Many years ago I was in Thailand, in Bangkok, and I stayed at one of the big Buddhist temples there, a Theravada Temple; and when I arrived, I noticed that there was a big banner over the front of the temple, and on this banner were the words: “Will-Power Institute”.
The temple had obviously designated itself as the “Will-Power Institute”, and I asked one of the monks what this meant. Could he explain it to me? He gave me a very nice speech, which clearly was well rehearsed and had been given a number of times, I’m sure, saying how the Buddhas do but show the way and each must walk the path alone and you must put in your effort, and what you get out of it will be proportional to the effort that you put in.
I listened and showed appreciation for his explanation; and then I asked him, if he could show me around the temple, which he agreed to do; and I had a nice tour.
We went upstairs and there was a large hall. There were lines on the floor and I asked what was this for? He told me that it was for doing walking meditation; and I thought, well, this is very interesting because I also do walking meditation, and could he explain for me how they do it, and so on.
And he was pleased to do so; and he showed me the posture and the manner of walking and how to hold the hands and the breathing and so on. And then I said:” And what is happening in your mind when you’re doing this practice?” He said: “Well, with each step, I’m asking the Buddha for help. With each step, I say Buddho, and the intention is I’m asking the Buddha to come to my aid.
And I said: “Well, that sounds a little different from what you said downstairs.”
And he gave me a smile and said: “Yes, well, the things that I said downstairs, they are the things that are appreciated by Western visitors.”
And at this point I had an insight: I saw the difference between Buddhism in the East and Buddhism in the West. People in the East, when they are Buddhist, they take refuge in the Buddha, they have faith in the Buddha, they believe the Buddha can help them, and their practice, essentially, is to open their heart to the Buddha, so that the Buddha can enter that precious space and bring them aid and help.
So, it’s not so much emphasis upon making an effort to achieve something through a technical practice, which you have to get right and do for so many hours, and so on. It’s much more a gentle faith, a gentle confidence that, if you ask, the Buddha will come to your aid.
When I first started off in Buddhism, I was very much in Western mode, and what I learned is called self-power Buddhism. But as I’ve got older and as I’ve had more experience, and also, as I’ve visited Asia and been exposed to the ways of Buddhists in the Far East, I’ve come to trust more and more in the help that I’ve received from the Buddha. And so now, my practice is simply, in each thing I do, whether it’s something big or something quite mundane, in each thing that I do, to take refuge in the Buddha, to ask the Buddha for help, and to do so by means of the simple nembutsu prayer.
The essence is, to ask the Buddha to come to one’s aid.
This has been a great blessing and a great relief and it has brought peace to my heart; and so, I share it with you. Take refuge in the Buddha! You don’t have to do everything by your own effort.
The grace of the Dharma will come to you, if you ask for it.
Namo Amida Bu
Thank you very much
Dharmavidya
David
Replies