Orange County Buddhist Church

The Role of Practice in Shin Buddhism (2): The Meaning of Listening to the Dharma (Monpo)

    Last month I wrote about the topic of practice in Shin Buddhism, and how the traditional view does not recognize or acknowledge any kind of practice or process. in the Shin Buddhist path. Meditation, or any other kind of concrete practices are frowned upon as reflecting the self power, or jiriki schools of Buddhism. The question that remains, however, especially for the newcomer to Buddhism, is what should I do? Isn’t there something that I can do to understand Buddhism better? How does one become a person of the Nembutsu? Is it some kind of magical osmosis in which years from now we can only hope that it has somehow "sunk in"? What can a person do?

In response to that, traditional Shin Buddhism has asserted only one thing that we can do. That one thing is to listen to the Dharma (Monpo). Mon means to hear or listen. Po is the character for Dharma. When this character appears alone, it is pronounced ho, but when combined with mon, in this unique case it is pronounced po, or also bo.

What does it mean to listen to the Dharma? Traditionally, it means to listen to sermons, to listen to Dharma talks.  One listens, over and over, year after year. In Japan, because there are many temples within close proximity, it is possible to listen to various ministers without traveling too far.  Also in Japan, during special services, like Ho-onko, Shinran's memorial, there would often be several days of speakers. A temple might sponsor a series of Dharma talks by a guest speaker for three or four days, and the speaker would lecture in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Through listening in that manner, people in Japan have become faithful followers of the Nembutsu.

I think that our Buddhist Education Center is now fulfilling that role of providing people the opportunity to listen to the Dharma, through the various classes that we have been offering.  I also feel, however, that the concept of "listening", needs to be expanded here in America.

We recently completed a course on Zen meditation and Shin Buddhism, taught by Rev. Koshin Ogui. I wrote about his unique approach to propagating Shin Buddhism in last month’s article.  For those who took the class, I think that everyone found it both enjoyable and meaningful.

I feel that meditation can have an important role, even in Shin Buddhism, to provide the atmosphere, the frame of mind for us to truly listen to and hear the Dharma.

Think of our lifestyles nowadays. From the minute that we get up, to the moment that we go to bed, our day

is one big rush-rush, with a million things on our mind. We rush to get ourselves and our kids ready for work and school. We fight traffic and grow impatient as we wait for signals or are stuck on a clogged freeway. At work we deal with office politics, a difficult boss or employees, and the pressures of deadlines or sales quotas. After work we fight traffic again, pick up the kids at school or daycare, and then rush to fix a quick dinner.  After dinner, there is homework or our own work to tend to, then get the kids ready for bed.

            Haven’t you had days where you wonder, “Is this what life is? Am I destined to live this kind of rat race for the rest of my life?"

            With our lifestyle these days, there is no time to pause, to reflect, to be calm and still. That is why meditation is perhaps something that is really needed in our world and society today. There is the practical need, the practical side of meditation that I think should be considered in American Shin Buddhism.

Because of our modem lifestyle, even when we do have the opportunity to listen to the Dharma in service, our minds are easily distracted. We think of all the things that we have to do, the problems at work or home, and countless other things. Our mind is so scattered and unsettled, that it .is difficult to really listen. We find it difficult to even listen to a twenty or thirty minute talk.

I think that meditation can provide the proper atmosphere, or frame of mind for us to really listen to the Dharma.

During Rev. Ogui's sessions, he emphasized more “doing”, and less “talking”. In other words, we sat in meditation, did walking meditation and chanting meditation. His talks at the end of each session were brief, but the words had more impact, because we had the mind and heart to listen. With a more settled and uncluttered mind, the words and questions he posed really stuck. They left you with something to really think about. One person who took the class told me that he thought all week long on one of the questions that Rev. Ogui posed to us.

It is my feeling that for Shin Buddhism in America, the “practice” of “listening to the Dharma”, should have an expanded meaning to include meditation. What does listening mean? It means to listen to a Dharma talk. It means to read and study the Dharma.  It means to discuss the teachings with others. It means to chant the sutras. It means to offer incense and bow one's head in humbleness and reverence. It means to sit in quiet meditation. It means all of the above.

When we listen in that manner, the Shin Buddhist path will become very meaningful to us. We will begin to see. the Dharma manifested in the world around us. We wi1l be able to relate the teachings to our everyday life in a practical and spiritual sense. We will actually begin to see that our religious life and our everyday life are one and the same.

We will begin to listen and hear things that we have not heard before.  We will hear a truth or message in a sermon, beyond whether the talk was good or bad, interesting or boring.  We will begin to hear beyond the words of our husbands and wives, parents and children.  We will begin to hear the message of life manifested by a flower or a tree.  We will begin to hear Namuamidabutsu, from somewhere beyond our ego self.

We will begin to truly hear the Dharma (Monpo).

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