Massaging Young Minds

March 5, 2007

Author: Carol Chung

Source: The Buddhist Channel/The Standard

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,3797,0,0,1,0

Hong Kong, China -- The Su Bong Zen monastery, flanked by a foot massage parlor and a hair salon at its entrance, is not hard to find. And it is no longer a rarity in Hong Kong.

Among the more than 40 people sitting on round zafu cushions in the monastery, on the fifth floor of a commercial building in Causeway Bay, a woman in executive wear sits cross-legged in a full-lotus position, meditating between a Buddhist monk in a gray robe and a young student in casual sportswear. Most of them have their eyes closed, apparently deep in thought.

From time to time, the peaceful chime of a bell and the crack of a wooden keisaku stick are heard. Sitting in at one of the meditation sessions at the monastery, one easily forgets the world outside - until the faint noise of trams and buses on Leighton Road penetrate.

The silence broke, and I wondered: young people and executives - what are they looking for in Buddhism?

"Buddhism is a traditional belief, but it is no longer a grandma's and grandpa's belief," said the Venerable Jing Yin, sitting in the lotus position.