I am so blurry that I don't really know what I'm going to write but I feel an urge to.
The other day I was talking to a friend who is a PhD and now teaches in the same department (Industrial Engineering) as I. I was so totally surprised when he asked if anger is Moha (delusion). I was like, what?!? I mean, technically speaking, he is correct because if one is not deluded, one won't be angry. But generally, anger has its own category, in terms of defilements. Apparently, those 3+ years of Buddhism classes in high school & junior high didn't leave any trace in his brain. What hope do I have in the general public when a highly educated guy like him doesn't even know these basic Buddhism terminology? I told him that he ought to at least learn the basics, else it'd be tough to understand any dhamma talks. I said, how can you learn the math, when you can't count one to ten? (He reads my blog from time to time so he knows that I denounce him publicly).
This same guy also thinks that the fact that I put on a facial makeup and that I do put effort and thoughts and money into my outfits is inconsistent with being religious. I was like, I think I'm doing disservice to my customers and my students if I greet them with an oily, ugly face. When I visit monasteries, I don't do makeup. It's all role play. Why do some people think a devout Buddhist has to be poorly dressed, bland and emotionally suppressive?
Anyhow, the other day I was talking to a friend whom I met at a Vipassana retreat. We ran into each other twice at Baan Aree and a dhamma-talk event. She called to inform me that many Vipassana masters from the remote parts of Thailand will be invited to Bangkok to celebrate the anniversary of a private hospital, Vichaiyuth (a part of the Thai tradition to celebrate with a wholesome event). She said, you might want to go there to ask these masters questions on your practice. I said, I don't really have any questions. I know my weakness, and I'm not stuck. And I wonder if asking is necessary, most of the time. I feel that some people asked in the hope that answers will assure them, like padding them on the backs that they're making progress. Does these unnecessary questioning reinforce a sense of me and mine? My practice, my progress and my enlightenment?
Luangpor Kamkien said something that struck me. He said something like, there isn't really a need to ask. If you can see your own anger, but you are not angry (be the knower, but not what is known). Then you make progress. I really do think that having a right teacher to ask is helpful. But it is not sufficient. Teachers and teaching are guides, maps, that show me the way, but it is I who walk the path.
The other day I listened to Ajahn Jayasaro's talk in a Buddhist convention where many in the audience seemed to be teachers. He said that we (teachers) must not turn into celebrities; it's not a cult of personality but rather, it's the Buddha's teaching that must be uphold. And I totally agree. Thai people tend to have more faith in a person, rather than playing by the rules. This makes it very tough to set up a system that continues to operate regardless of what an operator is. What an engineering thing to say?
I can't wait for a summer holiday so that I can go to monasteries and stay for a stretch of time. I'm going to Finland in April and I plan to visit Antwerp (Belgium) on the way. Since it's so close to Brussels, I may visit it too.
The other day I was talking to a friend who is a PhD and now teaches in the same department (Industrial Engineering) as I. I was so totally surprised when he asked if anger is Moha (delusion). I was like, what?!? I mean, technically speaking, he is correct because if one is not deluded, one won't be angry. But generally, anger has its own category, in terms of defilements. Apparently, those 3+ years of Buddhism classes in high school & junior high didn't leave any trace in his brain. What hope do I have in the general public when a highly educated guy like him doesn't even know these basic Buddhism terminology? I told him that he ought to at least learn the basics, else it'd be tough to understand any dhamma talks. I said, how can you learn the math, when you can't count one to ten? (He reads my blog from time to time so he knows that I denounce him publicly).
This same guy also thinks that the fact that I put on a facial makeup and that I do put effort and thoughts and money into my outfits is inconsistent with being religious. I was like, I think I'm doing disservice to my customers and my students if I greet them with an oily, ugly face. When I visit monasteries, I don't do makeup. It's all role play. Why do some people think a devout Buddhist has to be poorly dressed, bland and emotionally suppressive?
Anyhow, the other day I was talking to a friend whom I met at a Vipassana retreat. We ran into each other twice at Baan Aree and a dhamma-talk event. She called to inform me that many Vipassana masters from the remote parts of Thailand will be invited to Bangkok to celebrate the anniversary of a private hospital, Vichaiyuth (a part of the Thai tradition to celebrate with a wholesome event). She said, you might want to go there to ask these masters questions on your practice. I said, I don't really have any questions. I know my weakness, and I'm not stuck. And I wonder if asking is necessary, most of the time. I feel that some people asked in the hope that answers will assure them, like padding them on the backs that they're making progress. Does these unnecessary questioning reinforce a sense of me and mine? My practice, my progress and my enlightenment?
Luangpor Kamkien said something that struck me. He said something like, there isn't really a need to ask. If you can see your own anger, but you are not angry (be the knower, but not what is known). Then you make progress. I really do think that having a right teacher to ask is helpful. But it is not sufficient. Teachers and teaching are guides, maps, that show me the way, but it is I who walk the path.
The other day I listened to Ajahn Jayasaro's talk in a Buddhist convention where many in the audience seemed to be teachers. He said that we (teachers) must not turn into celebrities; it's not a cult of personality but rather, it's the Buddha's teaching that must be uphold. And I totally agree. Thai people tend to have more faith in a person, rather than playing by the rules. This makes it very tough to set up a system that continues to operate regardless of what an operator is. What an engineering thing to say?
I can't wait for a summer holiday so that I can go to monasteries and stay for a stretch of time. I'm going to Finland in April and I plan to visit Antwerp (Belgium) on the way. Since it's so close to Brussels, I may visit it too.
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