A visit from the Buddha's light
When I took my graduate studies in Painting and Art History in the US many decades back, I was also quietly doing audit courses on Comparative Religions where my inherent interest for spirituality was finding its first roots. If art and its history represented for me the evolution of man’s expression in the plastic arts and architecture, then the study of religions and world faiths was the vehicle from where my passion for spirituality and consciousness flowered.
Underneath all the world religions are commonalities that speak of Man’s soul and reason for being in this world giving light to questions as: Why am I here? Why am I alive? Who am I? Where am I going? Perhaps we should now collectively ask these questions like, “Where are we all going as human beings?
In the Philippines, which is predominantly a Catholic and Christian society, other faiths and belief systems such as Buddhism are not found in the mainstream. The spiritual practices of Christianity (church, prayer, community) are similar to Buddhism (temple, meditation, sangha or community) that I know a lot of Catholic-Christians (yes, Catholic priests and nuns even) who have told me their spiritual practices are now a mix of Christian-Buddhist.
Recently, I have been bumping into people who have chosen Buddhism as their path. What I love about Buddhism is its objective of ending suffering, and it has clear practices on how this can be achieved. There are many forms of Buddhism, many ways of understanding Buddhism. If we have a hundred people practicing Buddhism, chances are we may have a hundred forms of Buddhism. The same is true in Christianity. If there are a hundred thousand people practicing Christianity, there may be a hundred thousand ways of understanding Christianity.
In the world today, the most popular personality of Tibetan Buddhism is the Dalai Lama who is the head of the Gelupa group. But there are many other sects of Tibetan Buddhism coming from different lineages of masters and teachers, said to be incarnations of souls through generations and centuries. Another is the Karma Kagyu lineage that predates the Dalai Lama lineage by more than 200 years.
This June, the Philippine Nedo Kagyu Bodhi Dharma Foundation, a Tibetan Buddhist organization, will be hosting the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, said to be a continuation of an incarnated Great Teacher since the 12th century. The present Karmapa will be here first week of June for the second time (the first time was in 2006). The visit is called “Transformation for Happiness.” He will be coming to Manila to officiate a series of empowerment seminars, dharma teachings and consultations (on June 3-6, 2012 at the SMX). He will also conduct teaching techniques on obtaining happiness. On June 3, there will be a Medicine Buddha Session that aims to pacify and balance the five elements of the body thereby correcting mental and physical illnesses and dysfunction. On June 4, a Dorje Sempa Session will teach method of purification of past and present karma. It does so by transforming negative thoughts and emotions to positive ones to make the mind pure and peaceful. On June 5, an Amitabha Buddha Session will teach the way to liberation from suffering even while still alive. On June 6, there will be a Transformation to Happiness Session.
The Karmapa seems to be urged to come to the country to show what and how Buddhism can contribute to our predominantly Catholic society. As Buddhism is a tool to practice and to live accordingly, the Karmapa believes that Filipinos can have a Catholic or Christian belief system and still look at life through the lens of Buddhism. Through the teachings and with proper mind training, one can take control of life in order to create a happier world for oneself and then for others. Gautama Buddha taught The Noble Eightfold Path (Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration), which describes the way to the end of suffering. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things. Together with the Four Noble Truths that explain the nature of suffering (anxiety, stress, unhappiness, and all that we can term negative emotions), its causes and how it can be overcome. The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path constitute the gist of Buddhism. Great emphasis is put on the practical aspect, because it is only through practice that one can attain a higher level of existence and finally reach Nirvana. The eight aspects of the path are not to be understood as a sequence of single steps, instead they are highly interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each other.
The Buddhist precepts are really moral codes that everyone can practice and follow. The Karmapa’s visit with the theme of “Transformation for Happiness” is timely and relevant because our world is reeling in an in-between phase of confusion, flatland materialism, egoistic greed and narcissistic vanities. The transformational path of spirituality and uplifting of consciousness is the direction everyone should be taking today to become better people, to be positive, elevated, joyful and to live happy fulfilling lives.
The Karmapa will have empowerment sessions so one will get blessings of the lineage as well as instructions on how to practice to be able to attain one’s happiness and enlightenment. The practice of Buddhist precepts has become universal because these are inherent in all religions. If we would all gather to meet the Pope, or the Dalai Lama if they came to the Philippines, I think this event will draw as many people, too, in empowerment sessions, which will help lift the energy and consciousness of those who will attend!
(Admission is free but pre-registration is required.
For more details, log on to nedobodhicenter.org and pre-register at nedofreeticket@gmail.com. Venue is SMX Function Room 5 on June 3 to 6 at 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.)
