Ji Gong the 'Mad Monk'
In the Song Dynasty (1162 ?1194) there lived a monk named Ji Gong. Although his behavior was too outrageous for the elders of the Ling Yin Temple (near Hangzhou, China) Ji Gong had a kind heart and was always ready to lend a helping hand to the ordinary folks. Unlike monks of his time, Ji Gong ate meat and drank wine but his level of cultivation was so high that he came to know for himself the truth of Buddha�s Teachings. After being expelled from the temple, Ji Gong roamed the streets happily, helping people whenever he could. As he wore beggar-like clothes and was always seen smiling and laughing, people termed him the �Mad Monk?
It was said that Ji Gong possessed magical powers from his cultivation of Buddhism. As he always seemed to be able to assist the poor from being bullied by the rich, people began to think of him as a �Bodhisattva?who came to their aid without fail. It was not long before Ji Gong joined the ranks of the Eight Immortals and 18 Arhats, faithfully worshipped by laymen.
Even today, the Chinese believes that Ji Gong can help them overcome problems and difficulties. Here, he is depicted in his most famous posture; sitting on a rock with his knee up, his slippers abandoned at the bottom of the rock and holding a cup of wine. He seems to be laughing at the foolishness of corrupt officials who made life unbearable for ordinary folks. A symbol of this kind monk belongs in the �Helpful People?category. Place your Ji Gong in your Tien Yi corner of your home or office, or in your car for a little extra celestial aid from the legendary immortal!
Here is another one:
Ji Gong was a ancient Chinese. He rebeled against the Buddist leaders at that time. When he was told not to eat meat, he ate more than enough of it. When told not the drink wine, he drank more than a healthy serving of it(which he is doing in the carving). He is leaning against a giant peach. Back then, peaches were considered sacred fruit. No one was to touch it, but he is here laughing and drinking next to one. Very happy guy.
Best regards,
Agnes
jayryunen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Good Morning,
Rather than going to a Buddhist temple, you might try a regular bookstore or order
online. "Just Sitting" is published by Wsidom Publications, www.wisdompubs.org
> Well, I think my level of Zen learning right now is indeed focusing on humanity and
personal sense and how Zen attitude can influence our attitude and behaviors toward
our relationships with others and the environment. I challenge myself "How can I
move on to the next Zen level if I couldn't complete the basic level first?
In the US, zazen is considered the basic level. Correctly learning and practicing zazen
naturally gives rise to _expression_, without thinking... I am practicing Zen attitude or
philosophy.
> Thank you for helping me to know his name correctly,
Not correct, just different, like my name would be different in China.
> Personally I am more inspired by another Chinese figure, Ji Kun. Often people call
him "Crazy Monk", but he is a very wise man. He always wore a dirty and dragging
cloth, he drank wine and eat meat so people said he's crazy, but his message then
was "why wasting?". There are lots of stories about him. When look at his facial
_expression_, there are different looks from different angles, one side is laughing, one
side is sad and the other one actually mixes these two emotions together. One of his
famous message he taught us is "Don't get angry". Even though he was a monk from
Buddhism but he is also widely respected in Taoism.
Never heard of this guy, he sounds interesting. I'm going to ask a friend of mine
who's a long time Taoist if he's heard of him and maybe has a picture.
> It's my understanding that in Buddhism, people have to learn how to control our
desires with a pure heart and mind.
I get what you are saying, but I'd put it a little different. More like we restrain our
desires in order to allow our pure heart-mind to manifest.
> There are commandments towards few specific categories, e.g. we should be very
careful about food we eat, things we see, words we hear, words we speak, feeling we
feel, and the most challenging one is to pure our thought. These areas should be
what are vigilance focus on.
That's what I thought you meant by vigilance. This is indeed part of our training, but
it is not what is meant by non-conceptual awareness. Not at all.
> First of all, I am not a Buddhist. I chose Catholic as my religion but Zen study as
my living philosophy, so I am really a fresh student in Buddhism or Taoism. In
Taiwan, the vegetarian restaurants can make dishes with the name of vege-chicken,
vege-fish.... I also like to joke with my friends, who are either Buddhists or
Taoists,that they still can not go over the 'thought' part, because the use of word like
chicken/fish/duck... still assemble thought in 'meat', perhaps not in real form but still
in their thought. I don't know whether this interpretation is correct or wrong, kindly
enlight me with further thoughts.
LOL... Well, you're absolutely right about all the thinking around meat. Vegetarianism
is not a requirement of Buddhism, althought many practitioners are. Buddha himself
ate meat... his practice was to eat whatever was offered. I have heard friendly dispute
about whether or not Mahakashyapa (the greatest of ascetics) actually ate the leper's
finger that fell in his bowl.
> Thank you for helping me know the difference of meditation. Right now I am
focusing on relaxation meditation, because I can't do or think of anything else if I
don't have a good and balance health. No matter what, I think it is the best to
simply focus on the basic relaxation part and then see how the process will lead me.
Of course, I hope the next level that I can reach is intention-less meditation. I am not
quite sure if I would be interesting to get into the Tibetan/emptiness meditation that
to see 'things'.
Yes, meditation for relaxation is very useful, especially in our fast paced times. It
does indeed support the process of healing, and restoration. I myself don't really care
for the Tibetan practices. To my mind, it seems like adding more and more, not
letting go of more and more. And yet I have seen remarkable effects in sincere
Tibetan practitioners, so clearly it works for some people.
Agnes, in this country we have two main "styles" of Buddhist practice, regardless of
tradition. We have temples based on Asian immigrant communities that are very
much like traditional temples in Asia. And we have temples based on largely middle-
class white communities that are very untraditional. For example, in Japan it has been
the tradition that lay people were not taught zazen, were just expected to give
generously to support the monks and attend ceremonies, sort of like church on
Sundays. In US-derived groups, ceremony may hardly exist at all, and everyone is
taught zazen as soon as they walk in the door. We are much more practice oriented.
Perhaps this is true in Belgium as well. It may be that finding a practice oriented
group will be more helpful to you as a seeker than the traditional temple.
Blessings,
Ryunen
Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood
Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood
| Yahoo! Groups Sponsor | |
|
|
Yahoo! Groups Links
- To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
