Chanting as Meditation

Perhaps one of the questions I get most often is similar to the following one.

"Since Buddhism is not a religion, one can be of another faith and at the same time practise Buddha Recitation! Isn't Buddha Recitation a form of religion? Please clear my confused understanding!"

My response to this individual and to others with the same questions is that one can have a religious faith and still learn and practice the Buddhadharma—the Buddha’s teachings. It is like going to school. When we got to school to learn, there is no need to give up our religion.

In my classes, there are Christians, Jews, and people of other faiths as well as those who do not practice any religion. I have been invited to speak at various churches because what I teach about becoming more peaceful and selfless complements the church's teachings.

Chanting "Amituofo" is a form of meditation. It's a way of calming the mind by focusing it on one thing. The primary aim of this form of meditation is to achieve a mental state of "one-mind undisturbed," a state in which the mind focuses solely on its meditative subject.

We chant "Amituofo" to focus our thoughts on a perfectly awakened being who has perfect wisdom and compassion. When I listen intently to the sound of waves, I am not worshiping the ocean. When I meditate by concentrating on my in-breath and out-breath, I am not worshiping my breath. In such chanting, listening intently, and concentrating, I am simply focusing my thoughts on the virtues I wish to perfectly develop. I am not worshiping.

In the same way, people who are not Buddhists can chant a Buddha’s name to develop the qualities that lead to awakening.

Go Veggie and Reduce Global Warming

·   It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of meat.

·   Half the rainforests in the world have been destroyed to clear ground to graze cattle to make beef burgers. The burning of the forests contributes 20% of all green-house gases. Roughly 1,000 species a year become extinct because of the destruction of the rainforests.

·   The billions of chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows who are crammed into factory farms each year in the U.S. produce enormous amounts of methane, both in their digestive processes and from the feces that they excrete. Scientists report that every molecule of methane is more than 20 times as effective as carbon dioxide is at trapping heat in our atmosphere.⁴⁵ Statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency show that animal agriculture is the single largest cause of methane emissions in the U.S.⁴⁶ Raising animals for food is causing global warming. GoVeg.com (⁴⁵ “Global Warming: Methane,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 8 Mar. 2006. ⁴⁶ “Sources and Emissions: Methane,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2 Jun. 2006.)

·   According to University of Chicago researchers, adopting a vegan diet makes a bigger impact in reducing global warming than does switching to hybrid car does.

·   Raising animals for food, a 2006 United Nations report said, is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution and loss of biodiversity. Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale ….” (Ed Ayres, "Will We Still Eat Meat?" Time, 8 Nov. 1999.)  

·   In the U.S., 70 percent of all grains, 80 percent of all agricultural land, half of all water resources, and one-third of all fossil fuels are used to raise animals for food. GoVeg.com

Thankfulness

So often, we forget to take the time to be aware. When things do not go as we plan, we get upset, a seemingly natural reaction. But when things go smoothly, we forget to be thankful. We even blame our “forgetfulness” on our busy lifestyles. Yes, we all have problems at work or school, experience difficult relationships, and may fail in what we undertake. But, there are many things in our lives to be thankful for. All we have to do is to slow down, be mindful, notice, and value them. And be thankful.

The Good and Virtuous

 

 

The good renounce

(attachment for) everything.

 The virtuous

do not prattle

with a yearning for pleasures.

The wise

show no elation or depression

when touched

by happiness or sorrow.

 

The Dhammapada
translated by Venerable Buddharakkhita

 

Knowing, But Not fully Understanding

When we read or hear that our thoughts and actions will have consequences that we will have to bear in the future, many of us say, “Yes, that’s right” and nod in agreement. And while we are reading or listening, we believe and accept. But, how long will we remember and how well will we understand after the book is closed or the speaker has ceased speaking?

We do not truly understand. We have been told, but we cannot remember, we cannot do, and we cannot change. So easily we fall back into those comfortable bad habits of desire and attachment, selfishness and anger. We try: We want to do what is good. We sincerely do not want to hurt another person, put ourselves first at the expense of others, or be consumed again by our anger. But as time passes, we slip back into forgetting.

Maybe, in this age of almost instant communication, we have become desensitized to wrong doings. What’s a little bit more anger? A little bit more hate? A little bit more gossip? A little bit more falsehood? Besides, everyone is doing it. Stealing. Coveting. Lying. People argue, “Surely, the law of cause and effect does not apply to little indiscretions.” But it does. It is a universal law, which means it applies 100 percent—not 60 percent or 80 percent—of the time. In our desensitization, we conveniently rationalize that certain wrong actions are OK to do, and that only certain wrong actions are truly wrong. And so we end up with our own little law of cause and effect. And we end up with knowing—but not fully understanding.

Our old habits blind us to remembering the principle of cause and effect. Maybe, if we can be reminded right away, or just before we do anything wrong, that a wrongful action is forthcoming, maybe we can stop our old bad habits. If only we can, just like when we hit our fingers with a hammer (the cause) we feel pain (the effect), feel the consequences right away, maybe we will stop all our wrongdoings.

The fear of instant repercussions, in this case, instant throbbing pain in the finger, will surely stop further causes. Alas, most times we do not have such instant reminders. And so we slip back again and again, further and further. To knowing, but not fully understanding.