Extreme Pilgrim

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Snoopy

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This sounds interesting…

Vicar Peter Owen Jones takes a look into Zen Buddhism, Hinduism and ascetic Christianity in search of “the spiritual enlightenment that I feel we’ve lost in Britain.”

(Three parts. Part One is on Friday 4 January, BBC2 9pm).

BBC - Press Office - Extreme Pilgrim



s.
 
OK, now it's sounding less interesting...

"Pete is thrown straight into a gruelling routine of Kung Fu, the central technique in Chan Buddhism (also known as Zen Buddhism in Japan)."

BBC - Religion - Programmes: Extreme Pilgrim

I would have said meditation is the "central technique"; the word "Chan" deriving from the Sanskrit word "dhyana", meaning "meditation."

s.


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Well that was interesting but mis-informative. If the vicar wanted to learn about Zen Buddhism he didn't actually need to leave the UK did he. I suppose it made good looking television, seeing all the arduous kung fu training. The interviews with the "break away" Zen Master were of interest, but the most amazing part was seeing him practising kung fu moves on a narrow sloping roof ledge directly over a very deep gorge. :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

s.
 
did u notice break away zen master wore adidas..?

yes, I agree with u, snoopy, interesting, but misinformative... he could have gone to Throssel Hole, to see Zen in the flesh and wouldn't have had to leave the UK...

japanese zen is different to chinese chan, though...

I was dissapointed that buddhism was presented as: a) a money maker for the temple, b) not a sophisticated philosophical system, but a series of kung fu exersises... for me, zen is not kung fu... zazen means, surely, dhyana, contemplation/meditation... what is buddhism without an appreciation of sutra?

I am aware of the idea of finding the serenity in even the most mundane of tasks, but what is the point? If ur a kid from a poor villiage and being in a place like this for ten years means at the end u have a career, then great, but otherwise- whats the point?

I really dislike this idea that buddhism is nothing but letting go- there's a lot more to it than that...

...or so I have heard...
 
i watched this last night, at first i thought he was just going to trash other religions - he thought shoalin monks were just a commercial venture - but he was quite taken back by the zen buddhists at the end of the show.

its always nice to see christians expanding. :p

but the most amazing part was seeing him practising kung fu moves on a narrow sloping roof ledge directly over a very deep gorge
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ahhh i saw that bit too lols - i couldnt watch, but i did notice there was a tree to cling onto if he didnt fall to far away from the cliff, but still - showing off really.

edit: i forgot this intriguing line...

a buddhist monk once said ‘if you see the buddha walking down the road, kill him!’

good attitude towards doctrine eh!
 
_Z_ said:
ahhh i saw that bit too lols - i couldnt watch, but i did notice there was a tree to cling onto if he didnt fall to far away from the cliff, but still - showing off really.
Click to expand...

Possibly still some attachments then!


a buddhist monk once said ‘if you see the buddha walking down the road, kill him!’

good attitude towards doctrine eh!
Click to expand...
Yes indeed! Zen Master Linji Yixuan, I think.


More fundamentally, as you saw the programme z, this is the only mention I have come across associating martial arts with Bodhidharma in my reading of Zen (and the quote may suggest the reason why):

“However, stories linking Bodhidharma to the Chinese martial arts, or gonfu, have no historical basis. No evidence exists of any relationship between Bodhidharma and Chinese martial arts beyond their common connection with ShaolinTemple. A millennium separates the time of Bodhidharma’s residence at that temple with the first mention of his supposed link to the martial arts. Thus, the story of this relationship must be seen as a relatively modern invention.”

- Zen’s Chinese Heritage – Andy Ferguson.


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As I said, if the vicar wanted to learn martial arts at the Shaolin Temple fine. But if he simply wanted to learn about Buddhism, he could have stayed in the UK, even Sussex! (at the Brighton and Sussex Sangha). It would have been a lot less televisual but hopefully not as misleading as this programme.

s.
 
snoopy

Possibly still some attachments then!
Click to expand...

lols yes. :D

More fundamentally, as you saw the programme z, this is the only mention I have come across associating martial arts with Bodhidharma in my reading of Zen (and the quote may suggest the reason why):
Click to expand...

absolutely! people often confuse the two, i have heard people confuse Taoism and even acupuncture with buddhism as well [acupuncture can be linked to the 72,000 meridians apparently ~ but i don’t think this is correct as acupuncture goes by the ‘winds’ in the body]. the makers have laid themselves wide open to critisism with this program.

yes he could have learned all he needs to in sussex, but i do think it is a good idea to see how buddhism works around the world and by cultures that have practiced it for thousands of years. i agree though that the program is misleading and ignorant to a degree ~ most people these days are a bit more worldly than this colonial style show perceives. perhaps they should have sent an english buddhist monk out there!
 
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