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On the importance of regular practice
When I was at the temple on Sunday we had a Q+A session with Rev Master Haryo. In answer to one of the questions regarding the importance of maintaining a regular Buddhist practice he gave this story.
There was once a young man who lived in a village. He had fallen for a young lady who lived in the village down in the next valley. Every evening he would pick up a big drum and take it to where she lived. Once there he would bang away on his drum hoping to get her attention.
This went on for months, he would turn up and bang his drum but she never even came to the window. :sadc:
One night he finally gave up and decided not to bother any more. The lady was sitting in her home waiting for him to play his drum but nothing happened. She turned to her attendant and said "Where is the young man that comes to my house and plays his drum for me?"
The attendant replied "Mistress, he is not coming anymore as you never went to see him".
"That's a shame" she said. "I was going to invite him in this evening!"
So, we should never stop banging our drums (our Buddhist practice) even if we don't seem to be getting anywhere. You never know when the young lady of Enlightenment may let you in !
There was once a young man who lived in a village. He had fallen for a young lady who lived in the village down in the next valley. Every evening he would pick up a big drum and take it to where she lived. Once there he would bang away on his drum hoping to get her attention.
This went on for months, he would turn up and bang his drum but she never even came to the window. :sadc:
One night he finally gave up and decided not to bother any more. The lady was sitting in her home waiting for him to play his drum but nothing happened. She turned to her attendant and said "Where is the young man that comes to my house and plays his drum for me?"
The attendant replied "Mistress, he is not coming anymore as you never went to see him".
"That's a shame" she said. "I was going to invite him in this evening!"
So, we should never stop banging our drums (our Buddhist practice) even if we don't seem to be getting anywhere. You never know when the young lady of Enlightenment may let you in !
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Comments
But the story could have also gone:
"There was once a young man who lived in a village. He had fallen for a young lady who lived in the village down in the next valley. Every evening he would pick up a big drum and take it to where she lived. Once there he would bang away on his drum hoping to get her attention.
This went on for months, he would turn up and bang his drum but she never even came to the window.
One night he finally gave up and decided not to bother any more. The lady was sitting in her home waiting for him to play his drum but nothing happened. She turned to her attendant and said "Where is the young man that comes to my house and plays his drum for me?"
The attendant replied "Mistress, he is not coming anymore as you never went to see him".
"Thank goodness. I was getting sick and tired of him sitting outside my window banging on that drum. The whole village was angry with me because they thought I was a part of it. I was going to call the police on him tonight if he continued to disturb the peace."
-bf
Thank you for the other side of the story. She could have also gone over to the next down and said "I don't want to work. I just want to bang on your drum all day". OOPS, my drug days come back to visit.
All,
I really think a daily practice is a great thing. Meditating daily has helped me to train my mind. I can think about what is important when I'm faced with many variables. I also can slow my mind down when it is spinning. I have a bit of an anxiety problem and meditation has helped me greatly in learning how to slow down. Meditation, chanting or whatever you do to get in contact with "the unknown" is worth it.
I know that when I take the time to meditate, it makes a vast difference just in the rest of my day.
I also realize, that when I've missed regular (or any) practice for a bit - I probably look like Quasimodo holding my head in my room where I meditate...
"The bells! The bells!"
Damn monkey-mind.
-bf
And now I don't want to get out. In fact, I can't imagine getting back out.
I'm so comfortable practicing every day, well, every minute really, that it's the only thing that's really important to me. I've lost interest in a lot of things I used to think were important like studying other religions, western philosophy etc. I'm only interested in how they relate to Buddhism. There's so much to learn and I have so much practice to do that I'm more than happy and satisfied to practice every day. It dictates everything in my life now. How I think, how I behave, what I give my time to, who I give my time to. (Can you imagine if I was talking about any other religion? :hair:
Brigid
What's with the new model pose? Love the hat!
I have a question my wife asked me if all Buddhist were vegetarians? Being new to this I could not give her an answer. I also just want to say how in just the short period of investigating buddhism that I feel set free from alot of areas of my life and able to look at things in a different light.
Lfe
That's a good question and, like almost everything I've come across in Buddhism, it has more than one answer. From what I can gather, some are and some aren't. At the moment, I'm not but I used to be and will be again for as long as I can be. I believe Yogamama is a vegan, if I'm not mistaken. I think Satori has been a vegetarian all her life. Or is that SharpieGirl?
Anyway, the short answer is, no, not all Buddhists are vegetarians, but a lot of them are. There's actually a thread about this somewhere. I'll try to find it for you.
Brigid
LFE
Try this
This will link you to a whole bunch of threads on this board about vegetarianism and Buddhism. I found a lot of info in them and there are even some great veg recipes.
If you decide to go vegetarian, it's important to talk to a pro about how to do it properly, but if you manage a fitness center you probably already know that.
Brigid
It's really a personal choice whether to go veggie or not and, as they say, the Buddha ate meat.
I could see myself going vegetarian again though, in fact as I'm allergic to dairy I'd probably end up going vegan.
Just do what feels right for you.
Good luck,
Adrian
Hello all,
Not a vegie. During my days as a monk I was expected to accept what ever was given to me and eat it. I still follow this rule.....I do what the Buddha suggests I do, not Devadatta:hair:
There's a lot to this story [of Devadatta] if one goes back through the vast collection of suttas and their commentaries. Basically, Devadatta was the Buddha's cousin. He practiced meditation until he developed some very impressive psychic powers. Unfortunately, Devadatta became corrupted by delusion and tried to take over leadership of the monastic order. He tried to introduce a number of changes to the Buddha's rules — one of them being strict vegetarianism — all of which the Buddha rejected. He also tried to get the Buddha to name him as his successor, and when that failed he to tried to murder the Buddha on a few separate occasions (all of which failed because, according to tradition, it's impossible for the life of a Buddha to be taken by violence).
In the end, Devadatta caused a schism in the Sangha and ran off with a large number of monks. The Buddha then sent the Venerable Sariputta and Maha Moggalana to give a discourse to the rogue monks and win them back. And as for poor Devadatta, he was eventually swallowed up by the earth and fell into Avici, where, after suffering for one hundred thousand kappas, he will be reborn as a pacceka-buddha called Atthissara or a buddha named Devaraja. Or so the story goes.
As for the Buddha, he said that simply eating meat isn't unwholesome. One way to look at it is that meat's just rupa (body/matter). It's the very same matter that makes up all things, including plants. So, it's not simply the material of the food that's in question here. What is in question are the intentions behind our actions actions. It's these that produce either wholesome or unwholesome kamma, and unwholesome kamma is what should be considered "stench," not simply the eating of meat.
I'm sure the Buddha understood that many people lived solely because of their livestock, or the animals that they hunted. For some, it was either raise animals for food, hunt or starve. Would it have been wise to force people to abstain from eating meat if it meant that they could not feed their families? Of course not. But the Buddha also respected animals and he didn't wish to see them killed, especially when it was meant specifically for him and his disciples. He also knew that many people who did give alms to the monastic community weren't always followers of the Buddha. Some were followers of the other sects, but they'd still give food to other wandering ascetics. (If they were brahmins, for instance, they'd almost certainly have meat to offer.) The dilemma was to find the middle way between the two extremes. Mendicants were expected to accept and eat only what's given to them, but the Buddha didn't want animals killed just to feed his followers; so it was in this spirit that the Buddha stated his monastics should only eat meat if it's pure in three ways:
Now, this doesn't mean that the Buddha condones the killing of animals, far from it. Let us not forget the first precept: Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (I undertake the precept to give up killing living beings). Nevertheless, besides ahimsa, the main theme behind the monastic life is non-attachment. One shouldn't be attached to any food that one eats. Whether one prefers meat, vegetables, fruits or rice, one should be content with what one is given. Food is merely to be used to sustain the body, and to keep one healthy enough to practice. In fact, the Buddha didn't want his monks and nuns to forget the importance and purpose of the four requisites (i.e., clothing, food, shelter and medicine), or their purpose in the holy life, and so everyday they're expected to contemplate the uses of all four, including food:
(Considering it thoughtfully, I use alms food,)
Neva davaaya na madaaya na ma.n.danaaya na vibhuusanaaya,
(Not playfully, nor for intoxication, nor for putting on bulk, nor for beautification,)
Yaavadeva imassa kaayassa .thitiyaa yaapanaaya vihi"msuparatiyaa brahma-cariyaanuggahaaya,
(But simply for the survival & continuance of this body, for ending its afflictions, for the support of the holy life,)
Iti puraa.nañca vedana"m pa.tiha"nkhaami navañca vedana"m na uppaadessaami,
([Thinking,] Thus will I destroy old feelings [of hunger] and not create new feelings [from overeating].)
Yaatraa ca me bhavissati anavajjataa ca phaasu-vihaaro caati.
(I will maintain myself, be blameless, & live in comfort.)
In addition, the tradition of going for alms is also a very important practice because it ties the monastic community and lay-community together. Without this intimate bond, the two would eventually drift apart—the monks and nuns into practicing the Dhamma in some remote area and the lay-followers into delighting in sensual pleasures in the large cities. This way, they help to support one another. The lay-community offers food, clothing, shelter and medicine to the monastic community, and in turn, the monastic community offers to teach meditation and Buddhist discourses to the lay-community, thereby keeping the teachings and practices alive for future generations. If the laity ceases to support the Sangha, then the Sangha will simply cease to exist. And you can't always count on everyone offering you alms to be a vegetarian. With that being said...
What does this have to do with us? Well, in today's world, we have many more choices than they did back then. Farming and livestock raising have taken on completely different forms. In the past, animals were generally treated better because they were so important. People feed them well, watched over them and respected their sacrifice to feed their families. Today, however, they're raised in very poor conditions for the sake of sheer volume. The more you have to offer, the more people can buy and the cheaper it'll be. What we should be asking ourselves is, What can I afford to eat? If we can afford to buy enough of the right kinds of foods that we need to stay healthy, then we can try to eat no meat at all. This way, we'll contribute less to the suffering of animals.
However, if we can't do that, we can at least try to eat as little meat as possible. We can also try to buy meat from places that have higher standards for raising livestock. Organic and free range farms are popping up everywhere. Why is this important to do? Well, as a Buddhist, we should realize that animals are also sentient beings. They have rupa, and when they are alive they also have nama (mind). They're aware. They can suffer. They can feel pain. If we do eat meat, we should at least contemplate where our food comes from. We should respect these animal's sacrifice for our own well-being. We should eat mindfully, regardless of what we eat, where we eat and when we eat.
Not all Buddhists are vegetarian. Some are, but some aren't. No matter which we decide to choose, we should realize that our choices affect more beings than just ourselves. Eating meat's OK, but be mindful of where that food comes from and that eating it doesn't make one superior to one who doesn't. Not eating meat is also OK, but be mindful of where that food comes from and that it doesn't make one superior to one who does. The goal of the holy life is to free ourselves from greed, hatred and delusion. It's not meant for us to cling to one particular practice over another. Each person should decide what's right for them and respect the choices of others. Our choices, no matter what they are, should be carefully guiding us towards liberation, not towards being judgmental.
Just for some added perspective, I don't consider myself either a meat eater or a vegetarian. To me, each can be easily taken on simply as a view, position or habit. One can slowly begin to feel strongly one way or the other, and that can give rise to further ego-clinging. This is true with all things, from clothing, hair styles and cars, to food, religious beliefs and musical tastes. That's why the Buddha often admonished his followers to be ever-mindful. Even if we do attach to these things, it's important that we see this. Why? Because that's how we can learn from them. Insight arises only when we observe the friction caused by our own fabrications, intentions and desires.
When I grow up I want to be you!!!!!:bigclap:
Brigid
LFE