Moment of Calm

Kept your mouth shut for 5 days!!! For my fellow debate comrades, they rather keep their stomach starve for 5 days and also don't want to let their throat inactivated for 5 hours. Great to tell you all, i made it, i did it, i din voice more than 10 sentences for 5 days. Was i mad? you thought i became introvert, self-detained in my room for 5 days time, didn't you? Haha, i'm not lying to you, this is truth, not voiced out anything for 5 days, from 2 june to yesterday, 6 june. Yup, i had taken a chan/zen meditation program 禅修 at Fo Guang Shan, Dongzen temple 佛光山东禅寺 last saturday. Honest to say, it's really a wonderful experience for me, i never believe that i could able to make it, no talk for 5 days, reduce your unwanted thinkings to least, and most horrible thing to normal people including myself, that is MEDITATION MORE THAN 8 HOURS everyday, i meant 5 days of the program. Well, i always fear most of meditation, as have to sitting there like a statue for plentiful of minutes, but the reason i took participation of this zen program was... not because i aim for enlightenment or other metaphysic goals or responsibilities, just merely because i got the wrong information about the program. Before i went there, i expected the program is something like learning some lessons concerning zen or copying notes and so on. Out of blue, it wasn't like that, it was an intensive meditation 'training' in multitude hours. Everyday, have to meditate (sitting there, think nothing and concentrating on breathing) more than 8 times, every time spent 35 to 50 minutes, entire life just like a monk's life, the only significant difference was my hair still stayed on my head. haha...

At the beginning, it was undoubtedly a tough challenge for me though i'm a sincere buddhist, i never meditate non-stop for 5 days straight. Well, i like to read buddhist scriptures or recite sutras, but i quite dislike meditation, feels bored and uncomfortable when you are required to sit in cross-legged, straight your backbone, breath in and out for 30 minutes. But, after several days 'hardworking' in temple, i have changed idea, zen meditation is great, you can feel the moment of calm when you practicing zen.

Although previously i disliked meditation, i quite favor on Zen Buddhism 禅宗, this is because i am a maniac fan of chinese martial art story. When i saw the word 'zen', i will automatically connect it to its founding place, Shaolin temple, then pictures of martial monks fighting arise in my mind. Ok, share some story about Zen Buddhism with you guys, Zen buddhism is one of several important clans of mahayana school, zen buddhism founded in china, it is part of chinese buddhism, and also an important element of chinese philosophy. Founder of zen buddhism was an indian monk, called Bodhidharma 菩提达摩 which were disseminating buddhism in china 15 hundread years ago, he was man who invented shaolin martial art, thanks to his great contribution to martial world, haha. Ok, the unique of zen buddhism is zen buddhism dun need language, it never use language for learning, this is their core ideology: Language or words never able to describe buddhism, their way to cultivate buddhism is largely laid on meditation. Sutras, for them, is reference, and sometimes, sutras also will be their hindrance from attaining enlightenment.

The ultimate goal of buddhism is not to be buddha or attain enlightenment, but is to be nothing. Any goal or aspiration is viewed as craving and greed in buddhism, this is because the main idea of zen buddhism is let all of your cravings go away and be calm and mindful at every moment. Emm... normally beginner will face lots of difficulties in meditation, especially those unwanted, unnecessary minds continuously interrupt you, make you lost concentration to your breathing. I am an example, frankly, my mind is very weak to resist those unwanted minds and easily become chaotic condition. Sigh. Especially june 4 that day, a lot of image arise in my mind, kept on irritated me, tanks, bodies, students protest, and evil massacre, all of them stroke on me whole day, this is because june 4 massacre had given an enormous impact to my mind.

Overall, zen meditation is one of the good ideas to calm down your disorganized mind and also can self-rectify your body health. Two birds can be killed in a stone, therefore here to encourage you guys to take meditation as your daily activities, let your mind to rest for half an hour, you will definitely feel a entire refreshed. Remember, 'let go away' (or put down 放下) is the core idea to be held and cultivated during meditation. Human beings like to crave, to persist greed on lots of desire, like wealth, status, power, sex, delicious food and etc. All of these impermanent thing are our obstacles to achieve calmness of mind and enlightenment. In addition, human likes to compare with others, always wish to transcend other people, and also jealous on other people achievement. Well, i am one of them, always have a kind of mind that i am a superior person due to i know 'lots' of knowledge and sometimes look down on others, this is my terrible sickness that have been implanted in my mind for long time, but now is the time to reestablish myself, fixing my wrong minds and evil deeds.

Besides meditation, abstinence is always an important weapon which can't be lacked when facing those enemy mind, i.e. greed, hatred, delusion, pride and doubt. Currently i am at the frontline dealing with evil masturbation and other sexual misleading concept, it is a tough war, but i believed i can make it. Other than that, several unhealthy habits that i had successfully broken are abstinence from soft drinks (coke), cold drinks, computer games, alcoholic beverage, fast food meat (such as KFC's chickens) and recently nationalism. But i am not craving on those abstinence, i let it be naturally cured, not by force.

In the end, here pay my gratitude to fo guang shan, dongzen temple of organize this zen meditation program, and largely giving benifit to me.

Namo Buddhaya, may everything go perfectly for you. 诸事圆满.