I friggin hate introductions. I either come off like an arrogant d-nozzle or undercut whatever it was I was trying to say. Seriously, you should read my old profile of OKCupid. Or don't. My lady probably would appreciate it if I deleted it. Hmmmm...wonder if anyone's looked at it lately...
Anyway, Bruce Lee was once asked "Are you really that good?"
He shrugged and responded, "If I tell you I'm that good, you'll think I'm arrogant. If I say I'm not...well, you'll know I'm lying!"
My name is MuSsang, or at least my Dharma name is. It means the Unequaled. I think my teacher had a sense of humor when he named me that. Scratch that, I know he has a sense of humor.
When I took Precepts, I did it in front of a whole crowd, from sanghas up and down the East coast. My family and friends were gathered. Pohwa-seunim, my teacher, rattled off the list of precepts. Then he gets to "To purify the spirit, do you vow not to engage in sexual misconduct?"
"Yes, I do," I said.
Pohwa-seunim, in full-on Seon Buddhist regalia, in the middle of the temple, in front of EVERYONE, leans over and says, "I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you."
I look at him and repeat, "Yes, I vow not to engage in sexual misconduct."
Seunim paused for a moment, looks at me again and asks, "Are you sure?"
Love that guy. Saved my life.
Time goes by and I'm now a lay Dharma teacher of the Blue Mountain Order, under Pohwa-seunim. Which I guess brings me here to the Young Buddhist Blog. I think I qualify. I'm young. I'm Buddhist. With the exception guys like Noah Levine and Ethan Nictern, most of the other Dharma teachers I know are pushing 50 and beyond. Especially in the Zen world.
Anyway, that's my introduction.
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2 comments:
Great introduction. I can totally identify with the name thing. My Dharma name (Eshu) means "surpassing wisdom".
Yeah...anyway, I always figured it was like getting a pair of big shoes. They are your shoes, but you need to do some serious growing to fit into them. Thanks for the introduction, I look forward to reading more.
Welcome, MusSang. It's an honor to be graced by your presence and participation on this humble blog. Don't worry, I personally prefer introductions like yours. The more neurotic/self-conscious, the more intimate and enjoyable.
And thanks for the sneak peek into lay ordination ceremonies and especially alternative perspective to the over-represented serious, grave Zen Masters.
Namaste
/Gassho/
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