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31
Informasi dan Pengumuman Kegiatan Buddhis / retreat meditasi 13 juni - 1 juli di vihara kassapa
« on: 21 May 2012, 03:36:01 PM »
Ada retreat meditasi di
Vihara kassapa, tanjung langkat.
Tgl 13 juni - 1 juli
Dibimbing oleh bhante jinadhammo
Untuk pendaftaran dan info lebih lanjut
Silahkan menghubungi vihara borobudur, medan
061-4528515
Vihara kassapa, tanjung langkat.
Tgl 13 juni - 1 juli
Dibimbing oleh bhante jinadhammo
Untuk pendaftaran dan info lebih lanjut
Silahkan menghubungi vihara borobudur, medan
061-4528515
32
Humor / gemuk dan tertawa
« on: 04 April 2012, 03:07:51 PM »
Seorang dokter yang datang ke wihara memberitahu saya bahwa ketika kita tertawa, pembuluh darah kita melebar. Ketika kita sedih, marah, depresi, pembuluh darah kita mengecil.
Jadi merasa tertekan dan marah sesungguhnya sangat buruk bagi kesehatan anda. Seperti kalau kita mengidap penyakit jantung, kolesterol jadi sangat berbahaya ketika pembuluh darah kita mengecil. Namun, jika anda tertawa, anda menangkal kelebihan kolesterol, sehingga anda bisa gemuk selama anda suka tertawa.
Hal ini terbukti, karena anda tahu bahwa orang-orang gemuk biasanya riang! Mereka terlihat seperti gambar buddha tertawa. Orang gemuk dikenal riang karena ini sesuai teori evolusi darwin. Jika anda gemuk namun tidak tertawa, anda akan meninggal muda, jadi orang-orang jenis ini akan tersingkir.
Tapi jika anda gemuk dan tertawa, itu menyeimbangkan kesehatan dan anda akan berumur panjang. Jadi anda melihat banyak orang yang gemuk dan bahagia dan anda tidak akan banyak melihat orang yang gemuk dan stress, karena mereka sudah meninggal duluan sebelum anda melihat mereka.
Jadi jika anda kelebihan berat badan, tolong belajarlah tertawa. Jika tidak, anda tidak akan bertahan lama. Ha-ha-ha
Dari buku:
Si cacing dan kotoran kesayangannya 3!
Ajahn brahm
Jadi merasa tertekan dan marah sesungguhnya sangat buruk bagi kesehatan anda. Seperti kalau kita mengidap penyakit jantung, kolesterol jadi sangat berbahaya ketika pembuluh darah kita mengecil. Namun, jika anda tertawa, anda menangkal kelebihan kolesterol, sehingga anda bisa gemuk selama anda suka tertawa.
Hal ini terbukti, karena anda tahu bahwa orang-orang gemuk biasanya riang! Mereka terlihat seperti gambar buddha tertawa. Orang gemuk dikenal riang karena ini sesuai teori evolusi darwin. Jika anda gemuk namun tidak tertawa, anda akan meninggal muda, jadi orang-orang jenis ini akan tersingkir.
Tapi jika anda gemuk dan tertawa, itu menyeimbangkan kesehatan dan anda akan berumur panjang. Jadi anda melihat banyak orang yang gemuk dan bahagia dan anda tidak akan banyak melihat orang yang gemuk dan stress, karena mereka sudah meninggal duluan sebelum anda melihat mereka.
Jadi jika anda kelebihan berat badan, tolong belajarlah tertawa. Jika tidak, anda tidak akan bertahan lama. Ha-ha-ha
Dari buku:
Si cacing dan kotoran kesayangannya 3!
Ajahn brahm
33
Lingkungan / ask: uud tenaga kerja
« on: 15 February 2012, 08:53:44 AM »
Ada teman yang lagi ada masalah di kantornya
Dia bekerja di yayasan, bukan pt
yayasan ini tiap tahun tidak melaporkan pajak karyawan
jadi karyawan tidak pernah bayar pajak
dan pajak yayasan juga nihil
pegawainya kira2 100 org, terpencar di beberapa kantor
dan dari januari 2012 yayasan itu ganti manajemen
dan perubahan sistem dll
jadi dari januari 2012, ada kira2 belasan karyawan
yg tugasnya ditransfer ke org lain, jadi mereka tidak ada kerjaan
tapi tidak ada surat pemecatan, surat peringatan
jadi mereka tetep masuk kantor, tapi tidak ada tugas apapun
tidak dikasih kepastian, tidak ada pengumuman dari manajemen
sekarang pertengahan feb,
beberapa karyawan menerima transferan gaji januari hanya setengah dari gaji normalnya,
dan beberapa karyawan tidak menerima gaji sama sekali
misalnya teman saya ingin resign
tapi menuntut dibayar gaji januari dan pertengahan feb
ada yg tahu uud tenaga kerja pasal berapa?
dan uud pt dan yayasan apakah berbeda?
terima kasih
Dia bekerja di yayasan, bukan pt
yayasan ini tiap tahun tidak melaporkan pajak karyawan
jadi karyawan tidak pernah bayar pajak
dan pajak yayasan juga nihil
pegawainya kira2 100 org, terpencar di beberapa kantor
dan dari januari 2012 yayasan itu ganti manajemen
dan perubahan sistem dll
jadi dari januari 2012, ada kira2 belasan karyawan
yg tugasnya ditransfer ke org lain, jadi mereka tidak ada kerjaan
tapi tidak ada surat pemecatan, surat peringatan
jadi mereka tetep masuk kantor, tapi tidak ada tugas apapun
tidak dikasih kepastian, tidak ada pengumuman dari manajemen
sekarang pertengahan feb,
beberapa karyawan menerima transferan gaji januari hanya setengah dari gaji normalnya,
dan beberapa karyawan tidak menerima gaji sama sekali
misalnya teman saya ingin resign
tapi menuntut dibayar gaji januari dan pertengahan feb
ada yg tahu uud tenaga kerja pasal berapa?
dan uud pt dan yayasan apakah berbeda?
terima kasih
34
Informasi dan Pengumuman Kegiatan Buddhis / Jadwal retreat meditasi Dhamma Java 2012, SN Goenka
« on: 06 January 2012, 07:31:58 AM »
dari web dhamma.org
http://www.dhamma.org/en/schedules/schjava.htm
Dhamma Java Vipassana Centre Enquiry
Tel : Adult course enquiry [62] (021) 7066-3290
Tel : Children course (Jakarta) (021) 97083528
Fax : [62] (021) 5835-5345
Email : info [at] java.dhamma.org
08 Feb - 19 Feb 10 day Dhamma Java
22 Feb - 04 Mar 10 day Landih Ashram , Kintamani - Bali
22 Feb - 04 Mar 10 day Dhamma Java
14 Mar - 18 Mar 3 day Dhamma Java English - Indonesian, for old students only
21 Mar - 01 Apr 10 day Dhamma Java
04 Apr - 15 Apr 10 day Dhamma Java
20 Apr - 29 Apr Satipatthana Sutta course Dhamma Java English - Indonesian, only for old students who meet the requirements
16 May - 27 May 10 day Dhamma Java
30 May -10 Jun 10 day Dhamma Java
13 Jun - 24 Jun 10 day Dhamma Java
01 Jul - 22 Jul 20 day Dhamma Java English - Indonesian, only for old students who meet the requirements listed below for a 20-day course
01 Aug - 12 Aug 10 day Dhamma Java
15 Aug - 26 Aug 10 day Dhamma Java
19 Sep - 30 Sep 10 day Dhamma Java
03 Oct - 14 Oct 10 day Dhamma Java
24 Oct - 4 Nov 10 day Dhamma Java
07 Nov -18 Nov 10 day Dhamma Java
28 Nov - 02 Dec 3 day Dhamma Java
09 Dec - 20 Dec 10 day Dhamma Java
22 Dec - 02 Jan 2013 10 day Dhamma Java
http://www.dhamma.org/en/schedules/schjava.htm
Dhamma Java Vipassana Centre Enquiry
Tel : Adult course enquiry [62] (021) 7066-3290
Tel : Children course (Jakarta) (021) 97083528
Fax : [62] (021) 5835-5345
Email : info [at] java.dhamma.org
08 Feb - 19 Feb 10 day Dhamma Java
22 Feb - 04 Mar 10 day Landih Ashram , Kintamani - Bali
22 Feb - 04 Mar 10 day Dhamma Java
14 Mar - 18 Mar 3 day Dhamma Java English - Indonesian, for old students only
21 Mar - 01 Apr 10 day Dhamma Java
04 Apr - 15 Apr 10 day Dhamma Java
20 Apr - 29 Apr Satipatthana Sutta course Dhamma Java English - Indonesian, only for old students who meet the requirements
16 May - 27 May 10 day Dhamma Java
30 May -10 Jun 10 day Dhamma Java
13 Jun - 24 Jun 10 day Dhamma Java
01 Jul - 22 Jul 20 day Dhamma Java English - Indonesian, only for old students who meet the requirements listed below for a 20-day course
01 Aug - 12 Aug 10 day Dhamma Java
15 Aug - 26 Aug 10 day Dhamma Java
19 Sep - 30 Sep 10 day Dhamma Java
03 Oct - 14 Oct 10 day Dhamma Java
24 Oct - 4 Nov 10 day Dhamma Java
07 Nov -18 Nov 10 day Dhamma Java
28 Nov - 02 Dec 3 day Dhamma Java
09 Dec - 20 Dec 10 day Dhamma Java
22 Dec - 02 Jan 2013 10 day Dhamma Java
35
Waroeng English / Buddhist jokes
« on: 06 December 2011, 06:06:44 PM »
Dukkha, Anicca and Anatta walk into a bar. Dukkha says, “Life sucks!” Anicca says, “This will pass!” Anatta says, “You talkin’ to ME?!”
Exchange between the Zen master and his student:
Student: What happens after death?
Master: I don’t know.
Student: How can you not know? You are a Zen master.
Master: Yes, but I’m not a dead one.
How many Buddhist monks does it take to change a lightbulb?
None….the lightbulb must change from within.
A detective had been sent to investigate a murder in Zen monastery. When he arrived the place was silent, still and appeared to be deserted. Having looked into room after room and seen nobody, on opening the door of a large hall he suddenly found himself facing what looked like hundreds of people sitting in meditation. Startled, he pulled out his gun and shouted “freeze!”.
dari website
http://sujato.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/buddhist-jokes/
http://www.rudyh.org/buddhist_buddhism_jokes_fun__humor-quotes.htm
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=5479
http://buddhistsjustwannahavefun.tribe.net/thread/6e18d590-a7a8-4145-bdd4-afe3a791442f
Exchange between the Zen master and his student:
Student: What happens after death?
Master: I don’t know.
Student: How can you not know? You are a Zen master.
Master: Yes, but I’m not a dead one.
How many Buddhist monks does it take to change a lightbulb?
None….the lightbulb must change from within.
A detective had been sent to investigate a murder in Zen monastery. When he arrived the place was silent, still and appeared to be deserted. Having looked into room after room and seen nobody, on opening the door of a large hall he suddenly found himself facing what looked like hundreds of people sitting in meditation. Startled, he pulled out his gun and shouted “freeze!”.
dari website
http://sujato.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/buddhist-jokes/
http://www.rudyh.org/buddhist_buddhism_jokes_fun__humor-quotes.htm
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=5479
http://buddhistsjustwannahavefun.tribe.net/thread/6e18d590-a7a8-4145-bdd4-afe3a791442f
36
Studi Sutta/Sutra / The Ten Funniest Scenes from the Pali Canon
« on: 06 December 2011, 05:42:28 PM »
The Ten Funniest Scenes from the Pali Canon
10. Saccaka gets his comeuppance
Where?
Majjhima Nikaya 35, Culasaccaka Sutta
What’s up?
Saccaka the wanderer features in a few Suttas. Here he threatens to take on the Buddha in debate on the five aggregates and not-self, giving an elaborate series of similes on how he will drag the Buddha about ‘like a huge elephant would enjoy a game of washing hemp’.
Where’s the funny?
While Saccaka is boasting, there’s no doubting his pride is due for a painful fall, and the Sutta doesn’t disappoint. He ends up thoroughly humiliated, seating and depressed. But like all good thrashings in debate, it turns out to be a necessary antidote for his pride. He ends up becoming an arahant.
9. The Boast of Brahma
Where do I find it?
Digha Nikaya 11, Kevaddha Sutta.
What’s up?
A monk searches for an answer to the question, ‘Where do the four great elements cease without remainder?’ He questions the gods, but they keep referring him upstairs (which itself is a lovely satire on the bureaucratic nature of the celestial hierarchy) until he arrives in the realm of Brahma. Brahma appears and boasts, ‘I am Brahma, the Great Brahma, Father of All…’. But he keeps dodging the question. Eventually the monk is so persistent, he takes him by the elbow, leads him to one side, and whispers to him, ‘Actually, I don’t know the answer to your question. You should have asked the Buddha!’
Where’s the funny?
It is a brilliantly accurate skewering of religious pretensions. The bluster and bombast is revealed for what it is. While the story as it stands is directed at the Brahmans, other texts make it clear the Buddha respected the good practice of Brahmans of old (after all, he must have had jhanas to become a Brahma in the first place.) The point here is that religious authority is propped up by signs and displays, and with a little dedicated and persistent questioning anyone can see beneath the surface.
8. Sariputta gets Clubbed
Where do I find it?
Udana 4.4
What’s up?
A passing yakkha sees Sariputta meditating in the full moon, his freshly shaven head a tempting target for an ogre’s club. Unable to resist, despite the warnings of his friend, he lands a blow that would split a mountain in two. Sariputta sits there unperturbed and the blow bounces off. Later, Moggallana asks him if he saw anything unusual, and Sariputta says, ‘No, but I do have a slight headache’.
Where’s the funny?
Come on. A huge troll smashing a shiny bald head in the moonlight? How is this not funny? The episode is pure slapstick, and gives an entertaining contrast between the violent religion of the yakkhas – which, let us not forget, was a mainstream cultic practice often involving human sacrifice – and the peaceful cultivation of the Buddhists. We’re left with no doubt where the real strength lies.
7. Sakka Turns Back
Where do I find it?
Samyutta Nikaya 11.6, Kulavaka Sutta
What’s up?
In the interminable war between the Gods and Titans, the Gods lost the battle and were fleeing, with the Titans hard at their heels. Their escape route led through a forest full of delicate birds, with their chicks nesting. Sakka cannot bear to endanger such innocent creatures, and so he instructs his charioteer Matali, to turn around, even though this means facing their enemies. The Titans, however, assume that Sakka has turned around because he has reinforcements. Terrified, they flee and the Gods end up victorious – and saving the birds.
Where’s the funny?
Sakka is the Buddhist version of the ferocious war god of the Vedas, Indra. He is the archetypal Aryan hero, leading his people on chariot raids, plundering and slaughtering in the joy of strength and victory. The Buddhist texts turn him, not without a struggle, into a spokesman for non-violence. Like the religious allegories, this provides, in its light-hearted way, a political allegory for the idea that non-violence can be a source of strength and political success.
6. The Humiliation of Mara
Where do I find it?
Sutta Nipata 3.2, Padhana Sutta
What’s up?
Mara tires to defeat the Buddha, but ends up routed. While later accounts depict Mara’s army as a vicious mob of monsters, this early story lists 10 purely psychological factors as Mara’s army: desire, cynicism, and the like. Mara tries to tempt the Buddha to live a life of wholesome merit and give up striving for Awakening. But the Buddha is impervious, and Mara ends up depressed, saying he couldn’t get any more entrance to the Buddha than a crow poking a stone. It ends with the unforgettable image of the ‘depressed troll’ letting his lute droop from his armpit and vanishing.
Where’s the funny?
Mara is hardly the paragon of evil we might expect by comparison with the Christian Satan. He is more akin to the Trickster figures of folk mythology; except he ends up being the one getting tricked. His inevitable defeat is a standard trope, repeated in countless stories. Like the wily coyote (another trickster figure), the fun is watching his (admittedly admirable) persistence and ingenuity, knowing all the while his efforts are doomed… I could have chosen any number of Mara tales for this spot, but I felt this major archetypal episode deserved the gong. A special mention, though, for Majjhima 50, Maratajjaniya: Mara enters Moggallana to possess him, and Moggallana says it feels like his belly is full of beans.
5. The Doctrine of Dighanakha
Where do I find it?
Majjhima Nikaya 74, Dighanakha Sutta
What’s up?
Dighanakha approaches the Buddha and without ado declares his doctrine to him. With a name like ‘Long-nails’, you know this is not going to end well. His doctrine is, ‘Nothing whatsoever is pleasing to me’. The Buddha responds with one of the best one-liners in the Suttas: ‘Well, this view of yours, is that pleasing to you?’
Where’s the funny?
The Buddha’s response is sharp, witty, and cuts to the heart of the matter. Like the best humour, it’s not just amusing, but it points to a deep truth: religious people often claim to have let go of the world, but it is their attachment to their religious ideals that is really holding them back.
4. Ratthapala’s Wives
Where do I find it?
Majjhima Nikaya 82, Ratthapala Sutta
What’s up?
Ratthapala is the son of a wealthy family. He is permitted to go forth by his parents only after he nearly starves himself to death. When he returns to his family after attaining enlightenment, they try to tempt him to return to worldly things, placing a large pile of gold before him and serving delicious food. Ratthapala’s former wives come to attend him, intent on seduction. They ask, ‘What are they like, the divine maidens for whose sake you are following the holy life?’ Ratthapala says, ‘Sisters, we do not live the holy life for the sake of divine maidens.’ They cry out, ’He called us “sisters”!’ and collapse in a faint.
Where’s the funny?
Your mileage might vary! Yes, it’s a standard ‘woman tempts ascetic’ scenario; but I don’t think it’s as sexist as it might appear out of context. The bulk of the sutta has Ratthapala dealing with his clinging parents, and later with a king. The wives only appear in this one scene, and are a transparent narrative device. I just find the image of the wives crying, ‘He called us sisters’ and fainting to be so over the top. They’re vapid valley-girls; and for me the humour lies in the naivety of their response, in stark contrast with the strong, wise women found elsewhere in the Suttas. It strikes me as a throw-away bit of camp, contrasting beautifully with the sombre and profound teachings that the sutta ends with. The sutta as a whole is one of the most dramatically accomplished in the whole canon, and the effect is partially accomplished with the fusion of dark and light elements. Anyway, if you still think the story is proof of the sexism of the Pali Canon, perhaps you’re not familiar with…
3. Mutta’s Song of Freedom
Where do I find it?
Therigatha 1.11, Muttatheri
What’s up?
An awakened nun sings of her freedom from the three crooked things: the mortar, the pestle, and her crooked husband.
Where’s the funny?
Sexual politics have, it seems, changed but little. The short verses segue blithely from the mundane to the sublime, speaking with wit and pith of the reality of domestic disappointment. Rather than offering a Cinderalla-solution (the handsome prince will take you away and you can live in a castle – with someone else to do the cooking and cleaning), this offers a genuine solution: freedom from birth and death.
2. Citta’s Faith
Where do I find it?
Samyutta Nikaya 41.8, Nigantha
What’s up?
Citta, a highly intelligent and capable lay disciple, goes to see Mahavira (known in Pali as Nigantha Nataputta), the leader of the Jains and the Buddha’s chief rival. Mahavira asks him whether he has faith in the Buddha’s claim that there is a state of mind so still that all movement and applied thought has vanished? Citta replies that he does not go by faith in the Buddha’s claim. Mahavira is delighted in this, puffs out his chest, and declares, ‘See, even the Buddha’s followers don’t believe him!’ And he praised Citta for his honesty. Citta, however, asks Mahavira, ‘Which is better, faith or knowledge?’ Mahavira agrees that knowledge is better. Citta then declares that whenever he wishes he enters the second jhana where there is no movement or application of mind, and indeed enters even higher attainments. So he does not need to go by faith: he speaks from personal knowledge. Mahavira is devastated: he glances aside at his following, and says how deceitful and insincere Citta is.
Where’s the funny?
Unfortunately, neither the Jain nor Buddhist scriptures record that the Buddha and Mahavira ever met in person, so exchanges such as this are the best we have. As well as the usual pricking of religious pretensions, Citta exposes some of the flaws of the Jain system as seen by the Buddhists. By focussing so much on self-torment, they do not have the tranquillity necessary for deep meditation, and so cannot see the truth. Moreover, Mahavira bombastically claims to be all-knowing, yet he can be so easily fooled – and by a mere layman at that.
1. The Love Song of Pancasikha
Where do I find it?
Digha Nikaya 21, Sakkapanha Sutta
What’s up?
Sakka wants to ask the Buddha some questions, but can’t seem to arrange an interview as the Buddha is on retreat. Pancasikha the gandhabba offers to help, and standing neither too close nor too near, he serenades the Buddha with a song extolling the ‘Buddha, arahants, and love’. He sings of his beloved Suriyavacchasa, ‘maiden fair of thighs’, whose glorious beauty he covets ‘as the arahants love the Dhamma’. His desire grows as does the merit of gifts given to arahants; and were he to be made one with his beloved, he would rejoice like the Buddha attaining Awakening! Despite the outrageous inappropriateness of the song, the Buddha rewards him with a nice compliment: the sound of your voice blended well with the sound of your lute. Sweet, and neatly avoids commenting on the content of the song. (Incidentally, certain later myths make this lute of Pancasikhas none other than the very lute that had dropped so ignominiously from Mara’s armpit in the episode mentioned above. Not so implausible, perhaps, as both events are closely related with the of the Buddha’s Awakening.)
Where’s the funny?
A love song in the Pali Canon! Though the verses are perhaps the earliest attested love song in Indian literature, they are clearly playing with well-practiced tropes. Even when the song doesn’t directly speak of Buddhism, it uses standard Buddhist imagery: like an elephant plunging into a cooling lotus-pond, Pancasikha longs to plunge into the bosom of his beloved. Foreshadowing later Indic literature such as Ashvaghosa, the verses are ironically aware of their own tension: her love will grant him sweet release like water cooling flames, but at the same time he is like a fish stuck on a hook, his heart bound, and his thoughts confused. You can read it either as a genuine erotic song, or as an exposure of the sufferings of lust. And, like the Ratthapala Sutta, the narrative is sophisticated enough to move from such light fare to the weighty matters that are dealt with later on.
dari blog Ven. Sujato
http://sujato.wordpress.com/
10. Saccaka gets his comeuppance
Where?
Majjhima Nikaya 35, Culasaccaka Sutta
What’s up?
Saccaka the wanderer features in a few Suttas. Here he threatens to take on the Buddha in debate on the five aggregates and not-self, giving an elaborate series of similes on how he will drag the Buddha about ‘like a huge elephant would enjoy a game of washing hemp’.
Where’s the funny?
While Saccaka is boasting, there’s no doubting his pride is due for a painful fall, and the Sutta doesn’t disappoint. He ends up thoroughly humiliated, seating and depressed. But like all good thrashings in debate, it turns out to be a necessary antidote for his pride. He ends up becoming an arahant.
9. The Boast of Brahma
Where do I find it?
Digha Nikaya 11, Kevaddha Sutta.
What’s up?
A monk searches for an answer to the question, ‘Where do the four great elements cease without remainder?’ He questions the gods, but they keep referring him upstairs (which itself is a lovely satire on the bureaucratic nature of the celestial hierarchy) until he arrives in the realm of Brahma. Brahma appears and boasts, ‘I am Brahma, the Great Brahma, Father of All…’. But he keeps dodging the question. Eventually the monk is so persistent, he takes him by the elbow, leads him to one side, and whispers to him, ‘Actually, I don’t know the answer to your question. You should have asked the Buddha!’
Where’s the funny?
It is a brilliantly accurate skewering of religious pretensions. The bluster and bombast is revealed for what it is. While the story as it stands is directed at the Brahmans, other texts make it clear the Buddha respected the good practice of Brahmans of old (after all, he must have had jhanas to become a Brahma in the first place.) The point here is that religious authority is propped up by signs and displays, and with a little dedicated and persistent questioning anyone can see beneath the surface.
8. Sariputta gets Clubbed
Where do I find it?
Udana 4.4
What’s up?
A passing yakkha sees Sariputta meditating in the full moon, his freshly shaven head a tempting target for an ogre’s club. Unable to resist, despite the warnings of his friend, he lands a blow that would split a mountain in two. Sariputta sits there unperturbed and the blow bounces off. Later, Moggallana asks him if he saw anything unusual, and Sariputta says, ‘No, but I do have a slight headache’.
Where’s the funny?
Come on. A huge troll smashing a shiny bald head in the moonlight? How is this not funny? The episode is pure slapstick, and gives an entertaining contrast between the violent religion of the yakkhas – which, let us not forget, was a mainstream cultic practice often involving human sacrifice – and the peaceful cultivation of the Buddhists. We’re left with no doubt where the real strength lies.
7. Sakka Turns Back
Where do I find it?
Samyutta Nikaya 11.6, Kulavaka Sutta
What’s up?
In the interminable war between the Gods and Titans, the Gods lost the battle and were fleeing, with the Titans hard at their heels. Their escape route led through a forest full of delicate birds, with their chicks nesting. Sakka cannot bear to endanger such innocent creatures, and so he instructs his charioteer Matali, to turn around, even though this means facing their enemies. The Titans, however, assume that Sakka has turned around because he has reinforcements. Terrified, they flee and the Gods end up victorious – and saving the birds.
Where’s the funny?
Sakka is the Buddhist version of the ferocious war god of the Vedas, Indra. He is the archetypal Aryan hero, leading his people on chariot raids, plundering and slaughtering in the joy of strength and victory. The Buddhist texts turn him, not without a struggle, into a spokesman for non-violence. Like the religious allegories, this provides, in its light-hearted way, a political allegory for the idea that non-violence can be a source of strength and political success.
6. The Humiliation of Mara
Where do I find it?
Sutta Nipata 3.2, Padhana Sutta
What’s up?
Mara tires to defeat the Buddha, but ends up routed. While later accounts depict Mara’s army as a vicious mob of monsters, this early story lists 10 purely psychological factors as Mara’s army: desire, cynicism, and the like. Mara tries to tempt the Buddha to live a life of wholesome merit and give up striving for Awakening. But the Buddha is impervious, and Mara ends up depressed, saying he couldn’t get any more entrance to the Buddha than a crow poking a stone. It ends with the unforgettable image of the ‘depressed troll’ letting his lute droop from his armpit and vanishing.
Where’s the funny?
Mara is hardly the paragon of evil we might expect by comparison with the Christian Satan. He is more akin to the Trickster figures of folk mythology; except he ends up being the one getting tricked. His inevitable defeat is a standard trope, repeated in countless stories. Like the wily coyote (another trickster figure), the fun is watching his (admittedly admirable) persistence and ingenuity, knowing all the while his efforts are doomed… I could have chosen any number of Mara tales for this spot, but I felt this major archetypal episode deserved the gong. A special mention, though, for Majjhima 50, Maratajjaniya: Mara enters Moggallana to possess him, and Moggallana says it feels like his belly is full of beans.
5. The Doctrine of Dighanakha
Where do I find it?
Majjhima Nikaya 74, Dighanakha Sutta
What’s up?
Dighanakha approaches the Buddha and without ado declares his doctrine to him. With a name like ‘Long-nails’, you know this is not going to end well. His doctrine is, ‘Nothing whatsoever is pleasing to me’. The Buddha responds with one of the best one-liners in the Suttas: ‘Well, this view of yours, is that pleasing to you?’
Where’s the funny?
The Buddha’s response is sharp, witty, and cuts to the heart of the matter. Like the best humour, it’s not just amusing, but it points to a deep truth: religious people often claim to have let go of the world, but it is their attachment to their religious ideals that is really holding them back.
4. Ratthapala’s Wives
Where do I find it?
Majjhima Nikaya 82, Ratthapala Sutta
What’s up?
Ratthapala is the son of a wealthy family. He is permitted to go forth by his parents only after he nearly starves himself to death. When he returns to his family after attaining enlightenment, they try to tempt him to return to worldly things, placing a large pile of gold before him and serving delicious food. Ratthapala’s former wives come to attend him, intent on seduction. They ask, ‘What are they like, the divine maidens for whose sake you are following the holy life?’ Ratthapala says, ‘Sisters, we do not live the holy life for the sake of divine maidens.’ They cry out, ’He called us “sisters”!’ and collapse in a faint.
Where’s the funny?
Your mileage might vary! Yes, it’s a standard ‘woman tempts ascetic’ scenario; but I don’t think it’s as sexist as it might appear out of context. The bulk of the sutta has Ratthapala dealing with his clinging parents, and later with a king. The wives only appear in this one scene, and are a transparent narrative device. I just find the image of the wives crying, ‘He called us sisters’ and fainting to be so over the top. They’re vapid valley-girls; and for me the humour lies in the naivety of their response, in stark contrast with the strong, wise women found elsewhere in the Suttas. It strikes me as a throw-away bit of camp, contrasting beautifully with the sombre and profound teachings that the sutta ends with. The sutta as a whole is one of the most dramatically accomplished in the whole canon, and the effect is partially accomplished with the fusion of dark and light elements. Anyway, if you still think the story is proof of the sexism of the Pali Canon, perhaps you’re not familiar with…
3. Mutta’s Song of Freedom
Where do I find it?
Therigatha 1.11, Muttatheri
What’s up?
An awakened nun sings of her freedom from the three crooked things: the mortar, the pestle, and her crooked husband.
Where’s the funny?
Sexual politics have, it seems, changed but little. The short verses segue blithely from the mundane to the sublime, speaking with wit and pith of the reality of domestic disappointment. Rather than offering a Cinderalla-solution (the handsome prince will take you away and you can live in a castle – with someone else to do the cooking and cleaning), this offers a genuine solution: freedom from birth and death.
2. Citta’s Faith
Where do I find it?
Samyutta Nikaya 41.8, Nigantha
What’s up?
Citta, a highly intelligent and capable lay disciple, goes to see Mahavira (known in Pali as Nigantha Nataputta), the leader of the Jains and the Buddha’s chief rival. Mahavira asks him whether he has faith in the Buddha’s claim that there is a state of mind so still that all movement and applied thought has vanished? Citta replies that he does not go by faith in the Buddha’s claim. Mahavira is delighted in this, puffs out his chest, and declares, ‘See, even the Buddha’s followers don’t believe him!’ And he praised Citta for his honesty. Citta, however, asks Mahavira, ‘Which is better, faith or knowledge?’ Mahavira agrees that knowledge is better. Citta then declares that whenever he wishes he enters the second jhana where there is no movement or application of mind, and indeed enters even higher attainments. So he does not need to go by faith: he speaks from personal knowledge. Mahavira is devastated: he glances aside at his following, and says how deceitful and insincere Citta is.
Where’s the funny?
Unfortunately, neither the Jain nor Buddhist scriptures record that the Buddha and Mahavira ever met in person, so exchanges such as this are the best we have. As well as the usual pricking of religious pretensions, Citta exposes some of the flaws of the Jain system as seen by the Buddhists. By focussing so much on self-torment, they do not have the tranquillity necessary for deep meditation, and so cannot see the truth. Moreover, Mahavira bombastically claims to be all-knowing, yet he can be so easily fooled – and by a mere layman at that.
1. The Love Song of Pancasikha
Where do I find it?
Digha Nikaya 21, Sakkapanha Sutta
What’s up?
Sakka wants to ask the Buddha some questions, but can’t seem to arrange an interview as the Buddha is on retreat. Pancasikha the gandhabba offers to help, and standing neither too close nor too near, he serenades the Buddha with a song extolling the ‘Buddha, arahants, and love’. He sings of his beloved Suriyavacchasa, ‘maiden fair of thighs’, whose glorious beauty he covets ‘as the arahants love the Dhamma’. His desire grows as does the merit of gifts given to arahants; and were he to be made one with his beloved, he would rejoice like the Buddha attaining Awakening! Despite the outrageous inappropriateness of the song, the Buddha rewards him with a nice compliment: the sound of your voice blended well with the sound of your lute. Sweet, and neatly avoids commenting on the content of the song. (Incidentally, certain later myths make this lute of Pancasikhas none other than the very lute that had dropped so ignominiously from Mara’s armpit in the episode mentioned above. Not so implausible, perhaps, as both events are closely related with the of the Buddha’s Awakening.)
Where’s the funny?
A love song in the Pali Canon! Though the verses are perhaps the earliest attested love song in Indian literature, they are clearly playing with well-practiced tropes. Even when the song doesn’t directly speak of Buddhism, it uses standard Buddhist imagery: like an elephant plunging into a cooling lotus-pond, Pancasikha longs to plunge into the bosom of his beloved. Foreshadowing later Indic literature such as Ashvaghosa, the verses are ironically aware of their own tension: her love will grant him sweet release like water cooling flames, but at the same time he is like a fish stuck on a hook, his heart bound, and his thoughts confused. You can read it either as a genuine erotic song, or as an exposure of the sufferings of lust. And, like the Ratthapala Sutta, the narrative is sophisticated enough to move from such light fare to the weighty matters that are dealt with later on.
dari blog Ven. Sujato
http://sujato.wordpress.com/
38
Diskusi Umum / spiritual bypass?
« on: 29 October 2011, 08:39:48 PM »
Ada yang bisa menjelaskan definisi spriritual bypass?
udah cari2 di internet tapi masih agak bingung
==================================================
Spiritual bypassing, a term first coined by psychologist John Welwood in 1984, is the use of spiritual practices and beliefs to avoid dealing with our painful feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental needs. It is much more common than we might think and, in fact, is so pervasive as to go largely unnoticed, except in its more obvious extremes.
I have worked with many clients who described themselves as being on a spiritual path, particularly as meditators. Most were preoccupied, at least initially, with being nice, trying to be positive and nonjudgmental, while impaling themselves on various spiritual "shoulds," such as "I should not show anger" or "I should be more loving" or "I should be more open after all the time I've put into my spiritual practice." Fleeing their darker (or "less spiritual") emotions, impulses, and intentions, they had, to varying degrees, trapped themselves within the very practices and beliefs that they had hoped might liberate them, or at least make them feel better.
Spiritual bypassing is a very persistent shadow of spirituality, manifesting in many forms, often without being acknowledged as such. Aspects of spiritual bypassing include :
exaggerated detachment,
emotional numbing and repression,
overemphasis on the positive,
anger-phobia,
blind or overly tolerant compassion,
weak or too porous boundaries,
lopsided development (cognitive intelligence often being far ahead of emotional and moral intelligence),
debilitating judgment about one's negativity or shadow side,
devaluation of the personal relative to the spiritual,
and delusions of having arrived at a higher level of being.
bagian dari article
Copyright © 2010 by Robert Masters. Reprinted by permission of publisher. http://www.realitysandwich.com/spiritual_bypassing
udah cari2 di internet tapi masih agak bingung
==================================================
Spiritual bypassing, a term first coined by psychologist John Welwood in 1984, is the use of spiritual practices and beliefs to avoid dealing with our painful feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental needs. It is much more common than we might think and, in fact, is so pervasive as to go largely unnoticed, except in its more obvious extremes.
I have worked with many clients who described themselves as being on a spiritual path, particularly as meditators. Most were preoccupied, at least initially, with being nice, trying to be positive and nonjudgmental, while impaling themselves on various spiritual "shoulds," such as "I should not show anger" or "I should be more loving" or "I should be more open after all the time I've put into my spiritual practice." Fleeing their darker (or "less spiritual") emotions, impulses, and intentions, they had, to varying degrees, trapped themselves within the very practices and beliefs that they had hoped might liberate them, or at least make them feel better.
Spiritual bypassing is a very persistent shadow of spirituality, manifesting in many forms, often without being acknowledged as such. Aspects of spiritual bypassing include :
exaggerated detachment,
emotional numbing and repression,
overemphasis on the positive,
anger-phobia,
blind or overly tolerant compassion,
weak or too porous boundaries,
lopsided development (cognitive intelligence often being far ahead of emotional and moral intelligence),
debilitating judgment about one's negativity or shadow side,
devaluation of the personal relative to the spiritual,
and delusions of having arrived at a higher level of being.
bagian dari article
Copyright © 2010 by Robert Masters. Reprinted by permission of publisher. http://www.realitysandwich.com/spiritual_bypassing
40
Buddhisme dengan Agama, Kepercayaan, Tradisi dan Filsafat Lain / Perbedaan antara Tao dan Konghucu?
« on: 27 October 2011, 07:05:35 PM »
Saya agak2 bingung
apa saja yg termasuk dalam agama Tao ?
apa saja yg termasuk dalam agama konghucu?
====================================
dulu waktu belajar di sekolah
setau saya konghucu itu bukan agama
dan pelajaran tentang (孔 子) Kong Zi / confusism
itu diajarkan dalam pelajaran sastra mandarin
jadi dianggap sebagai literatur / sastra
(孔 子) Kong Zi ada seorang guru dan filsuf
dia sama sekali ngk pernah bilang dirinya nabi
dan tidak pernah menyebutkan ajarannya adalah sebuah agama
dia berkeliling dan mengajarkan kehidupan moralitas
ajarannya disebut 儒家思想(ru jia shi xiang) ideologi confusiusm
lebih mirip ke philosophy daripada agama
mungkin yg bikin rancuh karena disebut 儒教(Rujiao)
教(jiao) bisa berarti ajaran atau agama
Dari wikipedia http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konfusianisme
Para nabi (儒教聖人) Ru Jiao di antaranya:
Nabi Purba (扶羲) Fu Xi * 2952 – 2836 SM
Nabi Purba (神農) Shen Nong 2838 – 2698 SM
Nabi Purba (黃帝) Huang Di 2698 – 2596 SM
Nabi Purba (堯) Yao 2357 – 2255 SM
Nabi Purba (舜) Shun 2255 – 2205 SM
Nabi Purba (大 禹) Da Yu * 2205 – 2197 SM
Nabi Purba (商 湯) Shang Tang* 1766 – 1122 SM
Nabi Wen, Wu 文, 武 (周公) Zhou-gong* 1122 – 255 SM
Nabi Besar (孔 子) Kong Zi* 551 – 479 SM
Ini sama sekali salah kaprah
yang disebut nabi di atas semuanya adalah
Kaisar2 dalam dinasti China, sama sekali bukan nabi
dan semua diajarkan di pelajaran sejarah China
======================================
Lao Tzu (Tionghoa: 老子, pinyin: Lǎo Zǐ)
itu juga seorang filsuf
dan tidak mendirikan aliran agama juga pada masa itu
biasanya masuk pelajaran sastra dan pelajaran sejarah
ngk pernah masuk di pelajaran agama tuh hehehe
======================================
jadi penasaran, kalau di Indonesia
ritual2 di agama Tao, agama Konghucu itu seperti apa?
apa saja yg termasuk dalam agama Tao ?
apa saja yg termasuk dalam agama konghucu?
====================================
dulu waktu belajar di sekolah
setau saya konghucu itu bukan agama
dan pelajaran tentang (孔 子) Kong Zi / confusism
itu diajarkan dalam pelajaran sastra mandarin
jadi dianggap sebagai literatur / sastra
(孔 子) Kong Zi ada seorang guru dan filsuf
dia sama sekali ngk pernah bilang dirinya nabi
dan tidak pernah menyebutkan ajarannya adalah sebuah agama
dia berkeliling dan mengajarkan kehidupan moralitas
ajarannya disebut 儒家思想(ru jia shi xiang) ideologi confusiusm
lebih mirip ke philosophy daripada agama
mungkin yg bikin rancuh karena disebut 儒教(Rujiao)
教(jiao) bisa berarti ajaran atau agama
Dari wikipedia http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konfusianisme
Para nabi (儒教聖人) Ru Jiao di antaranya:
Nabi Purba (扶羲) Fu Xi * 2952 – 2836 SM
Nabi Purba (神農) Shen Nong 2838 – 2698 SM
Nabi Purba (黃帝) Huang Di 2698 – 2596 SM
Nabi Purba (堯) Yao 2357 – 2255 SM
Nabi Purba (舜) Shun 2255 – 2205 SM
Nabi Purba (大 禹) Da Yu * 2205 – 2197 SM
Nabi Purba (商 湯) Shang Tang* 1766 – 1122 SM
Nabi Wen, Wu 文, 武 (周公) Zhou-gong* 1122 – 255 SM
Nabi Besar (孔 子) Kong Zi* 551 – 479 SM
Ini sama sekali salah kaprah
yang disebut nabi di atas semuanya adalah
Kaisar2 dalam dinasti China, sama sekali bukan nabi
dan semua diajarkan di pelajaran sejarah China
======================================
Lao Tzu (Tionghoa: 老子, pinyin: Lǎo Zǐ)
itu juga seorang filsuf
dan tidak mendirikan aliran agama juga pada masa itu
biasanya masuk pelajaran sastra dan pelajaran sejarah
ngk pernah masuk di pelajaran agama tuh hehehe
======================================
jadi penasaran, kalau di Indonesia
ritual2 di agama Tao, agama Konghucu itu seperti apa?
41
Tolong ! / timah batangan ?
« on: 12 October 2011, 04:38:57 PM »
Ada yg tau di mana bisa beli timah batangan 90-99 persen?
Thanks
Thanks
42
Waroeng English / oscillation?
« on: 29 September 2011, 10:00:14 AM »
What is the meaning of oscillation?
From the sentence:
”The entire field of mind and matter is that of anicca, arising and passing. At the subteslt level there is mere oscillation.”
Thanks
From the sentence:
”The entire field of mind and matter is that of anicca, arising and passing. At the subteslt level there is mere oscillation.”
Thanks
43
Waroeng English / Spiritual vs Religous ?
« on: 24 September 2011, 05:27:38 PM »
What's the difference between Spiritual and Religious ?
for example, I saw some statement like:
"I like to hang out with spiritual person, not religious person"
"India is a very spiritual place"
just notice a minute ago that "spiritual" contain 2 word : spirit, ritual
waiting for comments
for example, I saw some statement like:
"I like to hang out with spiritual person, not religious person"
"India is a very spiritual place"
just notice a minute ago that "spiritual" contain 2 word : spirit, ritual
waiting for comments
44
Buddhisme untuk Pemula / Sisa dana makanan untuk bhikkhu
« on: 20 August 2011, 07:13:11 PM »
quote dari postingan Romo Cunda di facebook dhammacita
Cunda Js
" Setelah memberikan langsung makanan kepada para bhikkhu dan mereka sudah menerimanya (menurut kebiasaan mereka) maka makanan tersebut jangan anda sentuh lagi"
pengalaman mendanakan makan siang di wihara
setelah mendanakan makanan kepada bhikkhu
dan setelah bhikkhu mengambil makanan secukupnya
masih banyak sekali makanan yg tersisa
dan bhikkhu mempersilahkan umat untuk makan
apakah sebaiknya kita tidak makan lagi makanan itu?
alasannya kenapa?
thanks
Cunda Js
" Setelah memberikan langsung makanan kepada para bhikkhu dan mereka sudah menerimanya (menurut kebiasaan mereka) maka makanan tersebut jangan anda sentuh lagi"
pengalaman mendanakan makan siang di wihara
setelah mendanakan makanan kepada bhikkhu
dan setelah bhikkhu mengambil makanan secukupnya
masih banyak sekali makanan yg tersisa
dan bhikkhu mempersilahkan umat untuk makan
apakah sebaiknya kita tidak makan lagi makanan itu?
alasannya kenapa?
thanks
45
Buddhisme untuk Pemula / pradaksina ?
« on: 13 May 2011, 05:41:48 PM »
pradaksina itu apa yag?
thanks
thanks