destruction of tens of thousands of
temples, churches and mosques. But
others in the party were much more
cautious - and eventually they took
power.
Xi Jinping’s father, Xi Zhongxun, was
a key member of this pragmatic
faction. Beginning in 1980, Xi
Zhongxun headed the party’s
religious work. Two years later, still
on his watch, the Central Committee
issued what to date is its most
important paper on religious policy,
Document 19. This 11,000-word
report warned party members
against banning religious activity,
saying doing so would alienate
too many people. It also called for
temples, mosques and churches
to be restored, and religious
professionals to be “rehabilitated.”
The gate of Linji Temple in
Zhengding, China. With Xi Jinping’s
backing, Shi Youming rebuilt it.
David Chen
That same year, his son Xi Jinping
arrived in Zhengding. The younger
Xi’s attitude toward Youming and
the temples in the old city could
have been motivated by many
factors. Zhengding was isolated
and poor, but its cultural wealth
could be parlayed into tourism.
Mr. Xi used his family ties to lure
to Zhengding the filming of a big
historical drama - he probably saw
religion as part of an economic
development strategy. And like his
father, Mr. Xi might have also seen
religion as a tool to develop and rule
a part of the country with strong
religious roots.
But during several visits to
Zhengding over the past five years,
I discovered a more complex
picture of China’s leader. Mr. Xi
was a pragmatist, but evidence
also points to his being motivated
by genuine respect for traditional
Chinese faiths, such as Buddhism,
Taoism and folk religion. He became
a regular visitor to Linji, helping
to dismantle bureaucratic hurdles
while Youming raised money for
the temple’s reconstruction. In
1983, according to local records, Mr.
Xi approved the reopening of the
temple to the public, even though it
was still in ruins, and he eventually
installed Youming as its abbot.
Today, Zhengding is a suburb of
Shijiazhuang, the sprawling capital
of Hebei Province. The Linji Temple
has expanded from one ruined
pagoda to a much bigger complex of
rebuilt halls, a library and monks’
quarters. Youming died in 2010,
and his living area has been turned
into a little shrine, decorated with
calligraphy, an altar and display
cases along the walls.
During one of my visits, I met
Youming’s successor, Shi Huichang.
He had come to the temple in
1989, well after Mr. Xi had been
transferred to a bigger post on
China’s coast, but he was present for
Mr. Xi’s later visits.
NEWS | EASTERN HORIZON 55
“Xi did a great service for
Buddhism,” Huichang told me as
we viewed the display cases filled
with Youming’s clothes, books and
photos. “He showed respect. I’m
not sure he was a believer but he
respected it. He knew more about it
than most people.”
We stopped at a vitrine holding a
picture of the two from the 1980s.
They were an odd couple: Mr. Xi
tall for a man of his generation
at 5-foot-11, with the thick black
sweptback hair of a South Korean
movie star. Next to him, Youming
was a wisp in a saffron robe, his
head shaven, laughing like the Zen
master he was - what could be more
absurd than my present situation,
he seemed to be saying, walking
with a representative of the party
that tried to wipe out my faith?
Zhengding was not a one-off in Mr.
Xi’s political biography. During a
2005 visit to Zhengding and the
Linji Temple, Mr. Xi ordered senior
Buddhist leaders to study how the
temple had been rebuilt - a clear
sign that his stint in Zhengding was
meant to be an example of how
government and religion should
work together. He also called on
Buddhists to unite to promote
China’s biggest religion - an unusual
request from a Communist Party
official.
Does any of this prove Mr. Xi’s
own religiosity? As Communist
Party members, China’s leaders
are required to be atheist. And
yet Chinese who knew Mr. Xi well
believe he at least looked favorably
on Buddhism and other traditional
religions.
56 EASTERN HORIZON | NEWS
A childhood friend of his who
was also his neighbor in the
1980s supported this view in
conversations with an American
diplomat. According to a record of
this transcript released through
WikiLeaks, Mr. Xi’s friend - referred
to in the diplomatic cable as “the
professor” - said he visited Mr. Xi
in Fujian, shortly after having left
Zhengding. Mr. Xi, according to the
professor, “displayed a fascination
with Buddhist martial arts, qigong
and other mystical powers said to
aid health, as well as with Buddhist
sacred sites.”
The professor said that he did not
know whether Mr. Xi was truly
religious but that he “was extremely
surprised by how much Xi knew
about the subject and Xi’s seeming
belief in supernatural forces.”
If Mr. Xi was favorably disposed
toward Buddhism, he seems to have
had more trouble with Christianity.
From 2002 to 2007, he served as
party leader of Zhejiang Province,
where his administration received
a black eye when it confronted
local Christians. A congregation
in the township of Xiaoshan had
built a church, but the government
declared it illegal and tried to
demolish it in 2006. Hundreds of
believers flooded the area, pushing
back the police.
Although the government eventually
succeeded in tearing down the
church, it became one of the most
embarrassing episodes in Mr. Xi’s
period in Zhejiang.
Not surprisingly, Christians have I’ve found that Mr. Xi’s embrace of
fared poorly during the past faith is incredibly popular among
five years of Mr. Xi’s rule. Most most Chinese. While Christians
notoriously, over 1,500 crosses may cringe at his views, many
have been pulled off the steeples more others see his support for
of churches in that same province. traditional faiths as positive - a re-
Probably not coincidentally, the creation of the imperial Chinese
head of Zhejiang who has overseen state’s support for certain faiths and
this operation was Mr. Xi’s top belief systems. Far from being an
law enforcement officer during anomaly in Mr. Xi’s rise, his stint in
the 2006 episode. Mr. Xi almost Zhengding is most likely something
certainly would have had to have else: a template for the mixing of
signed off on the cross-removal faith and politics - a reimagining of
campaign, re-emphasizing the fact the political-religious state that once
that he is probably better disposed ruled China.
toward religions considered more
traditional in China - Buddhism,
Taoism, Confucianism and folk
religion - than those deemed Ian Johnson, a reporter in Beijing for
foreign, like Christianity and Islam. The New York Times, is the author
of “The Souls of China: The Return of
This is reinforced by Mr. Xi’s Religion After Mao,” from which this
activities since taking office. In essay is adapted.
2013, he lauded Confucius on a visit
to his birthplace, Qufu, in Shandong Source: Buddhist Channel (www.
Province. The next year, he spoke buddhistchannel.tv) EH
favorably about Buddhism while
visiting Paris.
Over the past five years, religion has
also become a tool for improving
Communist Party officials’ ethics,
with officials in some localities
instructed to read the classics to
elevate their morals.
What does this mean for China’s
future? Economically, it’s fair to
say, the easy phase of reform has
passed. If Beijing wants to continue
economic reform, it will require
asking the population for yet more
wrenching changes. But if it doesn’t
reform, growth will stagnate. Either
way, the government faces potential
social unrest.
58 EASTERN HORIZON | BOOK REVIEWS

BOOK REVIEWS

Boundless Heart: The Buddha’s Path of Kindness, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity by
Christina Feldman, Boulder: Shambhala, 2017. pp 146. US$16.95
www.shambhala.com

The Buddha’s teachings on cultivating the boundless heart is based on the practice of four
great qualities: loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Collectively they are
called the brahma vihāras in Pāli, and usually translated as the Four Sublime States or Four
Immeasurables. The book begins by introducing the brahma vihāras, their place in Buddhist
teaching and giving us an insight into how their development can positively transform our
Christina Feldman daily experience. The author then discusses each of the Four Immeasurables in turn, with
chapters on Loving Kindness (mettā), Compassion (Karuṇā), Joy (muditā), and Equanimity
(uppekhā).

For those new to Buddhism, Christina Feldman has provided a good introduction on how
the Four Immeasurables fit into the overall teachings of the Buddha. For example, she
explains that they are the foundation of all respectful, healthy, and dignified societies,
communities, families, and relationships. The Four Immeasurables are also virtues and
wholesome qualities that are the foundation of all ethical thought, speech, and action.
Eventually, these Four Immeasurables also lead towards awakening and liberation from this
cycle of birth and death, known as Saṃsāra, when it is followed up with insight knowledge
(vipassanā).

Each main chapter provides the reader with a superb teaching on the quality being
discussed, establishing exactly what it means and how its development can improve
our daily lives and our relationships with others. The tone throughout is encouragingly
pragmatic, and the author provides many practices by which the reader can begin
cultivating each quality for themselves.

Boundless Heart can be considered an experiential guidebook with many Practice sessions
at the end of each chapter. Combined with the right attitude, and the willingness to
actually carry out the practices as instructed, this book will help one to cultivate kindness,
compassion, joy and equanimity just as surely as those who practice in a retreat setting.
This is also in line with the Buddha’s teaching that his Dharma is to be practiced, not just
studied as a theory or believed.

Whether used as a practical guidebook, as intended, or simply to acquire a better

understanding of the brahma viharās and their relevance to our lives in the modern world,
Boundless Heart is a hugely important title which will be of immense help to those who
wish to understand the basic fundamentals of the Buddha’s teachings. The teaching on the
Four Immeasurables also clear the misconception that all the Buddha taught was suffering
and more suffering.
 BOOK REVIEWS | EASTERN HORIZON 59

BOOK REVIEWS

Many people are familiar with mettā, or lovingkindness, meditation, which has become
very popular in the last couple decades. But, according to Christina Feldman, to focus on
that quality--delightful as it is--is to leave the practice somewhat unbalanced. The four
qualities in fact help and balance each other in a way that enhances them all. Christina
presents teachings on the brahma vihāras along with simple practices that can lead to a
life infused with kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, and to a way of being that
promotes those qualities in the world at large.

Christina Feldman is a cofounder of Gaia House retreat center in the United Kingdom, and a
guiding teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, so she has plenty
of experience in helping practitioners to develop these qualities in person. This book now
gives readers the opportunity to benefit from her teaching remotely and to cultivate the
qualities in their daily lives at their own pace. EH

Interconnected: Embracing Life in our Global Society, by The Karmapa Ogyen Trinley
Dorje. Somerville: Wisdom, 2017. pp 248. US$24.95
www.wisdompubs.org

This book aims to add the voice of His Holiness the Karmapa to present-day conversations
that explore global issues through the lens of inter-connectedness. He joins important
discussions already urging greater awareness of the instances and effects of
interdependence in the world. At the age of 31, His Holiness is already a major thinker
deeply engaged in environmental and social justice issues. As the head of a 900-year old
The 17th Karmapa Tibetan Buddhist lineage, he has also had years of intensive Buddhist training. Today he
has a passionate commitment to social issues, and teaches the world how we can move
from a merely intellectual understanding to a fully lived experience of connection. By first
seeing, then feeling, and finally living these connections, we can become more effective
agents of social and ethical change. 

We have always been, and will always be, interconnected—through family, community,
and shared humanity. As our planet changes and our world grows smaller, it is vital we not
only recognize our connections to one another and to the earth but also begin actively
working together as interdependent individuals to create a truly global society.

The Karmapa shows us how gaining emotional awareness of our connectedness can
fundamentally reshape the human race. He then guides us to action, showing step by
step how we can change the way we use the earth’s resources and can continue to better
our society. In clear language, the Karmapa draws connections between such seemingly
far-flung issues as consumer culture, loneliness, animal protection, and self-reliance. In
the process, he helps us move beyond theory to practical and positive social and ethical
change.
60 EASTERN HORIZON | BOOK REVIEWS

BOOK REVIEWS

The book is neatly divided into three sections. Part 1 discusses the connection in
terms of our interdependent world, what constitutes true connectivity, being an inter-
dependent individual in the world, and issues of equality and diversity. The concept of
interconnection is described in Buddhism as interdependence. In Buddhism it leads us
to examine the nature of the self, and it challenges how we see ourselves in relation to
others. That rethinking transforms how we engage with others, emotionally and in our
actions.

Part II focuses on issues such as how we can move from empathy to courageous
compassion, opening our hearts and minds, the meaning of authentic freedom, and
responsibility as an opportunity. The Karmapa explains in this section that learning to
recognize and feel the kindness of others is a practical measure we can apply to bring our
lives more in line emotionally with the intellectual understanding of interdependence.
In Buddhist teaching it is called recollecting kindness which entails deliberately calling to
mind situations in which we recognize that we received something from others. We then
consciously turn those instances over in our minds so as to intensify our awareness of
others’ kindness, until we are filled with a sense of gratitude.

The Karmapa ends the discussion in Part III by discussing the importance of sharing our
limited resources, the value of community, and global citizenship and the global family. He
explains that we should all avoid the division of “us” and “them” as this will cause harm in
society. Maintaining a vivid awareness of the fundamental equality of all humans allows
us to actively welcome differences. It allows us to see our diversity as enriching us rather
than as dividing us into antagonistic factions. EH

Liberated in Stillness and Motion by Chan Master Sheng Yen. New York & Taipei: Dharma
Drum Publishing Corp., 2016. pp170. US$12.00
www.ddc.com.tw

This is a collection of 21 talks on Chan Buddhism that Master Sheng Yen (1930-2009) gave
between 1993 to 1998 at various places including New York University, University of South
Florida, University of Central Florida, Chan Meditation Center in New York, Nung Chan
Monastery in Taiwan and at various Chan Meditation Camps in the United States. Master
Sheng Yen devoted his whole life to teach Chan, so that people may learn and use it.
Master Sheng Yen Some of the talks in this volume explained the fundamental concepts of Chan Buddhism.
There is a quote from the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra which says “The foundation of the Buddha’s
teachings is the mind and the method of practice is no-method”. He then explained that
“the Buddha’s teaching is the mind” means that mind is the essence, and from this pure
mind all the teachings flow. Words are illusory; only the nature of the mind is true and
unchanging. As such the right attitude to practicing Chan is important. He explained
 BOOK REVIEWS | EASTERN HORIZON 61

BOOK REVIEWS

that because causes and conditions are outside of one’s control and depend on the time
and the environment, there is nothing that must belong to you. So we should develop
adaptability by being attuned to causes and conditions, and be ever able to take things on
and let them go.

Master Sheng Yen explained that young Siddhartha witnessed the suffering of birth, aging,
sickness, and death, but did not know how to gain liberation from these things. So, leaving
home to practice, he became enlightened to the way of settling the mind. Then, he taught
the Dharma with the intent to help human beings settle their minds. And this is the
purpose of Chan.

Master Sheng Yen also teaches that sitting in a meditation posture without being aware
of vexation in the mind is merely sitting idly and will not bring enlightenment. He gave
many useful advice on how to practice Chan – such as “to be clearly aware and free from
thoughts of good and evil is practice and enlightenment”. Hence, the unattached mind is
enlightenment –“abiding nowhere, one attains enlightenment”.

Clearing the misconception that Chan is different from Pure Land Buddhism, Master Sheng
Yen taught that both teachings embody the whole Buddhadharma. Chan and Pure Land
are practical methods and one can obtain from them great benefits for the body and the
mind. Many people mistakenly thought that studying Chan is only for enlightenment, and
if one does not become enlightened then the efforts are wasted. Likewise many people
think that practicing Pure Land is only for the purpose of being reborn in the Pure Land.
Actually, if one practices either Chan or Pure Land, one will receive benefits in this life
anytime and anywhere. Either method may lead to enlightenment and rebirth in Pure
Land.

In line with his emphasis on making our world a Pure Land, Master Sheng Yen used
the word Spiritual Environmentalism to explain the importance of treating our earth
well and preserving it for future generations who will inherit it. Besides the material,
social and natural world, Master Sheng Yen talked about the importance of the spiritual
environment, especially in regards to how it differs from other approaches to spiritual life.
Hence, he said to practice Buddhadharma it is as important to purify the environment as it
is to purify the mind. EH
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 The 8 vicissitudes of life and the
Brahmāvihāra meditation practice
Dharma Aftermath
by Rasika Quek

Recently I re-read some of the chapters of Ven. Dr. Paravahera Vajiranana Mahāthera’s
book, “Buddhist Meditation in Theory and Practice.” The last time I read the book was more
than 20 years ago. Compared to the Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification) translated by
Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, it is more concise and perhaps an easier read for me. I was astounded,
nevertheless, by the wealth of information available on the cultivation of samatha
(tranquillity) meditation although the book also covered the vipassanā (insight) meditation
technique briefly as well. For lay people interested to have a good overall view of the samatha
and vipassanā techniques, we would recommend Dr. Paravahera Vajiranana’s book. However,
the book is not meant to be a comprehensive manual for the various Buddhist meditation
techniques and interested readers are advised to seek proper guidance and learning from
experienced meditation teachers specializing in their respective meditation subjects.

Most of us are familiar with the Brahmāvihāra meditation practice which starts with
radiating the wholesome mental quality of Mettā (Loving-kindness) followed by Karuṇā
(Compassion), Muditā (Sympathetic Joy) and finally Upekkhā (Equanimity). As for the
development of Mettā, the Mettā Sutta from the Sutta-Nipāta which is normally used in
Paritta Chanting is actually a meditation instruction (for Mettā) in itself. Paragraphs 7 & 8 of
the Mettā Sutta particularly resonates:

“…As a mother, at risk of her life,

Watches over her only child,
Let him cherish an unbounded mind
for all living things;

let him have love for all the world,

an unbounded mind, above, below and around –
Boundless, benevolent kindness!”

The 3 methods of suffusing Mettā are enumerated by Mettānisaṃsa Sutta, AN 11.16, namely:

1. Anodhiso Pharaṇa – suffusing without a limit (all beings, living things, creatures, persons
or individuals)
2. Odhiso Pharaṇa – suffusing with a limit (all females, males, worthy ones, unworthy ones,
gods, human beings, all in unhappy states)
3. Disa Pharaṇa – suffusing through the directions or quarters (4 cardinal points, 4
intermediate points, “above” and “below”)
 Dharma Aftermath
Thus the Anodiso Pharaṇa and Odhiso Pharaṇa stated above are also combined with the Disa
Pharaṇa as a finale. As an example, for all beings:

“May all beings in the East be free from enmity, be free from ill-will, be rid of suffering, let
them keep themselves happy”. The other directions are then systematically substituted.

For the practice of Karuṇā meditation, the three methods of suffusing Mettā are also used in
the development of Karuṇā, for example for all beings:

“May all beings in the East who have fallen into misery be free from this pain”.
The other directions are similarly substituted.

In the Muditā meditation, the three methods of suffusing Mettā are also repeated here, for
example for all beings:

1. May all beings in the East never cease from enjoying the prosperity they have acquired!
2. May all beings in the East never cease from enjoying the glory they have achieved!
3. May all beings in the East never cease from enjoying the honour they have attained!
4. May all beings in the East never ease from enjoying the happiness they have reached!

Similar substitutions are made for the other directions.

Curious about the words “prosperity, glory, honor and happiness” in the above formulas, I
asked Venerable Sujivo how they came to be chosen. He answered that they came from the
doctrine regarding the 8 vicissitudes of life: there is gain and loss, fame and disrepute, praise
and blame, pleasure and pain. Thus, the words, “prosperity, glory, honour and happiness” in
the Muditā practice are the positive expressions of the 8 vicissitudes of life. I quipped that the
Chinese people seem to ingrain the practice of Muditā quite well. They are always wishing
others lots of prosperity during the festive season!

As for the practice of Upekkhā meditation, the three methods of suffusing Metta are also
repeated here, for example for all beings:

“May all beings in the East be owners of their own Karma.” Similar substitutions are made for
the other directions.

It is hoped that this short article will pique the interest of the reader enough to consider the
Brahmāvihāra meditation practice seriously.

May all beings and I be liberated soon from suffering and attain to the highest, Nibbāna.
EH
2016 NATIONAL
The 2016 National Young Buddhists Fellowship (YBF)
Leadership Training Camp which was initiated by the Young

YOUNG
Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM) and organized by
the Johor State Liaison Committee was successfully held

BUDDHISTS
from December 17-20, 2016 at YBAM Puzhao Buddhist
Vihara, Johor. The leadership training camp attracted 200
young Buddhists from all over Malaysia to embark on the

FELLOWSHIP journey of self development by advocating the spirit of YBF

which is ‘Learning, Improving, Caring, Dedicating’.

LEADERSHIP The presence of the spiritual friends (kalyanamitra)

TRAINING CAMP
among the group is important to provide guidance and
companionship. May the Triple Gem be with YBF!

Group Photo of the Leadership Camp Ven. Zong Ping, the camp’s religious instructor, instilled both
stringent and humorous elements into his Dharma sharing.

The participants were given opportunity to change lyrics of pop Participants learned the importance of teamwork through
songs and transformed them into Buddhist hymns. various activities.

Participants in a role play where a physically impaired person is Lim Gim Shin and Ven. Zong Ping were invited to deliver talks
assisted to lunch. that helped built faith and confidence in the Buddha Dharma.
 Y
Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia

Unites more than 270 Buddhist organisations

B
representing both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions throughout Malaysia

Provides guidance to students to establish Buddhist societies

in schools, colleges and universities

A
Conducts regular training courses on Buddhist teachings,
missionary techniques and leadership building

Arranges lectures on Buddhism by both local

and visiting foreign Buddhist scholars and teachers
www.ybam.org.my

M
Assists in conducting the annual Malaysian Buddhist Examination

Organises various welfare, cultural and education activities

for the benefit of the Buddhist community at local, state and national levels

Publishes Eastern Horizon, Buddhist Digest, Berita YBAM and

other Buddhist books and pamphlets in English, Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia

Makes representation to the authorities on matters

related to the Buddhist Community

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