More Facebook . . .

A reader thoughtfully emailed me regarding my entry preceding this one on the facebook pages. She offered to help and brought up some points that I felt would be good to address.

First, I have no doubt of the sincerity of the person of the person who did the pages. Their sincerity was never a question for me.

So what was the issue?

Everything I write—on the blog, in books, for talks—is carefully considered. The more serious the material, the more the thought I put into it. I have a responsibility to present principles and information as accurately as I can. If I recommend something, readers deserve to have a good measure of confidence that I have looked carefully into it.

The “my favorites” section gave me much difficulty. As far as I could see, there was no indication someone else had done the pages. So people will think that the "favorites" listed are indeed mine. But there is no assurance that pages under the favorites are consistently — as in 100% — appropriate for a Pure Land Buddhist website. And what others consider appropriate may not accord with what I have been taught and thus wish to pass on to others. So while others can of course include sites as their favorites, they may not be sites I wish to tell everyone are “mine.” (Again, I have not looked at the favorited sites. To read every one would require more time than I can afford to take. So my concerns do not in any way reflect on the specific sites listed.)

When I recommend a website, I have to keep monitoring that site. (When I recommend a book, I have to have read and be comfortable with the whole book.) There is no way to do that when there are many sites. And as another person brought up, what if the favorites in turn have other favorites, etc., etc. Who is doing the monitoring?

Second, the person who offered to help said someone had done a beautiful page as a tribute to her deceased grandfather. I agree that that doing a page as a tribute is a beautiful way to honor someone who has passed away. But it would have been clear to all readers that the deceased person had not done the page. Such a fact was not made clear on the pages under discussion.

Furthermore, as a Buddhist monastic I am supposed to practice humility. Having a personal page on facebook makes me uncomfortable. Other people having pages is fine (including other monastics who are comfortable with the idea). I didn't even write the bio on this blog in the first person. I wasn't comfortable saying, "I did" and "I went." So I wrote something as short as possible and avoided personal pronouns.

It was even a struggle deciding whether to put my photo on this blog. But knowing how I like to see the photo of a book's author, I understood people would get an extra bit of information from the photo so I posted it.

What would have made the pages okay?

One very simple change.

The person could have made their own facebook page and placed the information on it. That way the favorites, the pages, would clearly have been their own.  

So simple.

To the person who is creating

Venerable Wu Ling

facebook pages:

While I am sure your intentions are good,

 I was very surprised to see someone had created

Venerable Wu Ling facebook pages

 without asking my permiission

or whether I even wanted to be on facebook.

I do not.

Also you have indicated "Favorite Pages"

implying my endorsement of the listed pages. 

Not having seen the pages, they cannot be considered "my" favorites.

On December 30th you posted the following maxim from Guidelines for Being a Good Person,

Before using something that belongs to another,

we should ask for permission.

If we do not ask, it is stealing.

A name belongs to the person it identifies.

As I believe you sincerely wish to help in the propagation of the teachings,

I encourage you to find another

and more appropriate way

to help.

Please remove the pages.

Thank you

The True Benefits of Learning

If we acquire knowledge

but do not sincerely apply what we have learned,

we will have only increased our conceit.

What then will we become?

 

If we are sincere in what we are doing

but not acquiring knowledge,

we will only be stubbornly following our viewpoints.

We will never see the truth.

“I know I’m right. I’m always right!” he said confidently.

“Well, I know I’m right, so you must be wrong. Just because you read all the time, you think you know everything,” she sighed.

“You’re a sweet kid Lily, but you never read anything. If you read even a little, you’d be more aware of what was going on. For example, you’d know that you mastodons have been extinct for 10,000 years.” Jacque said, returned to his reading.

“Goodness! What’s a master...masti...mastodon”? Lily asked.

Without looking up at Lily, Jacque closed the book and opened another. “A big, furry elephant.”

“Well I don’t care what some book, or the raccoon reading it, says. I am not extinct,” Lily insisted.

 “Like I say, you’re attached to your ideas, Lily. But be realistic. How many other mastodons do you see around here?”

Lily gasped. “Wait a minute. Jacque, did you just call me a furry elephant?”

“Not me, Lily. That’s what it says in the book.”

Since Jacque was reading, he didn’t see the hurt expression on Lily’s face. But above them in the trees, Ricardo had been listening to their conversation. And he did see how upset Lily was. He also saw the title of the book Jacque was reading.

Ricardo called down to them, “Jacque...Lily...what’s up?”

Lily sniffed, “Jacque just called me a furry elephant.”

Jacque looked up. “Actually, I said a big, furry elephant.”

“Interesting. Say, Jacque, what are you reading now?”

“Guidelines for Being a Good Person. It’s about respect and caring about the feelings of others,” Jacque answered.

“Doesn’t it also warn about reading a lot but not using what you’ve learned?” Ricardo asked.

Startled, Jacque replied, “Yes!”

“Doesn’t it also talk about the importance of being a kind and trustworthy friend?”

Jacque gave a more hesitant “Yes.”

“Jacque, you implied Lily wasn’t very smart since she rarely read anything. Also, instead of saying her kind was big and furry, you could have used words that were more polite. You’re reading that book but not applying what you read.”

“And Lily, you’re very sincere but you can be a bit stubborn at times. Reading would broaden your thinking.”

Jacque and Lily looked at each other. “How about reading this book with me Lily?” Lily smiled and happily sat down next to Jacque, and they began reading—and learning—together.

In learning, we need to apply what we learn.

In living, we need to keep learning and be open to the truth.

Chanting Amituofo - Great Good Fortune

The general guiding principle for practice in this sutra is belief, vows, and mindful recitation of the Buddha-name. Belief and vows are the practice of wisdom, or signs of having good roots. Mindful recitation of the Buddha-name is a sign of having good fortune. One who mindfully chants “Amituofo” has an abundance of good fortune. One who would not mindfully chant “Amituofo” has little good fortune. Indeed, there are many people who just will not chant “Namo Amituofo” or “Amituofo.”

One who is able to mindfully chant “Amituofo” all day long has wondrous good fortune. We see many impoverished people who chant “Amituofo” all day long. Those who are diligent mindfully chant “Amituofo” one hundred thousand times every day. I heard that Mr. Huang Nianzu mindfully chanted “Amituofo” one hundred and sixty thousand times every day during the last two or three months of his life. He was a Vajra Master of Esoteric Buddhism. He set an example for us by single-mindedly chanting “Amituofo” before he passed away. We should know that he did this out of great compassion.

There is no one in this world or beyond who has as much good fortune as a practitioner who mindfully chants “Amituofo” all day long. Why? Because this practitioner will be reborn in the Western Pure Land and attain Buddhahood in one lifetime. Who can compare with this person? No one! Even Brahma or Shiva, who reside in heaven, cannot compare with this practitioner, let alone humans. Brahma and Shiva are still ordinary beings in the Six Paths; they cannot transcend the Six Paths as they do not mindfully chant “Amituofo.”

One who would mindfully chant “Amituofo” will be reborn in the Western Pure Land. When one is truly awakened, one will mindfully chant “Amituofo”; one will not be interested in any kind of glory or pleasure of this world. This person is only interested in according with conditions and honestly[1] chanting “Amituofo.” Only a truly awakened person can do this.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra

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[1] Honestly means “no doubt, no intermingling, and no interruption.”



Well That was Frustrating—Thank You!

Things were not going well. It was one of those situations where no matter what you say, it ended up being heard the wrong way.

Since I first saw the person that day, everything I did was wrong. The other person was convinced they were right and was clearly becoming very upset with me. It looked like there was no end in sight, that the day was going to be extremely unpleasant. For both of us.

And then it hit me.

Wow! This was a wonderful opportunity to work on my paramita of patience. This wasn't a bad situation, it was a good one!

And with that I smiled. And thought "Thank you."