The trip back from Houston

On Sunday after the ceremony we made a side trip to Chung Tai Chan Monastery USA on the return trip from Houston. This is a property of about 500 acres located near Shepherd Texas. The property is a mix of pine forest and open meadows bordering the Trinity river. We had been told that among the wildlife that there were alligators. I did not doubt the presence of alligators, but I did not expect to see any. We saw three in the short time we were there. After a great lunch served in the small Zen hall we continued on our way back to OKC. The long drive was a wonderful opportunity for some good conversation. One topic that came up was what brought each of use to Buddha Mind. After some thought, I realised that in a way, ex-president George Bush was responsible in starting a chain of events that led me to Buddha Mind Monastery. That statement probably deserves a little explanation. In 2007, then president Bush was the speaker at the graduation ceremony at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. That day I joined in the anti Bush demonstration outside the stadium. At that demonstration I learned about the Oklahoma City Peace House. The Peace House sponsors an annual peace festival in November. At the 2007 peace festival I picked up a flier from the Buddha Mind table and signed up for their beginning meditation class. That led to me becoming a Buddhist. Bush gets blamed for a lot of things, I don't think there are too many people that can claim Bush caused them to become a Buddhist.

Houston

The trip to the Chung Tai Zen Center of Houston this weekend was excellent. More than twenty five people from Buddha Mind went down to Houston. I carpooled down on Friday with three other guys. We arrived at Houston at rush hour and the traffic was as bad as expected. The Zen center is an oasis of calm located in a busy northeast Houston Asian business district. On Saturday morning several hundred attended the Dharma talk given by Venerable Master Jian Deng, abbot of Chung Tai Monastery in Taiwan. Before the Dharma talk, a representative from the office of one of the Texas Congressman  presented an American flag that had flown over the capital in Washington to Master Jian Deng. He was also presented with various proclamations from a Texas state representative, a Houston city council member, and a representative from the Taiwan government. The Dharma talk was given in Chinese. Radio headsets were available for a simultaneous English translation. The title of the talk was Zen and Pure Land. 

Saturday afternoon was the main event of the weekend; Transmission of the Three Refuges and Five Precepts by Master Jian Deng. Over two hundred people participated in the ceremony. One part of the Five Precepts ceremony that had many nervous was putting on the ceremonial brown robe. The putting on and taking off of the brown robe is a bit complicated. At that part of the ceremony there were several monks and nuns helping any participants that were having difficulty.

Receiving the Five Precepts is an important ceremony in Buddhism. I feel fortunate having the opportunity to participate in this ceremony and very moved by the experience.

Five Precepts Ceremony

Exciting plans for this weekend. The Venerable Master Jian Deng, abbot of Chung Tai Monastery in Taiwan is conducting the Three Refuges and Five Precepts Transmission ceremony at the Chung Tai Zen Center of Houston. There are quite a few people from Buddha Mind that are going down to Houston for the Ceremony. I am car pooling with three other guys from the monastery. We are leaving Friday morning, staying Friday and Saturday nights at the Zen center dormitory, and returning on Sunday. 

Small Steps

As I study Buddha's teaching, often one teaching helps me understand a different one. This sometimes results in an "AH HA" moment for me, not unlike uncovering a treasure. . The treasure may be fools gold, as my understanding may be completely wrong, but there is still the "AH HA" moment. I had one of these insights (?) this week at the Sutra study class. The subject discussed was the "consciousness only" school. I think I may be starting to understand what "consciousness only" means. This glimmer of understanding is helping to clarify some small parts of the Diamond Sutra for me.

Three Refuges

One step in becoming a "real" Buddhist is to receive the transmission of the three refuges. To me, receiving the refuges means that you accept the teachings of Buddha. I did not take that step lightly. It is one thing to take meditation classes and learn about Buddhism, and another to stand up and say "I am a Buddhist" (especially here in the bible belt).
The ceremony begins with repentance:
All the Harm I have ever done, since time immemorial,
Are caused by greed, anger, and ignorance,
And produced through my body, speech, and will,
Now I confess and amend all.
Three Refuges
I take refuge in the Buddha, unequaled in merit and wisdom, and never regress in perfecting Buddha virtues.
I take refuge in the Dharma, unequaled in freeing one from desires, and never regress in propagating the Buddha Dharma.
I take refuge in the Sangha, unequaled in all assemblies, and never regress in liberating sentient beings.
Four Great Vows
Countless are the sentient beings, I vow to liberate;
Endless are the vexations, I vow to eradicate;
Measureless are the Dharmas, I vow to learn;
Supreme is the Buddha Way, I vow to attain.

Heart Sutra

Buddha Gate, the San Francisco branch of Chung Tai, has a good translation of the Heart Sutra with annotations posted on the Dharma Teachings page of their web site. At Buddha Mind, the Heart Sutra is chanted at the beginning of every class before the start of the sitting meditation. My understanding of the Heart Sutra has progressed through several levels and is still progressing. When I was first given a copy in the beginner class, I used Wikipedia to find the translations of the Sanskrit words. A big step in my understanding occurred when I committed the Sutra to memory. The repetition that I needed to commit each new line to memory caused me to discover aspects of the Sutra that I never noticed before. Often while studying other Sutras and Buddhist concepts, the teachings will relate to, or expand upon subjects in the Heart Sutra.

Reverse the light

It was dusk as I drove out to the monastery for Sutra study class yesterday. As I drove east, the sky was growing dark in front of me. In the rear view mirror, the sky was still bright, with streaks of red lingering from the sunset. This visual image brought to mind the term "Reverse the light", a Zen term for introspection.

Buddha Mind Monastery

The Buddha Mind Monastery is one of a growing number of American branches of Chung Tai Chan Monastery in Taiwan. It is located in a rural area of Oklahoma City in what was formerly a Christian church. Beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes in meditation and Buddhism are taught throughout the year. There are also monthly ceremonies and half day Zen retreats. All of the classes are taught by Dharma Master Jian Mao, abbess of Buddha Mind Monastery. I have been attending classes and ceremonies at Buddha Mind for a little over a year now, progressing through the classes. The beginning class is an introduction to Chan (Zen) meditation and covers fundamental Buddhist teachings. The intermediate class builds on the meditation practice and begins to cover more advanced Buddhist contemplations. The advanced class is a Sutra study class. As with the other classes, meditation practice continues. A different subject is covered in each cycle of classes. The current series is covering “The Treatise on the Hundred Dharmas: A Gate to Understanding the Mahayana”.

Half Day Zen Retreat

Yesterday, Buddha Mind Monastery held a half day zen retreat. The half day retreats are divided into 45 -50 minute blocks, called an incense. No talking is allowed for the duration of the retreat. Each incense consists of sitting meditation followed by a short period of walking meditation. The retreat starts with chanting the Heart Sutra and ends with chanting the Three Refuges and reciting the Four Great Vows. The Abbess gave a dharma talk during the second incense.
I have attended several of the half day retreats. The first was about a year ago. I had been in the beginning meditation class for only a few weeks and did not know what to expect at my first retreat. The long (for me) sitting meditation sessions were a challenge. The walking meditation is always helpful in getting the blood flowing in the legs again.

BAO potluck lucheon

This afternoon the Buddhist association of Oklahoma (BAO) held its' first social event, a vegetarian potluck luncheon. The luncheon was held at the Risso Kosei Kai Dharma Center, http://www.rkok-dharmacenter.org/ . There were more than twenty people attending, representing many of the area Buddhist groups. Mr. Quang Pham from Giac Quang Temple, http://www.giacquangbuddhisttemple.org/ , gave an interesting talk about New Year traditions of Vietnam. The BAO is a fairly new organization, still in the process of getting off the ground. One of the goals of BAO is to create a network of the varied Buddhist groups in Oklahoma. Today's event shows that BAO is progressing toward that goal.

The Search for Buddha Nature

Cleaning the dust off the mirror is a zen metaphor for eliminating the distortions and delusions that keep us from seeing the truth. I have a lot of dust on my mirror. My intent is to document my journey into, what? Is it myself that I am seeking? What is "myself"? I don't know. I am not some great enlightened teacher. I am just an average person trying to figure this stuff out.