Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Individual
Posts: 407
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:20 am

Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Individual »

Warning: This may offend some practitioners. Please be mindful of your speech. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BNSw-bfVqU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What do you think of this guy? Was it good or bad? Neither? Helpful or not? A lot of people could easily find good reason to see this man as a nutcase.

I heard elsewhere, by the way, that the scream isn't actually the monk screaming, but another student far across the room. The Zen monk was actually undisturbed. But off-camera two of his students broke their meditation to chase the man down, they were angry and confused, stole his air horn (second precept??), and told him to leave and never come back. If you look carefully, a lot of these people seem a bit old, so hopefully none of them had any cardiovascular problems that may have been aggravated by the incident. If you read the comments above, the guy said that he largely did this in order to impress a woman that he knew. That's kinda crazy, huh?

Anyway, after seeing the video of this guy, I was inspired to write this poem:
The crows caw,
The wind blows,
and the leaves rustle.
Shoes clap against the sidewalk,
The door opens and shuts.
The stairway creaks,
And sock-covered feet
Drag across the carpet.
The room is usually cold,
And yet they are peaceful.
But a monkey-man blows a horn,
And suddenly they are upset?
Is this meditation?
Hopefully, this guy won't go to hell, by the way. If that's the case, he may need lots of people to dedicate their merit to him.
User avatar
Mr. G
Posts: 4080
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 6:36 am
Location: Spaceship Earth

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Mr. G »

So lame and childish. Why does he take it upon himself to think he's the one to judge a person's meditation practice? Ego problems indeed.
  • How foolish you are,
    grasping the letter of the text and ignoring its intention!
    - Vasubandhu
User avatar
Ogyen
Posts: 738
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2009 5:36 pm

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Ogyen »

You know, initially, I just laughed. I didn't read the bits on the video on u-tube, so I even thought... I would not put it past a zen teacher to test his students and their patience, I could have even seen how a teacher could put a kid up to testing his/her students.

However, it was not. Interesting to note the kid did bow before entering the space, indicating he was a student.

I personally thought it was hilarious, but I can see how others might see it as an affront to their practice. Then again, I have a child that constantly interrupts everything I do, so perhaps I see this with different eyes than I would have before becoming a mom...?

:heart:
Ogyen.
Image Made from 100% recycled karma

The Heart Drive - nosce te ipsum

"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget." –Arundhati Roy
Huseng
Former staff member
Posts: 6336
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 3:19 pm

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Huseng »

We don't know what the reaction of the instructor was besides the villain being permanently banned.

My natural reaction would be to swear and curse and chase the asshole down and exercise skilful means.

But then I'm no master. :thumbsup:
plwk
Posts: 2932
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:41 am

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by plwk »

http://www.abuddhistperspective.org/abu ... fects.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It has been said that bodhisattvas fear causes while sentient beings fear effects.
May he be well and happy :buddha1:
User avatar
Tilopa
Posts: 557
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2010 3:53 am

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Tilopa »

A disrespectful and extremely immature thing to do imho.
User avatar
Hanzze
Posts: 256
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:40 pm

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Hanzze »

:rolling: we are serious practicer :rolling:
But much more mad is it to post and discuss it :rolling:
May I recall your seriousness again!! :rolling:
Just that! :-)
User avatar
Astus
Former staff member
Posts: 8881
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:22 pm
Location: Budapest

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Astus »

I think it's funny. No harm done. By the way, there's a Zen story similar to this (source).

Chin Ming-Hu was a powerful Chinese defense minister who lived toward the end of the Ming Dynasty. Although much of his life was devoted to military matters he also had a strong interest in Ch'an Buddhism. He would regularly invite Zen Master Hsin-Hueh Ta-Hsing to his place for dharma talks. One day when the Master was about to drink the usual cup of tea at the end of the talk there was suddenly a loud explosion. At the order of Chin a cannon had been fired at his signal to scare the Master. Many people were indeed frightened, but the Master continued to calmly drink his tea as if nothing had happened.

When he had finished his tea, the Master asked Chin, "That sounded like a cannon. Is there something wrong?" "I beg your pardon. I'm sure there is no problem." replied Chin evasively. "Cannon fire is such a routine occurrence in a military encampment that......."

After a while, a second round of tea was served. Just as Chin raised his cup to drink the Master gave a loud shout, creating quite a mess. Chin protested, "Master! Why did you do that?" Master Hsin-Hueh just laughed and said, "What's the matter? Don't you know that shouting is a routine occurrence in a Zen community?" Struck by the Master's calm and dignified manner, Chin offered his apology.
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Huseng
Former staff member
Posts: 6336
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 3:19 pm

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Huseng »

I like that story Astus. :thumbsup:

In the Awakening of Faith it suggests that through samatha one comes to be entirely undisturbed by sudden noises.

This is interestingly true, but if you don't keep up meditation regularly it wears off, or such has been my experience.
tamdrin
Posts: 291
Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2010 7:01 pm

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by tamdrin »

It's said that disturbing someone's shamatha meditation leads to rebirth in hell believe it or not...
User avatar
Ogyen
Posts: 738
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2009 5:36 pm

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Ogyen »

well, the kid was banned...

Sure, this might lead him to rebirth, but in the same lifetime, he could feel one real granule of true appreciation which would then redeem his consciousness from that hellish state.

In this sense, I think there is ample room for wiggle. Intention creates karma. But karma is not deterministic, so much as it is cumulative...
Image Made from 100% recycled karma

The Heart Drive - nosce te ipsum

"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget." –Arundhati Roy
User avatar
Mr. G
Posts: 4080
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 6:36 am
Location: Spaceship Earth

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Mr. G »

As a side note he wrote this in his youtube comment:
I wanted to make people laugh, to show the people there that meditation is more than "just sitting," and there's this girl who thinks I'm a wimp and I wanted to show her my newfound fearlessness without causing myself serious injury or ending up in prison.
Honestly, I think his intention was to impress a girl. Though I think it's a bit sad that he thought his stunt would "impress the ladies". If that's the case, he might as well prepare himself for the life of a celibate monk. Ba-dum-Bump! Thanks ladies and gents, I'll be here all weekend! :popcorn: :lol:
  • How foolish you are,
    grasping the letter of the text and ignoring its intention!
    - Vasubandhu
shel
Posts: 1500
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:38 pm

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by shel »

Individual wrote:Warning: This may offend some practitioners. Please be mindful of your speech. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BNSw-bfVqU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What do you think of this guy? Was it good or bad? Neither? Helpful or not? A lot of people could easily find good reason to see this man as a nutcase.

I heard elsewhere, by the way, that the scream isn't actually the monk screaming, but another student far across the room. The Zen monk was actually undisturbed. But off-camera two of his students broke their meditation to chase the man down, they were angry and confused, stole his air horn (second precept??), and told him to leave and never come back. If you look carefully, a lot of these people seem a bit old, so hopefully none of them had any cardiovascular problems that may have been aggravated by the incident. If you read the comments above, the guy said that he largely did this in order to impress a woman that he knew. That's kinda crazy, huh?

Anyway, after seeing the video of this guy, I was inspired to write this poem:
The crows caw,
The wind blows,
and the leaves rustle.
Shoes clap against the sidewalk,
The door opens and shuts.
The stairway creaks,
And sock-covered feet
Drag across the carpet.
The room is usually cold,
And yet they are peaceful.
But a monkey-man blows a horn,
And suddenly they are upset?
Is this meditation?
Hopefully, this guy won't go to hell, by the way. If that's the case, he may need lots of people to dedicate their merit to him.
How do you know what happened after the horn blast?
Individual
Posts: 407
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:20 am

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Individual »

shel wrote:
Individual wrote:Warning: This may offend some practitioners. Please be mindful of your speech. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BNSw-bfVqU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What do you think of this guy? Was it good or bad? Neither? Helpful or not? A lot of people could easily find good reason to see this man as a nutcase.

I heard elsewhere, by the way, that the scream isn't actually the monk screaming, but another student far across the room. The Zen monk was actually undisturbed. But off-camera two of his students broke their meditation to chase the man down, they were angry and confused, stole his air horn (second precept??), and told him to leave and never come back. If you look carefully, a lot of these people seem a bit old, so hopefully none of them had any cardiovascular problems that may have been aggravated by the incident. If you read the comments above, the guy said that he largely did this in order to impress a woman that he knew. That's kinda crazy, huh?

Anyway, after seeing the video of this guy, I was inspired to write this poem:
The crows caw,
The wind blows,
and the leaves rustle.
Shoes clap against the sidewalk,
The door opens and shuts.
The stairway creaks,
And sock-covered feet
Drag across the carpet.
The room is usually cold,
And yet they are peaceful.
But a monkey-man blows a horn,
And suddenly they are upset?
Is this meditation?
Hopefully, this guy won't go to hell, by the way. If that's the case, he may need lots of people to dedicate their merit to him.
How do you know what happened after the horn blast?
I saw it on Reddit. :)
User avatar
Mr. G
Posts: 4080
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 6:36 am
Location: Spaceship Earth

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Mr. G »

Individual wrote: I saw it on Reddit. :)
:lol: I don't deny I go there for my pop-culture and politics fix.
  • How foolish you are,
    grasping the letter of the text and ignoring its intention!
    - Vasubandhu
shel
Posts: 1500
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:38 pm

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by shel »

Individual wrote:
shel wrote: How do you know what happened after the horn blast?
I saw it on Reddit. :)
I see, well, maybe I asked the wrong question. I should have asked if you happen to live in Maryland. :jumping:
Heruka
Posts: 1069
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:34 am
Contact:

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Heruka »

:rolling:


good time to watch nature of mind!


seriously though,

$5 for a heart attack victim is no joke!
spiritnoname
Posts: 160
Joined: Tue May 19, 2009 9:25 am

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by spiritnoname »

He was banned?!

Another reason for me to think Zen is for losers. Someone pulls a small prank like that and then ban? Because they were a little shocked,.. That's pathetic. Why don't they ban children who make noise and their family while they're at it?

<< sends the place a e-mail.

Hopefully they will come to the forum and explain why this person deserved to be banned.

You guys,.. people don't go to hell for pranks, more matters than just the object and the activity, the intention matters.
User avatar
Tilopa
Posts: 557
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2010 3:53 am

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Tilopa »

spiritnoname wrote: You guys,.. people don't go to hell for pranks, more matters than just the object and the activity, the intention matters.
Maybe it was his intention was to be disruptive and disrespectful. I don't think there's anything particularly meritorious in deliberately provoking anger in others no matter who they are.
Huseng
Former staff member
Posts: 6336
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 3:19 pm

Re: Guy disturbs Zen monk's meditation (video)

Post by Huseng »

spiritnoname wrote:He was banned?!

Another reason for me to think Zen is for losers. Someone pulls a small prank like that and then ban? Because they were a little shocked,.. That's pathetic. Why don't they ban children who make noise and their family while they're at it?

<< sends the place a e-mail.

Hopefully they will come to the forum and explain why this person deserved to be banned.

You guys,.. people don't go to hell for pranks, more matters than just the object and the activity, the intention matters.

Well let's be honest for a lot of people compassion, tolerance and equanimity are given plenty of lip service, but when push comes to shove such ideas are tossed out the window and typical emotional reactions come to the fore.

You see this in temples and dharma centers all the time no matter the lineage. One might meditate regularly and talk about the joys of compassion and tolerance, but then turn around and gossip about other members while actively working against them.

I've seen people go into fits over little things like someone sitting in the "master's chair" in the tea room (even though he doesn't care about it). All the while they're talking about loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.

One ironic thing is that in Zen and Chan traditions they like citing stories of old masters who did seemingly irrational things like burning Buddha statues as examples of how we shouldn't be attached to name and form. However, if someone nowadays did that they'd call the cops. On a lesser level just step out of line or break some petty rule and they'll be #$%#ing hell to pay. Discipline will probably be punitive and charged with emotion rather than hoping the rule breaker sees the error in their ways (that's of course assuming they actually intentionally did something with harmful intent).

Maybe that's just how the majority of humanity operates?

In this case with the prank if I was there I'd call him an ###hole and just leave it at that. No sense generating negative karma on your own part by hoping he suffers by dishing out punitive measures. If he proceeded to do this every week it'd be another issue, but what's wrong with just calling him a dumbass and leaving it at that if it was just once?
Post Reply

Return to “Zen”