The above picture shows the statue of Bodhisattva Maitreya, the future Buddha. Have you ever wondered why Bodhisattva Maitreya is usually depicted as sitting on chair rather than sitting cross-legged?
In a Mahayanist Sutra – which I don’t trust – we are told that the future Buddha “doesn’t practice meditation; doesn’t want to end suffering.” (不修禅定，不断烦恼。) I guess that explains the posture of Bodhisattva Maitreya.
In the West, Buddhism is synonymous to meditation. In
I have seen many Chinese monks and nuns, while compassionate, lack the wisdom I had expected. They want to help the people, but often it is like blind leading the blinds.
2 comments:
Khengsiong, thanks for posting this picture and for the previous post. I have acutally used a chair for meditation for some years now. The excuse I give myself is that I started the practice so late in life that my bones just wouldn't go for the cross-legged posture, and the attempt to maintain it proved just too much of a distraction. Interesting--and sometimes confusing!--to compare the different Buddhist traditions.
Peter,
I understand that it is difficult to sit cross-legged. I personally do half-lotus instead of the tougher, but more stable full lotus.
But at least we know meditation is good for us, and I believe we are wiser after we take up meditation.
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