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BSPG News and Meeting (No. 171)
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Edited by Stony Brook Buddhism Study and Practice GroupNews
1. Please note that we will meet in room 303 of SAC this Thursday.
2. Our website has been updated. Enjoy!Special Event
"A Dialogue Across Differences: Faces of Religion"
Speakers: Satjivan Singh, Director of New York Sikh Dharma
Fr. George Mathew, St. Baselios Syrian Orthodox Church in India
Ibrahim Gonzalez, Director of Public Relations, Alianza Islamica of New York
The Rev. Madeline Ko-I Bastis, Zen Buddhist priest
Mabel Gomes, Professor of Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Place: Student Activity Center, SUNY Stony Brook
March 5, 7 p.m.
Refreshments will be served
For further information, contact San Quiah at the Office of Diversity, 631-632-6280.Meeting
303 Student Activities Center
Thursday, 3/7/02, 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Please be on time!
Words from the Suttas/Sutras
"And gladness springs up within him on his realizing that, and joy arises to him thus gladdened, and so rejoicing, all his frame becomes at ease, and being thus at ease he is filled with a sense of peace, and in that peace his heart is stayed."--Digha Nikaya, Samannaphala Sutta, 73
Quote of the Week
"Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy."--St. Francis of Assisi
Book Review: Ven. Yin-Shun's The Way to Buddhahood
by D. K.Many of us are seeking teachers and teachings that can illuminate a clear view of the Buddha path. In our search, we may be unsatisfied with the incomplete guidance that we encounter in English-language Buddhist literature. Although a book is a helpful guide, it can often leave us with many questions unanswered-much of what a book presents may be too brief or unclear. In addition, the writer may have a limited view of the Dharma, and an even more limited ability to reach other people with their message. However, a wonderful teacher called Yin-Shun, renowned in Taiwan as a great master, for years has illuminated the teachings of the Buddha. Unfortunately, not too many of his writings have been translated from the original Chinese. Thankfully, Dr. Wing H. Yeung has worked diligently to give us a wonderfully clear English translation of The Way to Buddhahood, a book which provides an astoundingly complete view of the Buddhadharma.
In this book, Ven. Yin-Shun elaborates on the Buddha path, beginning with Taking Refuge and ending with the deepest teachings of the Buddha, found explicitly in the Great Vehicle, or Mahayana teachings. In between, he presents the fundamentals and the commonalities among the Five Vehicles that lead to different levels of realization and to different realms of rebirth. These Five Vehicles refer to the moral conduct, meditative discipline and concentration, meditative contemplation, and compassionate living of the five paths of practice-the Human Vehicle, the Divine Vehicle, the Sravaka Vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and the Bodhisattva Vehicle. Although presented as distinct vehicles, Yin-Shun reminds us that all vehicles provide us with the essential practices that we utilize in realizing the One Vehicle of Buddhahood. Therefore, we should not disregard the teachings of a lower vehicle, in hopes of jumping into the wisdom of the advanced Dharma without the fundamental disciplines of morality and concentration.
After laying the foundation, Ven. Yin-Shun devotes nearly half the book to The Great Vehicle, or the path of the bodhisattva leading to Buddhahood. Therein he explains the teachings of Buddha-nature, the compassionate vows of the bodhisattva, the Six Paramitas, and the results of practicing the Bodhisattva path-the attainment of the ten grounds of realization and eventually buddhahood. Great detail is given about the practice of wisdom, Prajnaparamita, and the concepts of emptiness, impermanence, and no-self. In clarifying these concepts and practices of realization, he explains the difference in view of the Madhyamaka, Yogacara, and Tathagatagharba teachings. He wonderfully and clearly compares and contrasts the difference in ideas of the three schools, while maintaining the integrity of each perspective. Rather than present division and disagreement among the schools of thought, he unites the teachings under one roof of Buddhadharma. Ven. Yin-Shun shows us that the realization of the insight into impermanence, emptiness, and no-self can be expressed in many ways and designed to suit the needs of many different people.
Using countless references to sutras and shastras, The Way to Buddhahood is a scholarly work of art, yet it presents the practical methods of meditation and necessary conceptual basis for treading the Buddha path. "Their behavior may follow their belief, or their behavior may follow their understanding... a capacity for both belief and wisdom is essential for the study of Buddhism." (page 113) This book includes, from start to finish, a complete map of the Dharma, to set the practitioner steadily on their way.
Written and translated with straightforwardness and clarity, this book shines with a penetrating message. The ideas in The Way to Buddhahood express a great teacher's experience and insight, that provide us with a resource for intellectually understanding and personally realizing the teachings of the Buddha.
(This online store has a limited stock of the book at $5.95 + S&H: http://www.hamiltonbook.com/ Go to "religion" and then "buddhism")
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