Impermanence is not an Antidote for Samsara ~ A Guest Post by Bill Schwartz

Ahhhh…Bill Schwartz (@ryderjaphy on Twitter) is like my older Dharma-brother over at Elephant Journal.  More experienced, old and hairy than myself, Bill rocks some Dharma on the digital pages and stirs the Vajrayana pot up every week or so.  Not wanting to be left out I asked him to comment on Impermanence after being lulled by my last post by guest Tamara Levitt on “Finding Peace in Impermanence”.  Other guest posts located here! Everything from emerging Buddhists to Atheists and Pagans…

 

“Don’t push your wisdom onto others; it doesn’t work.” Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche #emaho

I’ve been trying since this time of year back in the spring of 2006 to better understand how other Buddhists approach being Buddhists, but mostly it has been nothing but a lot of pushing and shoving with little to show for my efforts.

I began on MySpace with what seemed like a good idea at the time, a message board, but that really didn’t work for me (but given how the site was so hot back then it took me months of trying to tame that beast to realize I was wasting my time).

My life is a perfect storm of suffering (heart attack, congestive heart failure, elderly mother hip replacement, wife sole source of income being shown door months from being vested in pension plan) thirty years a practicing Buddhist notwithstanding.

Suffering is that which turned my mind towards the dharma as a child (dad died of an aneurysm of his aorta in 1972, 42 years old, sealed the deal for me) in the first place; I shudder at the thought there may be an antidote to that which my practice so depends.

I read it on the internet (so it must be true), all my years of practice (listening, contemplating, and meditating) was for nothing it seems; all I needed was to (fill in the blank with your opinion) and it would be all good as it should be (cue the unicorn).

It’s a good thing I haven’t the heart to stir the pot like I once was known to (as I was asked to do as guest blogger here); I would throw up a mighty wave of dharma (nirvana and suffering inseparable worthy of my well earned reputation).

I was invited to do the old school Tibetan Buddhist slap down of the via negativity of Zen for readers (like Nixon going to China, something only a great man can do), but instead I prefer to surf my wave of suffering, like the dharma bum I am (gladly free of being edited).

The argument, “I no longer worry about wrinkles thanks to Buddhism” hardly seems worth the effort of examining (tired of flaming that straw man) from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective of Mahamudra (I’m rumored to know something of; don’t believe a word of such nonsense).

All that would accomplish would be to piss off a bunch of people sincerely hoping Buddhism might be their secret I’m afraid; insert image of a smiling Tiger Woods before he drove into a fire hydrant fleeing his enraged golf club wielding wife (or whatever works for you).

So I’ll leave you with whatever you choose (no skin of my nose what other people do), and a Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche quote

 “If you have any doubt about whether you’re doing the meditation practice right or wrong, it doesn’t matter all that much.”

I regret not being a more entertaining guest (I enjoyed having not to answer any editor queries) but this is all I have to bring to the party (thank you for inviting me to ramble): a broken down tired old man with nothing to say and nobody listening.  

Later.

Karmapa Chenno!

  .

Rohatsu’s a Bitch

Even a dead tree holds a home - Even failures foster hope.

Rohatsu…

Every year when December approaches, monks everywhere tremble in anticipation of the arrival of the rohatsu sesshin [intensive meditation retreat]. In Zen dojos [practice halls] everywhere, people intensify their training energy in preparation for this sesshin held from the first to the eighth of December. The rohatsu sesshin is the consummation of a year’s training, a time when everyone faces the final reckoning of a year of practice.

The Buddha was enlightened on the eighth of December when he looked up at the morning star, the planet we call Venus. The brightness of this planet was seen by Buddha from the depths of one week of samadhi [deep awareness]. The Buddha received that brightness with the same eyes of zazen [sitting meditation] that enable us to realize perfect enlightenment.

One week straight of this deepest possible samadhi was burst through by the brilliance of that morning star. A whole week’s experience of that world burst the brightness of the morning star, plunging into the Buddha’s eyes and giving rebirth to the Buddha’s consciousness. from here.

Big deal, I suppose.  I have no large celebration planned outside of sealing my commitment to my practice.  The day of Buddha’s enlightenment is an opportunity to reflect upon your practice during the past year.  It also marks the end of my Ango (three months of intensive practice), of which I am glad.  My intensive practice has been…difficult to accomplish these past three months (for any number of reasons).  I attended both my small sangha’s Ango as well as the one offered by Wild Fox Zen.  Now seems as good a time as any to review my failures and successes.

• Meditation – My goal was 15 minutes zazen and 45 minutes of kinhin (meditative walking).  Largely a success but as December rolled around, daily life (as well as family) intervened and I was unable to accomplish much at home.  However, my pratice isn’t defined by just myself – it is defined by my surroundings, experience and environment.  I was very happy to attempt this increase and hopefully will continue once my days open up a bit more. 
• The Precepts – I took my precepts for Ango and followed them for the last 3 months, including the dreaded 5th Precept.  Over all a good experience.  I ended up taking up tea drinking in the evening when I would ordinarily have a beer…I find it a decent substitute but I think I may put up a toast at Dharma Drinks this week – Cheers Don!
• Engagement – I planned to engage both with my iSangha as well as my Brick and Mortar Sangha.  Easily a success with daily postings as well as sitting with the Laughing Teabowl Sangha at least once a week.  I also planned on attending webinars on the Genkokoan on Wild Fox Zen but my work schedule changed to include Saturdays so the koan goes unanswered.  Bows to all you out there that leave comments here or send me emails or tweets.  All very helpful.  Some take for granted that they have family or friends to communicate with concerning these matters.  I, for the most part don’t, so it means much to my practice to have you along for the ride.
• Parenting as Practice – Patience, love, compassion and attention.  What more can I say?  Sit with your child as you would a koan.
• Esoteric/Devotional Exploration – I wanted to gain some more insight into other Buddhist practices.  I went with Shingon and esoteric Buddhism.  It was a very brief exploration (only three months barely scratches the surface).  I read the works of Kukai (founder of Shingon) as well as some explanatory texts on Shingon practice.  Very similar to Tibetan practice with a heavy dose of deity visualization as well as smatterings of mantras and mundras and all that jazz.  From my perspective, this practice is perfect for those that want to approach their practice in a euphoric  and explosive or visual way.  While beautiful and alluring, my mandalas still exist on an empty wall and my mantras are the sounds of my everyday life. 

Thanks for following along.  I’m tired and gearing up for some new realities and big changes.  Might as well sit for 15 minutes tonight to get me ready.

Cheers! I leave you with this dedication from Wild Fox Zen and Dosho Port…

On this, the recognition day of old Shakyamuni Buddha’s
seeing directly the morning star,
We offer flowers, incense, candle light, and tea
as an expression of gratitude for the old teacher.
We have recited “Shakymuni Buddha” from The Record of Transmission of Light. We now dedicate all benefits from this to:

The great teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha
The first master in China, Bodhidharma
The first master in Japan, Eihei Dogen
To Mahaprajapiti and all great practitioners
whose names have been left unsung
To Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, triple treasures in the ten directions and all arahats and bodhisattvas.
May the power of their liberating wisdom direct
the wandering-in-circles world
toward the peaceful Buddha land
And may the power of their inspiration
and their peaceful hearts
lead wandering beings to enter the authentic path.
We aspire to turn the Dharma wheel unceasingly
and to free the world from every tragedy
of war, epidemic, natural disaster and starvation.
Ỡ  All buddhas throughout space and time,
Ỡ  All honored ones, bodhisattvas, mahasattvas
Ỡ  Wisdom beyond wisdom, mahaprajnaparamita.

3 Bows to all you filthy practitioners out there!

The Stripping of Buddhism

A crevasse (moulin) in the Langjökull glacier, Iceland. At the moment it was perhaps three or four meters long, a meter wide and some 30-40 meters deep. It has no bearing on this post

From Barbara’s Buddhism Blog:

Some in the West dismiss these devotional and worshipful aspects of Buddhism as corruptions of the original teachings of the Buddha. For example, Sam Harris, a self-identified atheist who has expressed admiration for Buddhism, has said Buddhism should be taken away from Buddhists. Buddhism would be so much better, Harris wrote, if it could be cleansed of the “naive, petitionary, and superstitious” trappings of religion altogether.

If you know me then you know that I enjoy the company of  a few atheists as well as agree with atheist views on the topics of science education (no religion there EVER), evolution and door-to-door proselytizing.  Even the “New Atheists” which are often termed “fundamental” atheists have my deepest respect for voicing their views and proclaiming for equal ground in the religious debate.

Harris’ comment about cleaving away through the cultural or superstitious “trappings” of Buddhism does twist in my mind though.  Mostly because it precludes an ownership that doesn’t exist.  Buddhists no more own Buddhism than atheists own atheism.   And frankly those who wish to “dismiss” anything simply because that aspect doesn’t work for their practice are…well….jackasses.  I don’t work with a teacher but I don’t dismiss teachers as an important aspect of Buddhist practice; I just admit that a teacher doesn’t work for my practice.

Bottom line, for me, is that there is nothing to gain and no compassion in dismissing another’s Buddhist practice.  The search for authenticity or trying to distinguish between “cultural trappings” and root teachings is a fool’s quest.  It just moves you away from your practice.  The beauty of Buddhist practice shines through whether or not the basic tenets remain the same whether they wear a particular robe or colorful display.  Buddhism isn’t defined by the color of the robes or by the lack of them.  You can strip it down or dress it up but if you are attaching to either then you are missing the point.  The root is the same but the route can differ. 

I have explored some Shingon and tantric practice lately as well as a bit of Yogacara and I am absolutely struck by the similarities between that practice and the devotional Zen practice that I am now engaged in.  The goals and the basic teachings remain the same but the tools used are different (and sometimes really different).  It isn’t your race or ethnicity that dictates whether you are more aligned to a devotional practice in Buddhism.  It’s your life situation; your experience or lack of experience; your curiosity and your sense of adventure; your practicality and your pragmatism…

…and if it is your game then it is also your karmic background.  Whatever it is…it behooves us openly and actively explore the variety that is inherit in the practice of Buddhism.  If you are lucky enough to get it right on the first try then I envy you and am somewhat sad that you didn’t get to explore.  For me it is like dating – you have a time blinded by the pure radiance of your partner…you then see the frailty and blemishes…and then you grow together or part your ways (or have a messy divorce).

Buddhism would not be better if it you strip it of the devotional practice or if you take it away from the Buddhists (if you want to ask for it then most are willing to let you have it.  It’s like saying the ocean would be great if it wasn’t for all the fuckin’ fishes that live there and draw life from it).  Anyway, how does one strip the Dharma away from those that freely give it?

Cheers,

John

Playing the Dharma Drums

The search for Dharma Drums in Custer State Park

I get T-shirts!

My friend and twangha (or iSangha) mate, GK Sandoval sent me a beautiful t-shirt (see above).  While the weather warmed up here in South Dakota, it wasn’t completly t-shirt weather but I think you know what the rest of the shirt says!  An oldie but goodie and always a great mantra for clearing out the Monkey Mind.

On a side note – Samsara-Toddler got to see her first bison and was very happy.  She even picked up a great bison call (somewhere between a grunt, snort and throat-clearing).

@DrumsofDharma is a steady contributer of our twitter sangha (Twangha) and constantly vocal about practice, devotion and Green Tara.  For a person like me who is a rough-around-the-edges neophyte to tantric, esoteric and devotional Buddhism; @DrumsofDharma is a wonderful resource.  Whats more is that GK is always willing to interact, explain and pontificate…and tell you that you may be full of shit but nicely and with compassion!

Alittle more on GK Sandoval:

A Native American of the Navajo tribe, DJ, artist, writer and foremost a student of the Dharma, seeking enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. My influences include Mahayana Buddhism, Higher Consciousness and Enlightenment, Hawaiiana and Huna, my own Navajo tradition and Indigenous spiritual traditions.

These pathways all blend together like a symphony of drums, echoing the heartbeat of the Universe. The title of my blog is taken from my own love of music and the quest for Truth, Enlightenment and pure Joy. Sound, music and words all have power and strength. By the grace of Manjusri, Green Tara and Lama Tsongkhapa, may my words be of benefit.

Ramble over to @DrumsofDharma or one of the two blogs -> The Drums of Dharma and Twenty One Taras and learn something about the infathomable Green Tara and the ultra skillful means of the Drums of Dharma!

Thanks for the T-shirt, Drums of Dharma!  Many deep bows and metta prostrations.

Cheers,

John

[If you would like to see your shirt featured on “I GET TSHIRTS” and help me stay clothed, then send me a line on twitter at @zendirtzendust or email me at smilodectes@gmail.com.  The rules are simple: 1)Send T-shirt advocating your blog, zendo, podcast whatever 2) I wear and post about it 3) I get cool t-shirts and don’t have to walk around topless.  Its up to you…no-one is twisting your arm.]

The Path of Wisdom…over tea

Sometimes the Wisdom Path goes in opposite directions

I met up with a fellow home-practitioner in Rapid City last night.  We sat down for some tea at Bully Blends and talked a little Dharma.  We come from two different venues of Buddhist practice.  He affiliated with a large temple and practiced there for a number years in the Vajrayana tradition.  I, however, began my practice with small, grass-roots groups with a largely agnostic bend which incorporated practical blends (read: non-esoteric) of Buddhist teachings.  From that I moved to the a traditional Soto Zen practice.

Now sitting across from each other, I realize that we have each gone 180 degree from where we both started.  He is now searching for root teachings (similar to the Stephen Batchelor’s book Buddhism Without Beliefs) that exist across most of the traditions and I am looking at incorporating more tantric and esoteric elements into my daily practice (which has been incorporating more ritualized elements from practicing Zen but still rather…bland).

So why the change to the exact opposite from where we each started?  From my point of view Buddhism and home-practice (or practice in general) was never meant to stay static.  We are not static people.  We change from year-to-year, day-to-day and moment-to-moment.  What and how we exist now is not what we were before and there is no reason that this diversity of change cannot be exemplified in our practice.

In a recent post, The Zennist talks about his past practice and study…

On this note, I am certainly reminded of my own ignorance over forty years ago when as a young worldling monk I thought I had Buddhism figured out.  To be honest, about 98 percent of what I read back in those dark days I didn’t understand—not in the slightest.  But I could sure pretend, pridefully, that I knew a lot…

Presently, I enjoy reading the Sutras.  They are like old friends.  But again looking back to when I was a young Buddhist whippersnapper I can’t help but laugh at that struggling guy.  The only thing he did right was to persevere and keep an open mind.  And this is what we all must do, even monks and Buddhist scholars.  You may debate the issues until the cows come home, but until you have awakened the Mind (bodhicitta) you’re guessing, it is Buddhism by opinion some of which might be educated, some not.

I rarely agree with The Zennist but always appreciate and respect his comments.  In this case I completely agree.  An open and compassionate mind is essential to our practice.  Otherwise we just trade attachments for attachments and our practice will stagnate over time rather than grow.  Another point that is brought up is that of process – the process of awakening the mind (to paraphrase the Zennist) which we are all on.

Back to the point – It was a good talk.  While I find it humurous that we are walking in opposite directions from each other in relation to our practice and its evolution, it is important to note that directions in practice are hardly ever linear.  One way does not lead to “good” and the opposite to “bad”.  The path we walk leads to the same goal even when it seems that the practices are diametrically opposed.

It was nice to be able to wave at each other from the path, stop a bit and shake some pebbles from our shoes.

Cheers,

John

Comments on Buddhism, Atheists and Amitabha.

From “The Message of the Buddha” by K.N Jayatilleke (via The Zennist)

What is the Buddhist answer to this question? What the Buddha a Theist, an Atheist, an Agnostic or a Positivist? The answer is fairly clear. Given the above definition of God [in The Book of Common Prayer] in its usual interpretation, the Buddha is an atheist and Buddhism in both its Theravada and Mahayana forms is atheism.

 

Atheism here is defined as the denial of the existence of God with a big “G”. Usually when defined by the captital “G”, the God we are talking about is a creator god. One that made everything we see around us including us and anything else we may stumble across. Most consider this to be the Judeo-Christian “God” when referenced as such but it can also include Islam, Hinduism, or any religion with a set and organized creation myth that involves supernatural creation of the world.

 

I agree with The Zennist when he asserts that Buddhism, in general (there may be sects or practices that I am not familiar with) does not fall in line with a standard Deist outlook. Being an atheist can also vary from no belief in a creator God to no belief in anything of a supernatural/transcendental origin or belief. Even with the most extreme of Atheist views, Buddhism still barely falls outside of its realm.

 

Some assert that the Amitabha Buddha takes the place of a creator God and is thus the Pure Land Sects are a Deistic religion. Again, I think this in part due to a fallacy of viewing an Eastern Religion through Western, Christian eyes. “We (Western Christians) have a creator God so they (Asian Buddhists) must have one as well”. Then you see people praying and making offerings to the Amitabha Buddha and you assume that Buddha is deified.

 

From my very basic understanding of Pure Land Buddhism, the Amitabha was once a human monk that transcended into a Buddha Realm and promised to grant liberation to any that recited his name. While supernatural and transcendental in nature, the Amitabha Buddha is far from a creator God and more or less provides another path to enlightenment. A method that requires an “other” power to help achieve it rather than focusing on just personal practice.

 

So, personally, I consider myself an agnostic. And, personally, I think Buddhism does not specifically deny a creator “God” but rather considers it unimportant in the grand scheme of things. The primary focus of Buddhism is not on higher powers but rather personal practice. That personal practice, however, can be a mixture of reliance upon the compassion of past Buddhas as well as personal striving to achieve enlightenment or liberation.

 

What is of prime importance to me is that the practice of Buddhism does not require the acceptance of higher powers or supernatural entities. You can practice perfectly well from a completely secular stance. The Buddha was a human and figured out a way to cease suffering and be happy. I wish to cease my own suffering and be happy.

 

Simple as that. From there you make your choice to follow the path and begin your practice. Your practice may always be strictly secular and atheistic or it may move in to more transcendental areas. Either way, it is fine. It is your practice and you need to use what works for you. Just don’t mistake choice with ease. Just because you have choice does not mean that your practice must be easy. There should always be a sense of striving in your practice.

 

Cheers,

 

Homebrewing Sake Mindfully

The following is a beginner’s recipe for making sake. There are other, more difficult recipes but this one will produce a nice, smooth, cloudy sake.

What You Need

• A Sieve
• A big, deep brewing pot w/a lid
• A primary fermenter (old glass wine jug. You know the ones…cheap stuff. I like to make my own. The instructions are simple. Purchase cheap jug o’ wine. Drink jug o’ wine. Save empty jug.)
• Some sort of airlock (you can buy one from whatever store near you that sells brewing supplies)

Ingredients

• A little more than 3 lbs of rice (I like Jasmine but any medium or short grain rice will do)
• A little less than 1 lb of Kome-Koji (Some call it Malt-Rice but in reality it is rice with mold growing on it). Some can make it themselves but I usually get the pre-made variety (kindly provided by a friend when she visited Denver) and available at most Asian markets.
• One teaspoon of citric acid (lemon juice) or 4 grams of hops (I have never tried with the hops)
• Almost one gallon of purified (chlorine-free) water
• 5 grams of yeast (wine/champagne yeast or brewers yeast)

Process

• Wash all equipment with sanitizer
• Wash rice (NOT with sanitizer) in water until water runs clear. Soak rice for 1-2 hours. Steam rice. When done, let rice cool to 80-90 degrees F.
• Dissolve citric acid in one gallon of water in your brewing pot.
• Add your Komi-Koji. Mix.
• Add steamed rice. Mix.
• Transfer to primary fermenter (wine jug). But in rubber stopper and valve (valve will let gasses escape).

I should mention that fermentation will be vigorous. I was unprepared for this on my first attempt. I placed even mixtures into mason jars and then sealed them. The resulting build up of gas caused several of the tops to bubble up and eventual pop in a glorious explosion of semi-fermented rice, fungi, yeast and abandoned practice. The resulting smell, while not really bad, was however…strong and pervasive.

Just like ultimate realization, fermentation needs to be allowed to release some pressure.

Imagine each grain of rice as containing a small Buddha. A whole brew pot full of small, identical, unrealized, oblong Buddhas. Each deserved to be treated with the same amount of reverence and respect. Without the fermentation process changing each of those starches to sugars and then those sugars to a fermentables and those fermentables to alcohol the realization of the rice would be unfulfilled and would spend their existence as a starchy side-dish. Thus, I like to think of the fermentation process as the process of each grain of rice realizing their innate Buddha-Nature. Only when the bubbles begin to rise and the rice begins to release that nature do we see the extent of the transformation. If too many fermentables the process stops; if too much yeast the result is murky; if contaminated then the result is ruined. But of main importance is time and balance.

Back to the recipe.

Once secured at room temperature and in a dark cabinet, you need to agitate the mixture daily. You could open your fermenter and stir it with a sanitized spoon but I would rather not take the chance at contamination. I usually just shake the fermenter enough to get the mixture inside to move around a bit. After two days, the rice-Buddhas forget about their individual natures and meld into a chunky white slurry. Small bubbles of Buddha-nature will peculate through the slurry and in approximately two weeks the fermentation will cease.

Strain the resulting slurry into a decanter or if you would like to preserve it for long-term storage you can pasteurize it by slowly heating the liquid in a saucepan for 5 minutes at about 130 degrees F. It will stay for up to 3-5 years bottled at this point if remained unopened. I usually put my whole bunch into one large bottle and then store it in a dark place for a month to age. (unpasteurized is by no means a bad sake. It will be cloudier, smoother and yeastier when unpasteurized and will need to be refridgerated.)

Just remember how many grains of rice realized their true nature through this process and respect their months of striving and diligence. I use my homebrew sake for toasting ancestors, offerings to the Three Treasure as well as offerings to the six directions. Feel free to do the same or something different.

Cheers,

The Blood Pool Hell Sutra

Generally, Zen priests and monks are not seen as mediators and benefactors of the afterlife for their practitioners. However, in medieval to early modern Japan, priests took exactly this role; mostly in the role of funerary practices that guaranteed movement of the deceased into a Buddha Land or traditional heaven through priestly intervention over a period of up to 33 years after the deceased’s passing.

More interesting though is the placement of women in Japanese Zen as being intrinsically tainted and inevitably fall into the pits of the Blood Pool Hell. The torments of which was described by a young girl possessed Buddhist nun in 1730:

“Six times a day we come out of the pool to drink blood. If we refuse…frightening demons come and torture us with metal rods before being thrown back into the blood pool. In the blood pool, countless insect like creatures with metal snouts come to pierce our skin and worm into our flesh to suck our blood.” [From Duncan Williams’ “The Other Side of Zen”]

The Ketsubonkyø, or the Blood-bowl Sutra, is a sutra composed in China around the end of the 12th century or the beginning of the 13th.4 It describes how Mokuren(Mu-lien, Maudgalyåyana), disciple of the Buddha famous for his supernatural or magical powers, descended to hell to save his mother. This narrative differs from the classic Mokuren story, as told in the Yü-lan p’en ching (Urabonkyø), which we explored in Chapter Three. In that story as it appears in the Buddhist cannon, Mokuren saves his mother from the realm of hungry ghosts. Here, however, we find her sunk in hell submerged in an enormous pond, or lake, of menstrual and birth blood. She is in the company of a multitude of women there who suffer abuse at the hands of the hell wardens and are forced to drink the blood. They are punished like this, the sutra explains, because the blood produced by their bodies spills on the ground and offends the earth gods, or ends up in rivers from which the water to make tea for holy men is drawn. This hell, called chi no ike jigoku (blood pool hell) in Japanese, threatens damnation for the sin of female biology. (It is worth noting that late medieval Japanese visual representations illustrate another hell for women who are unable to bearchildren, the umazume jigoku). [from Childbirth, Violence and the Mother’s Body by Hank Glassman]

It was later explained that only the recitation of the Ketsubonkyo (Blood Pool Hell Sutra) by Zen priests or use of talismans sold by the temple would save and free women from this hell. The priest was then visited in a dream by Jizo who told him of the location of the sutra in a marsh behind the monastery.

Women, according to tradition, inevitably fell into this hell due to the evil karma accrued from the dispensing of menstrual blood and blood from childbirth that seeps into the ground and then spoils deities sacred to the native Shinto religion as well as Buddhists deities and monks. Offerings made from water which has been stained by blood (even from soiled clothes that were washed in rivers) in turn, rather than placate the Deity or Buddha, would instead anger them.

The promotion of the idea of women being intrinsically polluted and thus absolutely unable to avoid the Blood Pool Hell was promoted primarily by the Soto Zen sect as well as that pollution to be passed onto the activities and purposes of men. The failure of the construction of a temple or a specific artifact could be blamed upon the pollution of women within proximity to the site.

Many are attracted to Buddhism because of a sense of egalitarianism and gender equality but with the Blood Pool Hell Sutra we have an example of a culture of mysogany being accepted, promoted and propagated by Zen priests.

Just something to keep in mind. Here is one of the several versions of the sutra:

Bussetsu Mokuren shokyo ketsubon kyo
[from “Menstration Sutra Belief in Japan” Takemi Momoka
Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 10/2-3 1983]

Once the Buddha took 1250 biksus into the middle of the Deer Park. At that time, the venerable Mokuren put the following question to the Buddha: Once I went to such-and-such a prefecture, and saw in the middle of a large field there a Hell composed of a pond of menstruation blood. This pond was some 84,000 jujana wide, and in the middle women who were wearing handcuffs and ankle chains were undergoing hardships. The demon who was the lord of this Hell came here three times a day and forced the women sinners to drink the polluted blood; if they refused to do so, he would beat them with an iron rod. Their screams of anguish could be heard from great distances away. The sight of this made me very sad, and so I asked the Lord of the Hell why the women were being forced to undergo such hardships. He replied that the blood the women had shed during the birth of their children had polluted the deity of the earth and that, furthermore, when they washed their polluted garments in the river, that water was gathered up by a number of virtuous men and woman and used to make tea to serve to holy men. Because of these acts of uncleanliness, the women were now forced to undergo sufferings.

Thus Mokuren used his holy powers to come to the seat of the Buddha and to inform him of what he had seen with his eyes. He asked, then, what he needed t o do for the women to be saved from their punishments in the pond of blood. The Buddha then answered, teaching Mokuren how t o save the women. He said it would be necessary for them to respect the three treasures of filial piety, to call on Mokuren, to hold a Blood Pool Liberation service, to hold a Blood Pool Feast, to read sutras, to have an esoteric ceremony, then to make a boat and float it off. At that time a five-colored lotus flower would appear in the middle of the Blood Pond. Then, he said, all of the women sinners would be saved, and reborn in the Buddha’s land.

For the most part it seems that this particular belief and practice no longer occurs in Japan in any form but I would be curious if anyone knows if there are any remnants of this practice still alive.

Cheers,