[Buddha-l] RE: The Body in Buddhist Practice

[Piya Tan]

When I'm browsing this website, I sometimes imagine I'm on some campus
ground in US or UK (can't mention more where I've not been) where
professors, specialists and grads are huddling together. It's really fun to
listen to them (like a live talk show), more so because they are motivated
by buddhism.

We don't have to agree with everything they say, and we don't have to say
that we disagree. It is a sort of brainstorming session, or a pole
scratching for thinkers and thinkees, or a drinking hole for like to meet
like to share views, make connections, burn a bush maybe.

Sometimes we get great insights into living Buddhism, more often our
questions might not be answered simply because it might not be perceived
worthwhile or not being in the league.

We are in the realm of thinking minds (and sometimes hearts), and if we are
open enough there is a lot to learn from all these pixels. Interestingly
there is still a great chasm between convert Buddhism and migrant Buddhism
(to use a good dichotomy rather crudely) ("Westward Dharma" is a great
read). But any effort to communicate is good as hard rock smoothen with
attrition.

Now we now what scholars and academics do when they are not in class.

Years back when I was a guest of the UC Berkeley and auditing Robert
Bellah's sociology of religion class, he allowed me to submit essays,
checked through them and spent time discussing some finer points with
me--despite the fact that I was only sitting in. Perhaps it was his swan
song lecture, when the hall was overflowing and some of us had to sit on the
floor. These are great memories of having stood on the shoulders of a giant,
even for a brief moment.

I hope there be giants here, too, or at least hearty heads.

Piya


On 10/31/06, Phra Achan Dhammarato, Buikkh <dhammarato2 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> My Dear Mr. Hopkins
> I completely agree with you. In fact it has been stated before on this
> list that the Buddha's path to the end of suffering does not exist and that
> the interest of this list is purely academic (read useless in the
> elimination of suffering).  This is why I do not often post; I fear that my
> post will not be well received because I am only interested in the actual
> practice that leads to the end of suffering, and not in complaining about
> every stone found on the path.  The only exception to this would be when
> someone claims that the Suttas contain (even filled with) something
> (caricatures) without substantiating these claims.  I do so at my peril of
> ad holmium attacks but would do so in the defense of the suttas as being a
> practical guide to the end of suffering and not a listing of jokes and
> cariatures.
>
> Phra Achan Dhammarato
> Wat LAo Buddharam, Charlotte, NC 28214
>
> Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2006 18:53:45 +0000
> From: Stephen Hopkins <stephen.hopkins at ukonline.co.uk<http://us.f424.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=stephen.hopkins@ukonline.co.uk&YY=82053&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b>
> >
> Subject: [Buddha-l] The Body in Buddhist Practice
> To: Buddhist discussion forum <buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com<http://us.f424.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=buddha-l@mailman.swcp.com&YY=82053&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b>
> >
> Message-ID: <C130A739.2C76%stephen.hopkins at ukonline.co.uk<http://us.f424.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=stephen.hopkins@ukonline.co.uk&YY=82053&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b>
> >
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
> Denizens -Discussions on this list rarely seem to focus on the physical
> aspects
> of Buddhist practice and their relationship to mind, but as many will
> know, such concerns are often at the heart of practice.  That's especially
> so in the case of such things as sitting (or walking) meditation, but, in my
> experience, attention to posture and, of course, breathing is common.  I've
> wondered if this odd - to me - absence of discussion is a more a reflection
> of the lists academic focus than it is on the perceived importance of the
> body in Buddhism, and if others also think this worthy of note or
> discussion, central to practice and understanding, or just, well, just
> (nodisparagement intended) yoga (ie, to dig this hole a little deeper, a
> system of Hindu philosophy).Regards,
> Steve Hopkins
>
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