|
Waiting for Buddha
Every seventy thousand years, there is a new Buddha. His name will be Maitrye and he will come from Tushita, which is the heavenly palace. But who can stay around that long? I wondered how Buddhist philosophers came up with that number of years for a reincarnation of a new Buddha to occur. It’s certainly out of our possibilities to be here that long. So my teacher Ramesh and I be-gan a discussion on Karma.
 He explained that our lives are passing and will be destroyed but something new will emerge based on Karma and action, all judged by Shiva, the god of destruction and recreation. Having good Karma is not sufficient to move up in the godly world of the afterlife. Having good Karma with good intentions is what counts. We do good karma when we help others. He gave an example of two boys begging: one is rich and doesn’t need a coin but is persistent and bothersome so finally you give him a coin so he’ll go away. There is some goodness in the act of giving since giving means you have good karma. But you did not give it with good intentions, so that doesn’t add points to your re-incarnation. Then you see a poor boy who won’t ask for a coin and doesn’t drive you bats with pleas. You feel his need and so take him to a shop and buy him clothes and what he needs because your heart feels for him and you want things to get better for him. He didn’t ask but you saw the need and showed mercy. This is good Karma with good intention. This can give you an upgrade in incarnation. It helps us eliminate evil things and have a better life pro-spect.
The difference in Buddhism and Hinduism’s concept of re-incarnation is the Hindu believes it is possible for the soul to pass from one to the other. Buddhist believe, Ramesh said, in re-incarnation but not in the eternal soul. He gives an example of the singing (healing) bowls made of metal. There is sound inside it made from all sorts of metals and materials and activities. The bowl is always there going from one existence to another. When you gong it you feel its splendid sound spiraling into the atmosphere and it vibrates (affects) your soul. For the Buddhist, there is no bowl. The bowl is only a symbol of the soul but it does not have soul. So if you are as con-fused as me, here’s the shorter take: For the Buddhist there is no bowl, just Karma. For the Hin-du, the bowl comes with the Karma.
I asked him how to distinguish monks by the colors they wear. And he said the goal of Buddhist is to achieve nirvana. It is their philosophy, way of life. Shidatta created it and when he died his body was cremated and somehow taken to different parts of the world where stupas were created to hold his relics. He left two schools of philosophy: Hinayana School, where the teachings of Bud-dha are followed strictly, and the Mahayana School. A third school developed called Theraveda school, which is more of an individualistic pursuit of nirvana and is found in the mountain tribes and in Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand. This is a great vehicle for Buddhism and is very popular around the world because the Dalai Lama has pursued the concept of Bodhishattwa by which those who have finished the thirteen steps toward enlightenment don’t enter in but turn and come back to earth to help others achieve their Humumana. The Bajrayana school wears yellow robes and relate to the monkey god forms of Shiva. Both religions worship the color orange. And con-sider orange God’s preferred color. Wouldn’t our boys in prison like to know that? and U-Tennessee fans? Whatever the faith, Hindu or Buddhist, the expression of their faith through art, architecture, daily ritual, and offerings is fascinating, a devotion that makes me think more about my own adoration and prayer of my Triune God.
Ramesh, my teacher, continued to teach as we drove through the dusty, crowded, bumpy streets of Kathmandu, headed for a visit to the Stupa Bodha Nath, which is the most sacred site of the Buddhist in Nepal because it is supposed to contain a relic (body part) of the first Buddha. Nor-mally, nothing has been buried in the massive stone of a stupa, so this is what makes Bodha Nath so special. It is surrounded by a rather clean and active circular “shopping” area with a temple or two to visit. At the time I was there, monks crowded into a tiny temple space, where as part of a noon ritual, one played a clarinet, one a huge hanging drum, another cymbal, and other noise makers. Lo and behold, as I circled left around the giant white Stupa, I ran into Nima’s wife who had just been with me on the trip to Tibet and was now at Bodha Nath to walk the Kora and to turn the largest prayer wheel in the city. It was a serendipitous moment because she and Nima had become such a part of my life and safety. I had finally adhered to a habit of so many who live in the wretched heat and purchased an umbrella which had some sort of reflection fabric on it to reflect the sun’s rays. So Prueba and I shared it until a gust of wind came through and that was that with that umbrella.
~ Rev
---------------------------------
audrey@audreytaylorgonzalez.com
www.audreytaylorgonzalez.com
|
