Diamond Sutra 101
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Diamond Sutra talk by Venerable Hyon Gak Sunim (seated beside Zen Master Seung Sahn, his master)
Probably the easiest lecture on Diamond Sutra. Explained in casual conversation and not intended to be scholarly discussion about the subject.
Dialogue by Paul Muenzen with Korean subtitle. Buddhism.
Diamond Sutra 101 Lecture 1 Part 1
Diamond Sutra 101 Lecture 1 Part 2
Diamond Sutra 101 Lecture 1 Part 3
Diamond Sutra 101 Lecture 1 Part 4
Diamond Sutra 101 Lecture 1 Part 5
for lectures 2~12, please visit http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=diamond+sutra+101 -
Wow thank you..... listening now!
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welcomeOriginally posted by _wanderer_:Wow thank you..... listening now!
It for all to listen
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I've listened to one of this Korean Zen teacher's talks before, quite interesting
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Just finished Part 1, the first 10 minutes
Really interesting talks, thank you neutral_onliner. -
I have watched until part 3, I like especially part 3, how he elaborates in detail on Mindfulness and Simplicity I think this is very very important for one who wants to understand non-duality.
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Nice! Thanks for the links N.O.
I have a couple of noob questions after watching the videos:
1. It was mentioned that a monk must accept whatever food offered to them and that he is not to pick and choose... If the food offered was meat, must the monks eat them too?
2. Being mindful as I understood from the lecture is to focus your mind on the "now" and the present moment. I read from some Buddhist literature that there was a man who slipped and fell from a cliff, and was hanging precariously from a branch. The branch cannot support his weight and is about to break. At that moment, the man spotted some cherries next to him, he plucked one and ate it, and became totally immensed in the "now", fully savouring the sweetness of the fruit that he pushed his dire predicament and impending death from his mind..... Is this the spirit of mindfulness?
Sorry if these issues have previously been explored. -
Originally posted by Beyond Religion:
Does not pick and choose means good tasting food, bad tasting food, one must not have the choosing mind.
Nice! Thanks for the links N.O.
I have a couple of noob questions after watching the videos:
1. It was mentioned that a monk must accept whatever food offered to them and that he is not to pick and choose... If the food offered was meat, must the monks eat them too?
Theravada Buddhism does not make vegetarian compulsory, whereas in Mahayana Buddhism vegetarianism is much more widespread. It is however not about the 'choosing mind', it is about compassion for the animals.
Similarly if the food turned bad, we have to reject the food. Not because we do not like it, but because it brings harm to our body. So the general guideline for eating food should be to eat food as Medicine -- not to indulge in it. At the same time the food we eat must not harm oneself (spoilt, poisonous, etc) or harm others (try not to eat meat).2. Being mindful as I understood from the lecture is to focus your mind on the "now" and the present moment. I read from some Buddhist literature that there was a man who slipped and fell from a cliff, and was hanging precariously from a branch. The branch cannot support his weight and is about to break. At that moment, the man spotted some cherries next to him, he plucked one and ate it, and became totally immensed in the "now", fully savouring the sweetness of the fruit that he pushed his dire predicament and impending death from his mind..... Is this the spirit of mindfulness?
Can you paste the text?
If you mean indulging in eating cherries when dying, then it is not mindfulness, but more like a distraction from the moment, something that the mind clings to while trying to reject or suppress other unpleasant aspects of himself -- i.e fear. He tries to run away from the unpleasant by using a substitute deemed as 'pleasant' as a distraction, not much different from indulging in alcohol. There are lots of ways to distract the mind, to suppress it from thinking and anxiety, but does not necessarily mean mindfulness -- i.e watching movies, playing computer games, etc.
But if you mean he forgets about his death, and when eating cherry he just eats cherry with awareness, then that is mindfulness. Just the clarity itself, there is no grasping.
As Thusness said, when u breath, u don't have to care what is the right way of breathing, whether u breath hard or soft, smooth or fine...just experience as much clarity as u can...just that experience...regardless of what it is like. Same for other experiences.
Mindfulness is non-judgemental awareness -- and does not grasp at any objects, and it does not reject anything. -
Same goes to Fear:
When fear, just fear (not the word, but the sensations from the body to the mind)Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Questioner: In certain situations in life I feel blocked by a fear which prevents me from acting. How can I be free from this obstacle?
Jean Klein: First free yourself from the word, the concept, 'fear'. It is loaded with memory. Face only the perception. Accept the sensation completely. When the personality who judges and controls is completely absent, when there is no longer a psychological relationship with the sensation, it is really welcomed and unfolds. Only in welcoming without a welcomer can there be real transformation.
We are in essence one with all existence; when we truly observe ourselves there is ultimately no observer, only observation - awareness.
It does not matter what you are doing at that moment, as long as you can drop the labels, the symbols, and just resort to that moment's awareness --
http://www.budsas.org/ebud/mfneng/mind13.htm
(b) Mindfulness sees things as they really are. Mindfulness adds nothing to perception and it subtracts nothing. It distorts nothing. It is bare attention and just looks at whatever comes up. Conscious thought pastes things over our experience, loads us down with concepts and ideas, immerses us in a churning vortex of plans and worries, fears and fantasies. When mindful, you don't play that game. You just notice exactly what arises in the mind, then you notice the next thing. "Ah, this...and this...and now this." It is really very simple.
That is mindfulness. -
nice! Amituofo!
/\ps: interesting to note that there's a muslim who practice chanting can also be "enlightened" by Venerable Hyon Gak Sunim, with a bang on the table! this a "mystic" muslim.
"Those who teach a Dhamma for the abandoning of passion, for the abandoning of aversion, for the abandoning of delusion — their Dhamma is well-taught."
AN 3.72 - Ajivaka Sutta -
I finished the whole chapter 1. Is there chapter 2 or something?
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Hi AEN, I read this from an Asiapac Comic Series titled "The Book of Zen: Freedom of the Mind". The strip is on page 52, called "Past, present and future". The text is as follows:Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Can you paste the text?
If you mean indulging in eating cherries when dying, then it is not mindfulness, but more like a distraction from the moment, something that the mind clings to while trying to reject or suppress other unpleasant aspects of himself -- i.e fear. He tries to run away from the unpleasant by using a substitute deemed as 'pleasant' as a distraction, not much different from indulging in alcohol. There are lots of ways to distract the mind, to suppress it from thinking and anxiety, but does not necessarily mean mindfulness -- i.e watching movies, playing computer games, etc.
But if you mean he forgets about his death, and when eating cherry he just eats cherry with awareness, then that is mindfulness. Just the clarity itself, there is no grasping.
As Thusness said, when u breath, u don't have to care what is the right way of breathing, whether u breath hard or soft, smooth or fine...just experience as much clarity as u can...just that experience...regardless of what it is like. Same for other experiences.
Mindfulness is non-judgemental awareness -- and does not grasp at any objects, and it does not reject anything.
Buddha told a parable: A man encountered a tiger in the wilderness. He ran to a cliff and with both hands grabbed hold of an overhanging vine while the tiger growled menacingly below with its jaws wide open. Two mice, one white and one black, began to gnaw away at the vine. Suddenly, he saw a luscious stawberry near him. He plucked the stawberry and popped it into his mouth.... and said "Such an exquisite taste!"
The commentary to the above is that:" Not to think about the past and the future, but to cherish one moment after another is real fortune." -
Yes, that means he is not even concerned about his life and death and is able to to live the moment as it isOriginally posted by Beyond Religion:Hi AEN, I read this from an Asiapac Comic Series titled "The Book of Zen: Freedom of the Mind". The strip is on page 52, called "Past, present and future". The text is as follows:
Buddha told a parable: A man encountered a tiger in the wilderness. He ran to a cliff and with both hands grabbed hold of an overhanging vine while the tiger growled menacingly below with its jaws wide open. Two mice, one white and one black, began to gnaw away at the vine. Suddenly, he saw a luscious stawberry near him. He plucked the stawberry and popped it into his mouth.... and said "Such an exquisite taste!"
The commentary to the above is that:" Not to think about the past and the future, but to cherish one moment after another is real fortune." -
Wow!! The whole series of the Diamond Sutra 101 is available online, not only Lecture 1 There are 12 lectures altogether...
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=diamond+sutra+101 -
Thusness was impressed by this teacher's insights
"That is very very clearly non-dual explanation. Clearly what i called awareness as forms is experienced. He will be a great master and will be a benefit to all sentients."
p.s. just found this teacher's biography, it's available here: www.kmspks.org/events/ven_hyonggak_bio.pdf
He recently visited Singapore in 25 April to speak on the topic "The Importance Of Finding Our True Nature" -
Thank you N.O. It is very very enlightening. I benefited a lot from it. Thank you.
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http://www.todayonline.com/articles/186221.asp
TODAY -- Mediacorp News
He went to Yale and Harvard but chose to be a monk
Venerable Hyon Gak Sunim believes that Buddhism can help answer his questions
Wednesday • May 2, 2007
Daphne Chuah spoke to Venerable Hyon Gak Sunim — which means "endless profound enlightenment" — last Friday, when he was in Singapore to give a talk.
"The most important thing in life is to be a human being."
Who would have thought that life could revolve around this simple statement? Venerable Hyon Gak Sunim did, and he has not looked back since.
Born Paul Muenzen in New Jersey, in the United States, to a family of devout Catholics, this American Zen monk — armed with a degree in philosophy and literature from Yale University, and who went on to study comparative religions at the Harvard Divinity School — chose to follow the teachings of Buddhism.
Now based in South Korea, the Head Teacher of the Seoul International Zen Centre at the Hwa Gye Sah Temple goes on meditation retreats which could last up to 100 days in the remote mountainous regions, and draws several thousands to his talks.
You come from a family of Catholics. Why did you become a Buddhist?
When I was growing up, I was absorbed with the question of human suffering, especially after watching so many people die in the Vietnam War, and also from Aids.
Many babies were born to people who used drugs, and the babies were born with HIV. So, I looked at that, and thought, the babies did not do anything wrong, why did they automatically have to have Aids?
These questions troubled me and I wanted to really see and have some insight into that. Why are people born in poor countries with no food and no medicine? I was born in America with money and a good home and a good situation. Why is this?
Buddhism does not give the answers. Buddhism provided me with a way to find the answers, and it's not in some book or some belief system. But I'm looking in time and seeing cause and effect. For example the weather — it's cause and effect, 20 years apart. I saw that Buddhism had a very rational, very clear, and also very scientific way of looking into that.
How did your parents react to it?
Of course they were very shocked, and not comfortable. But now, they see that I am very happy. While growing up, I was very concerned about human suffering and got a little depressed about it. The world felt so heavy to me. Now, they see that since I do meditation a lot, I am happier and more content.
And that is all any parents would want — for their child to be happy.
You have gone on countless retreats in the mountains. What have you experienced in the mountains that is different in the city, and what have you gained from those stays?
Well, life in the city just happens faster. There are more objects moving, more speed. When I did my first solo retreat in the mountains — the trees are green, the sky is blue and the fastest object you see is a bird going back and forth. And so your computer — your mind — gets used to that kind of speed.
When I came out to the city, there were many more objects moving at a much faster pace, and you have to react quicker, and it's just more stressful for your computer. And that's why we have a lot more psychological problems with people who live in the city, not people who live in the countryside. What I've learnt from retreats is that the outside world doesn't matter, but the inside world — the soul — must be clear.
What do you see are some of the problems that urbanites face in today's world?
Urbanites face the problem of "too much" — too much sound, too much colour, too much light. You realise that when you go out, there are always these lights and colours to get your attention. It's too much sensory overload.
Like water — one cup is good, but a whole gallon could kill me. But water is not bad. City light is not bad. Sensation is not bad. But with too much, we get very tired inside.
Like this sound (taps on the chair incessantly) — it's no problem for a while, but if I did that for an hour or if you had to listen to this for three hours, it could drive you crazy.
Since being ordained in 1992, what is one important life lesson you have learnt?
(Laughs) Oh, every moment is a life lesson for me. It's just to accept every moment as it comes, to accept every moment as complete, every moment as perfect and every moment as enough.
What values do you live by?
Serving other people first. And to realise that there is no private self, no separate self, no separate egos, no separate "I" between "you" and "me".
The space in this room is space, and in my mother's home in New Jersey, it's still space. We think they're two separate spaces, but they're not. They made this wall here, so we think that there's inside space and outside space, but they're the same. If you blew up this whole building, or blew up the whole world, it's all the same space.
We always think "I'm American", "I'm Buddhist", "I'm a male", "I'm depressed" and "you don't understand me" in our relationships and in our lives, but that's an illusion.
I try to live by the fact that everyone's nature is the same. Yes, our thinking is different, but the space is the same, our fundamental mind is the same.
What is your advice to urbanites who are caught up in the hustle and bustle of city life?
There are many important things in life — travel is important, meeting your friends is important, studying this thing is important, doing a good job is important and getting a relationship is important.
But my teacher told me: "You must decide what is most important for your life."
And when he said that, it shocked me, because I knew I had many options — I had gone to Yale and I had gone to Harvard. I could have made a lot of money, done a lot of good things and had a lot of fun.
But I knew I wanted to find myself, before I die. I wanted to be a human being before I die, not just a machine, not a robot. I just want to be a real human being — to give love and to receive love.
A couple of weeks ago, in Hong Kong, the richest woman in Asia died.
But what could she take with her? Nothing. So, I think before I die, being a human being is what I want.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved. -
http://subwaydharma.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html
Dialogue Session with Venerable Hyon Gak Sunim
"Multi-tasking is normal in this age. Everything is changing and becoming faster. We live in a more connected world. Yet, if we don't make conscious choices in this age of technological advent, we'll only become narrower in many ways.
Our ancestors could take their time to reply a letter. We can't. We're obliged to reply to SMSes instantly. We shouldn't be imprisoned by situations like that. As Buddhists, we should use such situations to cultivate our Buddhahood. Be mindful every moment. Be engaged in awakening.
I didn't ordain to become a holy and mystical monk. I became a monk to create a space for myself to help people develop their human nature. I want to help people wake up by waking up myself.
As Buddhists, we're all awakening students. We are people who practise waking up. Buddhism is not so much concerned about objects. It is more interested in subject.
Success. Ambition. Wealth. The action towards these goals cannot be classified as good or bad. As Buddhists striving for success, we have to constantly ask ourselves what's our intent to be successful. What's the mental intent of our actions?
When the intention is clear, the action will too be clear. If one is motivated by ego to do something good, the action is also tainted.
There are five poisons in (practising) Buddhism. Food, sleep, money, sex and fame. All 5 objects are neither good nor bad, neither pure nor impure. When we eat, what's our intention for eating? Are we eating to satisfy our hunger? Or are we using food as a distraction from other problems? Similarly, when we sleep, are we sleeping to rest or are we sleeping to avoid life? Check your intention.
The same goes for money and sex and fame. How do we use them? Fame. Everyone have problems with fame, not just Angelina Jolie. "Do people like me?" "What do they think of me?"
Negative fame is acceptable as long as your work is for the benefit of all beings.
The difference between sentient beings and Buddha is that sentient beings follow their thinking and Buddha doesn't.
Sentient beings are eternally mindful. Just that they follow their thinking. Don't try NOT to be egotistical. Practise your True Nature."