Meditation Contemplation August 22, 2011

(I have taken this one contemplation from the book titled: The New Meditation Handbook, by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. If you like it, there are many more contemplations in his book. You can find the book for purchase from Amazon. This particular contemplation is one of my favorite meditations since if developed into your heart where it becomes a part of  your every day life, it makes for a more balanced existence with far less suffering. May it help you in your meditation practice and in your life.)

Recognizing that All Living Beings Are Our Mothers

Generating bodhichitta, the main path to enlightenment, depends upon universal compassion and cherishing love, which in turn depend upon affectionate love. To enhance our affectionate love for all living beings, we begin by contemplating how they are all our mothers.

Since it is impossible to find a beginning to our mental continuum, it follows that we have taken countless rebirths in the past, and, if we have had countless rebirths, we must have had countless mothers. Where are all these mothers now? They are all the living beings alive today.

It is incorrect to reason that our mothers of former lives are no longer our mothers just because a long time has passed since they actually cared for us. If our present mother were to die today, would she cease to be our mother? No, we would still regard her as our mother and pray for her happiness. The same is true of all our previous mothers – they died, yet they remain our mothers. It is only because of the changes in our external appearance that we do not recognize each other.

In our daily life, we see many different living beings, both human and non-human. We regard some as friends, some as enemies and most as strangers. These distinctions are made by our mistaken minds; they are not verified by our valid minds. Rather than following such mistaken minds, it would be better to regard all living beings as our mothers. Whoever we meet, we should think, “This person is my mother.” In this way, we shall feel equally warm towards all living beings.

If we regard all livings beings as our mothers, we shall find it easy to develop pure love and compassion, our everyday relationships will become pure and stable, and we shall naturally avoid negative actions such as killing or harming living beings. Since it is so beneficial to regard all livings beings as our mothers, we should adopt this way of thinking without hesitation.

Meditation

As the preparatory practice, we recite “Prayers for Meditation, Generating the Four Immeasurables” while concentrating on the meaning:

Generating the Four Immeasurables 

May everyone be happy, may everyone be free from misery, may no one ever be separated from their happiness, may everyone have equanimity, free from hatred and attachment. 

Than we engage in the following contemplation:

Since it is impossible to find a beginning to my mental continuum, it follows that I have taken countless rebirths in the past, and if I have had countless rebirths, I must have had countless mothers. Where are all these mothers now? They are all living beings alive today.

Having repeatedly contemplated this point, we generate a strong recognition that all living beings are our mothers. This recognition is the object of our meditation. We than hold this without forgetting it; our mind should remain on this recognition single-pointedly for as long as possible. If we lose the object of our meditation, we renew it by immediately remembering our recognition or repeating the contemplation.

At the end of the meditation session, we dedicate the virtues accumulated  from this meditation practice towards the realization that all living beings are our mothers and the attainment of enlightenment for the happiness of all living beings.

During the meditation break, we maintain this recognition day and night. We should regard everyone we meet as our mother. This applies even to animals and insects, as well as our enemies. Instead of discriminating living beings as friends, enemies or strangers, we should try to view them all equally as being our mother. In this way, we shall overcome the harmful attitudes of attachment, hatred and indifference.

 

Meditation Class II begins this Saturday! June 29, 2011

Meditation class at the temple begins promptly at 10am on Saturdays. The second session of meditation class will begin this Saturday and run for four weeks. If you have not attended before, please fill out the meditation registration form at the temple and turn it in when you arrive.

Arrive early and if you arrive late, please be aware that if the class has already begun and the door is closed that you should just plan to attend the next week since opening the door during a meditation that has started causes a disturbance with the other practitioners.

Last week, George substituted for the Venerable as the instructor. (If the Venerable cannot teach a class, due to a memorial service or an upcoming event, she arranges to have someone who is trained in meditation practice teach the class.) During this class session, a guided meditation using Master Venerable Hsing Yun’s contemplation on compassion was done.

I will share the contemplation with you. It is easy to do at home on your own as well.

This contemplation is recommended for people who suffer from sudden and unreasonable outbursts of anger that seem to have no real cause. Buddhists call this anger “unreasonable” or ” perverse” anger to distinguish it from other forms. The contemplation used to overcome unreasonable anger is done in steps:

1. contemplates a loved one or someone whom one cares about and imagines them in a state of happiness.
2. contemplates someone whom one feels neutral and imagines them in a state of happiness.
3. contemplates someone whom one feels angry and imagines them in a state of happiness.
4. lastly… contemplates all sentient beings and imagines them in a state of happiness.

This contemplation, as well as others, can be found in Master Hsing Yun’s book, Only a Great Rain. It reminds me of the “loving kindness prayer” and is one of my favorite contemplations.

Meditation robes are available for purchase from the gift shop and cost usually around fifty dollars. The women’s robes are long pants with a short sleeve top and come in two or three different styles so that you are comfortable during the meditation. These robes are used in the main temple’s meditation hall so if you plan on visiting, purchase your robes ahead of time.

Make Your Own Mala! May 25, 2011

I made the mala, to the left, out of coral along with clear white crystal for marker beads. Instead of the usual tassel, I just placed the guru bead on it and Spring helped me knot it. She did the two leaves at the end. I think it is a Chinese along with a Tibetan mala. There are some malas that do not have the marker beads but instead all the beads are exactly the same.  The mala is not used for decorative purposes. A mantra is decided on for the mala and used just for that particular mala. When meditating with your mala, you repeat the mantra for each bead.

The instructions that follow came from a Mala workshop at the Peace Cafe in Atlanta. The person who taught the workshop was a nun from the Kadampa tradition.

(Of course, instead of using fishing line, you can use any strong thread that is available. The mala Spring helped me with was threaded using a type of Chinese thread that she purchased in Hong Kong and allowed the beautiful leaves to be weaved at the end. I prefer the leaves rather then the tassel at the end, but it is up to you, and if you know how to weave leaves.)

Materials:

• 104 beads
• 4 marker beads
• 1 Guru bead
• 30-40lb fishing line
• embroidery string
• wire brush
• scissors
• sewing needle
• clear finger nail polish
• stopper bead (or something that performs the function)

Making a Mala:

• Select beads and count them out (a bowl helps).
• Cut fishing line the length of your arms and put the stopper bead on one end.
• Begin adding beads with six, then a marker bead at the seventh point. Then add 13 more, and a marker bead at the 21st point, 66 beads, a marker bead (at 21 from the other side), 13 beads, a marker bead (7 from the other side), and 6 more beads. Then you will add the Guru bead and pull both ends of the fishing line through it.

Don’t knot it yet!

Making a tassel:

• Wrap embroidery string around three fingers 24 times, leaving 12 inches hanging.
• Tie mala fishing line around embroidery string using 2 double knots.
• Paint knot with finger polish and cut excess fishing line.
• Wrap extra embroidery string around the bottom of the loop tightly 6 times.
• Use needle to thread long end through 3-4 times bringing string up through the center the last time.
• Cut loop and comb fringe with wire brush.

Note: For a smaller mala, use 21 beads total.

Meditation Exercises in Class May 3, 2011

This has taken me a little time to do since I had to translate it from Chinese to English (a thank you to Kaylynne and Spring for all the help), but I thought it would be nice to show everyone what happens usually in a meditation class at Fo Guang Shan in Guam. I would suggest attending at least one class and then using the below exercise guide as a go-by for independent study or when the temple is unable to have a teacher for meditation available. Remember you can attend the temple any day except on Mondays and the meditation hall is always available to you from 10am-5pm.

First off, you do the below exercises to stretch out the legs so that they do not fall asleep while meditating and also to improve the flow of the life energy. You will also do a walking meditation following the below exercises. Visualization or clinging to images that pop in your mind while meditating is discouraged. Sometimes images will pop in as random thoughts will and it is best to free them and not cling to them, accept them but allow them to disappear as you release your breath. The images are merely distractions along with the thoughts which take you away from your meditation practice. A practitioner clinging to an image that has popped into the mind is like a child day dreaming while in class. A clear unattached mind is one of the goals in sitting meditation.

Exercises to Warm Up Before Meditation

Now that you have completed those exercises, you will begin your walking meditation. While walking, you swing your arms by your side as far as you outstretch your legs in the walk. You will start out at an even pace but build up to a brisk one and clear your mind as you walk only focusing your eyes on what is in front of you. If thoughts appear in your mind, you acknowledge them and allow them to flow out with your breath as you breath. You will circle the entire room at least four times in your walking meditation. When you come to the last lap, you steadily slow down and then you pause and stand  before your seat. When everyone is back to their original place, you will sit and begin your sitting meditation. Of course, when you start out your sitting meditation, you remove anything that would make a sound or cause distraction. Watches, jewelry, glasses are removed. Cell phones are set on silence and all objects can be placed in the storage area below you. Please also do not wear after shave lotion, cologne or any type of fragrance since this also can be distracting. Eat your meal one hour or more before attending the class and avoid onions and garlic. The instructor will usually talk to you before you begin, providing you with a brief overview of how to breath, but once the lights are dimmed, your practice for the class begins.

Continued Meditation Practice March 27, 2011

(This is for all the people who have asked for sitting meditation classes and have asked what has happened to the calligraphy meditation class that was advertised for this month.)

Meditation classes at the temple sometimes are canceled at the last minute without notice. If a class is canceled unexpectedly, take the time and go into the calligraphy hall or meditation hall and do your meditation as you had planned independently during the scheduled time at the temple.

Sitting and calligraphy meditation practice can be achieved without a scheduled class. You are welcome to attend the temple any time except on Mondays to continue your meditation practice independently. As you walk into the temple, tell the volunteer at the front desk that you will be in the meditation hall or calligraphy hall and continue your practice of learning and exploring how to develop your mind.

(I will gradually update the calligraphy and sitting meditation pages to include material that is included in the classes so that you have everything that you need to work independently with or without a class at the temple.)

A lil Ch’an: Thinking of Not Thinking February 11, 2011

The result of each type of meditation is to quiet the endless chatter occurring in our minds. I find when I paint or do calligraphy, I have a few moments rest from the here, there and everywhere mind. I do have a long way to go in my meditation, but I am continuing to work on it because it is so serene when it happens where the mind stands firmly still, silent but for the breath and completely awake to the present moment. I hope each of you reach those moments too through your own meditation.

Here is a short story based on Ch’an thought. It is taken from Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s book, Hsing Yun’s Ch’an Talk:

One day while Ch’an Master Wei-yen was meditating, a Monk walked by, saw him and inquired, “You are sitting here still as a rock. “What are you thinking?”

The Master answered, “I am thinking of not thinking.”

The Monk continued, “How do you do that?”

Wei-yen responded, “By not thinking.”

In reality, thinking and not thinking seem mutually contradictory, yet there is an underlying implication. Ch’an is not merely a matter of understanding words. In the teaching of Ch’an, words are considered obstacles to realization. Nonetheless, through understanding words, the essence that cannot be verbally communicated can be grasped. The true taste of Ch’an can only be experienced when one has given up one’s clinging to intellectual understanding.

Calligraphy Meditation Changes Day October 17, 2010

The Calligraphy meditation class will be on Saturdays at 9:30am-11:00am starting next Saturday, 10/23, 10/29, and also continue throughout November in the Calligraphy Hall of Fo Guang Shan in Guam.

The hall has been established to provide a place for devotees and visitors to cultivate their minds and quietly develop their wisdom through the copying of sutras.

We hope that you can attend the Calligraphy class. Whether you are a beginner, have never held a brush or are very familiar, please join us each Saturday for a hour or two of mind and body meditation through the ink and brush on paper.

 

Meditation Luncheon: Sunday, June 20th June 15, 2010

This Sunday at Fo Guang Shan Temple in Guam, we will be having a Meditation Luncheon after regular services. Everyone is invited to attend.

In meditation we consciously and silently focus on the present moment, and thus gain an understanding of what is going on within and all around us. Mindfully focusing on eating our meal in unison with others during meditation can be an enlightening experience.

This guide will provide an overview of the steps and protocols to help participants follow through the experience.

1. At the end of the Sutra Service, the congregation and everyone joining them will line-up together to enter into the dining hall. Two lines will be formed to enter the dining hall through both the East and West side of the hall.

2. After entering the hall and sitting, join in the meal prayer. The food will be served during the prayer, and the Abbess will give an additional chant. Everyone will remain silent during the meal, and to help digestion, sit with good posture and avoid leaning back against the chair.

3. The table setting will be ordered in front of each participant, placed at the table’s outer edge.

(3A) what you will choose to eat or wish to have removed,

(3B) if  you would like more or less of what you are eating, and

(3C) that you are finished and serving can stop for you.

3A. Use your eating utensils/chopsticks and one hand to bring the plate and bowls forward toward yourself for those items you wish to eat (if you leave anything at the outer edge, it will be picked up and removed by the servers). First bring the vegetable plate from the middle to your middle; second, bring the rice bowl on your left across to your right; third, bring the soup bowl on your right across to your left; and finally, bring-in any fruit, bread or other food being served.

Rice is the first food to be eaten, which is taken in three small bites. The Abbess will lead as you silently make the following vows to yourself: [#1] I vow to stop all wrong doings, [#2] I vow to cultivate good deeds, and [#3] I vow to emancipate all beings from suffering.

3B. Servers will give small portions. Yet if you would like a smaller portion than what has been served, move it back to the front edge and use your utensils to motion at this serving so an attending server can assist (If you want more of a dish after finishing the serving, place it back out to the edge where servers will refill it. If rice, place the bowl back moving it from right across to left; if soup, move the bowl from the left back to right).

3C. When you are finished, arrange the plates back to the front edge. Stack the bowls on your right by placing the soup bowl in the rice bowl; move the vegetable plate back to the front edge and then move the bowls back forward crossing right to left; finally place the chopstick/eating utensils between the plate and stacked bowls to signify that you are done.

Wait as others finish eating, and join in the end of the meal verse led by the Abbess. Everyone will then stand and file out together.

FAQ: Inside the Meditation Hall June 11, 2010

The meditation hall located on the first floor of the Guam Fo Guang Shan Temple is a center specifically designed for developing spiritual mindfulness, strengthening virtue, and raising the mental sensitivity of Buddhist devotees and lay practitioners. The eastern wall, seen as practitioners enter the room, contains a Buddha niche with an image of Sakyamuni Buddha. The western wall, between the two entry doors contains the seats designated for the Master of the Hall and Abbess of the Temple. In the Chan School of Buddhism, this seat area is known as the niche of purity. Situated around the sides are seat cushions for the people meditating, with the center of the hall left as a large open space for walking meditation sessions. The bell board, mediation staff, wooden fish, gong and small bell, are used for signals during meditation, indicating the time to prepare, to practice, to rest, and other actions within the hall.

(Meditation class is each Saturday at 2pm at the Fo Guang Shan temple in Guam.)

Meditation Registration Form June 4, 2010

If you are interested in attending or are currently attending, complete the registration form for the Meditation Class that is offered each Saturday at 2pm in the Meditation Hall. Please click on the above image and print out the registration form. Fill it out and return it to the temple or mail it into the temple at: Fo Guang Shan Temple, PO Box 21027, GMF, Guam 96921.

There is a limit of thirty participants for the Meditation class. Once the thirty have been reached, the remaining people will be placed on a waiting list so be sure to turn in your registration early.

Donations are welcomed. After attending each class, I walk by the donation box in front of Kwan Yin and drop in my donation. This is to help in covering the cost of the class and than also to insure that other classes can be made available. (I think we all would enjoy a tea meditation class!)