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.