Oh, and hey, nuns don’t rule either.

What we’re looking at here is the top of Fo Guang Shan’s administrative hierarchy, on a trip to Xuecheng Fashi’s bailiwick in Beijing with Ven. Xing Yun in 2005. If they look worried, they should. They’re being confronted with an ilk of Buddhism in which nuns don’t rule, and in which renunciation still means that you own nothing. N.O.T.H.I.N.G. For these precious creatures, “renunciation” is a cushy life style, including virtually unlimited travel priveleges, and the ability to tell your numerous underlings anything you want, with no fear of retribution.

I am sure that if this kind of shot were taken in Taiwan, for example, the numerous underlings would have automatically suppressed it. That’s considered “meritorious action” where they come from. I consider it stupid.

For some other shots of this trip, shamelessly ripped from the Chinese web by never humble enough yours truly, including some great shots of Ven. Xing Yun, see my Xing Yun in Beijing 2005 Album.

I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my spiffy little Firefox web browser, avec le Gimp, the totally awesome open source image editor.

Namu Amida Butsu
Xing Ping

有些修行念佛之注解 Some Notes about the Practice of Buddha Recitation

咱们属于阿弥陀佛之佛派，好像有些特别不正统的倾向如下：

Our Buddhist cohort of those belonging to Amitabha Buddha seems to have these particularly unorthodox tendencies:

一。 不尊敬僧宝。
二。 不尊敬禅宗。
三。 不尊敬日本之净土宗。
四。 死板主义。

1. Disrespecting the precious Sangha.
2. Disrespecting the Zen lineage.
3. Disrespecting the Japanese Pure Land Sect (the Jodo Shu).
4. Literalism (literally: dead boss ideology)

我们净土派一定一定的是非重视本宗不可。佛光山开山的星云大师到底是一位禅宗的宗爷，不是吗？哪，我们怎么会轻视禅宗？虽然净土派的人数大，可是它还没有禅宗那种中央的意义。 其实上说，禅宗就是最先转到中国的那一门佛法宗派，还是最先转到美国的。打禅还是释迦牟尼佛之本门。 因从禅宗在历史上特别中央的角色，咱们必得多尊敬它。

Our Pure Land cohort certainly, certainly cannot avoid taking our fundamental lineage seriously. Fo Guang Shan’s founder Ven. Xing Yun is, after all, a Zen lineage holder, is he not? So then how can we disrespect the Zen lineage? Although the head-count in the Pure Land School is great, it still doesn’t have the central significance of the Zen lineage. In reality, the Zen lineage was the first to be transmitted to China, and is also the first to be transmitted to America. Meditation practice was also Shakymuni Buddha’s fundamental way. We must respect the Zen lineage more because of its especially central historical role.

可是，写“尊敬禅宗”的意思，我不要暗指 “退到禅宗性的那些孤独修行的习惯”。 那，有些净土份子们好容易要挂上一堆谁也忍不住的行为。 咱们属于阿米大的，总完是诉要多归依僧宝。 无论如何，我们不会离开信众。 大众诵什么经，我们必得跟他们一块儿诵，好吗？ 拜托老净土份子们不再想挂上一类不参加公修的傲慢态度，可以吗？

However, in writing “Respect the Zen lineage,” I do not want to imply “regress to those Zen-esque habits of solitary pracitce.” In that case, there are some Pure Land partisans who could very easily affect a whole pile of universally intolerable behavior. Those of us who belong to Amida have a complete need for greater Refuge in the precious Sangha. No matter what, we cannot become separated from the believing masses. Whatever Sutras the congregation chants, we should chant along with them, OK? I beg those familiar old Pure Land partisans not to re-imagine the affection of a kind of arrogant attitude of non-participation in public practice, is that permissable?

日本之净土宗正是日本佛教最正式的宗派。前来我曾和他们念佛，我以为他们的念佛是世界上的最纯粹。我离开日本净土宗不是因为他们的念佛不圆满，就是因为我是从前世以来真真正正的于汉转佛教有缘。我看法，我到佛光山，真是究竟回到本宗。 我一辈子曾跑到在美国每一门佛宗，到了佛光山，我的心愿才盛功。 现在我六十二岁的老骨头，总不会再化宗。 可是，我真不要听很多不尊敬日本净土宗的态度。

The Jodo Shu is the most correctly configured Buddhist lineage in Japan. When formerly I practiced O-nembutsu with them, I considered their Nembutsu the most pure in the world. My leaving the Jodo Shu was not because their Nembutsu is insufficient, but because I absolutely have conditions with the Chinese Mahayana stemming from previous lives. The way I see it is that when I came to Fo Guang Shan, I finally returned to my (own) fundamental lineage. After spending my whole life running to every Buddhist lineage in America, it was only on arriving at Fo Guang Shan that my heart’s desire was achieved. At present my 62-year-old bones are totally unable to change lineage again. However, I really will not entertain a lot of disrespectful attitude about the Jodo Shu.

念佛是有技术的。不会取道念头而往生。不会取道念头而在今生作人。 在念佛的时候念佛、在吃饭的时候吃饭、在感应爱人的时候十分感应她、在诵经的时候一心诵僧宝要诵的经。 要是你内心常常在问 “我这种笨徒吗？怎么没有机会常常念佛阿！” 那，糟糕不得了。 等到念佛成熟了的时候，你作什么事情，内心常有阿弥陀佛之光。 所以，咱们净土份子们一定要多念佛。 可是阿？有凡世的服务，马上要一心赶。 我们的内心没有佛光的话，僧宝和信众会加持。 念佛成熟了吗？那，恭喜你，清您加持您的弟妹。

There is an art to Buddha Recitation. It is not possible to be born to the Pure Land on the strength of our intentions. It is not possible to be a valid person in this life on the strength of our intentions. So remember the Buddha at the time for remembering the Buddha, eat at mealtime, completely respond to your loved one at that time, and when it is time to chant scripture, whole-heartedly chant the scripture that the precious Sangha wants to chant. If you’re constantly querying in the depths of your mind, “What about a stupid disciple like myself? Why don’t I have an opportunity to constantly practice Buddhist Recitation?” — that (head) is just an unmitigated disaster. Just wait until Buddha Recitation comes to fruition. Then whatever you do, you will have Amitabha’s light in your heart. So, us dedicated Pure Land partisans should do more Buddha Recitation. But what’s the catch? When there are duties in the ordinary world, we must instantaneously and single-mindedly perform them. If the Buddha Light is not in our hearts, the Sangha and the believing masses can bear us up. And if (your) Buddha Recitation has (already) borne fruit? In that case, I congratulate you. Please bear up your younger siblings (implying those behind you in the Sangha).

大道之行，天下为共。

The action of the Great Way is : All under Heaven for the common good. (Famous quote from Lao Tzu).

南无阿弥陀佛
性平

Namu Amida Butsu
Xing Ping

The Houston Mahayana Dharma Realm

Check out this charming first-hand account of the Chinese Mahayana Buddhist world in Houston, by a Chinese-language blogger called Wei Dedong. This excellent piece of work contains some pretty trenchant criticism of Fo Guang Shan, to which I’ve added my own criticism. In the following case, I even wrote it first in Chinese before translating to English.

((我很明显，佛光山之特点就是为他人服务。惨的是，佛光山的方丈尼们大班还没晓得，美国人所须要的究竟是什么样的服务。她们非常好打算的 『节日』对我们往往会当成一席忍不住的困难, 华侨包括在内。为什么呢？因为她们还猜不得美国人民主义的基本性，华侨包括在内。It’s obvious to me that the distingushing characteristic of Fo Guang Shan is serving others. What’s sad is that the Abbess’ of Fo Guang Shan mostly still have not woken up to what kind of service it is that Americans need. The “Festival Days” that they so like to plan often turn into a whole scene of intolerable misery for us, Chinese-Americans included. And why? Because they still can’t guess the fundamental nature of American democracy, Chinese-Americans included. -xp))

Translation completed 16 Jun 09. This is a really great piece of work, thank you Dedong. I’d also like to take this opportunity of thanking my Blog host, WordPress, for allowing me to write Chinese here. I probably would not last 10 seconds on a Chinese-language blog, because the kind of criticism that I’ve written above would tend to be thoroughly and immediately squashed administratively by Fo Guang Shan Central’s trogdolytes.

It would be well to remember that Texas is among the top three US states in number of Buddhist Dharma Centers:

Namu Amida Butsu
Xing Ping

男种坐东边 — Males sit to the east

「男种坐东边」— 夏威夷佛光山妙山菩萨飘到了我当在坐老习惯的位子，正在佛堂西边中间，靠着中道。虽然上个礼拜受五戒的时候，方丈排过我在「东二班」，可是今天方丈不在的情况呢？ 糟糕的是我太早来到的犯规、厨房做工的挂上了些谁也不在乎的态度。让后，我好像被他们的脾气所感染，连方丈的话也都不要听。那时候，虽然我没犯了妄语的戒，其实上我心里还发了点儿无言的不满意。

幸运的是，妙山是一位很平等的、很有大爱的菩萨。她一看到我靠老习惯，就曾排我在东区二行。因为没有受过菩萨戒的师兄来到，让后她排过我在一行， 就是说正在她自己的位子的前面。哪、一定的是我最没想到的发展。我全会感觉了她为大家的大爱，真是给了我很重要的加持。

夏威夷佛光山佛堂，往坛看，东边就是右边，西边就是左边。在这些情景下，东边正切的是男区，西当女。古代的时候，不论是佛教法会或是印度教集会，每一个宗教会都是男女有其边的。我看，这个规矩是大有好影响的。法会里头的男女混想很是会伤害我们的。当然，真正的菩萨当站着在列外的境界。 她喜欢坐那里都行。

南无阿弥陀佛
性平

“Males sit to the east.”

Wonderful Mountain Bodhisattva of Hawaii Fo Guang Shan happened upon me sitting according to my old habits, right in the middle of the west side of the Buddha Hall, up against the center aisle. Although the Abbess had assigned me to the “Second East Squad” when we took Five Precepts last week, what of current conditions, the Abbess being absent? The disasterous thing of it was that when I committed the crime of arriving too early, some of the kitchen workers had copped a “who cares (about you)?” attitude. Afterwards, it seemed that I had been infected by their pissyness, to the point of not even heeding the Abbess. Although I didn’t break the precept with respect to reckless speech on that occasion, there was still some unspoken dissatisfaction going on in my mind.

Fortunately, Wonderful Mountain is a very even-handed Bodhisattva who really has Great Love (大爱)* As soon as she saw me reverting to old habits, she assigned me to the second row on the east side. Because there weren’t any Dharma Brothers with Bodhisattva vows who arrived, she later moved me to the first row, that is to say, directly in front of her seat. That certainly was my least expected development. Feeling her Great Love for everyone through the whole assembly really gave me important spiritual assistance.

When you look towards the altar in Hawaii Fo Guang Shan’s Buddha Hall, the east side is to the right, and the west side is to the left. Under these conditions, the east is the men’s section, and the west is for the women. In ancient times, no matter whether it was a Buddhist Dharma Assembly, or a Hindu gathering, every religious assembly was segregated by sex. I think this rule really has a great good influence. Confused thought between men and women inside the Dharma Assembly really has the capacity to harm us. Of course, a real and true Bodhisattva has exceptional status. Wherever she wants to sit is fine.

_______________________________________________

*Great Love (大爱) – This is a Mahayana technical term, the paradoxical definition of which flies straight in the face of absolutely everything westerners think we know about love. Love implies attachment, right? RIGHT? Um, well, sort of, if you’re a human being in his first incarnation as such, having spent all previous lives in no body more refined than that of an ape.

If you actually care to check it out in experience, and this usually takes all of at least a dozen human lives, attachment actually has absolutely nothing to do with love at all. Attachment is absolutely the limitation on love, which makes it unstable, because the more attached you are, the more you obsess on the person, until you’re both sick of each other, or one of you is dead, whichever comes first.

This is actually a book which someone seriously needs to write, but suffice it for right here that one of the numerous fallacies underlying this glib western delusion is that love is created by its object. Uh-huh. Sure. Oh, and hey, by the way, let’s save the world for democracy by deleting everyone who disagrees with that project. This is a sure way to be safe and have a wonderful economy. Emotions ARE NOT CREATED by their objects. They are the creations of our minds, and they actually have unlimited force when we create them. Then objects happen, and in the resulting limitation, the whole point, and all of the fun, is often lost. Oh, and hey, basic human sanity can also be a casualty of attachment gone wild.

Unlimited love, i.e., Great Love (大爱), is essentially, and by definition, unattached. It flies everywhere constantly because its possessor has had the appropriate training and transmission to keep it unattached to forms. Can it then persist to the attainment of goals, for example? It can, as long as the goals are themselves unattached. But what is an unattached goal? Hey, I warned you that it was a book, and I’m not even going to try to write it here.

Namu Amida Butsu
Xing Ping

报告夏威夷佛光山为四川地震回向大法会 Report on Hawaii Fo Guang Shan’s Sichuan Earthquake Merit Dedicating Ceremony

报告夏威夷佛光山为四川地震回向大法会

同志们，我希望从今以後咱们佛门人员可以头尾整风、大家一家合作修行正法。

虽然六月二十九号的夏威夷佛光山为四川地震回向大法会的目的 － 把信众从前七周所累積的功德回向加持四川灾伤民 － 完全不駁斥是十分成就的，可是跟着佛光山比丘尼们的老腐朽典礼作风的原因来，那个法会诵的东西当过一本伪经。 我以为包括在《佛光山宗务委员会课诵本》内的76到88页号的 〈八十八佛大忏悔文〉到底是正法。 可是，那法会所诵所谓 〈八十八佛大忏悔〉差不多百大页长、包括屋上架屋的《阿弥陀经》在内的、佛说轮流糊涂霸道且对当过另外的一堆东西。 显然就是佛光山比丘尼们所偏爱的伪经的一本事例。

那一堆伪经的诵长度 （三小时多） 好像有了隠密的含义， 从些一二小时遅到的师姐所挂上的苦难面孔来查。看到我美丽的师姐们那么不高兴，我曾想到：“我真不知道，他们是被甚么样的电话强迫过到佛堂来。也许电话上的声音曾勧告了她们：‘连那个常加笨的、半点感恩性也没有的白鬼还在，你那么丢脸没用的东西也会想不来吗？‘“

常诵伪经之外，夏威夷佛光山的方丈尼好像越来越下毒手。那，咱们平常信民怎么不和写请愿书送到大师，请求化方丈？

南无阿弥陀佛
性平

Comrades, I hope that from now on, all who belong to the Buddhist path can work together as one family to practice orthodox Dharma.

Although I do not deny that the goal of the great Dharma Assembly for transferring merit to those harmed by the earthquake disaster in Sichuan was completely accomplished, nevertheless what was chanted by that dharma Assembly was an apocryphal scripture, according to the Fo Guang nuns’ decadent old ritual style. In my opinion, the ‘88 Buddha Great Repentance Script’ that is included on pages 76-88 of the “Fo Guang Shan Religious Affairs Committee Chanting Session Manual” is orthodox Buddhism. But the so-called “88 Buddha Great Repentance” that was chanted by that Dharma Assembly, being almost 100 large pages long, including repetitive copies of the Amitabha Sutra, and alternating what was spoken by the Buddha with sheer nonsense, was apocryphal. Clearly, it was simply a typical example of the apocrypha preferred by Fo Guang Shan’s nuns.

The lengthy time it took to chant that pile of apocrypha – over three hours – seemed to have a hidden intention, by reference to the afflicted visages of some dharma sisters who straggled in one or two hours late. Seeing that my beautiful dharma sisters were so unhappy, I arrived at this thought: “I really don’t know by what kind of phone call they were forced to come to temple. Maybe the voice on the telephone advised them: ‘Even that ever increasingly stupid, lacking one shred of grateful nature white devil is here. Does such a lost-face and useless yourself also think of not coming?’”

Besides constantly chanting apocrypha, the Abbess at Fo Guang Shan Honolulu seems to increasingly despotic as it goes along. That being the case, how do we ordinary believers not get together a petition to change the Abbess, and send it to Master Xing Yun?

Namu Amida Butsu
Xing Ping