Expert: Justin Choo - 4/18/2006

Question
-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
Greetings:
 1. My name is Adele and I was a Catholic nun for a long time.  Since I left, I have studied various philosophies in the search for a spiritual place to be.I have been reading Pema Chodrun and Sakyong Rimpoche, but due to several illnesses, I cannot read as much as I would like, nor can I attend retreats /seminars. I meditate often.
  1. To whom do Buddhists pray? Do you pray to the Source, to Bodhisattvas, or do you project your chi to affect the person for whom you are praying?  I am confused about this, as I see that many chants are phrased like prayers.
   2. What should I expect from a meditation instructor? Does he o
nly answer questions, or does he give direction and teach, as well?
   Thank you,
   Adele
Answer -
Hi Adele,
-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  
Tuesday-
 Thanks, again for our help.  I wonder if i mmight impose to ask some advice?
 Coming from the Roman Catholic tradition, my experience is different. I asked about the meditation instructor, because, a couple of years ago I joined the Shanbhala Meditation Center, which was started by Chogyam Trunpa Rimpoche, and is now directed by his son, Sogyal Rimpoche. It seem to be a very structured group. It teaches the Vajrayana/Mahayana traditions, primarily.  I joined because I wanted to learn Tibetan Buddhist meditation in prepartion for my death.  I have become disabled and seem to be going downhill fast. Because if this I cannot atend the classes that are given and , therefore cannot take advantage of the teachings, other than by book.  
  I chose a meditation instructor, and joined the group, for this reason, but, he seems to be very busy, and we have only spoken about 4 times, plus once, when I attempted to attend a one day retreat. I do not think we have communicated in the past 6 months. I have sent e-mail, but there have been few answers.  I hesitate to call him, because I never know when he will be overseas on business.(I phoned once, and he answered from Germany!) I wonder if I should choose another instructor, or if I have unreasonable expectations.
  I have been meditating in other disciplines since 1955, and still find
that I have much to learn. I think part of the problem is that I am seeking instruction and do not have a lot of questions to ask, at this
time.
  I would be very grateful if you would share our thoughts on this.
  Gratefully,
  Adele  

Thank you for asking me.  Welcome to the path of real freedom, inner peace and happiness.

Before commenting on your questions may I briefly describe the fundamental teachings of the Buddha, which all Buddhist traditions agree with.

Buddhism is the name given to the teachings of the historical Buddha, whose name was Gotama.
What did he teach? He taught us to use our human intelligence to see the world as it really is. He taught us to be masters of ourselves. He taught us to be free from dogmas and commandments. So long as we are fearful of something or someone we are not free. We cannot have peace of mind if we are fearful.
He taught us how to have peace within ourselves. If we do not understand the true nature of the world and this life, we will never experience peace within ourselves.
The Buddha discovered the way to peace and happiness through realizing the true nature of life and this universe. It was more than 2500 years ago in northern India where the Buddha through harnessing the power of his mind realized that if man were to be free of greed, hatred and delusion, he had to look inwards into his mind, and start cleansing his inner defilements. If one reduces one's defilements, one would experience peace and happiness. He discovered that the whole world had certain characteristics and that life continued to exist because of certain causes. This world is very uncertain and unsatisfactory, because we cannot be fully satisfied in life; and that nothing is permanent. He also pointed out that because of our craving for permanent happiness and complete satisfaction, we were always miserable. Once we understand and come to terms with this imperfect world, we will not complain too much, and will live through life with wisdom accepting the whole "package of life".

The most salient aspect of Buddhism is FREEDOM in its practice. The Buddha encouraged his followers to use their common sense and human intelligence to analyze his teachings before accepting them. He pointed out that there was no super agent who controlled us, punished us and rewarded us. We are not puppets on the strings; and there is no puppeteer up above to manipulate us. The natural law of cause and effect rules the world. No matter what you are and where you are, or what you believe, this UNIVERSAL LAW rules supreme. There is no escape. It is perfectly impartial. In simple language, good begets good; evil begets evil.
So, in Buddhism there is no dogma and no commandment. There are only the guidelines and noble precepts which the Buddha advised us to follow. As diligent Buddhists we use certain precepts to guide our lives. These are the 5 precepts: to refrain from killing, to refrain from stealing, to refrain from committing sexual misconduct, to refrain from telling lies, and to refrain from taking intoxicating substances.
Buddhist teachings are like air. They are free, and non-discriminating. If anyone thinks they are beneficial, then they can breathe the air. If anyone chooses otherwise, then it's up to the person. This is the "religion" of Buddhism....Truth, Peace, Harmlessness, and Freedom. A more appropriate term to describe Buddhism is "humanism". It deals with the peaceful conduct of human lives.

Now to make some comments on your queries.  First, you have to be aware that there are several Buddhist traditions.  The main ones are Theravada, Mahayana, Japanese Zen, and Tibetan Vajrayana.  Because Buddha's teachings are based on universal truths, followers can easilly practise them while still maintaining their respective traditions and cultures.  That's why we have the different traditions with their different rites and rituals.  Fortunately all subscribe to the fundamental teachings of the Buddha.  It is this fundamental teachings of the Buddha that form the essence of Buddhism.  

Chanting takes on different forms in the different traditions.  It will take awhile to describe all, and you would need to be familiar with the different traditions.  I shall comment on the Theravada tradition, which I practise.
Most of the chanting are renditions of the Buddha's discources.  There is no "magic" in chanting.  However there are certain protection that we may benefit.  This is so when we have the 5 wholesome factors to support us when chanting.  They are: chanting of truths; radiating goodwill and compassion; purity of the person who is chanting; the power of the chanting vibration (sound vibration); and the faith of the person who chants.  We do not pray to anyone or anything, for there is nothing to pray to for protection.  The Buddha advised us to practice his teachings which are based on universal truths of good morality.  The Buddha assured us that when we follow these wholesome universal principles of goodwill and harmlessness we will be accordingly protected by these truths.  It is a fundamental truth that if we are peaceful and wholesome, we will avoid a lot of problems.   


What should I expect from a meditation instructor? Does he only answer questions, or does he give direction and teach, as well?

First you have to understand what is Buddhist meditation.
The skill in meditation is to relax and observe; not to fight for anything or to be perfect in any thing. The object of meditation is to tame the wandering mind so that we can train it to "listen" to us, instead of we taking orders from it. We want to be masters of our minds, and not their slaves. With a tamed and trained mind, a person can conduct his life with wisdom and will experience inner peace and happiness, without any foolish desires and hindrances. A good meditation teacher will answer questions, give directions and teach as well.

You may find more info in www.buddhanet.net the "mother" of all Buddhist websites.

Smile from justinchoo :-)  

Answer
Hi Adele,

Thanks for the ratings. It is very refreshing and encouraging to know that what I do is appreciated.

Coming back to meditation.  Since you have been exposed to meditation for such a long time already, I am sure you will have a good idea of what meditation is all about.  Buddhist meditation involves 2 aspects.  One is to tame the wondering mind to be still.  When we achieve this stillness we experience inner calm and as an extended development, we experience what we call a state of absorption... the mind experiences complete bliss.. a sort of lightness and brightness.  A further stage of meditation is to contemplate into the realities of this existence...that all feelings and thoughts come and will go away.  This realization is called insight into the realities of existence.  Once we can see this on-going process of life continuum, we come to terms with reality of life...birth, old age, sickness, and death.   I am sorry to hear of your present health problem.  If you can follow this simple method of meditation as taught by the Buddha, you will have mental peace.  He introduced this simple method.... breathing in and out while concentrating on the out-breath and in-breath at the tip of the nose.  Just continue to practise this method; do not rush or expect anything,  and you will definitely experience calm in time to come.   

There is this site in Western Australia where Ajahn Brahmawamso resides. He is an English monk and is a very popular speaker. You can listen to his talk through this site:
Buddhist Society of Western Australia
Web site: www.bswa.org

Please contact him for advice.  I am sure he will respond.

May you have peace.

Smile from justinchoo :-)