Expert: Justin Choo - 10/28/2004

Question
Hi, my name is Jake Hollin and I teach an honors world history 9th grade class in Maryland.  My students had some general practical questions they wanted to ask you about Buddhism as we learn more about the faith.  I hope you are able to help us.  I know there are a lot of questions but again we would greatly appreciate it and also we would be happy to answer any questions your students might have regarding Christianity if you would like?  This is a great exchange.  Thanks so much for your time.  We look forward to your response and learning more about your beliefs!

* Are there any female Buddhist monks? why or why not and in general what role do women hold in Buddhism?

*Are there any restrictions on what Buddhist monks or regular Buddhist can eat?

* Are there different color robes for Buddhist monks and what if anything do the different colors mean?

* Has anyone in the last 20 to 30 years attained enlightenment?  

* If you believe life is all suffering than how can you believe in being at peace and reaching Nirvana?

* What do Buddhists think about other religions in general?

* Who is the most important figure in Buddhism besides Siddhartha Guatama?

* Do you thin people who don't believe in Buddhism can reach nirvana?

* What is the process for selection of the Dahli Lama?  

* What would a Buddhist monk wear to bed?  Are the robes worn at all times?

* How do Buddhist believe the world was started if there is no God per se?

* If you are comfortable telling us - how close do you believe you are to enlightenment? Is it possible for people to remeber past lives - how so?  

Answer
Hi Jake,

Thank you for asking me.  Feel free to ask as many questions as you like.  I am here specifically to answer questions; and I enjoy doing it.  Perhaps next time you may want to limit the number of questions for each posting, say to 3, which will enable me to respond faster and to comment more.  You can then post separately for the other questions.  I am happy to know that you and your students make effort to study other people's beliefs.  This is the most healthy spiritual exercise although in this case it is more academic.  Thank you for your offer for exchange of ideas and beliefs.  This is a WIN WIN situation. Please be ready to read a very long reply.


Your question:
* Are there any female Buddhist monks? why or why not and in general what role do women hold in Buddhism?

My answer:
I would say a female Buddhist monk has to be a "nun"!  Yes, we do have nuns.  There are 2 main schools of Buddhism, namely, Mahayana and Theravada (I practise the Theravada tradition).  For the Theravada, nowadays, there is hardly any estabished institution that I know of, which houses only nuns.  Those female devotees who are very spiritually inclined will usually observe more stringent precepts and with the permission of the Abbot of the temple, stay there full time.

As for the Mahayana, the community of nuns is very strong and well established especially amongst the Chinese Buddhists.  They have their own nunneries; and many of them are affiliates of the main temples of the monks.  

The first community of nuns was established during the Buddha's time.  This gradually spread to China where it was firmly established up to this day.  The Theravada school spread to Sri Lanka ( the island nation at the tip of the Indian Continent).  From there, Buddhism spread to Burma and Thailand, and were mainly dominated by monks.  As Buddhism gradually disappeared  from its source, that is, India, the community of nuns under the Theravada tradition disappeared along with it.

The Buddha gave total freedom to women to practise his teachings.  The Buddha pointed out that women had the same ability as men to cultivate the mind to perfection.  Women have equal status as men in the pursuit of spiritual advancement.

Your question:
*Are there any restrictions on what Buddhist monks or regular Buddhist can eat?

My answer:
Again, we have to differentiate the 2 main groups of Buddhism.

Mahayana: The monks and nuns are strictly vegetarians.  Lay devotees are encouraged to be vegetarians.  There is NEVER the use of force to compel anyone to follow dogmatic rules and rituals.  

Theravada: The monks and nuns are not required to be vegetarians.  However, they will refuse meat if there is any suspicion or knowledge that the animal was specially killed for their consumption.  This goes back to the Buddha's time, where for all practical purposes, the Buddha advised his monks to accept whatever food that was given to them.  This solved the problem of having to impose too much hardship on the supporters, who were usually poor.  The tradition of all Theravada monks is the practice of going out for alms round once a day before noon.  The devotees would provide whatever food they had for the monks.  This was the Indian tradition.  It is still being practised to this day especially in remote areas of Burma and Thailand.

As for us lay Buddhists, we are also very flexible in what we eat.  The chef will insist that we are what we eat.  But the Buddha pointed out to us that we are what we THINK!

Your question:
* Are there different color robes for Buddhist monks and what if anything do the different colors mean?

My answer:
This time, we have to note the race or nationality of the monks and nuns.  The Tibetans have their own traditional robes.  The Chinese have their own style quite close to the orthodoxed robe.  Then you have the Japanese.  Who knows we may come out with a Western version!  It's kind of confusing, isn't it?  Well an advantage is that one is able to know which country the monks come from, if one is familiar with the different types of robes.

The traditional colour is from the dye of the jackfruit, which is close to dark orange.  However any shades from yellow to dark brown is worn, by the Theravada monks.
The appropriate term for the robe is called saffron robe.  Saffron is deep orange in colour.

The colours don't mean a thing, as far as Theravada monks are concerned.  The Buddha was a crown prince with a kingdom waiting for him to rule, but he discarded his princely gown, shaved his head, and wore a simple saffron robe.  Although the fashion designer will insist that you are what you wear; the Budhha pointed out to us that we are what we THINK!

Your question:
* Has anyone in the last 20 to 30 years attained
enlightenment?

My answer:
If only I knew!  First, we must understand what "enlightenment" means in Buddhism.  The Buddha was called the fully enlightened one.  He attained supreme enlightenment through the purification of his mind.  The moment of his enlightenment was the culmination of very long periods of his great personal sacrifices and mind cultivation throughout his countless past lives.

From the Buddha's teachings, we can become enlightened only through mind cultivation.  It is not too difficult to understand the Buddha's teachings; which is only an academic achievement.  But to be enlightened, one must purify one's mind to perfection, completely free of greed, hatred, and spiritual ignorance.  This spiritual ignorance is the ignorance of the true nature of this world and this life.  If one is enlightened, one is actually "out" of this world.  He is no longer of the world; that is why he will never be reborn  in this world ever again.

Your question:
* If you believe life is all suffering than how can you believe in being at peace and reaching Nirvana?

My answer:
If life is not suffering, then there is no need for Nibbana.  Life will be Nibbana, because Nibbana means no more suffering.
Most of us actually are aware of the tremendous sufferings in this world.  But we turn a blind eye to the things we do not want to see.  If we can just float into space and look at the whole world, look at Iraq, Ghana, Middle East; in fact every nation on earth, you will see great sufferings everywhere.  Watch the National Geographic animal series-- you see one animal killing the other for survival.  People are dying, animals are dying, everything is dying.  Death is the greatest suffering!
In fact everything in this world is unsatisfactory, because it is not permanent and therefore subject to change and decay and death.
This is the universal truth which the Buddha pointed out. The 3 characteristics of the nature of this world.  They are Impermanence, Unsatisfactoriness, and Insubstantiality.  The latter meaning that this ever changing process is a phenomenon, without any substance, not the act of some super being.  It is a trick, an illusion, which we think is very real and important.

In our daily lives, we experience some happiness.  But in the final analysis when death approaches, it is sorrowful and it is suffering.  Our lives become problematic when we mistakenly interprete whatever that is not permanent to be permanent; whatever that is not happiness to be happiness; and whatever that is not real to be real.
This life is not permanent,but we desire eternal life.  Life is sorrowful when death calls, but we seek permanent happiness.  We have been deceived by the world because of our ignorance and delusion.  We have eyes but CANNOT see.
When we don't get what we want, we are disappointed.  When we get that which we hate, we become angry.  When we get what we want, we want more and more; we become greedy.  We have no peace because we are chasing after shadows.

This is what we called greed, hatred, and delusion, which cause us tremendous headaches and agony.

Having identified the culprits, if we want peace, we have to reduce the root causes, our greed and hatred.  We have to come to terms with reality that things are not permanent and are always in the end, very unsatisfactory.  Once we accept and come to terms with the realities of life and the world, our perception to life changes.  We accept the good as well as the bad, a part and parcel of life.  Then we can live in peace with ourselves and with the world.
The world is by its very nature, not perfect and not permanent.  If we want perfection and perfect peace permanently, then we have to get out of this world -- Nibbana.

Your question:
* What do Buddhists think about other religions in general?
My answer:
The Buddha taught universal truths, which transcend race, nationality, ideology, space and time.  In 3 lines, the Universal Message of the Buddha is:
Avoid evil.
Do good.
Purify the mind.

Buddhists do not find faults with others' beliefs.  In fact Buddhists always find faults within themselves.  We realize that we have all the faults of greed, hatred, and delusion within our own selves.  Our main mission is to reduce our defilements to become better persons and have peace with ourselves and the world.

Your question:
* Who is the most important figure in Buddhism besides Siddhartha Guatama?
My answer:
Gotama, the historical Buddha was the latest person to realize the Universal Truths of life and the universe.  He was the relevent teacher during this era.  He is the one and only Buddha relevent to us in our practice.  However,the Mahayana and Tibetan Buddhists believe in other Bodhisattas (Buddhas-to-be) and other Buddhas who can help them.

Your question:
* Do you thin people who don't believe in Buddhism can reach nirvana?
My answer:
Nirvana(Sanskrit) or Nibbana(Pali) means no more craving.

So long as we have this craving to exist, and residue of defilements of greed, hatred, and delusion, we will never attain Nibbana.
Buddhism is just a name given to the teachings of the Buddha.  The Buddha did not introduce Buddhism.  The Buddha revealed the Universal Truths of this life and the universe.  If anyone can eradicate completely, greed, hatred, and delusion, and achieve a perfectly pure mind, then this person will have attained Nibbana.

Your question:
* What is the process for selection of the Dahli Lama?
My answer:
This is not a question on Buddhism.  It is 100% Tibetan.
Please refer to:
www.dalailama.com


Your question:
* What would a Buddhist monk wear to bed? Are the robes worn at all times?
My answer:
Monks have an inner robe. I suppose in warmer climate they would be wearing only the inner robes.  I have not seen what they wear to sleep.  But I have seen Thai monks wearing a kind of buttonless sleeveless vest as casual garment.  Robes are usually always worn throughout.

Your question:
* How do Buddhist believe the world was started if there is no God per se?
My answer:
Even if God created the world; then who created God?

The Buddha at times refused to answer this type of question because there were many (and still are) who could not understand this concept of "no beginning and no end".

The Buddha not only revealed the creation of this world, but also revealed the cosmic creation of the whole universe. He also revealed the beginning of life forms as well as humans. He divided the process of "creation" (for lack of better word) into four stages...formation, existence, degeneration, and destruction. Upon destruction, all the material elements returned to their original base elements, and after a long long time, they began to group together and the process of formation started. So you can understand, that the whole process is a cycle, and has no beginning. These forces of "creation, formation, existence, and destruction" are universal throughout the entire cosmic space which has no ending. Time is a non factor, it has no meaning in this cosmic display of life cycle.

At any point in time there is this incessant cycle of creation, existence, degeneration and destruction of stars, planets, and even galaxies! Space has no ending, which can be better described as void. The Buddha called our galaxy, Cakkavala. Cakka meaning wheel or spiral. Our galaxy is spiral in shape. The whole universe, the Buddha called it Loka Dhatu, meaning, world of elements. In this endless void, there exists countless galaxies. The size and distance of these galaxies are beyond our human imagination and understanding! Our earth world is just an insignificant speck of dust in this whole unimaginable universe of cosmic existence!  Our life span is just a fraction of a blink of the eye, in terms of cosmic time scale. How insignificant we are!

Your last question:
* If you are comfortable telling us - how close do you believe you are to enlightenment? Is it possible for people to remeber past lives - how so?

My answer:
That close; but very far!  My dear friend Jake,
I am just an ordinary mortal with all the defilements.  I only hope to reduce all of them gradually.  See?  I am a very practical Buddhist!

Now about past lives?  A life consists of this body which we call "matter" and "consciousness" which we call the mind.  This mind is a stream of consciousness, ever in a state of flux.  When the "body" is dead, this life force or mental energy proceeds to "attach" on another life form, not necessarily a human life form.  This process is what we call "rebirth".  Under normal circumstances, we do not remember past lives, because our mind has not accumulated such power.  Also when this life force takes on a new life, it has "forgotten" its past.  However, there are cases where people can remember past lives.  There are documented case studies on this subject.  I think you can search in the web.  If one's mind is purified as mentioned before, there is the possibility of this ability to see the past as well as the future.


Well, I hope you are happy with my answers. Please ask again if you have further questions.  Please remember to limit to 3 questions for each posting.

Smile from justinchoo :-)