The Wonderful Dharma of the Daruma Doll

Hi ni! fu ni!
Fundan Daruma ga
Akai zukin kaburi sunmaita!

Once! twice!
Ever the red-hooded Daruma
Heedlessly sits up again!

- Children song from 17th century

One of the souvenirs I wanted to get when in Japan was a classic Daruma doll, because it personifies the important quality of rising after falling. I finally bought one in Tokyo near a temple. [The above motivational wooden sign was bought from the Japanese departmental store Daiso in Singapore. The words on it rendered in Chinese are 七转八起, which means 'Seven falls and/but/yet eight rises'. ] For those unaware, it would be seen as just a particularly Japanese roly-poly tumble toy, but it has greater significance than that. Daruma (Damo 达摩 in Chinese) is the shortened Japanese rendition of the name Bodhidharma in Sanskrit. He was the 28th Indian Patriarch of the Zen tradition, and became the first Patriarch of the Chinese Zen (Chan) lineage between 475 to 520 AD. As gathered from http://mrslinskitchen.com/nljul02.html , here are some interesting semi-legendary(?) factoids about him… [My comments in square brackets.]

Likely the most notable of such events is that of Bodhidharma’s nine year meditation in which he faced a rock wall, possibly of a cave. Sitting and gazing for such a prolonged amount of time, Bodhidharma consequently struggled against fatigue and drowsiness. In a fit of frustration, Bodhidharma cut off his eyelids to remain awake. [Kiddies, don't try this at home!] It is believed that the first tea plants grew at the place where his eyelids fell. From then on, monks, as well as the rest of Asia, would have tea as a means to resist lethargy and aid in meditation. [Tea as a caffeine fix came from Buddhism!?]

Another important aspect of Bodhidharma’s meditation explains the form he is presented in today. Because Bodhidharma remained motionless for such an extensive period, he eventually lost his arms and legs as they withered away [atrophied]. Nevertheless, Bodhidharma was still able to remain upright. Especially for Zen followers who believe that one’s personal energy [chi probably] resides right below the navel, Bodhidharma’s achievement has been attributed to his discovery of inner strength.

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Advice on tackling a koan:

It must be like gulping a hot iron ball
that you can neither swallow or spit out.

- Wumen (Mumon): The Gateless Gate

While attending the local premiere of ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ at Grand Cathay tonight, a koan-like situation occurred at the row in front. A couple came in and asked two who were seated to move, saying their tickets are for the seats they are in. The seated couple stands, looks at their own tickets and exclaim that there are no seat numbers on them, which means it’s free seating (as this is a special screening). Now, how do you resolve this dilemma? The first couple has proof that they can sit anywhere, while the second has proof that they should sit there. What do you do when there are conflicting rules?

Someone else notices that the tickets with seat numbers are for theatre 7 not 1. The printed numbers must have looked similar with their pointed tops. The second couple had entered the wrong theatre! They apologise to the folks on the row before leaving. What’s the moral of this incident? Some koan-like situations are not real koans, which cannot be resolved normally. In other words, they can be resolved conventionally by calm, rational and mindful scrutiny into what could had caused the conflict! Startling great wisdom is not always needed; common sense would suffice at times. (By the way, ‘Benjamin Button’ is an amazing story… look out for a review of it soon. I scribbled many notes about it in the semi-darkness of the theatre and could hardly keep up during some parts.)

“I have Dharma joy;
therefore, I am always happy.”

Venerable Sheng Yen
(1930 – 2009)

May he be swiftly liberated.
May he swiftly return to liberate.
May we swiftly emulate his example.

Amituofo

Related Article:
Taiwan’s Buddhist Master Dies
http://tinyurl.com/shengyen

Happy Groundhog Day! By sheer karmic coincidence, I screened ‘Groundhog Day’ today… on Groundhog Day itself – the 2nd of February! I realised this while watching it on the big screen at a Lecture Theatre at National Institute of Education. When the film mentioned the 2nd of February to be Groundhog Day, I excitedly turned to ask the Event Director beside me – ‘Is today the 2nd of February?’ He replied ‘Yes!’ in a way just as thrilled as me. I had to exclaim to the audience in the dark – ‘Today is Groundhog Day!’ Those who caught it laughed.

Now, what is Groundhog Day, as in the actual festival? Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day for a summary. Incidentally, the scriptwriter Danny Rubin is a Zen Buddhist, and Harold Ramis was somewhat Buddhist after making the film. The movie-screening cum Dharma discussion is the opening event of Nanyang Technological University Buddhist Society’s week long of celebrations to promote Buddhism in the campus (http://clubs.ntu.edu.sg/buddhist). Coming up is National University of Singapore Buddhist Society’s ‘Buddhism Awareness Week’ from 6th February (http://nusbs.org.sg/blog)

‘Groundhog Day’ is still simply the best ‘non-Buddhist Buddhist movie’ ever. This is agreed by many Buddhists in the West too. Yes, it’s even more Buddhist in nature than the Matrix trilogy (though the Wachowski brothers did admit they were inspired by Buddhism too). Still a classic despite being made in 1993, last year celebrated its 15th anniversary. There’s a new special edition version of it, which I’m contemplating of getting.

I usually write detailed reviews for films I screen, dissecting them in detail with added commentary to elucidate and amplify the Dharma messages within. But when it comes to Groundhog Day, there is such a wealth of good Buddhists reviews online that I could hardly write much to enhance them. I printed sets of notes numbering 18 pages each for the audience. It’s the all-time record thickness for movie notes compiled by me so far, though most of it were insightful excerpts from others. (http://moonpointer.com/movies/groundhogday.doc) Watching it again today, I realised there were lessons I missed in this 101 minute story. It’s amazing how many layers of meaning were compressed into the film… or is it just me reading too much? Well, I’m definitely not alone on this – at least not for this film!

At the end of the screening and discussion, while chatting with some of the members, we still could hardly contain our amazement and amusement that today happened to be Groundhog Day. I joked during the discussion that if they find themselves to be in the same Lecture Theatre tomorrow, at least they would know how to end Groundhog Day – now that they know the Dharma keys to its exit! Before parting, I suggested that next year’s event committee could consider screening Groundhog Day again – on Groundhog Day! Well, at least one Buddhist centre in the West does screen it annually on Groundhog Day. To conclude, here’s a poem to share. (You might get it only after watching the show though.)

Our yesterdays were all somewhat Groundhog Days…
Our tomorrows will be somewhat Groundhog Days…
Even today is yet another somewhat Groundhog Day…

Till we learn to live in the here and now…
Till we break free of Groundhog Day…
Till this day becomes Nirvana Day.

(This has been an unabashed promotion of Groundhog Day – the film though; rather than the celebration. Thank you for your kind attention!)

Related Articles:
The Groundhog Day Buddhism Sutra
http://buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=6,7712,0,0,1,0
News: Cold, Windy Groundhog Day in Houston
http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou090202_jj_weather-groundhog-day.10a0e9ed.html

A Tit for a Tat (4)

Tit: I think opposites like us attract.
Tat: I disagree that we’re opposites.
Tit: See? Since I disagree with you, we’re opposites!
Tat: l also disagree with that.
Tit: See? Since I disagree with that too, you’ll have to agree!
Tat: …

Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/02/preference-like-vs-dislike
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/02/errand-unconditional-love

A candle is useful
as it burns hot*
yet burns not**

- Stonepeace

* wick
** wax

A Tit for a Tat (3)

Tit: Do you love me?
Tat: Ya.
Tit: If you love me, won’t you run the errand for me?
Tat: Do you love me?
Tit: Ya.
Tat: If you love me, will you not ask me to run the errand for you?

Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/02/opposites-repel-or-attract
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/01/fulfilment-hungry-ghost

A Tit for a Tat (2)

Tit: Are you full now?
Tat: Yup… for the time being.
Tit: Of course it’s only for now! It’s not permanent.
Tat: Oh yes. I forgot! I keep expecting meals to fill me once and for all forever. No wonder I’m never satisfied.
Tit: Don’t become a constantly craving hungry ghost!

Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/02/errand-unconditional-love
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/01/interview-whos-who

Above’s an original design that would look interesting
as part of a traditional Chinese door frame?
You can read the word ‘Zen’ in four directions.
What’s the ‘moral’ of the design?
Zen is all around!

Below is the one-dimensional version.
Tattoo anyone?

Last week, we visited the Peranakan Museum for the ‘Serenity in Stone : The Qingzhou Discovery’ exhibition. Featured are 800 years’ worth of buried treasures only unearthed recently. This great discovery is the missing link that connects the evolutionary leap in Buddhist art between the Gandhara and Tang period. (The first is when Buddha images were created, while the latter marks Chinese Buddhism’s Golden Age.) In the museum, one can almost sense the excitement of the archaeologists, historians, artists and even Buddhists. 

That night, I entered as a Buddhist seeking some serenity. There are 35 pieces showcasing in the museum. Technically, any form of art emulating enlightened beings is ‘imperfect’, simply because our imperfect minds can never depict perfection. But no matter how ‘imperfect’ these artpieces may be, they are certainly perfect in the eyes of many beholders and probably the satisfied sculptors. Each piece narrates a different story to different people. I’d heard of the story of the Buddha picking up a flower with a smile. No words were spoken, but that moment has been conceived to be full of the essence of the Dharma ever since.

As the statues smile like ones who have found great treasure, 
I smiled because I treasure the treasure.
An open secret that hides from no one, 
That I wish everyone could appreciate.

Like Him, I want to be still and fearless.
Like Him, I want to be serene and perfect.
Like Him, I will be compassionate and wise.

No layers of dirt can hide that glowing smile.
For what does the serenity shine?
None other than the ensconced heart of yours.

Are washing machines by default the cleanest machines in the world, given that they are fed detergents regularly? Turned out that the front load washing machine at home had an unexpected deficiency. There is a ring of rubber tubing that prevents water from seeping out of the latching door when it closes. Around this ring’s flap, grime tends to accumulate over time, becoming an alien black substance – the epitome of griminess I suppose. But this isn’t an obvious problem when you don’t wash a full load. You won’t even know there is any dirt there.

But when you stuff the machine with, say a couple of huge bedsheets, the spinning seems to cause the sheets to reach into the otherwise hard to reach parts of the flap, dredging out the dirt, which sticks to the cloth. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing – because while cleaning the sheets, the machine is being cleaned too. The truth is, the machine collects dirt during every normal wash. Only when under such extreme usage, does it get cleaned out. Counterintuitively, the more you wash, the more dirt you’ll discover.

As a spiritual metaphor, we need to reflect if we are accumulating defilements with every transpired thought, word and deed. Are fueling a time-bomb of negative karma? Or are we defusing it in time? Do extreme situations bring our the best or the worst in us? How do we know if there are no extreme situations yet? While we have Buddha-nature hidden from view (though it’s timeless), we too have Mara-nature (though it’s transient) out of the sight of unmindfulness. In fact, it is due to being not aware of the latter that clouds the first, not letting it shine forth, just as it’s the hidden dirt that prevents a really thorough and clean wash.

Related Article:
Washing the Washer
http://moonpointer.com/index.php?itemid=2264

A Tit for a Tat (1)

Tit: But I don’t like to be interviewed!
Tat: Take it that you are interviewing the company. Give it a chance! See if it’s suitable!
Tit: I think they don’t like to be interviewed too!
Tat: But that’s how it goes! You can also put the company on probation when accepted!

There is no clear line that demarcates who the interviewer and interviewee really is.
Are we interviewers of life or interviewees of life?
Or both?

Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/01/fulfilment-hungry-ghost

Something poignant yet Zennishly detached, about being forced to move office space due to needless reshuffling…

Bill: Where is your place?
Jill: Don’t know. Don’t care. My heart is not there.
Bill: Where is your heart?
Jill: Don’t know. Don’t care. My heart is nowhere.

Jill just wants to carry on doing her work – what needs to be done.

Related Article:
How to Pacify Your Mind Instantly
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thedailyenlightenment-realisation/message/331

It struck me that the Hannya mask (left picture) I bought in Japan resembles Batman’s mask (right picture: DVD box of ‘The Dark Knight’). That said, the Hannya mask is essentially not a mask. It’s supposed to be the terribly anguished (more than horrifying) face of Hannya. Likewise, when Batman wears his cape and cowl, the mask is supposed to amplify his emotions towards the baddies he battle, though it serves to hide his identity too. Note the deeply wrathful and disapproving scowl. It’s easy to imagine Bruce Wayne wearing the same expression beneath the mask when he takes on the persona of the dark knight.

Though we tend to see Hannya as monstrous, and Batman as heroic, they nevertheless both wear weary expressions of Dukkha – of existential dissatisfaction. Hannya was driven ‘mad’ by her attachment to love, while Batman is driven by his aversion towards the ‘phantom’ killer of his parents. These two masks are now decorative pieces on my bookshelves – one a traditional and the other a pop-cultural reminder not to wear their expressions on my face. Out of unmindfulness, we don them on our faces at times, though in less dramatic forms. They become the unseen masks of our tranquil Buddha-nature  – unless someone tells us about them, or when we catch ourselves in a mirror.

Related Articles:
Japan Tales (5): Lure of the Demon Mask
http://moonpointer.com/index.php?itemid=2557
Why So Serious about ‘The Dark Knight’?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zeph/message/1240