“Yes!” to Life

Our aim in being a Buddhist is to achieve enlightenment. I must admit I have always been puzzled about this word in English as it has, for me at least, conveyed an intellectual pursuit which seems pretty hard to achieve. However, if we are to believe that the Buddha Shakyamuni was a perfect teacher I do not think for one moment even a good teacher would give something unachievable to learn for his students. So what exactly is this enlightenment?


The other day I was having lunch with some people whom I had not met before. One lady remarked that she thought Buddhists to be very dull and not enjoying life, sort of ‘wowsers’ in Australian vernacular. She further went on to add that she felt that Buddhists wasted their time in studying things that did not relate to practical living, “like making money”. I was not put out by these comments and observations as I have heard them before in varying terms but it left me wondering if as Buddhists we have failed to convey the message or allowed misunderstandings to go uncorrected.


When asked by one of his students, "Are you the messiah?"
"No", answered Buddha.
"Then are you a healer?"
"No", Buddha replied.
"Then are you a teacher?" the student persisted.
"No, I am not a teacher."
"Then what are you?" asked the student, exasperated.
"I am awake", Buddha replied.


“Awake”. In Sanskrit language this is what is meant by the word “Buddha” or “Bodhi”. In the Chinese Buddhist tradition, to which I belong to, the word for awakened is “Pu Ti”. The Chinese characters are菩提. The first character 菩 “PU”conveys the meaning of “Bodhisattva”. The second character 提  TI conveys the meaning of “lifting up” and is especially used in describing the upward or rising stroke in Chinese calligraphy.


The early Chinese Buddhist monks were extremely careful when translating the original Pali or Sanskrit language. Most Chinese Buddhist terms are transliteration, that is , they are copies of the sounds of the original language. However, in copying the sounds the early Chinese monks were very careful not only to choose a character that had a similar sound to the Sanskrit word but also to choose a character that conveyed the precise meaning. This is indeed masterful use of language and translation.


Being awakened has in it the sense of rising above the mundane world with the skill of a Bodhisattva. It is an awakening from a type of hoax to a reality of life that is beautiful. I deliberately did not write “awakening from a dream” as I have sometimes read. Some of our dreams are quite beautiful but the dream being referred to here is more of a nightmare! It is a hoax. This is conveyed in another Chinese word for enlightenment 启蒙 chi meng which means “awaken from being deceived.”


We are often deceived by popular culture that grasping, greed and violence is the norm, that it is OK. We know deep down that it isn’t. The more “things” we have and accumulate don’t make us any happier. In fact they can make us even more depressed. Anger doesn’t solve problems but only leads to violence. As Buddhists we have a way to rise up out of the quick sands of deception to a fuller more beautiful life.


Closely related to being awake is the idea of being “conscious”. The Chinese Buddhist term for consciousness is 覺悟 Jue Wu. The two characters convey the meaning of opening one’s eyes and suddenly understanding. The opposite of consciousness is unconsciousness which is a state of living “death”. Jue Wu is about being “alive” to life and having understanding. Understanding leads to skill and the leading of life with skillful means. It is about standing on the highest peak with the brisk wind blowing in your face even while faced with the struggles of daily living and being able to shout: “Yes!!” This is Buddhism! This is “enlightenment”. It is not about walking about with serious downcast faces and ignoring life or contemplating one’s navel rather it is about living life skilfully to the max!


I cannot help but feel deep sadness as I often take to the streets of Sydney observing expressionless and depressed faces wired to iPods, mere shells of human beings trying to make the best of life. Technology, no matter how useful it may be cannot give us deep happiness – the Bodhi Mind. The Bodhi Mind – the Awakened and Compassionate Mind – is only achievable through wisdom and being alive, alert and connected with daily life, being communicative and compassionate to those around us and practicing the teachings of the Buddha.


Being “Alive” is not hard to achieve in this very lifetime with applied learning and effort. The Pure Land is not just a place of nirvana we may attain at the end of our life. The Pure Land is not far from each and every one of us right in this present moment. We can achieve the skills then we can awaken in the morning each day and say to life: “Yes! I am Alive!”

What are you?

Buddha, The Awakened One

One of his students asked Buddha, "Are you the messiah?" "No", answered Buddha.

"Then are you a healer?"

"No", Buddha replied.

"Then are you a teacher?" the student persisted.

"No, I am not a teacher."

"Then what are you?" asked the student, exasperated.

"I am awake," Buddha replied. (Buddha)

Mantra Meditation in Chinese Buddhism

 The chanting of Mantras and sutras are integral parts of the practice of most forms of Chinese Buddhism. During our meditation retreat at Guang Jue Monastery many people ask me about the use of mantras and mantra meditation and whether they have “magical” qualities.

It depends much upon the particular school of Buddhism as to what mantras are used in particular ceremonies. However the most commonly used mantras in Chinese Buddhism are The Great Compassion Mantra, The Shurangama mantra, the Heart Sutra and the Ten Small Mantras. Most often these mantras are chanted as part of the morning ceremony.

Mantras can be a single sound, word or group of words which are able to affect transformation of our consciousness. Almost all Chinese mantras have come from Pali or Sanskrit texts. Early Chinese monks made transliterations of the original mantras into Chinese sounds and words. Chinese culture had a huge impact on early Buddhism in China and it was considered that the Chinese language contained a certain linguistic purity. Certainly the original Chinese characters could contain whole meaning within one character and this was considered sacred and important. Gradually over time the mantras became woven into the fabric of not only Chinese liturgical Buddhism but also within the lay culture itself as devotees memorized and used the mantras in order to bring about favourable circumstances as well as healing.

The Sanskrit word “mantra” has the meaning of “holding in thought”. Thus the mantra is used to purify the mind and create higher vibrations of sound to diminish or to remove Karmic obstacles. The mantra becomes like a seed which is implanted in the mind that begins to displace the negative Karmic influences; it is a bit like large plants pushing aside weeds in the garden.

Mantras can be recited silently or chanted aloud during meditation. They are best chanted aloud as this involves all the senses of the body allowing the tones of the words to become absorbed into the subtle consciousness of the mind. It is not unusual after continual chanting of a mantra to not only feel oneself drifting into a semi-trance like state but also to be aware of the mantra “playing” continually in one’s sleep.

Are mantras magical cures? While Mantras in Buddhism do have a very powerful effect we must be careful not to relegate the mantras to a mere talisman. The Mantra is but one expedient to the path of enlightenment along with the reading and reciting of sutras and the cultivation of wisdom and compassion. They are to be approached with sincerity of heart and devotion to the Buddha Way.

Mantras are the essential oils of the Sutras. They contain within a few short words and sounds the pure essence of the Buddha’s teaching. Sutras are often long and not easy to commit to memory while mantras can be easily remembered and recited. In that sense they become part of us and we can take them wherever we go.

One such mantra in Pure Land Buddhism is the chant to Amitabha Buddha “Namo Amitofuo”. Chanted to the traditional music this mantra soothes the mind becoming absorbed deep into the consciousness and displacing lifetimes of negative Karma while at the same time planting seeds of good causes and conditions.

So how does this mantra work? A Mantra basically works on the law of displacement in a similar way of displacing a glass of muddy water with pure water. By continually placing drops of pure water into a glass of muddy water the dirty water gradually overflows and is displaced leaving crystal clear water. In the same way the mantra displaces the negative Karma planting the seed of Bodhi Mind.

How to use a Mantra. In our meditation retreats at Guang Jue Temple China and at the T’ai Shen Centre in Sydney I usually introduce the most simple and effective of Mantras, chanting the Buddha Name “Namo Amitofuo”. The chanting of mantras is best done in the morning and evening. The morning chanting prepares and focuses the mind for the coming day and the evening chanting soothes the mind at the end of the day planting seed that nurtures during the sleeping hours. Find a quiet place. Light incense and candle if available. Take a few moments to still the mind and body by concentrating on the breathing. Focus on the words Namo Amitofuo then begin to gently chant the words over and over maintaining concentration on the words. As you chant listen to the words as they are intoned and allow the sound to become absorbed into your whole body. If you have pain or an illness allow the sound and focus to be directed to that part of the body releasing negative Karma. Do remember, however, that Karma is the effect of both good and bad causes and conditions. Sometimes we must live out those effects. However reciting and meditating with a mantra can enable us to live a joyful life in spite of the struggle knowing that we are planting new causes and conditions.

May the merits created by your chanting mantras bring you peace and supreme happiness.

The Happiness Hangover

There are many seminars, workshops and techniques about touting their benefits to bring us a happy life. Happiness seminars abound. While it is true that we live in very unhappy times and it seems quite reasonable to find ways to bring happiness into our societies I fear that the quick fix methods will only have superficial results at the least and at the most plunge people further into despair. I recently spoke to a gentleman who was on a quest to find happiness and had just attended his 20th workshop on happiness. He travels the width and breadth of the country in search of the magic formula. In a sense, he had become a happiness junkie getting on a high during a seminar then crashing down in a heap soon after with a happiness hangover. I would have found it quite amusing if it had not been for the look of utter despair on his face.

Many people are turning to Buddhism as a path to happiness. The Buddha has given us a path to supreme and abiding happiness in a well tried and tested method used by countless folk down through the last two millenniums. However, it seems that even many Buddhists are also living lives in quiet desperation almost like closet alcoholics who keep their bottle of misery in a brown paper bag except the brown paper bag is the façade of superficial contentment. The answer is not necessarily in more meditation, more retreats or more chanting because even these can be a way of avoiding confronting the root cause of all our unhappiness. After all, a good meditation, a quiet and relaxing retreat, uplifting chanting can bring calm and peace. . .for a while.

It was once said of the ancient Japanese Samurai that the battle was not fought or won on the battle field against the perceived enemy but rather in the Zen Do where battle was done with the real enemy lurking in the shadows of the mind. The Self.

This is the last of the attachments, well, it is the one we often want to deal with last! In the Four Noble Truths the Buddha shows us that our suffering, discontent or dissatisfaction are a result of attachment. The greatest of all these attachments is the attachment to the Self Cherishing part of us. It is no coincidence that as one enters a Chinese Buddhist Temple the first Hall contains the statue of what is popularly known as the “laughing Buddha” the Maitreya Bodhisattva symbolizing happiness and contentment. He is often flanked by fierce looking Dharma protectors wielding swords and spears – not the peaceful visage one would expect of a Buddhist temple. The symbols speak loudly. The Maitreya Bodhisattva speaks of happiness which is attainable through the Dharma and the swords that cut through delusion to the truth. It can also remind us that our battle begins with the ego, the cherishing self that will obscure our journey.

I am not immune from the shadow lurking ego. Not long ago I awoke to a beautiful day with sunshine and a blue sky. I thought to myself: “I am so happy this is a beautiful day.” Happy for whom? And if it were not a beautiful day? Would I feel sad? My ego had tricked me. Rather than embracing the gift of the day the ego wanted to get in on the act. Without the self cherishing part the day is beautiful because it simply is. And that is real happiness.

We often find the pursuit of happiness so difficult because the self-cherishing part has for so long deluded us that we can no longer recognize true happiness.

Why are the fierce looking Dharma protectors in the “first” hall and not in the other halls? It is because this is the first thing we must do battle with – our self-cherishing part. However so often we want to start our journey in the higher temple halls. The first hall seems a bitter pill to swallow.

So how do we start dealing with this ego? The Buddha has given us many expedients. Tonglen Meditation and Naikan are two such methods. Tonglen helps us develop a mind of selfless compassion and Naikan cracks the hard shell of the ego through introspection. Naikan forces us to look at life from a different angle and not from the usual perspective of the ego. Most often we look at life through the eyes of ego, what has given us happiness and contentment or what has brought us misery and dissatisfaction. Naikan helps us to look at reality not the assumed reality of the ego. Like an optometrist who prescribes a pair of glasses to correct our vision so that we may see clearly, Naikan through its three strategic questions, retrains us to see life from the angle of life’s gift and our obstruction to the gift of life.

Whatever method you use the real battle needs to be done in your own mind. Your external “enemies” are only reflections of your self, your self-cherishing self. Abiding happiness only comes through dealing with this inner enemy. The Maitreya Bodhisattva welcomes us with his happy smile and promise of enlightenment. We can be assured that this type of happiness will not leave us with a hangover but brings peace and life to all sentient beings.

Discovering Compassion in a Temple Stay

A temple stay at Guang Jue Temple in Zaoxi China leaves an indelible mark on those who visit due to its rich history of faith and survival.

It was 1953. The Qing Dynasty temple in its glory days had over 200 monks and nuns in devotion to the Amitabha Buddha. Many devotees would come as far away as Shanghai to worship there. But there was a dark cloud now looming over the area of Hangzhou. The Japanese forces had once before penetrated into the region. Now as a result of strong and often brutal Chinese resistance the Japanese air power was to make another strike at Hangzhou.

Chinese Buddhism had flourished over the centuries but China was now to enter a darker period. The monks and nuns at Guang Jue temple were far away enough from the fighting in the East. After all, Zaoxi was an insignificant little village amid the mountains. However, that day in 1953 was to change there lives. Suddenly there was the load roar of aircraft flying in formation approaching from the West and in an instant there were load explosions as bombs were dropped randomly as the Japanese aircraft approached Hangzhou. The temple had been hit.

No one really knows how many were wounded. There are suggestions that all survived but scattered in fear of another raid. Only one nun remained. Two of the temples were completely destroyed. All buildings were badly damaged. One small temple remained with gaping holes in the side.

Those staying at a temple stay in this tranquil Chinese Buddhist temple enter the main gates greeted by the Maitreya Buddha in the first hall. Immediately the guest is reminded of the past as this is the last remaining hall to be reconstructed. This is where the sole nun lived, slept, prayed and chanted in solitude until some forty years later she was joined by some local people to who came to support her.

In a temple stay here you meet the Venerable Master Zheng Rong, the monk who came from Hangzhou ten years ago to find the nun who survived and was commissioned to bring her back to a Sangha (a community of monks and nuns). Master Zheng Rong describes the day he arrived. The bamboo forest had become overgrown and there was only a barely distinguishable track through the forest to the ruins. When he entered the devastated monastery he took sight of the nun sitting on some rubble, head bowed reciting the Buddha name with her rosary beads. He was instantly moved to tears at the sight of such faith and devotion.

Is there anger and resentment of the deeds of the past? “No”, replies Master Zheng Rong. “We must build the future in the present moment. We cannot build a peaceful and harmonious future from anger or hatred but only from compassion. What happened was a result of our own negative Karma, our own impure deeds. It reminds us that we can reshape our destiny.” A broad and gentle grin beams across his face like sun coming out from behind clouds on a winter’s day.

The history of Guang Jue Temple is one forged in the faith of one nun who remained to re-chart the course of destiny. Her fingers and rosary beads worn thin with the intense daily chanting and meditation have born fruit. Guests on a temple stay do not find libraries of sutras. Instead they find what is at the heart of Pure Land Buddhism – faith and compassion. Guests staying at this old Chinese temple are changed by the power of the parable it presents, by its peace and its whispering call to compassion.

Many of us have done things in our past we have regretted, things born from the darkness of our lives from which the Karma like a bacteria hatches and flourishes. As a result we may have emotionally or physically damaged lives As humans we are capable of great destruction and we are as equally capable of great compassion and great achievements.

“How can I learn the way of Pure Land Buddhism?” I asked the Master one morning. Master Zheng Rong chuckled with a grin coming across his face again: “Compassion IS the way. There is no other way.” he replied.

Pure Land, Pure Mind -Words of wisdom -amtbweb

Compassion is the Way

Creating a Peaceful, Harmonious and Prosperous Society through Compassion to all beings.

3 Day Retreat of Meditation, Chanting, Workshops, Cultural Exchange and developing ways forward to bring compassion and peace in our communities.


The Venerable Master Zheng Rong and Retreat Facilitator Malcolm Hunt invite you to come together to join us at Guang Jue Monastery China.


April 16th, 17th and 18th 2011


I believe the key to peace and both personal and regional happiness is through compassion. We can all achieve this. We do not need to be religious people. We just need to develop goodness. It is that easy.


Buddhism and its message of peace and compassion spread form India through to China then to all corners of South East Asia and beyond. Together we hold the key to building a better world and regional peace, harmony and prosperity.


Guang Jue Monastery suffered almost complete destruction as a result of war. It was through the faith and compassion of one nun and the Venerable Zheng Rong that the temple rises from the ashes to be a powerful parable of peace, good-will, social inclusion and humanity.


For further Information contact: Malcolm Hunt, Retreat Facilitator at: admin@taishendo.com

Please Listen to Me. That’s All I Need

Because of my all embracing hearing my name Kuan Yin is known everywhere.  Since I myself do not meditate on sound but on the meditator.  I cause all suffering beings to look into the sound of their voices to obtain liberation. Surangama Sutra

Two of the greatest tragedies which face us on a global proportion as we turn into this next millennium are poverty and human mass slaughter.

The poverty of which I speak is not the material poverty which we are so used to hearing about. It is another kind of poverty, far, far worse and more destructive to the fabric of society than economic poverty. This is the poverty of isolation and loneliness.

It is a kind of poverty which is extremely insidious and continues to increase and underscore our family life and social order. The symptoms of this social sickness are many - broken relationships and divorce, crime, emotional and physical violence, war between communities, mental illness, and addictions; it is a poverty which strips millions of self-esteem. A person is left dry of any value or worth and is rendered powerless.

The tragedy is that although we live in densely populated cities and chat over countless cups of tea and coffee, the sense of isolation is ever increasing within our communities, within our work places, within our schools and even within our churches.

The second great tragedy is that we have witnessed more human carnage this last century in war and murder than in any other time of world history. This is due in part to the greater destructive potential of modern weapons. In early days of world history one spear may have killed one person in war. Now one missile has the capability of destroying a whole nation.

It thoroughly astounds me that with all our sophisticated technology the world has not advanced very far at all in terms of peace and the sanctity of human life. We are able to send a space probe to the outermost limits of our universe, but we are thoroughly unable (or unwilling) to work toward a peaceful society.

I would boldly suggest that the reason for this is that we are building societies with the predisposition to instant self-gratification. We seek personal power and material possessions and we want it right now. War is a multi million-dollar business and it grants personal empowerment - for the winners that is. Peace on the other hand requires community effort and its fruits though plentiful, even financially, are not seen immediately. You can't make a quick buck on peace.

Our love affair with technology has enhanced our need for instant self-gratification. The Internet enables us to connect instantly with others at the opposite end of the globe. We can have cyber-relationships, even cyber-sex. The iPod has fast become the ‘mePod’ as millions of people absorb themselves within their invisible cone of silence. Here is the real danger. We are drawn into the illusion of being part of a 'global community'. This is nothing more than a fraud. Hugh Mackay, Australian Psychologist and social commentator observes in his book Why Don't People Listen? :"When the emphasis is on information transfer rather than relationships, the life of the (global) village becomes meaningless: shared data is no substitute for the sense of shared identity and mutual obligation which come from shared experience." People are beginning now to isolate themselves from real community. The result will be an ever-increasing sense of isolation.

Listening is a communication experience which has within it the power to break the grip of isolation and to plant and nurture a new community. Listening shared from the level of the human heart. No other communication technology is able to do this.

Several years ago I began to remark how deep listening can affect individuals and be the catalyst for positive change both personally and as a community. As a society we have forgotten how to listen. This has been gravely injurious to our corporate journey as a society as well as to our personal growth and well-being. We have lost our prophetic foundations, as when we don't listen we miss vital information. Listening and vision go hand in hand. When we don't listen we don't see the problem ahead - we fail to see the big picture. We move blindly into the future.

I have observed what 'real' Listening can do. I have seen it heal people, I have seen it change people - dramatically, and I have seen it close sales deals worth millions of dollars where no other 'strategy' had worked. It is powerful beyond all measure.

In speaking to many people about their recovery from difficult circumstances or emotional illness, I have heard people talk about that thing which really made the difference to them - the turning point, if you like - was that some one took the time to really listen to them. This intrigued me as this phrase kept coming up time and time again: "really listened". What was it in this act of "really listening' which was able to turn a person's life around?

But we don’t have time any more. We have systems to attend to, reports to write, deadlines to meet, meetings to go to. Furthermore, the things we listen to is mainly information shuffling as this is what our technology has taught us to do. Emails are quick and precise. Text messaging is even briefer couched in texting language for rapid application. We are fast becoming shallow beings forgetting how to plummet the depth of our souls. Information has become our God.

I will never forget the lonely woman patient in ward 3B of a psychiatric hospital I was working in, when she turned to me at the end of our conversation: “I don’t care what you know. I just want to know that you care. You listened to me. That is enough and that is all.”

Live In Mindfulness

“Do not pursue the past.

Do not lose yourself in the future.

The past no longer is.

The future has not yet come.

Looking deeply at life as it is

in the very here and now,

the practitioner dwells

in stability and freedom.

We must be diligent today.

To wait till tomorrow is too late.

Death comes unexpectedly.

How can we bargain with it?

The sage calls a person who

dwells in mindfulness

night and day ‘the one who knows

the better way to live alone."  The Buddha

Hit the Reset Button on Your Mind

It is in mindfulness training that we come to an understanding that the mind is neither your enemy nor your friend. It thinks, creates, makes decisions, warns us, chastises us, and calculates doing all manner of things both to our advantage and to our detriment.

So often, however, we become enmeshed in our mind that it begins to rule our life creating so much emotional pain. It is when we get pulled into its ‘story’ that we begin to get caught in a vicious cycle of despair. We become like someone caught in quicksand struggling to get out. The more we struggle the deeper in we go.

According to the World Health Organization depression is fast becoming the most predominant illness in Western society above heart disease and cancer. Depression is in its basic form none other than an extreme unhappiness. Yet we live in societies overweight with material possessions and the discarded paraphernalia of our happiness pursuits. Never before has humanity searched happiness with such intensity and desperation. The advertising media has taken advantage of this despair leading us to believe that our life will be better if we just buy this or that product. As most of us are only to painfully aware this only creates momentary relief. We have become addicted to momentary relief over long term satisfaction.

Mindfulness is a process that trains us to be aware of both the happiness illusion and the short term relief addiction. Mindfulness training teaches us to recognize our thoughts and feelings for what they really are. Thoughts are none other than words strung together. Words in turn are but shapes and strokes, curls and dashes. Thoughts as feelings and memories are none other than pictures no more than the colours pixels on the flat screen on the living room TV. None of these things can harm us. Yet we spend an inordinate amount of time avoiding or trying to get rid of unpleasant thoughts and feelings. We do this in many ways: watch TV, surf the net, drink alcohol, have sex, take pills all in an attempt to squash or avoid unpleasant thoughts and feeling. While some of these coping mechanisms in themselves are not harmful, in the long term they can be or in the least just preventing us from living the valued life we want to live.

In mindfulness training we understand that we cannot remove thoughts from our mind. They will always return. What we can do, however, is hit the reset button and observe the thoughts and feelings from a distance – a bit like watching a boxing match on TV rather than being in the fight itself. Inner happiness is attained by accepting the dissatisfaction and living a valued life in spite of painful or depressive thoughts and feelings, not trying to avoid them. Therein lays the secret of mindfulness and inner happiness.

It only takes a few seconds to hit the reset button on the mind. Here’s how:

1. Stop
2. Observe the thoughts or feelings. Say to yourself: “I notice that I am having the thought that (then whatever the thought or feeling is).
3. Breathe into the painful feelings giving them space and softening them while not trying to get rid of them.
4. Become connected to the present moment.

Hitting the reset button helps us to get out of our minds and back into life. Mindfulness is a starting point and entry level to inner happiness. There is even more to come.

Chanting and the Rain Drops

Once a young monk fell asleep in the Meditation Hall while the monks were chanting the Buddha Name. The monks had been there in the hall since the early hours of the morning with the chant of the word “Amitofuo” resounding through the temple. Unceasing, the chant continued into the late afternoon.

When the Master noticed a young monk asleep he asked him: “Why are you sleeping during the chanting, my son?” “Master, I do not see the purpose. I have chanted and chanted and nothing has changed. Maybe I am not suited to this practice.” “Then come with me replied the Master.” The kindly Master led the young novice to his room. “Bring me your water glass”, demanded the Master. The novice went inside his room and returned with his glass full of water. The Master took the glass and went to his office. Taking a calligraphy brush he rolled it with some water into the ink stone then dipped the brush into the young monk’s glass of water. Suddenly there were swirls of black in the clear water. The young monk stood transfixed as the clear water turned completely black.
“Now, my son, remove the ink without tipping out or refilling the glass. If you can do this then you will have wisdom of the dharma.”

The young monk seemed to fumble for words now wishing he had not fallen asleep during the chanting and wondering what punishment the Master was going to mete out. “But Venerable Master I cannot do this.” “Good reply”, came the Master. Then the old Venerable took the novice back outside to a place just under the eaves of the tiled roof of the monks’ quarters. The old Venerable look up then down as if to be positioning the glass. Then with deliberate precision he placed the glass full of inky black water on walk way. “There, my son. Sit here and contemplate and meditate on the glass until I tell you to move.” The young monk did just as the Venerable had asked him.

One hour passed . . . then two. . . then three. The young monk focused with concentration on the glass of inky water contemplating how he could remove the dark water without tipping it out. While doing so large dark rain clouds began to amass overhead. There were distant rumblings of thunder. Soon small droplets of rain began to fall then a deluge broke loose. Rain began to fall in torrents upon the tiled roof sending streams into the spouting. Before long droplets of rain water began to fall into the glass precisely where the Master had positioned it. Droplet after droplet after droplet the drops fell into the glass. Soon the glass was full to the brim and began to over flow with the inky water gradually being displaced. Each raindrop sounded like the “tock” of the ‘muyu’ – the wooden fish the monks strike in time with the chanting. The young monk watched with glee as gradually the inky water was displaced by the droplets of cool clear rain water.

Eventually the rain stopped. The young monk sensed the presence of the Master and looked up at him with a glowing smile. The Venerable smiled in turn knowing that enlightenment had come upon the novice. “The rain removed the inky water, Master” came the novice. “And removed the ignorance from your mind as well” returned the Master.

Saddha: The Pillar of Confidence

Pure Land Buddhism is often termed the “Buddhism of faith” referring to faith in the compassionate power radiating from the heart of Amitabha Buddha. As Pure Land practitioners we have faith in the vows and compassion of Amitabha Buddha to transform our Karmic residue so as we may be able to enter the Pure Land and thus escape the cycle of birth and death. Synonymous to the word “faith” is the word confidence. This is Saddha in the Pali language.

In facilitating retreats and in counselling people I come across a very large number of folk who are terribly lacking in confidence in life. This is a very sad condition. It is sad as without confidence we are unable to attain meditative concentration enabling us to be free from suffering. It is sad because there are so many people wandering about in our societies without direction or if they do have direction soon give up on the quest due to a lack of confidence in their ability.

Faith in Buddhism is not a blind faith. It is not the faith of believing because a guru has told us so. It is not a faith gained from reading sutras or scripture. It is an experiential faith evolving from discipline and practice.

Many people do not like the word “discipline”. However, in Buddhism it has nothing to do with punishment or austerities but rather the concentrated effort we put into our practice like that of an athlete practicing for the High Jump event. It is through discipline that confidence is gained and from confidence we are able to meet with success in our endeavours.

Pure Land Buddhism is a Life Skills education that leads to an abiding happiness in this lifetime. It is achievable for every person. When Master Zheng Rong first gazed upon the devastation and destruction of Guang Jue Monastery he could have felt great despair. However his confidence brought about by his monastic training gave him the courage to rebuild.

In our own lives we can often feel despair. The antidote to despair is Saddha – Confidence. As we continue our practice our confidence will increase and nothing can hold us back from achieving our goal.

Article from the T’ai Shen Pure Land Centre Newsletter November 2010

Can Buddhism bring you happiness?

From time to time I have a look at the statistics page for our web site and there I can find what search phrases people are entering. One caught my attention this morning: “Can Buddhism make you happy?” It is interesting as the other day when I was on the train in Sydney a young woman sitting opposite me was looking intently at the bag I was carrying, you know, the type of bag that the Chinese Buddhist monks carry. It was given to me by my teacher. I sensed she wanted to say something and just at that very moment she asked: “Is that a Buddhist bag?” I replied that it is. Then she asked: “Some people say Buddhism makes you happy and peaceful. Is that true?” I did not have time to finish me answer when she had to alight at the next station.

I am no master or guru and my journey in Buddhism has only been for a short six years so I can only respond to such a question from experience rather than doctrine which I still stumble over from time to time. I reflect back at my own journey and it was my own deep unhappiness due to a relationship breakdown that was one of the catalysts for me to seek out Buddhism. I had been in a relationship for one year with a lady I had met in Australia when a year almost to the date later she phoned me to say: “I am sorry I have not been able to bring myself to say this but I am married.” I felt crushed, depressed, angry, hurt and a plethora of other feelings. I guess what shocked me more than anything else was my capacity to become so depressed. As a result I did psychotherapy, meditation, valium, yoga, walking, qigong, RET. You name it; I did it. Finally I met someone who introduced me to Pure Land Buddhism. Then I found happiness? No! However, it made sense to me. Nothing else had made any sense. It had a clear explanation as to why I was feeling the way I was and a clear and logical way out of it.

No ‘-ism’ can give you happiness. Further I am not sure we would know happiness if we found it. Our understanding of happiness appears so distorted that this seems part of the problem. Inner peace and happiness can’t be pre-packaged. Run on down to K-Mart, buy a Buddha statue, place it in the lounge room to change the Fung Shi and eternal happiness and prosperity will come flowing. Well, I have news for you; it won’t, at least not in the long term.

Buddhism can be understood as a Life Education. It has a rational explanation as to why we are in a state of unhappiness and has clear methods to allow ourselves to up-skill. Ignorance is one of the biggest blocks to living a happy and peaceful life. The antidote for ignorance is education. Many mistake Buddhism for Meditation. While meditation is certainly an integral part it is still only part of the story. Without first knowing why we came into the state we are in then any meditation will only give partial results at the best. The four Noble Truths of Buddhism outlines the syllabus, if you like. The first of the Four Noble Truths tells us our condition. The second tells us why we are in that condition. The third and fourth show us a way forward. Lasting happiness and inner peace can only come through a thorough knowledge of our condition.

As Buddhists we often refer to our practice of Buddhism. Like any new skill it takes practice. No top sports person becomes so overnight. It takes years of hard training to gain success in a particular sport. In our practise of Buddhism we must apply equal effort.

Within a few months of my beginning steps in Buddhism I felt a calmness pervade my life for the first time. It was a calmness of knowing that happiness was now in my own hands, or rather in my own mind and that I had at my disposal a set of time honoured and tested skills to put into diligent practise.

I have not reached Nirvana. I am far, far away from that and for me it is not important. What is important is that maybe I can show others a path that when applied with diligence and effort can bring results – an abiding happiness and inner peace – and maybe I have done some good.

Finding Happiness and Inner Peace

A window to inner peace

Many people come to retreat at Guang Jue Temple looking for happiness and inner peace. Interestingly enough I find that many who come to Guang Jue have had recent relationship break downs and are searching for something deeper and more meaningful. However, will they find what they are looking for?

Many people in the West have turned to Buddhism hoping to find the elixir to eternal happiness hoping that a life of silent meditation will be some sort of anaesthetic for their pain. Many tell me that they have tried this religion or that religion, tried Yoga or this style of meditation or that way of meditation as if attending a buffet restaurant hoping that their hunger for happiness and inner peace will eventually be satisfied. We hope for the right type of person for a relationship and then we hope that we can get out of that relationship some years later when the romance rubs off and the issues arise! What often bring us what we think is “freedom” often leads us eventually into “pain”. So the never ending cycle of suffering continues.

How do we end this cycle of suffering? Come in to a retreat? Retreats are wonderful and part of our practice. However, as long as we need to return to our daily life in the big city we will be confronted by the same demands and problems over and over again. Chant and perform rituals? Chanting is an essential part of our Pure Land practise. However, it is a “part” and not the whole. Study and apply the bits of Buddhism that feel good? This seems to be an ever increasing issue of taking the selective parts of Buddhism that serve our immediate purposes without going deeper into ourselves.

Naikan meditation is a meditation that takes us deeper into ourselves by helping us see not only the giftedness of life but the obstruction to this gift by our own egos. Naikan is underpinned by three questions that guide out inner examination: (1) What have I received from X? (2) What have I given to X? (3) What problems and difficulties have I caused X? You can almost cut the atmosphere with a knife when students come to the third question. The ego begins to stamp its feet, avoid, intellectualize and do everything under the sun to stand its ground. As long as “I” am in there looking out at the rest of life then my practise is foiled and the unending cycle of suffering continues.

Anatta, or “no permanently abiding self or soul” is at the very heart of the Buddha’s teachings. However as Rodney Smith in The Undivided Mind puts it : “With our Western emphasis on psychological health it is perhaps inevitable that this essential aspect of the teaching is downplayed or even avoided. Emptiness, after all, stands in opposition to many of our most important values such as self-reliance, individual initiative, and the pursuit of pleasure. We want the contentment, happiness and inner peace promised by the Buddha, but with “me” fully stabilized and intact.”

I have often heard retreat participants say that they have come into retreat “to find their true selves”. We often have a notion that lurking somewhere deep inside of us is a “true self” which is somehow in opposition to the ego! A true practitioner of Buddhism understands that there is no such thing as a true, substantial, independent self. This type of self is the self of grasping. As the Venerable Master Jen-Chun reminds us: “The Bodhisattva makes offerings to all sentient beings with a pure selfless mind”

To find true happiness and inner peace requires us to generate Great Bodhi-Mind through the great Bodhi practice and this in turn requires us to make radical changes in our life. The Venerable Master Jen-Chun in his collection of Dharma talks speaks of Great Change, Thorough Change and Immediate Change. The habits that we have acquired throughout our life time that actively encourage and support the ego must change. We must make mental examination of these habits and with a determined mind make immediate changes. This is not about changing relationships like changing our socks. Buddhism is better practised in the thick of life in the midst of our relationships with one another. The change that must be made can only be made deep within ourselves.

Changes can not be made by watering down the dharma. It is only through the wisdom of the ageless Dharma given to us by the Buddha that we are able to apply the teachings. Without dharma wisdom we are like a sailing boat trying to navigate the immense ocean without sails or compass.

Pure Land Buddhism gives us the most expedient method to apply to our changes. Through constant mindfulness of the Amitabha Buddha through the verbal and mental reciting of his name we begin to purify the mind cutting through all delusion. Through concentrated effort in our Pure Land practise we begin to make changes and develop the Bodhi-mind following the steps and example of the Bodhisattva Kuan Yin. In this are found true and lasting happiness and an abiding inner peace.

A Pure Land Buddhist Master of Faith and Simplicity

When I first asked Master Zheng Rong to teach me the way of Pure Land Buddhism his response was for me to read about it in books. He waved his hand stating: “Books can teach you more than I can”. At first I felt a little put off by his remark. It wasn’t until some time later I was able to appreciate the depth of his humility and simplicity, two of my hardest lessons.

Humility is a great gift of so many Chinese Buddhist teachers. So, I would need to observe and observe closely. I intuitively knew that opportunities would arise.

The Venerable Zheng Rong is abbot of the Guang Jue Monastery of the Pure Land school in China. He is a man of great faith and simplicity.

I remember once reading about the life of butterflies in a book I had borrowed from the library. It was not until I sat still in the garden and observed the butterflies and their life that I really began to understand them. In a similar way I needed to be in the garden of the dharma to really understand. It was not until I lived and worked side by side with Master Zheng Rong that I began to understand his teachings.

I do not know a lot about his formative years as a monk. He does not think this important. It is the “now” moment that really counts. He has a dream for the future but again that is very grounded in reality of the present.

The Venerable Zheng Rong is immersed in daily life. He is not a monastic figure removed from public life behind the walls of a monastery. It is common to see him riding back from the small town of Zaoxi on the back of someone’s motorbike robes flapping in the wind with a cheeky grin on his face. He loves life. Other times you may see him ambling along the rural road chatting to farmers or townsfolk as he passes by. On another occasion I was walking with him to Zaoxi town to catch a bus to Lin’An when we came across a farmer’s truck broken down in the middle of the road. It seemed this poor fellow needed a push-start. Master Zheng Rong motioned to me to help him push the truck. Passing motorists seemed aghast at the sight of the Venerable pushing a truck and eventually one stopped to help. Dharma in action!

This is Pure Land Buddhism. These and many more were the valuable lessons I was to learn from my Master. Pure Land is about full engagement into life. After all, the Amitabha Buddha is the Buddha of infinite life and light. It is not just about some heavenly realm we may happen to enter into at the end of our days. Pure Land is something that can be very present and very real right now.

Unfortunately our world has become very polluted and overcome with many natural disasters and tragedies. Unfortunately most of us dismiss them as “natural” disasters without seriously contemplating the real meaning of the word. Master Zheng Rong speaks of the as disasters which are ordered by a natural law of cause and effect. It is because humankind has become polluted in mind that the seeds of the causes and conditions are planted that give rise to such human calamities.

On occasions Master Zheng Rong will speak with great animation about the Buddha’s teaching about everything arising from the mind and the necessity to plant seeds of purity and goodness.

One morning I met Master Zheng Rong dusting around the Maitreya Bodhisattva at the first temple hall. Master was smiling at the “Happy Buddha” as he is often referred to in the West. It is no mistake that this Bodhisattva is the first one we meet when entering the temple. He sits there with a broad and welcoming grin. His big belly is symbolic of the big heart and happiness that comes from following the dharma. In his right hand he holds Mala beads symbolic of the need to follow the dharma if we are to follow the Buddha Way and the ensuing happiness of life. My Master finishes dusting around the statue and smiles gently at me. He gestures to the Maitreya Boddhisattva and says in Chinese: “Hen Hao” . . .”very good.” Dusting done, the day begins. Another deep lesson in Pure Land.

Malcolm Hunt is an international Mindfulness Trainer and Retreat Facilitator at Guang Jue Monastery, Zaoxi, Zhejiang Province, China and Sydney Australia

The Chinese Temple of Faith from the Ruins

Guang Jue Temple is situated in Zhejiang Province, China, West of Hangzhou on the fringes on a small rural town called Zaoxi. The temple is surrounded by bamboo forested mountains amidst nature and tranquility.

It dates back to the Qing Dynasty to the late 1700’s. In those times some 200 monks and nuns lived there. Devotees came from as far as Shanghai to worship and celebrate major Buddhist festivals. It was the centre of community life.

Sadly Guang Jue was largely destroyed in 1952 during the Sino-Japanese war with all but one of the monks and nuns fleeing to safety. However, one remained to live amidst the ruins, faithfully continually chanting the Buddha Name and performing the daily chanting services in isolation. Locals were not inclined to go there during the later Cultural Revolution.

It was not until the late 1990’s that word about this nun reached Hangzhou and the Venerable Zheng Rong was despatched by his own Master to search for the nun and return her to the safety and teaching of an active Sangha. The Venerable Zheng Rong describes how he located her amid the ruins softly reciting the mala beads chanting the Buddha Amitabha’s name. He was brought to tears at the sight of such intense devotion. He eventually persuaded her that the war was over and to return to Hangzhou to be under the care and teaching of a Venerable.

It was a day or so before Master Zheng Rong could return by bus to Hangzhou so he stayed on at the site of the ruins. On his first night he had a dream. In that dream the Amitabha Buddha surrounded by intense light appeared to him and asked him to rebuild the temple. He describes how he was so struck by this vivid dream that he could not move. So he stayed. Over the ensuing years he gradually rebuilt the temples. There is only one temple now that is still in need of restoration.

Guang Jue stands as a testimony to unshakeable faith in Amitabha Buddha and a parable for our own lives. There are now only five monks who have joined the Master Zheng Rong. Each morning the large bell is sounded at 4:30am and reminds all who live in this sleepy valley that within spiritual faith lays great strength. There is no anger or hatred at what happened in the past – only love and compassion. At the centre of Master Zheng Rong’s teaching is the call to examine our thoughts and actions as these will form future consequences. Only thoughts and acts of love and peace will create love, peace and prosperity for our world.

There is a remarkable spiritual energy within the temple halls, an energy born from the continual chanting of one nun. All who come here feel it and are changed by it.

I have been honoured to be accepted as a disciple of the Venerable Zheng Rong and to be given the responsibility to carry forward the Pure Land teaching of compassion to all sentient beings. The Pure Land is not far from each of us for it is but one breath away in our minds. Each of us has the capacity to create the Pure Land here now in our midst building a world of peace and beauty for all peoples of all nations.

Zhe Shen (Malcolm Hunt)
Retreat Facilitator Guang Jue Monastery.

Healing in a temple stay

In an article published in the British Medical Journal May 20021(1), Dr Raguram writes of his research findings of psychiatric patients taking part in a temple stay in a healing temple in India. His research findings showed that a brief stay at one of the healing temples in South India improved objective measures of clinical psychopathology. Dr Raguram concludes that this is because of the supportive and non-threatening environment and this was in the absence of any healing rituals.

I find this study to be of some interest as there is anecdotal evidence to support Dr Raguram’s research coming from other temple stays in other parts of Asia particularly Thailand and China. It is a very common comment from people involved in staying at a Chinese Buddhist temple at which I am retreat facilitator that their stay was – and I quote from the evaluation sheets issued at the end of their stay – “refreshing”, “a sense of deep peace and rest”, “inspiring”, “healing” and one reported that for him it was “life changing.” I have always been naturally pleased at such comments but it has not been until I read of Dr Raguram’s research that I began to wonder at what deeper benefits there may be from a temple stay. Likewise in the temple at which I am facilitator, there are no specific healing rituals, although participants often voluntarily attend the chanting of either the morning or evening liturgy.

Of particular interest was the comparison of scores on brief psychiatric rating scale subscales on arrival and departure from the temple. Disturbance in thinking- Arrival:12.45(3.21), Departure- 9.81(4.42), tValue 3.701, Pvalue: 0.001. Anxious Depression – Arrival: 7.32 (5.09), Departure: 6.58 (4.74), tValue : 2.101, Pvalue:0.044

There were no comparison groups or rigorous double blind research methods however the findings suggest that the temple has a role to play in mental health recovery and mental healing. Of course, any quiet and supportive environment may have yielded similar results – perhaps. Nonetheless the comments of participants at our temple stay here in China would suggest that other quiet places did not have the same effect for the worried well. I guess I leave it to the readers to come to their own conclusions or to put it to the test and try a temple stay for themselves. Then, tell me the results. Nonetheless it would seem that a Buddhist temple nestled in a bamboo valley or atop a mountain might have more healing qualities than meets the eye.

1. BMJ 2002;325:38–40,Traditional community resources for mental health: a report of temple healing from India
R Raguram, A Venkateswaran, Jayashree Ramakrishna, Mitchell G Weiss

Mindfulness and Anxiety - Stop Running from the Wind

Once upon a time in old China a Buddhist Master caught sight of a man running down the road with all his might. He looked exhausted and frantic. “What are you running from?” inquired the Master. “I am running from the wind”, exclaimed the man. “Oh, there is nothing to fear then. Just sit still and it will pass you by”, returned the master. This is a simple enough parable but speaks deeply of Mindfulness and anxiety.

We often spend a huge amount of time and energy running from things. In fact it is a huge problem for society and is in endemic proportion. In our attempts to out run our fear, painful thoughts and feelings, loneliness and unhappiness our methods only end up creating far more suffering. Addictions provide an obvious example. In the attempt to avoid boredom, pain, loneliness, anger and sadness the addict only gets himself into more despair in the long term. As a result of his behaviour he creates guilt, isolation which creates even more loneliness, financial loss which creates even more despair. It is a vicious cycle. We don’t need to be the stereotypic addict to be in this cycle.

Anxiety disorder is another example. It is not the anxiety which creates anxiety disorder. After all, anxiety is a normal emotion which we all experience. At the core of anxiety is avoidance – a life of trying to avoid or get rid of anxiety which in turn creates even more anxiety. This is at the core of a panic attack.

In Mindfulness Training we learn to accept and even give space to unpleasant or painful emotions or thoughts. Mindfulness Training teaches us to accept them for what they are – just thoughts. This is not the same as avoiding or even tolerating unpleasant thoughts. Even tolerating can create a struggle. Many therapies aim at symptom reduction or eradication. The problem here is that we will always be “checking” to see is the symptom is going or gone thus creating what we are trying to get rid of – the anxiety!

At the heart of Mindfulness Training is giving space for the anxiety to be. We are able to stand back out of the struggle as if we are the spectators of a boxing match. We watch the fight but we are not part of it being punched up by the thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness is about breathing into the anxiety and giving it space, naming it, watching it like some creature from out of space but never giving in to it.

If we try to run form our anxiety we will exhaust ourselves like the man running from the wind. The old Master was right. Sit still, breathe, observe and it will pass you by.

Taking a detour for a Chinese Temple Stay

If you are a visitor to China either as an working expat, teaching English or just travelling through, there are a few ‘must –sees’: The Great Wall, Xi’An’s Terra Cotta Soldiers, the vibrant life of Shanghai to name a few. However more visitors are taking the time to come to a temple stay in one of the Chinese Buddhist Temples.

Chinese Buddhism is one of the great cultural heritages of China. Buddhism spread from India to China in around the first century CE with monks travelling the Silk Road into China. The history, art, architecture and literature of Chinese Buddhism are unique. China is one of the only places of the world where Buddhism has been influenced by and absorbed characteristics of the other two main philosophies/religions of China, Taoism and Confucianism and where these three live side by side in complete peace and harmony.

But staying in a temple? Buddhism has also captured the interest of many westerners and Chinese Buddhism still remains a bit of a mystery due to the predominance of literature in English about Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. At Guang Jue Temple at Zaoxi we have welcomed many curious tourists looking for something different off the main tourist track. Most have been pleasantly surprised during their temple stay feeling refreshed and going away with a new outlook on life. Others have come to study Mindfulness Training or mindfulness meditation in the Pure Land Tradition or spent some days doing Naikan and have come away with new skills and awareness to face the challenges that life so often throws at us.

Guang Jue Temple is situated just out of a small rural town called Zaoxi in Zhejiang Province. It is about two and a half hours by bus from Shanghai. It is nestled at the foot of bamboo forested mountains not far from the world famous Tianmushan National Park. It is a small temple on Chinese standards but does not have the flow and crowd of tourists. It rests in its serenity and welcomes the weary traveller to quiet and stillness – a space to discover or rediscover yourself. In this temple stay you may just chill out and do your own thing or join us in our daily routine of meditation and mindfulness training. Awaken to the sound of sparrows and Qigong in the courtyard and the gentle tones of the monks chanting the morning liturgy. You are even welcome to join in the liturgy. Though it is chanted in Chinese the chant seems to lift you to another level transcending the mundane and impermanent.

Temple stay accommodation is simple but comfortable. The meals are vegetarian but plentiful. Some temple stayers like to travel up to the mountain villages and we will take you to a small village for morning or afternoon tea and an opportunity to experience rural Chinese farming life.

An American man on a temple stay with said: “I came here because Wall Street crashed and I needed to chill out. I leave with a new vision of life a new simplicity. I have been changed.” I think that is worth it. Contact us at http://www.taishendo.com

Mindfulness Meditation in Pure Land Buddhism

Many people ask me about Pure Land Buddhist Meditation. Pure Land Buddhism is often misrepresented in the in the West as no more than a “Christianized Buddhism”. It is often referred to in Western literature as a Buddhism of “faith” and that if one believes in Amitabha Buddha you will go to Buddhist “heaven” – the Pure Land. The second misunderstanding is that Pure Land Meditation is no more than constantly reciting the Buddha name.

Essential to Pure Land Buddhism is an understanding that the “Pure Land” is right here and now. The Pure Land is the deep serenity created right now in our own minds. Amitabha Buddha is the Buddha of Infinite Life and Light. By concentrating on his name we link directly with his light and life. When we copy the Buddha’s teachings and duplicate them in our own life we become one with the Buddha; our Buddha nature becomes realized.

Although it is part of the practice of Pure Land Buddhism to audibly recite the name of Amitabha Buddha (Amitofuo in Chinese) the Masters do not always place emphasis on the volume and leave us with many methods depending upon our circumstances. Therefore, in Pure Land Meditation we “recite” the name in time with breathing in silence. Shan Tao (613-681CE) devoted his life to the contemplation of the Amitabha Buddha and wrote profusely about Buddha name recitation and method inspired by his deep study of the Contemplation Sutra. In the third section of his commentary on the Contemplation Sutra, entitled "On the Meaning of Meditative Good," Shan-tao begins his exposition of the thirteen contemplations by raising a question and then presenting a practical method of mindfulness meditation.

This mindfulness meditation is not widespread and from my present research is preserved in a few small temples in Mainland China in Zhejiang Province and in the vicinity of Anhui.

This mindfulness meditation has two parts.

1.Preparation: Visualizing the four elements of the body dissolving to dust and blowing to the four winds one becomes deeply centered, light and calm. In this tranquil state one moves into mindfulness of breathing and mindfulness of the Buddha name.

2. Coordination of breath and Buddha Name: The meditator begins to focus on taking the breath in deeply to a point just below the navel and breathing out tranquilly and quietly. On inhaling one concentrates on the word : 阿弥陀佛 (A-mi-to-fuo). Exhaling concentrate on the word “Amitofuo”

Is that all there is? Well, yes and no. The method is simple. The practise, well, that is another thing! The aim is to focus only on the name Amitofuo, so each time your mind wants to distract you just simply bring your attention back to breathing and focusing on the name. Eventually one gets to the point of total focus like learning how to balance on a bike for the first time. At this point there is an immense calm and tranquillity called Buddha Name Samedhi. . .that is until the ever chatting mind wants to butt in again! Like all things practise is the key.

The Five Prescriptions 五处方

Facing stress, depression, fear or other health challenges can be very perplexing and often overwhelming. The Buddha himself was moved by suffering: birth, old age, sickness and death and mental suffering. His resolve was to give us a way to overcome suffering. He became our Master Physician. It isn’t a coincidence that the Four Noble Truths correspond exactly to the four fold formula of ancient medicine practised in India. The four fold formula was: disease, diagnosis, cure and treatment.

Buddhism addresses our life holistically. The Medicine Buddha (Yao Shi Fo) highlights not only spiritual health but also our physical and mental well-being. In any illness it is important to treat the causes. It is not sufficient just to treat the symptoms. Treatment is aimed at applying new causes and conditions which promote wellness and enlightenment .

Chinese Buddhism is interwoven with traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine. Malcolm Hunt, Director of the T’ai Shen Centre and Mental Health Educator after learning from Chinese Buddhist monks systematized five basic interrelated crucial areas of our life to develop the Five Prescriptions.

The Five prescriptions are essential life elements from Buddhism and Chinese Medicine which when applied in harmony give remarkable excellent results.

Malcolm gives much of his time in training and healing in the Five Prescriptions within Australia and Internationally. For more information you are welcome to Contact us at admin@taishendo.com

The Five Prescriptions for Health and Well-Being or How to Bake a Cake with just one egg and water.

I mused over the title for this blog for some time. I obviously want to write about Five important things for one’s health and well-being. I guess you have read it all before those pop. psychology and health articles: 16 Steps to a Happy Life. 10 Steps to Emotional Freedom and so on. If you are like me you heave a deep sigh and mutter: “Here we go again. What is the answer to life this time!? Then, maybe you have a sneak look at the article just in case you may have missed something riveting. Generally you haven’t.

The alternative title I gave this Blog is: How to Bake a Cake with One Egg and Water. Now I am sure that would have captured a modicum of attention due to the anticipated absurdity or dazzling miracle about to be unfolded. I have dabbled a little in the culinary arts and I recall one day when my partner was overseas visiting her parents I tried to remember a recipe she told me for Chinese Mantou or Steam Buns. I am sure she told me I just had to mix eggs and water and some powdered stuff, flour. As you can imagine the attempt was as complete a failure as if I had tried to do it with just eggs and water. The flour was an added extra. Yet, it never ceases to amaze me that this is exactly what we do when we are trying to find a way to health, healing or wellness.

At the T’ai Shen Centre we work with people whose hopes and expectations from life have been dashed. Like survivors from a ship wreck at sea they have drifted helplessly in an immense isolated ocean. A map and compass is hardly a way to help survivors. They need nutrition and numerous other important needs.

T’ai Shen is a Buddhist Centre and Buddhism understands life to be interrelated and interdependent. This is where the Five Prescriptions enter. In a previous blog I wrote of my chance extraordinary meeting with a Buddhist hermit monk called “No Name” (That is the translation of his Chinese name). It was this humble monk living intensely with nature who having many hours of solitude to contemplate the alchemy of true living wrote on a piece of paper Five Prescriptions. At first they seemed simplistic. Then the old monk began to reveal the multi-layers and dimensions. (1) Spirit (2) Mind and Thought Processes (3) Relationship (4) Consumption (5) Internal and External Movement. The Five Prescriptions are interdependent. He laughed: “Now make them spin (like a top and all in unison). Then you will really live.”

Yet how often in our work with others and ourselves do we try to bake a cake with just eggs and water? To expect recovery and growth from simply taking medications or doing the occasional meditation is like trying to bake a cake with just one or two ingredients. It won’t work; or at best like my Chinese steam buns – flat!

We become unwell physically mentally and spiritually not through one cause but through many different causes and conditions. To establish wholeness in our life we must also address a variety of causes and conditions. The Five Prescriptions examines the core causes and conditions of our human life. Five simple prescriptions but a profound effect. They work. I am not sure though about the eggs and water!

No Name is All Name.

I had been working in Zhejiang province in a small village called Shi Ta Wan part of the way up the winding road which hugs to the mountainside like a streamer attached to a Christmas tree. The entire mountain side is clothed in bamboo forests. There was a heavy morning fog and I decided to delay my trip into Zaoxi for supplies and placed a pot of water to boil over the fire for some tea. As I was coming from the warmth of the kitchen I heard the sound of car doors closing. Maybe I had visitors. Looking out of the window I saw one of the monks from Guang Jue Temple with two local people. I welcomed them and congratulated them on their good timing as the pot was on the boil for some hot tea.

The local grocery store keeper-cum-taxi driver talked about the unseasonably cold autumn. I agreed. The young monk broke into the conversation: “Would you like to meet a hermit monk? He lives the other side of the mountain in a small hut. He is very secluded.” I was immediately struck with intrigue and wondered why they thought I would like to meet a monk who perhaps wanted to keep to himself and not be bothered with some foreigner. “The Abbott thought you should meet him”, continued the young monk whose name I have forgotten. He seemed to pre-empt my question.

We all got into the little van and began to wind our way up through the altitudes. My mind kept wondering about this fateful meeting. All of a sudden we hit unmade road and mud. The little van snaked its way along sliding through the mud as our driver made no speed compensation for the road conditions. Finally we came to a stop at a bend overlooking the misty valley far below and rows of rice and vegetable terraces. The young monk led the way along a track off the road that seemed to suck us deeper into the bamboo forest.

It was not long before I caught the aroma of wood and charcoal burning and an old wood and stone hit appeared through the bamboo.

I could not guess the age of the hermit monk. His shiny moon shaped face beamed a welcoming smile. We entered his hut and drank tea according to the custom. He offered us some home grown nuts and dried sweet potato to eat. As the young monk and the local grocer shop owner spoke to the hermit in local dialect (the other chap stayed with the van to smoke cigarettes!) I tuned out and looked about the interior of his hut. A bed in one corner with a rough cover neatly folded. An antique looking cupboard, a worn large basket half filled with rice and then my eyes came upon a beautiful alter with the Amitabha Buddha flanked by Kuan Yin and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva and a coil of incense burning near the front door. The conversation came to an abrupt stop. I could hear birds in the trees. “We must be going now. We will leave you and pick you up in a day or so.” What?!! I hadn’t come prepared with a change of clothes or something to offer the hermit. “But I am not prepared, Venerable. I did not bring anything.” I softly protested. “Excellent” replied the hermit. “We are rarely ever prepared and the fact you have brought nothing is a good beginning.” He laughed with a refreshing joviality. He seemed to answer my protests at some deeper level. What was I in for?

We had seen my companions off when I turned to the hermit. “My name is Malcolm, Venerable.” “And my name is Meiyou Minzi.” “Nice to meet you Meiyou Minzi” I replied. Then it hit me as my Chinese is not so fluent. Meiyou Minzi means “No Name.”

The Venerable was a monk of the Pure Land Sect but had come to this side of the mountain to practise Pure Land Zen in solitude. He lived on what he grew in his garden and with the help of some occasional provisions brought by the monks from the monastery at Zaoxi.

My three days with the Venerable No Name were to turn my thinking upside down as he spoke to me about mantras and healing the body and mind – but more specifically the mind. As he told me, all disease has its origins in the mind.

I was awoken the following morning with my nose feeling like an icicle on the edge of a branch with the sound of tinkling bells. Through the candle and kerosene lantern light and haze of wood-tone aroma incense I saw No Name chanting the morning ritual. It was only 4:00am. I joined in the portions I could remember from chanting in the Temple. His voice seemed to reach out to the darkened forest about us and embrace eternity. It was a moving and emotional moment watching this monk who made this his life.

After a silent breakfast I asked him why he had committed himself to this life. “What else have we to commit ourselves to? To buying things, to make money to buy the things that will eventually rot? . . . To heal myself of my sickness. . . the sickness of attachment.” I told the Venerable I worked with people with mental illness and mentioned this illness is difficult to heal. He looked at me with a glint in his eye and an almost cheeky smile. “Because you do not know the cause. You only look for results. You never look at the causes.”

No Name spoke at length about Karmic Causes and imprints and the ripening of causes in this lifetime. He spoke about the need to create new causes and conditions. “We cannot grow the right plants if we do not prepare the soil. People neglect preparation nowadays. We must make the right causes and conditions then healing takes place by itself.” “But what of methods, Venerable? What methods should we use to heal?” He reflected with a serious look on his face: “What use is looking for methods when you cannot find yourself. Let’s meditate”. “How should I meditate?” I asked. “Sit still and breathe. Do this and nothing else” came a quick reply. “And the thoughts that come into my mind to interrupt?” I inquired. “Just as I said”, came No Name. “Sit still and breathe. Give them some tea and send them on their way.” No Name seemed to talk in parables and I wished I had pen and paper to write carefully all what he said. Instead I had to rely on memory.

The hut fell into a deep silence only broken occasionally by the sound of the wood crackling in the fire. It seemed like an eternity and I ran out of tea sending the thoughts on their way as I contemplated the numbness in my crossed legs entertaining the thought of getting a dreadful thrombosis. What if I could never move my legs again? OK. Breathe. Just breathe. Gradually all melted away into a deep tranquility. Nothing else mattered.

Time seemed to stand still. In fact there was an old dusty clock on the wall of the hut but it did not function. Apparently someone gave it to No Name as a gift but it required batteries which he never purchased. It remained there as a reminder that time is an illusion and of the New Cultural Revolution of Materialism.

“There are five essentials” came No Name as he was digging up some clover vegetables in the garden. “Our Spiritual practise, Mindfulness, Relationship to everything, how we sustain the body and mind for the journey and how we sustain the movement of life within us. When all these are in harmony then there is harmony. The Right Causes are set in motion.” No Name spoke at length about the plants relying on interrelations to grow and bear fruit.” The picture began to form like pieces being put together in the jigsaw puzzle.

My two days with the Venerable seemed like two years. No Name waved us good bye and then disappeared into the bamboo. Later back in the village I pondered and wrote on the Five Foundations as I called them and tried to put together the story of healing from the parables, the meaning of the silences between the sentences and the deep silence of the meditation. For the story comes together as equally from the silent interludes as it does from the mesmerizing mantra. I remember his last words to me: “What is the name of the person reciting the Buddha’s name?” I felt in a cheeky mood that morning and replied: “No Name, Venerable.” “Hmmm” he muttered to himself. “Then No Name must be All Name.” He broke into a spontaneous laughter.

Creating Seeds of Good Karma

When we genuinely wish another person wellness and happiness we are creating the seeds of good Karma and the seeds of Peace and Happiness. Just think! – and I know this may seem a little far fetched but worth contemplating – if every person in the world took just ten minutes to wish another person Happiness and Wellness then for ten minutes this world would be crime and violence free for those ten minutes!

The Kindness Cards and Wish Cards are ways by which we can sow seeds of peace and create seeds of Good Karma in our lives. I just love watching the face of somebody light up like just-switched-on-Christmas-tree lights when I give them a Wish Card or Kindness Card with a beautiful Peace Butterfly on it.

The gift of Happiness is one of the most precious gifts we are able to give another and even more when another contemplates what has just happened to them and then wants to pass on the gift to yet other people. This is at the heart of the Mindfulness Meditation of Tonglen. In Tonglen we become Mindful of the suffering, pain, disappointment and despair of others and cause this dissolve our self-cherishing/ego nature – a bit like an effervescent soluble aspirin dissolving in a glass of water. Then we imagine ourselves to be a Wishing Jewel wishing the causes and conditions of happiness for others. For a split moment when we take on the suffering of another and become the wishing jewel we dissolve another piece of the self-cherishing part of ourselves which locks us into our own cocoon of despair and unhappiness. The Peace Butterfly in this Mindfulness process becomes an apt symbol.

The T’ai Shen Centre will send you packs of Peace Butterflies on Kindness and Wishing Cards. Your own kindness in offering us a gift in return continues to turn the wheel of universal Peace and Happiness for all and at the same time enable us to reach out to poorer rural Chinese children in need of education. Sow some seeds of Peace and Good Karma today.

I wish you deep Happiness.

Peace Butterfly Kindness Cards and Wish Cards can be obtained from:
http://www.taishendo.com/Peace-Butterfly-Project.html