On the Path to Enlightenment: An Immersion in Buddhist Monastic Life by Stephen Metcalf
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Transcript of On the Path to Enlightenment: An Immersion in Buddhist Monastic Life by Stephen Metcalf
This summer I participated in the Humanistic Buddhist
Monastic Life Program at Fo Guang Shan Monastery near
Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I experienced a week of silence, meditating for
about ten hours each day. There was no speaking, no hand
gestures, and no eye contact. I also took part in the International
Youth Seminar on Life and Ch'an where I met people from all over
the world, both practicing Buddhists and those interested in
learning. I studied at Fo Guang University and learned about
Buddhism from monastics, professors, and experts on Ch'an and
Pure Land. I toured the country for two weeks after the conclusion
of the program, seeing much of what Taiwan has to offer. I shaved
my head, became vegetarian, chanted sutras, and survived
typhoons. I lived the monastic life and began to discover how
fulfilling it is to focus my mind and search within.
“Your mind is yours. It is the
greatest thing you own and the
greatest thing you will ever
find.”
― Ven. Master Hsing Yun
"The religion of the future will
be a cosmic religion. It should
transcend personal God and
avoid dogma and theology.
Covering both the natural and
the spiritual, it should be based
on a religious sense arising
from the experience of all
things natural and spiritual
as a meaningful unity.
Buddhism answers this
description... If there is any
religion that could cope with
modern scientific needs, it
would be Buddhism.”
― Albert Einstein
“If we learn to open our hearts,
anyone, including the people
who drive us crazy, can be our
teacher.”
― Pema Chödrön
“Without inner peace, outer
peace is impossible. We all wish
for world peace, but world
peace will never be
achieved unless we first
establish peace within our own
minds. We can send so-called
'peacekeeping forces' into areas
of conflict, but peace cannot be
opposed from the outside with
guns. Only by creating peace
within our own mind and
helping others to do the same
can we hope to achieve peace in
this world.”
― Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
“By understanding your true self,
you will be able to see part of you in
everything in this world, and
everything in the world will be part
of you. This is true harmony.”
― Ven. Master Hsing Yun
“You are an aperture through
which the universe is looking at
and exploring itself.”
― Alan Wilson Watts