Taking a Bite out of an Apple

The co-founder of Apple Inc. and the ex-chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios, the late Steve Jobs (inset), reportedly had leanings for Buddhist teachings. That's not half as interesting as this piece of news - On Sunday, a ritual, supposedly Buddhist, was held in Penang, Malaysia to hasten Steve Jobs's reincarnation. About forty people took a bite of an apple, observed three minutes silence and then threw the apple into the sea. It seems that a temple medium Wong Sao Tian had had a vision of Mazu who told him to grieve over Jobs's death. Mazu (妈祖), sometimes, called Matsu, is a popular Chinese goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors. The Federation of Taoist Associations in Malaysia and several other Buddhist groups in the country had criticised the ritual as being ridiculous. One cannot deny that there are rituals in present day Buddhism. Buddhist rituals probably must have this upaya characteristic in them. Upaya is Sanskrit for skillful means and there are therefore, Buddhists who are of the opinion that the rituals are tools to help one to gain enlightenment. That aside, have you wondered for once if Buddha would encourage rituals in our life, one like taking a bite out of an apple?