Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Mahayana Buddhism

Although I am still young, for most of my life, I have always been busy. I would wake up, go to school, go to soccer practice, study and do homework, and then, if lucky, sleep. I have spoken with many adults who have a similarly demanding lifestyle. Work occupies the majority of their day, not to mention family obligations, grocery shopping, long hours of checking emails, and maybe some much needed personal time like catching a movie or taking yourself out to dinner. Either way, the modern lifestyle in Scottsdale and Phoenix can be far from easygoing.

Buddhism? Who has the time for that?!

Because the Scottsdale-Phoenix lifestyle can be so hectic, it would make sense to think that practicing Buddhism is improbable and impractical. Who has time to practice or explore Buddhism in addition to everything else going on in life?

In Mahayana Buddhism, there are many ways to practice. There is sitting meditation, chanting mantras, reading teachings, visualizing positive ideas, and more. These are activities that are guided 100% towards Buddhism, and that when practicing, leave no time for anything else (it is pretty hard to chant mantras while talking on the phone). For convenience purposes, let us call this type of Buddhist practice "Type 1. "

"Type 1" Buddhist Practice

"Type 2" Buddhist practice, if you still allow me to denote my own classifications, is what makes Mahayana Buddhism applicable to Scottsdale and Phoenix. In this type of Buddhist practice, you can practice Buddhism 24/7, no matter what you are doing. This practice consists of focusing on mindfulness and the Bodhisattva lifestyle. Mindfulness is the act of being aware of the mind. This means watching your feelings, thoughts, emotions, and everything else that the mind seems to be involved with. It means watching why this makes you happy and why this makes you nervous, and why you want to do this at this time and that at that time. By being aware of your mind, you are still meditating, yet without entering full lotus position. You can practice mindfulness while working, driving, eating, and even while talking on the phone. Being mindful combines with the Bodhisattva lifestyle to create an extremely powerful Buddhist practice that is applicable anywhere, anytime. As I mentioned earlier, the Bodhisattva lifestyle is a way of life taught directly by the historical Buddha. The Buddha said that when practicing the Bodhisattva attitude, you are practicing with the most powerful method available in Buddhism (in my previous post, you will notice that this is Mahayana Buddhism's interpretation on teachings of the Buddha). The Bodhisattva lifestyle is the lifestyle dedicated to the well-being of all living beings. This means that if you are practicing the Bodhisattva way of life, your primary concern is the well-being of others; you are dedicated to creating happiness and eliminating suffering. This is accomplished by generating love, kindness, compassion, understanding, patience, and more for all living beings. When mindfulness combines with this Bodhisattva attitude, your practice still enforces the benefits and ideas of "Type 1" practice, so you are not necessarily losing anything by forgoing seated meditation or mantra chanting. There is never a time when you cannot try to be aware of your mind, and when you cannot try to generate loving compassion for those around you. This is the attitude taught at the Emaho Foundation, and this is the same attitude that allows the citizens of Scottsdale and Phoenix to participate in Buddhism without abandoning their busy lifestyle. "Type 2" Buddhist practice is a feature of Mahayana Buddhism that allows Buddhist practice to flourish at whatever level the practitioner wishes. You may notice that combining mindfulness with a Bodhisattva attitude is not necessarily spiritual in any way-- it is simply the act of focusing on kindness while being aware of yourself. This is one pillar of Buddhism that holds strong the Buddhist community of Scottsdale and Phoenix.

Mahayana Buddhism

Just like ice cream, Buddhism has many different flavors and varieties. However, despite the numerous strains that exist throughout the world, these varieties can be condensed into two main branches of Buddhism: Mahayana and Theravada.  Both traditions ultimately blossom from the teachings of the historical Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha, Prince Siddhartha), and thus they share similar goals and motives. To better understand these two schools of Buddhism, think of them as different expressions of the same teaching. Both types of Buddhism ultimately strive to eliminate suffering and the causes of suffering, as this was the Buddha's main objective when spreading his teachings.

The Historical Buddha

The differences arise in method and literature. As for literature, the Theravada tradition relies on teachings recorded in the Pali language, while the Mahayana tradition relies on teachings recorded in Sanskrit. Although these teachings essentially spread the same message (a means to be free from suffering, understanding suffering, etc.), that message can have different interpretations, which is how the two schools come to differ in method. The Mahayana tradition highly emphasizes the bodhisattva path as the most powerful method for reaching enlightenment (freedom from suffering and the causes of suffering). The bodhisattva path, in a nutshell, is the lifestyle that is dedicated to helping all other beings. The happiness of all others is the main concern of the bodhisattva, and bodhisattvas try to cultivate this happiness through compassion, a positive mindset, understanding, and more. The Theravada school of Buddhism does not emphasize the bodhisattva path as essentially as in the Mahayana tradition, but instead focuses more on meditations to cultivate wisdom and insight. 

The Emaho Foundation follows in the Mahayana tradition, along with North Asian countries such as Tibet, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia. The Theravada tradition has followers in Southern Asia, for example Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Understanding the Mahayana tradition is a crucial aspect of my research project, for I am studying the nature of the Mahayana tradition and how it applies in the local community in which I live. There are many extensive works written on the differences between various forms of Buddhism, and this blog post is just a tid-bit of the vast information available. 

Our Own Buddha Nature

When you think of the word "Buddha," you are most likely thinking of Shakyamuni Buddha, otherwise known as Prince Siddhartha. Shakyamuni Buddha is the historical Buddha, the Buddha that serves as a role model for Buddhist teachings. Shakyamuni Buddha embodies the qualities of compassion, fearlessness, thoughtfulness, and nearly every other quality that is promoted in Buddhism. Because of this, students of Buddhism are taught to respect this Buddha, similar to a high school quarterback respecting Peyton Manning for his passing ability or throwing technique.

Shakyamuni Buddha

In the Lam-Rim teachings taught by ZaChoeje Rinpoche, Rinpoche tells his listeners that by respecting these admirable qualities in the Buddha, we are respecting these same qualities in ourselves. When we admire Shakyamuni Buddha for his happiness, we are admiring our own ability to be happy. By respecting the Buddha as a role model, you begin to define what you wish to achieve and generate for yourself, whether it is happiness, patience, compassion, etc. I was often told to be wary of those I associate myself with, for one way or another, their influence will rub off on me. In other words, this is the idea that associations in life will influence your thoughts, actions, and behavior, either in a direct or indirect manner. Self-Help books claim that to be successful, you must surround yourself with successful people. Down a similar avenue, when you consciously admire Shakyamuni Buddha for being compassionate, you are creating an association (albeit, a mental, intangible one) that lets yourself know you respect compassion. "Compassion is something good," you tell yourself. Modern celebrities are often criticized for being a little too sexual, unintelligent, vulgar, or crude. These criticisms bear relevance because in some cases, these celebrities are the same people that the youth view as role models, and nobody wants the qualities of being unintelligent or vulgar to rub off on them. Just as a crude, drug-abusing celebrity can have negative influences as a role model, a compassionate, loving Shakyamuni Buddha can have positive influences. Thus, by respecting the Buddha-like nature of Shakyamuni Buddha, we respect the Buddha-like nature of ourselves.