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THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDIIISJ\1 IN We T MALAYSIA, WITH SPI!CIAL REFERENCU T THE PRACTICE OF MEDITATION AMONG YOUNG BUpDHISTS
BY: lAU LEE SING MATRIC NO: 059638
GRADUATION EXERCISE AS PARTIAL REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY & SOCIOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA UniversityKUAIA LUMP ofUR Malaya
SESSION 1993/ 94
0 I Ilk 'l11111 h11r Jabnton A1Hr o1, oloul ' ' So11u loyl Unlvorolt 1 Malaya ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express 1ny d cpest gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. Rayn1ond Lee for his kind supervision, invaluable guidance and advice. I would like to thank Brother James Ong, the meditation teacher in Selangor Vipassana Centre, Petaling Jaya who provided me with valuable information on certain issues. I am gra teful to Venerable Visuddhacara, the meditation instructor in Malaysian Buddhist Meditation Centre (MBMC) for his kind advice and cooperation. I also wish to express my heartfelt thanks lo everyone especially my friends who have given their cooperation, n1oral support , assistance and ever ready encouragement throughout the writing of this graduation exercise.
University of Malaya SIPNO IS
Tesis ini adalah saru kajian mengenai perkembangan Buddhisme d i Semenanjung 1'1alaysia, dengan rujukan utama kepada meditasi di kalangan belia. Sejarah Buddhisme di Semenanjung Malaysia dijelaskan secara ringkas untuk memberikan pembaca sedikit idea mengenai perkembangan Buddhisme di Semenanjung Malaysia. Selain daripada itu, penerangan dibuat atas perbezaan antara Buddhisme Mahayana dan Theravada. Ini menyediakan satu gambaran yang jelas tentang Buddhisme di Malaysia secara keseluruhannya. Bab pertama berbincang mengenai tujuan kajian, n1etodologi and masala h -m asalah ya n g diha d a pi scm asa kc rja la p :i ngan dilakukan. Ba b kedua memberi satu gambaran umum 1n cngcnai perkembangan Buddhisme di Semenanjung Malaysia. Bab ke tiga berbincang tentang aktiviti-aktiviti di kalangan Buddhis muda dan bagaimana mereka mernpraktikkan n1editasi terutama sekali di kalangan mahasiswa-rnahasiswi. Tan1bahan pula, satu an ali sUniversityis yang deskriptif dibu aoft a tas Malaya jenis-jenis n1editasi dan retrea t rneditasi dibincangkan dengan lebih detail lagi dat m bab ini. Bab keernpat adaJah berkenaan dengan keputusan kaj ian dan pcrbincangnn yang selanjutnya. Vipassana (satu jenis n1editasi) dan prakliknya di kaku1gan belia-belia Cina juga d ij ela kan. Bab kclima rnc mberi satu kesimpulan kepada kajian ini.
H SYNOPSIS
This thesis concerns rhe developrnent of Buddhism in West Malaysia, with special reference to rneditation among youths. The history of Buddhism in West ~1alaysia is explained briefly to give the readers some ideas regarding the development of Buddhism in Malaysia. Explanation has also been made regarding the difference between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism, to provide a more vivid picture of Buddhism in Malaysia. This thesis, as a whole, is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 describes the aim of the research, methodology and difficulties faced during the research. Chapter 2 presents a general discussion of the devclopn1ent of Buddhism in West Malaysia. Chapter 3 focuses on young Buddhist activities in the countTy, the practice of meditation among Chinese youths, especially the undergraduates. A descriptive analysis on 1n edita tion and meditationUniversity retreats is included. of Malaya Chapter 4 presents results of a survey. Vipassana rneditation and its practice among Chinese youths is discussed in detail. Chapter S gives a conclusion of this study.
iil TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 1
SIPNOSIS 11
SYNOPSIS 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Ai m of Resear ch 1 1.2 Method ology 2 1.2.1 Participant Observation 3 1.2.2 Library Research 3 1.2.3 Formal & Informal Interview 4 1.2.4 Survey 4 1.3 Places of Research s 1.4 Difficulties Faced 5
CHPATER 2 DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHISM IN WEST MAIAYSIA 2.1 Introduction 7 2.2 HistoriUniversitycal Background of Malaya7 2.3 Schools of Buddhism in Malaysia 12 2.3.1 Difference between Mahayana & Theravada Buddhism 14 2.4 Conte1nporary Buddhism 17
iv 2.4.1 Missionary Activities in West ~ talaysi.t 18 2.5 Conclusion 20
CHAPTER 3: BUDDHIST YOUTHS AND MEDITATION 3.1 Introduction 21 3.2 Young Buddhist Activities in \Nest Malaysia 22 3.3 Meditation Activities of Chinese Youths 23 3.4 Vipassana in Malaysia 26 3.4.1 Vipassana Meditation 27 3.4.2 Methods of Vipassana Meditation 28 3.4.3 Distinguishing Between Samatha and Vipassana Meditation 29 3.5 What Is Retreaat 32 3.6 Conclusion 35
CHAPTER 4 : RESULT AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Introduction ..16 4.2 Meditation Teachers 37 4.3 Types of Meditation 40 4.4 Analysis of Meditation Retreat According to lheUniversity Frequency of Meditation of Malaya43 4.5 Further Discussion and Analysis 45 4.6 Why is Meditation Becoming Popular Today Among Chinese Youths 49
v CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION Sl
Bibliography SS Pictures 58 Appendix A - Questionnaire 61
University of Malaya
vi CHAPTER 1 IN TRODUCTION
Resear ch regar ding the develo p m e nt of ~ udd hi s m s pecifically in West Malaysia, is li mited com pared to r e sear ch on Christianity and Is la m . St ud ies o n t he movement of Bu ddh is m with special r egar d lo certa in as pect s or activities r e quires a lot of work and effort. This thesis m ay be con sid er e d a pilot s urvey as there are n ot many stud ies on Buddhis m.
1.1 Aim of Research
T his r esear ch w a s conducte d to s tudy the develop me nt of
Bud d h is m in West Malaysia, w it h e m ph asis o n the practice of
medita tio n. especially v ipassan a meditat io n a mo ng younR l3u ddhists. As m e ditatio n is con s ider ed a ver y im por t a nt pract ice in
Budd his m , it is necessar y to k now mor e about its move me nt nn d t he involve m e nt of youths. Ho pe fully thro ug h the s tu dy, we can
u nde r s t and the r e a so n s w h y m o r e and m o r e y o un~ Budet h is ts a r c
b e coming inte r este d in m e dit a tio n . Thus . a tte ntio n is g iven to the prac tices oUniversityf meditatio n a mo ng un dergofr aduaMalayates in Wes t Malaysia.
n a m e ly stu dents fro m Universit y of Malaya(UM). Uni crsi t y of
K c ban ~ s a an(UKM). Un iver s i t y o f Scic n cc(US M)a nd Univer s i t y of Te chnology (U TM). Th is is to give th e readers a clearer pictu re of how the undergr ad ua tes pract ise medita ti on and how it is in tegrated in their wuy of l ivinst . The d iscu ssio n w ill be dra'\ n o n \'ip.iss inu meditation and o the r t y p es of m e d i ta ti on . Bcs id<.! s t h is. t h t.' \\' r it c r w i 11 provide a picture of how meditatio n retrcnt s a r e bein g con d ucte d in the meditation centres. De tails r egar ding t he retreats w ill be given much a tte n ti o n so as to present a mo r e s pecific inf or m a ti on about meditation. This r esear ch was m ade possible partly because of the writer's participation in the Buddhist activities on campus. This made the work much easier as a lo t of material and information were collected easily w itho ut much time wasted . Man y acquintances were formed during the writer's participation in these Buddhist activ ities. These were people who were highly knowledgable about Buddhis m nnd meditation. They wer e a great source of inform a tio n and s upport.
1.2 Method ology
Different kinds of me thod s were used to con d uct this research. Bo th the anthropological and sociological me thods were used. The data were analysed qua litatively as we 11 as q u an tit a tively . Besides the partici pant-obser vatio n. o the r methods e m ployed wer e inte rvUniversityiews and li b rary resear ch of. Malaya A questio nna ire s urvey was car r ied o ut during the resear ch. This was d o ne in orde r to get quantitative data o n the practice of medit ation a mong the undergraduates in the country .
2 1.2. 1 Participant Observation
Si nce the w riter is a lso a Buddhist . w ho is pr actising vipassana m editation. the use of Participant Ob servatio n w a s most suitable. The w rite r joined the meditation retreat in Kota Tin ggi for ten days. As a participant as well as a researche r , more information which may have see med ins ig nificant was noted down in the analysis of the data. The w rite r 's own experiences during the retreat was found useful .
Every participant on r e treat had to no te down what h e or she ob ser ved d uring the walking and sitting meditatio n . Thus. all the no tes of the writer wer e con sidered an important source of info rm a tio n . However . sin ce every participant had to o bserve precepts during the retreat, no interview could be conducte d because n o talking was allowed. The w riter coul d o nl y obser ve nnd remember events. Only afte r the r etreat could a ll the ob servat ion s be written down.
1.2.2 Library Re search
DooksUniversity o n the develop me n t of Buddhismof Malaya in Malaysia were found in the univer s ity librar y . But most of the books arc o ut- dated a nd the m a te rial abou t the pr esent situa tion of Buddhism in Malaysia could no t be fo und. The writer coul d o nly r esort to Bu ddhist magazines s uch as 'Voice of Buddhis m · . 'World Fe llowship of
l3uddhist' and o the r Uuddhis t annual r eport like the YBAM 10 th
3 anniversar y magazine. Bes ides these. the.: w riter was able to re ad a few Buddhis t magazines from other un ivt' rsit ies .
1.2.3 Form al and Informal interview
Inte r v iews were conducted w ith a numbe r st udents from UM , UKM , USM, UTM a n d TAR college. They provide information regarding the practice of meditation in their respective universities and colleges.
Form al inte rview were conducted with a meditation teacher in
Selangor Vipassana Ce ntre at Petaling jaya. Inte rviews with the U~I s tude nts who practised v ipassana meditatio n and h ad go ne o n r etr eats w er e conducted in Mandarin as most of the r espon dents s po ke Mandarin. The use of this language enab led the m to tell the interv iewer their experiences more accur ately .
1.2.4 Survey
The questionnaire was conducted to obtain syste matic data on
the prac tice of me ditatio n among unde r g r ad uates as they r epresente Universityd the majority of the yo ungof Buddhists Malaya. 137 respondents fro m UM, UKM , USM and UT M comple ted a questionnaire. There were more r espondents fro m UM because comparatively the r e wer e more UM s tudents who practised me ditatio n. Meditation has become quite po pular amo ng UM s tudent s as mor e and mor e of them RO o n retreats . 1.3 Places of Observatio n
Three meditation ccntn!$ in West ~ t n l a ys ia w e r e chosen as places of ob serva tio n . The r e were 1'1a laysian Buddhist Meditation Ce ntre( M BMC) Pen a ng, Ko t a Tinggi Sant isukhara m a Hermitage and Lunas Meditatio n Ce ntre, Kedah. The w rite r v isited these three centres a nd interviewed the monks in the centres. However, only general observati on were made at these three centres. The writer was not a llowed to do interviewing in the meditation centres because the 'yogis· were no t s u p posed to talk freely during their retreat. He nce, most of the obser vations wer e limited to what the writer saw in the centres. An interview with Rev. Vis uddhacara in MBMC wus allowed and question s on meditatio n were discussed. Pho tos were taken at these places. The w r iter took photos of 'yogis ' w hile they wer e m editating. r:ro m the pho togr aphs. the reader can get a clear er picture of how the meditatio n is practised at the meditation centres. The r eader can sec the way the yogis meditate - the ir posture and facial expr ession s, e tc.
1.4 DifficuUniversitylties Faced of Malaya W hile doing this r esearch , the wr ite r experie nced a few problem s th a t could no t b e avoided . The w riter, as one of the participa nts too. cou Id no t inter view the o the r part icipants during the r etreat because of certain precepts.
As for the administration of q uestio nnaires. prob lem arose fro m the way tho r cspC> ndc nts answered the questions. Some of
s them did not understand the q ucstions ,1 n 1 therefore had answered inappropriate ly. In add itio n , a lot nl' r l'S ~ onde n ts co uld not an swer the questions well in the open que s t it n sectiop . h!s m ay due to the ir weak comm and of the la nguage beca use a ~l t .Qe q uestions were asked in Englis h and mos t of the r espondent s were educated in Chinese schools. A few of them answer e d the q uestions in Chinese.
University of Malaya
6 CHAPTER 2 DEVELOPM ENT OF BUDDH ISM IN \VEST MALAYS A
2. 1 Introductio n
This chapte r w ill concentrate on the history of Buddhism in West Malaysia. A de tailed his torical survey will be given as how various e thnic groups contributed to the develo pment of Buddhis m in Malaysia as a w hole . Specifically, more attention w ill be given to the si tu ation in West Ma laysia as East Malaysia is comparatively ne\\· to Buddhism compared to West Malaysia. In addition, this chapter w ill also e mphasize on the present developm ent of Duddhism in West Malaysia such as the si tu nt ion of the miss ionary activities here. This is to give the reader s n RC nernl picture of the present phrase of Buddhis m and its events w hi ch are shaping I3uddhis m in this country. Moreover , differe nt schools of Duddhis m in Ma laysia w ill be disc ussed briefl y . Hopefully doubts and confusion regar ding the differ ent approaches between Ma hayana Buddhi s m and Theravada Buddhis m wouUniversityld be clarified. of Malaya
2 .2 II is tor ical Dackgrou nd
Duddhis m as in separ ab le fro m the h is tor y of the Mal ay Pc nnisul a. It is cl ulmcd that the oldest Ma layan inscription dates fr o m the '1 century A.D and it co nsis ts of two Buddhist ver ses. The first ver se b c in ~ fam o us thr o u ~ h o u t the old Dudd hist world, the
7 second illustrating the first. In general. tht' rt.' .1re three main sources to know w hen [3 uddhis m fi rst :1ppt' .1rt' d in ~ l a l ays i a Chinese recor ds, Indian recor ds and arc h nco l o ~ i c al evidence. ' The people w ho ca me to this area during the fir st millenniu m A.D and br ought Buddhis m w it h the m, were the Indians . Many early Indians ca me to South East Asia because of trade. According to Dr . Qu aritch Wa les, the fir st Buddhis t state in Malaysia was
Langkasuka situated around present day Gunung jerai in Kedah. 2 It was su pposed to have ex isted as early as the second century C. E . Bronze Buddha im ages also had been found around the area of Kedah Peak (G un ung j er ai) which belong to the fourth century C. E . Inscriptions be longing to the four th century were also found in ot her parts of West Ma laysia, especially in Cheruk l ek un opposite Penang an d other parts of Province Wellesley. By the fifth centu ry. Bud dhis m was very well -est ablished in Ma laysia. Budd ha images were fo und at Kuala Se linsing, Kin ta Va ll ey, TanjunR Ra mbu tan, Bidod, Sungai Siput and Pahang. The earliest fo rm of Buddhis m practised in South East As ia. including Ma laysia , was the so calle d Hinayana type (one of the schools in l3u ddhis m ) . But later with the r ise of r i- Vijaya, Mahayana Universitybeca me more well - know nof. Sr i MalayaVij aya was becoming one of the chief centers of Ma hayana Ouddhis m. Starting about 1000 A.O., the great l3 uddhist ki ngdom of Sri Vijaya was for med, it came to co ntrol the Ma lay Pe nnisul a and its power lasted for two centuries.
1 lloinr 1ch Dumou llo, IJ11
8 By the sev e nth century. Maha •an:1 Hu :tdhis m b eca me the mor e po pula r for m of Dudd h is m pr ac t ised in ri. talaysia. However . the p opula rity of I3 u dd his m gr ew less b \' t he twelfth cen t u ry. This w as
because I3 u ddhis m was severe ly weaKe n e d in India w ith the revival of Hin d uis m . At t h e same t ime. Is lam was s p r e ading ver y fast 1n
South East Asia. Thus. Bu ddhis m b e g an t o b e come weaker 1n Malaysia. 1403 ma rke d the year of Parameswara's conversion to Is lam a nd the disappear a n ce of Buddhism from Malaysia. By the end of the fifteenth century, Islam Loo k over Buddhis m as the religion of both the k ing a nd the people. Neverthe less , tho ugh Buddhis m officia lly d isap pear e d f rom Malaysia after the fo unding of Malacca.
traces of Bu dd h ism a nd Hinduism influe n ces can s till b e fo und in t he c ultures of the local peop le. Theatres in Kedah. Perlis a n d Ke la ntnn a r e s tro n gly influenced by Duddh ist stories. Buddh is t re m ained
becau se of b e ing continuously subject to Du dd his m inf lue nces fro m the north of the Pennis ul a adjace nt to Thaila nd)
However . it is ap pa re nt tha t I3u d dhis m h as for a lo ng t ime b een prac tised m a inly b y the Chinese po pula tion . This is because the coming of the Chinese immigrants t o Malaysia afte r the seventeen century marke d the secon d wave of Bu d dhis m in this country . But . the I3uddhiUniversitys m b r ou ght by the Chinese of to MaMalayalaysia was by n o mean s the p ure teach in gs of Go t a m a Bu dd h a . r-o r cent u ries. the Ch in ese
prac tised a m ixed r e ligio n of Co nfucia nis m . Taoism . Bu dd h ism a n d certain Chinese folk b e li efs.
Now. le t u s sec in mor e d e t a il the earlier develop me nt of Budd his m In certa in st a tes in West Malaysia.
l lhld .. pC) 12
9 Some of the earliest Duddhis t t <.! mples were all set up 1n Penang. The Kuan Imm Teng Tem p le has its origin s traced to as early as the early I 800s. Another im portant Budd h is t centre 1n Penang is the Triple Wisdom Hall , foun ded by Vene rable Chuk Mor in 1957. This dham ma m aste r teaches Ch 'an meditation at the Triple W isdom ll a ll , o ne of the ver y few cen t r es w her e one can learn Mahayana te achings. The Penang Buddhist Association (PBA), one of the pro mine nt Buddhist institutions in Penang has set for itself the aim of pro pagating the correct teachings of the Buddha. PBA adopted a non- sectarian attitude b y inviting Mahayana and Theravada monks to preach.
Pe nang has lo ng been known as the core of I3udd hist activities in West Malaysia. There are many lay me n who ar c expone nts of the dhamm a and mo nk s who preach the real dhamma. In Province Wellesley, Mahayan a groups are to be found in Butte r worth, 13 ukit Mertajam and Ce ntral Province Wellesley. In Pe r ak, the most active Duddhist society is the Taiping Duddhis t Society w here dhamma activ ities are placed on the top of its prio rity li s t. In Selangor, Buddhist activ ities h ave existed for
some time in Klang and Petaling jaya. The Klang and Coast Buddhist AssociationUniversity is a r e latively active Buddhist of Malaya gr o up w ith both English and Chinese sectio n s. In Petaling jaya, the Poh Lum Temples is ano ther te m pie w hich interested many Mahayana fo llower s. The W is ma Duddhis t locate d at o ld Klang Road is an astounding achieve ment of Mahayana pie ty.
In Malacca, the t wo main Mahayana g r o up are the Jasin
Buddhist Society and lhc centre of Hum anistic Buddhism. Malacca is
I 0 also the southern centre of the YDAl\t (Youn ~ Hu 1 ihist Association of
Malaysia ). In johor , the major Mah:t}'.lnn ~r o u p s are found in Muar, Batu Pahat and johor I3ahru. Mund:1rin is the mediu m of instruction in all these groups. Ilut English-speaking lay groups are also found in Kluang, Kota Tinggi and johor Ba hru. All of these English-speaking groups follow mainly the Theravada tradition . Jn Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Trengganu, both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism are being practised. In Perlis, the members of the Perlis Buddhist Society are divided into two groups in which the Mandarin-speaking members follow mainly the Mahayana tradition whereas the English-speaking are more influenced by the Theravada school. In Kedah, all the Buddhist groups in Kulim, Sg . Patani. Gua Chem Pedak, Pendang, Ba ling, Kerpan and Padang Scrai follo'v Mahayana Duddhism. All the Buddhist societies on the Ens t Const are practically Mandarin-speaking and Mahayana in clined. These groups arc found in Kota Bahru, Kuala Trcngganu and Kuala Dungun. In Pahang, the main Buddhist Society is ce ntred at Kuantan. In Malaysia, there are about 200 Thai temples, with the majority of the m located in Perlis, Kelantan and Kedah. Thai monks, though most of the m are not able to preach in English and Mandarin, respected foUniversityr the ir practices. For example of :Malaya The Venerable Phra ~hru Dhammabanchanvud, abbot of the Malaysian Buddhist Meditation Ce ntre (MBMC) during the l 970's is a very r espected Theravada monk. Under Ven. Phra Khru Dhammabanchanvud, meditation was made a way of life in the MBMC. Desides med itation, regular Sunday Dharnma Cla sses are still held continuously. So me lay
l I me ditation teacher s con d uct v ipassana d isscs 1n t he tradition of t he
Mah asi Say adaw me thod in MB MC : f Besides the contributio n to Bud d his m in \V e s t Ma laysia by the mon ks fro m Th ailand. o ne can ne e r forget the contrib ution of the Sinhalese. En gl ish- e d uca te d Buddhist s in Malaysia w ill alw ays be gr ate fu l to the mission s carried o ut b y the Sin h ale se mon ks. The chief Reverand, Ve n . Dr . K. Sri Dh a mmananda Nayaka Mah a Ther a , the present abbo t of t h e Brickfields Buddhist Te mple in Kuala Lumpur is a Sinhalese monk. He has contib ute d a lot to Buddhism in Malaysia. Hi s sincerity, com mitme nt and d e dication are inv aluable sources of inspir ation to all t he Budd hists in Malaysia. The othe r m ajor Sr i Lan ka mon k w ho has contr ibuted much to the mission ary work in this country is Ven . Gunarata n a ( 1933 - 1961). Ven . Gunar a tan a stayed at the Mahindar a m a te mple a nd a t tracted ma ny hig hly e ducate d Budd hists in Pen ang a nd o ther s tates of Mn la s in to t he Dh a mm a.
2.3 Schools of Buddhis m in Malaysia
Bu d dhis m in Malaysia can be div id ed into three importa nt schools. ThUniversitye r e ar e Mah ayana. T h eofr avada Malaya a n d Vajrayan a school. Today, Ther avada is do mi na nt in Sri La n ka. Myan mar a n d Thailand w he r eas the Mah ayana school is mor e influe ntial in Ch in a. Taiwan , Kor e a and j a p an. Vajr ayana school is more popular in Tibet and the ot her areas aro u nd it.
;( lhlll , plJ 1 (1
12 The Theravada school was intro d u ·cd in W est Malaysia since the early era of Christianity . The t\ t nh:1y nn u school w as be lieved to h ave been s tarted in the sixth cent u r y and it dev e lo pe d further when Srivijaya con quered the state s in \Vest Malaysia in the eighth century . Vaj r ayan a was first popular and influe ntial in West Malaysia in
1976 after the visit of His Ho liness the sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa,
Ra ngjung Rigpe Dorje ( 1924- 198 1 ). After that, a centre was set up in Ku ala Lumpur to spread the Vajrayana teachings. This centre is the Karm a Kagyu Dhamma Society. However, according to Devahuti, these three schools have othe r n a mes as well. Mah ayan a is also known as the Gr eat Vehicle and the Northern school whereas Theravada is known as Teaching of the Elders, the Lesser Vehicle, Hinayana and the Southern school. Vajrayana is also k nown as Tibetan Bud dhis m . The followers of Theravada Buddhism con s ider its school as that origin ally ta ught by the Buddha. They consider Duddha as a common man who had s triven hard to attain e nlig hte nme nt. For the Theravadins, s uffe ring is something very r eal a nd libe r a tio n from
Sa msara (circle of r e birth ) should depend o n o ne 's own effort. A Buddhist's Universityr espo n sibility is to lib oferate Malayahim self I he r self from Sam sara.
Mahayana school firs t appear ed in fi r s t century BC o r 400 years after Duddha passed away. Mah ayanists see Budd ha as supra
mundane, one w ho had extraordinary ability . Suffer ing is r egarded as Illus io n. Its purpose is to follow the ways of Bod hisattva w hose
I 3 duty is to save all the beings from suffcrin~~ . Libt?rution of oneself is considered the lesser i m portancc. Vajrayana was in fact based on the f\t nh ayana school but it had bee n adjusted and thus creating diffe re nt pojqts of v iew s. Vajrayana believes that libe ration of o neself is to be achiev e d by the ability of the mind. They see everything as consisting of cau se and effect. The Bodhisattva is considered as one w ho had attained perfection. These three schools have different approaches regarding certain aspects in Buddhism. This does not mean that they are three diffe rent religions. They all believe in the fundamental characteristics of Buddhism. They all r espect Sakyamuni Buddha as one who had attained enlightenment. They fo ll ow the main principles in Buddhism as The 4 Nob le truth. Nob le Eightfold Puth and Three Characteristics of Living.
2.3. 1 Differences be tween Mahayana and Theravada - the two main schools in Ma laysia
From the very beginning European scholars were deeply impressed by the multifario us aspects of Buddhism. They took the Buddhist HUniversityoly scriptures in the " Paliof Ca nMalayao n " as the origi nal and authoritative o ne . As they fo und this type of Buddhism locate d in Cey lo n. Southest Asia, they named it "Southe rn Buddhism" whereas the Buddhist schools of East Asia wer e r eferred collectively as "Northern Buddhism". In other words, Eu r opean scholars were the
I '1 ones who disting uis h ed the 2 main b r .1 n ·hes of Buddhism
Theravada (the s ma II vehicle) and M :i ha\·nnn l the ' r e a t vehicle ).5 The terms "Southern Duddhi:\m'' and "Northern Bud dhism· were given in accordance to the geographical situatjon as it is today. But b oth sch ools originated from Ind ia. Theravada Buddhism had r e tained the original basic teachings of the Buddha as they were set down in the Pali Canon. To know more about the distinction between Mahayana and Therav ada Buddhism. we have to examine its apparent differences. The difference is mostly based on the inte rpre tatio n of the main essence in Buddhism such as the various interpretations of the 3 jewels- the Buddha, the Dham ma and the Sangha.
The most impo rtant difference between Mahayana and
Theravada teaching is. the forme r advocating the B od h i~a tt vn Pnth while the latte r the Arahant Path. Mahayanists claim tha t the Bodhisattva Path benefits o neself and others at the sa me time . The Arahant Path is selfish since it means cultivating the way for oneself o nly. Theravadins claim that the most impo rtant thing to do is to strive to liberate o neself from Samsara and the n teach othe rs. For T her av ad ins. the A rahan t Pa th is not sc If is h but that the work of trying to liberatUniversitye others, commonly beof done Malaya after one has lib e rated oneself.
The Mahayanis ts teach that their Dodhisattvas and Buddhas can exis t or not as they choose and take r ebirth in any plane of existence (e.g. Earth Sto ne Bodhisattva in he ll ). This would imply that these beings can over ride the law of Kam ma (cause and effect)
' llolnrlch Du moulln. op.cit .. pJ 5 J6.
IS w hich again is contrary to the Budd hn's explanat ion of exis te nce.
Accor ding to the I3 udd ha, one ~tt ai n $ t h t~ First Fruition (Sotap anna) will re tu r n on ly 7 times mor e ; one " ho nttni 1s the Tb ird Fruition (A n aga mi ) w ill not r e turn to this \Vo rld but w ) l take rebirth in the heavenly realm before e ntering Parnibbana. 0ne w h o is libe rated (D udd ha, Ar aha nt. Pacceka Buddha) will not r e tur n any mor e to any form of existe nce. The belief in the Mah ayana doctrines that the Buddha possesses three bodies is again absent in The rav ada teaching.6 Mah ayan a doctr ines advocate a w ay th a t on 'othe r power besides oneself w h ile Ther avada doctrines say that no on e can save but on eself. So Mah ayan ists pray to Amitab ha Buddha re ly ing on the 'v ow power ' of A mitabha Bud dha to be re bo rn in the P ure La n d. The r e is o nly o ne way to e nlighte n ment, tha t is a ll beings will eventua ll y b ecom e perfectly enlightened Ou dd h as. T heravada doctrine advocates however ther e ar c 3 ways to enli ghte n ment - to become Buddhas, Ar ah ant or Paccek a l3 udd has. Regar d ing k illing, Mah ayanis ts c la im tha t o ne need no t be bound strictly by the wor ding of precepts b ut should be guided by the spirit of it, according to circu m stances. This is to say that k illing is a ll owed Universityunder certai n cir cu msta ncesof. T heMalayar avada doctrines teach that inte ntion al killing is no t allowed under any ci r cumsta nces. Mor e rites and rituals are pr actised in Mah ayan a Bu ddhis m tha n The r avad a . Mah ayan a mo naste ries do their cha ntings to the beat of d rum s, bells. 'woode n fish ", e tc ... , w h ile Ther avada mo n asteries do the ir ch anting without all these ins tr ume nts. One
(i Uh lkkhu ll yo Dhnm muv uuc.J ho. Muin Oifforonccs Uc t \Vccn MtJhayunu an d 1'1icrn vnt111 ro11 clli11 H,i:, P o nan~c. p I 16.
l 6 particular distinction in the recitatio n of $lltr.t$ is that it is done in a s ingle way by Mahayani sts, but not b 1 the Thernv adas.
2.4 Co ntemporary Dudd his m
The present day Buddhism in Malaysia is mostly made up of The ravada and Mahayana Buddhism. Thus, there are Mahayana te mples as well as The ravada temples. One significant feature of these 2 types of te m pies is the medium of instruction. In Mahayana te m ples. Mandarin and Hokkien are being used whereas English is the dominant language used in Theravada te mples, with occasional dham ma talks delivered in Hokkien. Generally, Malaysia is intermediar y, in that although Mahayana is predo minant, m any Mahayana follower s ar c a lso me mbers of the
Theravada sect. This is like historical situ at ion where Mahayana had a lways to le rated Theravada tho ug h o nly as a lower s t age of a Buddhist's deve lop me nt. Now, mor e and mor e Mahayanists have come under some Theravada monks tho ugh those Theravada monks use English as their medium of instruction .
To h ave a view of 13 udd h ism in Ma laysia, we h ave to have a b asic gr aspUniversity of the Ouddhist activi tiofes in Malayathis cou ntry, especially missio nary activities. The missionary move me nt has al I a lo ng been very active. A few names appear as the pioneers of Buddhis t missio nary work in modern Malaysia. They are Ven. A. Pemaratana.
Ven . Dr. Sumangalo. Ven. K. Gunatana. Ven. Chuk Mor and Ven. Dhammananda. They have all contributed to the development of Ouddhi!' m in Mala ysia. Now. let us sec in mor e deta il the missionary
17 activ ities in the country w ith r egar d to the ·hier Rever a n d, Dr. K. Sri
Dham m ananda Nay a Ma ha Thc r a.7
2.4 .1 Mi ssionary Activ ities In West ~ l a l ay s ia
Ven . Dh a mm a n a nd a, togethe r w ith Ven . S umangalo had provide d the impe tus for Buddhist studen ts to e stablish Buddhist socie ties in the UM, UPM. UT M. Language Institute, Specialist Teacher s Training Co ll ege and the Royal Military College. In 196 1, the Budd his t Missionary Societ y (BMS) w as establis he d b y Ven . Dh a m m a na nda. Un der BMS. many simple and readable En glish pamphle ts on vario us aspects of Buddhis m and daily practices were dis tribute d . Ve n. Dh a mmananda's pa mphle t s h a d a tre me n dous impact o n the Eng li s h - s peaking p u b li c. Besides. he a lso h ad or ganized a n annual novitiate progr a mm e in Malaysia for Dudd h ists inte r ested in expe rie ncing the life of a mo n k for a s hort period of time.
Ven. Dhammana nda is a great s piritua l lead er w ho h as ser ved Malay sian Buddhis m for over 47 year( he came to Ma laysia in 1952).
He h as contributed a lo t to the mission ary work in Ma lay sia w h ich has s uceededUniversity in ca p tivating the minds of of th eMalaya young and educated. In sh ort. w e can say that he has indeed contr ibute d a lo t to a Bud dhist r eviv al in the country . Man y younger Theravada orda ine d mon ks like Ve n. Mahinda, Ven. Piyasil o and Ven . Sujivo wer e all ins pire d in some w ays o r other thro ug h the p r each in g o n Budd h is m b y Ven.
7 lb lc.J ..
I 8 Dhammananda. Today, they arc all ·ontributing to the growth of
Buddhism in Malaysia in various w n 1 ~ . ~ In Malaysia, moves hav e b e en m ade t o co- o r dinate the
Buddhist activilics. For exam p le : thG fo rma t" o n of the joint Wesak Celebratio n s Co mmittee of the te mple s in Ku ala Lumpur and Selangor w hic h coor dinates a ll the WesaK ce lebrations. Besides this, Malaysian Buddhist Cou ncil h as been forme d to e xtend the work of the d evelo pme nt of Buddhism. especially in giving contemporary r e levan ce to the practice of Buddhism and to promote solidarity a mong the various sects.
The setting up of Buddhist societies in universities is a significant development of Buddhis t revival in this country . Today. we can find Buddhis t societies in each univers ity s uch as UM. USl\ l. UTM, UPM a n d even Tc n gku Abdul Rahm an Co ll ege and mo s t teachers' colleges in the country. In all the universities a n d coll eges.
Ther avada Dudd his m h as been mo re pop ular because o f the availab ility of En gli sh Buddhist Pu b lication s and Eng li s h Dha mm a
Talks by Theravada m onks and lay preachers. Neverthe less.
Mahayana Buddhis m continues to be po pular among the Chinese speaking s tude nts. Among the Ma hayana monks. b h ikkhu Chuk Mor h ad contributUniversitye d a lot to the develo pmentof ofMalaya Buddhism in Malaysia. He was a n influe ntia l dhamma preach e r a n d w rite r especially popular a mong the Chinese- speaking Buddhists. Young Mah ayan a mo nk like Sik Chi Che rn is very active in spreading Buddhism to the youths. Chi Ch e rn uses Mandarin in all his Buddhist activities and
A Bonny L1ow. Vo nurublu Dr . K. Sri Oham manan 19 writing. In 1984, he began to organize.! Bu 1dhist cumps and Buddhist se minars for s tude nts fro m ins t itutio n of hig h €r le a rning. The respo n se from the s tu dent s wa s o n s o u raging . Besides this, meditation cam ps were also o rga n ized b y h im. His influence among the Chinese- s peaking unde rgradua te s is gre at. Chi Chern alway s gives t alk thro ugho ut the whole cou n t ry and h e is now a very popular Mahayana monk in Malaysia. In schools too. Buddhism h as made some progress. There are Buddhist socie ties in some schools in West Malaysia like St. Xavier's in stitution in Penang, The Infant Jesus Convent in Malacca and a few Buddhist groups a re found in Per ak schools. 2.5 Co nclusion Buddhism in West Malaysia has gone throuRh its pe rio ds of disappear a nce a nd revival. As many realize the need to pro paRate a mor e r efined for m of the Buddha·s teachings, devoid of superstitious and false b e li efs, many Duddhist or ganizatio ns a r e serio us ly committe d to achieve this aim. The YBAM , a n ation al Buddhist youth today is active ly running the Buddhis t activ ities. The developme nt of BuddhismUniversity presently is becom ing m oofre enc Malayao uraging as more people are willing to invo lve the mselves in Buddhist activities. More missionary w ork is being carried o ut thro ug h the more experienced Dhamma teac h e r s s uc h as mo nk s. In sh ort. Buddhis m in West Malaysia to d ay is fl o urishing and its deve lop ment will definitely bring in better prospects for Duddhis m in Malaysia. To ach ieve the aim, younR Buddhists particularly have to strive on mor e diligently. 20 CHAPTER 3 BUDDHI ST YOUTH S AND MEDITATION 3 . 1 Introd uctio n There a r e m a ny sign s that show a gr owing inte rest in Buddhis m in Malaysi a. The re are mo re Buddhist socie ties and associa tio n s tha t a r e for me d in the country and more activ ities are carried o ut in every socie ty through out the year . In t his ch a pte r , a ttention will b e given to the y o ung Budd h is t act iv it ies in West Malaysia. We will fi r st see how YBAl\I (Yo u ng I3 u ddh ist Association of Malaysia). the n a tio n al or ganiza t ion of a ll Buddhis t y o uths in Malay sia or ga n izes its a c ti v it i c ~ . T he n . e m p h asis w ill b e given to medit a tion a mon g Ch inese you th. Mor e y o u ng I3u ddh is ts nowadays are e xposed to the prac t ice of me d it a t ion tha n befor e. The y know more or Je ss w h a t is me d ita tio n and some of the m h ave become serio u s 'yogis'. They h ave been t a ug ht the methods of m e dita tio n . unde r the p r o pe r g uidan ce of some me dita tion teach e r s. Thus. they go o n re treats to ex pe rie nce life as a 'yogi' in theUniversity medita tion ce ntre. of Malaya In t he fo ll ow ing se ct io ns of this c h apte r . the w riter w ill d iscu ss how the medit a tion is con d uc ted in t he me dit a tion centre . In additio n, d iff e r e n t types of medita t io ns will be introd uced b riefly to g ive the r eader a bette r under sta nding of th e p r ac t ice . 2 l 3 .2 Young Buddhis t Activities in West l\ l.1l 1y s i.1 The Buddhist youth mov e me nt in Malaysia began with the fo rmatio n of the Penang Buddhist ..,\ s socia tion Yo uth Circle by Rev. Sum a ngalo in 1955. Following it. the r e was a growth of youth circles mainly initiate d b y Rev. Sumangalo . In the first Pan Malaysia Buddhist Youth Co nvention in December,1958 in Penang, the Federation of Malaysia Buddhist Youth Fellowship (FMBYF) was formed . In the first Natio nal Buddhist Youth seminar ( 1970), decision was made to fo rm a new national youth body to replace FMBYF. The new body was named the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBA M ). From the n on , YBA M played a major r o le in encouraging. fostering and d evelo ping the practice of l3 u d d ha ·s tcachi ngs a mo n g youths. Many new groups have bee n e ncouraged to jo in in the effort of YDAM . Thousands of youths have been given o pportunity to come into contact with t he true doctrines and practice of Duddhism . Many types of activities have been or ganized by YBAM . There are dhamma pro paganda activities, e ducatio n programmes. leadership training, cultural activities. publicatio n projects and even internationalUniversity inte r action activities wi ofth o thMalayae r countries. Under the dhamma propaganda activities. programmes like Dhamma Mi ssionaries Training Co urse, Dha mm a Study Class. National Dha m ma Assembly have been carrie d ou t. Buddhis t youth training ca mps are held annually to provide relig ious training for youths . Missionary activities arc also carried o ut in jails, rehabilita tio n centres and cductHlonul in stitullcrns. YBAM educational programmes provide the 22 training of Dha mm a teachers and t c a · hers or devotion al songs. Fe llowship interactio n s arc o q~ n n i Z t' d ~' ear l y fo r university undergraduates. college an d school s tud e nts. Be sides these, YBAM has bee n w orking on publicat ions of Bud dhist magazines like 'Buddhist Dige st', 'YOAM Bulle tin'. In addition. every youth section of e ach Buddhist society has lot s of Buddhist activities. Normally , they organize dhamma classes under certain experienced lay Buddhists. In its contribution to the society, YBA M a nd o ther Buddhist organizations always have visits to o ld folk s ho me and other welfare centres. Moreover, they play an important r ole in pro paganting the d o nation of blood, eyes and o ther body parts. It is worthwhile to no te that almost every Budd hist society has a me d itation class or organizing med ita tio n retreats. It is obvio us tha t meditation h as been regarded as an importa nt practice. Yo ung Buddhis ts have been g ive n the opportunities to learn the metho ds of meditation. 3.3 Meditation Activities of Chinese Youths UniversityGenerally, people fro m ofall agesMalaya are interested in meditatio n. They pr actise m edi ta lio n for various r easons. Us u a ll y, they are seeking peace of mind. They want to learn how to sto p w orry ing and how to be calm and peaceful. In short, the s tress of this modern world drives peo ple to take up meditation. Inte r est towards meditation had incr eased since 1970 fo llowinR the activltios o rganized by MBM C in Pe n a ng. More 23 organizations and centres were set up s pe cifically to spread m e ditatio n . Meditation centre!\ w h ic h nre w e ll- k nown in the Pennisular ar c MOMC. Santisuk har ama in k: q t a Tingg i a nd Lunas Me ditatio n Ce ntre in Kedah. One ne w cent re w as set up in Bukit Machan g, Kelantan and this centre h as been able to attract the local Buddhist socie ty. The deve lo pment in learning and practising meditation nowadays can be said as a result of the influence from some Burma and Thai meditation teache r s and a few local bhikkhus. Buddhist organizatio ns are a lso giving emphasis on the practice of meditation . Moreover. mor e books o n meditation are being introduce d and published by local Buddhist societies. Even young Buddhis t s are becoming interested in undertaking this practice. According to Venerable Suj ivo. more young Buddhis ts come to practise med itatio n in the he rm itage compared to old people. In the Buddhist Hermitage too. most of the 'yogis' are students. Us ually, they go o n retreats during the ir holidays. The practice of meditatio n in in s titutio n s of higher le arning has become mor e widespread in l 980 's. Meditation classes are conducUniversityted ever y week in a few of uni Malayaver sities. Besides this. me ditation camps a nd r e treats are o rganized every year. Ce rtain students have taken the initiative to join the meditation camps which arc run by bhikk hus( mo nk s) and local Buddhist organization s. For exa mple: Duddhist Missionary Socie ty Youth Sectio n (BMSYS) organized a meditation r e treat at the Bu ddhist Her mitage in Lunas, Kc dah in 1992. 20 participants attended the retreat. It was guided 2'1 by Rev. Suvanno in the centre. Mcan\vhil~. a meditation retreat under the guidance of Rev. Mahin Lt was jo intly organized by Buddhist Gem Fe llowship (IlGF) anj Bl\bYS fr om Dece mber 20-27, 1992.9 Interest in med it at ion a mong unde r grad uate s is more or less influenced by the effort of bhikkhus like : Rev. Piy asalo, Sik Chi Chern and Rev. Sujivo whereby the students le arn the technique of meditation fro m them. In addition. there are now more experienced lay Buddhists who are qualified meditation instructors in certain Buddhist centres. Brother James Ong (originally from MBMC) is prese ntly a well- known meditation instructor in Selangor Vipassana Ce ntre, Petaling j aya. In the Buddhist Wisdom Ce ntre (formed in 1987), there are a few lay Buddhists w h o can be con s ide r ed as meditation instructor s as they are all experienced e no ugh. According to Dro. Jam es Ong, m or e and m or e young people are interested in me ditation as com pared to 20 year s aRO. This is probably due to the presence of more medita tio n teachers in Malaysia now. Besides Rev. Sujivo in Ko ta Tinggi , the re are Ven. Visuddhacara fro m MBM C, Rev. Suvanno fro m Buddhis t Hermitage Lunas, Rev. Mahinda who has been giving meditatio n talks to young Buddhis ts, UniversitySik Chi Chern. who is a ofpop ularMalaya Ch 'an mas ter among Chinese-speaking youths and other lay Buddhists w ho h ave become meditation teachers. From the s urvey, it is obvious that more undergraduates had gone on retreats during their holidays. Out of 137 r espondents. I 12 of them had ROnc on retreats and they are practising vipassana 9 Ro port fruin VoictJ of JJucldhlnn. vol. 30. no.2. Buddhist M1 ss1onary Society, Potulin~ Ju y11. I <)t)2, pj2. 25 meditation. The Buddhist society of ea 'h university has organized meditation retreat for its members . T his pro mo tion thro ugh the society is important because more . tude nts have co me to know about meditation and they are thus e n courage d to join the m edi talion retreats. 3.4 V ipassana in Malaysia The his tory of vipassana in Malaysia began more than 20 years ago when Luang Por (Phra Khru Dham mabarchanvud), a Thai monk arrived in Penang around the ver y early 1970's. Luang Por could first only speak Thai but later mastered sufficient Hokkien to teach the Dha mm a and impart vipassana to the laity. The fir st batch of lay meditators (abo ut 1 O peo ple) started the Ml3MC. The teaching of vipassana m ed itatio n was started by the second batch of lay meditators. Bro. James Ong was then conducting inte rviews for the 'yogis '. This was around the middle l 970's o nwards. MBM C Youth Section was started during the time of the third batch of lay me dita tor s. Rev. Sujivo appeared in the meditation scene after the third batch of serious meditators. This was towards the late I 970University's. It was during thiofs time Malaya that 3 m onths lo ng meditation courses were conducted twice yearly. The Youth Section was very active then and came up with a regular series of periodicals on the dha mma. Although it was unfortunate that Luang Por was no t able to stay o n in Malaysia, the Burmese Sayadaws were beginning to come into scone. Permission wus ~ivcn by Luang Porto inv ite the Burmese 26 medita tion teachers to MOMC. Most Vener 1ble Mah asi Sayadaw v isited MBMC in 1980. When Sa ' 3 Jaw passe d away in 1984, Sayadaw U Pandita ca me to Ma laysia in 19 8 5. re is Ven . Sujivo's meditation teacher while the Venerab le w as practising v ipassana and samatha at the Mahasi Yeiktha, Bur ma . Say adaw U P andita had conducted numer o us r etr eat s in Penang. Klang an d Kota Tinggi for the benefits of Malaysian ·yogis'. To day, vipassana is spr eading widely in West Malaysia. Even in East Malaysia, it has been spreading since Ven . Sujivo made a trip to East Malaysia in 1989. Co nside ring the present developme nt of v ipassana meditation. we can conclude that v ipassana meditation is now flourishing. 3.4. 1 Vipassana Meditation The results of the survey (sec nex t chapte r ) show that v ipassana is the m ost popular meditatio n practised by the responde nts. The refore, e mphasis will be give n more to vipassana meditation. First of all, we need to have a basic understand ing of what is vipassana medita tion. UniversityVipassana is a Pali te rm ofwhich Malaya is a combination of two word s, 'vi' and 'passana'. 'Vi' mean s the 3 characteristics o f m e ntality and ph ysicality , i.e. anicca(impermanence), dukkha(suffe ring) a n d anatta(non- setf). 'Passana· mean s right unders ta nding or realization thro ugh deep concentration which is attained by mean s o f mindfulness of the me ntal a nd physical processes. Vipassana is a mcditatio nal approach taught by the 27 Buddha to liberate the mind fro m unwho leso me s tates and overco ming s uffering. With regular n r .1 ' t ice of v ip ass an a. one can gradually gain maste ry over o ur mind, Th is comes abo ut through the gradual unders tanding of the nature of ex iste nce. the n a ture of our body and mind. Vipassana is essentially the ob servations of what goes o n in o ur bo d y and mind. It in v olv es t h e application of mindfulness to ob serve mental and bodily processes. 3.4.2 Method of Vipassana Meditation There are now three main retreat centres teaching the Mahas i method in West Malaysia. They are the MI3M C in Penang. Santis u k harama Me ditatio n He rmitage in Ko ta Tinggi a nd Lunas Meditation Ce ntre in Kedah . Noting the rising a nd fa ll ing of the abdomen is a me tho d introduced by Mahasi Sayadaw. Meditators are ins tructed to observe the abdo m inal move me nt. W he n we breathe in. the abdomen rises; when we breathe o ut, the abdome n falls. In this way, we feel the inward and o utward move ment of the abdomen. They must observe this inward and outward movement or the rising and falling of the abdomen. making a me ntal note of'rising, falling, ris ingUniversity, fa lling ·. l3ut it should beof pointed Malaya out that noting rising and falling o f the abdomen is n o t the o nly o bject that Mahasi Sayadaw taug ht. Eventually, 'yogis' are to no te all objects that may rise fro m the s ix - sense s uch as hearing, sensatio ns( pain. itch ). mental s tates like greed. anger. r estlessn ess. b o redoo m . frustration . impatie nce.etc. During s itting medita t ion . w he n there is no o the r mo re pro Ill inc n t ob jcct to no to. a ·yogi· can r evert to the rising and 28 falling of the abdomen. He can also no te sitting posture and to uch ing points of the body. So when the rising an j fu ll ing ' s .not clear. 'yogis' can note sitting and touching. Furthe r more . even those w ho w ish to no te the sensatio n of touch at the nostrils may do so. Nobody at all disputes that one can d o v ipassana by n otin g the breath at the nostrils. It is only the teachers h aving practised and they have felt that the rising a nd falling is grosser and thus an easier vipassana object to no te. In sitting rn e d i ta ti on. one no te the rising and falling of the abd.o me n w hile in walking meditation, one ought to be aware of the process of walk ing. Walking meditation has different character is tics fro m the sitting practice. When doin g walking meditation, o ne o ught to keep the eyes downcas t on the ground aro und 4 or 5 feet ahead. One is advised no t to close the eyes. The ha nds are placed in the front or the back either in a claspe d or folded positio n. 3.4 .3 Dis tinguishing Be tween Sam atha and Vipassana Me ditation UniversitySa matha means concentr aofti on. Malayacalmness and tranquility . When the mind is deeply concentre ted o n the object of meditatio n. it beco mes calm and tranquil. Sa m ath a meditation is different from v ipassan a meditatio n in both the purpose and result. The purpose of sam atha meditatio n is to attain deep concentration, s uch as jhana. appuna or upacara concentration (fi xa tion-conce ntration. absorption concentratio n or access concentra ti o n ). The purpose of v ipassana 29 meditation is to attain not only some d 'gr ee or conce ntr ation b ut also the unde r standing of bod il y and me nta lly proGesses a s they r ealJ y ar e. In samatha, when the min d is deeply concen trated on the object of me ditation, a ll the defile ment s such as lust , greed. hatred, desire and so on ar e not present in the mind w hich is absorbe d in the object. The mind then feels calm, tranquil, happy and through the attainme nt of deep concentration such as jhana. Howev er, it does not e n able a medita tor to r ightly u nde rstand the b odily and me ntal phe no me na as they r eally are. T he r esu lt of sam a tha 1s the a ttainme nt of d eep conce ntration, w hile that of vipassana me ditatio n is the attainme nt of the cessatio n of s uffe ring through the unde r s tan d ing of the me ntal and physical processes an d the ir true n a ture . J us t as the purpose and the re sult of the 2 kinds of me dita tion arc d iffe r e nt, the way of practis ing a lso differs. Whe n we pr actise vip ass an a m cd i tat io n. we mus t h ave o nly a v arie ty of o bject. In the practice of sa m atha me ditation , we bring o ur mind to the object of medita tion an d focus o ur atte ntion on it as much as possible . Whe n the mind b egins to wande r. we do no t obser ve the wan dering mind, but in stead bring it b ack to thUniversitye object of the samatha m edofita tionMalaya. On the o the r h and. w he n the mind becomes distracte d and wander s du r ing v ipassan a me dita tio n. we do not bring it back to the primary ob ject b ut follow and ob serve it as it r eall y is. We o b ser ve it as lo ng a s it exis t s. Only afte r th a t process h as disappear ed w ill the m ind re turn to the abdo me n al move me nt, 30 w hich is the m ain ob ject. T his is th<.! m a in and most significant differ e nce be tween the two ty pcs of mt'd it at ion. Fro m the s urvey, it is no te d tha t sot e r esponde nts who are practising v ipassana . are also practising me tta meditation. Metta medita tion or loving- kind ness meditation is particular ly s uitable for one w ho has an angry te mper a me nt and finds difficulty in forgetting and for giv ing. One of the objectives of this me ditation is to gain concentration or one - pointedness of mind. When the mind is fixed o n on e object , it settles and becomes calm and tranquil. The principle the n is to m ake the mind one - pointe d, fixed on its object of me d itatio n . In the case of loving- kindness. the object is the feeling of love, the w ishing of well- being for all beings. The re ar e variou s formulas one can use in r adiating me tta and obtaining this one pointedness of mind. One of the formulas is r ccitinR the four lines below and r adiate the feeling of love that ar ose . "May all be ings be free fro m harm and danger . May they be free fro m me ntal s uffe ring, May they be free fro m physical suffe ring, May they take care of the m selves h appily ." University of Malaya The 'y ogis ' need to recite these lines over an d over again a nd the mind will s tart to concentrate on its object of love an d w ishing well for o the r s. The m ind woul d become co ncentrated, o ne- pointe d and o ne w ould experie nce calmness and tranq uili ty. 10 IO llh1 1Cl< hu Vl sutlc.Jh ucnru, C11 rl>in}( A nHt:r Spro11cJ1nR Love. MBM C. 1992. p49 SO . 31 3.4 What Is Re treat A re treat is referred to a tempor ary w ith drawal in to seclu sion for reli gio us e xer cise. Med it a ti on is conducted inten sively w ithin a cer tain pe riod in a s uitab le place. The place m ust be quiet, convenie nt a nd w e ll f urnished w ith r e quisites. All the participants w ho are on r e treats w ill be under guidance of a le ar ned meditation teache r to e n s ure that they are pro perly g uide d . In a vipassana me ditation r e treat, the yogis have to keep the 8 precepts during the r e treat. The obse rvation of the 8 pr ecepts e n able on e to h ave mor e time to devote to meditation . The obser vance of the 5 precept s are abste ntion fr o m kill ing, ste aling, sexual miscon d uct, te lling lies an d t aking a ny in toxicants. The sixth pr ecept me an s ab sten t io n fr om taking food afte r noon (fr o m 12.00 noon to d awn the nex t morning). Althoug h one must refrain fr o m any kind of food d uring these hours. o ne is a ll owed to take d rinks. To ob serve the seventh pr ece pt, one must re frain fro m dancing, singing, li ste ning to mu sic a nd ador ning oneself w ith o rna me nts. The eighth pr ecept is r efr aining fro m hig h an d 1u x ur iou s bed. The ·yogis· ar e no t s u p pose d to talk and read during the r etr eat. As m indfulness is a very im porta nt aspect in v ipassana Universitymeditation . talking and r eadiofng Malaya ar e co nsider ed h ind r ances in b uild ing u p mindfulness. Be sides a ll these rules, one mu st be se r ious in his/he r pr actice and be p atie nt. The longest allowable s leeping ho urs per d ay is 6 ho urs. The me dit a tors s ho uld adher e s trictly to the ir in structor 's advice a nd they sho uld r e por t to the ir in str ucto r ev e r yday regard ing their pr acti ce as w he the r they h ave 32 shown any improve ment and they ma h :t\'C some doubts that need to be clarified by the instructor . In a vipassana meditatio n r etreat, one m us t not do any act or move quickly. One has to slow down all move ments as much as possible, so that he can catch eve ry phy sical pr oce ss and apply mindfulness to every minute, movement or action of the body. In a retreat, one ought to do nothing else except to be mindful of all the bodily or mentally process. Talking is allowed when it is necessary and one should talk softly and slowly in order not to disturb the concentration of the o ther meditators. One must be mindful of all daily activities. Eating, bathing, washing and drinking sh ould be done mindfully and the subtle move ments must be carefully observed. The purpose of slowing down activities is to build up mindfulness. Mindful concentration will pave the way for insight to arise. When mindfulness beco mes continuo u s. naturally the concentratio n becomes deeper and insight will arise by itself. In a retreat, the meditator s are doing bo th s itting and walking meditation. They normally do one hour sitting and another ho ur of walking meditatio n. In sitting meditation , those with some experience in the me ditatio n practice should sit for at least 45 minutes withoutUniversity changing their posi oftion. MalayaFor a beginner. he s ho uld try to sit for at least 20 to 30 minutes without changing position. Below is a model time table for daily meditation during the retrea t (vipassana retreat ).11 11 Vonornblo Sujlvo. G11 icJulir10 s for Vlpnssana Mod11at1on lnscruction by S11)'11dt1 \V U .f111wlrnl>J1/v11111.0111, UucJdh l!lt Gem Pcllowsh1p. 1992. p 109. 33 Time Progr .1mme 0400 ho urs w a1'e up 0430 hours wa l ~ing 0530 hours sitti g 0630 hours walking 0700 hours bre a kf ast 0800 hours walking 0900 h ours sitting 10 00 hours walking 1 100 hours lunch 1200 hours r est 1300 hours sitting 14 00 hours walking 1500 hours sitting 1600 h ours walking 17 00 hours drinks ser ved 17 30 h ours walking 18 30 hours sitting 1930 h ours walking 2000 h ours dham ma lecture University2 130 hours ofsitting Malaya 22 30 ho urs private meditation 31 3.6 Conclusion It see ms that mor e Budd h ist s socie ties now hav e included meditation a s o ne impo rta nt aspe ct of the ir ann u al activities. Meditation h as been introduced to the Chine se youths as more experienced mo nks a nd bhikkhus are available to te ach meditation in the countr y. Young Chinese Buddhists particularly are beginning to appreciate meditation as they know it is really beneficial to them in daily Jif e. In next chapter , we will analyse the practice of medit ation among undergraduates from a f ew local universities. The presentation of tables in quantitative form will pr ovide a clearer picture of the ir practice of meditation . University of Malaya 35 CHAPTER 4 RESULT A D DIS SSION 4. 1 Introducti on This chapter discusses the quantitative results of the studies on meditation among undergraduates : types of meditation that are practised; the meditati on teachers; meditation retreats; purpose of undertaking meditati on; benefits of meditatiion; frequency of their meditati on retreat and frequency of th eir practice in daily li fe. 137 undergradu ates from UM, UKM , US M and UTM responded to the questi onnaire (see Appendix A). It shoul d be noted that 62% of the respondents are from UM . (See Table I ) Table l Num bers of Responde nts from Four Uni yc rsi tics Uni versity Number of Respondent UM 85 (62%) US M 19 ( 13.9%) UTM 15 ( 11 %) UKM 18 ( 13. 1%) TotalUniversity of Malaya137 (1 00%) The survey shows significantl y th at most of the respondents arc becoming interested tn meditation because they have incorporated meditati on in th eir dail y li fe and thus meditati on has become integrated as u part of th eir wny of Ii fc. 36 4.2 Meditation Teachers This study reveal s th nt the most populnr meditation teacher is Revcrand Sujivo. 73 or 62.9% of the respond ents have Rev. Sujivo as their first meditat ion teacher and Rev. Visuddhacara as their second. Table 2 Meditation Teacher A Meditation Fre. % Teacher Sujivo 73 62.9 Mrs. Tan 1 3 11.2 Nanaponika 7 6.0 Yi sud a 5 4 .3 Chi Chern 5 4 .3 Hor Tuck Loon 3 2.6 Mae Chi Koon 2 1. 7 Chee Koon 1 0.9 Cirasaddho 1 0.9 Mr. Lim I 0.9 Suvanno I 0.9 Mrs. Ong I 0.9 Cheah Ah Bee I 0.9 SUniversityin Guan 1of Malaya0. 9 Tot.al 1 16 100 37 Table ~ Meditation Ti:ad1 1..' r B -= - Meditation Frc. % Teache r - Vi suda I 3 24 .5 ~ Nanaponika I I 20 .7 Chi Chern 6 11.3 Cirasaddho 5 9.4 Sujivo 4 7.5 I lor Tuck Loon 3 5.7 Mae Chi Kh oo 2 3 .8 Mahinda 2 3 .8 Suvanno I 1.9 Mrs. Tan I I . 9 Chee Koon I 1. 9 Ng Sian Bee I 1.9 Sin Guan I 1.9 Vi ctor Wee 1 1 . 9 Danatami I I. 9 Total 53 100 Therefore, the result of the survey shows th at Rev. Sujivo is th e most popular and well-kn own meditati on teacher among the respondent s.University Rev. Suj ivo is a Buddhi ofst TheravadaMalaya monk who has devoted his life to th e med itati ona l aspects of th e Buddha's teachings. Rev. Sujivo donned the robes shortly after his graduation from the University of Ma laya (with an honours degree in Agricultural Science) in 1975. He practi sed under several medi tati on teachers during hi s monasti c training. Y cncrable has conducted numerous retreats Ill various tow ns throughout West Malaysia. He presently resides in Snnti sukharama llcrmitagc, Kota Tinggi. As Rev. Sujivo 38 uses English as the marn medium of instructi on. it was presumed that most of hi s pupils arc from English-speaking groups. However, the respondents who are un der hi s guid ance nre mostly Mandarin speakers. Generall y, it has been assumed that English-speaking groups fo ll ow mainly the Theravada tradition whereas Mandarin- speaking Buddhists are Mahayanists . The present situati on has shown that this is not so. As there are more Mandarin-speaking Buddhists interested in Theravada tradition of meditation, Buddhism in Malaysia is enteri ng a new phrase whereby meditation is being practised diligently by the youths. Besides Rev. Sujivo, there are other meditation teachers such as Rev. Vi suddhacara (presently teaching vipassana in MBM C, Pennng). Sayadaw Nanaponika (a Theravada monk from Nepal), Rev. Cirasaddho (an Ameri can monk), Rev. Suvanno who resides in Lunas Meditation Centre, Kedah, Rev. Ma hi nda and some other lay Buddhists who are also meditati on instructors. Table 2 & 3 indicate that meditation teacher comprises both monks and lay Buddhists. Therefore, there is a likehood that some present lay meditators would eventually become qualified teachers of meditation and this would further the spread of meditation in thi s country. According to Rev. Yi suddhacarn, th ere are not sufficient University of Malaya. . number of Buddhi st med itation teachers to meet the rn c re as tn g numbers of 'yogis', wheth er samatha or v1passana. There is a great shortage of med it ati on teachers but th ere are so many people who want to learn med it ati on but they cann ot find suitable teachers to tench th em. That is why monks from Thai land, Burma, Nepal have oft en been in vited to tench med itu1i on here. For example : Sayadaw 39 Nanaponika from Nepal has condu ·tcd a fc, retreats during hi s temporary stay in Malays ia . Sayadnw St!l)JCd at Santisukharama, Kota Tinggi and MBM C when he cn mc to l\ tnlnysia. Rev. Cirasaddho, too 1s an American monk who is well- ·nown for his metta meditation. He has also conducted metta meditation sessions m Subang Jaya Buddhist Associati on during his stay in Malaysia. As there are not many meditation teachers in Malaysia, some young local monks have gone to Thailand, Burma to learn the technique of meditation. When they have enough practice and experience, th ey would come bac k and teach meditation here. Rev. Sujivo, for example was under Vene rable Sayadaw U Panditabhi va msa of th e famed Mahas i Buddhist Med itati on Centre m Rangoon, Burma. Today, Rev. Suji vo is a well- kn own mcditntion teacher and exponent of vipassana meditation in th e country. 4 . 3 Types of Meditation Respondents were asked whether th ey have been to retreats and which type of meditation they are practising. The results are as below : (SeeUniversity Table 4) of Malaya 40 Table 4 mes of Mcd irn tion nnd Rt:tn.' nt Re treat ~ , . Type of Yes No "Fo tal Mcd i1 a1 io 11 % - Vipassa na 11 2(93.3%) 8(6.6%) 120 Sam arh a 14(82.3%) 3( 17.6%) 17 Mell a 48(98%) I (2.04%) 4 9 11 2 or 93.3% of th e respondenl s who hnvc gone on retreats are now practi sing vipassana medi tation. There are 8 respondents who had never been to retreats bul arc also practising this type of meditati on (See Tab le 4 ). They could have been given some instructions by some lay medita lors. Thi s shows that 1hey have been introdu ced to the melhods of vipassana before. From th e questi onnaire, it 1s wort hwhi le to note th at respondents Universityfrom US M are under g uidofance Malaya of Mrs. Tan, a serious medi tator in Penang. Those student 'yogis' from US M ha ve never been to any retreats but they somehow got to learn vipassana meditation. La y Buddhists also play an equally import ant part in spreading the practice of medit ati on. According to a 'yogi' from US M, v1pn ssnna mediintion is promoted among th e stu dents in US M 4 1 through the Buddhist society and through tht! encouragement of some seni or 'yogis'. The second popular form of meditation among the undergraduates is melt a medita ti on or loving-kindness meditation (See Table 4 ). 48 or 98% of th e respondents are practising metta meditation. It has been mentioned in chapter 3 that metta ts a special kind of meditation which builds up the feelings of loving kindness or compassionate love towards li vi ng beings. Like vipassana meditation, metta meditation is believed to bring lots of benefits to th e practiti oner. The Buddhist texts mention 11 benefits that one could obtain through the practi ce of metta; i) One sleeps easily ii) One is dear to all being iii) Devas(spirit) guard him etc.etc. Moreover, metta has become popular because ii is also tnught by th e teachers of vipassa na meditation. Most of them stress the importance of combining these tw o methods of meditati on because both of th em have a complementary fun ction of keeping the mind wholesome and concentrated. Rev. Yi suddhacara said that a 'yogi' should strike a balance between metta and v1passana because onl y v1passana gUniversityives one wisdom and m eoftta, asMalaya a snmatha object, onl y produces tranquility. Sa matha meditation 1s the least popular med it ation among th e undergraduates. 14 or 82.3% of th e respondents who have gone on retreats are practi sing samatha (See Table 4 ). They are usually under the guidance of Sik. Chi Chern. Chee Koon. The tables show a general pnttern of meditation am ong th e Chinese youths. that is those 4 2 who are practising v1passana meditat ion arc m !l in 1y fn 11 n wt' rs of The ravada monk s like Rev. Suj ivo. Rev. V isudd lrn l' nm . Rev . Cirasaddho, Sayadaw Nanaponik n; nnd th os' who nre practising samatha meditati on arc more prone to the ~ t n h n y a n a tradition, therefore they arc usuall y un der Sik Chi Chern and Chee Koon. However, this is not true to say th at Theravadins are onl y practising vipassana and Mahayani sts are samath a meditators. Theravadin monks practise some samatha meditati ons to complement the training of their mind as a whole. Some of the more popular methods of meditations th at are practi sed by them are meditation on the 32 parts of the body; meditation on death and some kasin as (uni versal, a contemplati on device & concept based thereon). Rev. Suj ivo hi mself practi ses th e white kasina. T he three tables show a very sig nifi cant po int. Y ipnssnnn meditati on is th e mos t popular medit ati on among the responde nt s, foll owed by me tt a and samath a med it ati on. But , th e difference between v1passana meditati on and mctt a medi tati on is large. We can. therefore sum up th at vi passana meditati on is the most popular meth od of meditati on practised by Chinese youths . 4 .4 AnaUniversitylysis of Meditati on Retrea t ofAcco rdinMalayag to the Freq uency of Meditation In th e questi onn aire. the respondent s were nsked how often they med ita te in th eir dni ly li fe . The tnble shows u. the data of how oft en they m ·dil nl · dail y. 43 Table 5 Re trea t and b ·cqucncy of Mtdi101hm Frequency of M edicntion r etreat very fr eq u e n t so me- sel dom h ardl y T otal frequ e nt l imes % yes 7 33 38 30 14 122 9 1.7 II 0 I 4 6 1 1 8.3 Total 7 34 42 36 14 133 % 5.3 25.6 3 1. 6 27.0 10.5 I 00.0 Only 7 or 5.3% of the respondents meditate ver y freq uently. However, 34 or 25.6% of them meditate frequentl y. 42or 3 1.6% of them med itate sometimes and 36 or 27.0% of th em se ldom meditate. 14 or 10.5% of the respondent s hardly meditate. It should be noted here th at i n the ques tionnaire, it is stated very clea rly thnt very frequen t means twice a day; frequen t means once a day; sometimes i s a fewUniversity times a week; sel dom i s ofa fe wMalaya ti mes n month and hardl y means once or twice a year (Sec Appendix A ). Reforring to Tub le 5, we find th at there are 122 res pondents who hnvc gone on retrea ts nnd they ore still practising meditation after th ey cnme back . Though 11 of th em have not gone on retrea t. , th ey mccli tntc too in their dnil y life. Out of these 11 respondents, one of them mcd i tntcs very frequently , four of th em med i ta te 44 sometimes and six of them seldom meditntc. We (.' l\n l'' l nd ude that meditati on has become quite comm on now nmong the yout l} s. Youths today have come to reali ze the importnnce Qf meditation. Perhaps, they believe that meditati on can help them t o deal with their problems In l i fc. According to Brother James Ong, 'yogis' medi tate because they have problems. Since life is full of obstacles, people are becomin g aware of meditati on as a way to help them face their problems . 4 . 5 Further Discussion and Ana lysis Chinese youths are becoming qu ite ac ti ve in th e Ouddhist societi es. Most of the respondents attend ed medita tio n course throug h the Buddhis t societies (See Table 6). Tabel 6 Sex of Respondent s to Meditati on Course Sex Yes No Total % UniversityMale 48 8 of Malaya56 4 2.4 Fe mnle 69 7 76 57 .6 l l 7 l 5 132 11 7 or 88 .6% of the respondent s hove at tended med it ati on courses th nl nrc orgnni zcd by the Buddhist society in campus. Jn 4 5 addition, these respondents have also been w r ·trt':lts ~~k i.; Tnbk 7). There are 12 1 respondents out of the totnl l. - who h nv~ gone on retreats. It means that about 9 1.6 '7' of the respQndent s have experiences of retreats. Table 7 Sex of Respondent s to Meditati on Retreat Re treat Sex Yes No Total % Male 49 8 57 43 .2 Female 72 3 75 56.8 1 2 I I I 132 Most of th e respond ents have gqne to Santisukhnrn mn Hermitage in Kota Tinggi. A Kota Tinggi retreat is orga ni zed by th e Buddhist society of UM every year. Onl y the respondents from USM ha ve their retreat in M BM C, Penan g. USM student s onl y go on retreats in Kota Tinggi during th e long vaca ti on. Moreover, not many of them Universityare practisin g meditation. ofAcco rdinMalayag to a 'yogi' from USM, vipassann meditation has onl y recentl y become popu lar among USM students two years ago . . In UKM , it has been onl y morn th an a year ago th at vipassnnn mcditnticrn wns introdu ced to KM student s. This is mainl y th rough the c 11 courn gemc11t of th e seni ors who cam e ba ck from retreats. 'f'h cn: nr • 1wt m1111 y U KM students who c.: 1111 be considered ns seri ous 46 'yogis'. In fact, there are only 20 to jQ of th ' tn. lJ K~ t s tu d t' n t ~ had organi zed a few retreats to Kota Tingg i rind th t~ r t' sp o n ~e of the students is quite encouraging. UTM students too had orga ni zed retren ts to Kota Tinggi. However, those who ha ve gone on retreats nre not really senous meditators. They do not practi se meditation regularly after their retreats. Some of them joined the retreat onl y once and never on any retreats after that. Bes ides v1passana, some UTM students also practise samatha meditation. Those who do that normally JOtn activities that are organi zed by YBAM whereby they are introduced to the method of samatha med itation. From the study, it reveals that th e respondents learn both samatha and vipassana med itation. What seems significant is they usually learn samath a meditation in th e campus (either through meditation courses or through acti vities of Yl3AM ) but th ey come to know about vipass ana meditation onl y after th ey have gone on retreat in Kota Tinggi or MBMC. The respondent s were al so asked their purpose of undcrstak ing the practice of meditation. The answers they gave we re bas icall y th e same. They want to purify their mind, to gn in wisdom, mindfulness and conceUniversityntration. The table below ofshows Malayath e results of th e survey. 47 Table 8 Purpose of Undcrtakinc th e Prnctic\ ~ Purpose Fre. % mindfulness 29 22 purification of mind 22 16. 6 peace & calm I 9 14 .4 experience meditation 1 8 13 .6 m eth od 12 9 . 1 happiness 8 6 . 1 ac hieve nibbana 6 4 .5 se lf-discovery 4 3.0 improve hea Ith 3 2.3 practice of dhamma 3 2.3 suffering 2 I . 5 concentration 2 1. 5 know th e nature of life 2 1.5 understandin g phenomena I 0.8 curios ity I 0.8 tot al I 3 2 100 22% of the respondents an swered th at their ma111 purpose of undertaking meditation is to build up mindfulness. 16.6% of them wan t to Universitypurify their mind and 1 4 .4of % ofMalaya them wi sh to ex perience peace and calm. It i s obvious th at th e purpose of practising meditation is mainly concerned with spiritual peace. It seems that mos t of the res pondents have come to know the importance of purify ing the mind. This signifies an awnrcncs s nmong the youths the imporiuncc of controlling th e mind. From lhc ~ tud y, we kn ow fi na th11t th ere i s a tendency townrd. the prncticc of mcditnlion nmong Chinese youths. It i s proved 4 8 quantitatively that v1passana meditation is h "com in ~ nu. re popular than the other types of meditation nmong umk r ~ rndu n t es in this country. Most of the respondent s hnvc gone on meditation retreats and they are practi sing ii in 1heir dnily li ves. The . u n~ e y also s}lows that local bhikkhus(monks) like Rev. Suji vo, Rev. Visuddhacara, Rev. Suvanno are among the popular meditati on teachers in the country besides some other monks from Thailand, Burma, Nepal and America. Moreover, there are quite a number of la y Buddhists who have much experi ence in meditati on so that th ey are able to instruct the beginners. 4. 6 Why is Med il ati on Becoming Popular Today Among Chinese Youth s Various types of meditations were tau ght by the Buddha for various peopl e at vanous stages of spiritual development. Meditati on for older children and adults appears to be meditation on the breath. This meditation is hi ghly recommended to everyone by the Buddha. It s main effects are mainly improvin g concentration and th e calming of the mind whi ch incidentally is th e basic exercise for vipassanaUniversity meditation. It is espec iofall y s uitablMalayae for nervous people. Man y emoti onal , psychological problems have been overcome as a res ult of th e regul ar practi ce of thi s med it ati on. Vi passnna meditati on is suitable for th ose people who already have a cert ain degree of nu.: ntul cnlmness and conccntrntion. 49 In short, the benefits of meditation i ~ th ' m:un n.· l $ Qn of its popularity among Buddhi sts. In the study. th e- ro ~ p o nd t' n t s were asked regarding th e benefit s they get from mcditntion. Table 9 Benefit s of Meditation Benefit Fre. % purificati on of mind 66 51.2 peace & calm 29 22.5 self-impro ve ment I 9 14. 7 dhamma I I 8.5 nibbana 3 2.3 better health I 0.8 129 100 5 1.2% of th e respond ent s feel th at one im po r1 ant benefit of meditati on is purificati on of mind fo ll owed by peace & calm (22.5%) and 14.7% of them hold the view th at medi tati on can benefi t th em in certain ways like self-improvement and self-discovery . Of course, there are oth er benefits such as impro vement of health, understanding the dhamma and attaining ni bbana . The stud y shows that n1 ost of th e respondents are very much aware of the benefit s of meditati on.University Therefore, meditation hasof beco Malayame a practi cal aspect of the Buddha Dhamma. 5 0 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION Mal aysian Buddhism hns undergone grcnt chnnges. YBAM has grown from its initial membership of 17 to its present size of 230 organi zations. More and more Buddhist acti vities are being carried out for the benefit of not onl y the Buddhists themselves but for the other members of th e society as well. Buddhist societies always organi ze visits to old fo lks home, orphanages and other welfare centres. Free medi cal service is another contribution of the Buddhist organi zations. Buddhism has prospered tremend ously especially during th ese few years. However, there are certain problems fa ced by the Buddhist community even though its present development in the country has been good. One problem fa ced by all Buddhists in the country is th e shortage of monks whi ch tend to inhibit the progress of Ouclclhi st educati on. The Theravada Buddhist Sa ngha are more lacki ng in full y ordained and full time monks compared to Mahayana Buddhi st Sangha. Yen. Mahinda and Ven . Pi yasa lo, both Straits- born Chinese are among the Engli sh-speak in g Buddhist monk s who have been acti ve ly inUniversityvolved in mi ssiona ry wo ofrk . MalayaThe other local Buddhist monks, ori ginall y from the MBM C arc Ven . Suji vo, Yen, Aggacitta and Yen. Yisuddhacarn who are meditation monk s. Presentl y there is onl y a handful of local youn g Chinese, SinhnleNe and Thai monks of high c 11 lihr1.:. Bes ides thi s, there is no central hod y to co-ordinate th e variouA Buddhi ~ t organi zn ti ons and their ncti viti cs . Although YBAM has taken the responsibi lit y in co- 5 I ordinating the activities and policies of Buddhisl Yonlh Org 1qiz 1tions in Malaysia.it cann ot take on the role of doing lht some to the parent-organi zati on, but can assist in the formnlion of such a · central body. Regarding medila ti on, there are mnny misunderstandings about it. In fact, the most vital aspect of the practice of Buddhism is meditation. The most common mi sconcepti on includes the idea that Buddhist meditation means making one's mind blank. There is also a general fear that meditation is something mysterious and magical. If one practises it wrongly one may go mad. Many people are plunging into meditation th ese days without a good teac he r or a real understanding of what it IS all about. T hey are convin ced that medi tati on is the short cut to worldly re lease and to attain ill S(lll)( happiness. These false views in meditation has been gene rated hy certain people who themselves arc not exact.l y medit ati on leachcrs. Therefore, the youn g Buddhists today have an import. ant role to play. If they have a clear understanding of th e Buddha Dhammn and practi se meditati on under a good medit ati on teacher, they will eventuall y become meditation teachers which will certainly help to meet the demand s of the increasin g number of 'yogis'. Many seminars Universityand training courses arc ofthus beinMalayag organi zed particularl y for youths, to trai n th em to become lay dhamma preachers. For example: Dhamma Tenchers' Progrnmme nnd othe r lcnde rsh i p training programmes s uc h us Nutionnl Leadership Seminar. Lcadcrsh ip Consultation & M nnugcment ourscs are held from time 10 time in view of the shortage of ex peri enced Buddhist workers providing lcndcrship rolc in th c org11 11i zu ti ons. 52 Meditation has a significant impact on youth :\. ll mnkt'$ them understand the Buddha's teachin g at a deeper k vt'l e:\ pt' dnlly the three characteri sti cs of li fe mainl y unsn ti sfncloriness. impermanence and non-self. Youths have come to know th nt there is a sense of urgency to practi se hard in ord er to be freed from this mundane life and to attain a greater happiness and sa tisfac ti on. Youths who practi se meditati on are less likely to drop off from Buddhism because th ey have truly tasted the essence of th e Buddha's teaching whereas those who do not meditate onl y understand the teaching on the intellectu al level. In Buddhist organi zati ons and societi es, the practi ce of meditation has produ ced more youth s who are willing to be committed in th e activiti es because with meditation, there is lll(H C zeal towards Buddhism. It is worthwhile to note th at before I 980's, the Buddhist organi zati ons usually organized ge neral Buddhi st acti vities such ns dhamma talks, chan ti ng classes, social welfare work, blood donati on, etc without much emphasis on meditation. An excepti on is MBM C which was actually built under the influence of a Thai monk (Luan g Por). After I 980's, vipassana meditation became more popular and therefore Universitysome centres were set upof by lMalayaocal you th s for practi sing v1passana meditation, fo r example : Buddhi st Wi sdom Centre and Selangor Yipassana entre. This stud y has shown that then; is an cncourn ging response towards ml!ditation 111n ong youth s. Youn g people toda y know th ere is an 1H.: utc need to seek some pence of mind so as they can cope with life. They nrc now more prone to meditation th an compared to th e 53 past. The number of 'yogis' will in c1L·as1.· in till' futull' .rnd ch ·1 · will be grea ter demand for medication class1.'~ 1n t1 n w Cl' l'Om c. University of Malaya BIBLIOGRAPHY Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Mahn Th ern. 1987 "Spiritual Problems and Buddhist Youth" ,YBAM - Anniversary Souvenir Magazine. Bhikkhu Hye Dhammavuddho n.d Main Differences Between Mahayana and Th era va da Teachings, Penang. Dougall, Mc Colin 1956 Buddhism in Mala ya. Donald Moore. Dumoulin, Heinrich 1976 Buddhism i11 th e Modern World, Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., London. Lester, C. Robert 1973 Th eUniversityravada Buddhism 111 South easoft Asia, Malaya The Universit y Of Michi gan Press. Liow. Benny 1987 " Ven . Dr. K. 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