Life! Vesak Day Special (Buddhism in Singapore): ZEN AND NOW
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ZEN AND NOW
Source: Life!, The Straits Times, Friday, May 12, 2006
Amid the usual sights marking Buddha’s birthday today – temples decked out with lights and shrines overflowing with offerings of fruit and food – you might notice something new flowering as well.
Buddhism’s usual devotees will be out in force, of course – the older generation Chinese uncles and aunties, who make up the majority of the followers here, as they have always been done.
But that was Zen. This is now. And so you will see some fresh faces belonging to a new breed of Buddhists among todayÂ’s Vesak Day-goers.
These are younger, English-educated Singaporeans.
Many of them are graduates, too.
Sure, they are attracted by the religionÂ’s emphasis on peace and harmony, and its reassuring rituals and customs. But these smart cookies are part of todayÂ’s young, questioning generation who are also drawn to BuddhismÂ’s deep, philosophical approach.
One of these young, new Buddhists is Media-Corp actor Nick Shen, 30, who admits that he used to see the religion as for out-of-touch oldies.
“I always thought that Buddhism is about holding joss sticks and chanting ‘a mi tuo fo’,”, he says.
“Or going to the temple in Waterloo Street to pray. If you have problems, just go there to talk to Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy) and Guanyin will try to bless you and your family members,” he says with a laugh.
Then, two years ago, his younger brother Sean, 27, recommended some books on Buddhism to him. He read them, got interested and is now a devout Buddhist.
Friends, he says, have commented that he appears much happier and calmer these days, a change he attributes to meditation.
“I never thought that one day I’d enjoy doing something quiet like meditating,” he confesses. “Never ever.”
OPENING HEARTS
AFTER all, the 1999 Star Search winner used to go clubbing whenever he felt stressed out.
Not anymore.
As the newly appointed president of the Youth Group at Buddhist Fellowship, he now leads about 300 members aged between 13 and 35. Most of these Buddhist activists hold a full-time job by the day. At night and during weekends, they organise activities like talks on Buddhism, meditation classes and camps.
To connect with young people, some groups have also turned to innovative avenues of spreading the religion.
For example, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery offers Dharma teachings for free downloading on its website.
From Sunday to Tuesday, Buddhist Fellowship staged a musical, Opening The Door Of Your Heart, at the Victoria Theatre to packed houses.
Based on Buddhist monk Ajahn BrahmavamsoÂ’s *below) book of the same title, the production appealed even non-Buddhists, as the script and songs touched on universal themes like love an death.
According to the 2000 population census, 54 percent of Chinese identified themselves as Buddhists, up from 34 percent in 1980 and 39 percent in 1990.
In comparison, Christians made up just 17 percent of the Chinese in 2000.
Although the concentration of Buddhists was higher among the older adults aged 45 years and over, the proportion of Buddhists in the age group of 25 to 34 jumped from 30 percent in 1990 to 40 percent in 2000.
Over the decade, there was also a sizeable increase in the proportion of Buddhists among the graduates, growing from 15 percent in 1990 to 24 percent in 2000.
Indeed, among those with post-secondary qualifications, the Buddhists had become the largest group, with significant gains in the absolute and relative sizes of their population.
Explaining this trend, Buddhist Fellowship president Angie Monksfield, 42, says what attracts people to Buddhism is that they are encouraged to question.
“You don’t want to just accept what a printed book or teacher tells you.” Says Mrs Monksfield, the vice-president of application projects at Singapore Airlines.
“You want to check that whatever you hear coincides with your experience. You want to see for yourself that ‘Yes, this is true’, and not believe simply in faith,” she says.
Public talks organised by her group often pack in crowds of about 2,500, many of them young parents with children in tow.
It is a far cry from the past where many Singaporeans, like Shen, saw Buddhism as boring and somewhat behind the times.
TURNING POINT
JUST ask police officer Lawrence Lee, 25.
Ten years ago, when he started a youth group at Singapore Buddhist Mission with some friends, he had to endure frequent jibes from his peers.
With a wry smile, he recalls: “They’d say: ‘Wah, you’re so old-fashioned.’”
The irony is, Mr Lee was far from being old-fashioned as a teenager.
In fact, he was a punk who “hung out in game arcades and ogled girls in the streets”.
Bad-tempered and rebellious, he would also get into heated fights with his parents and two brothers all the time.
But the turning point came when he was introduced to Buddhism by friends.
“It brought about 180-degree change in me,” he says, adding that his family is very closely knit these days.
His youth group, which expanded from just 10 members in 1996 to over 200 now, organises camps four times a year for young people.
“Ninety-nine percent of the participants say they find our camps fun and would like to come back again,” he says. “That shows that we must be doing something right.”
Over at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in Bright Hill Road, the largest Buddhist temple in Singapore is so serious about reaching out to the young that it recruited a full-time staff member to run its youth ministry four years ago.
Its manager Yap Ching Wi, a vivacious 38-year-old with fashionably dyed hair, has 11 people in her team working on projects like Vesak Day celebration and mass art events in Orchard Road.
Membership has grown to over 2,000. Next month, they will set up a youth group, providing two cabins on the temple grounds for youths to gather, surf the Internet and chill out, alfresco style.
Gesturing to the brightly coloured posters that line the walls of the office, Ms yap says candidly: “There is only that much packaging you can do. The rest is really up to the substance you can actually offer people.”
A trained social worker, she stumbled on Buddhism in 2001 after attending meditation classes conducted by the temple – something she found out only during the first lesson.
“I made a pack with my sister who had also signed up for the course. We agreed that once they start to preach, we’re out of there.” She recalls with a chuckle.
For the record, no preaching took place, but Ms YapÂ’s curiosity was piqued and she began reading books on the religion.
One thing led to another and she ended up leading the youth ministry.
“I’d probably be earning more if I’m working in a government ministry,” she says.
“But the direction of this youth ministry is to build up society’s moral foundation. I found it hard to say ‘No’.”
TOUGH ROAD
HOWERVER, the road is a tough one.
One leader of a Buddhist groups tells Life! That she often receives hate mail from members of the public who feel threatened by what they see as aggressive propagation of the religion.
For Buddhist FellowshipÂ’s Mrs Monksfield, the biggest obstacle she faces is the lack of support from some of SingaporeÂ’s newspapers.
“We enjoy much less coverage when compared to, say, Christian events during the Christmas season although there are more Buddhists in Singapore,” she says.
But it is a sentiment not shared by Ms Yap.
“The role of the media is only one part of the job. If you’re a trendsetter, people will come to you anyway,” she says confidently. -
Overall, I enjoyed reading this article, and felt it was quite well-written.
There are a few points I would like to point out though.
Second and third paragraph:Buddhism’s usual devotees will be out in force, of course – the older generation Chinese uncles and aunties, who make up the majority of the followers here, as they have always been done.
What does it mean by 'But that was Zen'? This is something I do not understand - so I sent an email to Straits Times enquiring about it. I asked:
But that was Zen. This is now. And so you will see some fresh faces belonging to a new breed of Buddhists among todayÂ’s Vesak Day-goers.
Hi, I must say the article is overall well written.
But I would like to enquire - the third paragraph:
But that was Zen. This is Now. And so you will see some fresh faces belonging to a new breed of Buddhists among today's Vesak Day-goers.
How come 'ZEN' is used to refer to people who practice folks practices? Has the editors got any idea what Zen is? Zen is a school of Buddhism that utilizes Meditation and Koan Inquiry in order to achieve Enlightenment.
Or am I mistaken about the meaning of what 'ZEN' is used in this context?
Thanks.
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Another thing is,Sure, they are attracted by the religionÂ’s emphasis on peace and harmony, and its reassuring rituals and customs.
That's right - many many people in the East and the Western world are attracted to Buddhism due to its Peaceful and Harmonious nature - after being sick of all the violence and terrorism in the world. But as to the second part... er... since Buddhism does NOT emphasize on Rituals and customs, what kind of rituals and customs are they talking about? I don't think people are interested in Buddhism due to rituals are custom.
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Yet another thing - the article says:But these smart cookies are part of todayÂ’s young, questioning generation who are also drawn to BuddhismÂ’s deep, philosophical approach.
I totally agree that people are attracted to Buddhism because they can QUESTION.
And I'm not pointing out a mistake here - but merely wanting to say that, people are attracted to Buddhism not because of its deep philosophical approach (yes - Buddhist philosophies are attractive) - but most of all, its DEEPLY, PRACTICAL approach to life.
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And lastly, a common mistake made by many people,“Or going to the temple in Waterloo Street to pray. If you have problems, just go there to talk to Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy) and Guanyin will try to bless you and your family members,” he says with a laugh.
Guan Yin is not Goddess of Mercy, Guan Yin is not a Goddess but the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva - a Bodhisattva is someone walking on the path towards Buddhahood, Supreme Enlightenment. -
What is Zen .
awareness through sitting , eating ,sleeping ,walking
I see how foolishly the author of this article
maybe he just like to daydream during working , gossip during eating and
walking anyhow on the grass patch during walking
silly to use the word zen
the word used should be the past
not Zen
thats what I feel journalist here are really not open-minded
Wonder if they could be employed by the Herald Tribune or
The Wall Street Journal due to their "one-rail " mindset argument
I give those journalist a thumbs down
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JUST ask police officer Lawrence Lee, 250
250 yrs old?
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It's good to hear. I beilieve more people today are searching for convincing explainations about truth and life. Buddhism appeals to this group of people because they are free to investigate and query about the Dharma. Furthermore, Buddhism itself, like many Asian spiritual traditions, do not seek for converts.
I really like the idea of "Lai2 Zhe3 Bu4 Ju4 Qu4 Zhe3 Bu4 Liu2". Everyone has the rights to choose what they want to believe. Buddha offen stressed that we cannot forcefully impose our belief-system on others. "Shui2 Shun4 Zhong4 Shen1"
Yes Buddhism seems to be growing in the west and reviving in Asia. Meditation is also gaining popularity worldwide. Meditation, as claimed by Ajahn Brahm, is the essence of Buddhism. I've also notice a growth in Tibetan Buddhism, especially for the English speaking group. The teachings of Buddhism are indeed "Bo2 Da4 Jin1 Shen1".
Buddhism is really not about competition and definitely not about magic. It is about realisation. It is about self-examination, discovery and understanding. It is also about peace, harmonious living and having clarity of mind, to realise the boundless potential in each and everyone of us and all sentient beings.
Lets hope, pray and do our best, that we do not fall prey to greed and competition. Lets us, Buddhists, not measure our quality of life based on monetary value, but on Dharma cultivation. Lets us also hope and pray that the maturity growth of our spiritual mind should also progress along with the community expansion.
"Zhen4 Fa3 Jiu3 Zhu4".
AMiTuoFo. -
OopsOriginally posted by laoda99:JUST ask police officer Lawrence Lee, 250
250 yrs old? 
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TOUGH ROAD
I was reading this article too, although I didnt see the things AEN had seen in the article. Then towards the back of the article, I saw this, which i quoted.
HOWERVER, the road is a tough one.
One leader of a Buddhist groups tells Life! That she often receives hate mail from members of the public who feel threatened by what they see as aggressive propagation of the religion.
For Buddhist FellowshipÂ’s Mrs Monksfield, the biggest obstacle she faces is the lack of support from some of SingaporeÂ’s newspapers.
“We enjoy much less coverage when compared to, say, Christian events during the Christmas season although there are more Buddhists in Singapore,” she says.
But it is a sentiment not shared by Ms Yap.
“The role of the media is only one part of the job. If you’re a trendsetter, people will come to you anyway,” she says confidently.
Quite disappointing i must say, for what may be an agressive propagation of the religion by some and the lack of support from the media.And propagation strong enough to attract hate mails!
As for the support of the media, i was thinking that sometimes its may a good thing Buddhism didnt attract the media. For one thing, media's main aim is profits, and not neccessarrilly truth telling. Thats how Da Vinci Code and stuff become the current ruckus now. It can denigrate the religion, but I dont think people would care. -
Agree.Originally posted by laurence82:As for the support of the media, i was thinking that sometimes its may a good thing Buddhism didnt attract the media. For one thing, media's main aim is profits, and not neccessarrilly truth telling. Thats how Da Vinci Code and stuff become the current ruckus now. It can denigrate the religion, but I dont think people would care.
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Forget the article. Our 140th Straits Times ought to be trashed into the bin.
http://singaporealternatives.blogspot.com/
Although many felt that the reporting in local media has improved, but I think there are still lots of room to improve on. For those who have a conscience in them, felt very depressed over the whole period of elections. A couple of reporters I have spoken to are so depressed that they told me that they would consider resigning from local journalism altogether. I have to console them. I told them that they have been through the whole process, understand how it works against their own conscience but it is not for them to give up. They should stay on to make it better, more balanced. This is after all a country that we own and the future is for us to make. -
sight.....Originally posted by earthling82:Forget the article. Our 140th Straits Times ought to be trashed into the bin.
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