August-08

Thought for the day: August 1, 2008

When we die we will leave all our attachments behind; only to be distracted by
them again when we return. Some attachments that control our lives we simply
are not ready to evolve past. But, that is not true of all our attachments. If we
consider attachments that our energy flows into, few of us will not be able to
find attachments that we can do without. A towards simplicity will generate
energy rather than drain it

Thought for the day: August 2, 2008

The Greek philosopher Epictetus said: "When a man is proud because he can
understand and explain the writings of Chrysippus, say to yourself, if
Chrysippus had not written obscurely, this man would have had noting to be
proud of."

The Buddha walked the dusty Indian plains for forty-nine years teaching a
population that could neither read or write. Nevertheless, he managed to
convey the essence of Buddhism in a language that his hearers could
understand. It is these teaching that became the foundation of Buddhism and
countless commentaries are rooted here. Scholars, however, who interpret and
explain the Buddha dharma, often leave us with a heap of jumbled words,
either because they don't understand the meaning themselves, or they simply
dissect the life out of it, or both.

Many accomplished teachers, particularly of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition,
have been teaching Westerners for a number of years now. Many of these
teaching have been made into books. Often these discourses form the best
study resource because they have come from masters who truly live the
teachings and understand them beyond a mere intellectual grasp. HH Dilgo
Kheyentse's, Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones, public commentary on
Patrul Rinpoche's teachings is an example. HH Dali Lama's public teachings
which are now in book form, is another example. Thrangu Rinpoche's books
are also excellent in the same way. Because these and other masters
understand and practice Buddhism and are skilled in presenting it to
Westerners, it is my view that they offer the best resource for study.

Thought for the day: August 3, 2008

The Greek philosopher Epictetus said: "We have two ears and one mouth
because we should listen twice as much as we talk." The Buddha, too, often
cautions his disciples to guard their speech. Much energy is lost in needless
talking. If before speaking we reflect on its necessity we would all speak far
fewer words.

Thought for the day: August 4, 2008

The fewer desires the less distraction. There are many approaches to cutting
down desire; building a firm practice is one of the best. A consistent
application of effort for a given period of time each day will lead to a practice
one genuinely enjoys. As the joy of practice increases we naturally become
disinterested in frivolous activity. In the beginning practice is a discipline that
we must push ourselves to do; but this will change in time.

Thought for the day: August 5, 2008

Refraining from negative action and thought when backed by sustained
contemplation of the reasons (for refraining) and the consequences of
negativity, develops the qualities of mind from which negativity will not find a
foot hold.

Thought for the day: August 6, 2008

Everyday household items are constantly giving dharma discourse; are you
listening? Can you hear the dishes saying come wash me, the vacuum begging
for attention, the broom longing to massage the floor? The toilet is saying,
make me sparkle, the windows begging for your attention, cupboards asking
to be organized, and clothes and towels asking for loving hands to fold them.
The Buddha cautions his disciples in the Prajanparamita Sutras (Wisdom
Teachings:) "He who sees me in form does not see the Tathagata." Are we
listening? A shrine room is only good if it has no boundaries, a meditation
session is only as good as its post meditation experience. If we are mindful of
our everyday world we will find that fulfilling the simple demands of our daily
lives contains valuable opportunities to test our meditative understanding.

Thought for the day: August 7, 2008

Intellectual reasoning may help win arguments about the dharma; but it
won't help you live it.

Thought for the day: August 8, 2008

Reflect for a moment when anger took over and how you felt; next reflect on
a moment when a feeling of deep appreciation of another person arose within
you and how that made you feel. Now, consider for a moment that the same
mind gave rise to both these experiences; there is not an angry mind and a
loving mind. The mind is the same; the difference is in how it is used.

Thought for the day: August 9, 2008

Richard Feynman, the Noble prize winning Physicist remarked that he enjoys
working on problems just for the pleasure of solving them. He even wrote a
book entitled, "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out." He also points out
that scientist are often criticized for not taking a more active role in how their
discoveries are used; but rather being content, like himself, with solving
problems just for the pleasure of it. He was also one of the fathers of the
atomic bomb.

As Buddhist, we do not want to study all the nuances of Buddhist philosophy
just for the sake of being well versed in Buddhist doctrine. This may give us
great skill in debate, or land us a job at a college; but it won't help us achieve
the aim of Buddhism, which is to attain enlightenment and help others to do
the same. Unlike scientists, whose discoveries are often in the hands of
governments and corporation; the fruits of our study of Buddhism is in our
own hands. Either we will become a scholar or a practitioner. It depends on
how much of a personal experience we make of our study. As lay people we
want to constantly check ourselves and make sure that we are using the
dharma we study to change the way we live and think for the better, and are
not merely practicing to accumulate knowledge. Knowledge by itself is
nothing. It must be a tool to cut through disturbing emotions and afflictions.

Thought for the day: August 10, 2008

Criticism should always be rooted in compassion; if it is not, it will harm the
bearer and his target. We should always examine our criticizing mind and see
clearly where it is rooting. If it is not rooted in a genuine understanding
wherein we see the undesirable consequences of another's thoughts or actions
and wish to prevent them from landing in difficulty, we should let it go and
not burden ourselves with it.

Thought for the day: August 11, 2008

"Being turned upside down by conditions" is a Buddhist expression that
refers to an agreeable state of mind being uprooted by "conditions." For
example, you leave the meditation hall feeling tranquil, and after a
heartwarming talk with your teacher, you leave to find that your car has been
towed away. The "conditions" has turned you upside down and your
agreeable state of mind is a mere memory. Why does this happen? It is
simply because you have not yet owned the peace of mind you had a
moment ago, but merely were given a glimpse of it in meditation. It takes
years of practice to instill a genuine peace of mind that is not turned by
conditions. Our daily lives are constantly giving us pop quizzes that offer
humbling reminders how far we have to go.

Thought for the day: August 12, 2008

At some point in the early life of a child a parent will caution him to stay
away from fire. If he is mindful of what he is told he will obey his parent even
though he may not understand why he is being cautioned. He is simply
following a rule. However, circumstances may present themselves that tempt
him to test the rule and he may discover in a painful way why his parent
cautioned him. Now he will stay away from fire because of knowledge of its
nature, rather than merely following a rule.

Eventually we must all learn the reason behind the rule; for it is the
difference between knowingly doing something and blindly following a rule.
Knowledge is very powerful. When we are knowledge motivated rather than
rule motivated we can expand that knowledge in many ways, something we
can not do with a rule.

In similar manner a dharma practitioner begins his long road to
enlightenment by following many rules. Like a child he leads a dharmic way
of life because that is the path set forth by the Buddha. As his practice
matures, however, life will bring forth many tests wherein the rule may have
to be let go of for a moment in order to see the meaning behind it. These
"opportunities" are very difficult to see when they arise; and we are more
often than not going to stick with what is tried and true---hold on to the rule.
However, knowing when to let go is as important as when to hold on; if we
wish to avoid the pitfalls of clinging to the dharma (grasping.) The irony is
that knowing when to let go will be for those who endured the longest and
followed the strictest practice; rather than those with lax discipline.

The dharma that is practiced knowingly is far more efficacious than the
dharma of blind adherence. It is our obligation to ourselves to honor the
Buddha dharma by practicing knowingly, with full awareness of the meaning
of our effort.

Thought for the day: August 14, 2008

A Master is often unnerving; in fact living with one is almost constantly so.
They are unpredictable, spontaneous, and cut to the essence of what is going
on. Like it or not your soul is always laid bear before them, ready for the
frying pan. Being kind to you for them means tormenting you in a positive
way that will really help you; and only a master can do that. Their
instructions, however painful, are rooted in compassion. And their
instructions are seldom not painful.

Thought for the day: August 15, 2008

Studying the word of the Buddha and taking the Buddha's word for it are
two different things; the former Buddhists are urged to do; and the latter
reject. Followers of the Buddha are not blind followers; as Buddhist it is our
obligation to ourselves to honor the Buddha dharma by examining it and
determining for ourselves through sound reason and experiential realization
the validity of its teachings.

Thought for the day: August 16, 2008

There is a saying: When the Buddha grows a foot, the demon is already ten
feet tall." This refers to the fact that obstructions seem to multiply as soon
as we begin practicing Buddhism. Buddhism is blamed for a feeling of
being "more obstructed now than when I started," as is often said. But,
what is really happening is the practice of Buddhism is increasing our
awareness, and this in turn makes us aware of obstructions that we were
previously not aware of, or less aware of.

There is another meaning, as well. This happens on a micro, everyday level.
Often a positive action may occur to us without our really thinking about it;
something we may do in our spare time during the day. But, suddenly we
don't have spare time anymore, because almost simultaneous with the
positive thought, we are flooded with a million things that "we have to get
done." Things that were on the back burner, now want to be cooked. Our
positive intention is being hijacked by important things that must be done, and
done now.

Thought for the day: August 17, 2008

Our minds work a little like mass media. Mass media deals in trivialities to
distract the public from real problems that might put their government in
the spotlight; or news that people simply want to hear; sensational stuff that
will distract them from their own problems.

Those of us who have practiced Buddhism may have recognized a pattern
working in our minds that is similar to the way the media works. It is
tempting to discuss others' problems, rather than expose our own, for
example, and just like the government controlled media does not like any
news that might call for change within, we as practitioners often are
resistant to the lifestyle changes the true practice of dharma requires. Just as
the government (and corporations) controls media to maintain a status quo,
a common fault of dharma practitioners is to ignore those practices that put
their attachments in the spotlight. If we want to understand the reason why
we are ignorant and unenlightened, we need not study Buddhism to do it; a
careful common sense analyses of the way media works to blind people from
the real issues people as a nation must face; should be enough to see why
we as individuals would rather stick with the familiar comfortable world we
know; than give up these comforts in an effort that will test our true faith in
ourselves for a better life.

Thought for the day: August 18, 2008

Our attachment to things might be reduced if we could understand that it
is impossible to privately own anything, even a perception. When we see
objects the notion of others is always in our mind if the notion of "I" am
experiencing such and such arises. After all, what meaning would "I" have
if the notions of others were not providing the canvas. It would lose its
meaning. Imagine a world in which you were the only person living;
certainly the things that seem so important now would lose their value. The
objects of clinging would fall away. And, the first personal pronoun, "I"
would have no use.

Even though we cannot privately own our experiences; we are under the
delusion that we do. And, from this false, deeply ingrained notion, we make
every effort to possess things, people, experiences. Until we realize that we
have no experiences of our "own" without the notion of others; we will
continue to be obstructed by selfishness. If, on the other hand, we can
begin to take apart this private world we have created under the
misconception that we have our own, private experiences, the world will
become a less hostile place, for we will own less.

Thought for the day: August 19, 2008

If you wish to be smart with words, use fewer of them.

Thought for the day: August 20, 2008

Our friends, loved ones, enemies, all the people in our lives, give meaning
to our own. Without them our life would have no meaning. It is our
interactions with others, and even our thoughts about them, that provide
the context in which we define ourselves. Just as a word is defined by its
use in language; it has no meaning standing by itself.; so too is the view we
have of ourselves defined in the context of our lives; remove that and we
have nothing. Even if we were to spend a life in solitude in a remote
mountain cave, we would not be free and alone,; for solitude itself is a mere
concept dependent upon others.

And, yet the sense of "I" persists. It is the false notion that not only makes
us human; but keeps us human. It is the reason why we turn in samsara
unable to escape. It is not a "bad" thing; but a false view, a view that rest
on fundamental ignorance. The Buddha would have nothing to teach if
living beings were not obstructed by this view. If we can recognize how
dependent our own lives are upon those about us, and in particular our
view of them, we will begin to understand why the Buddha's Path is an
altruistic one that diminishes the importance of "I" by focusing on the
welfare of others.

Thought for the day: August 21, 2008

I saw a Ram Das documentary recently and in it he interviews a young girl
who was doing some humanitarian work in some god forsaken place when
her boyfriend got shot and killed. While he is still warm in his coffin, she
cannot bear the thought of being alone in her work and meditates
ceaselessly until she has a "revelation" that awakens her. It is OK if she
finds a new mate, but she must always see her old boyfriend in his face.
Finally, with a sense of closure, she can move on with her life. Predictably,
Ram Das is moved to tears, they share a long, sobbing, embrace, and I am
feeling pity for the next guy; and wondering if she is going to share with
him what she just told Ram Das.

The story illustrates that the intellect is a willing agent of desire and will
cleverly use reasoning to justify it. It also demonstrates the truth of the
saying, "The intellect is a good servant; but poor master." If the intellect is
to be a good servant, we must have it point in the right direction, and
meditation can help us do that. That direction does not point to particular
circumstances of one's life, but to the broader impersonal influences that
conditions it. In this holistic setting, if personal problems are solved at all,
it is through the back door, with an overhaul of the entire system of wrong
views that allows the problems to arise. There are no quick solutions here.
This approach requires more patience; but it will resolves problems rather
than set the stage for new ones.

Thought for the day: August 22, 2008

Many people give up on meditation or are inconsistent in their practice
because they cannot seem to get a handle on it. There often seems to be
nothing to sink one's teeth into; nothing to hold up and look at. (Of course
there are those who love meditation for all the wrong reasons; they spend
their time quietly musing; but that is not our present concern.)

Their is a difference between looking and seeing; especially in the context of
meditation. When we meditate we are not looking for something; but rather
preparing the canvas of our mind for seeing. This is an actively passive
state; or in technical terms samatha/vipasana. We are actively making
ourselves vulnerable to the meditative experience of seeing the nature of the
mind.

A good deal of stage setting requires us to get rid of ideas of what
meditation is supposed to be. We are not looking for a state of mind that we
read about in books, or imagined, but rather a completely new way of seeing
our mind and our world. Naturally, this is not something that we look for,
for looking requires an object.

The idea of vulnerability is very important to correct meditation. Since it is
not an imputed state of mind; if we are to see it we must be open to it and
we cannot be open to see something (new) that we are looking for.

Thought for the day: August 23, 2008

The constant flow of thought is like a rushing river that follows the contours
of the landscape with no direction of its own. Some villagers in the remote
regions will build mills to grind grain or small turbines for electric lights,
while developed economies develop dams that harness its flow to power their
cities. And, playful children block its flow with no idea why, but the sheer
fun of the moment.

When we engage in meditation we are never blocking thought for this would
be of little benefit, but for the momentary pleasure of being without thought,
like the little children in the above example. Instead, we want to collect our
thoughts with a purpose in mind. Our intention must be clear and correct
because this is where the collected energy will flow. In order to develop a
correct intention that will be of lasting benefit we must not only study the
techniques of meditation, but also what its goals are. Otherwise the force of
our meditation will increase to out own determent, like a dam that bursts
because no thought was given to how to direct the collected flow of water.

Broadly speaking, the aim of meditation is to decrease desire and negative
emotions. If desire and negative emotions do not decrease; then we have to
analyze our motivation and align it with the path. While we may feel our
meditation sessions are going well; it is how we are as individuals in our
daily lives that best reflects how well our meditation is going. That is why
many great Masters instruct their students to pay particular attention to the
post meditation experience. It is a better mirror of our progress or lack of it.
If we are mindful of this, it is likely we will fall into the trap of being
deluded by meditative states that are pleasant, but unbeneficial or even
harmful.

Thought for the day: August 24, 2008

One of the features that distinguishes Buddhism from other traditions is its
use of reason as a support for belief and faith. A Buddhist is obligated to
seek out the "why" of all that he "believes" in. It is not enough to simply
believe in such and such because the Buddha taught it.

Intellectual laziness is the primary weakness of faith based traditions and
why these traditions place their faith in some other world, rather than this
world we live in. It cannot be otherwise, because their belief is in a power
that is not of this world. Buddhism's approach begins in this world and ends
in it. Whatever truth there is to be gained is to be realized within the life we
are now leading and if we cannot see it here we will surely come back for
another go at it.

The idea that good deeds and morality will earn us entry into a better world
upon death is for the Buddhist a wrong motivation for positive discipline.
Buddhism demands its students understand the validity of its moral and
ethical demands now. The "other world" for the Buddhist is a false prop
that will one day have to be dis-mantled.

Buddhists, too, can fall victim to intellectual laziness. Even though
Buddhism has many built in precautions against this; they are often
ignored. Buddhism and the Buddha can become forms of personal identity
without really understanding their significance. If we allow this to happen,
then Buddhism itself becomes a mere prop that one day we will have to
dis-mantle.

Thought for the day: August 25, 2008

A monk asked his Teacher; "How can I be free?" The Master replied:
"What binds you up?"

This simple exchange between a student and his teacher is beautiful in its
simplicity and yet points out the inquiry the student must pursue if he
wishes to attain his goal.

Thought for the day: August 26, 2008

The "Two Truths" spoken about so much in Buddhist philosophy are
conceptually easy to understand, but very difficult to realize. A firm
conceptual understanding is the starting point. This is then meditated upon.

If I say, "The chair is empty" or "the chair does not exist" or even, "The
chair is ultimately empty," I am speaking from the viewpoint of
conventional existence because the emptiness or non-existence of it is one
that is contrasted with existence. In other words, I am speaking of its
non-existence with my feet firmly planted in the notion of conventional
existence. As long as I maintain this notion of conventional existence as a
starting point, then wherever I arrive will be a conventional truth. I will,
however, if I pursue with my effort, understand the emptiness of things from
a conventional point of view.

If I say, "The chair is intrinsically empty of inherent existence," I am
speaking from the viewpoint of ultimate existence and reflecting the
ultimate status of the chair. In other words, I am no longer making this
observation with one foot firmly placed in conventional existence, because I
no longer see "Two Truths," for I have merged them together and am
speaking with my mind empty of the relative (conventional) notion of
emptiness that I strove so hard to achieve. I have arrived at the emptiness of
emptiness.

The final status of the "Two Truths" are one; but they cannot merge
together until both are completely understood. Conventionally all
phenomena exist just as they appear to our ordinary everyday consciousness.
However, when closely examined, we will find that the phenomenal world
that appears to us lacks a basis for appearing; they are mere appearances.

This world that seems so solid is like a magical creation, very illusion-like
(but not an illusion.) Seeing this lack of a basis (for appearing) is easy to
write about but very difficult to see. (The Adornment of the Middle Way
discusses this in detail.)

Thought for the day: August 27, 2008

Bad habits, in thought and deed, have a good deal of energy behind them
or they would not be habits. That is why breaking them is so difficult.
Because of the powerful 'habit energy" that empowers unprofitable actions
and thought patterns, it is essential when breaking them to redirect the
energy behind them with something positive. In Buddhism this is called
substitution of opposites. If we don't take this precaution we are likely to
find ourselves exchanging one bad habit for another.

Thought for the day: August 28, 2008

Keep company with those who lift you up and challenge you. Be aware that
strength and guidance can come from unexpected sources. Ordinary
interactions with people, whether they are dharma practitioners or not does
not matter, often contains opportunities to learn. The ordinary world is
constantly speaking the dharma and if we listen we can learn a good deal
from everyday exchanges with people. Even those standing in the mud can
instruct us, but keep in mind that we don't have to get in the mud to listen;
nor , should we think for a moment that we need muddy ourself to instruct
them. As far as instructing others is concerned, we should teach by example
and not be concerned whether or not they hear.

Thought for the day: August 29, 2008

If you cannot lift someone else up without pulling yourself down, don't
trouble yourself. Heroic motivation without heroic ability rooted in
compassion is useless. The desire to help others is very often ego motivated.
The time to help others often comes when we feel least obligated, least
capable, and with no inclination to do so.

Thought for the day: August 30, 2008

All of our thoughts and motivation for action are what constitute our
"relative" mode of existence or our "conventional" mode. This is our
everyday life that defines itself in the context of the novel we are co-authoring
with everyone else in our lives, and many more that we do not know. The
insentient and sentient world of nature are the pages our book is written and
the front and rear covers birth and death.

Because, one day we must step out of this novel, it is not so important that
we enjoy it, but we must understand it. If we do not, the covers will always
keep us firmly attached to its binding, life after life.

Meditation, in part, teaches us how to step outside the pages of our novel
before death robs us of its context, and the Rebirth Printing Press once again
stamps our name into its best seller, Samsara.

The problem is the novel is too damn good to put down.

Thought for the Day: August 31, 2008

Each and every thought that arises in the mind contains the seed of
enlightenment. Any passing thought, good or bad, can reveal the nature of
the mind. However, they are very shy to do so. If you look directly at them,
they scurry away. If you try to ignore them, you will find it impossible, if you
block them out, you will never understand them. If, however, you make your
mind as vast as the universe so that they have infinite space to dance around
unimpeded they will lose their shyness.