Barbara O'Brien (Buddhism.About.com), Special Correspondence to Wisdom Quarterly
The Americans are onto something. If there are Gateless Gates, why not wordless words?
Controversy? I don't see a controversy, although maybe that's because I've been aware for many years that every Zen center and monastery operating with the English language is using a different translation for the Four Vows and the rest of the chanted liturgy as well.
I hadn't realized this was bothering anybody. A big part of the Zen tradition is the understanding that the absolute truth cannot be contained in words and concepts, and so the wording is never perfect.
It's actually interesting to compare various translations to see how different people have struggled to get closer to what is being expressed. No one, however, will ever get it right. I don't see that as a problem; it's just how it is. My current sangha [practice community], which is in the San Francisco Zen Center lineage, chants the Four Vows twice in Japanese and once in English.
The English translation we use is different from the first one I learned, which was the one being used by the Los Angeles Zen Center in the 1980s or so. FYI: The Four Vows Controversy (Zen) Brian Eno, "Sky Saw," from the album Another Green World
The Final Word
Well now that the grande dame of lay American Buddhism has weighed in -- and Richard, Ron, and Don have had their say on behalf of the rebellious ZCLA crowd, a position WQ can cotton to, and Mara is finished researching -- there's nothing left to say. Case closed! Chant in Japanese, and leave it at that. When the words are meaningless, leave them alone. Brian Eno, the famous glam rocker, ambient innovator, and progressive producer for acts like U2, said it best in his abstract song "Sky Saw":
All the clouds turn to words All the words float in sequence No one knows what they mean Everyone just ignores them
Aung Hla Tun, Reuters, Aug. 20, 2012, TheStar.com.my; Wisdom Quarterly
Burma's Saffron Revolution saw Theravada monks and lay folk protesting the government
1984 is about Burma and UK
YANGON, Burma - Myanmar abolished direct media censorship on Monday, the latest dramatic reform by its quasi-civilian regime, but journalists face other formidable restrictions including a ban on private daily newspapers and a pervasive culture of self-censorship.
Under the new rules, journalists no longer have to submit reports to state censors before publication, ending a practice strictly enforced during nearly half a century of military rule that ended in March last year.
"This is a step in the right direction and a good approach, but questions of press freedom will remain," said Aung Thu Nyein, a senior associate at the Vahu Development Institute, a Thailand-based think tank.
"We can expect the government to still try to assert some control, probably using national security to keep the media in check," he added.
Previously, every song, book, cartoon, news report and planned piece of art required approval by teams of censors rooting out political messages and criticisms of one of Asia's most repressive governments. More
It is inspiring to remember that from a Buddhist point of view, "Every saint has a past, every sinner a future."
Vimala Theri (Thig 5.2), a Buddhist nun at the time of the Buddha, awakened and, attaining full enlightenment, recorded her experience in a hymn. The Therigatha, a collection of such hymns (gatha), reveals her story:
Young and overbearing --
drunk with fame, beauty,
with my figure, its flawless appearance --
I despised other women.
Heavily made up, I leaned
against the brothel door
and flashed my wares. Like a hunter,
I laid my snares to surprise fools.
I even taught them a trick or two
as I slipped my clothes off
and bared my secret places.
O how I despised them!
Today, head shaved, wrapped
in a single robe, an almswoman,
I move about, or sit at the foot
of a tree, empty of all thoughts.
All ties to heaven and earth
I have cut loose forever.
Uprooting every obsession,
I have put out the fires.
The Buddha and his foster mother established the first nuns order in a world religion.
Hymns of Enlightenment
Wisdom Quarterly based on Parthasarathy (weberstudies.weber.edu)
These songs or spiritual hymns -- paralleling a similar compilation composed by enlightened elder monks from the time of the Buddha -- were chanted. Each stanza (sloka) is comprised of four verses (padas, as in the most famous Buddhist text, the Dhammapada, or "Verses of the Dharma") of eight syllables each.
The first two verses, divided by a caesura, form one line; the next two verses, again divided by a caesura, form the second line. Unlike the secular poets of Tamil and Sanskrit, the Pali Buddhist poets attempted to raise the language of their spiritual songs above that of the profane model.
They deliberately shifted the emphasis of their songs away from the love poetry of the secular poets to the attainment of liberation (moksha), the true joy which, according to early Buddhist teachings, was assumed to be limited to monastics meditating alone.
Of course, the earliest Buddhist discourses contain countless examples of male and female householders and ordinary worldlings reaching enlightenment when instructed in the Teachings of the Noble Ones (Arya Dhamma). The Buddha, as the "Master Physician" and "Teacher of Devas and Humans," had the power as a teacher to perceive just what an auditor needed to rapidly advance toward the goal of awakening (bodhi) and liberation (nirvana).
The first of the Four Noble Truths is dukkha (unsatisfactoriness, disappointment, distress). Its proximal cause is craving (tanha), particularly sensual desire. And its distal cause is ignorance or delusion.
One useful description of nirvana is the dying out of the fires of lust (kama tanha, sensual craving), greed (lobha), hatred (dosa), and illusion (moha).
E:I know, but I think that memory is a part of the present, and all these fragments and images and information that make up memory are part of who we are now and that what we remember about a person is really a reflection of facets of our own experience, and the very act of remembering is the act of self-discovery.
G: Uh uh. So you're saying you did know Shawn, or...
E: In the sense that he's a part of the world that exists as a reflection of my perception of it.
G: I see, in that sense of it, huh.
You know some day, kid, when you discover yourself... you're going to remember the perception of the memory of the fragments of experience, and you're going to look at the unpaid balance of your student loan and you're gonna ask, 'Why?' Nobody has the answer to that, you know?
Roshi Jeff Albrizze and his wife Amanda have a secret to reveal on or about Doomsday 2012.
What an amazing announcement. Highly impressed doesn't even begin to cover it. Congratulations! I am seriously considering trying to reincarnate this December just so I can have the coolest Hoodoo parents ever! But I guess I'll wait and give some other chap a chance to enter this realm. Looking forward to the baby shower! -Kast
The Zen Center of Los Angeles (ZCLA) has a paper on the four vows comparing different translations, including some of the original language.
Wikipedia also has an excellent article as well on the topic “Bodhisattva vow.”
My final opinion as to what should be chanted has changed every day for the last few days. So I must continue to reflect and research. But I like what I have so far. Zen Master Red Pine made some interesting comments on how he translates his material, when he recently spoke at ZCLA. Combining the meaning with the rhythm and poetry of the words is a big challenge.
"I didn't think we had a choice. I like Jeff's ideas but I want to remain within the Yokoji Zen Mountain Center/ZCLA orthodoxy." -Ron
"For the first vow, I even like this version even more: 'Sentient beings are numberless. I vow to free them.' Free them from my judgments and self righteousness. For desires, do we really want to end our desire for happiness? Or do we want to bring happiness to others? Which desires do we want to want to end and which keep?" -Don
Sisyphus according to Greek legend
"I wasn't aware that all these different centers used different versions of the four vows. Seeing them all (Thank you, Mara!) gives me a different perspective on this issue than I would have had otherwise. AtZCSD we didn't chant any version of the four vows.
"I think of the ZCLA four vows, when I say them, as being sort of an articulation or embodiment of the absurd human condition, in the sense of 'the absurd' being the difference between what one intends (truly, with all one's heart) and what is actually possible. I see them as Sisyphean vows. I'm also used to saying them with the cadence, etc. that we do now and am not all that enthusiastic about having to learn a new way of saying an old, familiar chant.
"But it's fine with me if PasaDharma members who feel strongly about the four vows want to chant a different version of them.
"How about chanting them in Japanese? I'd be fine with that, too. There's something to be said for experiencing the act of chanting (hearing, feeling, forming/creating the sounds, etc.) without being distracted by the content of the chant." -Richard
The Perfect Wording?
As American Buddhists we already change the original words of the Bodhisattva vows from the Zen traditions of China, Japan, and Korea by translating them into modern English. The benefits of understanding -- Martin Luther would agree -- far outweigh what is lost in translation.
Perhaps we should compare translations and find the one that best preserves the meaning of the original wording. That would include their koan/ riddle quality of vowing to attain the apparently unattainable.
Wikipedia has a chart of the original wording used in five languages. ZCLA has notes on the four great vows with the original words and how nine different Zen groups translate them to help us come to a satisfactory interpretation.
1. “Masses [of] creatures, without-bounds, [I/we] vow to save (paramita) [them all].”
None of the translations account for the “without-bounds” state referred to in the original vow which is harming the masses. The translation for “save” comes from the word paramita (a "perfection" developed for the sake of becoming a buddha), meaning “to take over to the other shore.” Using the word “serve” for “save” changes the meaning slightly. Serving people is different from saving them. One can serve people in many different ways, and that may lead to saving them from their “without-bounds” state. “Save” seems like a better pick in words for the original paramita, especially when confronting the without-bounds culture we live in today. “I vow to free them” seems almost as good. The ZCLA site suggests the word “enlighten,” which is perhaps the most specific understanding of the word paramita in the Buddhist context and the only thing that is real salvation. “Enlighten” includes the meanings of both “save” and “free” (liberate). This seems to capture that meaning best:
“Numberless beings are without bounds, I vow to enlighten them.”
“Anxiety, hate, and deluded-desires]” refers to the word klesha(s), which are “mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions (karma).” The three root kleshas are “greed, hate, and delusion” (or “attachment, aversion, and ignorance”), which lead to many other destructive mental states. The words “delusions,” “desires,” “passions,” “obstacles” come close to the original meaning of the word kleshas. Choosing just one of them leaves out a lot, with the remainder being lost in translation. The Diamond Sangha’s choice of wording seems to be the most comprehensive and closest to the original meaning, without resorting to a long list of the different kleshas. The word “sever,” as in “sever ties,” means “to cut off” and fits better with the rhythm of the chant. As much as we would like to “cut off” a particularly troublesome klesha forever, the best we can often hope for is to sever ties to it. It may yet linger waiting for a chance to arise again:
“Though greed, hatred, and ignorance rise endlessly, I vow to sever them.”
3. “Dharma gates beyond-measure [I/we] vow to learn [them all].”
Using the word “practice” for “learn” does not imply any sense of attempted accomplishment. “Penetration” implies a beginning level of understanding. “Understanding” indicates a higher level of development beyond just trying to actually practicing. Isn’t this what we should be aiming for? The Diamond Sangha’s translation captures the koan possibilities of the vow best, since, if the Dharma is literally fathomless, understanding is impossible.
“Though the Dharma is vast and fathomless, I vow to understand it.”
4. “Buddha Way, nothing-higher, [I/we] vow to accomplish [it]”
“Embody” is a great translation for the word “to become, attain, turn into” (bhavana). Spirit (ephemeral intention) becomes flesh (solid materiality). The Diamond Sangha translation catches the koan-like quality best with attaining the unobtainable.” We realize that the vows are unattainable, but we vow to attain them anyway. Does their adding “fully” to the end make it more meaningful? It is hard to be sure. It throws off the rhythm of the chant a little and takes the punch out of “embody.”
“Though Buddha’s way is beyond attainment, I vow to embody it.”
The life of an American Buddhist practicing, or trying to practice, in the West
So what are we left with?
“Though numberless beings are without bounds, I vow to enlighten them.”
“Though greed, hatred, and delusion arise endlessly, I vow to sever them.”
“Though the Dharma is vast and fathomless, I vow to understand it.”
“Though the Buddha’s way is beyond attainment, I vow to embody it.”
What does everyone think? The rhythm and simplicity of the old vows may fall to the wayside, one might appreciate the depth the Diamond Sangha has added with their translations.
In our fundamental or Theravada Buddhist tradition, we have five essential vows in the Five Precepts:
I vow to abstain from killing.
I vow to abstain from stealing.
I vow to abstain from sexual irresponsibility.
I vow to abstain from deceiving.
I vow to abstain from intoxication occasioning heedlessness.
Without our vows, whatever they may be, we join the “masses of creatures without-bounds.” Of course, as with any translation, ultimately the Buddha was right in extolling the virtues of noble silence. The Sufi poet Rumi famously agreed:
“Silence is the language of God -- All else is poor translation.”
In light of Ramadan, now that Boudicaspeaks [almost as if the Bouddha, rather than Boudica, were speaking] has given you an overview of fasting beyond just no food or drink, I feel the need to discuss something that I strive to do any time of the year:
Remembering GOD or zikr. However, for me the intensification of Remembering God is a different one this year. Many will say that fasting helps do this, but I have found it is all about first silencing the mind, and then intensifying that silence with the hunger. I mean, being hungry and tired surely brings about silence, but I still have yet to reach that truly meditative silence.
No matter what state of spirituality I am in (and I do not believe in stages, but rather highs and lows), zikr reminds me of the source of spiritual refuge in this universe, regardless of what religion people classify themselves under.
Rather than trying to push forward our own views about right and wrong and the way people ought to live, it may just help to simply be silent, both physically and even mentally (and I can relate to mentally with my constantly wandering mind). More
“Out beyond ideas of right and wrong,
There is a field. I’ll meet you there.
AUGUST 15th marks India's independence from British oppression. Much like the United States, the "greatest experiment in democracy" (India) liberated itself from United Kingdom colonialism in 1947. Unfortunately, it meant the loss of a great deal of land ceded in the interest of the departing empire. It has kept India fighting with its neighbors (the new Pakistan and East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) ever since. Imperial UK strategists cut India up along religious lines. But ethnic strife has continued to plague the nation as well as its infamous communal violence. Tens of millions of Indian Muslims were given a homeland of sort, but 100 million Muslim remain in India. And Pakistan poses the greatest threat to its sovereignty. With the US military on former Indian land (Gandhara now Afghanistan) as it continues to prosecute the longest war of its short history, the even shorter-lived nation is determined to take sides against its own neighbors squeezing it to give up territory, Pakistan and China. Southern California is privileged to have numerous Independence Day celebrations on weekends throughout the month, particularly in LA's "Little India" (Artesia).
More troops sent to India's strife-torn northeast
(AP) Clashes between members of the ethnic Bodo community and Muslim settlers in Assam state have left 42 people dead and 13 others missing, state...
India says Pakistan websites caused migrant panic
(Aug. 19) The exodus followed clashes in India's Assam state in recent weeks between ethnic Bodos and Muslim settlers that killed more than 50 people and...
The belief in God, or gods, is changing and some new research shows that the practice is on the decline worldwide.
According to a new poll by WIN-Gallup International, the percentage of Americans who identify as “religious” dropped 13 points -- from 73 to 60 percent since 2005. The number of Americans who identify as atheists jumped from 1 percent to 5 percent in the same period.
The poll posed the same question to 50,000 people in 57 countries and five continents: “Irrespective of whether you attend a place of worship or not, would you say you are a religious person, not a religious person, or a convinced atheist?”
“When we say religious, the definition of religious and religiosity has changed, especially for Americans. And so you ask the question, ‘Are you more religious?’ The answer may be that I’m not religious or as religious or more religious but I’m spiritual,” Dr. Carolyn Gordon, associate professor of communication and preaching at Fuller Seminary, told Patt Morrison. More
Was the Buddha an atheist?
Wisdom Quarterly
The Buddha surrounded by humans and devas
If theism is defined as a belief, faith, or reliance on a creator/controller "God," the Buddha certainly was an atheist. But the issue is not that straightforward. The Buddha spoke of (and to) many "gods" (brahmas and devas).
Therefore, if theism includes the belief in "gods" (devas or "shining light beings" superior to humans in happiness, beauty, longevity, and other qualities), then the Buddha was no atheist.
The Buddha pointed out the wrong-view of relying on an all-powerful God as an explanation for the universe, karma, or as a means to enlightenment and final liberation from suffering.
Buddha in Thailand (Dongissel/flickr.com)
Buddhism is non-theistic. That is not at all the same as atheistic. It means that whether there are or are not gods or a God makes no difference to the need to exert oneself to develop compassion, insight-wisdom, and "salvation" (liberation from ignorance and samsara, the wheel of rebirth and suffering).
There are worlds in space, "heavenly" planes, some subtle (rupa), some immaterial (arupa). But even in this Sensual Sphere (kama loka), there are better planes/worlds to be reborn in.
Therefore, there is sex after death, sex in lower "heavenly worlds." In the world of Brahma -- which transcends sex, sensuality, and sexual dimorphism (Great Brahma and the other Gods being neither male nor female) -- is peaceful and sublime. But it is no final end of suffering, no escape from the round of rebirth or karmic results. It is no solution to the problem of ignorance and the suffering it brings about.
Enlightenment is a solution.
The Buddha was not a god, prophet, avatar, or an advocate for the gods/God. Instead, he demonstrated what an ordinary human being can attain in terms of wisdom, compassion, and most importantly a liberation surpassing that of God/the gods. He is therefore regarded as a teacher of devas, brahmas, and human beings.
Supporters perform in a dirt lot across from the Russian Embassy in DC, Aug. 10, 2012, in a solidarity concert for the Russian punk rock group Pussy Riot (Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty).
KGB killer Vlad Putin killing fish
(SCPR) Pussy Riot, an all-female Russian feminist punk band, is “the latest symbol of young Russian discontent.” Anti-Putin youth of Russia now consider themselves on trial. Pussy Riot functions as a collective, with a rotating cast of characters who wear brightly colored balaclavas to conceal their specific identities.
No longer anonymous, three members of the band were sentenced to two additional years in prison Moscow on charges of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.”
German supporters (Marcus Brandt/AFP/DPA)
Their conviction was a foregone conclusion. But Putin hinted that the judge should deliver a lenient sentence, such as time served. Instead, the judge made an example of them by attaching two more years for their involvement in making a statement against the government. More
Undisputed pool hero risks it all for money. Attempting to cash in on his continuing fame, he did non-Olympic's related advertising. And that is a major violation of the rules, certainly no reason to lose his gold medals, but a violation nonetheless. Only he is not likely to have been the one doing the leaking (outside of the pool). Will it matter? Will it be enough to save his reputation? (SCPR)Michael Phelps could be in hot water -- not the cold bathtub he appears to be in -- for his recent photo shoot with the French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton. Photos of Phelps taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz were leaked on the Internet late last week, violating the International Olympic Committee's controversial Rule 40... More LA Pot Shop Ban Coming Soon
Cannabis sativa (David McNew/Getty Images)
Before the Los Angeles City Council's unanimous vote last month in favor of the ordinance to BANall medical marijuana dispensaries, Police Chief Charlie Beck assured council members that shutting down the nearly 1,000 pot shops in the city would be a smooth operation. Beck told the Council that it was his belief that "the vast majority of these establishments will willingly comply." Compliance seemed a long way off Friday. The Patient Care Alliance, which represents 300 pot shops, is suing the city to stop the ban that's due to take effect on September 6, 2012.More
First New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was rebuffed by The Boss. Now another well-know liberal musician has spurned the advances of a right-wing politician-fan. In a brutal Rolling Stone editorial, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello calls Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's recent vice presidential pick, the "embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades."
Che Guevara - raging rebel
The band ferociously advocate for unions, immigrants, and social justice. Morello is clearly amused and perplexed at how deeply, in his opinion, Ryan has missed the point of his band: "He can like whatever bands he wants. But his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the 1% is antithetical to the message of Rage," Morello wrote. More
America is a mysterious place, much of it hidden from the majority of its inhabitants; here is one example of what goes on in the nation.
The parents of six-year-old pageant queen Honey Boo Boo have been accused of child abuse, according to a new report. Alana Thompson, aka Honey Boo Boo of Toddlers and Tiaras fame, and her family, who live in rural McIntrye, were visited by the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services in March, reported The National Enquirer.
A source told the magazine that authorities who made the unannounced visit "found reason to bring the case to court" but a court-appointed attorney for June Thompson, the youngster's mother, convinced the judge to "throw [the case] out."
Redneck parents of Honey Boo Boo, six, were feeding their child and young pageant star roadkill and "Go Go Juice" (Mountain Dew and Red Bull). Alana Thompson, aka Honey Boo Boo, was fed a this mixture and copious amounts of sugar during an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras that screened in January. The controversial rural Georgia family have labelled themselves "rednecks" numerous times. More
Inquiring Mind (InquiringMind.com) has put out a call for submissions for its Spring 2013 edition. Its theme will be "Poetry and Stories." Anyone interested may send in poetry and story submissions from a Dharmic perspective. There is no need to mention the Buddha or meditation or anything else in particular. The word-limit for stories is 3,000 words. The deadline for submissions is October 1, 2012.
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Controversy? I don't see a controversy, although maybe that's because I've been aware for many years that every Zen center and monastery operating with the English language is using a different translation for the Four Vows and the rest of the chanted liturgy as well.
Well now that the grande dame of lay American Buddhism has weighed in -- and Richard, Ron, and Don have had their say on behalf of the rebellious ZCLA crowd, a position WQ can cotton to, and Mara is finished researching -- there's nothing left to say. Case closed! Chant in Japanese, and leave it at that. When the words are meaningless, leave them alone. Brian Eno, the famous glam rocker, ambient innovator, and progressive producer for acts like U2, said it best in his abstract song "Sky Saw": 
