Andy is my friend. He is currently a freshman at Emory, and as a Zen Buddhist, he has been practicing Zen meditation for one and a half years. I believe he will be a good representative of Buddhists here at Emory.
Andy and I sat down face to face at Turman Main Lobby. I felt a little bit awkward since I haven't talk to him much individually. We met each other at Emory Buddhist Club one year ago, and since then we saw each other frequently at club meetings.
" So.... I am actually doing a project for my English101 class, and the group that I am focusing on is Emory's Buddhists community."
" Yeah," Andy replied shortly. He seemed to be always calm and peaceful. I had no idea whether that is the result of meditation or not.
"To begin with, would you like to just talk briefly about your history with Buddhism and meditation?"
"I was introduced to Buddhism one and a half years ago, and I have been practicing ever since. I started from reading books, and then I started meditating." Andy's answer is concise, probably because he is a math and computer science major. I felt maybe I should try to encourage him to speak more.
"Do you meditate daily? Or several times a week?"
"Ohhhhh, I wish I could meditate daily!" We both laughed, since we all knew how hard it is for us to take time to meditate everyday. College life is simply to busy for anyone who wants to take care of their spirits. "I meditate several times a week," Andy continued, "but I guess that is what we have to overcome. Try to make more time to meditate."
"Yeah, but you are good enough." I encouraged him.
"That's true. At least better than nothing." We laughed again.
I then brought up my case study, and I asked Andy about his opinion on this case. I asked him whether he has had the difficulty to cooperate mundane life with spiritual practices, or whether he has seen anyone with this problem.
"No," Andy's answer is again very brief, " I haven't seen anyone with this kind of problem. You know, here at America, people don't take it seriously. They meditate not because they want to reach the state of Nirvana, or spend their whole life trying to be as good as Buddha. Well, how to say....I think people here mostly seen it as just a supplement to their life."
Andy's answer is very interesting, and it made me want to discuss this issue more with him, but just before I got a chance to say anything, Andy spoke again, this time with passion.
"But I guess I kind of understand this feeling," Andy's sudden arousal surprised me a little bit, "eventually, I will probably live in a monastery for some time to improve my practice. But not now, I will wait until that time comes."
Andy's answer was expected, since I know he is a sincere Buddhist, and I guess anyone who takes spiritual practice seriously will share Jie's feeling to some extent.
"I also feel the same thing," I continued from where Andy interrupted me, "I mean, about Buddhism in America. I feel people take meditation as an instrument to help them do well in school or work place. Meditation to them is nothing but only a stress releaser. I don't think they really understand meditation."
"Ennnn, yeah, I guess I agree with you. But you also has to know, we do have a lot of Buddhists here, but not a lot of masters." I suddenly realized that maybe I was asking to much. Buddhism is foreign to this country, and I should already been happy enough as long as many Americans like it.
"Okay, so next question: How has meditation influenced your daily life?"
"Errrrr, it definitely influences me in many ways. For example, once I always worried about things that I can't get control with, but now I don't. I guess that is related to the Buddhism point of view. The present moment is everything, and by worrying about future and past you are actually creating a world that does not exist."
"So will you say that it is the Buddhism philosophy rather than meditation itself that influences you more?"
"Ennnnn.....errrrrrr.........ennnnnn........," Andy started to hesitate. This is a challenging question, and I didn't know whether he could answer it or not.
'It is generally the same thing. I mean, Buddhism is not only about talking. Even if you understand that you are innately free from all sufferings, it is still different from how you really achieve this state through practice. Knowing how does a piano work won't make you Lang Lang. Understanding tells me how to practice, and practice helps me understand deeper. Understand itself alone is nothing." What an excellent answer! I was really amazed by it. While many Chinese monks still confuse the relationship between knowledge and practice, here a college student at America gives a perfect answer.
"It is only the one who drinks this water knows the taste of it," I added, and we smiled simultaneously. This is a famous Zen quote, and the meaning of it is basically only the one who really practices get to know it.
"Have you had any peak experiences during spiritual practice?"
"Well, NO, I haven't had any. But although I haven't have any radical changes, the process of meditation has definitely shaped me subtly. I mean, Zen isn't about creating new meanings, it is about finding meanings that are already there," It seemed like Andy was trying to recall something," Oh, yeah, the Buddhism saying: Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water, after enlightenment, chop wood and carry water."
"That is impressing," I looked over my note book, trying to find the last question," Okay, the last one: if you were asked to say one most important benefit of meditation to ordinary American people, what would you say?"
"Ennnnn......I would say, it gives you a clearity of mind, which Americans seldom have, because what all of us do is rushing, Rushing, and RUSHING. It is important to stop and be quiet for some time. It will make you really clear."
Andy and I sat down face to face at Turman Main Lobby. I felt a little bit awkward since I haven't talk to him much individually. We met each other at Emory Buddhist Club one year ago, and since then we saw each other frequently at club meetings.
" So.... I am actually doing a project for my English101 class, and the group that I am focusing on is Emory's Buddhists community."
" Yeah," Andy replied shortly. He seemed to be always calm and peaceful. I had no idea whether that is the result of meditation or not.
"To begin with, would you like to just talk briefly about your history with Buddhism and meditation?"
"I was introduced to Buddhism one and a half years ago, and I have been practicing ever since. I started from reading books, and then I started meditating." Andy's answer is concise, probably because he is a math and computer science major. I felt maybe I should try to encourage him to speak more.
"Do you meditate daily? Or several times a week?"
"Ohhhhh, I wish I could meditate daily!" We both laughed, since we all knew how hard it is for us to take time to meditate everyday. College life is simply to busy for anyone who wants to take care of their spirits. "I meditate several times a week," Andy continued, "but I guess that is what we have to overcome. Try to make more time to meditate."
"Yeah, but you are good enough." I encouraged him.
"That's true. At least better than nothing." We laughed again.
I then brought up my case study, and I asked Andy about his opinion on this case. I asked him whether he has had the difficulty to cooperate mundane life with spiritual practices, or whether he has seen anyone with this problem.
"No," Andy's answer is again very brief, " I haven't seen anyone with this kind of problem. You know, here at America, people don't take it seriously. They meditate not because they want to reach the state of Nirvana, or spend their whole life trying to be as good as Buddha. Well, how to say....I think people here mostly seen it as just a supplement to their life."
Andy's answer is very interesting, and it made me want to discuss this issue more with him, but just before I got a chance to say anything, Andy spoke again, this time with passion.
"But I guess I kind of understand this feeling," Andy's sudden arousal surprised me a little bit, "eventually, I will probably live in a monastery for some time to improve my practice. But not now, I will wait until that time comes."
Andy's answer was expected, since I know he is a sincere Buddhist, and I guess anyone who takes spiritual practice seriously will share Jie's feeling to some extent.
"I also feel the same thing," I continued from where Andy interrupted me, "I mean, about Buddhism in America. I feel people take meditation as an instrument to help them do well in school or work place. Meditation to them is nothing but only a stress releaser. I don't think they really understand meditation."
"Ennnn, yeah, I guess I agree with you. But you also has to know, we do have a lot of Buddhists here, but not a lot of masters." I suddenly realized that maybe I was asking to much. Buddhism is foreign to this country, and I should already been happy enough as long as many Americans like it.
"Okay, so next question: How has meditation influenced your daily life?"
"Errrrr, it definitely influences me in many ways. For example, once I always worried about things that I can't get control with, but now I don't. I guess that is related to the Buddhism point of view. The present moment is everything, and by worrying about future and past you are actually creating a world that does not exist."
"So will you say that it is the Buddhism philosophy rather than meditation itself that influences you more?"
"Ennnnn.....errrrrrr.........ennnnnn........," Andy started to hesitate. This is a challenging question, and I didn't know whether he could answer it or not.
'It is generally the same thing. I mean, Buddhism is not only about talking. Even if you understand that you are innately free from all sufferings, it is still different from how you really achieve this state through practice. Knowing how does a piano work won't make you Lang Lang. Understanding tells me how to practice, and practice helps me understand deeper. Understand itself alone is nothing." What an excellent answer! I was really amazed by it. While many Chinese monks still confuse the relationship between knowledge and practice, here a college student at America gives a perfect answer.
"It is only the one who drinks this water knows the taste of it," I added, and we smiled simultaneously. This is a famous Zen quote, and the meaning of it is basically only the one who really practices get to know it.
"Have you had any peak experiences during spiritual practice?"
"Well, NO, I haven't had any. But although I haven't have any radical changes, the process of meditation has definitely shaped me subtly. I mean, Zen isn't about creating new meanings, it is about finding meanings that are already there," It seemed like Andy was trying to recall something," Oh, yeah, the Buddhism saying: Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water, after enlightenment, chop wood and carry water."
"That is impressing," I looked over my note book, trying to find the last question," Okay, the last one: if you were asked to say one most important benefit of meditation to ordinary American people, what would you say?"
"Ennnnn......I would say, it gives you a clearity of mind, which Americans seldom have, because what all of us do is rushing, Rushing, and RUSHING. It is important to stop and be quiet for some time. It will make you really clear."