Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Anti-meditation in Buddhism


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 Asia, however, a small number of Buddhists actually think meditation is a selfish act! These misguided people, rather than striving for awakening, vow to “suffer together with all beings in the universe”.

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.

4 comments:

Peter Clothier said...

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.

khengsiong said...

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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