Rude Awakenings - Forest Sangha Publications

More documents

Recommendations

Info

^0 T H E D R U M 06was a way of enhancing beautiful qualities: care of the sick, respect forthe elders, support of lay followers, the honour of serving theDhamma.The <strong>Sangha</strong> at Vaishali was currently Reverend Reiji Nakazoto andan Indian attendant. The Japanese monk’s English was not great, butabout as good as ours was in our evening, brain-dead state. Politesilences and gestures and tea seemed very pleasant. He had received myletter from Lumbini. It seemed that people did not normally stay at thetemple, but as I was a monk ... Unfortunately the temple was about toundertake a seven-day regime of refraining from eating and drinking,so there would be no food as of tomorrow. According to Japanese tradition,the Buddha was enlightened on December 8th, and so they fastduring the immediately preceding week.Well, that was great timing on our part. Not even water! No water, heexplained, but on the fourth day they took some noodle mush and greentea to clean out the system. And the regime would include continualdrumming and mantra recitation from an hour before dawn until anhour after sunset. Of course, we were not obliged to join in ... but nextmorning we found that joining in was hardly a matter of choice.WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP WHUMP! WHUMP!WHUMP! WHUMP! “NAM MYO HO RENGE KYO! NAM MYO HORENGE KYO!” The shrine room of the tiny temple was on the otherside of the wall from our beds. Drumming being the support for theprinciple practise of Nipponzan Myohoji, the drum was huge andattended with all the fervour it takes to sustain a seven-day fast, or athousand-mile peace pilgrimage (also a major part of their practise), orto construct beautiful peace pagodas in places throughout the world—all done with total self-sacrificing commitment. People pointed askanceto the huge scars that many of the monks bore as a result of strappingbundles of incense to their arms, setting fire to them, and sustaining theburning of their own flesh by fanning the glowing joss sticks. This apparently,was an act of penance or of offering of their lives to the Buddha.1 5 3
^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06Not what the Buddha taught, people say. But the drum and the mantraoverride that. WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP WHUMP!WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! “NAM MYO HO RENGE KYO! NAMMYO HO RENGE KYO!” WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP!And when your head is a few feet away from it, there’s not a lot ofroom for thought. The skin vibrates with the rhythm, whether thethinking joins in or not. According to Nichiren, the monk-teacher whoestablished this mantra practise in thirteenth-century Japan, Nam MyoHo Renge Kyo (Homage to the White Lotus of the Good Law) is the heartof the Buddha’s teaching, you can forget the rest. Drumming certainlymakes forgetting very easy. During our stay in Vaishali, Buddhist activitycould be summed up as the dawn breaking with the mantra and thesun setting to the pounding of the drum.For the first day, activity of any kind was minimal. We lay there beingpounded for a few hours until Nick dredged up the motivation to go andsearch for food. He returned some hours later, having had to sit downand rest every hundred yards or so, with snacks that he had bought inthe nearby market. I don’t remember the rest of the day, except that, asa gesture of harmony, we decided to join in the mantra sessions for thehour before dawn and the hour after sunset every day. It helped us maintaina fitting forgetfulness.The drummers were still going strong into their second day as wemade it out of the temple to a chai shop down on the main road. Thedrumming, although resounding over the entire area, was less dominantthere, and Indian life was meandering along oblivious to the spiritualenergy that was relentlessly resounding. There was a touristinformation office with old posters on the wall and a few brochuresabout Varanasi and Uttar Pradesh. We had seen that there was amuseum on the other side of the tank, and we already had a map showingthe site of an ancient stupa. The museum was closed, and we didn’thave the energy to get out to the stupa. Nick ambled off to survey amound; I slowly made it back to the temple to write a letter to the1 5 4
Page 4:
RUDE AWAKENINGS
Page 8:
The mindful exert themselves;they a
Page 13:
^0 F O R E W O R D 06mystically emb
Page 16 and 17:
PrefaceWhat follows is the narrativ
Page 18:
The First MoonT H E M I D D L E L A
Page 21 and 22:
^0 F I R S T M O O N 06chomping.
Page 23 and 24:
^0 F I R S T M O O N 06deities with
Page 26 and 27:
^0 P I L G R I M S 06things around
Page 31 and 32:
^0 F I R S T M O O N 06and pedestri
Page 33 and 34:
^0 F I R S T M O O N 06government w
Page 35 and 36:
^0 F I R S T M O O N 06too attracti
Page 37 and 38:
A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 F I R S T
Page 40 and 41:
2Over the BorderA J A H N S U C I T
Page 42 and 43:
^0 B O R D E R 06managed to ignore
Page 44 and 45:
^0 B O R D E R 06Buddhist holy plac
Page 46 and 47:
^0 B O R D E R 06a Buddha except th
Page 48 and 49:
^0 B O R D E R 06the maelstrom, som
Page 50 and 51:
^0 B O R D E R 06I read a sign in t
Page 52 and 53:
^0 B O R D E R 06to Bhairawa, the n
Page 54 and 55:
^0 B O R D E R 06of homage to the B
Page 56 and 57:
^0 B O R D E R 06the grass bank fac
Page 58 and 59:
3Leaving HomeA J A H N S U C I T T
Page 60 and 61:
^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06ascertain
Page 62 and 63:
^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06take arou
Page 64 and 65:
^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06region an
Page 66 and 67:
^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06wanted us
Page 68 and 69:
^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06mother: s
Page 70 and 71:
^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06We stoppe
Page 72 and 73:
^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06to allow
Page 74 and 75:
^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06conversat
Page 76 and 77:
The Second MoonL U M B I N I T O VA
Page 78 and 79:
4The ObserverA J A H N S U C I T T
Page 80 and 81:
^0 O B S E RV E R 06with a lot of t
Page 82 and 83:
^0 O B S E RV E R 06contemplative b
Page 84 and 85:
^0 O B S E RV E R 06After that we e
Page 86 and 87:
^0 O B S E RV E R 06forbidden. Reli
Page 88 and 89:
^0 O B S E RV E R 06told me about t
Page 90 and 91:
^0 O B S E RV E R 06to sit beside t
Page 92 and 93:
^0 O B S E RV E R 06With this move
Page 94:
^0 O B S E RV E R 06the back; the d
Page 97 and 98:
^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06live in th
Page 99 and 100:
^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06Eventually
Page 101 and 102:
^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06to a prese
Page 103 and 104:
^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06of his kne
Page 105 and 106:
^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06found so d
Page 107 and 108:
^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06of them sp
Page 109 and 110:
^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06stupa, try
Page 111 and 112:
^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06wanted to
Page 113 and 114:
^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06and a dark
Page 115 and 116:
^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06from the e
Page 117 and 118:
River Gandak, Part 2
Page 119 and 120: ^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06ebbing out
Page 121 and 122: ^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06violent at
Page 123 and 124: ^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06That topic
Page 125 and 126: ^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06friendly f
Page 127 and 128: ^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06The boat w
Page 129 and 130: ^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06was time t
Page 132 and 133: 7The Kingdom of the LawA J A H N S
Page 134 and 135: ^0 T H E L AW 06A sub-lieutenant in
Page 136 and 137: ^0 T H E L AW 06was built in the gr
Page 138 and 139: ^0 T H E L AW 06to get over the wor
Page 140 and 141: ^0 T H E L AW 06accept any fare at
Page 142 and 143: ^0 T H E L AW 06and milk sweets I b
Page 144 and 145: ^0 T H E L AW 06the surrounding tre
Page 146 and 147: ^0 T H E L AW 06a small house near
Page 148 and 149: 8CyclesA J A H N S U C I T T ONovem
Page 150 and 151: ^0 C Y C L E S 06long while for the
Page 152 and 153: ^0 C Y C L E S 06thosebirthsanddeat
Page 154 and 155: ^0 C Y C L E S 06There was a tea st
Page 156 and 157: ^0 C Y C L E S 06The land we were p
Page 158 and 159: ^0 C Y C L E S 06the Indian “West
Page 160 and 161: ^0 C Y C L E S 06parothas straight
Page 162 and 163: ^0 C Y C L E S 06ignore thirty boys
Page 164 and 165: A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 C Y C L E
Page 166 and 167: 9The Deathless DrumA J A H N S U C
Page 168 and 169: ^0 T H E D R U M 06Once...when I wa
Page 172 and 173: ^0 T H E D R U M 06Sangha at Amarav
Page 174 and 175: ^0 T H E D R U M 06scriptures descr
Page 176 and 177: ^0 T H E D R U M 06job, but had eno
Page 178 and 179: ^0 T H E D R U M 06Vaishali’s gre
Page 180 and 181: ^0 T H E D R U M 06less.” And the
Page 182 and 183: ^0 T H E D R U M 06had been a notic
Page 184: ^0 T H E D R U M 06Striding across
Page 187 and 188: Mid-Bihar
Page 189 and 190: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06is losing it
Page 191 and 192: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06I had learne
Page 193 and 194: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06cycle—a va
Page 195 and 196: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06the way acro
Page 197 and 198: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06in Bettiah.
Page 199 and 200: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06newspaper th
Page 201 and 202: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06There is not
Page 203 and 204: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06that India h
Page 205 and 206: A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 T H I R D
Page 207 and 208: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06bigoted mons
Page 210 and 211: 11Dark AngelA J A H N S U C I T T O
Page 212 and 213: ^0 DA R K A N G E L 06on. Then for
Page 214 and 215: ^0 DA R K A N G E L 06directly in h
Page 216 and 217: ^0 DA R K A N G E L 06something cos
Page 218 and 219: ^0 DA R K A N G E L 06a cycle ricks
Page 220 and 221:
^0 DA R K A N G E L 06is generously
Page 222 and 223:
^0 DA R K A N G E L 06body in order
Page 224 and 225:
^0 DA R K A N G E L 06majority of t
Page 226 and 227:
^0 DA R K A N G E L 06there are man
Page 228 and 229:
^0 DA R K A N G E L 06wound about w
Page 230 and 231:
^0 DA R K A N G E L 06It happens to
Page 232 and 233:
^0 DA R K A N G E L 06there. After
Page 234 and 235:
^0 DA R K A N G E L 06I contemplate
Page 236 and 237:
12Letting GoA J A H N S U C I T T O
Page 238 and 239:
^0 L E T T I N G G O 06enough for A
Page 240 and 241:
^0 L E T T I N G G O 06marketplace.
Page 242 and 243:
^0 L E T T I N G G O 06to be comple
Page 244 and 245:
^0 L E T T I N G G O 06there with n
Page 246 and 247:
^0 L E T T I N G G O 06main road, t
Page 248 and 249:
^0 L E T T I N G G O 06blue antelop
Page 250 and 251:
^0 L E T T I N G G O 06formlessness
Page 252 and 253:
^0 L E T T I N G G O 06even, about
Page 254 and 255:
^0 L E T T I N G G O 06been a stray
Page 256 and 257:
^0 L E T T I N G G O 06cool—I sta
Page 258 and 259:
^0 L E T T I N G G O 06them, but my
Page 260 and 261:
13Landing PlaceA J A H N S U C I T
Page 262 and 263:
^0 L A N D I N G 06gone. And the di
Page 264 and 265:
^0 L A N D I N G 06more assertive.
Page 266 and 267:
^0 L A N D I N G 06manager facing e
Page 268 and 269:
^0 L A N D I N G 06I was left alone
Page 270 and 271:
A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 L A N D I
Page 272 and 273:
^0 L A N D I N G 06Ajahn Sucitto in
Page 274 and 275:
^0 L A N D I N G 06Ahlee, and the m
Page 276 and 277:
^0 L A N D I N G 06moment we were b
Page 278:
^0 L A N D I N G 06much either. I f
Page 281 and 282:
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06admit that a
Page 283 and 284:
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06regretfully
Page 285 and 286:
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06a ministerin
Page 287 and 288:
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06to think of
Page 289 and 290:
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06filter like
Page 291 and 292:
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06More than an
Page 293 and 294:
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06Gotama milk-
Page 295 and 296:
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06the sun, alw
Page 297 and 298:
A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 T H I R D
Page 299 and 300:
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06many-headed
Page 301 and 302:
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06abandoned Ed
Page 304 and 305:
EpilogueSo many people helped us bo
Page 306 and 307:
NotesP R E FA C E“The mindful exe
Page 308 and 309:
^0 N O T E S 06C H A P T E R 6 : S
Page 310 and 311:
^0 N O T E S 06C H A P T E R 1 0 :
Page 312 and 313:
GlossaryAbhidhamma (Pali) one of th
Page 314 and 315:
^0 G L O S S A RY 06chillum (Hindi)
Page 316 and 317:
^0 G L O S S A RY 06Mahayana (Sansk
Page 318 and 319:
^0 G L O S S A RY 06sabong (Hindi)
Page 320:
Vinaya (Pali) the monastic discipli
Page 323 and 324:
^0 B I B L I O G R A P H Y 06Conze,
Page 325 and 326:
^0 B I B L I O G R A P H Y 06Raven-
Page 328 and 329:
Recommended ReadingB U D D H I S T
Page 330 and 331:
IndexAAbhidhamma, 213, 284, 295Adi
Page 332 and 333:
^0 I N D E X 06HHajipur, 171-73, 18
Page 334 and 335:
^0 I N D E X 06Nalanda and, 210-11,
show all

Rude Awakenings - Forest Sangha Publications

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?