About Me

About Me

Indirectly,I am from Beijing, China. I became a Buddhist when I was young. In 2000, I decided to become a monastic at Panlongge Monastery located in Puning, Canton. And, in 2001 I was ordained as a Bikku. Afterwards, I went on to complete four years Buddhist Studies at the Buddhist Academy of China in Beijing in order to gain a clear perspective of the Buddha’s teaching. I then realized that in order to effectively combine my technical knowledge and practical skill, I need to accumulate real-world experience. Specifically, working at an overseas Buddhist Association would allow me to develop my skill and open my mind as well. Therefore, I went to the United States in 2005.
From July 2005 to the present, I have now worked for nearly three years at the Southern California Chinese Buddhist Association, which was found by Venerable Master Liaozhi in 1976. As a monastic, I am mainly responsible for our temple’s Dharma functions, and I am also supposed to deliver talks on Chinese Buddhism on Sundays, visit temple's members, and support them spiritually. This position has given me many opportunities to meet and talk with different people, Americans in particular. I enjoy it, but I also have difficulty with it, for I cannot explain Buddhism in English well.
As we can see that only by means of language can we forge the bonds of a society—a society as distinguished from some sort of instinctual swarm. In October 2007, I had a chance to work for the Chinese Buddhist Association--Hawaii. I also received finacial aid from the Southern California Chinese Buddhist Association to improve my English at University of Hawaii (UH). While working on my English language at UH, I volunteered at the Child Care Center and the Senior Day Care Center at the UH campus every Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9:00am to 11:30am for almost four months. Meanwhile, I also volunteered as a Dharma teacher at the Pure Land Association of Hawaii. I deeply appreciate the opportunities I received both at the UH campus and at the Pure Land Association of Hawaii for they have added onto my experience. Especially volunteering at the Senior Day Care Center gave me a sense that, there are large numbers of people of various ages, from all walks of life, who are suffering alone from personal tragedy, or who have been bullied or rejected in some other way by their society. They should have been comforted spiritually! As I can see that Buddhism, as one of the most peaceful religions in the world, it is a great tool that can spiritually comfort the people who are suffering the pints.
In a long term, I wish I could help to solve our society’s problems by starting my own Buddhist Studies. And I hope I can accomplish my dream someday!

ZhenGuan

Awake!

When this is, that is;
This arising, that arises.
All things exist in a complex set of conditions that give rise to its coming to being. On the night of his awakening, Siddartha Gotama claimed to have observed the causes and conditions that gave rise to good rebirths as well as bad rebirths, linking the quality of our thoughts and actions with the quality of our lives in the present and the future. On that same night, Gotama’s observation led to his seeing and experiencing the entire round of birth, age, death, and rebirth in all things. On that night, Gotama probably focused on the rounds of mental states and actions that led to our dis-ease, anguish, and suffering and freed himself from this.

He later expressed it as 12 links in a chain: (1) ignorance of the causes and conditions of life, the complex matrix that we all exist in begets formation of volitional actions (karma). (2) Formation of volitional actions of the body, speech, and mind begets consciousness of feeling, perception, and mental formation. (3) Consciousness begets (6) Contact begets feelings of pleasure and pain (7) Feelings beget attachment. " class="wp-smiley" /> Attachment begets existence. (9) Existence begets becoming. (10) Becoming begets arising. (11) Arising begets (12) decaying and passing away. In short,

All experience is preceded by mind, led by mind, made by mind. Speak or act with a corrupted mind and suffering follows as the wagon wheel follows the hoof of the ox…Speak or act with a peaceful mind, and happiness follows like a never-departing shadow.

And while this formula seems linear, it does not have to be. Conditioned things are also conditioning other things into becoming. This wheel of cause-effect-cause rolls on incessantly. Whatever began this original wheel rolling is not of importance, what is of importance is freeing ourselves from it.

Outside of Gotama’s expression of what he saw, we see the interdependent arising in ourselves and in everyday life. As people, we are comprised of a complex set of interacting atoms, cells, organs, and biological processes. We think and act with our thoughts guided by culture, ideologies, philosophies, the way we were raised, our family and friends. We also imprint ourselves onto these same factors. When we are aware that we are not just ourselves, not just I, and see others in ourself and ourselves in others, compassion bursts forth.

When this is not, that is not
This ceasing, that ceases.

Whatever is dependent on something else cannot last forever, and everything that is conditioned is impermanent. Our happiness that arises from being with loved ones can be blissful yet we know it can’t last. While we can put the right conditions into place to be happy, it becomes impossible to maintain and our joy that depended on the right people and the right things go away. We learn to enjoy it while we can and to let go when we must.

For Gotama, this impermanence also meant that dis-ease, anguish, and suffering could end as well. Any break in the links meant an end to the entire rounds of birth, aging, and death. The traditions have simplified this to the end of ignorance/delusion, aversion/hatred, grasping/attachment and the arising of awareness/understanding, tolerance/compassion, giving/letting go.

On the night of his awakening, Gotama experienced all of this. It was not just an intellectual seeing and acknowledgment that all things are interdependent and impermanent. It was also beyond just an emotional or non-rational feeling of the same things. What he experienced passed through his very being and it affected the way he thought, sensed, felt, and saw himself and the world around him. It penetrated into his self and completely altered him in a way that he described as beyond words and expressions and accessible only through direct experience. This is what was awakened to and this is what needs to be cultivated.

Retrieved on July 29, 2008 from http://pemadorje385.blogspot.com/

Awakening Something

Awakening Something

In an earlier post, I wrote that the Siddartha Gotama awoke to the arising and falling of things. Things come and things go, “this too shall pass.”

When this is, that is
This arising, that arises
When this is not, that is not
This ceasing, that ceases.

While this formula for what the Buddha awakened to seems simple enough, it’s implications for our lives are anything but simple. Enlightenment or awakening is both close to us and far away. It is close because the material for our awakening already lie within us: our day-to-day experiences, compulsions, habits, memories, attachments, intentions, attitudes, ways of thinking. We find this material all around us as every moment of awareness becomes a teachable moment. There is no shortage of teachers if we see one in every sunrise and sunset or every smile and hurtful cry.

But the path is also far away because the material for our awakening is difficult to discern. “What’s a sunrise but a sunrise? It just comes up every day and goes back down at the end of the day. So what?” If we adopt this attitude we lose the present moment beauty of a sunrise or the potential of another Spring day where the flowers bloom. But the sun sets and flowers wilt, so we can only recognize it and enjoy it while we can.

The process for our awakening can also be long and difficult. The material of our awakening can also be difficult to deal with. They are conditioned by events and people we may not remember or prefer not to remember. They may be disturbing, hurtful, traumatizing, and something we would rather avoid. But they always return to our lives somehow, either through a conversation, a dream, or triggered by an event, similar or not. Can we tolerate and be open to this? I have faith that we can if we accept this for what it was as well as see this in everyone else.

So awakening is both close at hand and far away. It’s closeness is encouraging because it is within our grasps. It is also chastening and humbling that we have not yet grasped it. But this is all strange in itself because there is nothing at all to grasp. How silly we are.

from http://pemadorje385.blogspot.com/

Three Sūtras in Mahāyāna Buddhism

Three Sūtras in Mahāyāna Buddhism

When Mahāyāna Buddhism was transmitted through East Asia into China, its concrete values were accompanied by an extremely thorough, careful, and insightful translated project composed by sufficient oeuvre. Based on the fundamental components of the Buddha’s teaching which can be located within the discourse of three basic models: (1)The four dogmas, or noble truths; (2)the twelve links of dependent origination; and (3)impermanent, Mahāyāna Buddhism in East Asia, without doubt, cultivated on its own concepts, which are substantial and dramatic, entitled “Buddha-nature, Middle-way, Emptiness, and Pure Land ” which could be referred to Saddharmapundarīka-Sūtra, Vajra-cchedikā-prājñāpāramitā-sūtra, and Amitāyus- Sūtra.

1) Saddharmapundarīka-Sūtra was translated into Chinese by Kumārajīva during the fourth century C.E. According to the Mahāyāna’s principle, the most important and wonderful truth as found in this Sūtra is said to contain Buddha’s complete truth as compared with his previous, partial, or expedient teaching. Like Buddha himself said: “I have been a teacher to guide you on the path of the Dharma for such a long time, now it is the time to tell you the truth.” In this Stūra Buddha mentioned that everyone is able to become a Buddha, even though he or she never practices the Dharma: “Good men and believing women, all of you are going to become a Buddha if you invoke the refuge to the Buddha.” It has profoundly influenced Buddhist doctrine in East Asia, i.e., China, Korea, and Japan. In China, for example, the special classic of the Tiantai sect was established on it by the great Master Zhiyi.

2) Vajra-cchedikā-prājñāpāramitā-sūtra, also known as the Diamond Sūtra, is one of the most important Sūtras of the Mahayana Buddhism in the East Asia. It interprets the wisdom of empty. “Vajra” means the element of the universe. It is the strongest and finest, and it will never be destroyed by any kind of powers, for “empty” cannot be destroyed. The Diamond Sūtra also evolves the six parāmitas of the Bodhisattva path with its emptiness doctrine. During the fourth century C.E., it was introduced into China by Kumārajīva. And it became popular after the great Chan Master Hui-neng, the sixth patriarch of the Chinese Chan Buddhism.

3) Amitāyus- Sūtra was translated into Chinese by Sanghāvarman in 252.C.E. It is the first translation of the Pure Land texts in China. With its special doctrine which describers the Amitābha’s forty-eight vows, it has been enforced in China, Korea and Japan after the Song Dynasty (960.C.E.-1279.C.E.) According to the Amitāyus Sūtra, if those who believe in Amitābha’s vows, have a mind to be born in the Pure Land, and invoke Amitābha, they are accepted. It ensures that you do not need a lot of practices of Dharma to achieve the way to Bodhisattva. All you have to do is to invoke Amitābha in order to be born in the Pure Land of Amitābha after you die.

In terms of the perspective of the Mahāyāna Buddhism’s teaching, that being said, the three stūras in Mahāyāna Buddhism are particular in the evolution of the notions of Buddha-nature, Middle-way, Emptiness, and Pure Land in the East Asian scriptural tradition.

ZhenGuan