DOCSLIB.ORG

Vulnerability, Compassion, and Ethical Responsibility: a Buddhist Perspective on the Phenomenology of Illness and Health

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Vulnerability, Compassion, and Ethical Responsibility: a Buddhist Perspective on the Phenomenology of Illness and Health Vulnerability, Compassion, and Ethical Responsibility: A Buddhist Perspective on the Phenomenology of Illness and Health Ellen Y. Zhang Centre for Applied Ethics Hong Kong Baptist University Abstract: The experience of bodily vulnerability and the phenomenology of illness are one of the concerns in recent ethical discourse. This paper will explore the notion of bodily vulnerability and show how illness (both physically and mentally) is perceived, appropriated, and understood from the Buddhist perspective of dukkha (suffering). The discussion includes: (1) the dis-ease of human finitude and the inner experience of bodily vulnerability, (2) the suffering body as an interpretative “text”, (3) the irreducibility of ethical responsibilities for the one who is suffering, and (4) the phenomenology of illness and the healing process. The paper gives an account of various aspects of human vulnerability (viz., contingency, suffering, and mortality), and links it with the Buddhist ideas of karunā (compassion) and ethical responsibility to each other. The paper will also explicate the Buddhist meditative method such as śamatha (tranquility and stillness, 止) and vipaśyanā (insight meditation, 觀) as a way of dealing suffering and vulnerability. Key Words: vulnerability, Buddhism, suffering, compassion, ethical responsibility, phenomenology of illness, meditation I. Introduction Perhaps, no religion like Buddhism speaks explicitly of the human experience of bodily vulnerability. According to the Buddhist tradition, the story of the young prince Siddhartha and his decision of embarking on the journey of enlightenment is closely related to his personal experience of seeing the “four passing signs”, three of which are about the experience of human vulnerability: aging, sickness, and death. First Passing Sign: The young prince, who had been protected by the family from the sights of sounds of human suffering for twenty-nine years of his life, was out in his chariot one day when he saw an older man, who 1 bent like a roof-beam, broken, learning on a stick, tottering, sick, his youth all vanished (Anguttara Nikaya).1 . Deeply disturbed by what he saw, realizing that all humans, including himself, cannot escape from the miserable condition of losing youth and getting old, the young prince wondered, can anyone be able to acknowledge that happiness and comfort like what he is experiencing in the palace is transient and temporary? The suffering of aging lies in wait for every human being. Second Passing Sign: Some days later, the young prince was being driven around the royal park when he encountered a sick man, suffering, very ill, fallen in his own urine and excrement, and some people were picking him up, and others putting him to bed (Anguttara Nikaya). Upon seeing the sick man shivering with fever and being told that poor man may not recover from the illness, the young prince went back to the palace. He thought to himself: I, too, am subject to illness and cannot escape it. If I, who am subject to illness without escape from it, should see another who is ill, and should be oppressed, beset and sickened, it would not be well with me (Anguttara Nikaya). Third Passing Sign: One day when the young prince was being driven around the royal park again, he saw a corpse being carried to the burning ground. Distressed by what he saw, the young prince asked: But am I too then subject to dying, not exempt from dying? … I, too, am subject to death and cannot escape it. If I, who am subject to death without escape from it, should see another who is dead, and should be oppressed, beset and sickened, it would not be well with me (Anguttara Nikaya). After experiencing the above three signs, the young prince encountered a wandering religious beggar on his way to the royal park, which is called the “Fourth Passing Sign”. The young prince was surprised by the beggar’s countenance that is filled with peace and joy, and resolved to become also a wandering beggar… And we all know 1 The account of the story of the four passing signs is found in Digha Nikaya 14.2. Translation by Maurice Walshe in The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of Digha Nikaya (Boston: Wisdom, 2995), pp. 207-210. 2 the rest of the story. Of course the story of the “four passing signs” should be understood allegorically rather than a faithful account of a historical event. Nevertheless, it tells us that Buddhism begins with specific existential questions engendered by human experience, that is, old age, illness, and death, the important aspects of human sorrow and suffering As a matter of fact, Buddhism not only realizes the physical pains of human beings in terms of old age, illness, and death, it also talks about the mental anguish of human beings in terms of thirst, craving, and desire. The word “suffering” is a translation of the word duhkha (Pali) or dukkha (Sanskrit), which literally means dis-ease or unsatisfactoriness. There is a well-known Buddhist claim, “All this is dukkha.” Suffering is, then, shown as a kind of dis-ease caused by human finitude. Yet suffering is more complicated than a subjective, psychological description or an intentionalist view that the phenomenal character of any experience is entirely constituted by its representational content; instead, it has a wide range of meaning from that experienced and reality itself, although Buddhism does not seem to focus on reality as it is without human experience. The whole business of Buddhist enlightenment as such is about self-reflection on experiential dimension of human life in reality as well as the possible way of releasing human beings from the experience of sufferings caused by “disease”. The central tenet of the Buddhist teaching is called the “four noble truth” which states there is: 1. The truth of what suffering is; 2. The truth of the conditioned cause of suffering; 3. The truth that suffering can be eliminated by eliminating the conditioned cause; 4. The truth of the means to eliminating suffering by following the Middle Way, constituted by the Noble Eight Paths. With regard to the truth of suffering, the Buddhist teaching further explains it as follows: The noble truth if suffering is this: birth is suffering; aging is suffering; sickness is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow and lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; association with the unpleasant is suffering; disassociation from the pleasant is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering – in brief, the five aggregates (skandhas) of attachment are suffering (Anguttara Nikaya). 3 Since human life is pervaded by suffering, both visible and invisible, what is needed is a remedy to cure the fundamental human illness of suffering. Buddhism, therefore, focuses on meditative insight into dependent-originating, the ever-changing and interrelated nature of existence, which provides means for one to develop an awareness of all kinds of dispositional influxes that produce an illusion of a fixed self, as well as craving, greed and hatred. Vulnerability, according to Buddhism therefore, is not merely a physic-psychological description, pointing to corporeal limits or emotional frangibility, but a total and lived experience of human existence. II. The Suffering Body as an Interpretative “Text” The experience of bodily vulnerability and the phenomenology of illness are one of the major concerns of in recent bioethical discussion. In their work Body Matters: A Phenomenology of Sickness, Disease and Illness, James Aho and Kevin Aho attempt to surmount a new way in which sickness, disease, and illness are socially and historically constructed.2 Following the core principle of phenomenology as a return “to the things themselves” they study the phenomena of bodily afflictions and examine them from three different perspectives: “sicknesses” (a sociological perspective), “disease” (a medical perspective), and “illnesses” (a patient’s perspective). The three perspectives are definitely different from each other yet interrelated at the same time. Moreover, by making a crucial distinction in phenomenology between two senses of the body, namely, the quantifiable, corporeal body (Körper) and the organic living or lived-body (Leib). The study by the Ahos attempts to show us that an understanding of the vulnerable and suffering body is an interpretative process that is more profound and complicated than biomedical notions of disease and illness. Illness then is not simply a phenomenon that is experienced; rather it has the same status as notions such as experience and consciousness, since it signifies the subjectivity from which a particular phenomenon is understood and interpreted. The issue of illness is also connected to the mind/body problem. The notion of the lived-body is a significant one here, indicating a dynamic, transformative, and relational body rather than the body reduced to a mechanic thing. Another related question is our conception of health. It is true that most of us tend to act in the world through the medium of our bodies in an unreflective fashion. When we are in good health, we take our healthy bodies as an ontological state of being, and illness as such is seen as “lack (or absence) of good health.” In other words, illness is 2 See James Aho and Kevin Aho. Body Matters: A Phenomenology of Sickness, Disease and Illness (Lexington Books, 2008). 4 our body’s alienation from its primary state. Traditional bio-medicine in the West hence identifies a healthy, “immune self” with an individual person who defies pains and the suffering other, and at the same time seeks a method to deal with pain caused by illness. In recent years, however, some new terms such as “existential medicine” and “medical humanities” have been used to imply an alternative way of looking at illness and health.3 These new concepts aim to recapture an understanding of biochemical, physiological, and morphological factors in living organisms and their development in time and space, and health and illness.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Teacher Transition in the Insight Meditation Movement
    Teacher Transition in the Insight Meditation Movement Introduction In the next ten years, nearly all of the founding and senior teachers in the Insight movement will reduce or stop their teaching, and possibly some will die. We have just begun an important time of transition, worthy of reflection and considered action. Buddhism in the West is very young. We are still learning what it is by our very acts of practicing and teaching it. We still have much to learn from the particular sufferings and challenges of our modern life, from the ancient texts, and from each other. The seed has sprouted, and it needs nourishment. In some ways, there is nothing new happening here. Spiritual movements have been evolving beyond their founders for millennia, with a wide range of results. Buddhism itself has moved into new regions many times, as well as adapted to sweeping changes in a given region over time. We are fortunate to live in a time when there is access to such historical knowledge, as well as frameworks and tools from more modern disciplines. Nonetheless, this is the present place and time. We must act within our particular circumstances, with the people who are present, and with the resources at hand. Although our case is not special, it is, like all cases, unique. The Insight Meditation Movement in the West does not have a sharp definition, but neither is it vague or undefined. It was started by Westerners who trained at Theravada monasteries in Southeast Asia – these founding teachers include Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Christina Feldman, Christopher Titmuss, and Ruth Denison.
    [Show full text]
  • Insight News 4/05
    Insight Meditation Center • Redwood City www.insightmeditationcenter.org APRIL, MAY, JUNE 2008 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 2 The Buddha’s Teachings on Love Just as blood nourishes the heart which keeps it flowing, so To be “free” only when things are pleasant is not real libera- love nourishes spiritual freedom and is, in turn, kept flowing by it. tion. Similarly, to love only in optimal conditions is not real love. The connection is so strong that Buddhism, often known as a Path Not a few Buddhist meditators have experienced great love while of Freedom, could equally be called a religion of love. Perhaps in meditation, only to have it disappear quickly outside of medi- this is what he had in mind when the Dalai Lama said his religion tation. It can be easy to love all beings in the abstract, but it can be is kindness. For the Buddha, love is one of the paths to full spiritu- a great challenge to do so when we have to live with them. It is al liberation. one thing to love and another to express that love in daily life. If we call Buddhism a religion of love we need to be clear what One of the most rewarding spiritual practices is to cultivate the we mean by love, or more precisely, what forms of love we are ability to bring love into all aspects of our life and to all people we including. Because freedom is the guide, the measure, and the encounter. This entails learning how to include love’s presence ultimate goal of all things Buddhist, Buddhist love includes those while we speak to others, are in conflict with others, and are living forms of love that are characterized by freedom.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Buddhist Roots of Contemporary Non-Religious Mindfulness Practice: Moving Beyond Sectarian and Essentialist Approaches 1
    On the Buddhist roots of contemporary non-religious mindfulness practice: Moving beyond sectarian and essentialist approaches 1 VILLE HUSGAFVEL University of Helsinki Abstract Mindfulness-based practice methods are entering the Western cultural mainstream as institutionalised approaches in healthcare, educa- tion, and other public spheres. The Buddhist roots of Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and comparable mindfulness-based programmes are widely acknowledged, together with the view of their religious and ideological neutrality. However, the cultural and historical roots of these contemporary approaches have received relatively little attention in the study of religion, and the discussion has been centred on Theravāda Buddhist viewpoints or essentialist presentations of ‘classical Buddhism’. In the light of historical and textual analysis it seems unfounded to hold Theravāda tradition as the original context or as some authoritative expression of Buddhist mindfulness, and there are no grounds for holding it as the exclusive Buddhist source of the MBSR programme either. Rather, one-sided Theravāda-based presentations give a limited and oversimplified pic- ture of Buddhist doctrine and practice, and also distort comparisons with contemporary non-religious forms of mindfulness practice. To move beyond the sectarian and essentialist approaches closely related to the ‘world religions paradigm’ in the study of religion, the discus- sion would benefit from a lineage-based approach, where possible historical continuities and phenomenological
    [Show full text]
  • Early Buddhist Meditation Studies
    Endorsements This book is a joy to read! It offers a pragmatic and accessible analysis of the role of mindfulness, tranquility, and the brahma- vihāras in the early discourses of the Buddha. Bhikkhu An- ālayo tackles controversial topics: Can insight be practiced during meditative absorption? Are the brahmavihāras liberat- ing? He presents a multitude of relevant ways mindfulness can be understood, inspiring readers to expand their views. His clear and thought-provoking explorations of these questions will help readers explore how the Buddha’s teachings lead to liberation; a purpose as relevant for today’s world as it was in ancient India. Shaila Catherine Early Buddhist Meditation Studies is another example of Bhik- khu Anālayo’s keen intellect, far-ranging scholarship, and deep meditation practice illuminating the nuances and controversies of four areas of contemporary Buddhist dialogue. Given the current widespread use of the term mindfulness, of particular interest to the general reader will be his careful and systematic elaboration of how this now popular word is being used with different and complementary meanings. And for those inter- ested in delving deeper into the relationship between insight and tranquility, the experience and application of jhānic ab- sorption, and the role of the brahmavihāras on the path of liberation, this wonderful collection will help to clarify and deepen our understanding. This book is a dharma treasure of scholarship and discernment, opening up new possibilities for our own practice and realization.
    [Show full text]
  • Vipassana Retreats in the Style of Mahasi Sayadaw Are Not Conducted in Complete Isolation Given That Meditators Eat and Meditate Together
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by The University of Sydney: Sydney eScholarship Journals online The Vipassana Retreat Experience: A Consideration of the Meditation Retreat as a Religious Paradigm of Travel Glenys Eddy Introduction Despite the scarcity of references to meditation retreats in the large volume of research and literature concerning the relationship between modern leisure tourism and forms of religiously motivated travel, 1 the number of meditation retreat centres has increased worldwide in recent decades. Michael Stausberg notes the growth in the international spiritual retreat business since the 1980s, 2 and lists the visitation of retreats as one of the common purposes of religious tourism,3 itself one of the various forms of contemporary spiritual life that are a result of the increased leisure time available to us in our modern life. 4 Meditation retreats, by their style of presentation and advertisement, may resemble other forms of religious travel. Websites of some Buddhist retreat centres have the facility where the enquirer can download the retreat schedule, whilst others have web pages that advertise forthcoming retreats, almost in the manner of a catalogue from which to browse the types of retreat on offer. 5 Some even have testimonials to the efficacy of particular retreats, seen, for instance, in the Finding Freedom in the Body: Mindfulness of the Body as a Gateway to Liberation retreat, held recently between 10 and 15 April 2012, 6 and advertised on the website of the Spirit Rock Meditation Centre. Dr Glenys Eddy completed her doctoral thesis in the Department of Studies in Religion at the University of Sydney in 2007.
    [Show full text]
  • Sensual Desire As a Hindrance Adapted from a Talk by Gil Fronsdal, November 7Th, 2004
    Sensual Desire as a Hindrance adapted from a talk by Gil Fronsdal, November 7th, 2004 As rain penetrates an ill-thatched house, So lust penetrates an undeveloped mind. As rain does not penetrate a well-thatched house, So lust does not penetrate a well-developed mind. Dhammapada (13-14) It is sometimes said that practicing mindfulness is easy; what is hard is remembering to do it. To help us remember, it’s useful to have a clear understanding of the forces in our minds that contribute to our forgetting. The one that the Buddhist tradition focuses on most is desire. Desire is ubiquitous in human life. Living without wants, wishes, motivations, and aspirations is inconceivable. Some desires are quite healthy, useful, and appropriate; some are not. One function of mindfulness practice is to help us distinguish between these. And differentiating helps support the beautiful aspiration for liberation and compassion. Any desire, healthy or unhealthy, can easily manifest as a compulsion. Wherever there is compulsion, we are not free. In the West, we sometimes call particularly strong desires “addictions.” Buddhism often refers to compulsive desires as cravings, clingings, or “thirsts.” Careful attention to our inner life, through meditation, for example, will quickly reveal that compulsions are deeply rooted in the mind. Because desire has such an important role in human life, we need to understand its nature, dangers, opportunities, and workings. It is helpful to notice the difference between simple desire and craving, and the tension that comes with craving. It can also be useful to notice how preoccupation with any desire contributes to an alienation from ourselves, from the present moment, and even from others, such as when we are lost in fantasies fueled by desire.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Buddhism: the Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition
    The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition James William Coleman OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS the new buddhism This page intentionally left blank the new buddhism The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition James William Coleman 1 1 Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto and an associated company in Berlin Copyright © 2001 by James William Coleman First published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 2001 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10016 First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2002 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Coleman, James William 1947– The new Buddhism : the western transformation of an ancient tradition / James William Coleman. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-19-513162-2 (Cloth) ISBN 0-19-515241-7 (Pbk.) 1. Buddhism—United States—History—20th century. 2. Religious life—Buddhism. 3. Monastic and religious life (Buddhism)—United States. I.Title. BQ734.C65 2000 294.3'0973—dc21 00-024981 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America Contents one What
    [Show full text]
  • Spring Summer 1998 Wind Bell
    Publication of San Francisco Zen Center Vol. XXXII No. 1 Spring/Summer 1998 Contents Dharma Talks Our Everyday Life Is Like a Movie BY Shunryu Suzuki, p. 5 What We've Learned BY Norman Fischer, p. 41 Feature Articles The Life, Times and Teaching ofSuzuki Roshi BY Gil Fronsdal, p. 3 The Santa Cruz and Monterey Zen Centers BY Bill Anelli, Santa Cruz and Monterey Zen Students and Katherine Thanas, p. 10 The Zen ofEnding War BY Kaz Tanahashi, p. 26 The Agony ofHat e BY Rachel Carr, p. 30 Books and Translations The Soto Zen Text Project BY Carl Bielefeldt, p. 8 Dogen's "Miracles" TRANSLATED BY Katherine Thanas and Kaz Ta11ahashi, p. 16 Zen Center News Buddhism at Millennium's Edge, p. 36 Marin Charity Gives $100,000 for Green Gulch Housing, p. 39 Tassajara Raffle Raises $25,000, p. 40 2 The Life, Times and Teaching of Suzuki Roshi Conference in Palo Alto May 30- 31, 1998 Gil Fronsdal ~OUGH I NEVER MET SUZUKI ROSH!, I heard many stories about him during my years as a student at Zen Center. Most often, I heard that people felt that he met them with a remarkable degree of accep­ tance and appreciation. It was as if he saw everyone-as they were- as an equal expression of Buddha nature. Stories about Suzuki Roshi are still being told. Some of these were perhaps more legendary than true to who he was. I frequently heard that Suzuki Roshi sat simply and quietly at Soko-ji, allowing interested Americans to join him for zazen.
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhism RELI 200 / EAST 251 Bucknell University • Religion / East Asian Studies • Fall 2008 Coleman Hall Rm 22 • MWF 11:00-11:52 A.M
    Buddhism RELI 200 / EAST 251 Bucknell University • Religion / East Asian Studies • Fall 2008 Coleman Hall Rm 22 • MWF 11:00-11:52 a.m. Professor: James Mark Shields • #71336 • [email protected] Office: Coleman Hall Rm 11 Office hours: MWF 2:00-3:00 p.m., or by appointment www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/jms089 hy are we here? This is the proverbial question posed in undergraduate courses W dealing with Western philosophy and religion, but it is also a question that has relevance in the philosophical and religious traditions of the East, of which Buddhism is one of the most important. However, it also has a more direct and concrete application for us: Why are you here, at Bucknell University, studying Buddhism? This second sense of this grand old question should serve as both a starting and an end point for our investigations, as it will allow us to keep in mind that philosophy and religion are and must always be ‘existential’, i.e., rooted in and reflective of a particular human needs and contexts—social, cultural, economic, artistic and psychological. This course provides an introduction to the religious tradition of Buddhism through study of its origins, basic beliefs, practices and values, historical development, as well as its interaction and involvement with politics, culture, art and society. Along the way we will examine not only the principle tenets and doctrines of the religion in its textual and ideal forms, but also the context in which it arose and developed over the centuries (i.e., how Buddhism works ‘on the ground’).
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to Buddhism in America Today a Survey of the Three Main Styles: Mindfulness, Compassion, and Mantra
    Introduction to Buddhism in America Today A Survey of the Three Main Styles: Mindfulness, Compassion, and Mantra Class Schedule and Readings November 2015 Ecumenical Buddhist Society of Little Rock 1516 W. 3rd Street Little Rock, AR Introduction to Buddhism in America Today A Survey of the Three Main Styles: Mindfulness, Compassion, and Mantra Schedule and Readings (Page number) November 2: Introduction to Buddhism, overview of the Buddha’s basic teachings and a survey of the three main practice styles. No readings for the first class. Schedule and Readings (P1) Styles Overview (P2) November 9: Foundation practices: mindfulness/awareness and loving kindness Overview of Foundation Style (P3) A Dependable Mind, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (P4) Virtue: The Five Precepts, by Gil Fronsdal (P11) Cultivate a Metta Mind, by Sylvia Boorstein (P14) November 16: Compassion practices: Bodhisattva training Overview of Compassion Style (P18) Nirvana, the Waterfall, by Shunryu Suzuki (P19) Paying Homage: The Bodhisattva Vow, by Reb Anderson (P21) A Bodhicitta Practice, by Pema Chodron (P29) Shantideva’s Prayer, by Shantideva (P32) November 23: Mantra practices: Tantra/Vajrayana techniques Overview of Mantra Style (P33) Heart Jewel of the Fortunate, by Dudjom Rinpoche (P34) Awakening to Our True Nature, by Anam Thubten (P38) Prayer of the Three Kayas, Traditional (P46) Seven Line Prayer to Guru Rinpoche, Traditional (P47) 1 Three Styles of Buddhism Hinayana Mahayana Vajrayana Translation Foundation Path Great Path of Awakening "Indestructible" Diamond Path
    [Show full text]
  • Enlightenment Unfolds Is a Sequel to Kaz Tanahashi’S Previous Collection, Moon in a Dewdrop, Which Has Become a Primary Source on Dogen for Western Zen Students
    “Tanahashi is a writer and painter whose earlier collection, Moon in a Dewdrop, served as an introduction to the work of Dogen for many Western readers. This sequel collection draws from the complete range of Dogen’s writing. Some pieces have been widely translated and will be familiar to students of Zen, others have been reprinted from Moon in a Dewdrop, and still others appear here in English for the first time. Tanahashi worked with a number of co-translators, all of them Zen practitioners in Dogen’s lineage, and the result is an accessible and admirably consistent text. This is particularly impressive given the somewhat eccentric nature of Dogen’s prose, which can approach poetry and as a vehicle for Zen teachings often exists at the outer limits of usefulness of language in conveying meaning. Students of Zen will find this text essential.” —Mark Woodhouse, Library Journal ABOUT THE BOOK Enlightenment Unfolds is a sequel to Kaz Tanahashi’s previous collection, Moon in a Dewdrop, which has become a primary source on Dogen for Western Zen students. Dogen Zenji (1200– 1253) is unquestionably the most significant religious figure in Japanese history. Founder of the Soto school of Zen (which emphasizes the practice of zazen or sitting meditation), he was a prolific writer whose works have remained popular for six hundred years. Enlightenment Unfolds presents even more of the incisive and inspiring writings of this seminal figure, focusing on essays from his great life work, Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, as well as poems, talks, and correspondence, much of which appears here in English for the first time.
    [Show full text]
  • Winter 1996 Wind Bell
    .. •• (.,.. ,,.~ '\.. f Publication of Zen Center Vol. XXX No. I Winter 1996 CONTENTS Understanding Ordinary Mind is Buddha by Suzuki Roshi, p. 3 September Dharma Transmission Ceremony at Tassajara: Abbot Sojun Weitsman Speaks About the Ceremony, p. 6 Embodying the Dharma: The Willingness to be Present by Pat Phelan, p. 8 The Chapel Hill Zen Group: Past and Present, p. 12 Reflections on Receiving Dharma Transmission by Gil Fronsdal, p. 13 Gil Fronsdal and the Mid-Peninsula Insight Meditation Group, p. I 8 Tassajara Stone Dining Room by Furyu Schroeder; p. 20 The Wall by Cabin One by Bill Steele, p. 22 Entering the Dharma by Mick Sopko, p. 26 A New Book by Darlene Cohen Arthritis: Stop Suffering, Start Moving, p. 36 A Translation of the Eihei Shingi by Taigen Leighton and Shohaku Okumura, p. 37 Wind Bell Editor; p. 39 Finding Out What it Means to be Ordained by Abbot Mel Weitsman, p. 40 An Announcement: On Sunday February 4. 1996, Shunbo Zenkei Blanche Hartman is being installed as Abbess of Zen Center in the traditional Mountain Seat Ceremony. She w ill be joining Abbots Sojun Mel Weitsman and Zoketsu Norman Fischer in the spiritual leadership of the community. The next issue of Wind Bell will feature coverage of this event. The kaisando altar at Tossajara UNDERSTANDING ORDINARY MIND IS BUDDHA Shunryu Suzuki Roshi May 1969 The point of my talk is just to give you some help in your practice. So it is just help. As I always say, there is no need for you to remember what I said as something definite.
    [Show full text]