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  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 4:34 am on August 18, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , CHRISTIANITY, , , , , Rumi, , Sufi   

    Buddhism in the Balance: Conciliation, not Confrontation… 

    Conciliation seems to be a prime corollary of Buddhism, something like Christian forgiveness, but without all the weeping and wailing. And I’m not trying to be cute, but seriously, let it go, ‘it’ being that reactive stance to any blow to ego, whether full frontal or slight glance, equal in their danger to provoke chain reactions and nonstop confrontation, which should be the last thing that anybody would really want, and the first thing to avoid. In other words, don’t take the bait.

    Now, I don’t know if we’re just an argumentative species, or it’s a western thing, but the upshot of the modern Social Media (SM?) phase of world history seems to be that we’re a bunch of combative SOB’s. And, while Buddhism and the other Dharma religions are well-known for advocating the non-violence of ahimsa, I’m not sure but that maybe some damage might already be done by that time. So, I think the great Sufi poet Rumi had a much higher and better standard (yes, Buddhists often copy this):

    Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: At the first gate, ask yourself, ‘Is it true?’ At the second gate ask, ‘Is it necessary?’ At the third gate ask, ‘Is it kind?’

    In other words, be better than the other one, the instigator, the troublemaker. Don’t respond in kind. You don’t have to respond at all. In many instances, that’s the best you can do, and there’s really nothing better than that. But it’s not always easy. And what if they’re standing right there and won’t let you just walk away? And wouldn’t you like to teach the instigator something about the results of his bad speech? Humor is another possibility but be careful. The laughter often works. Regardless, reconcile ASAP. Don’t hold grudges, or they will hold you.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 4:28 am on August 10, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , CHRISTIANITY, ermptiness, game theory, , , , zero sum   

    Buddhism 499: Life is not a Zero-Sum Game 

    Don’t begrudge anyone their success. There is no shortage of blue ribbons in this world. This judgmental view is due to the theory and outlook of so-called ‘zero-sum’ games, that any gain for one side or one party is a loss for the other. And this is critical to the original ‘game theory’, which studies the relation of strategic interactions. But life is not a game, except in a metaphorical sense, and to the extent that it is, it is not ‘zero-sum’. Most games of sport are not.

    A baseball game can score an unlimited number of points, or runs, until the lights go out, or until the rains come, whichever comes first. Now, I wouldn’t say that the points are infinite, but that’s not the point, pun intended. The point is that there are no hard limits, just conceptual ones, so even if there is a temporary winner and a temporary loser, both sides are welcome to score, and any imbalance is capable of further resolution. To use political terms, the game isn’t always fair, but it isn’t ‘rigged’, either, not in any real sense.

    Such are the fantasies of conspiracy theorists and religious pre-determinists, that ‘it is all written’, supported only by the fact that such convictions can’t be disproven. To paraphrase some legal jargon I picked up somewhere, probably TV, ‘absence of evidence is not evidence of absence’. In other words, just because you can’t disprove something, doesn’t mean that it is true. But in no way does any of this imply that there is unlimited stuff, abundance in the Christian sense. Infinity is empty, and that’s the most beautiful part of it. But there is just enough stuff for everyone, almost as if by design…

     
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    hardie karges 3:41 pm on June 30, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , CHRISTIANITY, , , , , , , , , , , ,   

    Buddhist Love is not like Falling in Love, Sorry…     

    No, Buddhist love is nothing like the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth that often accompanies Christian ceremonies, whether birth or death or the multicolor gray area in between, mostly sex. Buddhist love, metta, is just a whole lot like friendship, and there’s nothing wrong with that. So, Platonic love, then maybe? I think Plato would be cool with that, maybe too cool. And that’s what falls short for a lot of people, for whom devotion is the primary practice of their religion. 

    It just doesn’t have the feeling of total surrender required for the religious experience in many people’s minds. But that’s Buddhism: cool, baby, cool. The devotional aspects were the last major additions to the three major canons of Buddhism, and long after the original discipline orientation of Theravada and the transcendental orientation of Mahayana. So, it’s no coincidence that the Tibetans got their Vajrayana straight from the source of India, which is primarily devotional to this day, whether of Shiva or Vishnu, no matter the object. Devotion is the important thing for the devotee. 

    But whether the two additional ‘vehicles’ may or may not have added something important to Buddhism, the core practice of discipline and dana (giving) remain unchanged. Upgrade the meditative practice of anapanasati to vipassana, and BOOM! You’ve got a rebirth of the original Buddhism with or without the doctrine of Rebirth to the non-Self (?!). Ouch. Yep, that’s better now, just to avoid questions that have no good answers. Too many cooks ruin the broth. The kindness is more important than the love.  

     
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    hardie karges 2:50 am on June 16, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , CHRISTIANITY, , , , , , , , , Tiraatana, , Triratna   

    Buddhist Basics for Beginners: Three Gems… 

    Buddha, Dharma (teaching), and Sangha (community) are the three foundations of Buddhism. The Buddha, of course, is the one enlightened being to whom the inspiration for this teaching originally came and to whom we owe the effort at consolidation and collection of the diverse teachings into one coherent body of work. This happened at a time when such a thing had hardly been done before, and a paradigm hardly existed, so Buddha had to wing it. I’d say he did well. 

    The dharma, of course, is the teaching itself, which could arguably be considered the most important part of the practice. It is often translated as ‘law’ and that seems understandable, if we understand that the intention to commit as well as submit is central to the practice. The practice itself is somewhat novel in that you really don’t have to DO much of anything at all. This is perhaps best exemplified by the practice of meditation, something of a higher practice of Buddhism, not required but highly admired. 

    It’s much more important that you don’t do certain things, e.g lie, cheat, steal, kill, commit adultery, etc., very similar to the second half of the Biblical Ten Commandments (but don’t drink). All you really have to DO is be kind and peaceful. Unlike Christianity, though, which expects you to go forth and multiply, Buddhism is quite happy if you commit your life to meditation and contemplation. The object is to reduce suffering, not find bliss (sorry, Joseph C).  

    There are other dharmas, also, notably the Hindu sanatana dharma and Jainism, which are all similar, yet also quite different in specific details. The idea is to make the Sangha as large as possible, of course, the same as any religious practice, all of which work best when they have the largest number of members, for obvious reasons. If the majority of the world’s population could ever agree on anything, then that would be a notable accomplishment. If they could all agree to keep the peace at any cost, then so much the better. Buddhism is a good starting place. 

     
    • jmoran66's avatar

      jmoran66 8:38 pm on June 16, 2024 Permalink | Reply

      You just put Buddhism In A Nutshell in to a nutshell. Nicely done.

  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 5:28 am on May 12, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , CHRISTIANITY, , , , , , , , , , , ,   

    Buddhism in the Back Room: Doing Laundry to do Laundry… 

    Beware a path too easy, because it may be a false one. Maybe that goes without saying, but probably not, because most people assume that if they ever find an acceptable path in life, then hopefully it should at least be easy. And I get it, me too, but good luck finding that in real life, because real life is nothing if not a challenge. And Buddhism is no different. In fact, ease and benefit may be inversely proportional, i.e. the easier it is, the less benefit you’ll derive from it. Which almost seems too obvious, that you get what you work for, but sometimes it’s necessary to spell things out. 

    This goes to karma, of course, actions, and comes back around as a sort of fate, prescribed actions based on prior performance, anything but predetermined, even when that is what some people want in their religion above all else. Many people can see no reason to believe in a religion when it offers them nothing but freedom of choice. People want magic. Except when they want certainty. Don’t worry. When they know, you’ll know, and life will be nothing if not exciting in the process. 

    And isn’t that what most people want more than anything—excitement? Unfortunately, that is the case all too often. People are more desirous of drama than dharma, and who cares if the kids must figure out what’s right and wrong in their own free time and at their own limited initiative. But Buddhism is better than that. The Buddhist Five precepts are almost identical to the Christian’s second set of Five Commandments, everything except the alcohol. The first set of five are fundamentally Islamic. Then Buddhism only gets better: Emptiness, Consciousness, Kindness, and Goodness, the Four Nesses’ even nobler truth, IMHO. You heard it here first.  

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 4:59 am on April 21, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , CHRISTIANITY, , , , , , , ,   

    Buddhism 202: Nature is the Law of Life  

    Nature is a law, not a mountain. Rivers and oceans have no more independent existence than you or I. But this is a bone of contention among religions, now, isn’t it, and possibly the main point of division between competing philosophies? Because, if an eternal soul divides Hinduism from Buddhism in India, then the same issue is what divides almost all Western religions from their secular counterparts. After all, isn’t that why most Asians become Christians? Eternal life is Christianity’s main selling point internationally.

    But Nature tends to get a pass from such easy distinctions. Mountains are sacred and rivers aren’t bad. Beaches draw the riffraff, but sublime locations can still be had, if one cares to take a walk and distance oneself from the madding and maddening crowds. And isn’t that what makes a place spiritual, anyway, the silence and the solitude and the serenity implicit in such sublime locations? Bring in the tourist hordes, and the nicest places can quickly go downhill fast, training wheels optional. 

    But that’s neither here nor there from the standpoint of the law that is dharma. The only important thing from the standpoint of dharma is the fact that these phenomena occur in regular and predictable ways, subject to certain causes and conditions. Thus, nature is not random, not entirely, anyway, and not within the time scales utilized by human perception. The implicit beauty is just eye candy for hungry hearts. More important are the principles that govern such relationships. In Thai nature is ธรรมชาติ, dhammashart, the law of life… 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 3:45 am on April 14, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , CHRISTIANITY, , , , , , Heart Sutra, , , , ,   

    Buddhism 101: the Middle Path is Easy  

    Muslims don’t always seem happy. Christians sometimes seem too happy. Buddhists seem just about right, more or less, give or take, on average, all things considered. That’s the middle path, that sweet spot somewhere between extremes, of luxury and lack, surrender or attack, white and black, better multicolor than random shades of gray. And that’s foundational to Buddhism, that lack of hard doctrine, much less dogma, in favor of an all-encompassing dharma based on principles on moderation, mediation, and avoidance of extremes and attachments. 

    “My religion is kindness,” the Dalai Lama himself once famously said, and that about wraps it up, on the foundational level, when combined with meditation as the finest form of practice. Sure, there’s the ontological primacy of emptiness, still, but that makes little or no difference in the average person’s life, it itself subject to shifting connotations and lack of definition, resonant mostly as the dueling protagonist in the Heart Sutra refrain, “Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form,” fully transcendent but ultimately inconclusive. 

    Buddhism is first and still foremost discipline, dignity, and detachment, far from the madding crowds and seething temptations. Control your mind to control your circumstances, especially when the likelihood of changing those circumstances is minimal. Choose your battles carefully. Save yourself, then save the world. That’s the best that we can do. Do it now. 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 8:00 am on March 17, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , CHRISTIANITY, , , , , , , , turn the other cheek   

    Buddhism in a Christian World, Fighting Aggression with Non-Aggression… 

    The great Buddhist dilemma, or tetralemma, is how to deal with aggression. Do you turn the other cheek? But no Christian really did that, did they? Still, the goal is the goal, the difficulty of accomplishing it notwithstanding. And surely some Christians did just that, though Buddhists are probably better at it, given their cultural conditioning, just as some Buddhists are aggressive bullies, in some emulation of the Alpha Male Syndrome, if nothing else. Boys will be boys, and many of those are aggressive by nature. 

    But is there a better way? Aren’t we guilty of another form of spiritual bypassing, if we avoid difficult social and political situations by simply retreating into our spiritual comfort zones and letting the world degenerate into madness? After all, is that any different from using our spirituality to avoid confronting our own emotions and unresolved existential crises? In fact it might be worse, much worse. So, yes, there is an opportunity here for someone to learn a lesson if only he or she wants to put the time and effort into it. 

    But we can’t lose ourselves in the affairs of others. We can only teach what we ourselves know above and beyond question and learn from everything else. The important thing is not to react, or at least not overreact. We are all baited everyday with statements designed to inflame or instill anger when we ourselves intended no such thing at all initially and desire no such thing as result. But such is the nature of aggressive modern culture. And we are in it, regardless of whether we are truly of it or not. If turning the other cheek is to invite further abuse, then nothing has been accomplished. To simply walk away and limit future involvement with the aggressor might be a better solution. 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 3:59 am on February 18, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: atoms, , CHRISTIANITY, , , , , , , , ,   

    Buddhism is not Opposed to Science…  

    You shouldn’t have to choose between Buddhism and Science. You don’t. Describing the physical nature of reality is not the proper role of Buddhism. The Buddha did not have Samma Paramanu (right atoms) at the top of his list of the Eightfold Path. He had Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, etc., all ‘things’ within the realm of human endeavor. The debate over rebirth notwithstanding, the nature of reality should be off-limits. The nature of human understanding is primary. 

    When I was a child and my mother would ask what I learned in Sunday School, I was famous for replying ‘magic,’ haha, beginners’ luck on my part, that I was prescient enough to see that most religions require a double dose of faith, whether that is pure superstition or not. And most Christian religions are proud of that fact, as if too strong of a reliance on science leaves no room for faith, which is at the heart of most Christianity. With Buddhism it seems optional. Because, while I don’t need the concept of rebirth for Buddhism to make sense to me, I make no issue of it with others, 

    Even science requires some faith, but that’s not the same as belief. After all, how many of us can understand the math that underlies quantum physics? Not me. But I can appreciate the fact that a physicist can, and they agree that the science has been proven empirically countless times. Buddhism requires no such empirical truth. The truth is in your heart and mind, which are one and the same. The foundational truths of Buddhism and Christianity are almost the same.  

    Change passive voice to active, change positive suggestions to negative prohibitions and the five Buddhist Precepts are almost identical to the second half of the Ten Commandments: no killing, no stealing, no lying, no hanky panky, and no drink—simple, except for the drink, which Christianity allows. The first five of the ten commandments more resemble Islam. But the point is that Science is not prescribed nor prohibited by any of this. Science is a method, not a religion, and it’s always tentative, never dogmatic. At its best, Buddhism is the same, and never at odds. 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 4:20 am on December 30, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , CHRISTIANITY, , , , , , , ,   

    Buddhism in the Balance, Aware and Mindful…  

    You don’t have to fight for your religion, like Christians do. You don’t have to surrender to your religion, like Muslims do. You can just be, right in the center, with eyes open or closed, aware and mindful, with no particular judgements to make either way, good or bad, offensive or non-offensive. This is the way Buddhism works, simple yet effective, with no ribbons or bows, and no deep bows, except the ones you make to the senior monk when in his presence.  

    Christianity is a religion of passion: weeping, wailing and all that gospel. Islam is a religion of submission. Buddhism is a way of life dispassionate, quiet, serene, full of passion only in the original sense of passion as suffering, the stuff of life in this material world, long before someone decided that it could be fun, as long as someone else was suffering more or worse than you. Because suffering exists, whether we are in the throes of it or not, and the only way out is to give it no quarter.  

    So, the way to deal with suffering is to remove its source of sustenance, the craving and lust which it consumes for breakfast and lunch, hunger and thirst of the craven kind, crude and rude, cowardly and unforgiving in its lack of moral distinction. But this kind of turpitude depends on negligence for its survival, inattention to all detail and the passive acceptance of all things most easily proffered. Buddhism has no such luxury. Buddhism demands awareness, and mindfulness, and wakefulness to the sleepy dream that is all too often the standard for life. It’s never too late to meditate… 

     

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