There are five Buddhist precepts for Buddhist lay people, and ten commandments for Christians. They are fairly similar. One difference is that while the God of the Old Testament commands, the Buddha suggests. The precepts are there as the guidelines of an enlightened life style, the choices of a Bodhisattva. Don't want to follow them? Don't. Consequences follow, of course: namely that the karma of your actions follows you not only through this life but though all your future lives as well. But it's a choice.
The five precepts are as follows: avoid killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and taking intoxicants (generally defined as alcohol and drugs).
I was thinking, the other day, about the fifth precept, and my relationship with alcohol. I don't drink because...
A) It's a precept. I'm a Buddhist, and I take my Buddhism pretty seriously. I live in a country of heavy drinkers, and a lot of them are Buddhist. However, that's them and their Buddhism, and this is mine.
B) I tried it in university (although not seriously) and I didn't like it: never have. In whatever drink I've ever tried, the background taste of alcohol destroys what good taste the drink might have. Even now, I'll occasionally take a half shot-glass full, just to double check. I still don't like it.
C) It seems to me that alcohol is used as a form of escape. The pressure of life is too much, and ... Kalgon, take me away! The problem with this is alcohol is only a temporary escape: reality is waiting for you on the other side. There are better, more healthy ways to deal with life.
D) Connected with the idea of escape... I believe many people drink because basically, they don't like themselves. When they drink, they take on a different persona that is very different from their normal selves. Me? I like myself, and generally, although not always, my various selves coexist on a fairly peaceful basis. If I need to relax, I meditate. Or go for a walk.
D) I've seen too many lives destroyed or effected badly by alcohol (Jack Kerouac, anyone?). When intoxicated, people often change for the worse: many of them become violent or argumentative. Being Buddhist, those are hellish states of mind, and I generally try to avoid them.
E) My aunt and uncle were killed by a drunk driver. A year younger and it probably wouldn't have a difference. As it so happened, I was just at the age when I understood: I swore at the that time to watch my relationship with alcohol.
F) I like waking up mentally and physically refreshed. My wife had a small party with her family last night, and woke up groaning from a headache. Me, I woke up smiling. :)
The fifth precept is generally defined as alcohol and drugs, but in truth of course, anything can be intoxicating: even meditation.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
On the River
Woke up at nine, hopped on the bus, and went to McDonalds for breakfast (something I do fairly rarely). I walked back along the river, which is a nice place for a stroll. Several years ago, they installed a 20 Km. pedestrian strip for bikers and walkers, and from my apt. to downtown takes about 80 mins. The name of the river, by the way, is Mu-shim river (무심 in Korean, and 無心 in Chinese characters) which is a Buddhist term. It means literally No-Heart River, and refers to independence of mental activities apart from feelings, according to my Korean-English Buddhist dictionary, at any rate).
The strip is often packed, but was today surprisingly bare of walkers. (I didn't miss the people who walk in the bike lanes, or the children who wander about unthinkingly, or the people who stop their bikes directly in front of you... you get the idea.) A few bikes zipped by, but that was about it. I took some of the side paths so as to be closer to the river. While I wouldn't say the river is packed with wildlife (Korea is fairly sterile when it comes to animals), there were a lot of ducks floating about. Once in a while I'll see a snake... I came very close to running one over not too long ago, when it slithered across my path.
And what did I see next to the river? A whole thickets of pussy willows, which I've not seen in a dog's age. The first sure sign of spring!
The strip is often packed, but was today surprisingly bare of walkers. (I didn't miss the people who walk in the bike lanes, or the children who wander about unthinkingly, or the people who stop their bikes directly in front of you... you get the idea.) A few bikes zipped by, but that was about it. I took some of the side paths so as to be closer to the river. While I wouldn't say the river is packed with wildlife (Korea is fairly sterile when it comes to animals), there were a lot of ducks floating about. Once in a while I'll see a snake... I came very close to running one over not too long ago, when it slithered across my path.
And what did I see next to the river? A whole thickets of pussy willows, which I've not seen in a dog's age. The first sure sign of spring!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Dead Pigeons, Long Names, Hell
Walking down the pedestrian strip by my house, I ran across a beautiful white pigeon lying dead in the middle of the sidewalk. An interesting thing about pigeons: I see seemingly thousands of them in the city, yet hardly ever see one dead. Maybe they are immortal? Or go to the ancient pigeon burial grounds deep in the mountains? Who knows? Anyways, a dead pigeon. Middle of the sidewalk. Beautiful sunny day.
A quick prayer to Kshitigarbha (why are all the names of the Buddhist "deities" long? I mean look at them: Bhaisajygura, Samantabhadra ...). S/he is the Bodhisattva who has vowed to help those who find themselves in Hell. I asked that should the pigeon find herself in Hell (although to be honest, I'm not exactly sure what a pigeon would do that that would merit Hell (sounds like a good Stephen King story to me!)), that Kshitigarbha would help it ascend into a higher reincarnation. Then a quick visualization of the pigeon flying in circles around a sitting Buddha. Not sure if any of that did any good, but who knows? Better than just passing in silence or apathy. (Quick note: Buddhism says that nothing is eternal. Not the gods, not the universe, not you yourself. Since everything changes, Hell is also mutable. Unlike Christianity, where the damned stay damned forever, in Buddhism, they eventually reincarnate once their bad karma is burned off. Not unlike Catholic purgatory).
Buddhist wisdom / theology has it that animals can not become enlightened, that they must reincarnate into a human form to do so. This always seemed suspicious to me. How do we know what other lifeforms are capable of? In the same way, traditional Buddhist theology says that a woman cannot be enlightened, that she must reincarnate as a man to do. This despite the many great women leaders and nuns of Buddhism.
Also despite the Soma sutra
"What difference does being a woman make when the mind's well-centered, when knowledge is progressing, seeing clearly, rightly, into the Dhamma. Anyone who thinks 'I'm a woman' or 'a man' or 'Am I anything at all?' — that's who Mara's fit to address."
(Soma Sutta: Sister Soma" (SN 5.2), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight, June 7, 2009, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn05/sn05.002.than.html.)
Am willing to bet that the monks who made this misogyny part of traditional Buddhism were people I would not have liked...
Speaking of long Buddhist names, a joke I read once (not sure where...)....
A man dies, goes up to heaven. St. Peter says, "What religion are you?
"I'm Christian."
"Oh yeah? Prove it. Spell bible."
"B-i-b-l-e."
"Okay, come on it."
A woman dies.
"I'm Hindu."
"Spell Ram."
"R-a-m".
"Okay, come on in.
A Jewish man dies.
"Spell God."
"G-o-d"
"Okay, come on it."
Finally, a Buddhist man dies.
"Spell Avalokitesvara."
(Well, I laughed at least.)
Speaking of Buddhist Hell, a Buddhist story set in Hell. (I think it's a traditional story, but I could be wrong about that, as I've only read it in one source.)
The Buddha is hanging around in a garden, and happens to look down into a hole. Because he is the Buddha, he can see all the way down into Alvici Hell, which is the lowest of the Hells. He sees a murderer down there roasting in the flames of Hell. The man looks up, see the Buddha looking at him, and begs the Buddha for help. The Buddha feels compassion for the murderer, so he asks a spider to let down its web to help him. The man grabs it and starts to climb up to freedom. But all of the damned souls in his vicinity see him escaping, and of course, they want to go too. So they climb up after him. The murder tries to climb more quickly, afraid the web-line will break from the weight, but they're swarming up after him. When they get close, he has an idea. He whips out his knife and cuts the line just under his position, and they all fall back into Hell. "Ha!" he thinks. "That will show them!" Just then, due to his lack of compassion for others, the line between him and the outside also breaks, and he also falls back into Hell.
A quick prayer to Kshitigarbha (why are all the names of the Buddhist "deities" long? I mean look at them: Bhaisajygura, Samantabhadra ...). S/he is the Bodhisattva who has vowed to help those who find themselves in Hell. I asked that should the pigeon find herself in Hell (although to be honest, I'm not exactly sure what a pigeon would do that that would merit Hell (sounds like a good Stephen King story to me!)), that Kshitigarbha would help it ascend into a higher reincarnation. Then a quick visualization of the pigeon flying in circles around a sitting Buddha. Not sure if any of that did any good, but who knows? Better than just passing in silence or apathy. (Quick note: Buddhism says that nothing is eternal. Not the gods, not the universe, not you yourself. Since everything changes, Hell is also mutable. Unlike Christianity, where the damned stay damned forever, in Buddhism, they eventually reincarnate once their bad karma is burned off. Not unlike Catholic purgatory).
Buddhist wisdom / theology has it that animals can not become enlightened, that they must reincarnate into a human form to do so. This always seemed suspicious to me. How do we know what other lifeforms are capable of? In the same way, traditional Buddhist theology says that a woman cannot be enlightened, that she must reincarnate as a man to do. This despite the many great women leaders and nuns of Buddhism.
Also despite the Soma sutra
"What difference does being a woman make when the mind's well-centered, when knowledge is progressing, seeing clearly, rightly, into the Dhamma. Anyone who thinks 'I'm a woman' or 'a man' or 'Am I anything at all?' — that's who Mara's fit to address."
(Soma Sutta: Sister Soma" (SN 5.2), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight, June 7, 2009, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn05/sn05.002.than.html.)
Am willing to bet that the monks who made this misogyny part of traditional Buddhism were people I would not have liked...
Speaking of long Buddhist names, a joke I read once (not sure where...)....
A man dies, goes up to heaven. St. Peter says, "What religion are you?
"I'm Christian."
"Oh yeah? Prove it. Spell bible."
"B-i-b-l-e."
"Okay, come on it."
A woman dies.
"I'm Hindu."
"Spell Ram."
"R-a-m".
"Okay, come on in.
A Jewish man dies.
"Spell God."
"G-o-d"
"Okay, come on it."
Finally, a Buddhist man dies.
"Spell Avalokitesvara."
(Well, I laughed at least.)
Speaking of Buddhist Hell, a Buddhist story set in Hell. (I think it's a traditional story, but I could be wrong about that, as I've only read it in one source.)
The Buddha is hanging around in a garden, and happens to look down into a hole. Because he is the Buddha, he can see all the way down into Alvici Hell, which is the lowest of the Hells. He sees a murderer down there roasting in the flames of Hell. The man looks up, see the Buddha looking at him, and begs the Buddha for help. The Buddha feels compassion for the murderer, so he asks a spider to let down its web to help him. The man grabs it and starts to climb up to freedom. But all of the damned souls in his vicinity see him escaping, and of course, they want to go too. So they climb up after him. The murder tries to climb more quickly, afraid the web-line will break from the weight, but they're swarming up after him. When they get close, he has an idea. He whips out his knife and cuts the line just under his position, and they all fall back into Hell. "Ha!" he thinks. "That will show them!" Just then, due to his lack of compassion for others, the line between him and the outside also breaks, and he also falls back into Hell.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
More Monsters...
Because of the lackluster, spiritless, wishy-washy Mina Harker-like character of "The Wolfman", I was in the mood for more Hammer-like horror. I first read "Dracula" when I was in middle school, or somewhere around there, and have reread it many times since. Reading it now, at 43, I find that some parts of it bog down a bit here and there (notably, the East England accents, as well as the big "this-is-what-I-know-about-vampires" meeting between the principal characters), but that other parts have not lost their power to shock (for instance, Lucy the vampire casually throwing aside the child she has picked up to snack on, and the woman banging on the castle doors ("Monster! Give me back my child!") who is torn apart and eaten by wolves).
One of the highlights of the book for me is Lucy's "sickness", death, and her re-death via her finance's stake. I always liked the character (she reminds me of an old girlfriend, to be honest -- the woman, not the vampire!). Mina, on the other hand, is a little too goody-goody for me, a little too ... Victorian. The contrast between the two women is similar to that of Becky Sharp and Emilia of "Vanity Fair" (another fantastic book... hmmm, maybe I'll reread that next...).
I'm curious to know how the Victorians viewed "Dracula" (published in 1897). Was it shocking for them? But after all, the Victorian world was much more in tune with death than we are. People died young, and frequently violently. It was the age of Jack the Ripper (1888), with Burke and Hare in the early part of the century (1827-28). Hangings were public spectacles, and funerals were big events (I love the Victorian decadence of Highgate cemetery, which I visited some 20 years ago -- now it's all overgrown, but back then, it must have been a massive and thriving necropolis). (Although it wasn't always park-like graveyards: I think now of Dickens' "Bleak House", and the decrepit charnel ground where Esther's father is buried, and at the gate of which her mother dies). (Or should I reread "Bleak House"e next?)
I'm just into the third part of the book, when the actual search for Dracula begins. Once finished, I'll have to rent "Bram Stokers's Dracula" and see how the movie compares.
A quick memory: When I told my Grandma Verna I wanted to read the book, I remember she went downstairs and dug through the cupboards, thinking she had a copy down there to give to me. Alas, she didn't. Whenever I pick up "Dracula" I always think of her.
One of the highlights of the book for me is Lucy's "sickness", death, and her re-death via her finance's stake. I always liked the character (she reminds me of an old girlfriend, to be honest -- the woman, not the vampire!). Mina, on the other hand, is a little too goody-goody for me, a little too ... Victorian. The contrast between the two women is similar to that of Becky Sharp and Emilia of "Vanity Fair" (another fantastic book... hmmm, maybe I'll reread that next...).
I'm curious to know how the Victorians viewed "Dracula" (published in 1897). Was it shocking for them? But after all, the Victorian world was much more in tune with death than we are. People died young, and frequently violently. It was the age of Jack the Ripper (1888), with Burke and Hare in the early part of the century (1827-28). Hangings were public spectacles, and funerals were big events (I love the Victorian decadence of Highgate cemetery, which I visited some 20 years ago -- now it's all overgrown, but back then, it must have been a massive and thriving necropolis). (Although it wasn't always park-like graveyards: I think now of Dickens' "Bleak House", and the decrepit charnel ground where Esther's father is buried, and at the gate of which her mother dies). (Or should I reread "Bleak House"e next?)
I'm just into the third part of the book, when the actual search for Dracula begins. Once finished, I'll have to rent "Bram Stokers's Dracula" and see how the movie compares.
A quick memory: When I told my Grandma Verna I wanted to read the book, I remember she went downstairs and dug through the cupboards, thinking she had a copy down there to give to me. Alas, she didn't. Whenever I pick up "Dracula" I always think of her.
Ah-oooooo!
I saw "The Wolfman" remake on Saturday with Flint and Al. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed it, finding it chock-full of pulpy-goodness. Anthony Hopkins was, of course, very good, and the actor who played Lawrence (Benio Del Toro) was very good in the role. He was very Byronic, fitting for a movie set in the Victorian era. The scene that ends the "Bedlam Asylum" portion was wonderful (although I thought the asylum was far more decrepit than it needed to be). Emily Blunt, who played the love interest, was quite flat and passionless, however, reminding me of a bored Mina Harker. I was quite envious of Hugo Weaving's wonderful Victorian beard; wish mine looked like that!
It had the right amount of gore (meaning enough to be realistic, but not overdone), was a little predictable (but that's okay for this kind of movie), and while a little slow to get going, once it did get going, it kept on going. All together a fun movie that was worth the admission price (and one can't say that about all movies these days) , but I won't buy the DVD.
Dad, if you're reading? You'd like this movie. Mom: you probably wouldn't.
B+
It had the right amount of gore (meaning enough to be realistic, but not overdone), was a little predictable (but that's okay for this kind of movie), and while a little slow to get going, once it did get going, it kept on going. All together a fun movie that was worth the admission price (and one can't say that about all movies these days) , but I won't buy the DVD.
Dad, if you're reading? You'd like this movie. Mom: you probably wouldn't.
B+
Thursday, February 11, 2010
What the Kimchi...
Oh, and if you're interested in life in Korea, I recommend http://whatthekimchi.blogspot.com/. I know the blogger, and he always has interesting things to say.
Not in Kansas
Saw something kind of funny the other day... I was walking through the park on the way to the bus station, which I do everyday after work, and I heard some shouting. There was a line of about 15-20 boys facing another line of boys -- they looked about middle school age. Anyway, the one line was throwing eggs at the other line! They had whole cartons of them available, and they were just whizzing them in there. The boys just stood there, dodging as they could, but their uniforms were covered with egg splatters. Surrounding girls were laughing at them, and some older women were shaking their heads at the waste. I've seen them throwing flour at each other, but never eggs before.
Why? It's graduation time. We just finished the (extremely boring) ceremony at my school. Lunch is provided at least!
Why? It's graduation time. We just finished the (extremely boring) ceremony at my school. Lunch is provided at least!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Quickie Meditation / Visualization for Calming and Slowing
(Created in the hospital during recovery from a hernia operation)
(First, visualizing a red or pink Buddha (either male or female) where your heart is)
(First, visualizing a red or pink Buddha (either male or female) where your heart is)
a red buddha
on a red lotus
floating on a
warm salty sea
breathes slowly,
breathes softly,
breathes deeply.
on a red lotus
floating on a
warm salty sea
breathes slowly,
breathes softly,
breathes deeply.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Drinking Tea
Well, my head is cold, thanks to my new haircut, but that's okay, right? Short hair is so much easier when you don't have to comb it...
Unlike practically everybody else I know, I don't care for coffee, generally. Like alcohol, I find I don't really care for the taste. My drink of choice is tea. In particular, green tea, or nok-cha in Korean. (Literally, nok-cha means "green tea" strangely enough. Western black tea is generally called "hong-cha", which means red tea.)
In the USA, before I came to Korea, I was under the impression that everybody in Asia drinks tea. Wrong. Most people drink coffee here. Coffee shops abound, and so do coffee girls. What is a coffee girl? You call the local da-bong (tea-room) and order coffee or tea. A little while later, a shapely girl on a scooter brings you your coffee... and herself. Coffee, tea, or me? Or all of the above? Of course, I have no experience of coffee girls, but they're a pretty common sight, zipping around the city as they do.
Tea, of course, is closely attached to Buddhism. Myth has it that the Indian who brought Zen t0 China, Bodhidharma, was sleepy while he was meditating. Not wanting to sleep, he cut off his eyelids, and they fell into his hot water and became the first tea leaves.
Tea ceremonies are very famous, but all they are (it seems to me, and I could be wrong about this) is ritualized mindfulness while making / pouring / serving / drinking tea. You can do the the same thing when you make coffee for you friend. Mindfulness and attention is everything!
For me, there is a serenity, a holiness in tea. It is hard to drink it and not feel something ... special for lack of a better word.
Unlike practically everybody else I know, I don't care for coffee, generally. Like alcohol, I find I don't really care for the taste. My drink of choice is tea. In particular, green tea, or nok-cha in Korean. (Literally, nok-cha means "green tea" strangely enough. Western black tea is generally called "hong-cha", which means red tea.)
In the USA, before I came to Korea, I was under the impression that everybody in Asia drinks tea. Wrong. Most people drink coffee here. Coffee shops abound, and so do coffee girls. What is a coffee girl? You call the local da-bong (tea-room) and order coffee or tea. A little while later, a shapely girl on a scooter brings you your coffee... and herself. Coffee, tea, or me? Or all of the above? Of course, I have no experience of coffee girls, but they're a pretty common sight, zipping around the city as they do.
Tea, of course, is closely attached to Buddhism. Myth has it that the Indian who brought Zen t0 China, Bodhidharma, was sleepy while he was meditating. Not wanting to sleep, he cut off his eyelids, and they fell into his hot water and became the first tea leaves.
Tea ceremonies are very famous, but all they are (it seems to me, and I could be wrong about this) is ritualized mindfulness while making / pouring / serving / drinking tea. You can do the the same thing when you make coffee for you friend. Mindfulness and attention is everything!
For me, there is a serenity, a holiness in tea. It is hard to drink it and not feel something ... special for lack of a better word.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Up in Seoul ...
Up to Seoul today, to have some Korean papers officially translated for the Embassy people -- no problem. I always enjoy going up to Seoul, which is a very dynamic and interesting city. I swear it looks different every time I go up there, though. Some of the things I like about it: it's safe! It's clean! It's beautiful. Not sure I'd want to live there, but... I'm lying. I'd love to live in Seoul. It's got like a gazillion people, but it's a wonderful city.
I stopped at one of my favorite places: " What The Book" used (English) bookstore, and purchased a book of stories by Gene Wolfe (famous SF writer), "Year's best SF #7" (a favorite annual anthology), and a Dragonlance book of short stories (I don't read or collect DL books (there's a million of them!), but I like the short stories. I also found a copy of "Brisingr" for $12 bucks (boy that's a massive book!) and the latest "Realms of Fantasy" mag (featuring a story by Harlen Ellison, if you can believe that! Yay!).
Also stopped at Cho-gay-sa temple, a famous and popular temple right downtown Seoul. Did a little meditating (very little, as the monk came in to start chanting, something I wasn't in the mood for at the moment) and stopped by the new museum (I wasn't impressed: it only focused on Soguk-am Temple, which is fine, but some diversity would be nice).
Ate lunch at Quiznos (sp?) (vegetarian sub) and took the bus home (hour and a half away).
Off to get a haircut in a while. Haircuts here are pretty cheap ($7-$10). I usually have my hair cut very short. I've had long hair (see picture), and while it looks nice (in my opinion), it's annoying (blows in wind, heavy after a shower, etc). These days, as the shop right in front of my house closed down, I got to a 24 hour place down the street. And no, it's not a "special" barber shop (i.e. place of prostitution, usually having two revolving signs in front) . My wife likes it because they give her an arm massage and paint her nails while they cut my hair.
And that's the news for today...
I stopped at one of my favorite places: " What The Book" used (English) bookstore, and purchased a book of stories by Gene Wolfe (famous SF writer), "Year's best SF #7" (a favorite annual anthology), and a Dragonlance book of short stories (I don't read or collect DL books (there's a million of them!), but I like the short stories. I also found a copy of "Brisingr" for $12 bucks (boy that's a massive book!) and the latest "Realms of Fantasy" mag (featuring a story by Harlen Ellison, if you can believe that! Yay!).
Also stopped at Cho-gay-sa temple, a famous and popular temple right downtown Seoul. Did a little meditating (very little, as the monk came in to start chanting, something I wasn't in the mood for at the moment) and stopped by the new museum (I wasn't impressed: it only focused on Soguk-am Temple, which is fine, but some diversity would be nice).
Ate lunch at Quiznos (sp?) (vegetarian sub) and took the bus home (hour and a half away).
Off to get a haircut in a while. Haircuts here are pretty cheap ($7-$10). I usually have my hair cut very short. I've had long hair (see picture), and while it looks nice (in my opinion), it's annoying (blows in wind, heavy after a shower, etc). These days, as the shop right in front of my house closed down, I got to a 24 hour place down the street. And no, it's not a "special" barber shop (i.e. place of prostitution, usually having two revolving signs in front) . My wife likes it because they give her an arm massage and paint her nails while they cut my hair.
And that's the news for today...
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