And now for a rare treat -- Buddhist celebrity news! Woo HOO!
Actress Goldie Hawn wants to establish a "Buddhist school" in Britain, some headlines say. Another headline says Hawn wants to "teach Buddhism to British kids." The story under the headline says, "The actress' Hawn Foundation already teaches kids Buddhist techniques in schools across America."
This was all news to me. However, from what I can make out from the actress's Hawn Foundation website, her program does not teach Buddhism, but mindfulness. Mindfulness practices can be completely secularized, of course, which seems to be what Hawn's program does. So the headlines were very misleading.
Among the misled is the blogger Ann Althouse, who "reasoned" that since children in movies are usually boisterous characters acting up against repressive authority figures, this must somehow be what Hawn's program is about, also. Yes, that makes ... no sense at all. Althouse could use some mindfulness training.
(Photo Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
I was sceptical from the moment I read your headline. It’s rare to see a true celebrity Buddhist article make the news. Celebrities tend to just focus on one single aspect of something they’re embracing. When celebrities try to bring Buddhism into the media light I think a lot of Buddhist just drop their head and sigh a little, thinking to themselves, “Oh no, what are they going to say this time.”
The article author likely didn’t realize they were overstating the teaching by calling it Buddhism. I’m also not sure the government should take education advice from a celebrity. I don’t know if she has education in Education, but they should probably look to more authoritative sources for new ideas in education.
I could “secularize” Christian values, or Jewish traditional teachings, or Islamic principles as well. It would still be the introduction of religion into the school system. Now, I’m actually not against any of the above, but if you are — then you should be against this too.
I could “secularize”¯ Christian values, or Jewish traditional teachings, or Islamic principles as well.
I should be more clear — by “secularized,” I mean that Buddhist mindfulness and meditation practices can be completely separated from Buddhism and done strictly for what might be called the health and well-being benefits. Buddhist doctrines need not be involved at all. There is no equivalent in Christianity or Judaism that I can think of.
A secularized Christian teaching suitable for the schools might be: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (s:Bible (King James)/Matthew#7:12, s:Bible (King James)/Matthew#22:39)
I know that’s not an equivalent technique, but it is a Christian practice that applies in a secular environment.
Linda — several different religions have the same teaching, which Jesus borrowed from Rabbi Hillel the Elder. It’s not exclusively “Christian.”
Still, it’s a teaching. Mindfulness and meditation can be practiced with no doctrine or teaching whatsoever attached to them. They’re mostly ways to teach your mind to be calm and focused. You wouldn’t recognize the practices as “religious” if someone didn’t stick the label “Buddhist” on them.
Linda,
As you have given teaching from Bible, the same is in Dhammapad(from Tipitaka) also.
Sabbe tasanti daṇḍassa.
Sabbesaṃ jīvitaṃ piyaṃ.
Attānaṃ upamaṃ katvā;
na haneyya na ghātaye.
means
All tremble at punishment.
Life is dear to all.
Put yourself in the place of others;
kill none nor have another killed.
The core of every religion is same.
As an example of the “secularisation” of Buddhist practices, I was listening to a radio programme today of some people who went on a special nature walk in the snow in a wooded area. Most of it was just that, but at one stage they were told “now you are going to walk slower than you ever have so that you can experience everything in a different way” and the walk’s organiser proceeded to give the exact same instructions one is given for walking meditation (kinhin) – but no mention at all was made of Buddhism and I didn’t think any of the participants associated it with that, but they did get something out of it.
Goldie Hawn wears alot of fur – and is on PETA’s worst dress list because of it. Just wondering how she be a Buddhist and still wear all that fur from slaughtered animals – some of which were skinned alive.
Through spiritual education in the Noble Eightfold Path (NEP) of Sila (morality), Samadhi (Meditation), Bavana or Panna (insight or wisdom), a human being becomes liberated from ignorance, craving and sorrow. One achieves supreme enlightenment (Samma-Sambodhi) and transcends one’s separate limited individuality and overcome the sounds of birth and death and gets the supreme silence.
Sila
Samma Vaca-Right Speech
Samma Kammanta-Right action and conduct
Samma Ajina-Right means of livelihood
Samma Vayama-Right effort and endeavour
Samadhi
Samma Sati-Right Mindfulness
Samma Samadhi-Right Concentration
Bhavana or Panna
Samma ditthi-Right understanding and view
Samma Sankappa. Right intention and thought
Right mindfulness: The way that leads to the attainment of purity in thought, word and deed which helps to overcome all our pains and griefs, sorrows and lamentations. By this we can develop tranquility (Samatha bhavana) and insight (Vipassana bhavana) and important meditative exercise – the mindfulness of melting (Dnapava sati).
Right concentration: It is one pointedness of mind, fixing the mind to a single point of object which leads to trance. The concentration is four fold:
1. The mind is secluded and is free from passions and evil thoughts, accompanied by reasoning and investigation, finds joy.
2. The mind fixed with internal serenity becomes free from all reasoning and investigation.
3. The mind dwells with equanimity and mindfully happy – self possessed. It is a state where intellect becomes intuitional.
4. The mind is beyond the dualities of pleasure and pain, elation and depression, purity, equanimity and awareness, reigns in the supreme.
When the cause ceases, automatically effects stop functioning. Only at that time the individual can realize the real silence….Buddha approached the problems of life in a realistic and rational manner. His main aim was to remove suffering and make human beings free from it. He believed in the law of causation. Without a cause nothing can exist. What we experience as pain or pleasure are only the effect of a previous cause. There can never be any effect without a cause and a cause without any effect. This chain of cause and effect is unbreakable. This in fact is the law which keeps the cosmos eternally going. Thereby he traced the cause for all suffering as arising from craving and desire. As long as there exists a trace of desire and attachment in the mind, the result would be birth, suffering, decay and death. The whole attempt of Buddha was to eliminate all kinds of desires in every form and shape from one’s mind. The achievements depend upon the extent of will power one possesses to eliminate sufferings, pain as well as the pleasures to get peace, and the supreme silence. When the cause ceases, automatically effects stop functioning. Only at that time the individual can realize the real silence – By Ram Mohan (published in the Vedanta Vani of Chinmaya Mission).
No other religion has emphasised Right Mindfulness to the extent that Buddhism has. In this context, teaching mindfulness to any human being is unmistakably Buddhist. It is really important to start mind training at primary school if you want the new generations to grow up with restrained minds. We need more celebrities like Goldi Hawn who can fund such programmes for the benefit of the humankind. If we can institutionalize such programs the unruly behaviours observed in the so called X and Y generations can be prevented at least in the Z generation?
Thinking How Strange says
Is that ALL you got out of this article?