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  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:22 am on January 4, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhist Emptiness and the Myth of Abundance  

    You can have infinity, i.e. endlessness, with no boundaries, but it’s empty. Or you can have things, but only a limited number of them. You can’t have both. Infinite stuff is a fool’s dream. But that’s exactly what many Christians believe, or buy into, I should say. Because it ties directly into the capitalism that accompanies so much Christianity, especially the Protestant sort, which by no accident came into existence at almost exactly the same time as capitalism, maybe even preceding it by a bit, thereby giving the lie to any idea of mutual causation, in fact maybe a direct cause. 

    And many of those Christian values get carried into Buddhism by the same Christians who gave up their worldly ambitions in the process, at the same time that they cast piercing glances at the senior monks over the status of women in the ranks of the ordained. The meaning of the hallowed Buddhist concept of ‘Emptiness’, i.e. ‘shunyata’, is also up for grabs. Because, while shunya is the Sanskrit word for ‘zero’ and dates from right around the same time as the invention of the zero (yes), and may very well have originally been a philosophical concept long before becoming a mathematical one, that doesn’t stop certain westerners from frowning upon the concept. 

    Because ‘Emptiness’ has a very negative, and strong, Western psychological connotation as the cause of depression and unhappiness, this in a culture that rewards engagement above all else. I see it every day as a digital creator on social media, with no seeming recognition that such engagement is exactly what drives many people away from such media. Apparently driving sales is more important. So, I let many comments go unanswered, not because I agree or disagree with the viewpoint expressed, but simply because that uncertainty is fine, and often not worth fanning the flames of dispute, since the only certainty is negation. Then there’s spiritual bypassing, but that’s for another day. Be kind.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:25 am on December 28, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism and the Karma of Intent…  

    If Buddhism is an open doctrine, it needs to be updated frequently. If it’s a closed doctrine, then it loses relevance over time. All of which is to say that the Buddha was a real person, with real thoughts and feelings, not just some otherworldly manifestation emanating from above in some transcendental livestream, as some of the Mahayanists might prefer it, they with bills to pay and demons to slay and Taoists just nipping at their heels waiting for the price of real estate to stabilize. 

    But dharma practice doesn’t have to be hard and cold. It can be soft and warm and still non-clinging. People think of something often referred to as ‘the law’ as something written in stone and cruel in its intentions. But that is not the case with Buddhism. Buddhism is a philosophy, and one that is measured by its results, not just its intentions. And those results are palpable, from the ‘calm abiding’ produced by meditation to the long-term mindfulness produced by ongoing practice.  

    If you’re in it for the bliss, then good luck with that, because it’s a bit uncertain and a bit difficult to measure subjectively or objectively. Personally, I prefer the increased certainty of lesser expectations that accompany devotion to the Middle Path that defines Buddhism. Because that is not a cheap shortcut designed to increase the coffers while padding the rolls. No, that is intrinsic to that which is Buddhism and which is honest to a fault. To avoid extremes is to avoid mistakes. The only certainty is negation, but that is not always a viable approach to a situation that needs action, karma, honest effort. 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:16 am on December 21, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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     Buddhism and the Sounds of Silence…     

    Sometimes silence is the best way to celebrate. Not that celebration is necessary, ever, for any reason, but if it is desired, for some reason, then silence is not a bad way to go about it. Because our lives in this world have advanced beyond the simple survival of the individual and by extension the species, to the point where we are at the point of destroying everything we’ve accomplished by the fact that we have over-produced and over-reproduced.  

    Our individual lives are no longer in imminent danger. But the lives of the species are in terrible danger. And the well-being of the individual is similarly impacted, if no longer in immediate danger of destruction. Still, we have been very successful over the course of our existence, and if that calls for celebration, then let it be silent. Because silence is Buddhism’s secret weapon, best seen in the practice of meditation. And if we need to celebrate in order to propagate, then let it be here, in silence, not in the screaming of flesh. 

    The path is not always straight or easy. It often seems to go in circles. Patience is the key that unlocks the door to freedom. But this is not an absolute freedom in the Western sense, the freedom to do this and that. That’s a boy’s dream. Girls have responsibilities to fate and the future. That requires discipline and diligence, karma in the truest sense of actions and reactions. That requires little or no flash or flare, just dedication to the cause of righteousness–truth, beauty, and goodness. That is the Middle Path.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:20 am on December 14, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism and Language, With and Without… 

    Language is a tool, not a weapon. It is a gift, not a curse. It all depends on the circumstances, time and place and details of the chase. To be honest, it is almost impossible to imagine life without language, since not only do we habitually think in a language, but for many people the two are inseparable. And that is why meditation is practiced, is it not? Yes, I think it is, because we can think without it, using what I often call ‘mental maps’.   

    Now, meditators and fellow travelers can gleam and bliss out about ‘insight’ and ‘calm abiding’, but the modus operandi is to cut off the language, or at least slow it down, if not exactly swatting thoughts away like flies on our windshields. The fruit of this activity is not something we can control, but only comment upon, for better or worse. Meditation may or may not provide ‘calm abiding’, much less insight, though those are worthy goals, I feel, but it can reduce the dependency on language, and that helps. It’s interesting that in some languages, to think and to feel are interchangeable concepts, but not so much in English. 

    The important point to remember is that not only are thought and language not synonymous, but the one is not even necessary for the other. Because, not only do animals think without language, but so do computers, i.e. they use machine language. Machine language is binary, 0’s and 1’s, and its (Boolean) logic corresponds to that, more than, less than, equal to, etc., i.e. ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘not’. This can just as (or more) easily correspond to all the phenomena of existence as the more familiar Aristotelian logic that we are familiar with, variations on if/then syllogisms. Your dog and cat have little need for that, and you could probably do with less. All you really need is mindfulness. 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:47 am on December 7, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism on the Curriculum: Learning to Give…  

    The best education comes from the most difficult schools. If the school is easy, then the education will be bad. This is foundational to the Vajrayana School of Buddhism, which sees a lesson in every encounter and a gift in every curse, according to the thinking of the Dalai Lama, he well-schooled in the arts of suffering at the hands of their Chinese hordes and masters. But Buddhism is not transactional, unlike many of the other affairs of life. It shouldn’t matter whether you will get anything from Buddhism or not. 

    The most important thing is what you can give. This is the essence of karma, samma kammanta, right actions. There are no right transactions or right deals. But right livelihood, right views, and right speech are at the heart of what matters in this life in this world. Because if you are looking to get something, then you will always be disappointed. But if you are looking to give something, then there will always be takers. If your intent is good and right, then don’t worry about theirs. 

    This is foundational and the primary act of faith on the part of the practitioner. And if the concept of faith sounds false, then be sure that it’s not. The best faith is based on facts, not fiction. The trick is to know the difference, first time and every time, hence the reliance on factuality, or the best guess. Like almost everything, intent is critical. If you are trying to be factual, then you will likely come close. Do that and leave the guessing games for the children. Dharma is simple. Don’t confuse issues.  

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:30 am on November 30, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism and the discipline of the Discipline…  

    Our knowledge, our faith, our generosity, and our freedoms are only as good as our discipline. This is the not-so-secret to the practice of Buddhism, of course, the training of the mind and the resulting control of emotions so crucial to the success of the practice. Any Buddhist monk in Thailand can tell you that without thinking. The word Vinaya so crucial in the early years of Buddhism means ‘discipline’ in Modern Standard Thai, i.e. vinay.  

    That’s just as it did for Fa Xian and Xuanzang c.4-600 CE, when they made the long trek from Xi’an, China to east India VIA AFGHANISTAN to get the true and correct vinaya, so corrupted by the centuries and kilometers in distance from the original source. Many westerners bring a Christian crutch with them into their knowledge of Buddhism, too, so might think of meditation as some otherworldly experience, but that is a fantasy. To be honest, many Thai laypeople often think the same.  

    But no Buddhist monk would ever be so silly. You’ll never see a monk laughing his a$$ off about anything, much less about matters of the dharma. But this is no feigned seriousness for the sake of poses and postures. The dharma is no joke, and these are not children. Most, but not all, monks dedicate their lives to the practice and dissemination of Buddhist truths and knowledge. Mutations occur in the transmission and relocation from place to place, but the essential truths are unchanged: we are slaves to what we crave, and the solution to our suffering comes with kindness, compassion, and right living. 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:34 am on November 23, 2025 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , random mutation, , Stockholm Syndrome   

    Buddhism and the Stockholm Syndrome 

    Buddhism in Bhutan

    When the world outside is cruel and chaotic, you find your peace inside. But there is a fine line between the Buddhist principles of renunciation and inner peace, despite external circumstances, on the one hand, and surrender to the forces of evil on the other. And it is a very fine line, complete with extenuating circumstances and unintended victims. But I see it every day, Buddhist monks, many of them of senior status, celebrating the politics of oppression, especially if it limits the rights of women.

    Because, even though women are some of the finest practitioners of Buddhism in the world, their plight is not easy, especially in some of the more traditional Asian countries. But the situation is not limited to women, but also applies to the knee-jerk reaction of many senior monks to serve power unswervingly, rather than speak truth or even quietly protest, as though they expect more trickle-down benefits the more they kneel subserviently. Now, this might be just an extension of the Asian Boss syndrome, to serve leaders unquestioningly, or it could be something worse.

    It could be ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, in which prisoners or victims actually bond with their captors and accept willingly their captive status. This is the worst case scenario for captive women, of course, but not one bit better for mankind as a whole. Life is a process of re-imagining, and I firmly believe in the regenerative power of the species, any species. DNA may progress by random mutation, but the evolution of consciouness evolves consciously.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:20 am on November 16, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism and the Saving Grace of Suffering… 

    Suffering is the raw material for a further and higher evolution of consciousness. The world is neither happy nor sad. It just is. Adjectives come later. I’ve often wondered how such horrendous situations could have existed in the past, in which wholesale slaughters not only occurred, but were commonplace. How could people have possibly been so heartless as to commit such horrible acts of genocide, and gendercide, in which the defeated men were executed point blank while the women and children were enslaved and entrained for further engagement, all so that one group of men could claim superiority over another?

    Because hunger has no heart, and so they had no heart(s), not as we know the concept. The evidence would suggest that such feelings of empathy and sympathy did not even exist at that point in the development of mammalian psychology. Mammalian psychology? WTF?! But think about it, and see if you don’t agree. Because, for millennia, not only humans, but all animals, merely and simply grew, expanded, and multiplied, with probably limited contact except in situations of the hunt, for food.

    Now we can easily see gorillas and chimpanzees performing acts that can only be described as ‘almost human’. Consider the DNA. But extend the concept to include the dogs, the cats, and even the elephants (!) that we consider to be our pets, and the likeness not only continues but expands exponentially. DNA can’t explain all that, certainly not beyond the mammalian similarity and symmetry. So, what could explain all that?

    One possible explanation is that the exponential population expansions which had occurred for millennia (with at least one, probably more, prehistoric bottlenecks), suddenly came to an end as we approached Year 0, and populations struggled to maintain those levels for at least a millennium. So, is evolution self-correcting? Does that evolutionary need for constant population increase mean that people might start to be nice to each other if it means higher populations? Christianity might favor that explanation. Or Jesus might take full credit entirely, from his teaching.

    But I have another idea. We really know very little about what we really want and even less about how to attain it. But we do know what we don’t want, since the only true certainty is negation: not this, not that, not the other. How much death and destruction must be endured before someone gets the idea to try a little tenderness, i.e. kindness and compassion? Ah, that feels good, as long as we’re all one family. Let’s do that. Be kind.

    This life and this world require nothing but kindness and compassion…

     
    • Zohar Leo Palffy de Erdod's avatar

      Zohar Leo Palffy 5:10 am on November 16, 2025 Permalink | Reply

      This is true, but only in potential, not in the structure of the world.
      Suffering itself teaches nothing.
      Only awareness of suffering can teach.
      Some people go through pain and become embittered.
      Others open up.
      The evolution of consciousness is not an automatic result, but a choice that is not available to everyone.
      Therefore, I would clarify:
      Suffering is an opportunity for evolution, not a guarantee of it.

      • hardie karges's avatar

        hardie karges 7:22 pm on December 7, 2025 Permalink | Reply

        Thanks for your comments.

  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:27 am on November 9, 2025 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Brahminism, , , , , , , , , , , predetermination,   

    Buddhism and the Conundrum of Change 

    Change is not a cause of suffering if things are getting better all the time. That’s the Buddha’s only conceptual mistake, and that’s what makes him so real. The Mahayanists tried to make him perfect, as some transcental manifestation should be, but the historical Buddha was first and foremost a real person with real-world problems, which he tried to renounce, of course. Some modern women take offense to the fact that he left his wife and child behind, but that must be seen within the context. They were well cared for.

    But his conceptual blunder, just like Einstein’s ‘cosmological constant’, Jesus’s birds with nests but no barns, and Plato’s perfect dictatorship, show his intrinsic humanity. Everything is subject to revision, and everything is subject to change, even concepts. That is a conceptual necessity, since it can never be proven one way of the other, anyway. But if life is predetermined, then there is no reason to act, either good or bad, and karma loses meaning. Change may appear to be a cause of suffering, if your high status is diminished, but that probably says more about superficial status than change itself.

    Christianity thrives on the optimism that change hopefully brings, of course, and the Buddha was certainly right to call BS on that, of course, even if Christianity as such didn’t exist at the time. Bhahmanism did, though, and there are very real similarities. Eternal life is a plaything of children, and we have better things to do, reincarnation ditto. This life and this world require nothing but kindness and compassion.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:12 am on November 2, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism in the End Days: Empathy and Sympathy 

    Create a world in your image and likeness, full of empathy and compassion. Then the problems of self and self-image exist no longer. Because these are universal blessings, the gifts of one human to another, which can only be accomplished with conscious intent. Nature offers no such promise, it full of suffering, however unintended. Nature doesn’t care. Only humans can care, and this is our responsibility on the face of this earth.

    Pandits and pundits quibble over whether anything is real beside consciousness, but this is unimportant. The important thing is that there IS consciousness, and it is capable of accomplishing much, if only we take the time to make the effort. If that requires a makeover of your own image at the same time, then so be it, more power to you. If humans need a self to have and to hold, until death do us part, then that is a small price to pay. Make it a good one. That is the responsibility of every serious artist, to make it a good one. So, start with yourself; what better place?

    Our time on this earth and in this space is limited, most likely, so time is of the essence. We are young and foolish, by design of our creator, it of pure and simple logic, but few means to enforce it. That is up to us, to enforce logic and reason with the passing of seasons, as if by Divine Creation, even though any true creator would only laugh, if it has that capability. We are the prophets of providence, not by our cleverness, but by our empathy. Only we can make this world what it is meant to be, because only we know what it is meant to be…

     

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