Assignment 2 RELG 253

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McGill University *

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253

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Religion

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Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Assignment 2 A friend told you about a new religious community in the Laurentian Mountains. It was founded by a female teacher of East Asian descent. Members live in a communal setting, engage in daily chanting, walking, meditation, and physiological exercises. Visitors and neighbors in surrounding areas reported that there are shrines dedicated to various deities within the compound. The founder-teacher is also said to hold regular séance where she offers advice and healing to those who come to her for help. There is no existing literature about the group, they do not have a presence on the internet, and they seem to shun media attention. Drawing from course materials, analyse and discuss at least THREE aspects of the group and their practice. An aspect of the group and their practice would be their practicing of Meditation Tradition also known as Chan Buddhism. Chan is the Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which means meditation. Chan just implied an individual who practiced meditation. In spite of the fact that meditation was a typical act, all things considered, Chan called itself the Meditation school since it professed to be the main custom addressing the first educating of Śākyamuni, the chronicled Buddha. Not at all like Tiantai and Huayan, which find legitimizing expert in sacred writings, Chan advocates mind-to-mind transmission. One accomplishes edification by pondering like the Buddha did, without depending on scriptural review or strict ceremonies. Truth was sent from the Buddha's brain to his follower Mahākāśyapa, who, thus, completed the transmission to his educates, the Chan patriarchs. Chan, which grew later than Tiantai and Huayan, attempted to lay out its prevalence by following its ancestry back over the Buddha through patriarchal transmission. (Yü, 2020) The one thing that really interests me about Chan Buddhism is its practice in daily life. From the reading Chinese Buddhism by Chün-fang Yü, (Yü, 2020) what I have learned is that practice should not be separated from living, and living should be one’s practice at all times. Legitimate practice incorporates developing care, empathy, instinct, and astuteness. Love yourself less and others more. We should be aware about our changing mental and states of being. See how they affect your thoughts, words and actions. In the entirety of our activities, we ought to consider whether our goals are useful to other people. Along these lines, we can actually look at ourselves prior to acting. If we put other people before ourselves, selfish feelings will not arise as frequently. Considering others is as much a type of training as reflection. Aware creatures have their own karmic causes and conditions, their own benefits and temperance, their own karma. You can't transform them, nor would you be able to take on others' karma. The key significance is your goal. You ought to genuinely attempt to help other people, regardless of whether you succeed. Do nothing that will cause you to feel tense, tired, or hopeless. Assuming you whip yourself constantly, you will be no utilization to other people or yourself. Use reflection as a supporting discipline and Buddhadharma as your aide. Do all that can be expected, yet don't push excessively hard. These all value will be inculcated in the community according to me. Another aspect of the group is their believe in shamans. The term shaman is controversial and has no single agreed-upon definition, but many academics use it to refer to spiritual practitioners in a number of different cultures who enter a trance state to communicate with spirits or heal the

ill. There are also some Buddhist practices that incorporate shamanistic elements, such as meditation and visualization exercises and from the reading Shamanic Interventions in 1920s Korea (Hwang, 2020) I found this really interesting so I would like to believe that it will be an aspect in this community. The interesting part is where Shamanism meets Buddhism. Both shamanism and Buddhism try to imbibe the secrets of life through their own particular way. In shamanic practice, the shamanic venture gives a technique for request that is centered fundamentally around framing associations with typically inconspicuous types of direction contained in the regular world. These types of direction are frequently called "helping spirits." These assisting spirits with assisting the shaman in mending, divination and critical thinking. In Buddhist practice, contemplation, study and reflection inside the setting of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path is the essential vehicle for self-development. The community may have a strong believe that shamanism will facilitate spiritual growth and enlightenment, and to connect with the spiritual realm. If we get a chance to visit the community, I believe we will see practitioners sit in silence and focus on their breath, allowing their minds to become still and open to the possibility of communication with spirits and I believe that this communication can take many forms, such as a sense of deep peace or a sudden insight into the nature of reality. (Hwang, 2020) One more aspect of the community would be the presence of a stupa and/or a chaitya and/or a vihara. As per the reading Transnational Mountain Cult, Local Religiopolitical and Economic Concerns: Mount Wutai and the Kamakura period miracle tales of Tōnomine (Andrews, 2018), the stupa is a significant object in Buddhist art and architecture. A vihara a Buddhist monastery that contains a residence hall for the monks. A chaitya is an assembly hall that contains a stupa. The most common feature we will find in all three monuments will be the presence of statues or images of the Buddha. These images are usually placed at the front of the monument, where they can be seen and worshipped by the people who visit it. The monuments are also often decorated with intricate carvings and paintings. If we visit these monuments, we can find people meditating and praying. The most important feature of a stupa is the spire, which represents the Buddha's crown. By reading all the articles and journals posted on my courses like Transnational Mountain Cult, Local Religiopolitical and Economic Concerns: Mount Wutai and the Kamakura period miracle tales of Tōnomine (Andrews, 2018) and Knowing a Sentient Mountain: Space, science, and the sacred in ascents of Mount Paektu/Changbai (Rogaski, 2018), what I found really interesting was the way they described the structure and architecture of a stupa. The stupa according to me is an architectural masterpiece. I had the privilege of going to Sanchi Stupa located in India and I was completely in awe of the monument, particularly with the main structure of the Stupa which is a huge hemispherical dome that has a simple design. The dome which rests on a base, under which is a relic chamber. According to popular beliefs, the dome was constructed over the relics belonging to Lord Buddha. I would really like to believe that this community would have a stupa or a chaitya or vihara where people can go to meditate and pray. (Andrews, 2020) (Castiglioni, Rambelli, And Roth, 2020) (Rogaski, 2018) References

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