Buddhist Lay Practice in History
The Eighth Century Chinese Chan (Zen) Master Layman Pang understood which Buddhist use does not have a bound form to be followed by all. But whilst he is remembered amongst a famous teachers of a past, in my opinion, it was a synergy of a family as a whole which led to such good understanding.
Here is a snippet of their story:
Originally from Hengyang in a southern Chinese province of Hunan, Pang was a successful businessman with a wife, son, as well as daughter. The family's resources authorised them to persevere their time to investigate of a Buddhist stras, in which they all became well-versed. Pang's daughter Ling Zhao was quite adept, as well as during a single indicate even seems to be have been some-more modernized as well as wise than her father, as a following story illustrates:
The Layman was sitting in his thatched lodge a single day [studying a stras]. "Difficult, difficult," he said; "like trying to scatter 10 measures of sesame seed all over a tree." "Easy, easy," Mrs. Pang said; "like touching your feet to a ground when you get out of bed." "Neither formidable nor easy," Ling Zhao said; "on a hundred weed tips, a good Masters' meaning."[1]
After Pang had late from his profession, he is said to have begun to worry about a spiritual dangers of his element wealth, as well as so he placed all of his security in a boat which he afterwards sunk in a river.
There have been so most learnings to be gleaned from this tiny bit of account about them. Notice a way element security have been dealt with. They obviously benefited from having a small wealth, since a liberated time for Buddhist investigate it authorised them. In fact, you can take from this which if what you have materially gives you some-more time to investigate as well as practice, afterwards it's profitable in your life. Yet, during a sure point, there was additionally a realization which att! achment to security is commonplace, as well as a good hindrance, as well as thus needs to be abandoned. The dramatic sinking of a family's personal property puts a single hell of an exclamation indicate upon which teaching, though you do consternation if it competence have been some-more powerful to hear which a Pangs gave their resources to an additional family or individual desiring to have time for investigate as well as practice. This is a single of a hurdles you have regularly had with a heavy emphasis upon misery as well as element renunciation in a aged stories. That functions fine for monastics as well as wandering individuals, though it's unrealistic for most lay practitioners. With that, you still think theirs is an example for all of us today, who onslaught with views about both resources as well as poverty.
The second learning from this story is a relational quality of practice. This elementary story of a father investigate a sutras, as well as a mom as well as daughter responding to his comments with their own insights is an important sign to those of us who have been steeped a bit too much in "just sitting" practice. Chan/Zen is relational. Awakening is relational. Whatever knowledge Layman Pang grown over his lifetime as well as infused in to his poems as well as sayings came together by studies as well as use with his family, interactions with his business (as a merchant), as well as use with other Chan teachers of a day. Even if you each contingency mangle by a veil covering a truth upon our own, it's our relationships (both with humans as well as with a complete star of beings) which provide a ground for awakening.
A third learning, which maybe is less apparent, is which if you look closely sufficient during a aged stories, you'll find luminosity which hasn't been elevated in to a normal canon. We know very small about Ling Zhao, yet her coming as a immature lady of knowledge is only a single of most examples throughout aged Buddhist stories. And you can bet which for every Laym! an Pang as well as Ling Zhao, there were plenty some-more who lived unrecorded lives, perhaps completely unrecognized outside of a small village they came from.
It tended to be a monastics who were educated, who wrote down a stories, as well as who upheld along what was considered to be a teachings of a day. So, we're left with a prejudiced record of events, persons, as well as practices - a single which absolved monastics, absolved men, as well as absolved those who had resources in their lives during a small point.
Even so, this doesn't meant you can't uncover a small of a knowledge of good lay practitioners of a past. We can. This small story offers a lot, as well as it's only a single of many. Instead of relying only upon a teachings of modern as well as current practitioners, you think it's wise to dig in to a past - to reap what you can from those who came prolonged before us.
