It’s kicking on two in the
morning and I feel like sleeping like I feel like poking my eyes out. I would
love to be able to never go to sleep
again? There again, the other day after having no sleep for a month, I had a
day dream about sleeping, but would have to be in a place of peace and calm. My
Hub is talking about me becoming a Buddhist? Hahaha. Naha, don’t like the shaven
heads and the orange frocks? After spending time in Thailand, he said that the
temples had the most amazing calm atmosphere.
Funny thing, when my teen was
a little boy of about eight, I heard this odd sound coming from his room. I
went in and he said in a very distant voice,
“Mum, please go away, I am meditating?” As I kneeled down to him,
he was sitting in the position of the Buddha?
Buddhism
Buddhism is a tradition that focuses
on personal spiritual development. Buddhists strive for a deep insight into the
true nature of life and do not worship gods or deities.
Picture this, immaculate
buildings, beautiful countryside of
green hills and a pet dog, running water and happy figures.
Buddhism has six realms into which a
soul can be reborn. From most to least pleasant, these are:
·
Heaven, the home of the gods (devas):
this is a realm of enjoyment inhabited by blissful, long-lived beings. It is
subdivided by later sources into 26 levels of increasing happiness
·
The realm of humanity: although
humans suffer, this is considered the most fortunate state because humans have
the greatest chance of enlightenment? So does this mean, this is as good as we
get?
·
The realm of the Titans or angry gods
(assures): these are warlike beings who are at the mercy of angry impulses
·
The realm of the hungry ghosts (pretas):
these unhappy beings are bound to the fringes of human existence, unable to
leave because of particularly strong attachments. They are unable to satisfy
their craving, symbolised by their depiction with huge bellies and tiny mouths!
Now then, this is more me?
·
The animal realm: this is undesirable
because animals are exploited by human beings, and do not have the necessary
self-awareness to achieve liberation? My poor BB and LC?
·
Hell realms: people here are horribly
tortured in many creative ways, but not for ever only until their bad karma is worked off. Well then
where do they, go?
·
The Wheel of Life
·
The realms, or states of
reincarnation, of the Buddhist universe are depicted in a diagram known as the Bhavachakra,
the Wheel of Life or Wheel of Becoming.
·
The wheel itself is a circle,
symbolising the endless cycle of existence and suffering.
·
In the middle of the Wheel are the
Three Fires of greed, ignorance and hatred, represented by a rooster, a pig and
a snake. These are the cause of all suffering and are shown linked together,
biting each other's tails! “Stupid me did not know roosters had tails? They
reinforce each other.
·
In the next circle out, souls are
shown ascending and descending according to their karma.
·
The next ring out is composed of six
segments showing the six realms: gods, humans and Titans above and hungry
ghosts, animals and those tortured in hell below.
·
The outer ring shows twelve segments
called nidanas, illustrating the Buddhist teaching of dependent
origination, the chain of causes of suffering (explained in the following
section).
·
The wheel is held by Yama, the Lord
of Death, who symbolises the impermanence of everything. The beings he holds
are trapped in eternal suffering by their ignorance of the nature of the
universe.
So now I get it,
the Wheel of Life (Bhavachakra) we just go round
and round? I guess that is why I am a dizzy blonde?
Buddhism has no creator god
to explain the origin of the universe. Instead, it teaches that everything
depends on everything else: present events are caused by past events and become
the cause of future events. So, now we are talking? I really
do agree with that! Hence the saying. “What
goes around, comes around?” Kama?
Origin of the festival
In early Buddhism, the time around
what has now become Dharma Day (the eighth lunar month in the traditional
Indian calendar) marked the beginning of the rainy season.
At this point, the Buddha and his
monks and nuns would suspend their nomadic lifestyle for three months. They
would shelter together until the monsoon season was over, and use this time as
a period of further meditation and reflection.
At the end of this time, they would
resume their travelling, passing on the Buddha's teachings to those who were
interested.
Dharma Day is now seen as a chance to
express gratitude that the Buddha, and other enlightened teachers, have shared
their knowledge with others.
Dharma Day celebrations
Dharma Day is celebrated with
readings from the Buddhist scriptures, and is an opportunity to reflect deeply
on their content.
If an individual practices Buddhism
within a monastic tradition, Dharma Day is, wherever possible, celebrated in a
temple, Buddhist centre or monastery in the presence of monks or nuns.
Kathina
The Kathina festival, which
originated 2,500 years ago, celebrates the largest alms-giving ceremony of the
Buddhist year.
It occurs at the end of the Vassa,
or monsoon, period, in October and November. During the Vassa period, normally
nomadic Buddhist monks will have remained in one place for three months, and
the Kathina celebration marks the time for them to move on. The festival also
celebrates the offerings of cloth that are given to the monks upon their
leaving by the lay people.
The offering can take place up to one
month following the end of the Vassa period, from 19th October to 16 November,
and is celebrated by Buddhists.
History
According to the scriptures, a group
of thirty monks were journeying together with the intention of spending the
Vassa period with the Lord Buddha, but the Vassa began before they reached
their destination and so they had to stop. The monks were upset that they were
unable to be with Buddha, who later heard of their plight. As a reward Buddha
gave some cloth, which he had acquired as a gift from one of the lay community,
to the monks and told them to sew a robe and then bestow it upon one of their
company. The Buddha said that there was nothing as uplifting as generosity and
sharing, and so the monks set about sewing a new set of robes. They used a
frame, called a Kathina, on which to spread the cloth as they were making it.
The Festival
Lay supporters now continue this
tradition at the end of the Vassa. The cloth giving is a gift of the followers
of Buddhism, and therefore no monk is allowed to request or organise the
festival.
The cloth, according to Buddha, must
be offered to the whole Shanghai community, who will then decide among
themselves who receives the gift.
Buddhist families take joy in
offering cloth to their teachers. About three metres of cloth is all that is
needed, but very often other items are offered as well. On the day of the
festival, people begin to arrive at the monastery and begin by sharing a meal.
At about 1 o clock, they will formally offer the cloth and other gifts.
Two monks will be presented with the
cloth on behalf of the whole Shanghai community. These monks will then formally
announce the member of the community who will receive the cloth once it has
been made up.
The monks will spend much of the
night preparing and cutting the cloth, and finally sewing it together to form a
robe.
The formal Sangha act (Sangha Karma)
of presenting the cloth to the chosen monk may take place much later in the
evening, when it is ceremonially presented to the nominated monk.
I really like that side of the
religion. Eating and sharing, sounds perfect!
A recent Vietnamese Buddhist festival
of Chua Huong at the Perfume Pagoda, a festival takes place in the first lunar month
each year in the spectacular landscape of the Huong Son, the Mountain of
Perfumes.
From the town of the Doc, 43 miles
(70km) south-west of Hanoi, pilgrims from all over Vietnam gather to row
upstream on a tributary of the Yen River past the jagged Karst mountains. A
steep track, worn smooth by countless feet, leads to the summit destination of
Huong Tich, the Perfume Pagoda. Those that have made the pilgrimage chant
prayers and seek blessings at the many shrines cut into the wet rock of the
cave.
Now we are really talking,
that sounds so beautiful and reminds people I am sure, how thankful we should
be for this wonderful world. How beautiful must the scenery be?
As I really believe, take a
little of every religion, and we would have a perfect land and existance?
This is a very beautiful
religion though, don’t you think?
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