Bankei's Song of Original Mind

Unborn and imperishable
Is the original mind
Earth, water, fire and wind
A temporary lodging for the night
Attached to this
Ephemeral burning house
You yourselves light the fire, kindle the flames
In which you're consumed


Keep your mind as it was
When you came into the world
And instantly this very self
Is a living "thus-come" one
Ideas of
What's good, what's bad
All due to
This self of yours
In winter, a bonfire
Spells delight
But when summertime arrives
What a nuisance it becomes!
And the breezes
You loved in summer
Even before the autumn's gone
Already have become a bother


Throwing your whole life away
Sacrificed to the thirst for gold
But when you saw your life was through
All your money was no use
Clinging, craving and the like
I don't have them on my mind
That's why nowadays I can say
The whole world is truly mine!


Since, after all this floating world
Is unreal
Instead of holding onto things in
Your mind, go and sing!
Only original mind exists
In the past and in the future too
Instead of holding onto things in
Your mind, let them go!


Having created
the demon mind yourself
When it torments you mercilessly
You're to blame and no one else
When you do wrong
our mind's the demon
There's no hell
To be found outside
Abominating hell
Longing for heaven
You make yourself suffer
In a joyful world
You think that good
Means hating what is bad
What's bad is
The hating mind itself


Fame, wealth, eating and
drinking, sleep and sensual delight —
Once you've leaned the Five Desires
They become
Your guide in life
Notions of what one should do
Never existed from the start
Fighting about what's right, what's wrong
That's the doing of the "I"
When your study
Of Buddhism is through
You find
You haven't anything new


If you think the mind
That attains enlightenment
Is "mine"
Your thoughts will wrestle, one with the other
These days I'm not bothering about
Getting enlightenment all the time
And the result is
I wake up in the morning feeling fine!
Praying for salvation in the world to come
Praying for your own selfish ends
Is only piling on more and more
Self-centeredness and arrogance


Die — then live
Day and night within the world
Once you've done this, then you can
Hold the world right in your hand!


If you search for the Pure Land
Bent upon your own reward
You'll only find yourself
despised
By the Buddha after all!
People have no enemies
None at all right from the start
You create them all yourself
Fighting over right and wrong
Clear are the workings of cause
and effect
You become deluded, but
don't know
It's something that you've done yourself
That's what's called self-centeredness


Though the years may creep ahead
Mind itself can never age
This mind that's
Always just the same
Wonderful! Marvelous!
When you've searched
and found at last
The one who never will grow old
— "I alone!"
The Pure Land
Where one communes at peace
Is here and now, it's not remote
Millions and millions of leagues away
When someone tosses you a tea bowl
— Catch it!
Catch it nimbly with soft cotton
With the cotton of your skillful mind!

Loving Kindness-Buddha, Metta Sutra

This is what should be done

By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:

Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech.

Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied.

Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.

Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.

Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.

Wishing: In gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.

Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,

The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,

Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born,
May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,
Or despise any being in any state.

Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.

Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings:

Radiating kindness over the entire world
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;

Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.

Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down

Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.

This is said to be the sublime abiding.

By not holding to fixed views,

The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.

Buddha, Metta Sutra

NEVER GIVE UP

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"NEVER GIVE UP

No matter what is going on

Never give up

Develop the heart

Too much energy in your country

Is spent developing the mind

Instead of the heart

Be compassionate

Not just to your friends

But to everyone

Be compassionate

Work for peace

In your heart and in the world

Work for peace

And I say again

Never give up

No matter what is going on around you

Never give up" Dalai Lama

The Buddha's First Sermon from Buddha Space

Image via Wikipedia

 by G

 

In this sermon, the Buddha presents the basic teachings of Buddhism in the form of the Four Noble Truths, which include the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to complete enlightenment. He also sums up this Path in terms of the Middle Way, an avoidance of the extremes of self-indulgence and self-torture. Not only is this sutra recited on Asalha Puja Day, but it is frequently chanted and reflected on by Buddhists across the world, for it contains the very heart of Buddhism. It is, therefore, well worth spending a few moments of our time reflecting upon this seminal teaching of the Buddha.

 

“These two extremes, bhikkhus, should not be followed by one who has gone forth: sensual indulgence, which is low, coarse, vulgar, ignoble, and unprofitable; and self-torture, which is painful, ignoble, and unprofitable. Bhikkhus, by avoiding these two extremes, the Tathagata has realized the Middle Way, which gives vision and understanding, which leads to calm, penetration, enlightenment, to Nirvana.”

 

That the Buddha is addressing monks – both ‘bhikkhu’ and ‘one who has gone forth’ refer to monks - should not be interpreted that the teachings themselves are not intended for nuns and laypeople; it’s just that when he delivered this sermon it was to five fellow monks. For, although it is often argued that the Buddha’s teachings are more easily lived in a monastic setting, many householders have also benefitted from them, realizing Nirvana just as their baldheaded brethren had done. The word Tathagata is a title the Buddha often used to refer to himself in the scriptures, and it is usually rendered in English as either ‘the Thus Come One’ or ‘the Thus Gone One’, both suggesting a being that is spontaneously living in the moment. 

 

As to the Buddha’s description of the two extremes that we should avoid, they are both described as being “ignoble and unprofitable.” They are ignoble in that they are not worthy of someone endeavouring to lead an enlightened life, and unprofitable in that they will prevent us from leading such an existence. Self-indulgence is singled out for further criticism; the Buddha stating that it is “low, coarse, and vulgar.” That lax morals and their resultant actions are not conducive to living an enlightened life is no big surprise, for even in more worldly lifestyles they are generally considered undesirable, so even more so for one walking the Path of the Buddha.

This avoidance of self-indulgence and self-mortification is dubbed by the Buddha “the Middle Way.” If perfected, this way of living “gives vision and understanding” and “leads to calm, penetration, enlightenment” and “Nirvana.”

 

These benefits are listed in this order deliberately; it is no accident that vision precedes understanding and that both come before calm, which is followed by penetration, enlightenment, and finally Nirvana. Again, it is worthwhile giving our attention to this process so that we at least have a broad understanding of what the Buddha was getting at. In doing so, we may gain the insight needed to progress along the Middle Way far enough to meet the Buddha himself, for as he famously declared, whoever sees the Dharma sees the Buddha.

The first step in awakening to the Dharma (the truth of the way things are) is to obtain the vision that sees life as it really is, and not as we usually misperceive it.

 

This involves a radical shift in our awareness, a kind of profound simplification that opens us up to be able to understand the Dharma, the way life is. This understanding, which is not intellectual, but can be expressed intellectually at least to a degree, is a wisdom that arises out of direct perception of the Dharma.

With this understanding comes the calmness that Buddhists are often – correctly and incorrectly – attributed with. This calm arises from knowing the way things are which allows for a certain acceptance of life as it is. 

 

For, if we know and accept life, then we will not be upset by its challenges and problems, but simply recognize that this is the way it is and act appropriately. Resting in this calm wisdom, we will then penetrate to the heart of the Buddha’s teachings, indeed we will fly like an arrow straight to the bull’s eye of the universe, seeing and knowing people and things just as they are, all flowing out of that which is neither a person nor a thing. 

 

Next in the Buddha’s description the fruits of the Middle Way comes enlightenment, which is not so much seeing things as they are, but seeing ‘No-thing’ as it is. That is to say, it is seeing and living from the naked awareness of a Buddha. In this enlightenment, not only is the Dharma the Buddha, but so are we; there is no thing to separate “us” from “him.” Finally, the Buddha talks of Nirvana, a state of being that is literally beyond words, out of reach of the intellect, and so sublime that to even label it “Nirvana” should only be done with the knowledge that it is just a pointer and nothing more. Indeed, many Buddhist masters have often avoided mentioning Nirvana altogether, fully aware that much misunderstanding can arise from such talk. So, let’s swiftly move on to the next part of the sermon!

 

“And what, bhikkhus, is the Middle Way realized by the Tathagata, which gives vision and understanding, which leads to calm, penetration, enlightenment, to Nirvana?

It is just this Noble Eightfold Path, namely: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.”

Where the Buddha’s teaching on the Middle Way gives us a broad outline, the Noble Eightfold Path is a more detailed exposition of the route to enlightenment. Too detailed to go into here, the Eightfold Path is often summarized into the three trainings, Morality, Concentration, and Wisdom. Morality comprises Right Speech, Action, and Livelihood, and details how to live in harmony with the society and world we live in. Concentration includes Right Effort, Mindfulness, and Concentration, and guides us how to cultivate both peace and focus, and includes meditation amongst its tools. Wisdom is made up of Right View and Intention, and it appears at the beginning of the Path, when we learn of the Way, and at the end of the Way, when it is an expression of our own understanding. To perfect the Eightfold Path is not to be fully enlightened, but to be perfectly ripened awaiting “it” to occur spontaneously.

“This, bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of dukkha: Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha, grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and despair are dukkha, association with the disliked is dukkha, separation from the liked is dukkha, not to get what one wants is dukkha. In brief, clinging to the five aggregates is dukkha.”

Here, the Buddha introduces the notion of dukkha, or suffering, which is a central idea in his teaching. Life is full of suffering, in the many ways that he describes above, and even when we are enjoying ourselves, suffering is waiting for the good times to end, so it can rear its ugly head. It has many levels of intensity, from mild irritation all the way up to full blown-agony, and from the egoistic point of view it is impossible to completely eradicate from our lives. The Buddha, however, is suggesting that a life without suffering is realizable, if we walk the Path, and the reason is that dukkha has a cause:

“This, bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the cause of dukkha: The craving which causes rebirth and is bound up with pleasure and lust, ever seeking fresh delight, now here, now there; namely, craving for sense pleasure, craving for existence, and craving for annihilation.”

Craving is the cause of our suffering; because we desire life to be certain ways, when it doesn’t live up to our expectations we experience dukkha. Three basic kinds of craving are listed by the Buddha: craving for sense pleasure, for existence, and for annihilation. It’s pretty clear why desiring certain forms of pleasure will inevitably result in suffering, for as the Buddha stated earlier in the sermon, when we do not get what we want, we will suffer. As to craving for existence, this doesn’t only mean desiring to be alive, but also includes wanting to exist in a particular way or form, and when this is threatened or absent, we will suffer. Craving for annihilation causes suffering because while we are alive, the desire not to be, or not to be the way we are, will create dukkha. Furthermore, if we accept the theory of rebirth, even suicide is not a way out of suffering, for we will face the consequences of our actions in our next birth.

“This, bhikkus, is the Noble Truth of the cessation of dukkha: The complete cessation, giving up, abandonment of that craving, complete release from that craving, and complete detachment from it.”

This may sound a bit of a tall order, to say the least, for while we are alive as human beings, we will surely have desires that will sometimes be fulfilled and sometimes not, resulting on suffering. The Buddha, however, teaches that it is indeed possible in this very life to achieve “the complete cessation” of dukkha, for whilst on the conventional level of experience we are human beings, at the “deeper” or more fundamental level of being, we are ‘No-thing’ at all. It is human ‘things’ that experience dukkha, so if we let go of identifying with being these ‘things’, and realize the ‘No-thing’ that we truly are, we are realized from suffering, for ‘No-thing’ has no desires whatsoever, and therefore no suffering. And how are we to achieve this? The Buddha has already told us: the Noble Eightfold Path:

“This, bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the way to the cessation of dukkha: Only this Noble Eightfold Path; namely, Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.”

 The Buddha goes on in the sutra to explain in some more detail how he used the Four Noble Truths as reflective tools to meditate on and achieve full enlightenment, but the gist of his teaching is contained above, and it is this which is recalled on Asalha Puja. If we can appreciate these teachings and then put them into practice, we will be walking the Middle Way of the Buddha established roughly two thousand years ago. This Path has many interpretations from Thailand to Japan, Tibet to Vietnam, not to mention all the newer forms arising across the globe today. If they keep to the well-trodden Path that the Buddha taught all those centuries ago, they will lead to the same place: no place at all. For, it is as this ever-present ‘No-thing’, this ‘Buddha Space’ that contains all, that we are freed from our desires and the suffering that arises from them. May all beings be truly happy!

Buddha Space: Buddha & Religion: Introduction

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Buddha Space: Buddha & Religion: Introduction: "

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Cherishing Others

The determination, "I must always cherish all living beings" is the object of the twelfth Lamrim meditation in Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's The New Meditation Handbook. The actual title of the meditation is "The Advantages of Cherishing Others."

I did the meditation today, and gained a deeper experience of it than I ever have before. That seems to be the way it is with Lamrim meditations -- they are never quite the same. Even though you may meditate on the same topic every twenty-one days, you are never really doing the same meditation twice, in my opinion.

In The New Meditation Handbook, Geshe Kelsang lists several advantages to cherishing others. The first has to do with the law of karma.

Karma is very simple, really. All of our actions of past, present, and future are causes, and all of our experiences of past, present, and future are effects. Therefore, if we are experiencing positive circumstances now (being taken care of, being loved, living in a comfortable environment, good health...), they are the result of our having performed related virtuous actions in this or previous lives. And the motivation for performing such virtuous actions almost always involves cherishing others in one way or another.

So. Whatever pleasant circumstances we have, we can thank ourselves for cherishing others to generate them, and if we want to have similar circumstances in the future, we must keep cherishing others to create the necessary good karma.

If we are not enjoying pleasant circumstances -- if others are taking advantage of us or treating us poorly -- we can turn this situation around. Our cherishing others now always results in positive effects later. One of the laws of karma is that an action is never wasted. The virtuous seeds we plant will ripen.

One catch, though, is that we need to take the long view. Virtuous seeds planted in this life may not ripen until our next life, or in lives after that. But one thing we can be sure of is that any time we perform an action of cherishing others, we are creating positive circumstances for ourselves sometime in the future.

But what about now?

That leads us to the second advantage of cherishing others. Geshe Kelsang says, "The immediate effect [of cherishing others] will be that many of our problems, such as those that arise from anger, jealousy, and selfish behaviour, will disappear, and our mind will become calm and peaceful."

When I think about this, I can see that it is true. When I am seeing life through the distorted magnifying glass of my own wants and needs, I can often find it lacking. But when I set down the magnifying glass, and instead think of others wants and needs, I often find there is something I can actually do to help, even if it is only to offer a prayer. I benefit because this makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and makes me feel good about myself. Giving just has a way of doing that. I feel peace when I lay my head down at night. I feel I have accomplished something meaningful, something worthwhile. And that generates a deep sense of satisfaction.

Geshe Kelsang says, "The precious mind that cherishes all living beings protects both myself and others from suffering, brings happiness, and fulfills our wishes."

Wow.

It's a win, win, win situation. We win later, we win now, and others win too. With all this winning going around, it seems shocking that more of us aren't scurrying to engage in cherishing others all the time!

It's very, very unfortunate that our imprints and our environment set us up to cherish ourselves instead of others. It causes so much unhappiness, and takes us out of reach of a potential source of limitless joy.

How fortunate some of us are to have discovered Dharma and "seen the light!"

I cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, claim at this time to have achieved the realization of cherishing others. If I had, I would always cherish all living beings all the time, and I would not be plagued by self-cherishing as much as I am.

But I feel excited today, because this was the strongest experience I have had so far of "getting it" that cherishing others is a source of potential happiness beyond my wildest dreams. If I come to believe this truth deeply enough, if it gets firmly ingrained in my mind, the juggernaut of my self-centered existence will begin, gradually, to change course.

And I and everyone I associate with will benefit from it.

From Buddhist At Heart

Quote of the Week: Bhikkhu Bodhi

From Jizo Chronicles

An American Buddhist monk, Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi is both a scholar and a truly engaged Buddhist. Perhaps best known for translations of the Pali Canon (one of my favorite books is his anthology In the Buddha’s Words published by Wisdom), he has been issuing a call to action to Buddhists around the world over the last few years.

In 2007, Bhikkhu Bodhi wrote an essay for Buddhadharma magazine titled “A Challenge to Buddhists,” in which he took American Buddhism to task for being excessively inwardly-focused. Not long after that, he and a group of his students and friends founded Buddhist Global Relief to provide aid to the poor and needy around the world. This is one monk who walks his talk.

This quote comes from an essay in BGR’s Spring 2010 “Helping Hands” newsletter:

Buddhism offers us two complementary perspectives to guide us in our engagement with the world. One pertains to our way of understanding things; the other pertains to our relationship with living beings. These two perspectives are respectively the wisdom of selflessness and universal compassion. Though distinct, the two are closely bound together, mutually embracing and reinforcing. In their integral unity they provide the most effective remedy to the contemporary crisis brought about by blind self-interest and the threat it poses to our planet’s fragile eco-system, economic security, and equitable relations among people and nations.

Daily Practice from the Dalai Lama

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The Dalai Lama has asked that the following practice be shared with as many people as possible. A group recently spent five days visiting with the Dalai Lama focusing upon what they believe are the five most important questions to be considered as we move into the millenium. The five questions were:

1. How do we address the widening gap between rich and poor?
2. How do we protect the earth?
3. How do we educate our children?
4. How do we help Tibet and other oppressed countries and peoples of the world?
5. How do we bring spirituality (deep caring for one another) through all disciplines of life?

The Dalai Lama said all five questions fall under the last one. If we have true compassion in our hearts, our children will be educated wisely, we will care for the earth, those who "have not" will be cared for. The group asked the Dalai Lama, "Do you think love on the planet is increasing or staying the same? His response: "My experience leads me to believe that love IS increasing." He shared a simple practice that will increase love and compassion in the world. He asked everyone in the group to share it with as many people as they can.
The practice:

1. Spend 5 minutes at the beginning of each day remembering we all want the same things (to be happy and to be loved) and we are all connected to one another.
2. Spend 5 minutes breathing in cherishing yourself, and breathing out cherishing others. If you think about people you have difficulty cherishing, extend your cherishing to them anyway.
3. During the day extend that attitude to everyone you meet. Practice cherishing the "simplest" person (clerks, attendants, etc.) as well as the "important" people in your life, cherish the people you love and the people you dislike.
4. Continue this practice no matter what happens or what anyone does to you.

These thoughts are very simple, inspiring and helpful. The practice of cherishing can be taken very deep if done wordlessly, allowing yourself to feel the love and appreciation that already exists in your heart.
Will you commit to creating Peace in yourself and thereby "On Earth" by spending 10 minutes a day with this simple meditation? Peace on Earth, Good will To All. It’s not a season. It’s a daily practice. Please pass this on to as many people as you can.

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A Declaration of Interdependence

A Declaration of Interdependence

Top Six Buddhism-Inspired Comics

By John Pappas
From elephant journal

*The inner dork strives*

This was originally inspired by a great post on Buddhist Images in Comics by the Rev. Danny Fisher.

At the suggestion of the Ven. Dr. Yifa, who told me that the kids were all huge fans of the film Bulletproof Monk (which is based on a comic book), I presented on Buddhism and comic books. My presentation, entitled Bulletproof Monks, Green Lamas, and Thunderlords: Images of Buddhism in Popular Comic Books, was thrown together rather quickly (with invaluable assists from the super-fun website Comic Book Religion Database), but I think I still able to start an interesting conversation with the kids and parents.

I might make a real paper out of this material some day, but I’ll tell you a little bit about it now (with a few examples).

I hope that he does do a real paper off of this material…The seedy kingdom of dork would be pleased. I’ve been wanting to list a few of my favorite comics that have a heavy or light dose of Buddhism present within the pages (and ideally not as sub-standard as Wolverine bowing to a Shinto shrine once in a while).

After reading Blake Wilson’s “Six Buddhists that wil kick your ass” I decided to reprint (in true comic fashion) this old post and provide my own “ass-kicking” Buddhist comic characters and comics.

* Lone Wolf and Cub ~ Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima: There is a nice undercurrent of the koan Mu running through this entire series. Granted, its flowing underneath an orgy of death, violence and boobs but it is there none-the-less. Also as a prime example of Zen practice in parenting; The interactions between Daigoro and Ogami Itto are simply amazing and the ending of this series will haunt you for weeks.

After Ogami Ittō’s wife Azami gives birth to their son, Daigorō, Ogami Ittō returns to find her and all of their household brutally murdered, with only the newborn Daigorō surviving. The supposed culprits are three former retainers of an abolished clan, avenging the execution of their lord by Ogami Ittō. However, the entire matter was planned by Ura-Yagyū (Shadow Yagyu) Yagyū Retsudō, leader of the Yagyū clan, in order to seize Ogami’s post. During the initial incursion, an ihai (funeral tablet) with the shogun’s crest on it was placed inside the Ogami family shrine, signifying a supposed wish for the shogun’s death. When the tablet is “discovered” during the murder investigation, its presence condemns Ittō as a traitor and thus forfeits his post.

The 1-year-old Daigorō is given a choice by his father: a ball or a sword. If Daigorō chose the ball, his father would kill him, sending him to be with his mother; however, the child crawls toward the sword and reaches for its hilt. This assigns him the path of a rōnin, wandering the country with his father as “demons” – the assassin-for-hire team that becomes known as Lone Wolf and Cub, vowing to destroy the Yagyū clan to avenge Azami’s death and Ittō’s disgrace. (from Wikipedia)

* Vagabond ~ Takehiko Inoue: More violence and a fictional retelling of the life and times of Miyamoto Musashi (a famous Japanese swordman). One of the main characters is Takuan Soho – A practicing Zen Monk in the Rinzai tradition (the writings of which can be found in the book “An Unfettered Mind“). Takuan runs through the series as trainer/father-figure and guide to Miyamoto Musashi (and, ironically, his rival Sasaki Kojiro). Blunt and honest, Takuan helps to capture Miyamoto Musashi by appealing to his human frailities and then sets him free to become a better swordman. In true Buddhist fashion those same frailities that got him caught in the first place are the ones that make him a stronger swordman.


* Shaman King ~ Hiroyuki Takei: Loaded with more religious references than a camel has spit. Its fun and it makes me laugh….especially the duo of Buddhist monks that turn into a mega-metal band. Silly for the most part and not really ass-kicking. Miyamoto Musashi pops in as a (hungry?) ghost in this series.


* Butsu Zone ~ Hiroyuki Takei: The adventures of Senju (The Thousand-Hand Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) who is quested by Amitabha to protect Sachi, an incarnation of the Buddha Miroku. Miroku is supposed to appear in an era when the Dharma is completely forgotten, become enlightenmented, reiintroduce the dharma, becoming a successor of Śākyamuni Buddha. Senju is there to guide and help plus Bodhisattva MECH-SUITS!! So awesome. Read it for free here


* Buddha ~ Osamu Tezuka: Well, its a comic version of the life and times of Gautama Buddha and it looks like Astro-Boy. To be honest I have not read this one yet. But I have admired it from afar and I have a Borders Gift Card burning a hole in my pocket…

And Lastly….

* Buddha for Beginners ~ Stephen Asma: I can’t recommend this book enough. It gives an accurate and humorous explainations (and illustrations) of Buddha and Buddhist thought. An outstanding graphic novel with good content that is useful for beginners and experts alike.

I am sure that I missed a few good comics out there with a flavoring of Buddhism…I’ve been out of the “Comics-Geek” game for a while so if you have some other additions, please throw them into the comments section below!

The Reverend Danny Fisher, Blake Wilson and John Pappas…Buddhist dorks unite! The Trifecta of Geekdom!

Cheers,

John

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Buddhist Advice for these “Dark Ages”

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Advice for the Dark Ages, a message to the American Buddhist Shambhala community. For the full text, go to the Shambhala site.

~ via Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

This is a very difficult time. The upheavals in the financial world are causing widespread distress, as are fears about climate change, intensified political polarization, and rising aggression. It is what the Buddhist teachings call a “dark age.” We experience the darkness as confusion, unhappiness, and lack of purpose.

It was for times like these that the Buddha gave the teachings on enlightened society to King Dawa Sango, the first sovereign of Shambhala. At present, the truth of those teachings is clear. For a society to be truly harmonious, it cannot be based on greed and anger. When we understand this, we see that what is happening around us is literally caused by the absence of [enlightened] vision [meditation practice, compassion and aspiring to work toward a peaceful society].

Uplifting our minds and increasing our life-force energy begins with that vision. So I am asking all of you, as citizens of [enlightened society], to rise to this occasion.

First, take these precious teachings [meditation, compassion] to heart and practice them. That includes meditating for a short period every day to stabilize your mind and generate compassion. Contemplate your unshakeable karmic connection to the lineage [of brave, decent peaceful warriors who practice meditation and study peace] and reflect on your nature as the profound, brilliant [fundamentally good king or queen of your own world].

Second, see fear for what it is: a lack of trust in your genuine being, which naturally radiates compassion and kindness. Take the big view of what is most important in this and future lifetimes: to become stronger and more realized in order to help others. Take care of yourselves, but don’t hide behind the false security of self-protection. From the ground of basic goodness, open your heart and serve others.

Third, be generous. This is not a time to close down or hold on, but to offer from the natural well-spring of generosity. Be generous with those you love, but also with those you are tempted to blame or dislike. Be generous, too, within your community, which needs your support more than ever.

Practicing, serving, and giving: this is the path of the warrior bodhisattva. It is both transcendent and earthy. When we orient our minds this way, we are creating a sustainable environment. The wealth that it generates is inexhaustible.

I love you and am with you as we tread this golden path together.

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Thich Nhat Hanh

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Thich Nhat Hanh

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Opening the Hand of Thought

Kosho Uchiyama

(1912-1998)

The world we live in is not something that exists independently of our thoughts and ideas. Our world and these thoughts and ideas appear to us as a unified whole. Depending on what our thoughts and ideas are, our world may appear to us in completely different ways. These thoughts and feelings constitute our psychological condition. Moreover, our psychological condition is at the same time our physiological condition. When something breaks down inside of us physically, our minds no longer remain clear. And if our minds are not clear, then the eyes with which we see the whole world take on a gloomy appearance. On the other hand, when we feel healthy our minds brighten, and so consequently our outlook on everything becomes brighter.

Furthermore, our physiological conditions are tremendously influenced by the environment in which we live. The changes and conditions of climate and weather both affect us. This cause and effect relationship is particularly easy to see when you lead a life as unvaried and devoid of distractions as the sesshins at Antaiji.

The essential matter here is the attitude of just striving to wake up regardless of the conditions you are in. It is not about arriving at some state where all thoughts have disappeared. To calmly sit amidst these cause and effect relationships without being carried away by them is shikantaza.

Like the weather, there are all sorts of conditions in our personal lives: clear days, cloudy days, rainy ones, and stormy ones. These are all waves produced by the power of nature and are not things over which we have control. No matter how much we fight against these waves, there is no way we can make a cloudy day clear up. Cloudy days are cloudy; clear days are clear. It is only natural that thoughts come and go and that psychological and physiological conditions fluctuate accordingly. All of this is the very reality and manifestation of life. Seeing all of this as the scenery of life, without being pulled apart by it—this is the stability of human life, this is settling down in our life.

In The Record of Linji, Linji Yixuan (Rinzai) says:

.

The true practitioner of the Way completely transcends all things. Even if heaven and earth were to tumble down, I would have no misgivings. Even if all the Buddhas in the ten directions were to appear before me, I would not rejoice. Even if the three hells were to appear before me, I would have no fear. Why is this so? Because there is nothing I dislike.

For Rinzai, the appearance of all the buddhas in the past, present, and future was not something to rejoice over, nor was the appearance of the three hells something of which to be afraid. Of course, not being afraid of the appearance of some hell doesn’t mean that for Rinzai hell had no existence. For him, hell was a kind of scenery that was different from the scenery of the Buddhas. The point is that whether some hell, all the buddhas, or anything appeared before him, Rinzai saw all of these as the scenery of his life. For us this is nothing but the scenery of our zazen.

I hope that people who practice zazen will continue regular sesshins and daily zazen for at least ten years. It’s a tremendous thing to be able to give oneself to this kind of practice and not be caught up in distractions. Our deepest mental suffering will come up during these years of zazen, and we will be able to continue our practice only if we have the stability to see this suffering as the scenery of our life and not be carried away by it. Working through these ten years, we develop a posture of living out the reality of our true self.

If we lead this sort of life and sit zazen, at whatever age, there is no doubt that we will come to have a commanding view of who we are. When we live this way, not only zazen, but daily life itself, is such that we cannot find the value of our existence in what other people say or in things that we want. It is a life that is unbearable unless we discover the value of our existence within ourselves.

What is essential is for us to live out the reality of our true self whether we are doing one period of zazen, a five-day sesshin, or practicing for ten years or more.

The Activity of the Reality of Life

All of us, regardless of whether we realize it or not, are living out the self as the whole universe. Since this is such a critical point, I’ll repeat it here. Usually we make the idea of the small individual self the center of our world and become firmly convinced that this small individual self is our whole self, but this is not our true self.

The reality of life goes beyond my idea of myself as a small individual. Fundamentally, our self is living out nondual life that pervades all living things. This self is universal existence, everything that exists. On the other hand, we usually lose sight of the reality of the life of universal self, clouding it over with thoughts originating from our small individual selves.

When we let go of our thoughts, this reality of life becomes pure and clear. Living out this reality of life as it is – that is, waking up and practicing beyond thinking – is zazen. At this very point our basic attitude in practicing zazen becomes determined. The attitude of the practitioner in practicing zazen as a Mahayana Buddhist teaching never means to attempt to artificially create some new self by means of practice.

Nor should it be aiming at decreasing delusion and finally eliminating it altogether. We practice zazen, neither aiming at having a special mystical experience nor trying to gain greater enlightenment. Zazen as true Mahayana teaching is always the whole self just truly being the whole self, life truly being life.

We all have eyes to see, but if we close them and say that the world is in darkness, how can we say that we are living out the true reality of life? If we open our eyes we see the sun is shining brilliantly. In the same way, when we live open-eyed and awake to life, we discover that we are living in the vigorous light of life. All the ideas of our small self are clouds that make the light of the universal self foggy and dull. Doing zazen, we let go of these ideas and open our eyes to the clarity of the vital life of universal self.

We discover the attitude of zazen as true Buddhism when we believe that the truth of this small self as an individual entity is universal self and actually practice the reality of life in zazen. This zazen is referred to as the activity of the reality of life.

Kosho Uchiyama (1912-1998)

Excerpted from Opening the Hand of Thought – Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice

*

Uchiyama Roshi begins with a powerful line that stops us right at the very beginning of this reading. To live the reality of true fluidity existing between ourselves and the world is a profound existence in anyone’s life and practice. Our practice starts right where we are each day; acknowledging the impact of internal and external weather, we begin each day with the material of daily life that changes with each day. Breaking through the bubble of limitation, our small sense of self, is available to us in each moment.

This awareness begins to subtly influence our actions in daily life. Even if this awareness comes without the big enlightenment experience some people have felt, living the reality of our self being the expression of Universal Self starts to change how we see ourselves and “others” here. We feel the joy and suffering of all beings around us as our own joy and suffering. Our actions naturally trend towards alleviating suffering and having compassion for all living beings.

To study the way is to study the self.

To study the self is to forget the self.

To forget the self is to be
enlightened by all things.

To be enlightened by all
things is to remove the barriers

between one's self and others.

Dogen

10 Steps to Mindfulness

"Smile, breathe and go slowly." - Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist monk

The idea of being mindful - being present, being more conscious of life as it happens - may seem contradictory to those who are used to sacrificing living for pursuing their goals ... but cultivating mindfulness will help you achieve your goals and enjoy life more. In fact, you're more productive when you're mindful.

But more importantly, being present is undoubtedly the only way to enjoy life to the fullest. By being mindful, you enjoy your food more, you enjoy friends and family more, you enjoy anything you're doing more. Anything. Even things you might think are drudgery or boring, such as housework, can be amazing if you are truly present. Try it - wash dishes or sweep or cook, and remain fully present. It takes practice, but it's incredible.

Life in the Present: A 10-Step Approach

1. Do one thing at a time. Single-task, don't multi-task. When you're pouring water, just pour water. When you're eating, just eat. When you're bathing, just bathe. Don't try to knock off a few tasks while eating or bathing or driving. Zen proverb: "When walking, walk. When eating, eat."

2. Do it slowly and deliberately. You can do one task at a time, but also rush that task. Instead, take your time, and move slowly. Make your actions deliberate, not rushed and random. It takes practice, but it helps you focus on the task.

3. Do less. If you do less, you can do those things more slowly, more completely and with more concentration. If you fill your day with tasks, you will be rushing from one thing to the next without stopping to think about what you do. But you're busy and you can't possibly do less, right? You can. I've done it, and so have many busy people. It's a matter of figuring out what's important, and letting go of what's not.

4. Put space between things. Related to the "Do less" rule, but it's a way of managing your schedule so that you always have time to complete each task. Don't schedule things close together - instead, leave room between things on your schedule. That gives you a more relaxed schedule, and leaves space in case one task takes longer than you planned.

5. Spend at least 5 minutes each day doing nothing. Just sit in silence. Become aware of your thoughts. Focus on your breathing. Notice the world around you. Become comfortable with the silence and stillness. It'll do you a world of good - and just takes 5 minutes!

6. Stop worrying about the future - focus on the present. Become more aware of your thinking - are you constantly worrying about the future? Learn to recognize when you're doing this, and then practice bringing yourself back to the present. Just focus on what you're doing, right now. Enjoy the present moment.

7. When you're talking to someone, be present. How many of us have spent time with someone but have been thinking about what we need to do in the future? Or thinking about what we want to say next, instead of really listening to that person? Instead, focus on being present, on really listening, on really enjoying your time with that person.

8. Eat slowly and savor your food. Food can be crammed down our throats in a rush, but where's the joy in that? Savor each bite, slowly, and really get the most out of your food. Interestingly, you'll eat less this way, and digest your food better as well.

9. Live slowly and savor your life. Just as you would savor your food by eating it more slowly, do everything this way - slow down and savor each and every moment. Tune into the sights and sounds and awaken your senses to the world around you.

10. Make cleaning and cooking become meditation. Cooking and cleaning are often seen as drudgery, but actually they are both great ways to practice mindfulness, and can be great rituals performed each day. If cooking and cleaning seem like boring chores to you, try doing them as a form of meditation. Put your entire mind into those tasks, concentrate, and do them slowly and completely. It could change your entire day (as well as leave you with a cleaner house).

Keep practicing. When you get frustrated, just take a deep breath. When you ask yourself, "What should I do now, Self?" The answer is, "keep practicing."

"When you drive around the city and come to a red light or a stop sign, you can just sit back and make use of these twenty or thirty seconds to relax - to breathe in, breathe out, and enjoy arriving in the present moment. There are many things like that we can do." - Thich Nhat Hanh

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Source URL: http://www.thirdage.com/time-well-spent/10-steps-to-mindfulness