Standing Meditation

According to Buddhist scripture, meditation can be practiced in 4 postures: sitting, walking, standing and lying.

Sitting posture is most common. Traditionally yogis sat cross-legged. Today many sit on chairs. Walking meditation is popular among some traditions. Standing posture is less common because it is tough. Lying posture is also seldom used because one can fall asleep easily. The Japanese, of course, added the kneeling posture.

One year ago, I started to practice standing meditation regularly. I had not been very healthy. I hope that, by meditating in standing posture, I would be fitter.

Today, I don’t fall sick as often as I did a year ago. But I am still not sure if it is a result of standing meditation, or the healthy supplements I take.

Anyway, I will continue to do standing meditation.

Shaolin Monks

To the Buddhists, Shaolin Monastery in China is known as the birth place of Chan (Zen) Buddhism. To non-Buddhists, it is famous for its Kungfu monks.

A Shaolin monk can break pieces of bricks with a single chop of his palm. He can withstand the attack of a spear without getting injured. The question is: monks are supposed to be peace-loving people. Should they practice martial art?

To be sure, martial art of Shaolin Monastery isn’t of the ‘soft’ type, like Taiji or Aikido. Rather, it belongs to the ‘hard’ type. A kick by a Shaolin monk can be fatal.

And I am never so sure if they are genuine monks in the first place. China has been ruled by the Communists since 1949 and majority of Chinese are atheists. Perhaps these ‘monks’ are just Kungfu-loving youths who, in order to learn the art, don the robes reluctantly. Outside the monastery or affiliated martial art academies, they may live a life that bring disgrace to the Buddhist community.

Dharma, not italicized

I came across an article on BusinessWeek with the title ‘In China, Dharma Confronts the Dollar’.

While this article describes commercialization of Buddhism in China, I found the title interesting. It seems to suggest that ‘Dharma’ is no longer an alien word in English.

Heck, I still remember a sitcom called ‘Dharma and Greg’. And, as I am typing, Microsoft Word hasn’t drawn a red curvy line below the word which means ‘teaching of the Buddha’ or ‘the Law’.

Death Penalty

I have published a post regarding the effectiveness of death penalty in my main blog.

Please click here to read.

False Speech?

A few days ago I bumped into my lecturer. He asked me, "How are you doing?" I wasn't in good mood, but out of formality, I replied, "Good."

Was I lying? If I didn't want to lie, how should I reply?

Refuge Taking Ceremony

A few years ago, a Buddhist friend of mine told me that there would be a refuge taking ceremony, and encouraged me to take part. Upon hearing that, I nearly fell on floor laughing.

I had taken refuge in Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha countless of time. I could even recite the relevant verses plus the Five Precepts in Pali, one of two languages in which Buddhist scriptures were written. (The other one was Sanskrit.)

Many Buddhists have the perception that refuge taking is a one-time process, not unlike baptism in Christianity. Without formally taking refuge in the Triple Gem, one is not considered a Buddhist. A monastery in California even issued ‘certificates’ to participants of its refuge taking ceremony!

The truth is: we can take refuge in the Triple Gem over and over again. Well, at least this is the case in Theravada Buddhism, the tradition I am most familiar with. Each time we take refuge, we strengthen our faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

The same goes for Five Precepts. We are not perfect. We occasionally lie due to lack of security. We drink because of peer pressure. Each time we recite the Five Precepts, we remind ourselves the importance of virtue.

On the other hand, if we haven’t formally taken refuge, are we Buddhists? I guess that intention, rather than outward form, is most important. Ceremonies or rituals are therefore unnecessary. They do, nonetheless, signify our commitment to the path of wisdom.