Chanting prayer ceremony at Bodh Gaya

Starting Monday, hundreds of Buddhist monks and practioners from all over the world gathered in Bodh Gaya for an eleven-day chanting prayer ceremony.

At the Mahabodhi temple, monks and nuns chanted from the "Tipitaka", praying for world peace and prosperity for all living beings. It is said that the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, where 250 years later, emperor Ashoka built the Mahabodhi temple.

Bodh Gaya is a city in the Indian state of Bhihar.

Rolling Stone: Chrissie Hynde

The Rolling Stone features an interview with Chrissie Hynde, the Pretenders singer, who talks about what she's been up as well as her new record Break Up the Concrete, the first Pretenders disc in six years.

Her first question refers to her album's opening line, Nam myoho renge kyo. Sound familiar? This is the same line that Amy Winehouse has currently adopted in her chanting practices. This line also makes other appearances in Western pop culture, such as The Simpsons and Boy Meets World.

Click here for my previous blog entry introducing the origin of this line.

"The opening line on your album is a Buddhist phrase, "Nam myoho renge kyo." Where did you learn that?

About 1971, this guy and I were hitchhiking through Canada. We thought we were John and Yoko. Somebody told us that if we got to Toronto, we should stay with this woman Georgia Ambrose, who held Buddhist ceremonies at her house. We called her and she said, "What sign are you?" "Well, we're both Virgos." And she goes, "Come over, I need some Virgo energy." When we got there, that's what they were chanting. It means, basically, that every drop that goes to the vein comes back to the heart.'"

Burning of Lotus Flowers in Tibetan Buddhism

So I spent this past Saturday at a very interesting Tibetan Buddhist event run by one of my parents' friends and her Tibetan Buddhist group. It was held at a small suburban home in Rowland Heights, mainly in their backyard and living room furnished with Buddhist statues. Before we went, I was told by my parents that we were burning paper folded into lotus flowers for our ancestors. I spent Friday night making folding one of the lotus flowers using special ritual paper and writing the name of whom the flower was supposed to be given to. I've burned paper money for my ancestors many times as part of certain Chinese holidays so burning paper lotus flowers wasn't strange or new at all.

When we arrived at the house, I was first surprised to find that it was located at a small house - I was expecting some sort of temple. Also I was surprised to find the monastic leading the procession was a woman. We started setting up fruits, snacks, and vegetarian dishes in front of the statue of Guanyin, the Boddhisatva of Compassion also referred to as Avalokitesvara in Sanskrit. We also brought several small stations to burn the paper in. My mother helped the other women (most of the people there were women) fold the remaining lotus flowers and we started the procession.

The monastic chanted and read off names of the ancestors each household wanted to receive the lotus flowers. We burned incense and prayed before going into the house to chant. They chanted in Sanskrit, which I found extremely interesting because I've never heard it done before. After the chanting, the burning of the lotus flowers began and each household threw paper money and paper lotus flowers into the flames. By the time everyone finished burning their flowers, it was 8pm at night and they prepared the vegetarian dishes for everyone to share.

At first all this seemed quite odd and boring. The people attending the event seemed ridiculously superstitious, claiming to be able to communicate to spirits of the other world. The monastic individually confirmed to each household that their ancestors were present in the room while we were chanting using divination tools that looked like a pair of red, wooden apple slices. Many people that attended claimed to have come because they had dreams about loved ones who've passed away (even dogs) asking for the lotus flowers. Supposedly, my parents' friend told my dad that my grandfather told her he needed exactly 72 lotus flowers. For what reason? I don't know. In fact, most people there didn't seem to know what the purpose of the flowers were. Why are they burning lotus flowers? The closest thing I got to an answer was that it's equivalent to an upgrade for those passed away, like upgrading from economy to first class on an airplane. So at the end of the procession I asked the leader, the monastic.

She first warned me that she'd only be able to give me a simple description, since it's a very complicated tradition. And since she spoke in Chinese and I am attempting to paraphrase it in English, this will probably be an even more watered down version of her description. The point of burning the lotus flowers lies in their function to purify and rid one of suffering. She told me that many people who die are not able to complete the cycle of rebirth and remain as spirits on Earth. Sometimes its because of an illness they had in their previous life, sometimes its because of a problem that was left unsettled. But by burning the lotus flower, these spirits are able to treat whatever is preventing them from fulfilling the cycle of rebirth and go on to their next life.

At first, all this sounded, once again, ridiculously superstitious and disconnected from the Buddhism I am used to hearing about. I was hesitant to believe that by burning some paper flowers that we'd save wandering spirits and lead them to their next life. However, the monastic said something that finally made the connection between their specific practice in Tibetan Buddhism and the general, personal application of Buddhism with my own life. She told me that it's often not the paper flowers that help your ancestors but the heart that we put into making them. It's the compassion that one has for others - their family, their relatives, their friends - that is the most powerful force to rid them of their suffering. To me, that was something I could understand, and despite the fact that I may not be used to their traditions and rituals, I found the common ground that makes us all Buddhists and worth interacting with each other.

From the recent activities fair at UCLA and some flyers posted around campus, I've found three other Buddhist student groups on campus: one focused on meditation, one on chanting, and one on community service. Since UBA is mostly a discussion-based Buddhist student group, it seems as though all four Buddhist groups (and maybe more) have something unique to offer and share with the others. I hope we will be able to hold events where we can all meet and share our interests with each other.

Beckhams turn Buddhist

Yes, we have more celebrity Buddhists to add to the list. Now, David and Victoria Beckham have turned to Buddhism to cope with their hectic celebrity lives in California. Except is it really Buddhism they are practicing?

"David has begun wearing health, prosperity and performance beads around his wrist. He has started yoga and stretching classes after a knee injury, and then a teammate suggested Buddhist chanting to soothe his mind. "

"David and Victoria are really getting into the whole holistic, healthy vibe too. Victoria often picks up a soya latte at an organic cafe called Urth Caffe, which is next to The Bodhi Tree bookstore, where she bought hundreds of dollars' worth of self-help books."

"They have had Chinese Feng Shui experts come in to rearrange their home, hope it will improve David's luck on the soccer pitch and their chances of conceiving. They have turned into the ultimate hippy power couple!"

So let's see - apparently Buddhism for the British soccer idol and former Spice Girl involves....

1. morning chanting

2. holistic (whatever that means) and healthy diet

3. health, prosperity, and performance beads

4. yoga

5. Chinese Feng Shui

6. Bodhi Tree self-help books

Well, I guess Buddhism comes in all forms. I hope they know or figure out there's much more to Buddhism than diets and beads - maybe mentioning the Three Jewels (no, they aren't more beads) will catch their attention.

One more to the list of celebrity Buddhists

Yes, another celebrity has embraced the teachings of the Buddha. This time, its Amy Winehouse and we all know she probably needs it too. One of her musicians introduced Buddhist chanting to her as a way of recovering from her rather chaotic life of severe health problems as a result of drug abuse. She has also watched the Youtube video of an interview with Tina Turner in which she describes her conversion to Buddhism and chants "Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō", the same chant that Amy has adopted.

Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō is translated as "Devotion to the Mystic Law of cause and effect that exists throughout all the sounds and vibrations of the universe". It's a mantra chanted as the main practice of Nichiren Buddhism, a branch of Buddhism distinguished by its focus on the Lotus Sutra and the belief of an innate Buddha nature in all people. Nichiren Buddhism also separates itself from other sects of Japanese Buddhism, of which they believe to be deviations from the orthodoxy of Mahayana Buddhism.

The phrase "Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō" seems to have an interesting pattern of appearance in pop culture. Besides Tina Turner, it has been used by The Wayans Bros, Boy Meets World, and even The Simpsons. No wonder Amy Winehouse chose this particular phrase to chant.

And as a closing note, here are a list of Buddhist Celebrities, many of which may come off a bit surprising (Keanu Reeves? Steven Seagal??).

Orlando Bloom
Leonard Cohen
Richard Gere
Angelina Jolie
Tina Turner
Uma Thurman
Miranda Kerr
Jet Li
Kate Hudson
Dennis Weaver
Allen Ginsberg
Philip Glass
Phil Jackson
K.D. Lang
Courtney Love
Alanis Morissette
Victor Pelevin
Keanu Reeves
Sting
Thuy Trang
Tiger Woods
Naomi Watts
Sharon Stone
Ming-Na Wen
Steve Jobs
Steven Seagal