EUP 38 – Humor, Poop, Chants and PCSAII. Huh?
Posted by Lans in Dharma Talks, Geekage, Podcast Audio, Podcasting, tags: Buddhism, Buddhist, Chanting, Chants, Humor, Meditate, Meditation, PodcampOn this episode of the podcast, we are all over the place. Jimmy from SA wrote a couple of great questions which I attempt to tackle.
The first is dealing with differences in who we are and what we perceive the dharma says we should be. Is humor with questionable themes against the teachings? How about combat sports? Poop?
Then we talk about chanting. What it is, why we do it and how prevelant it is in a modern sangha. We also look at a few situations where spontaneous chanting is useful.
Some of the chants discussed:
- The Heart Sutra (The Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Knowledge)
- ‘Om Mani Padme Hung‘ (Compassion Mantra)
- Supplication to the Takpo Kagyus
We also discuss the practice of tonglen.
In addition, it’s that time of year again: Podcamp San Antonio Numero Dos. I play the San Antonio City Cynic’s promotional rap song for the event. It’s a hoot! For more information about Podcamp San Antonio II, just click here or here.
Entries (RSS)
We attended a wedding last year that had a Buddhist ceremony. I don’t recall the chant we did, but it was awesome! And I’m glad that Buddhism makes allowances for crude humor. Otherwise, I’d be totally out!
Lans,
All this talk about poop made me think of a book for kids. It’s called “Everyone Poops”, and is by Taro Gomi.
Everyone Poops
The pictures are simple, colorful, and funny. Check it out sometime when you get a chance. Most people enjoy this book, even if they don’t have small children.
Shawno,
The chant at the Buddhist wedding was “Nam Myo Ho Renge Kyo” , which I’m sure I spelled wrong. There was more chanting, but that was the part the entire crowd got to participate in.
Hi Lans,
I enjoyed EUP 38 and only barely got your poop joke. On a sort of related note, I had two friends this week go through some tough spells coping with aging parents and helplessness and in both instances I recall the exchange of some well-timed humor or zingers that I imagine helped loosen us up when the stress became confining or overwhelming in our talk. I think Chogyam Trungpa talked about humor and its relationship to awareness and easing suffering, but I’d have to look that up. Of course, good friends usually share the laugh when someone makes a joke, but I do wonder sometimes in hindsight if the laughter often just makes the teller feel better or actually contributes much to ease their friend’s suffering. Hard to say, and I guess it varies a lot on the person and the quality of the jokes. Looking forward to hearing your next offering. Well wishes, Jimmy.