Buddhism In The Netherlands

Buddhism has expanded in the Netherlands into the third religion after Christianity and Islam. The growth is so strong that as well as Islamisation, it is possible to speak of Buddhisation of the Netherlands, argue researchers Marcel Poorthuis and Theo Salemink in De Volkskrant. The Netherlands now has an estimated 250,000 Buddhists or people who feel strongly attracted by this religion, largely white Dutch. In 1998, there were only 16,000 including just 4,000 Dutch natives and 12,000 Buddhist immigrants from Asia. While Islamisation is often seen as a threat by politicians like Geert Wilders, and associated with violence and collectivism, Buddhism in the Netherlands is seen as an individualist faith that stands for non-violence and pacifism. But this idea is doubtful, concludes De Volkskrant. Poorthuis, a lecturer in inter-religious dialogue, considers it “odd” that “nobody is concerned” about the strong growth of Buddhism. “Buddhism apparently has a much better image than Islam.” Poorthuis and Salemink, both University of Tilburg scholars, argue in a just published book, Lotus in the Low Countries, that Buddhism also has other sides. “For example, the Kamikaze pilots in the Second World War had Buddhist teachers. And the Dalai Lama can also not avoid conflict due to Tibet’s difficult political situation, even though the Netherlands wants to make him into an unworldly pacifist,” says Poorthuis. Many Dutch people call themselves Buddhist without knowing exactly what the religion consists of, according to Poorthuis. The teaching is also sometimes commercially misused, as in management courses. “Instead of raising the question of whether the credit crisis was caused by greed, Buddhism has been used to optimise production processes.”

From the Internet.

A Visit To Borobudur

Never been to Borodubur? Well now you can go in the discomfort of your own home. Venerable Anandajoti has just published the photos he took during his recent trip to Java. Being a Buddhist and a masterful and sensitive photographer, he has managed to capture the subtle beauty of this great Buddhist monument. Don’t rush through the pictures. If you contemplate each one, looking at the calm and smiling faces, the fluid forms, each bird, animal and plant, and in particular the images of the imperturbable Buddha and the gentle bodhisattvas, it will be a meditation for you. All the movement will seem to be in slow motion and in silence. The pictures are arranged according to the books they illustrate – the Gandavyuha, the Jatakas, the Divyavadana and the Lalitavistara (telling the life of the Buddha). This I site really is the next best thing to actually going to Borodubur. http://www.photodharma.net/Indonesia/Indonesia.htm

The Japan Jesus

Of course all this is nonsense. Everyone knows that Jesus survived crucifixion and went to India and died there. See my posts of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of February 2009.

A Recollection On Peace

I sit now before the Buddha and contemplate that by seeing the aggregates as empty He attained great peace. It is His unmoved stillness and sorrowless compassion that shall be my inspiration. Those who are angry at injustice, impatient for change, despairing at tragedy, elated today and depressed tomorrow, are soon exhausted. But those whose minds are always still and who abide in peace, are abundant in energy. They, like the Buddha, are islands of peace in a sea of turmoil and a refuge to all beings.

Therefore, I will seek peace and quiet, avoiding always the loud, the noisy and those who wish to argue.

I will strive to restore harmony to those who are at odds.

I will speak without abuse or harshness, gentle always, with words sweet and true.

I will strive to be conciliatory and yielding, and never be a source of conflict for others.

May all who live in turmoil find the peace they long for.

May my heart be free from agitation of defilements.

May my abiding in peace help in the freeing of the heart.

Building Bridges

A bridge (sankama or setu) is a structure built to allow persons or vehicles to proceed over obstacles like rivers, valleys or gorges. The Buddha mentioned building bridges for the public good as an example of a meritorious deed. He said ‘Those who lay out a park or garden, who construct a bridge, a watering place or a well, or who build a rest house, their merit increases both day and night’ (S.I,33). In the Kulavaka Jataka, the Bodhisattva is depicted as a civic-minded villager who removes large stones from the surrounding roads, cuts down trees that might strike wagon or chariot axles and who constructs bridges, watering places and rest houses for the convenience of travellers (Ja.I,199). Ancient India, unlike Rome or ancient China, was not a bridge building culture and no bridges from ancient times survive. The Tipitaka mentions a bamboo bridge (Tha.7) and what it calls ‘a reliable bridge’ (dhuvasetu, Vin.I,106) which the commentary defines as one strong enough for a caravan, elephants or horses to cross.

As crossing a river is frequently used as a metaphor for the spiritual endeavour in the Tipitaka, building bridges, paying for their construction or repairing them, seems to have had a particular attraction for early Buddhists. A dozen or so Mahayana sutras mention the virtues of building bridges. The Sarvagunapunyakshetra Sutra for example, mentions seven ‘fields of merit’ (punnakhetta), the fourth of these being ‘maintaining ferries to help people cross rivers’ and the fifth ‘constructing bridges so that the ill and weak can cross rivers’. As Buddhism spread it took this expression of practical kindness with it.
That versatile genius Thangtong Gyalpo (1385-1464) built over 50 chain suspension bridges throughout Tibet and Bhutan. Several of his bridges in Tibet were still in use until the middle of the 20th century, and two in Bhutan are still used. Records show that building bridges as a religious practice became very popular in China and Japan. The ‘Technical Skills’ section of the History of Song, mentions a monk named Huaibing who constructed a pontoon bridge moored by eight anchors. Another work, the Sichuan tongzhi, reports a monk saying: ‘At first I thought that the greatest source of merit came from carving wooden statues and clay images of the Buddha. But one day I realized that the true ‘ladder and boat of merit’ was to help other people and other beings’. After this, the monk embarked on a program of building bridges. Chinese sources that refer to bridge construction by monks or devote lay people frequently mention that they did it out of ‘pity for the difficulties of the people’ or out of compassion ‘for people who drowned in boats attempting to cross the river’.

The Japanese monk Dosho (629-700) was famous as a road, dam and bridge engineer. One of Japan’s most famous pre-modern bridges, the elegant Spectacle Bridge’ in Nagasaki, was designed and built by the monk Mokusunyoujo in 1634. This innovative structure was the first stone-arched bridge in Japan and is still in use today. It was given its name because when its two arches are reflected in the water it looks like a pair of spectacles. I have been unable to find any records, ancient or modern, of bridges being built as an act of merit from Theravadin countries. Can anyone help?
The information about bridge building Chinese monks which I have given here is only some of that mentioned in John Kieschnick’s fascinating The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture published by Princeton University Press, 2003.

Tying The Knot

A wedding (avahamangala) is a ceremony marking the marriage of two people. The first Buddhists adopted the wedding ceremony current at the time. However, wanting to distinguish their own from Brahmanical practices, they left out the part where the bride and groom circumambulates the sacred fire (yajana) seven times, and instead of a brahman priest officiating, the elders of both families did.
It was considered good for the bride and groom to be the same age (tulyavaya), ideally 16, although the Kama Sutra recommends that the bride be three years younger than the groom. Usually the groom went in procession to the bride's house, bedecked in garlands and accompanied by music and dancing, although sometimes it was the bride who went (A.II,61). The essential feature of the ceremony was when the father of the bride took her left hand and with a pot with his right hand poured water over her hands, a ritual marking the giving away the bride to the groom (A.IV,210; Ja.III,286). In the Jataka the Bodhisattva gives this wedding benediction: ‘May your friendship with your beloved wife never decay’. (Ajeyyau ea tava hotu metti bhariyaya kaccana piyaya saddhim, Ja.VI,323).

In ancient India the bride's family sometimes paid a dowry (dayajja) and at other times they gave her a dower (nahanamula), although such customs seem to have been practiced mainly by the wealthy. Some features of the ancient ceremony still prevail in Theravadin countries, although mixed with local customs. According to the Buddha, monks and nuns should not get involved in ‘the giving or taking in marriage’ and thus they have never been wedding celebrants (D.I,11).

Wrestlers

I found this image the other day. It is of two ancient Indian wrestlers and it is interesting for several reasons, the main one being this - ancient Indian art only very rarely depicts everyday life beyond dancing, warfare or court life. While Egyptian, Roman and other art often show butchers, bakers and candle maker, vintners and ox herders, working or going about their trades, such scenes are uncommon in Indian art. This means that those (like me) who wish to know something about daily life in ancient India have to depend almost entirely on literary sources. Indians have always looked upon work, particularly manual work, and even just physical exertion, as demeaning. (There are well over a billion Indians and how many Olympic medals have they won?) The Vinaya's prohibition against almost any type of manual work reflects this same attitude.

The depiction of the two wrestlers and their appreciative onlooker is a fragment from a larger sculpture and dates from about the 10th century. Wrestlers (Pali malla, Hindi mall) and wrestling (nibbuddha) are occasionally mentioned in the Tipitaka as is boxing, literally 'fist fighting' (mutthiyuddha), and wrestling matches (uyyodhika). Monks and nuns were not supposed to watch wrestling matches (D.I,6) and I agree with this restriction entirely. Anyone who can sit through an episode of World Championing Wrestling on the TV needs counseling, if you ask me! The Ghata Jataka actually describes a wrestling match. It was held in a wrestling ring (yuddhamandala), their were tires of seats around the ring and the wrestlers came out 'strutting, jumping, shouting and clapping their hands' (Ja. IV,81).

Today, traditional Indian wrestling is called Kushti or Pehlwani and is a mixture of the wrestling done at the time of the Buddha and elements introduced by the Mogals from Persia. BBC just happens to have a program called Last Man Standing which includes scenes of traditional Indian wrestling. Have a look at http://www.bbc.co.uk/homearchive/2007/06/26/