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Expert: - 9/15/2010


Question
Sir,
As Buddhism teaches love and compassion, why would people in china and japan learn martial arts and give preference to kung-fu. Do they think opponent should be forcefully attacked ?  

Answer
Dear Uday,

Thank you for the opportunity to answer your questions.

Chinese Buddhist and Japanese Buddhist martial artists are only a relatively small part of Buddhism. These Buddhist believe the way to understanding the soul or mind is to master the body. They push their body to the limits and attempt to grasp and understand the body in order to understand the mind.

I highly doubt any of the martial artists ever even get into fights or have ever attacked people. Especially the monks. The "Buddhist Martial Artists" you see are usually in Kung Fu Movies. In real life the monks who practice this usually are secluded, training all day, meditating and eating simply. They do not drink or seek out fights or go attacking people. In general, I highly doubt they would even attack if someone attacked them first! Unless they felt it was highly necessary.

However, I will concede, since they are still just ordinary people (striving to be better) there will be some of them who do fight or attack others. However, as with any group, we can not judge the religion or group based on the actions of few. If we did, there would be no good groups or religions left to follow - all religions are followed by man - man is fallible - so therefore, there will always be bad people!

For example, we can blame Islam for the actions of the militant few, or Christianity for the acts of some perverted priest, or Buddhist for monks/people who break precepts or act unrefined. This wouldn't be fair to the religion or the people who are following the teachings and receiving benefit and bettering themselves and others around them.

I hope I have answered your questions

Sincerely,

Phra Anandapanyo  

Buddhists

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Anandapanyo Bhikkhu

Expertise

I can answer questions about Buddhist practice, Buddhist understanding and how to apply Buddhism to daily life. I can help analyze Buddhist sayings and teachings. In addition, I can help with questions Buddhism stories, fables and Vinaya(rules). I have meditated for over 10 years and can help you start with meditation. In addition, I can help provide insight into what to do when you feel that you have hit a wall with your meditation. My main area of expertise is how to think in accordance with Sammaditthi (the right view - and number 1 in the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path. If I cannot answer your question, I have many able teachers with over 20 years experience to help me, so chances are I will be able to find an answer for you.

Experience

I have been practicing Buddhism for over 13 years. I started studying under various famous Thai Theravada masters. Finally, I met and studied under Phra Acariya Thoon Khippapanyo who has recently passed away on Nov 11, 2008 and is widely accepted as a great Arahant (fully enlightened) teacher of our time. In addition, I have personally read and studied much of the Buddhist scriptures and popular literature available. I have recently undertaken the ordination vows and have become a Buddhist monk in the theravada forest monk tradition. I reside at a temple with many dedicated practitioners and great teachers. I have been practicing training my mind to be aligned with right view (sammaditthi) for over 10 years. I have also been meditating for over 10 years. In my time spent with Acariya Thoon, I learned many things and was able to incorporate them into my life. In addition to practicing Buddhism within temples and my home, I used to own two restaurants and managed commercial real estate. I had to deal with many different and problems. I learned how to use Buddhism to fix my problems, both externally (my environment) and internally (within me).

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Wat San Fran Dhammaram Temple KPY - a non-profit religious organization

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Education/Credentials
Electrical Engineering Degree from the University of California Santa Barbara MBA from San Francisco State

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