Saturday, October 31, 2015

Buddhist Halloween: How to help the DEAD

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Crystal Quintero, CC Liu, and Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly, "On Offerings to the Dead," Janussonin Sutra (AN 10.177) based on Ven. Thanissaro (trans.)
Happy Halloween and the Day of the Dead (Nov. 1). It's time to play with all that scares us!
Praying a departed person out of purgatory (naraka) or Osurasma (J.M.W. Silver/Obon).
"The Realm of Hungry Ghosts" (Peta Loka), one of the 31 Planes of Existence.



Japanese Buddhist "ghosts" (pretas and kami), phantasms, shapeshifting monsters from One Hundred Ghost Stories by Hokusai, 1831, a kind of Japanese Shinto Petavatthu text.

SUTRA: On Offerings to the Dead
Death (Mara) looks on (lilminx16/deviantart)
Then Janussonin the Brahmin went to the Blessed One (Bhagavan, the Buddha) and, on arriving, exchanged courteous greetings with him. After this exchange of friendly greetings and courtesies, he sat respectfully to one side. Sitting there, he said to the Blessed One:
 
"Master Gautama (Pali, Gotama), as you know we Brahmins give gifts, make offerings [saying], 'May this gift accrue to our dead relatives. May our dead relatives partake of this gift.' Now, Master Gautama, does that gift get to our dead relatives? Do our dead relatives partake of that gift?"
Dia de los Muertos Family Festival, Long Beach, CA (Museum of Latin American Art)
.
Marananussati is good for the living.
"In possible places, Brahmin, gifts reach them, but not in impossible places."
 
"And where, Master Gautama, are the 'possible' places, where the 'impossible' places?"
 
"Brahmin, there may be the case where a certain person [ignores the Five Precepts and engages in one or more of the Ten Courses of Unskillful Action and thereby makes bad karma on the Wrong Path]:
  1. One takes life
  2. takes what is not given
  3. engages in sexual misconduct
  4. engages in false speech
  5. engages in divisive speech
  6. engages in abusive speech
  7. engages in useless chatter
  8. is covetous
  9. bears ill will and/or
  10. holds wrong views.
Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol)
"With the breakup of the body, after death, one reappears in a purgatory. [No "hell," however bad or long, is permanent]. One lives there, one remains there by means of whatever is the food of hellions (narakas). This is an impossible place for that gift [to the dead] to accrue to one there.
 
"Then there is another case where a certain person takes life, takes what is not given, engages in sexual misconduct, engages in false speech, engages in divisive speech, engages in abusive speech, engages in useless chatter, is covetous, bears ill will, and holds wrong views.

"With the breakup of the body, after death, one reappears on the plane of animals. One lives there, one remains there by means of whatever is the food of common animals. This, too, is an impossible place for that gift to accrue to one there.

What are those "things" that lurk in the dark -- ghosts, ETs, transforming-monsters...

.
"Then there is the case where a certain person [engages in one or more of the Ten Courses of Skillful Action and thereby makes good karma on the Right Path]:
  1. One refrains from taking life
  2. refrains from taking what is not given
  3. refrains from sexual misconduct
  4. refrains from false speech
  5. refrains from divisive speech
  6. refrains from abusive speech
  7. refrains from useless chatter
  8. is not covetous
  9. bears no ill will and/or
  10. holds right views.
Smile. I'll see you soon enough.
"With the breakup of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of human beings. One lives there, one remains there by means of whatever is the food of human beings. This, too, is an impossible place for that gift to accrue to one there.
 
"Then there is another case where a certain person refrains from [the Ten Courses of Unskillful Action]. With the breakup of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of devas ("shining ones," angels, fairies, advanced beings dwelling in space). One lives there, one remains there by means of whatever is the food of devas. This, too, is an impossible place for that gift to accrue to one there.

The worst place one will ever go to "sleep" -- death penalty advocates' torture pen (AP).
   
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts (Dr. Mate)
"Then there is another case where a certain person [engages in one or more of the Ten Courses of Unskillful Action]. With the breakup of the body, after death, one reappears in the realm of hungry ghosts. One lives there, one remains there by means of whatever is the food of hungry ghosts [and one is soothed by] means of whatever one's relatives and friends give in dedication. This is the possible place for that gift to accrue to one there.
"But, Master Gautama, if that dead relative does not reappear in that possible place, who partakes of that gift?"
 
Give. The dead will be so grateful!
"Other dead relatives, Brahmin, who have reappeared in that possible place [the realm of hungry ghosts]."
 
"But, Master Gautama, if that dead relative does not reappear in that possible place, and other dead relatives have not reappeared in that possible place, then who partakes of that gift?"
 
"It is impossible, Brahmin, it cannot be that over this long time that possible place is devoid of one's dead relatives.* But at any rate, the donor is sure to gain a reward.
  • *The Monastic Disciplinary Code (Vinaya) counts as one's "relatives" all those related back through seven generations past one's grandparents -- in other words, all of those descended from one's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents.
"Does Master Gautama describe any preparation for the impossible places?"

Future ghost: youth, trauma, unexpected departure all make rebirth in ghost realm more likely. Death just before the Day of the Dead: Man, 20, drives recklessly on Los Angeles freeway, rolls car, is ejected and thrown onto freeway sign 25 feet up; hangs there for four hours through morning traffic with bloody sheet (VIDEO: Fox2Now.com, St. Louis).


 
Latin American Buddhists of L.A.
"Brahmin, I do describe a preparation for the impossible places. A certain person takes life, takes what is not given, engages in sexual misconduct, engages in false speech, engages in divisive speech, engages in abusive speech, engages in useless chatter, is covetous, bears ill will, and holds wrong views. But that person gives food, drink, cloth, vehicles, garlands, scents, creams, bed, lodging, and lamps to ascetics and Brahmins [monastics and priests].

Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol)
"With the breakup of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of elephants [as a partial consequence of one's karma]. There one receives food, drink, flowers, and various ornaments.

"It is because that person took life, took what is not given, engaged in sexual misconduct, engaged in false speech, engaged in divisive speech, engaged in abusive speech, engaged in useless chatter, was covetous, bore ill will, and/or held wrong views that one reappears in the company of elephants. But it is because one gave food, drink, cloth, vehicles, garlands, scents, creams, bed, lodging, and lamps to ascetics and Brahmins that one receives food, drink, flowers, and various ornaments.
 
"In another case a certain person takes life (kills)...holds wrong views (is deluded). But one gives...to ascetics and Brahmins. With the breakup of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of horses...in the company of cattle...in the company of poultry. There one receives food, drink, flowers, and various ornaments.*
  • Apparently, "ornaments" for poultry would consist of brilliant plumage. Similarly, "ornaments" for elephants, horses, and cattle might consist of attractive markings.
It is because one [engaged in one or more of the Ten Courses of Unskillful Action] that one reappears in the company of poultry. But it is because one gave...to ascetics and Brahmins that one receives food, drink, flowers, and various ornaments.

 Pagan Mabon celebration (danadeilers.com)
"Then there is another case where a certain person refrains from [engaging in one or more of the Ten Courses of Unskillful Action].

"With the breakup of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of human beings. There one experiences the five strands of human sensuality [experiences delightful sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations].

"It is because one refrained from taking what is not given, refrained from sexual misconduct, refrained from false speech, refrained from divisive speech, refrained from abusive speech, refrained from useless chatter, was not covetous, bore no ill will, and held right views that one reappears in the company of human beings. And it is because one gave food, drink, cloth, vehicles, garlands, scents, creams, bed, lodging, and lamps to ascetics and Brahmins that one experiences the five strands of human sensuality.*
  • For some unknown reason, the older PTS translation of this sutra cuts off here.
Sometimes living is like being dead already.
"Then there is another case where a certain person refrains from [engaging in the Ten Courses of Unskillful Action]. And one gives food, drink, cloth, vehicles, garlands, scents, creams, bed, lodging, and lamps to ascetics and Brahmins. With the breakup of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of devas. There one experiences the five strands of divine sensuality [delightful sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations].

"It is because one refrained from taking what is not given...and held right views that one reappears in the company of devas. And it is because one gave...to ascetics and Brahmins that one experiences the five strands of divine sensuality. But at any rate, Brahmin, the donor is assured of a reward."

Reaction
The Buddha, Chinese depiction.
"It is amazing, Master Gautama, it is astounding! It is enough to make one want to give a gift, enough to make one want to make an offering [knowing that at any rate] the donor does not go without reward [for this well-motivated act, intentional action, this good karma]."

"That is how it is, Brahmin, that is how it is. The donor does not go without reward."

"Magnificent, Master Gautama, magnificent! It is just as if one were to place upright what had been overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see what was there to see!

"In the same way has Master Gautama -- through many lines of reasoning -- made the Dharma clear. I go to Master Gautama for guidance, to the Dharma, and to the Sangha (Monastic Community). May Master Gautama remember me as a lay follower who has gone to him for guidance from this day forward for life."
Mara Devaputra as a female

Thursday, October 29, 2015

The Seven Factors of Enlightenment (sutra)

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly version based on original trans. by Ven. Piyadassi (accesstoinsight.org), Maha Kassapa Bojjhanga Paritta; Pali Kanon
The Buddha on stone slab/bed rock in Maha Kassapa's Pippali Cave (sirimangalo.org)
 
The Seven Factors of Enlightenment
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One (Bhagavān, the Buddha) was living near Rajagaha (Rajgir, India) in the Bamboo Grove at the Squirrels' Feeding Ground.

At that time Ven. Maha Kassapa, living in Pipphali Cave, was afflicted with a grievous illness, suffering, gravely ill.

Then the Blessed One, arising from his solitude [emerging from deep meditation] in the evening visited Maha Kassapa and sat down on a prepared seat for him. Seated, the Blessed One spoke to Maha Kassapa:

"Well, Kassapa, how is it with you? Are you bearing up and enduring [this pain]? Do these pains decrease or increase? Are there signs of these pains decreasing and not of increasing?"

"No, venerable sir. I am not bearing up, I am not enduring, the pain is very great. There are signs not of these pains decreasing but increasing."

Close to Pipphali Cave are the Saptaparni Caves where "Buddhism" began, where a great number of enlightened monastics were convened by Ven. Maha Kassapa for the First Council after the Buddha's passing into final nirvana.
 
Rajgir, royal city ringed by seven hills.
"Kassapa, these Seven Factors of Enlightenment are well expounded and are cultivated and fully developed by me. They conduce to right understanding, to full realization (of the Four  Noble  Truths, which results in enlightenment) and to nirvana. What are these seven?

i. "Mindfulness, the factor of enlightenment, Kassapa, is well expounded by me, and is cultivated and fully developed by me; it conduces to right understanding, to full realization and to nirvana [called nibbana in Pali].
  • This sutra is usually uttered as a "PROTECTIVE CHANT" (paritta) in the exclusively Buddhist language of Pali: Sati, sambojjhanga kho, Kassapa, maya samma dakkita bhavita bahuligata; abhinaya, sambodaya, nibbanaya, samvattati.
ii. "Keen investigation of phenomena (dhamma-vicaya and/or of the Buddha's Dharma), the factor of enlightenment, Kassapa, is well expounded by me, and is cultivated and fully developed by me. It conduces to right understanding, to full realization and to nirvana.

iii. "Persevering effort (energy), the factor of enlightenment, Kassapa, is well expounded by me and is cultivated and fully developed by me. It conduces to right understanding, to full realization and to nirvana.

iv. "Rapture (bliss), the factor of enlightenment, Kassapa, is well expounded by me, and is cultivated and fully developed by me. It conduces to right understanding, to full realization and to nirvana.

v. "Calm (tranquility, samatha), the factor of enlightenment, Kassapa, is well expounded by me, and is cultivated and fully developed by me. It conduces to right understanding, to full realization and to nirvana.

Even today, Theravada monastics use peaceful caves to practice (Sasin Tipchai/Bugphai).
 
vi. "Concentration (mental coherence, collectedness, full focus, meditative absorption), the factor of enlightenment, Kassapa, is well expounded by me, and is cultivated and fully developed by me. It conduces to right understanding, to full realization and to nirvana.

vii. "Equanimity (unbiased onlooking), the factor of enlightenment, Kassapa, is well expounded by me, and is cultivated and fully developed by me. It conduces to right understanding, to full realization and to nirvana.

"These seven factors of enlightenment, Kassapa, are well expounded by me and are cultivated and fully developed by me. They conduce to right understanding (right view, ditthi), to full realization and to nirvana."

"Most assuredly, O Blessed One, they are factors of enlightenment! Most assuredly, O Welcome One (Sugata), they are factors of enlightenment!"

Thus said the Buddha, and Ven. Maha Kassapa glad at heart approved of these utterances. Thereupon, Ven. Maha Kassapa recovered from that affliction, and Maha Kassapa's affliction disappeared then and there.

Why is this sutra so famous?
Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)
Shakyamuni Buddha, Thailand
This discourse (sutra) -- which became an even more famous "protective chant" (paritta) is renowned because of three things that happened.

Not only was the Buddha's eminent disciple Ven. Maha Kassapa -- "Father of the Sangha" -- healed by hearing it/bringing it to mind, the same happened to one of the Buddha's four chief disciples, the one "foremost in magical powers" Ven. Maha Moggallana, and then to the Buddha himself!

Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living near Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove by the Squirrels' Feeding Ground. At that time Ven. Maha Moggallana, who was living on Gijjhakuta Hill (Vultures' Peak, where the Buddha often resided), was afflicted with a disease. He was in great pain and gravely ill. Then the Blessed One, emerging from his solitude (meditative absorption) in the evening, visited Maha Moggallana and sat down on a seat prepared for him... (This sutra continues exactly as the previous discourse replacing "Maha Kassapa" with the name "Maha Moggallana").

Buddhist (and Jain) Rajgir still exists as a functioning city in Bihar, India (iloveindia.com)

India's [Sexy] Daughter (video)

CC Liu, Crystal Quintero, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; Public Radio Int'l (pri.org)

(Bollywood Unseen) "India's Daughter" is presented here as a full BBC documentary: "Nirbhaya" has been BANNED in India, so we created another documentary to showcase the trauma a rape victim goes through. Nirbhaya was one of India's daughters who is going through this pain, but there are many more daughters who face the same pain who are not noticed by anyone as the media ignores them. This documentary is based on a real story of one of India's Daughter who would otherwise go unnoticed.

India's Daughter (trailer)
A film too controversial to be seen? Reaction: (Dante Sears Geyer) Oh My Goodness! :( WOW. I am speechless. It's time for India to change their view on women's rights.

China's "one child" policy
No sexy nudity in China, please.
The policy only applied to majority Han Chinese in cities, but even they tried to get around it. Communist-capitalist China has an average of 1.6 children with this draconian policy in place, whereas relatively free Taiwan and Hong Kong each have an average of 1 child. They did it on their own, not by being a police state doling out forced abortions.
Dr. Dre, Ice Cube
Crips vs. Bloods, Reds versus Blues, Republicans vs. Democrats.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Buddha's hometown devastated by 7.5 quake

AP via kfiam640.com, 10-26-15; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly
Film: "The Buddhas of Mes Aynak" (Prof. Brent E. Huffman/facebook.com)

Afghan girls -- poor Caucasians from Central Asia between India and Russia (AP)



Devastated home in largely rural Afghanistan after massive earthquake (Getty Images).
 
Devastating quake in Afghanistan leaves more than 100 dead
Afghan's Indo-Greco art
KABUL, Afghanistan - A strong earthquake in northern (Buddhist) Afghanistan shook buildings from Kabul to Islamabad (Buddhist Pakistan) to New Delhi (in neighboring Buddhist India), cut power and communications in some areas, and caused more than 100 deaths, mainly in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
 
Pakistani state television announced that at least 94 people were killed and nearly 600 others wounded across the country, while Afghan officials said 33 people were killed and more than 200 wounded.
Father holds injured Afghan boy (AP).
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the 7.5-magnitude earthquake was in the Hindu Kush mountains (an extension of the Himalayan parent range), in the sparsely populated province of Badakhshan, which borders Pakistan, Tajikistan, and China. It said the epicenter was 130 miles (213 kilometers) deep and 45 miles (73 km) south of the provincial capital, Fayzabad.
 
The Buddha''s hometown: The area in modern Afghanistan between Bamiyan (at the foothills of the Himalayas known as the Hindu Kush), Mes Aynak, and Kabul was "Kapilavastu."
Pakistan is a new country. Previously, "India" (or Greater Bharat) extended west to Afghanistan and Iran (on left), near Kashmir, Nepal, Tajikistan, Tibet and China in the north.
The Buddha's family, the Shakyans, were called "Scythians" by the Greeks. The Buddha lived in an area called Sakastan in this map of ancient kingdoms before there was an "India" as such.
  
codepink.org
Say NO to war (codepink.org)
In Takhar province, west of Badakhshan, at least 12 students at a girls' school were killed in a stampede as they fled shaking buildings, said Sonatullah Taimor, the spokesman for the provincial governor. Another 42 girls were taken to the hospital in the provincial capital of Taluqan.

Bimaran casket of the Shakyans, Scythians of Afghanistan
The highest toll was in eastern Nangarhar province, where eight people died and 78 were wounded. Hazrat Hussain Mashreqiwal, spokesman for the provincial police chief, said several houses were destroyed in Jalalabad city, with destruction also reported in some rural districts.
 
In Pakistan, Abdul Latif Khan, an official at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, said the quake killed 48 in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone. Another official Mussarrat Khan said 16 people were killed in the country's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.

Massive Buddha, Bamiyan, Afghanistan
The toll from the sparsely populated Badakhshan province was likely to rise as reports came in from remote areas. The province is often struck by earthquakes, but casualty figures are usually low.

The province also suffers floods, snowstorms and mudslides, and despite vast mineral deposits is one of Afghanistan's poorest regions. It has recently also been troubled by Taliban-led insurgents, who have used its remote valleys as cover to seize districts as they spread their footprint across the country.
 
Bamiyan, Afghanistan's Big Buddha monuments are staggering (Azaranica).
Rescue workers carry an injured Afghan girl who was hurt during the earthquake to a hospital in Jalalabad, Afghanistan (Parwiz Parwiz/Reuters/PRI.org).
 .
Afghanistan, Pakistan, India hit by major earthquake: "The earth just shook"
AUDIO: Massive quake strikes Afghanistan, Hindu Kush (Public Radio Int'l/BBC Radio, PRI.org)
Power was cut across much of the Afghan capital, where tremors were felt for around 45 seconds. Houses shook, walls cracked and cars rolled in the streets. Officials in the capital could not be immediately reached as telephones appeared to be cut across the country.
 
Afghanistan has a long Buddhist history.
Afghanistan's (new) Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah tweeted that the earthquake was the strongest felt in recent decades.

He had earlier called an emergency meeting of disaster officials, which was broadcast live on television. He instructed doctors and hospitals to be prepared to receive and treat casualties.

Abdullah Abdullah said telecommunications have been disrupted in vast parts of the country, preventing officials from getting a precise picture of damage and casualties. He also warned of aftershocks from the earthquake.

In Pakistan, Zahid Rafiq, an official with the meteorological department, said the quake was felt across the country. In the capital, Islamabad, buildings shook and panicked people poured into the streets, many reciting verses from the Quran (Koran).

U.S. changes mind, continues Afghan War.
"I was praying when the massive earthquake rattled my home. I came out in a panic," said Munir Anwar, a resident of Liaquat Pur in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province.

Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Raheel Sharif, ordered troops to the quake-affected areas, the military said in a statement. It gave no further details.
 
Why U.S. can't win Afghan War: Dark Defile
The quake was also felt in the Indian capital New Delhi, though no damage was immediately reported.

Office buildings swayed and workers who had just returned from lunch ran out of buildings and gathered in the street or in parking lots.

In Srinagar, the main city in the India-controlled portion of disputed Kashmir, the tremors lasted at least 40 seconds, with buildings swaying and electrical wires swinging wildly, residents said.

"First I thought somebody had banged the door. But within seconds, the earth began shaking below my feet, and that's when I ran out of the building," said government official Naseer Ahmed.

Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan
People ran outside, shouting, crying and chanting religious hymns in an effort to keep calm. "I thought it was the end of the world," shopkeeper Iqbal Bhat said.

Srinagar Police Inspector General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gilani said that "some bridges and buildings have been damaged," including a cracked highway overpass.

Two elderly women died from heart attacks suffered during the earthquake, including a 65-year-old woman in the northern Kashmiri town of Baramulla and an 80-year-old in the southern town of Bijbehara, officials said.
 
Ahmed reported from Islamabad. AP writers Rahim Faiez in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India, and Nirmala George in New Delhi, India, contributed to this report.
    The world's largest Buddhist temple, Mes Aynak ("Copper Well"), needs to be excavated in Afghanistan, but China wants to raze the square mile site to mine copper and rare earths.