"What is a 'Buddhist'?"

Someone posed the question "What is a 'Buddhist'?" on the Merely Transitional Facebook Page. This particular question once was also asked in an exam I had to do and had to write an answer of at least 1 page. Back then I had to provide a clear cut scientific answer, but this time I will give a little shorter answer.

Strictly speaking, someone is a Buddhist if he/she calls him/herself so. Since the Dhamma is open and accessible regardless peoples' personal background, there are no strict rules set up for someone who wants to become a Buddhist. One does not require a certain declaration, speak out some kind of formula, in order to become a follower of this particular religion - unlike, for example, in Islam where one needs to make the statement of shahadah in order to acknowledge God. Or like in Christianity where one ought to be bapitized before one actually is granted the relationship with God (through Jesus). 

But then again, if we were to distinguish the Buddhist laity from its monastic order, then, indeed there are similarities to various other religious (monastic) orders. Because before one can become a monk, he/she first needs to get ordained as a novice. Without going into too much detail here about the several preliminary phases of Buddhist monastic life, suffice it to say that at the beginning of each phase one receives also a Buddhist name (in Pali). This new name that one is given also serves as a statement of one's faith while at the same time it may be used as a sign of one's (socio-religious) authority, too. 

So, what then is a 'Buddhist'; in a way, it encompasses the whole community, not just the monastic order but the laity as well, for they are inseparable from the community as a whole, and moreover, their support is indispensable for the monks. Yet, in another way, being a Buddhist is reserved for a certain elite; the members of the monastic order, whom all have undergone and passed through a set of preliminary rituals and practices before they "earned" their Buddhist "title", which, thereby may come to function similarly to scholarly degrees obtained in University. 

It is important, however, to remember that at the time of the Buddha there was no Buddhism yet, let alone a Buddhist monastic community. The Buddha himself, when he decided to renounce his worldly life he took off his royal garment and put on pieces of discarded cloth. This particular act is, of course, symbolical in the sense that he no longer cherished all that he previously had enjoyed during his lifetime. Thus, he became a wandering mendicant, and not a monk, for there was no such order established yet. He also was not told by such an order to undergo any preliminary stages on the path before actually becoming accepted as member or follower of the religion. In fact, all that was needed to throd on the path of the holy life (brahmacariya) was a symbolical renunciation of one's worldly possessions, and a simple and short declaration of the sentence "Ehi bhikkhu, svakkhato dhammo caro brahmacariyam samma dukkhassa antakiriyaya" (Come bhikkhu, well-expounded is the Dhamma, live the holy life for the complete ending of suffering). So, basically anyone could become a mendicant by reciting this particular sentence. But most importantly, after one had recited this phrase, one was not considered a 'Buddhist', but rather as someone living the holy life (brahmacariya). 

Later the number of these mendicants came to grow significantly, which, over time, lead to more complex procedures of ordination. Once the rules had become standardized in accordance to the Vinaya of the established monastic order, the newly ordained formally became a Buddhist (monk). This still is the common rule of practice in Buddhism today. Considering this, we should perhaps rephrase the question of "what is a 'Buddhist'" by looking at what it is we try to define here. The word 'Buddhist' is merely a concept conditioned by socio-religious perception. But if we were to attempt what actually is meant by being a 'Buddhist', then soon enough we will find that mere concepts will prove inadequate to provide a satisfactory interpretation of the true meaning implied. The truth is, wars are being fought because of peoples' various interpretations and understanding of religious concepts, which all too often leads to doctrinal fanatism and dogmatic fundamentalism. So, the important thing is not create division through emphasis of certain concepts, but to recognize the abundant similarities among the seemingly differences in religion and its various teachings.  

One becomes Noble by leading the holy life, not by mere following a certain religion, or let's say by becoming a Buddhist. Noble persons are not restricted to the Buddhist religion alone, likewise, not all Noble persons are necessarily Buddhist. A Buddhist, then, is just the same like any follower of any particular religion; they all strive to live the holy life - whatever that may mean to him/her depending on the given circumstances, such as the person's socio-cultural background - which, in both Buddhism and Hinduism happen to be refered to as 'brahmacariya'. 

New Website

A new website will be launched soon, its primary focus will be kerisses and Indonesian mysticism. Currently I'm working on some final minor technical details. If all goes as planned, then it should be ready to go online somewhere next week. Still need to register the domain name though, which will be taken care of in the coming week, after which the public URL shall be announced on this blog and on our Facebook page.

“The Ramayana, Ramakatha and Loro Jonggrang”

The seventy-two sculpted panels depicting the Ramayana featured on the terraces of Loro Jonggrang’s main Siva and Brahma temples present the most extensive sculptural version of this epic in all of Asia. However, discrepancies between the reliefs and the many written versions still leaves Loro Jonggrang’s Ramayana bereft of a specific literary prototype. But it may not have direct affinities with the written word. It instead has its roots in the Ramakatha, a more comprehensive category of the narrating of Rama’s story that embraces all types of fables, tales, and apologues appearing in the form of verse, mixed verse and prose, or prose. 

India’s contributions may have been received in Java via written formats, but it is equally possible that they were drawn from a wider narrative repertory for the telling of the epic, the Ramakatha, as the Ramakatha transmitted the epic via theatrical versions, picture rolls, oral narrations, and dance. Also, specific narrative devices outlined in the Indic dance or theater Natyasastra, attest to the characters portrayed in the Loro Jonggrang version of the Ramayana. Therefore, despite the lack of Indic artistic prototypes and the ambiguous links between Loro Jonggrang and Indic literary models, a common bond may still be found within the repertory of the Ramakatha.

However, care must be taken with the identification of particular aspects of pictorial narration associated with the ancient Indic performance arts. Gestures, movements and postures which would have been seen are now transliterated into the written word and might not be as clear to the modern reader in this non-demonstrative format. Gestures and postures can provide a significant function towards the development of a narrative formula. The rendering of specific body movements can enable the presentation of simultaneous events within a multi-episodic composition. The outcome of events, as indicated by the formula of gestures, determines the narrative sequence; one of ‘simultaneous actions’. These observations clearly attest to the realization that the sculptors of the Central Javanese period were not only familiar with dictates of the Natyasastra, but were also versed in application of these symbols to emphasize and relate the content of their narrative subjects.

Another gesture, the hastas (hand gestures), is probably the most reliable of ‘body languages’. The pointed finger hasta recreates an omitted, yet significant, episode detailed in the literary versions of the epic. Its absence at Loro Jonggrang may have been due to the pace of the narrative. Thus, the handling of this narrative sequence not only incorporates the fourth dimension, that of time, but also demonstrates another narrative method comprised in the Central Javanese sculptor’s repertory – particularly that of this specific hasta.

So, it is clearly evident that the sculptors of Central Java were skilled in a variety of narrative formats, ranging from mono-scenic to synoptic, and from multi-episodic to continuous. The most significant goal of the relief sculptors of Loro Jonggrang was to create a rendering of the epic that could be easily read by the temple’s audiences.

Reference: Levin, C. (2000): 59-70.

Kejawen - Javanese Mysticism

Animistic, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, and modern influences are all evident within Kejawen and it is impossible to understand many internal developments without knowledge of national political struggles. The Javanist perspective on larger Indonesian events is a feature within them. From the Javanist perspective broad pattern of history are both clearer and more important than particulars, historical process is a spiral linked to the deepest roots of local culture. Each phase of the history is viewed by Javanists as presenting a new challenge to indigenous spiritual identity. Javanese mystics view themselves as attempting to adapt to modernity by presenting an ageless spiritual awareness through new forms. These basic spiritual ideas differ little from those found in other esoteric traditions. 

The Javanese have a firmly established sense of karma and reincarnation and they use many other Indian terms to describe and deal with the spiritual path. At the same time, Islam has left a deep imprint on Kejawen in terminology and style, much of which is straight Sufism, and in their stress on God.

The techniques used are as diverse within Java as in other mystical traditions: some groups meditate (samadi) through use of mantra, others by concentration on particular chakra (occult centres within the body), using Sufi dhikr, or tirta yoga (immersion in water). The range of these techniques reflect the plurality of religions active on Java now and influencing it during its history. 

It is worth emphasising that no specific technique is characteristic of Kejawen as a whole, though some general cultural orientations are closely related to kebatinan. The general conviction, found widely in Asia, that "the essence of all religions is the same", that only forms of practice and teaching differ, is related to mystical inclination and a widely avowed distaste for fanaticism; thus forming the core understanding in and of Kejawen.

Reference: Stange, P.: 'The Evolution of Sumarah', pp. 9-15.

Lokākāśa - Jain Cosmology

All of the structures of the earth, Sumeru and the rest, extend downward to a depth of 80,000 yojanas below sea level – the same as the height of Sumeru above sea level. Below this is a layer of "golden earth", a substance compact and firm enough to support the weight of Sumeru. Thus the picture developed in the Buddhist cosmology defines an infinite number of being in infinite number of dimensions. Distributed over the three dhatus (substances) and are determined by the karma of each jiva. These are not spatial dimensions or material beings. Those that are of immaterial bodies are the angels in our modern terminology. Even though they have no bodies, they do interact with humans and with the rest of the cosmic being through common dimensional extensions.  It is the choices that each jiva makes that decide their future until it escapes the cycle of existence in the various realms. 

            The universe exists as a series of layers, both heavens and hells. It had no beginning and will have no ending. It consists of: 

            - Siddhaśilā (the abode of siddhas, ‘liberated souls’): this is located at the top of  the universe.

            - ūrdva-loka (the Upper World): 30 heavens where celestial beings live 

            - Madya-loka (‘Middle World’): the earth and the rest of the universe with humans and animals

            - Adho-loka (‘Lower World’): 7 hells (narakas) with various levels of misery and punishments  with Hellish beings

            - Lokākāśa: cosmic space 

            - Alokākāśa: trans-cosmic space

Jiva 

The Jiva (sentient being) possess five senses in all, namely those of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. Different types of Jivas possess one or more of these senses. Based upon the number of senses and mobility, Jivas are classified as follows:

            Immobile and Single Sensed

            -  Earth bodied

            -  Water bodied

            -  Fire bodied

            -  Air bodied

            -  Plant bodied

               Mobile (Trasjivas, multi sensed beings, bahu indriya jiva):

               These two, three, four or five sensed beings are divided into the following categories:

               -  Beindriya Jiva (‘two sensed beings’): two sensed beings have the senses of touch, and taste. E.g. shells, worms, insects, microbes in stale food, termites, etc.

               -  Treindriya Jiva (‘three sensed beings’): three sensed beings have the senses of touch, taste, and smell, e.g. bugs, lice, white ants, moths and insects in wheat and other grains, centipedes, etc.

               -  Chaurindriya Jiva (‘four sensed beings’): four sensed beings have the senses of touch, taste, smell and sight, e.g. scorpions, crickets, spiders, beetles, locusts, flies, etc.

               -  Panchendriya Jiva (‘five sensed beings’):  Five sensed beings have all the five senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing e.g. human beings, cow, lions, fish, birds, etc. The following are four sub-categories of the Panchendriya Jivas:

               -  Naraki: Jivas living in hell

               -  Non-human beings: i.e. elephants, lions, birds, fish

               -  Devas: celestial / heavenly beings,

               -  Manuśa: human beings.

Among the five sensed beings some have minds, while others do not. The concept of life forms extents over to dimensions of Celestial and of Hell and across all possible dimensions in matter and space, Spiritual and Material.

Reference: Padmanabh S. Jaini: 'Victorious Ones', pp. 71-88.

“Hanuman in East Javanese Art”

This article is focused on a neglected subject in ancient Javanese art, which is The presence of Hanuman in late Javanese art. Five stone statues in particular are described, all of them depicting a monkey-faced figure that can be identified as Hanuman. (To view these pictures, please click here).

In the contemporary reliefs of Panataran important monkeys like Sugriwa, Hanuman, and Anggada, have human bodies. Also the wearing of a crown by these monkey figures is not common for any of the mentioned monkeys in the contemporary reliefs of Panataran. Bali and Sugriwa are the only two monkeys who can be seen depicted with a crown since they are kings. The identification of Hanuman is based on the fact that the monkey’s head in this statue is surrounded by a halo and the fact that he has four arms which indicates a divine origin. There is only one monkey who fits this description, and that is Hanuman, the son of the wind god Bayu. Something remarkable about the depicted Hanuman are the yoni and lingga, because Hanuman is usually associated with Rama, who is an incarnation of Wisnu. The iconographic elements of these statues contain the yoni, lingga, and rosary (aksamala), which all point to a Siwaite context.

Hanuman also figures in a series of narrative reliefs on the first terrace of the main temple of the Panataran complex. These narrative reliefs are known as a Ramayana series, but actually the focus of the story as depicted at Panataran is on Hanuman, rather than on Rama. Only 4 out of 106 panels depict Rama and Laksmana, 1 depicts Laksmana without Rama, only 4 depict Sita and Trijata, 8 depict Rawana, and 35 depict Hanuman. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to call these series the story of Hanuman. In the story depicted at Loro Jonggrang the focus is, instead on the main characters of the Ramayana story – Rama and Sita. The role of Hanuman in the narrative reliefs of Loro Jonggrang clearly is of less importance.

The relief series of Panataran ends with the last fight in which Hanuman actively takes part, the fight against Kumbhakarna, and not with the last fight of the Ramayana, the fight against Rawana himself. The reason why this is the last scene of the depicted narrative series of Panataran, is because all parts in which Hanuman does not play a role are also not seen depicted on this temple.

It may be concluded that the reliefs and the statues show two different qualities of Hanuman. In the narrative reliefs his martial qualities are depicted, and in the statues his ascetic qualities are depicted.

Reference: Klokke, M. (2010): 'Hanuman in the Art of East Java', pp. 1-12.

Biography of Ajahn Khao

 

 

Venerable ajahn Khao’s life and practice is a truly amazing story. It clearly illustrates the Dhamma teaching about the effectiveness of stubborn determination and anger when directed against one’s own kilesas. He was strongly imbued with both of these factors in his practice of Dhamma. Ajahn Khao possessed a remarkably resolute character and liked to put his whole strength into whatever he did. He had been like that since he was a lay person, and when he was ordained he carried these characteristics over with him. The longer he was ordained in Buddhism, which is a true religion that teaches people to act truly in whatever they do, the more he felt impressed by the principles of Dhamma.

Both Ajahn Khao’s mode of practice and his level of spiritual attainment are worthy of the utmost respect. He always preferred to practice in remote, secluded locations with such single-minded resolve that his diligence in this respect was unrivalled among his peers in the circle of Dhutaṅga Bhikkhus.

Ajahn Khao had a streak of very strong determination in his character, which may be seen from what has been written about him. He had no difficulty in sitting in meditation from dusk until dawn – he could sit all night whenever he chose to do so. Sitting in meditation practice from dusk to dawn is no small matter. Unless one is the kind of person who has a heart so full of courageous determination that it could cut through a diamond, one cannot do it. So we should give him our heartfelt praise and admiration. In ways such as this he was fully capable of being an inspiration to his disciples, enabling them to gain peace and happiness by following faithfully in his footsteps. When he was alive and still possessed the five khandhas, he had absolute certainty in himself that he had reached the end of becoming and birth – this was completely self-evident to him. When it came time for him to let go of the khandhas, he attained the state of ultimate happiness (paramaṁ sukhaṁ) in all respects, totally free of all responsibilities and concerns.

 

Reference: Ven. Ācariya Mahā Boowa Nanasampanno : ‘Venerable Ajaan Khao Analayo: a True Spiritual Warrior’, pp. 208-9.

 

Please click the link below to download the biography:
Biography of Ajahn Khao

 

“New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought - Part II"

The fundamental contribution of modern theosophy to the history of occultism consists in its assimilation, by the early founders of “Comparative Religion”, in an already existing western occultist framework.

The theosophical approach is basically eclectic: selected concepts of Hinduism and Buddhism were adopted insofar as it seemed that they could be assimilated; if not, they were either ignored or given a new meaning. This does not mean, of course, that theosophy owes nothing to the Orient. It seems evident that karma, in particular, became of central importance only after Blavatsky’s travel to India in 1878. However, it was embraced essentially because it provided a solution to the problems connected with typical western concepts of spiritual and moral evolution. As such, theosophy – although it has been instrumental in stimulating popular interest for Indian religions – is not only rooted in western esotericism, but has remained an essentially western movement.

If the spiritualists and theosophists perceived a “great outpouring” which would lead from materialism and dogmatic Christianity to a new spirituality compatible with science, a similar concern inspired the transcendentalists: they, too, sought to overcome both materialism and orthodox Christianity by an alternative vision based on the new science, comparative religion, and a belief in “progress”. Like theosophy, they approached the religions of the world in an eclectic manner: abstracting from the original religious context whatever elements they could use, while disregarding or reinterpreting whatever did not attract them. 

The transcendentalists were certainly not of one mind in their attitude to Oriental religions: but it is evident that they were almost all fascinated by them, and contributed strongly to popular American conceptions of the Orient.

In spite of widespread interest in the Orient, it remained difficult for the westerners living in the late nineteenth century to achieve an adequate and balanced perspective on Hinduism or Buddhism as they actually functioned in their own cultural context. Oriental religions were consistently idealized and adapted to Western conditions. Modern theories of secular progress and evolution are as alien to the Orient as they were originally to western esotericism. They represent a third “mirror of secular thought” through which esotericism – already profoundly affected by “causality” and the new study of religions – had to be reflected in order to be acceptable to nineteenth and twentieth century mentalities.

Reference: W. Hanegraaff (1996).

“Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought”

There is a Romantic religiosity which, while a product of traditional esotericism an post-Enlightenment Evolutionism, remains rooted in a worldview of correspondences. Occultism, on the other hand, as based on a mixture of correspondences and causality, and is therefore doubly secularized.

Literature of the fantastic and the new phenomenon of spiritualism possess a common characteristic: each takes the real world in its most concrete form as its point of departure, and then postulates the existence of another, supernatural world, separated from the first by a more or less impermeable partition. Fantasy literature then plays upon the effect of surprise that is provided by the irruption of the supernatural into daily life, which it describes in a realistic fashion. Spiritualism, both as a belief and practice, follows the inverse procedure, teaching how to pass from this world of the living to the world of the dead, through séances of spirit rappings and the table tippings, the table playing a role analogous to that of the traditional magic circle. It is interesting that occultism in its modern form – that of the nineteenth century – appeared at the same time as fantastic literature and spiritualism. 

A profound analysis would have to take into account the relevance of the emergence of occultism not only of new ideas, but of social and political changes as well. Most important is the increasing prestige of modern science and positivist-materialist philosophies which flourished in its wake. 

In order to account for the emergence of New Age religion, we need to define with precision the difference between esotericism and occultism, and construe the latter as an etic category in the study of Western religions. Occultism, then, can be defined as a category in the study of religions, which comprises all attempts by esotericists to come to terms with a disenchanted world or, alternatively, by people in general to make sense of esotericism from the perspective of a disenchanted secular world (a world which no longer harbours a dimension of irreducibly mystery based upon an experience of the sacred as present in the daily world). Occultism is the product of a syncretism between magia and science, correspondences and causality.

Reference: W. Hanegraaff (1996), pp. 514-24.

Choo Chok Money Bag – LP Daeng, Wat Huay Chalong

 

 

• Name: Choo Chok Som Prathana (Choo Chok's wishes being fulfilled), Ruay Sap Ruay Choke (wealthy in belongings & fortune) batch.
•  Year: B.E. 2551
•  Size: 32.5 cm x 20 cm
• Material: Cloth
• Details: limited edition; code number 000014

 

Description
The beggar Choo Chok is also known (in Pāḷi) as Jujaka; according to the Vessantara Jātaka, Jujaka's wife refused to take care of her husband any longer, so he was forced to find himself some servants who could help him to get his food and water. Thus, Jujaka went to see Prince Vessantara (the previous incarnation of the Buddha) and asked him for his two children. The Prince agreed to Jujaka's request on the condition that he would bring his children to their grandfather, the King Sañjaya. The children did not want to go with the beggar, but eventually they did what they were told by their father, for he said that by performing this deed he would accomplish full awakening.

After Jujaka brought the children to their grandfather, the King rewarded the beggar with a huge amount of money, just as had been foretold by Prince Vessantara. And so, from being a beggar, Choo Chok was able to turn himself into an extremely wealthy man, probably also because of the immense merit he must have accumulated by performing such a noble deed.

Consecration Ceremony
This bag has first been empowered by Luang Por Daeng for nine days and nine nights at Wat Huay Chalong. Then followed the ritual consecration ceremony at Wat Suthat in Bangkok on 27 June in the year B.E. 2551. Many highly revered Thai guru masters, such as LP Kalong (Wat Kaolam), LP Aun (Wat Dhamma Kosok), LP Sompong (Wat Mai Pin Klaew), LP Siri (Wat Than, Nonthaburi province), LP Foo (Wat Bang Samak), and LP Somkid (Wat Nern Sathan), joined this ritual ceremony and bestowed their blessings upon the sacred items that were consecrated during this auspicious event.

The magical skills, or wicha, that Luang Por Daeng applied to this bag involved mer dak ngern mer dak thong (magic of hand catching silver and gold), perd grahmom suam mongkut phra jao kad mongkol sam say, and phra khan chai sri - all of which serve the purpose of increase in the worshipper's financial and material wealth, as well as offering general protection through increase in merit and virtue.

Kata
Ete ca suṇena pūjāna vihe namo Jujako etī ti.

 

Choo Chok Money Bag - LP Daeng, Wat Huay Chalong

$59.00

 

Paṭipadā: Venerable Phra Ajahn Mun's Path of Practice

Click the link below to download the book:

Ven. Acariya Maha Boowa Nanasampanno: 'Paṭipadā (Venerable Ajahn Mun's Path Of Practice)'.

Cambodian Court Dance

Angkor had been a part of the Khmer past. Khmer folktales and the Cambodian royal chronicles had mentioned the monuments, yet Cambodia had to learn the history of Angkor from the French historians. In the 1930s, the Khmer intellectuals obtained opportunities to talk about Angkorean dance through the publishing media. Along with the translation of the Thai texts, an integration of French discourse on Angkor and the existing Khmer narratives was attempted.

Due to the fact that colonial discourse on Angkor was incorporated into Cambodian nationalism, the court dance which had been connected with Angkor was utilized to serve the nation-state. Moreover, the French “academic” writings reinforced nationalistic discourse on the “tradition.”

“Tradition” was invented by the colonizers, for the purpose of differentiating themselves from the colonized, and it was imitated by the latter. A social fluctuation caused the invention of “tradition”. Discourse which regarded the Cambodian court dance as the Angkorean “tradition” was also invented under such a fluctuation of colonial encounters.

Reference: Sasagawa Hideo, 2005.

"Merely Transitional"

Very often, for most practical reasons, people are being asked to introduce themselves, or provide a little bit of information which, in short, tells something about who they are. These conceptual ways of thinking about what represents our personality have become habitual ways of thinking and function as means to express what, and ultimately, who we (think we) are. 

Of course, there is nothing wrong with thinking and acting according to certain worldly concepts in and of itself at all. However, if we look a little deeper into the meaning and "existence" of conditionings in the mind, then we shall realize that they all just consist of mental formations, some coarse and some subtler ones, that are based on our perceptions. Notions of existence and non-existence, then, are also just created by the mind. 

All phenomena can thus be percieved as one. Likewise, modern science has percieved the truth that not only matter and energy are one, but matter and space are also one. In fact, not only matter and space are one, but matter, space, and mind are one, because mind is in matter and space.

'Matter', in this context, refers to form; form is emptiness, and it is precisely emptiness what makes form possible to exist, it is the ground of everything. Form can be either physical (matter) or mental (mind); body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness - none of them have a separate existence. When said that form is emptiness it means that it is empty of a separate self / identity.

Everything has emptiness as its own nature, and that is why everything can be. Emptiness is impermanence, it is change. And because of change there is only continuation.

Thus, the name 'Merely Transitional' refers to an interpretation of the Buddhist concepts of impermanence (anicca in Pāli) and emptiness (śunyata in Sanskrit), for any other blog title would just be of irrelevant importance anyway.

Redesign

For your information: this blog will be completely redesigned in the coming days and weeks.