For Buddhist monks and nuns, meditation is a way to step back
from the stress of everyday life, rid the mind of negative
influences and replace them with more positive, productive
thoughts
Second In a three-part series
Trapped upside down in his car after it flipped over on a slippery Hecker Pass Road in Gilroy in April, John Martinu did the only thing he could think to do under the circumstances: He practiced his Buddhist meditation exercises. When rescuers finally arrived and found Martinu to be remarkably calm, they said that in light of the injuries he had sustained, his composure helped save his life.
Martinu had recently moved to Watsonville from San Diego, where he had practiced Buddhist meditation for the past 10 years. A friend told him about the Kim-Son Monastery on Mount Madonna, and Martinu was on his way to visit it for the first time when he lost control on the icy road.
“The paramedic said that not panicking was the best thing I could have done,” Martinu said.
While meditating, he practiced contemplating a teaching story called a “koan,” which gave him a point of concentration. Koans are sometimes used as a type of paradoxical question intended to work as a catalyst in the process of spiritual reflection.
For Martinu and many others, meditation – a practice that is central to the practice of Buddhism all around the world – is the key to keeping calm.
“Meditating helped me keep my blood pressure and pulse from skyrocketing. I had internal injuries, and fighting to try to get out of the tangled seat belt would have made them worse under the circumstances,” Martinu said. “I stayed perfectly still and calm, and they said it was amazing how little blood I lost. When I’m feeling more like myself again, I still plan to visit Kim-Son.”
‘De-Program’ Yourself
On a typical Sunday morning, visitors like Martinu will see more than 100 shoes piled outside the door of the rustic-looking meditation center at Kim-Son Monastery. Inside, prayer cushions line the room in rows, and the scent of incense fills the air.
An altar at the front of the room is piled high with a pyramid of colorful fruit donated by visitors. A Bird of Paradise flower arches gracefully across the front of the room, with lamps formed in the shape of delicate lotus blossoms on either side.
After silent meditation, men and women of all ages sit on the floor, holding their Kinh A Di Da hymnals and chanting as they face the altar. A young woman in a blue shawl leans down to share her hymnal with an elderly woman in a wheelchair.
They are engaged in Sunday morning services, led by Master Thich Tinh Tu. The services are held at the monastery and include meditation. According to Jonathan Landaw, former translator to the Dalai Lama, Buddhist meditation is best defined as “a method for transforming your view of reality or for getting in touch with parts of yourself that you didn’t know about before.”
Many visitors come to the mountain to de-stress from their hectic lives. Although the San Jose Vietnamese Buddhist community is Kim-Son Monastery’s main support, people of all ages and backgrounds come to learn the precepts and meditation practices taught by Master Tu.
Michelle, a young woman wearing a bright pink jacket, drives all the way from Palo Alto; it takes her about an hour and a half to get here, but she said it is worth the long drive.
“I come here often – on all the ceremonial days – and as often as I can,” she said. “It’s a good place to de-stress.”
Minh Hoang, a social worker in San Jose with a case load of 50 clients, said he came to the Kim-Son temple to learn meditation because it calmed him and centered him from the stresses of carrying such a heavy emotional responsibility.
Master Tu will readily admit that he can’t remove someone else’s suffering, like the proverbial pulling of a thorn from a lion’s paw. But what he can do, he said, is reveal the path for others to ease their own stresses in ways that are best suited to each individual personality and situation.
Rather than letting circumstances over which we have no control fill us with anger, Master Tu teaches that the only thing we definitely have control over is our own reaction to what is happening. That, in turn, changes the dynamics of the situation and can often alter the outcome, he said. Buddhism teaches that we can change our minds through the practice and discipline of meditation.
Master Tu, who has trained in meditation since the age of 14, teaches that meditation is a way of “de-programming” yourself of negative influences and replacing them with more positive, productive states of mind.
“People who hold onto their old habits can’t accept anything new,” Master Tu said. Not only does meditation enable the practitioner to stop responding to situations in a knee-jerk fashion, he explained, but it teaches one to experiment with creative ways of handling potentially difficult situations.
It is a way of enjoying the present, of slowing down and realizing the deeper truth that you’re not separate from the dishes you wash, the spark plugs you change, the dog you play with or the people you meet. It’s all interconnected.
Clarity in Turmoil
“All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.” – Buddha (563-483 B.C.)
The Buddhists of Kim-Son use the lotus plant as a symbol of the way you can open your heart and mind through meditation, naturally extending this quality of awareness and presence to those around you. Just as the beautiful lotus flower grows out of the muddiest water, Buddhists teach, you can find greater clarity, compassion and a deeper connection to others in the turmoil of daily life.
The Buddhists’ compassion toward others and respect for life extends to all living creatures, including Mimi, a wolf who has lived on the mountain for many years and has become tame since being around the monks and nuns. Master Tu said that she follows him on meditation walks and now eats the same vegetarian diet as the monks and nuns.
During the storms earlier this year, Mimi was so cold with snow and ice on the mountain that she ventured inside the monastery. During a thunderstorm, this “wild” creature wouldn’t leave Master Tu’s bed. So determined was Mimi that Master Tu ended up giving up his bed and going to sleep elsewhere.
“He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self.” – Buddha
It seems that monks, nuns and those training for monastic orders, as well as lay people and woodland creatures, have been drawn to Kim-Son by the peaceful atmosphere and compassionate teachings of Master Tu. After a recent Sunday visit, a visitor said that he had driven over from Carmel to spend the morning at the monastery. As we climbed the stone-laden hill back to the parking lot, I asked him, “What’s the most important belief?”
“That we are all connected – and to love everyone,” he answered.
Master Tu would be pleased.
Kat Teraji writes a weekly column on Thursdays for the Gilroy Dispatch, focusing on local issues and community service. She volunteers with St. Joseph’s Family Center’s Executive Board and works as communications coordinator for the northern California and Nevada United Methodist Women, a nonprofit organization committed to improving living conditions for women and children.
Begin meditation by finding a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for at least 20 minutes. Meditation does not mean spacing out or going blank. You are not switching off your mind or allowing it to just drift.
Meditation can be practiced while sitting, standing or walking. Lying down, however, is generally not recommended because the tendency is to become too relaxed. Your mind should not be too relaxed, but it should also not be too tight, which can make the body tense and uncomfortable.
It is best to find a natural balance between alertness and relaxation. Choose a position that’s comfortable for you, whether cross-legged on a pillow on the floor or sitting in an ergonomic chair. Keep your spine relatively straight, so that breathing is easy. Focus on the way you breathe, and notice the subtle changes in sensation as you breathe in and out.
When your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to the rising and falling of your abdomen. Try to remain uninvolved with thoughts about other things as they come and go; just enjoy the simple experience of breathing in and breathing out. After 15 minutes, slowly move your body, stand up and resume your everyday activities.
Sources: “Buddhism for Dummies” by Stephan Bodian and Jonathan Landaw, former English-translation editor to the Dalai Lama; and the Kim-Son Monastery.
