Class 12 – A Day of Appreciation

This is our last class; the semester went by very fast. I like to take this opportunity to thank many people.

I first like to thank Josten and Grace who initiated the idea of establishing this association. After the initial idea, we found two disciples’ kids as the inaugural President and Vice President. They attended the required orientation in creating a campus student organization and registered Association of Buddhist Students. We thank them for getting us a legitimate status on campus.

However, they were not really interested in getting involved, which caused some problems at the beginning when trying to get things moving. As a result, I took over the President’s post. That was a very difficult yet necessary decision. It was a burden on me as a first-semester UH student, facing a new school, a new environment, and a new challenge.

During that time and since, Maya has been very helpful in taking care of lots of tedious paperwork, going through red tapes and dealing with UH bureaucracy. Of course then there is Grace, who, as many of you know, are the “underground” president. She has helped me a lot. For example, every Wednesday after here, I would go home and receive an email from her giving me a long list of mispronounced words from that day’s talk. (I am often amazed at how you all can understand my English.)

Last week Emily asked me what is my true “self?” I told her I try to practice having no one fixed self. I am just a member of this organization. I always remind myself that I don’t get to give talks if you guys don’t show up. This is the concept of causation, which we have addressed many times this semester. In Buddhism, we see all phenomena as the results of arising elements/conditions. When all elements/conditions are put together, t the arising of the event.

Take a moment to think about this concept. Our government gives us a stable country to live a peaceful life. UH offers us this building and this room to hold our events. We all happen to be part of the UH community who happen to know about this organization, who just so happen to be interested in meditation, who just so by chance are available during this time… This list goes on. Without all of the elements/conditions working together, we would not be able to meet here today.

About mid semester, I was asked if we should consider taking donations or charging membership fees. Absolutely no. I just want to offer myself to you, to do the best I can. I believe we cannot put a price tag on practicing meditation and/or practicing Buddhism. Many of you have seen the movie “Pay it Forward.” An elementary school kid had a social study homework on how to change the world. He came up with this idea that if he can do three good deeds for someone and they in turn can "pay it forward" and so forth, positive changes can occur.

This is very similar to Buddhism concepts. I don’t know how much I can do. I just try my best. If you have received even the smallest amount of benefits, gained some small concepts and made changes in your life for better, I just wanted you to do something for others. Share your experience, tell your stories, and introduce them to this organization. We often gather together to go to a movie or a club. Probably even more often, we should gather friends to come to meditation and to attend Dharma talks.

Please continue your support next semester. We need your help. Many times during the semester, I was so tired and wanted to give up. Then Mimi made many good suggestions as to how I can better deliver my talk. We started giving out handouts as a result of her constructive feedback. It is suggestions such as this that kept me going.

I made a lot of friends here. I hope you all feel the same. Hope to see every one of you next semester. Stay tuned for our spring schedule. Tell your friends, bring them here. Let’s put all our positive energies together. If we all do our best, together, we can change the world.

Thank you for a wonderful semester! Let’s bestow all merits upon all sentient beings.


Recorded by Jian Dan

願 消 三 障 諸 煩 惱
yuàn xiao san zhàng zhu fán năo

願 得 智 慧 真 明 了
yuàn dé zhì huì zhèn míng liăo

普 願 罪 障 悉 消 除
pŏ yuàn zui zhàng xi xiao chú

世 世 常 行 菩 薩 道
shì shì cháng xíng pú sà dào

May the Three Obstructions and all the afflictions be eradicated.
May I obtain true wisdom with clear understanding.
May all the obstacles from all my offenses be eliminated.
I vow to practice the Bodhisattva Way constantly, life after life.

PS. This trace was recorded four years ago for my Chanting Class.

Class 11‏ - Wants & Needs

Today we discussed a seemingly easy concept – the differences between our wants and our needs. However, the line between the two is not always so clear cut. Most people think of wants and needs as opposites. This thinking results in the belief that wants are bad, not desirable. We should eliminate all wants and reduce all non-essential needs. Many people then become pessimistic and reclusive, lack of motivation and goals in life. Therefore, I believe this dualistic thinking needs some modification.

My definition of wants and needs takes a different view. I believe needs are our responsibilities while wants are our goals and wishes. Therefore, in order to achieve your goals/wishes, you have to be willing to take on the responsibilities that come with such a wish. For example, Buddha wanted all sentient beings to achieve enlightenment. We all want to achieve enlightenment. However, in order to achieve enlightenment, there are practices we need to follow. Practicing is our responsibilities. In other words, achieving enlightenment is what we want and practicing is what we need. If we approach wants and needs this way, we can have a positive life and are not ashamed of having wants.

However, in Buddhism, we also are cautious about attaching to our wants. If we are clinging to our wants, such an attachment will create suffering. Wants encourage us to realize our goals by putting in necessary (needs) efforts. In this process, be mindful of the states of your mind. Be mindful that everything is impermanent and observe the truth about cause and effect. If you can put in 100% of your efforts while not attaching to a fixed outcome, the outcome will be realized. The moment you are attached to a fixed outcome, you will never achieve your goal.

Now you understand the differences between wants and needs, and their relationships, be mindful in your daily life of what are wants and what are needs. Remember that impermanence is the true nature of all phenomena and attachments will create sufferings. Buddhism teaches us to be diligent in our practice without attaching to the ever-changing phenomena.

Class 10 - Understanding Death

Ryan was the first member of this association that I added to my Facebook account. He used to poke me whenever he found me online. When I received this shocking news last week, I realized I will never receive a poke from Ryan anymore. I am sad just like everyone else. Then I remember a story about a grieving mother.

Life is impermanent
During Buddha’s time, a mother was grieving for her son’s death. Her son died shortly after birth. The mother was so overtaken by the sorrow, she took her son’s body in search for a way to get her son back to life. Someone told him there is this enlightened saint named Buddha; maybe he has a way. This mother went to Buddha and expressed her sorrow and wish. The Buddha said, I can help if you can go and find a fire from a household to light this candle and bring this candle back to me. However, you have to get the fire from a household where nobody has ever died. The mother thought, this is easy, all I need to do is to light the candle. She went from door to door looking for a household where nobody has ever died. However, every household she visited, they all told her that, “we are more than happy to help you but somebody has died in my family. Sorry.” After a while, the mother finally realized that everyone eventually dies and life is truly impermanent. After realizing the truth about life and death, the mother was able to stop her sorrow, start practicing Buddhism, and eventually reached enlightenment.

Life never ends
In addition, in Buddhism, we also believe that life never ends. Life is like taking courses. We pass some courses while fail others. For those courses we fail, we have to retake them. For Ryan, he did petty well in relationship; a lot of friends memorialize him here today. However, he still had some courses that he needed to come back and retake. For example, I asked him to design a music program for us. He promised but it did not materialize. He still owed us a music program. If several years later, you see a cute boy who loves meditation, loves singing and playing music after we practice mediation. You know he is back!

Sadness is attachment
Some might ask, “Why do we feel sad?” We feel sad because we are still attached to him. When he is no longer with us, we lose the space, the chance to “practice” attachment to him. The practice of meditation can help us practice detachment. In Buddhism, lights also symbolize wisdom. Wisdom is like the light that illuminates the road ahead and chases away the shadow. Let’s find your wisdom within! During this difficult time, may your wisdom help you focus on the positive things we can learn from this event.

Dedication
Thanks to Ryan, because of him we have this chance to gather together today. Thanks to Ryan, he showed us how impermanent life is. He was like a bodhisattva, incarnated to teach us those truths. His death enlightens us to understand those truths just as the light that brightens our paths. To appreciate his teaching us about impermanence, we dedicate this wisdom to him. We wish that he could shower under the light of wisdom and achieve enlightenment. We wish that he will come back soon and we can practice meditation together again.

Also, let’s do not forget about the friendships present in this room right now. We appreciate this moment, appreciate everyone who is here today. Learning from Ryan, also we learn from all sentient beings. Ask yourself what did you learn from this event? For me, I treasure the chance we could gather here. May all become compassionate and wise and find the wisdom light within you.

May every living being,
Our minds as one and radiant with light,
Share the fruits of peace
Our hearts of goodness, luminous and bright.
If people hear and see,
How hearts and hands can find in giving, unity,
May their minds awake,
To Great Compassion, wisdom and to joy.
May goodness find reward,
May all who sorrow leave their grief and pain;
May this boundless light,
Dispel the darkness of their endless night.
Because our hearts are one,
This world of pain turns into Paradise,
May all become compassionate and wise,
May all become compassionate and wise.
(lyrics from UrbanDharma)

Class 9 – Cultivating Compassion

Nowadays, compassion has almost become a buzz word that everyone talks about. As one of the fundamental concepts in Buddhism, compassion is such a big topic that it can take several classes to discuss. Today I just wanted to focus on two things: the differences between love and compassion, and some simple ways we can cultivate compassion in day-to-day life.

In Chinese, compassion is 慈悲. The first character means “give happiness,” and second one means “eradicate suffering.” In other words, a compassionate person tries to give others happiness by helping them eradicate their sufferings. In Buddhism, happiness means “without suffering.” That is why we also emphasize the concept of cause and effect. The logic is simple: if we don’t create any suffering causes, consequently there will be no suffering results. True happiness can be reached then.

Most people think of happiness as “plus” – more money, a better car, a prettier cell phone, etc. I think differently. I consider happiness as “minus” – the removal of sufferings caused by all the endless desires, wants, and wishes. Think about the last time you went to a movie with friends. You had a great time. The movie ended, you went home, and you felt a sense of lose! Why? Because your happiness was built on “plus.” When you don’t have “it,” you feel unhappy. These kinds of happiness are temporary. Not only do they not last long, they sometimes become the source of unhappiness. Compassion, on the other hand, is to give others true happiness by helping them remove their sufferings.

If you understand the true meaning of compassion, you can then easily tell the differences between compassion and love. First, love usually implies possession and control. The best example would be a typical relationship between the parents and their children: because I love you, so I want you to do something for me. The line between control and love is a very thin one. You have to observe it carefully. Some might argue that I am the parent therefore I have to take care of my children. Being a parent is your responsibility. A good parent fulfills his or her responsibilities without trying to control their children. You want to help your kids by providing them good environment and education, so they can grow to be their own person. You don’t own their life so you should not control them to be the way you want them to be. While love implies possession and control, compassion means I just want to offer, to give.

Moreover, love often implies “exchanges.” Just like conducting business, I give you something and you give me something back in return. I read in my physiology textbook a case study about abused wives. Even after years of abuse, many of them will not leave their husband. For one, they keep thinking: he will change one day. For two, they feel I have invested so much in him, in this family. Isn’t this just like doing business, a form of “exchange”? I invest in you so I am waiting for my return.

Lastly, compassion is selfishless where self-benefit is fully abandoned for the sake of serving all sentient beings. A compassionate person treats everyone as equal. On the other hand, love is often selfish, discriminating between the ones I love and the ones I don’t. For example, you attend your daughter’s dance recital where more than 30 dancers are on stage dancing. You take pictures. Go home and examine those pictures. You see only your daughter. Your pictures have only 1 person. Or maybe her close friends, the ones you know. This is a form of attachment. You are attached to seeing only your daughter. You go to see a dance with 30 people and you see only 1 person. If I go to the same dance recital, because I am not attached to any one person or thing, I will be able to see everything. When my attachment is eliminated, I have more room to see things as they are. Our life is more open this way.

Some might ask that I am a very selfish person. Why should I care about the benefits of others. Actually, we follow any practice all for very selfish reasons. Just think this way. I practice meditation so I can purify my mind. I cultivate compassion so I can reduce anger and remove attachments. Even if you have the desire to help others, you have to start by helping yourself first. For example, if you see someone drowning and you want to save him. Before you jump into the water, you have to make sure you know how to swim first. Otherwise, you both will die. Therefore, help yourself first then help others.

So how can we cultivate compassion in day-to-day life? To start, you should understand the concept of reincarnation. In Buddhism, we believe we are all connected somehow in our previous lives so we are here today in the same room. You might be my mom or dad or daughter or son in my previous lives. When understanding this, you treat everyone as equal and with compassion.

In addition, just look around and you will observe a lot of sufferings of sentient beings. By observing that sufferings are all around us, you will easily and naturally deepen your compassion toward all sentient beings.

A lot of people connect compassion with being nice. However, it is not necessary the case. A professor drops a student, a parent scolds a child, a friend warns another friend…all could be forms of compassion. The focus is on intention and result. The intention needs to be wholesome, for the betterment of the other person. Then you observe the result – has the action resulted in a better outcome? Remember a couple of weeks ago I mentioned the story that a Zen master hit the deers. On the surface, he hit the deers. However, if you examine his intention, he wanted to scare them away so they will not be hurt by human.

Lastly, you can try to practice vegetarianism. You try to reduce the consumption of meats, try to reduce your attachments to certain food. Practicing vegetarianism is one way of working on letting go of attachments, therefore opening up your heart and cultivating compassion.

Next time when you go to a group event, take some pictures. Try to treat everyone in the group equally. Observe all arising thoughts. Is it love or is it compassion? Observe yourself. Look inward. Think about how meditation can help and/or has helped you in cultivating compassion.

Class 8 -- Dealing with Anger

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We experience many different emotions daily. We are happy one moment and sad the next. Our mood swings. Have you ever really asked yourself why you are experiencing these emotions? Where do they come from? Where do they go?

Let’s take anger for example. Where does anger come from? What are the causes of anger? Have you thought about it? Your first response might be: so-and-so said bad words to me, or so-and-so did something that hurt me. In other words, it is all someone else’s fault. In Buddhism, however, we take a different view.

In Buddhism, we believe, for example, that anger comes from either a hurt ego or an unfulfilled expectation. We are so attached to our “self,” that when someone said or did something bad to us, our ego is hurt. In other cases, we expect certain outcomes. For example, the girlfriend expects the boyfriend to bring her a birthday present but he did not. The girlfriend’s expectation is not met, therefore she is angry. Regardless of the causes of anger, however, when a negative emotion such as anger comes, what can we do to deal with it? I shared with you four ways to deal with anger.

First, because Buddhists believe in reincarnation, therefore just think that I must have done something bad to this person in previous life. I owed this person. What this person did to me now is just a way for me to pay this person back the debt. You will no longer be angry if you believe you are paying back something you owe. If you got angry, then you plant the anger seeds in your relationship. In the future when you two meet, the anger seeds might flourish and you two will be trapped in this bad cycle again and again. Wouldn’t you be glad to pay your debt and be done with it in this life?

Secondly, I talked about the concept of returning an unwanted gift. When someone gives you a gift, if you don’t accept it, then they have to take it back. Think of the bad words the other person said to you as an unwanted “gift.” If you simply do not accept the gift, then you are unaffected by the bad words. It is very interesting that, say someone is trying to provoke you, trying to make you mad. However, if you do not accept the “gift,” and are not mad, usually it is the other person who is really mad now.

The third way to deal with anger is to temperately transfer your emotion to something else, especially when the anger is too overwhelmed for you to handle at this moment. Go shopping, go to a movie, go to a restaurant, do whatever you like to do. However, if you can, try to meditate. Count your breath and pull yourself back to a tranquil state. After all, breath counting is a technique that can be carried anywhere, anytime, and it costs nothing.

Lastly, I talked about observing “emptiness.” In Buddhism, we believe all phenomena are created as a result of many conditions. If you analyze the causes of your anger, you will realize that anger itself does not have its own “self.” (therefore the concept of emptiness) Think about it. A moment ago someone said a bad word to you. That moment has since passed away. However, you are still clinging to that moment and creating anger in yourself. Remember a couple of weeks ago I shared with you the story of two monks crossing the river. The younger monk was still attached to a phenomenon that had long gone. If the phenomenon is gone, why do we still punish ourselves by continuing thinking about it?

A young lady always got angry for trivial matters. She went to ask a Zen master how she can deal with her emotion. After listening to her complains, the Zen master said nothing. The Master led her to a meditation room then he locked her in it.

At first, the lady was very angry. She kicked and hit the door. She shouted, yelled and cursed. However, no one paid attention to her. Eventually, she calmed down. The Zen master stood outside and asked, “Are you still angry?” “No, I only blame myself to decide to come here, only to have such a hard time.” “If you can not forgive yourself, how could you forgive others? How could you have peace in your mind?” Then the Zen mater walked away.

After a little while, Zen master came back and asked, “Are you still angry?” “No” “Why?” “Even if I were angry, there is no way out of here.” “You still have anger in your mind, you just temporarily suppress it. The anger would burst out violently later.”

The third time, Zen mater came to talk to her. The lady said, “I am not angry now, because it is not worth it.” The Zen master said, “You still think about whether being angry is worth something. You are still angry.”

“What is anger? The lady asked the Master, then she reached enlightenment.

Why are we angry? Anger is something dumps from someone else but you willingly accept. It gives you a stomachache if you swallow it but if you don’t pay attention, it disappears. Being anger is to use someone else’s mistake to punish yourself. Life is too short to waste our time in being angry.

Meditation helps eradicate our negative emotions such as greed, anger, and ignorance by being true to yourself, by gaining true understanding about yourself. Once we have the purified mind, we will not be influenced and controlled by desires, wants, and all the emotions. We live in a fast paced society where we are always running around, trying to do everything. We give very little time to ourselves. Meditation gives us the awareness and mental power necessary to face everyday life with tranquility. It is extremity important that we meditate every day. When we encounter emotions, we then can quickly go back to this peaceful state of mind.

There are only four more classes to go. Continue the practice, patiently and persistently. Practice makes perfect!

Class 7‏ - Inner Beauty

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What is beauty? Is it our physical character or is it something resides in our inner quality?

Two monks went to the market to buy some fruits. The older monk picked up a big peach and said to the younger monk "See how beautiful this one is!" The younger monk turned around and picked up another one. "This one is prettier." "Why?" the older monk questioned. "Your peach has spots on the skin. Look at mine, spotless, beautiful!" the younger monk replied. The two monks then argued over which peach is more beautiful than the other. A bystander overheard the conversation and commented to both monks, "They both are perfect!" Upon hearing this, both monks immediately reached enlightenment.

All peaches, regardless of their outside skin condition, possess identical nutrition values. However, it is our dualistic mind (as discussed last week) that always likes to compare. We compare this peach with that peach, this cloth with that cloth, this person with that person…. Then we separate them into like, dislike, good, bad, favorable, not favorable…

Buddha had a cousin Nan Tuo (難陀) who had a very beautiful wife. Nan Tuo would comb her hair and help her put on makeup everyday just to make her look even more beautiful. In Nan Tuo's mind, his wife is the most beautiful woman in the world. Because Nan Tuo had such a strong attachment to his wife's outer appearance, even after he became a monk, he continued to miss his wife. To help Nan Tuo eradicate such an attachment, one day Buddha used his supernatural power to bring Nan Tuo to heaven. Everyone in heaven is astonishingly beautiful. Nan Tuo noticed right away and was stunned by all the beauty the heavenly beings possess. Buddha asked Nan Tuo, "how is your wife's beauty compared to these heavenly beings?" "My wife is like an old monkey!" Nan Tuo responded.

Like I said last week, the duality of our mind creates all external phenomena. Originally Nan Tuo thought his wife was the most beautiful of all. However, compared with the heavenly beings, his wife can only be rated as an old monkey! So the question is, what is true beauty?

Like all peaches have the same nutrition values, each one of us possesses Buddha nature and has the same opportunity to reach enlightenment. The real beauty resides within each one of us. When we have inner beauties such as compassion and loving kindness, such a quality will manifest itself outward. Naturally, our outer appearance will change as a result of our inner tranquility.

Meditation creates a tranquil mind, a non dualistic mind. Such a mind is the inner beauty we all should seek. Continue the practice, patiently and persistently. Practice makes perfect! Remember in Nan Tuo's story that he will go to heaven and enjoy all the bliss and beauty. However, if he did not continue the practice, he still will end up in hell after he uses up all his blessings. As we discussed in class 2, Heaven and Hell are states of mind, not places we go after life. Be the master of our own minds today!

Class 6 - Duality

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This was our sixth week of this semester, an important milestone for ABS and for you! Like a lot of you, I was also dealing with midterms and papers in the past two weeks. Like a lot of you who have full-time or part-time jobs, I was also feeling the pressure of balancing school work and other responsibilities. Again, like a lot of you, sometimes I wish I were “free” from all the responsibilities.

How can we be “free”? Is it the responsibilities that hold us prisoner or is it that we all are simply the prisoners of our own mind?

Once upon a time, there was a Zen master Gaofeng Miao (高峰妙). He was traveling and visiting other Zen masters. One day he was staying at a motel and got thirsty in the middle of the night. In the pitch dark, he found his way to the kitchen and a large container full of water. Immediately he drank the water, which had a sweet taste to it. The next morning, he woke up and wanted to drink that sweet water again. He went to the kitchen and was ready to drink the water from the container. In the daylight, however, he saw something floating on the surface. In addition, there was this filthy smell to it. It turned out that the water was waste from people washing their feet. Upon realizing that he drank some very dirty water the night before, Zen master Gaofeng Miao was shocked at first. Immediately then he reached enlightment.

Last night when the Zen master drank the water, he thought it had a sweet taste to it. This morning when he realized this was feet-wash waste, he did not have the desire to drink it anymore. Why? It was clearly the same water! Therefore the difference must not be the water. The difference lies in our mind. Our mind distinguishes clean from dirty, pretty from ugly, big from small, like from dislike. It is this duality of our mind that separates all phenomena. When realizing how dirty the water really is, the duality in our mind tells us not to like it and not to drink it. The duality of our mind creates all external phenomena; all external phenomena are the reflection of our mind. Zen master Gaofeng Miao reached enlightment by realizing this.

To further illustrate the point of duality, I shared with you another story about two mother-in-laws.

Mother-in-law A was complaining to mother-in-law B of how her son is married to this lazy wife. The wife does nothing around the house. Mother-in-law A’s son has to do everything, from preparing breakfast to doing laundry. “The wife is so lazy and my son is so unfortunate to have married her,” mother-in-law A grumbled.

“My daughter is very fortunate to have married to my son-in-law,” mother-in-law B shared. “How so?” Mother-in-law A asked. “Because my son-in-law does everything around the house. My daughter has to do nothing.” Mother-in-law B explained.

Clearly both in-laws are in the same situation. However, they both speak from a different perspective. The phenomenon remains the same; our mind distinguishes it. We all like to use our own standards to measure everything. As a result, we often make mistakes. Meditation helps us clear our mind so we can see things as is, not as how we want it to be.

Jerry asked an interesting question today, which related to the topic of duality. Jerry asked what is suffering. There is an English expression: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. What is considered suffering differs from person to person. Many people consider meditation suffering. When you value a certain thing, it becomes pleasant for you. When you don’t see the value of a certain thing, it might be the suffering for you. Suffering is the gap between reality and expectation. Again, it is the duality of our mind that creates all phenomena. Meditation helps us find the reality within and free us from all sufferings. Remember, we are always the prisoners of our own minds!

There are only six more classes to go. Continue the practice, patiently and persistently. Practice makes perfect!

Class 5 - Looking inwards

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Last week I shared with you one well-known story between the famous Chinese scholar Su Dongpo and his good friend Zen Buddhist Master Foyin. This week, I told you another humorous yet illuminating story between the two.

One day, Su Dongpo and Zen Master foyin was meditating in the monastery. When they finished, Su asked Foyin, "what do you see in front of you?"

"An enlightened Buddha!" Fo Yin smiled, "and what do you see?"

"A pile of bull shit!" Su Dong Po was making fun of Fo Yin. Su and Foyin often debated on Buddhism and philosophy and Foyin always defeated Su. Su thought this time he won!

Su Dong Po went home with a light heart. At the door, he met his little sister. She asked why her brother looked so happy.

"Because I won this time."

"How?" his little sister asked.

Upon hearing the story, Su's sister commented,

"My dear brother, you lost again."

"What?" he protested.

"Foyin has reached the state of a Buddha's mind. That is why he saw you as a Buddha. On the other hand, you had nothing but bull shit in your heart. As a result, you saw everything else as shit"

Buddhism talks about cause and effect. When we look inward, we see that all sufferings are caused by us, not by some external, supernatural, or uncontrollable circumstances. When our mind is tranquil, we see things around us peaceful. Meditation helps us reach that tranquil state.

class 4‏ - Cultivating the mind

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Su Dongpo (1036-1101) is one of the few figures in Chinese history who were masters of multiple artistic and literary disciplines. He was a great writer, artist and calligrapher. In addition, he was also a cultivator of Zen Buddhism. There were many interesting stories about him and his good friend Zen Buddhist Master Foyin. I shared with you this one today.

One day, Su Dongpo felt inspired and wrote this poem:

I bow to the heaven within heaven

I shower within the brightness of great wisdom

The eight winds cannot move me

For I always sit and stand still on the golden lotus


The "eight winds" in the poem refer to praise, ridicule, honor, disgrace, gain, loss, pleasure and misery - interpersonal forces of the material world that drive and influence all of us. Su Dongpo was saying that he had attained a higher level of enlightenment, where these forces no longer affected him. Can you imagine attaining this state of mind? It is very difficult to say the least.

Impressed by himself, Su Dongpo sent a servant to hand-carry this poem to Zen Master Foyin. He felt certain that his friend would be just as impressed. When Foyin read the poem, he only wrote one word on the manuscript and had it returned to Su Dongpo.

Su Dongpo was shocked when he saw what the Zen master had written. He became very angry. "How dare he insult me like this? He's got a lot of explaining to do!" Su Dongpo ordered a boat to ferry him to the other shore as quickly as possible. Once there, he jumped off and charged into the temple. He wanted to find Foyin and demand an apology. He found Foyin's door closed. On the door was a piece of paper, with the following two lines:

The eight winds cannot move you

One fart blows you across the river

It turned out Zen Master Foyin had written the word "fart" on the manuscript. Evidently Foyin had anticipated Su Dongpo's visit too. Su Dongpo's anger suddenly drained away as he understood his friend's meaning. If he really was a man of spiritual refinement, completely unaffected by the eight winds, then how could he be so easily provoked?

How about you? Are you easily distracted by your emotions, things others said to you, things others did to you, expectations, desires, etc? Meditation helps us calm our mind down so we have the ability to examine ourselves. Am I really as calm as I thought I was? Am I really as compassion as I thought I was? Am I really who I thought I was? Look inwards and find the treasure within.

Continue the practice, patiently and persistently. Practice makes perfect!

Class 3‏ - Living the present moment

When practicing meditation, we train our mind to focus on the present moment, not on what happened yesterday or on what is about to happen tomorrow. Today someone asked a very good question: When I drove to school today, I had to think– oh I need to go to meditation at noon. If I don't think about it, how will I come?

So I shared with you a well-known Zen story about two monks and a beautiful woman.

An older monk and a younger monk were traveling together and they reached a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman was afraid to cross the river because she might slip and be carried downstream. She asked if one of the monks might help her across.

The older monk carried this woman on his shoulder, crossed the river and let her down on the other bank. The younger monk was shocked and disturbed. In the Chinese Buddhist tradition, monks should refrain himself/herself from any physical contact with the opposite sex.

After several days, the younger monk finally cannot stand the thought any longer. He came to the older monk and asked, "How could you break your vows and carry that woman on your shoulders?"

The older monk replied, "I left the woman a long time ago at the bank, however, you seem to be carrying her still."

What does this story mean to you? How does this story relate to your meditation practice? We practice the moment to moment mindfulness in daily life. When a thought arises, we take notice and let it go. Do not attach to it nor follow it. Mindfulness is the acute awareness of the reality as is, not as was or as will be.

Continue the practice, patiently and persistently. Practice makes perfect!

Class 2 - Be the master of your mind

Where is Heaven? Where is Hell? If they exist, can you show it to me?

Today I shared with you a Zen story, a conversation between a Zen Master and a Zen disciple.

The Master slapped the disciple
The disciple became very angry and drew his sword, ready to kill the Master
"This is Hell." said the Master
The disciple was suddenly enlightened and felt gratitude and ashamed
"This is Heaven," said the Master

Heaven and Hell are states of mind, not places we go after life. When we meditated at UC today, loud music was going on outside. It could be Hell for you since it distracted your concentration. If the music made you angry, you were then in Hell. However, if you could focus your attention on the company of the members, and the positive energy we shared, you were in Heaven. Can you find similar examples in your daily life?

To be the master of our mind, we have to learn how to control it. Meditation is the process of gaining control of our true self. Continue the practice, patiently and persistently. Practice makes perfect!

Class 1 - Introduction to meditation

We had a great time today; thanks to those of you who came out today. Even though lots of commotions were going on at UC, we learned the first step in meditation - breath counting. Set up a home practice and try to maintain a regular schedule, even if it is only five minutes. Group sittings are very important too. The energy of a group can help sustain our home practice.

Practice makes perfect.

See you all next week.