On Tuesday, February 19 I had the pleasure of watching the film documentary “Amongst White Clouds” accompanied by a lecture/Q & A by the maker of the film, Ted Burger. The movie was amazing and Mr. Burger is such an interesting and inspiring person. The documentary featured the Zen Buddhist hermits from the mountains of China. In this tradition the monks live alone or in small groups in the mountains where they are nearly completely isolated from society. Their dedication and passion for their beliefs is so admirable. It makes me wonder, would I like to become a Buddhist? Would I like to live in the mountains? More importantly, would I be able to survive alone in the mountains?

 Mr. Burger stated that he found “amazing wisdom” in a Buddhist poetry book which drew him to the religion. I too have grown very interested in it after learning about it in an East Asian art class as well as attending severaly lectures on numerous Buddhist topics. It is amazing how dedicated many Buddhists are and how tranquil and balanced they seem to be. Their lives seem so stable; they appear to live without worries. I would give anything to live like this. In the film they mentioned this idea of tranquility and balance, stating that everything, including work is calm. This was displayed very well in the movie. Some of the monks were working on a garden, yet they were not frantically working, they were just calmly planting, like they had not a care in the world. Could I, one of the most anxious people I know, ever be so carefree?

I try to picture myself carefree, living in the mountains alone or in a small temple with a master, like Mr. Burger’s master lived after living alone for years. I think of myself now, in my warm, cozy home, surrounded by my family and my pets. I can take a warm shower anytime I want, or snuggle up in blankets, or have a snack at any point. Then I picture myself in the wilderness. For one thing, I am always  cold, so I would have issue with the weather and no warm showers. One strikng part in the film was when a monk stated that even in the coldest part of winter meditation makes you feel warm. This is such an amazing concept, that these monks can produce their own inner warmth from their spirituality. To continue on my surviving in the wilderness, I have to wonder how I would handle some of the animals that I may encounter. I could not keep myself from asking Mr. Burger if there were any frigtening animals in the mountains of China. He mentioned some big cats as well as boar, which he noted were very large (comparable to those found on the island in “Lost,” for fellow lost fans). I would be looking over my shoulder and scared all the time. I am a picky eater, so that would raise problems and I tend to scare easily. It seems that I am rambling on about why I could not survive in the wilderness, but my brainstorming on the topic reminds me of the truth: I am a spoiled American girl. I am used to the comforts of life and I enjoy them. I love shopping and shoes and purses… but can I rise above that? Now I stated all my fears and the reasons why I probably would not be the best candidate for the life of a hermit; however, if I was a true Buddhist, I would imagine that I could rise above many of these issues. If I could be as passionate as some of the monks, I would be able to handle these problems. I would like to live in the mountains at least for a short time, just to experiment. I would like to learn from the monks and see if I could do it. Another problem arises with this, however. As I read in another blog, would the effect of living as a hermit be the same if I knew that I had the intention of returning to society?

One of the most fascinating concepts which I actuallly find very hard to believe (again, being a spoiled American girl) is that of ascetics. Many of the monks in the mountains are ascetics which includes only eating enough to stay alive, living in huts only strong enough to keep out rain, wearing flimsy robes, and basically just turning their backs on all the comforts, conveniences, and entertainment in society. They find that they this connects them with the forest.

Another thing that I find interesting is that they refer to each other as hermits. I don’t know why this is so strange, though I guess it relates to the fact that prior to learning about these people, I felt that the word hermit had a negative connotation. I considered a hermit more of an outcast  or a very shy person. In reality, however, this word has an extremely positive connotation.

Many of the words of the monks were so wise. One monk stated, “You think what you are grasping is real, but none of that is true, you can’t take that with you.” These are words of wisdom and truth. We, especially as Americans living in a consumer, capitalist society, are obsessed with money and material goods. However, is any of that true or real? It does not provide us with everlasting happiness, only temporary highs. Furthermore, we can’t take any of it with us. When we pass on and move to the afterlife, none of those material goods will come with us. So why then, are we so obsessed with them? If they do not provide happiness in our current life and will not provide it in our future life, why the fetish? The monks seem to understand this; that there is no use to the materialism. They know how to rise above it. This is admirable. One monk also mentioned that compassion can overcome all hardships. In other words we do not need material goods to make us happy. In truth, all we need is love and compassion. Along with this, Buddhist teachings talk about dualities. They believe that opposite feelings are actually the same thing. The way I always understood it was that the opposite feelings are the same, yet they are on a different area of the spectrum. For example, joy and suffering are actually the same; they are the extremes of the same emotion. This is also the case with happiness and sadness; love and hate. I believe the list of dualities could go on forever. What we must learn is how to become balanced on the spectrum.

In the film there was a discussion of something called the Buddha Nature. For a non-Buddhist such as myself, this is a difficult concept to grasp, however the way it is explained in the film is very enlightening. “On a cloudy day you can’t see the sun, but that doesn’t mean there is no sun.” This is what the Buddha Nature is like. I believe that this has to do with a discussion from the film as well as from the lecture following the film. Mr. Burger stated that it is such a wonderful that we all have a Buddha inside of us. The object of Buddhism is to reach enlightenment and become a Buddha. The quote about the sun explains this. Just because we have not found our inner Buddha yet does not mean it is not there. We just have to work towards finding it and exposing it. On the same lines, Mr. Burger stated that there are different levels of enlightenment. One person asked if he had ever met a person who had reached enlightenment. He replied that he had met people who were very well developed, for lack of a better statement. They were, what he considered, enlightened. This made me wonder, are there people who are actually enlightened, but don’t seem to realize it? Are there modest monks who don’t feel that they have reached it? On the contrary, (and I would bet that this is probably the more common situation) are there monks who believe they have reached enlightenment but have not? It makes me wonder how the steps to enlightenment go. Are there checkpoints that let them know how close to enlightenment they are? Or is it more of a personal, self-realization? Mr. Burger stated that it is a split second realization. You finally reach the point when you simply know that you are enlightened. Yet to get there it takes a great deal of practice, patience, and study. To put it more simply, Mr. Burger stated that in the case of the Buddha, he woke up from a dream of ignorance. This awakening was the split second when he realized that he had achieved enlightenment.

Sacred space in Buddhism is another interesting idea and this film made me think more about this idea. I know of Buddhist stupas where relics are kept and where people can visit and worship. This is a Buddhist sacred space. Mandalas would also be considered a Buddhist sacred space. Buddhist temples are another Buddhist sacred space. In the mountains there are some Buddhist temples, which would obviously be considered sacred spaces. Would the huts of the hermits be considered sacred? Do Buddhists necessarily have designated sacred spaces? Furthermore, do they need them? It seems to me, especially after watching this film that they do not need a defined sacred space. In their teachings, they learn how to block out their surroundings, allowing them to focus on meditation. I feel as though, because of this powerful ability, they can make any location sacred. I believe that any place where they can meditate becomes sacred.

The last topic which I would like to address is that of family. I have always learned and been under the impression that in Chinese culture, family is extremely important and ancestral veneration is traditional. However, I don’t know if this is a cultural Chinese idea, or a specific religious idea. I found it interesting that there seemed to be conflicting ideals in Buddhism. While one monk stated that it is a Buddhist rule that if there is no one to take care of the parents, then the child can not leave home (to study Buddhism), another monk stated that family visiting is not a good thing and that once you leave home, you are gone. Now, is this a personal belief or a Buddhist belief? How important is family in the Buddhist religion?

I always have questions about Buddhism. I hope to one day have them answered and I plan to continue to study the concepts revolving around this fascinating religion. Mr. Burger’s lecture was very interesting and intriguing. I am very excited to have met him and heard his experiences with such an understudied religious practice. I look forward to his coming documentaries featuring the monks of the monastaries.