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Metta

Zi Zhui Male
Johannesburg, South Africa

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Zi Zhui left a comment for Dharmakara 1 day ago
Dharmakara left a comment for Zi Zhui 1 day ago
Zi Zhui replied to the discussion The Fifth Precept 1 day ago
Dharmakara left a comment for Zi Zhui 1 day ago
Zi Zhui replied to the discussion The Fifth Precept Aug 18
Zi Zhui replied to the discussion The Fifth Precept Aug 18
Dharmavidya and Zi Zhui are now friends Aug 15
Zi Zhui left a comment for Dharmakara Aug 14

Profile

Hometown:
Johannesburg
About Me:
Took the first steps on the Way of the Buddha in 2004. Currently practicing Chan and Pure Land, but is still caught-up in daiiy samsaric activities. Employed as a public servant, but see myself rather giving a service to the public. Also practice tai chi, yoga and chi kung (qigong). Amitofo.

Zi Zhui's Blog

To be Perfect

According to Buddhism for a man to be perfect there are two qualities that he should develop equally: compassion on one side, and wisdom on the other. Here compassion represents love, charity, kindness, tolerance and such noble qualities on the emotional side, or qualities of the heart, while wisdom would stand for the intellectual side or the qualities of the mind. If one develops only the emotional neglecting the intellectual, one may become a good-hearted fool; while to develop only the intel… Continue

Posted on April 29th, 2008 at 10:31pm — No Comments (Add)

An Affirmation of the Bodhisattva Way of Life

Preamble The principle that there is no distinction between doctrine and practice constitutes the basis of all Buddhist thought, no matter how much it may be lost in sectarian Buddhist ideas. The Buddhist spiritual experience will reveal itself neither to the scholar nor to the conversationalist, but only to the man or woman who makes the central conceptions of Buddhist thought the basis of their mental activity, the subject of their deepest meditation, and the foundation of all their act… Continue

Posted on March 5th, 2008 at 4:30am — 1 Comment (Add)

A Buddhist Constitution

More than 600 years before the British had their Magna Carta and more than a thousand years before the US Constitution a Japanese Prince (a Buddhist practitioner) drafted a constitution. Prince Shôtoku's Seventeen-Article Constitution C.E. 604, Summer, 4th Month, 3rd day. The Prince Imperial Shôtoku in person prepared laws for the first time. There were seventeen clauses, as follows: 1. Harmony should be valued and quarrels should be avoided. Everyone has his biases, and few men… Continue

Posted on March 2nd, 2008 at 9:48pm — No Comments (Add)

The Buddhist Life

"Every place is hallowed ground, Every day is a good day, Every act is worship, Waking or sleeping, Dead or alive." (source unknown) "Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and spritual; and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity". -Albert Einstein I"f the… Continue

Posted on March 2nd, 2008 at 9:30pm — No Comments (Add)

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At 1:20am on August 20th, 2008, Dharmakara said…
If you need to contact me in the future, ple3ase just send an email through Mahabodhi IP.

Metta and warm regards,

DK
At 6:25pm on August 19th, 2008, Dharmakara said…
Zi Zhui, I thought that you might be interested in a thesis I ran across entitled "Buddhist Virtue, Ethics, and the Oneness of Practice and Attainment":

http://folk.uio.no/ingeba/buddha.html
At 3:25am on August 14th, 2008, Dharmakara said…
Correct... because the meat/fish was not killed for you or the person you're paying for, it would not only be an appropriate and proper expression of the Dharma, but possibly a stepping stone for further reflection --- issues like whether or not it is appropriate to release species of aquatic wildlife in waterways if they are not native to the region, ect.

As for question in regard to nationalism and political agendas within the institutionalized Sangha --- yes, it is a serious problem. it seems as if this kind of behavior rears it's ugly head wherever the Sangha has gotten a taste of power or thinks it's entitled to something or another.

As for Myanmar, I believe Matt Milligan offered the best description and critique in his blog, Buddhologie:

"With all the hubbub about the Saffron Revolution in Burma, I thought I'd do a little digging to test my hypothesis that Buddhist monks aren't always the good guys. To summarize, my primary thought on the current Burma (Myanmar) situation is that (i) yes the monks are doing a good thing, (ii) the monks have a right to voice their opinion and strive for democracy for an oppressed people, but (iii) the monks are not entirely innocent. Why are they (probably) not entirely innocent? Well, they are choosing now, as opposed to last year, or the year before that, or the year before that, and so on, to protest. The fact is, they have been sustained by the Burmese government for decades and live quite comfortably compared to the rest of the population."

You might wish to read a couple of editorials I wrote a while back, one in Myanmar and the other in regard to the Tibetan riots:

http://www.mahabodhi.net/myanmar.htm

http://www.mahabodhi.net/gordon_thomas.htm
At 11:55pm on August 13th, 2008, Dharmakara said…
Dear Zi Zhui,

I'm not sure if I was suppose to reply to your message on my own page (which i did) or here on your page, so there's a copy of the reply below --- could you let me know which way is proper?

Although there are several "layers" in your question, it all comes down to mindfulness, to awaken and be aware of the Buddha-nature within.

The Buddha was quite clear on the matter: "Monks, I allow you fish and meat that are quite pure in three respects: if they are not seen, heard or suspected to have been killed on purpose for a monk. But, you should not knowingly make use of meat killed on purpose for you."

Then we have the spirit in which this was established and how it relates to the Buddha-nature within, where to recognize one's own Buddha-nature means that one also recognizes the Buddha-nature within others, so it's not an issue of whether the life of a monastic is easier or not in regard to this, but the degree in which one practices and upholds the Dharma.

In such a circumstance as you describe, there would be nothing inappropriate in discussing this with your guests in advance so they are aware of it... or, if you are planning to pay for the meals to begin with, simply sidestep the issue through skillful means and choose a vegetarian restaurant.
At 1:00am on August 13th, 2008, Dharmakara said…
You're correct, it's not easy, but the constant striving toward the "ideal" is what matters, to no fall back into illusion. One falls, then one gets up and hopefully learns not to fall in the same way again.

In some ways it's like entering the stream to only swim against the current, so to speak, but you might be surprised to hear that it is usually easier for for the lay person than the monastic --- this is more related to a failure within the institutionalized Sangha to see beyond the written letter of any given precept --- in other words, it is just as easy to break a precept by ignoring it all together as it would be to recognize the written letter, but not the spirit in which it was first established.

A perfect example of this would be the 6th major precept of the Bodhisattva canon, where if through collective silence we have knowingly allowed someone to suffer or be abused than we have also become willing participants in that suffering or abuse --- see the difference between the written letter and the spirit in which it was given? Delete Comment
At 1:28pm on August 12th, 2008, Ryan Vong said…
Zi,

Thanks so much for the comment, and your continued posts...that is what really makes the site successful.
At 7:32am on August 12th, 2008, Dharmakara said…
I see that you included the Affirmation of the Bodhisattva Way of Life on your blog... you might wish to check out the old Paramita course: http://www.shantideva.net/assembly/
 
 

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