PART ONE: AVOIDING AND LIVING WITH ENTERTAINMENT | Zen Wisdom

QUESTION:
One of the precepts monks and nuns take is to abstain from certain kinds of entertainment, such as going to movies or concerts, listening to music or reading novels. Why is this? Should lay practitioners avoid entertainment, too? Would it be against Buddhist precepts to spread the Dharma through entertainment? I feel that I see Dharma in many non-Buddhist arts ─ music, film, literature. Is this beneficial or am I just rationalizing my desires?

SHIH-FU:
Monks and nuns take many precepts, one of which is to abstain from entertainment. Certain forms of entertainment become occasions for people to vent their emotions or moods. Obviously, actors vent feelings and emotions when they work, as does the audience if it connects with their performance. That is a primary function of entertainment.

Home-leavers should not get involved, either as performers or as the audience. It may seem overly strict, but there is a reason. The more someone experiences such activities, the more persistent are the attachments associated with them. A person may experience relief after a performance, but the catharsis is short-lived, and soon there will be a strong desire to repeat the process. In a sense these activities are addictive: the more you do it, the more you want to do it.

Monks and nuns should have as their goal leaving all desires behind. If they participate in such activities, it will be difficult, if not impossible for them to cut off desires. Monks and nuns should use methods of practice and conceptual guidance from the Dharma to lessen and eventually eliminate desires. The precept serves as a guideline and reminder for home-leavers.

If monks and nuns are not serious about leaving desires behind, there is no reason or need to leave home. However, it is difficult today to avoid all forms of entertainment. One would have to go into seclusion. The walls of the Ch’an Center cannot keep out the sounds of music on the street. Although monastics do not participate in different forms of entertainment, they are not opposed to other people engaging in such activities.

If getting involved in entertainment is unavoidable, a monk or nun should use expedient methods. The solution is simple with visual entertainment ─ don’t look. The solution is not as simple with sound. It depends on one’s practice. Advanced practitioners can be within range of the sounds and yet not hear them. Home-leavers in situations like this must do the best they can.
There are two young monks in Taiwan who originally came to the temple to try out the Sangha lifestyle. During the first year there were times when they became restless. They felt that doing prostrations and meditation wouldn’t help. Finally the two of them decided to see a movie. They knew it was a major infraction of the precepts of monastics, but they went anyway. I found out about it, so when they returned I asked, “What’s going to come of this?”

They said, “We knew it would cost us, but we decided to go anyway.” Since then these young men have matured and become good monks. They aren’t overwhelmed by restlessness anymore and they no longer have a strong desire to go to the movies.

Watching movies and engaging in other activities like this can help to temporarily relieve restlessness or other moods. Lay practitioners are not required to abstain from entertainment. Even if they decide to take the Eight Precepts, they only have to avoid entertainment six days out of the month. This gives lay practitioners a taste of what the left-home lifestyle is like. Lay Buddhists can engage in singing, dancing, going to the movies or watching videos with no fear of breaking precepts, but not monks and nuns. However, they often bend the rules.

Recently in Taiwan I observed a monk chanting loudly. I asked, “Are you practicing?”

He answered, “No, actually, I feel uncomfortable and restless. I want to sing, but I cannot, so I’m letting out my frustrations this way.”

I replied, “That’s not the right way to chant. When you chant you should do it respectfully, and you shouldn’t sing so loud.” This monk was not breaking any precepts, but he was not behaving as a monk should.

He said, “These days one can hear chanting being broadcast on the radio. Is that normal?”

I said, “They’re doing that to spread the Dharma to as many people as possible. Who are you chanting to?”

“I’m trying to get rid of the uneasy restlessness within myself. On the other hand, I’m singing to the ghosts.”

From a Buddhist point of view, I am not opposed to people singing, dancing, performing. In fact, at our Center’s Buddha birthday celebration, people perform, and I watch as well. It’s not that I crave entertainment, but it is a celebration and I want other people to feel good.

Also, it is alright for monastics to engage in some forms of entertainment if it is part of their job. For example, two movies were produced in Taiwan, one on the life of the Buddha and one about Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. After the movies were completed the producers invited me to the preview to see if it was in accordance with the spirit of the Dharma. Naturally, I went. On the other hand, if a monk or nun went to the cinema one evening to see it, it wouldn’t be acceptable, because that would be for personal gratification.

I think it’s fine to use singing, dancing and acting to spread the Dharma. I encourage people to use modern language to tell stories from the Buddhist point of view. These stories need not come from the sutras. In India, a famous Buddhist master named Asvaghosa composed poetry and songs based on the life of the Buddha for others to sing. During the Sung and Yuan dynasties, Buddhist masters composed similar songs so others could sing and spread the Dharma.

There are numerous cases where literature has been used to spread the Dharma. There is a chapter in the Avatamsaka Sutra entitled “Entering the Dharma Realm.” The chapter speaks of a young pilgrim who traveled and listened to fifty-three masters, learning from them methods of practice and cultivation, but it reads like a long, entertaining novel. In the Lotus Sutra there are chapters and stories which are elegantly written. Many of the sutras convey the Dharma in an artistic manner.

The modern Chinese novel has its roots in the historic novels written in the Ming and Ch’ing dynasties, but they in turn adopted literary styles found in the sutras. Buddhist sutras often use a format where a long paragraph of teaching is followed by a verse. In many Chinese historical novels, the order is reversed, chapters beginning with a verse and followed by a story.

STUDENT:
Is it possible to derive results and benefits from music, plays, art and literature that are similar to what can be derived from practice?

SHIH-FU:
I think it is possible with music. For example, during retreat we chant in the morning and evening. Chanting, after all, is music. Some types of music excite people. This is not the kind of music I’m talking about. Music conducive to practice should help people settle down. It can help the mind move from a confused and scattered state to a calmer, more concentrated state.

I have heard that a Korean woman has choreographed a Ch’an dance, and supposedly a person watching it can become settled, clear and calm. If that goal can be attained, then people should be encouraged to watch the dance being performed.

Similarly with a written work, if its intent is to convey a Buddhist idea, that is useful. I doubt whether people could get enlightened just by reading a novel, but if they can cultivate a better understanding of Ch’an teachings and attitudes through reading, that is good.

One can view these examples from the standpoint of art or from the standpoint of practice. From the artistic point of view, people would be listening, watching, dancing, singing or reading for their enjoyment. From the practice point of view, people would engage in these activities as a means to help move beyond the confusion and restlessness of the ordinary mind.

STUDENT:
There have been times when I have focused so fixedly while reading difficult poetry that afterwards my mind feels clear and light. The feeling is similar to what I experience after a good meditation session.

SHIH-FU:
When your mind is concentrated you will experience a sensation like that. But that is as far you will get when reading poetry or novels. They cannot take you beyond a certain level of concentration. After a while the mind will veer out of focus or you will be moved in some way by the material you are reading.

STUDENT:
Isn’t contemplation part of practice? Sometimes during retreat you have us contemplate on thoughts we call up. Why can’t we contemplate on a story, poem or painting?

SHIH-FU:
The contemplation I ask you to do should not involve logical thinking; rather, you should place your mind on one point and look directly into things. It is hard to explain, but it is different from using logic or following a chain of thoughts to a conclusion.

Through music, dance and literature it is possible to experience things similar to that which comes from practice. One can understand practice as helping a practitioner move from a scattered mind to a concentrated mind, from a concentrated mind to a unified mind, from a unified mind to no mind. Through art forms it is possible to reach concentrated mind. But it would be quite difficult to experience unified mind through such activities, not to mention no mind.

STUDENT:
It seems that most traditions that have been around for a long time resist change, and yet I feel that if the Buddha were alive today, he’d probably make use of modern technology ─ videos, radio, television. It would be especially useful for people who are not at all aware spiritually. One could reach so many.

SHIH-FU:
Earlier I said that I would encourage using different media to spread the Dharma, but for lay people, not monks and nuns.

STUDENT:
What about left-home people who do not have access to the teachings of masters? Many temples do not have teachers.

SHIH-FU:
I agree. Entertainment videos are out of the question, but educational videos are fine, especially if it is shown in the temple. A theater may draw a mixed crowd, which could lead to distractions.

STUDENT:
There are already many meditation tapes, some with music, some with speech. I feel they can only teach up to a certain level, perhaps to the point of a concentrated mind. But it’s shallow. Wouldn’t Ch’an meditation tapes defeat the purpose of teaching Ch’an? Ch’an emphasizes practicing with a master. People might think that a video can replace a teacher or a retreat. Videos like this could mislead people, especially if they are endorsed by a Buddhist group.

SHIH-FU:
It’s possible to make meditation tapes of varying levels, but the higher stages of practice cannot be conveyed in this way. At a certain point you must study with a master. However, I would endorse learning tapes for beginners.

STUDENT:
What about calligraphy and painting?

SHIH-FU:
These are also included in the arts, and the same thing applies. Through such art forms one can reach a certain level of concentration, but to experience Ch’an enlightenment would be extremely difficult. Precepts for monks and nuns do not forbid painting, calligraphy and poetry. In general, however, left-home people shouldn’t spend too much time on such things. Monastics who spend a lot of time with their art probably will not devote enough time and energy to practice.

There were numerous monks who are well known for calligraphy, painting and poetry, but with few exceptions they have no significance in Chinese Buddhist history because they were not outstanding practitioners.

STUDENT:
What about Han Shan (Cold Mountain)?

SHIH-FU:
Han Shan happened to write poetry, but he did not think of himself as a poet.

STUDENT:
Earlier you said that entertainment helps people vent their emotions. For example, listening to an orchestra perform a symphony might move someone to cry. What is the difference between this and the occasional emotional outbursts one might encounter during retreat?

SHIH-FU:
There are similarities, but it is not the same thing. When people cry or laugh on retreat, they often do not know why they do so. It’s more an adjustment within the body rather than a venting of emotions. People who cry at a symphony know why they are crying.

It is also possible for people on a retreat to think of things that cause them to vent their emotions in a particular way, but afterwards they usually feel relieved and peaceful. People at a symphony who cry may also feel relieved and peaceful afterwards, but it’s probably not the case most of the time. Besides, feeling peaceful on retreat is conducive to better practice. People who feel peaceful after crying at a symphony are probably not going to make use of their calm condition. Have you ever cried at a symphony?

STUDENT:
No, but on retreat I did, and I didn’t feel peaceful afterward because I didn’t get it all out.

SHIH-FU:
You’re right. You didn’t allow all of it to come out. If you did, you would have felt a lot better, and more at ease. If you do not let it out, then you will feel uncomfortable, almost like suffocating.

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