Marketing Is A Long-Term Investment
When we talk about worship in Buddhism, inevitably we have to talk about the Mahayana school. The Mahayana is a reform movement that emerged in India around the beginning of the A.D. era. It changes the style, the tone and the content of Buddhist practice in profound ways.
But we weren't in Thailand, we were back in the good old U.S. of A. where only the brightest, healthiest, most ambitious, and most successful are respected. Serenity and peace have little value at all, and are laughable to those caught up in the drive and ambition that are its present day American sacraments. I couldn't complain, however; this country is free and full of opportunity, more than any other, but I couldn't help feel that our heads overrule our hearts here, and that someday this imbalance of wisdom over compassion would spell trouble.
BN: The amazing thing for me in Burma was the people's devotion to Theravadan Buddhism; the monks are very serious about studying the Pali Canon. They monks are very orthodox; they study Pali grammar according to the ancient method. Though it's a poor country, the people are very nice. And they live under very difficult conditions. I think Buddhism has helped a lot, but on the other hand, I wonder if the people are too patient, if they put up with too much. I ask myself whether the people should tolerate so much.
theravada BN: Yes, that's the key. This retreat we taught some of the stories from the Dhammapada, and people asked a few questions about the stories. The questions are longer than the talk, and most of the questions are about the person's individual life. So these are even more important than the questions about the stories. The stories are a springboard to get to what the people really want to ask. I talk for about an hour and then we have dialogue for about an hour and a half. People get to bed about 10 o'clock and then get up at 3:45 a.m. At 4 o'clock in the morning, the retreatant begins meditation.
Close your eyes and first bring your awareness to the sensation of sitting. Feel your seat and your legs. Feel the support beneath you. Don't try to visualize anything. Just notice what is there. Do this for a few minutes, until a feeling of physical and mental steadiness and presence arise.
As his business trousers looked loose enough, I asked Harvey to remove his shoes and jacket only. As he looked a little puzzled, I told him that he will not even have a crease in his pants. And not only will he feel relaxed, but also energized and ready for the rest of the day.
MZC: Did you go to Burma? What was your impression of the monks there? As a visitor, I can feel a sense of tranquility here in the monastery; I see that people are practicing sitting and walking meditation. There's a tangible quality one can feel when people come together to focus on understanding themselves with openness, with a sense of freshness.
"Do you stretch?" I asked while working on his Hamstrings. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Harvey responded. "Do you stretch regularly?" I repeated my question. "Are you asking if I am stressed?" Harvey couldn't hear my softly-posed inquiry. But he answered the real question I had in mind. I smiled and proceeded in silence.
