Ramblings of a Monk

This is a fictitious story about a boy who fell ill.  To protect the identity of this non-existent fictitious boy, let’s call him Ah Boy.

So this Ah Boy fell ill.  Did I tell you he caught a flu?  I didn’t?  It’s flu alright, but no, not the swiney type, the usual type.  He is not very into porkchop and all you see.  Anyway, he went to the doctor and after consultation, he collected the medicine and went back home.  $20+ dollars and an MC* later, he is back home. He stayed away from school for the few days covered by the MC, but somehow was not getting better.

After a few days, he went back to the doctor and demanded to know why he was not recovering.  The doctor asked him about the medicine and he said “I went back and did it every day.”

The doctor became curious, “You went back and did it every day?  Did what?”

“I repeated the steps.”

“Repeated the steps?”

“Yes, I repeated the steps daily.  I recited ‘Take this 2 pills, three times a day after meal’ everyday.  Matter of fact, I did that every few hours.”

If you are like the doctor, you would be flabbergasted.  In fact, most people would find this ridiculous and shrug it off as a fictional story.  But on some occasions, I find Buddhists doing just that.  They would religiously recite the suttas (or sutras for that matter) without applying what the sutras expound.  Good Buddhist (*wink*) would know that the recitation of the sutras (as in a puja) forms a devotional practice and when done properly, can be a good development of mindfulness and attentiveness (or even concentration).  They (the latter) would also know to reflect on the meaning of the teachings expounded in the sutra and rightly apply them in their daily lives, benefiting from the practice.

Take for example, Mangala Sutta, a sutta frequently recited in Theravadin temples.  It is a sutta about a deva (god, or heavenly being) who visits the Buddha and ask him a very simple questions that many seeks to know: “What is the highest blessing?”.  Perhaps a more conventional phrasing of this question would be, “How can one be blessed?  How can one be blessed in the highest way?”  Make sense now?  Well, hence the name of the sutta, Mangala sutta, Blessings.  Some translate it as “Protection” … but let’s not split hairs for now.  The point is, the Buddha then replies to the deva in verse, declaring the various ways that one may be blessed (or protected).

Rightly speaking, besides chanting it in a puja, one should frequently reflect over the meaning of the verses and live one’s life accordingly if one wishes to truly receive blessings.  Then would one receive and apply the Buddha’s guidance and blessings.

So this Vesak, go visit the temple, bathe the baby prince Siddhartha, take your refuges and renew your precepts, do your offerings, listen to the Dharma talks, and reflect how you fared this past year.  Are you happier than in the past?  Are you happier because you have more things, or because you change your mindset?  Have you progressed in your practice?  Are you more prone to anger or are you calmer?  Still jealous over the raise and fat bonus someone else get?  Have you talked to your father and mother recently?  How about your siblings?  Have you cared for someone else besides yourself?  Do you care more?

You owe it to yourself to reflect over your life.   And do something about it.  Happy Vesak!

References:

Khuddaka Nikaya: Sutta nipata 2.4 Mangala Sutta

• http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.04.nara.html Ven. Narada Thera
• http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.04.piya.html Ven. Piyadassi Thera
• http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.04.than.html Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu
• http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.04.soni.html Dr. R.L. Soni

* MC – Medical Certificate.  In Singapore, the acronym MC has taken on a life of its own, to be used as a verb.  eg, he play MC.  or as a noun, eg. he went on MC.  The former usage “he play MC” is usually used to denote that such as person is faking illness and got an MC to justify his absence.  The latter is usually less insinuating, but has similar connotations.

http://confusion.tweakblogs.net/blog/1418/why-functional-programming-doesnt-catch-on.html

The above is an interesting article about functional programming and why it fail to catch on.

Every introduction to a programming language shows you the recursive method to calculate Fibonacci numbers. It’s abstract, many people do not relate to it very well, but it’s only a single example. However, the documentation for FP languages seem to consist solely of these kinds of highly mathematically inspired examples. No ‘Address’ class to be found there. Hasn’t anyone written a functional equivalent of the Pet Store application to demonstrate the power of FP for the regular work that most of us do?

This is sometimes the challenge I hear from people, that they find it too theoretical to apply certain religious concepts (be it Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam or the religion you dig!) in their every day life.  While some faith’s tenets and ideals are meant to be other-worldly, Buddhist teachings are meant for daily applications.

When we attend Dharma classes, we need to relate it to our daily experiences and reflect upon how our life can be further improved.  Is there anything we could have done or said differently?  What can we do in future to be more considerate towards others?  Was there relevance at all?

People that want to improve the world often overlook one fundamental problem: you cannot improve the world just by being right. You need to convince others of that fact if you want to exert influence. If you cannot convince them, find out why you cannot convince them. I think there is a bright future ahead for functional programming, as soon as someone stands up to convince the masses.

We need to be convinced for ourselves that the teachings really do work out.  We need to try it out and see for ourselves.  The Dharma is meant to be explored and experienced, not merely for recitation.

So start now, see if you can pick something about your day that you can change about.  And see if you can apply the Buddhist teachings, then share your findings here.

So What?
So What!
So What!?

“So what” … sweet sound to the ears, and perhaps the mind as well.  Two over months ago, Jan 3 2008 to be exact, during a Dhamma talk at Taipei Buddhist Centre, an participant uttered these magic words “So What?”.  To some it was a challenge to the explanations given, while to others, its a curt retort to the speaker.  To me, I just love it! … if monks are allowed to at least ‘love’ some idea …

To me, it was excellent that that man thought of the question “So what?”.  It implied to me that he was interested in not just listening to mere recitation of someone’s teachings, but is genuinely concerned about the practical implications of it.  Or at least that’s how I interpreted his “So what?”.  If he meant it any other ways, I didn’t know it.

I replied by congratulating him on his question; that we Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike need to open our eyes to see and our mind to inquire, to paraphrase myself that day.  My point is that, when we read a book, or listen to a talk, we should listen with an open heart, but not just take everything as it is and leave it at that.  We should inquire further on the practical implications of it in our daily lives!

Each time we attend a talk or a class, we should ask ourselves, how does knowing this help us?  Or others?  Or both?   How do I apply it in my life to bring more peace and less stress?

For that matter, we should not just ask ourselves this question when it comes to Buddhist Teachings,  but to other things as well.  So you didn’t get that promotion this time round … so what?  So she likes someone else and not you (or him you or otherwise) … so what?  So your son failed in his exams … so what?  Now I’m not advocating the other extreme of aloofness.  Rather, I’m saying, put things in perspective.  Make a checklist of things going right for you.  By right, I don’t mean perfect, I mean “good enough”.  Then compare the thing that didn’t work out for you.  You’ve managed so far in your life without that one thing, so why should it, or the lack thereof, make you miserable now?

Sometimes we give ourselves reasons to be miserable and we should stop.  And learn to be content and not spend our precious human life searching the world for a better life.   Instead, we can and should learn to reflect more on our own life and be grateful.  Having more does not always bring more happiness.  More often than not, it leads to more worry and stress.

So the next time, you encounter something, be it a teaching or a difficulty in life, ask yourself … So what?