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Master Xu Yun [虚云] Practiced “Asceticism” to Repay the Kindness of his Parents! (28.10.2024)

10/28/2024

Old Venerable Master Xu Yun, a great Chinese Ch’an Master who lived into modern times, lost his mother a few days after he was born. Master Xu Yun became an ordained Buddhist monk at the age of 19-years old (in 1859) and practiced the Dharma with diligence. He often reflected:

"I never saw my mother after I was born - but this noble woman passed away because of me. I cannot forget her kindness."

In order to repay his mother for the debt of giving birth to him, Master Xu Yun made a vow to pilgrimage to Mount Wu Tai [五台] to worship Manjushri [文殊 – Wen Shu] Bodhisattva, and to dedicate this karmic merit to his mother - so that she could escape the cycle of rebirth (Samsara) as soon as possible.

During the 7th kunar month of the 8th year [1882] of the reign of Emperor Guangxu [光绪] – Master Xu Yun started this pilgrimage by lighting incense at the Fa Hua [法华] Temple [庵 - An] situated on Pu Tuo [普陀] Mountain - bowing every third-step. During May of the tenth year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu [1884] – Master Xu Yun arrived at Xian Tong [显通] Temple [寺 – Si] on Mount Wu Tai. After two years, he finally fulfilled his long-cherished wish of repaying his mother's kindness.

Master Xu Yun was frozen twice in the snow and ice – whilst Manjusri Bodhisattva transformed himself into a beggar named “Wen Ji” [文吉] - to save him.

When Master Xu Yun was 58 years old [1898] - "He was heartbroken every time he thought about the fact that he had been born without a mother and had never seen her loving face". He travelled to the Ashoka [阿育王 – A Yu Wang] Temple [寺 – Si] in Ningbo [宁波] to worship the Buddha's Relics. Here, he ritualistically burnt-off one of his fingers as an offering to the Buddha - and to pray for his mother's Nirvana. The old monk did not use a cushion and performed three thousand prostrations every day. One night, whilst sat in meditation, he saw a Golden Dragon appear in the sky and fly into the Tian Chi [天池] Lake lying in front of the Relic Hall. It was several feet long and shining with golden light. The old monk rode on the dragon's back and flew to a place with beautiful mountains and rivers, tranquil flowers and trees, and majestic and wonderful pavilions and palaces. Seeing his mother looking out from one of the pavilions, the old monk called out to her to ride the dragon to the West! As the dragon descended to pick her up - Master Xu Yun came out of his trance!

#filial piety to parents# #repay parents' kindness# #Master Xuyun#

Chinese Language Source:

https://weibo.com/1886180502/OiWeptVhv

虚云老和尚苦行报父母恩

近代禅门巨匠虚云老和尚，出生几天后母亲就过世了。虚云老和尚十九岁出家，勤修道业，常念及“我生不见母，母亲因生我而死，大恩不能忘怀”。为了报答母亲的生育之恩，他一心发愿朝拜五台山礼文殊菩萨，以此功德回向母亲早脱轮回。

自光绪八年七月始，由普陀法华庵起香，三步一拜，到光绪十年五月到五台山显通寺，经历两年之久，达成了报母恩的夙愿。他两次冻卧冰雪中，感文殊菩萨化身为文吉乞者救他脱险。

虚云老和尚五十八岁时，“因念生而无母，未见慈容，每以思之，辄觉心痛”，于是往宁波阿育王寺拜佛舍利，燃指供佛，超度慈母。老和尚不用蒲团，每日定三千拜。一天夜晚，在禅定中见空中出现金龙一条，飞落舍利殿前的天池内，长数丈，金光晃耀。老和尚骑上龙背，即腾空至一处，山水秀丽，花木清幽，楼阁宫殿，庄严奇妙。见母亲在楼阁上瞻眺，老和尚大叫母亲，请母亲骑上龙到西方去，龙即下降，自己随即出定。这种梦兆，正是虚云老和尚孝心所感。

#孝顺父母##报父母恩##虚云老和尚#

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Ch’an and the Original Yogic Asana! (3.10.2024)

10/3/2024

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Genuine Ch’an Buddhism is NOT an invention of Chinese (Confucian) culture – as one or two contemporary Japanese and Western academics assert. Neither is Chinese Ch’an Buddhism only preserved within modern Japan – as same academics claim through the false claim that Buddhism died-out in China. Indeed, the presence (and existence) of Master Xu Yun [1840-1959] tends to expose these incorrect interpretations for the nonsense they are. Furthermore, Master Xu Yun was far from being the only eminent Ch’an practitioner living in modern China. Perhaps the Japanese Establishment fails to appreciate the fact that Master Xu Yun personally witnessed the endless atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Military (the infamous “Kwantung Army”) in Southern and Central China between 1931-1945 (Master Xu Yun did not personally witness the same atrocities carried-out in the North-East area of China – but he certainly heard what was going-on in Manchuria). Post-1945 saw Japan quickly rehabilitated as a supposed bulwark against “Socialist” China by the US. And so, It would seem that expedient political considerations have been used to “direct” how academics should “think” and structure their distorted narratives. Throw all this misdirection away – as China is responsible for its own culture.

It is clear that Buddhism developed within ancient India and was transmitted into China in all its forms. As the historical Buddha dismissed the idea that an atman (soul) exists in the mind of a practitioner – and ths “atman” must be developed to unite the individual with Brahma (a theistic entity). The Buddha’s methodology rejected any direct link with Indian theistic religion. This allowed the Buddhist philosophy to be transmitted all over Asia into cultures that had no connection with Indian Hinduism – so that it could adapt to the local conditions without force or conflict. This is exactly what happened in China – where an incoming Indian philosophy (Buddhism) was peacefully integrated with Confucian (and later “Daoist”) ideology (the Ch’an dialogues are very similar to how Confucius discussed profound matters with his disciples). Confucianism gave Ch’an (Dhyana) its distinctly “Chinese” flavour. This method of Indian Buddhism grew out of the Rig Veda and the Upanishads – particularly the “Dhyana Yoga” or “Seated Meditation Self-Cultivation” of India’s ancient spiritual tradition.

Indian spirituality was so remarkably adaptive that it allowed for theism, atheism, non-theism, consciousness-development, and materialist-realisatiion, etc, with no contradiction whatsoever. Within India, a “materialist” attitude can be as spiritual as a “theistic” attitude - and this is a point that those living in the dualistic West need to study with considerable attention. For the ancient Indians, no perspective was permitted to exist outside of the all-embracing spiritual entity. Therefore, the Sanskrit term “āsana” (आसन) is expressed in the written Chinese language as “体位法” (Ti Wei Fa). Quite logically, the ancient Chinese scholars interpreted the Indian Sanskrit term of “āsana” (आसन) as:

1) 体 (Ti) = Physical Body

2) 位 (Wei) = Posture

3) 法 (Fa) = Law

A Chinese language encyclopaedia text regarding Yoga practice states (in-part) the following:

“Thousands of years ago, Indian Yogis sat quietly meditating in the forests of the Himalayas, as this was the original Yogic practice. Occasionally, these Indian Yogis, when not engaged within deep meditative absorption, observed wild animals performing their own natural bodily positions linked to feeding, survival, exploration, and sleeping, etc. Some of these Indian Yogis, to relieve the stiffness in their joints from days of seated meditation, copied these beautiful animal postures to pass their time alone. After deep observation, these Indian Yogis realized that nature nurtured (and taught) animals the skills to stay healthy, to be sensitive, and to stay alert, and at the same time gave various animals the innate methods to heal themselves, relax themselves, sleep, or stay alert and awake. These ancient Indian Yogis adapted these animal body postures and conducted experiments upon themselves. They discovered that these postures unlocked great health benefits for the human mind and body. Then, after deep intuition and judgment, they finally created a series of physical exercise systems, which they termed “Asana” - or “Yogic Posture”. Many of these thousands of asana yoga postures are named after animals, such as the Cobra Pose, Peacock Pose, Fish Pose, and Locust Pose, etc.

need to “sell” their art – they cannot emphasis the “true” or “original” Yogic practice as this would not be popular within a profit-orientated system. Why is this? The original Yogic practice, as described above, involved Yogic ascetics (Sannyasa - “those who dwell alone to get to the root”) who completely rejected society. These Yogic ascetics sat in seated meditation with the intention of focusing the power of the mind - so that a “new” human perception could be developed. This seated meditation (“Dhyana”) was designed to “see through” the material realm that humanity inhabits. Therefore, before the animals posture evolved – the original “asana” involved the Yogi only being seated with cross-legs and a straight-back. This “asana” was held (unmoving) for weeks on end, regardless of day or night, good or bad weather, or a safe or unsafe environment (even after physical death – this seated meditation posture was held).

The physical body was “stiiled” through sitting in meditation – so that the activity of the mind could be “stilled” whilst focusing the attention on the process of the “in” breath, the “transition” breath, and “out” breath. This is the original “Dhyana” Yogic practice that the Buddha used to attain his Enlightenment - and it is the method he transmitted as a means for others to realise their Enlightenment. This is the “Dhyana” method that Bodhidharma brought to China – and which became “Ch’an”. This is also the primary preserved in the Patanjali Sutra – whereas later – the Hindu practitioners developed the animal postures described above. The mind is powerful enough to transform the body - providing the body is already disciplined (and no longer permitted to do as it pleases by fulfilling its own natural appetites). Perhaps “sitting still” and “moving” in a constructive manner (as in holding the “animal postures”) represent two-sides of the same developmental coin.

Chinese Language Text:

https://baike.baidu.com/item/瑜伽体位法/6833418

几千年前，瑜伽行者在喜马拉雅山的森林中冥想、静坐时，偶尔观察野生动物，并且分享它们美妙的姿势，以打发他们独居的时间。经过深刻的观察，他们察觉大自然孕育、教导动物保有健康、灵敏、警觉的技巧，同时让各种动物天生具有治疗它们自己、放松自己、睡眠或保持清醒的方法。这些古早时候的瑜伽修行者根据这些动物的姿势并且亲身做实验，发现对身体有很大的益处，然后经过深刻的直观和判断，终于创造了一系列身体锻炼的系统，我们称之为Asana，亦即瑜伽体位法。这些几千种的asana瑜伽姿势，有许多是依照动物的名称来令名，例如：眼镜蛇式、孔雀式、鱼式、蝗虫式等等瑜伽。

English Language Reference:

Edward F Bryant: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, North East Press, (2009)

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Richard Hunn's Plan to Return to the UK! (1.10.2024)

10/1/2024

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Richard Hunn Playing His Guitar in Kyoto!

In 2004, the plan was for Richard Hunn to eventually retire back to the UK with Taeko – and live near my family in the sedate area of South-West Greater London we inhabit. Richard liked the area – jokingly saying it was just far away enough from everyone he knew (or was related to)! We had travelled together in car and bus around the local areas such as Kingston-Upon-Thames, Sutton, and into Central London (the latter by Tube). Richard particularly enjoyed having a cup of tea in the "Cha Shop" situated in the centre of Kingston - not far from the ornate Town Hall - and then to visit what used to be the multi-floored (and very well-stocked) "Borders" Bookshop opposite the Square (both now long gone). After visiting the spiritual "Watkins Books" just-off Leicester Square - and eat "Dim Sum" (Yum Cha) in a nearby London Chinatown (Gerrard Street) restaurant. Dim Sum are the special breakfast dumplings (washed down by Green Tea) eaten as part of the TCM recipes that define traditional Chinese food and drink. I think Richard appreciated the "blend" of Western and Eastern culture in a manner unique - and yet typical - to the British Mainland. Richard often explained that when he left the UK in 1991 - he left behind his old life completely and had no idea what the future held. Even I lost contact for a few years - but I did manage to discuss the matter with Richard's ex-wife (Rose) who eventually passed-on a contact address for Richard.

I put into practice everything Richard had taught me between 1991-1998 - before I managed to reconnected through direct communication. Richard was pleased with my progress - so perhaps "emptiness" (separation) is good for development! As Taeko’s job (a fashion-industry Executive) – could be performed anywhere – the two were seriously considering this option. Although Taeko had not yet visited our home – she had extensively travelled around the UK. Taeko would only be on familiar terms with myself after the passing of Richard – when such a communication became appropriate. Richard had the idea of living locally and continuing my education on a one-to-one basis. His sudden illness and final demise in late 2006 – came as a shock to us all. At least Richard and Taeko spent the last few years of their happy lives together living in a traditional "Samurai Cottage" in the suburbs of Kyoto. This is why the above plan did not come to pass. I spoke to Richard a few more times via the telephone - and received the odd card (his 2005 Xmas card read "Anything is possible!") - and as I was preparing to fly to Kyoto to be with him during October, 2006, Taeko (and Richard's son - Charles - who was already in Japan) telephoned myself and gave the sad news. Of course, I am not blood-related to Richard Hunn - and it would be highly unethical to give the false impression that I am. No. I am spiritually related to Richard Hunn - and that is enough.

I have had the honour to communicate (on occasion) with Richard's flesh and blood - but other than offering my respect and condolences, I did not want to intrude into a highly private matter. In this regard, I remain firmly irrelevant and deep in the periphery - where I belong! Of course, my life had progressed and moved on since Richard Hunn left the UK. I became aware of his presence in the UK via a book entitled "The Buddhist Bible" penned by John Snelling (the "Norwich Ch'an Association" was mentioned - with Richard Hunn quoted in relevant sections) - a British Buddhist who turned-out to be a personal friend of Richard. Although I have only had a nodding relationship with the Buddhist Society (London) - Richard Hunn (and Charles Luk for that matter) possessed a much greater connection. At least tis was true until Richard left the UK in 1991 - when the only spiritual connection would be myself. My position was one of interfacing with the ethnic Chinese community in the UK and Hong Kong - a reality which became far more relevant to Richard once he relocated to Asia. The point is that change and difference are vital for genuine inner and outer self-development. In the end, "change" becomes permanent and an entirely new situation develops. This is exactly the phase we are in today - where the memory and legacy of Richard Hunn has replaced his physical presence. The empty mind ground, however, remains constant just above and behind the movement - as the Six Patriot (Hui Neng) once explained.

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Master Xu Yun [虚云] Practiced “Asceticism” to Repay the Kindness of his Parents! (28.10.2024)

Ch’an and the Original Yogic Asana! (3.10.2024)

Richard Hunn's Plan to Return to the UK! (1.10.2024)

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