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    hardie karges 9:16 pm on June 1, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism: Compassion is Key… 

    Even the wicked deserve compassion, because it’s never too late for them to change their wicked ways. As a matter of fact, it’s mandatory, because otherwise, if we accept that there are certain ‘kinds’ of people, then we are denying free will to those who need it most, the habitually wicked and morally compromised. And, if forgiveness is too Christian for you, then just call it compassion, and don’t worry about who did what way back when and then started it again just when you almost forgot it.

    The important thing is to mitigate the suffering and promote reconciliation, even if that means foregoing some choice words and fierce jabs in the heat of battle with no breaks to be had, just compassion. Because language is not always a solution and often is the problem itself. That’s no surprise, since, in the history of the world, it’s obvious that homo sapiens only came to reign supreme with the advent of language and the advantages that brought to the battlefield—and the bedroom.

    So, if the bottom line of any Buddhist equation is self-control, then so be it. Because it requires no self, and not much control, really, just wise decisions and the ability to pull punches and hold your temper. It’s hard these days, true, what with politics flying and tempers flaring all for the cost of a taco, but even more necessary because of its prevalence. What happens to us when we’re angry and hateful all the time? That’s no way to live and an even worse way to die. Control yourself to control the situation. Forego the heat of battle to gain the coolness and calmness of forbearance.

     
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    hardie karges 2:39 am on May 25, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism 599: Change (Impermanence) is Not so Bad, After All… 

    Nature is the greatest and wisest teacher, unfailing in her knowledge and unerring in her accuracy. In Thai the word for Nature is dharmajati, pronounced something like thammashart, so literally the ‘law of life’, unless you have a better definition of dharma¸ then feel free to use it. The point is, that for all its diversity and beauty and apparent randomness, Nature (with capital N now; see what I did there?) is not only a law, but it’s permanent. This is something that the Buddha warned against constantly, the impermanence of existence, so not something to take lightly.

    That’s because the laws of men are temporary and changing, but the laws of nature are immortal. Now, I probably wouldn’t go as far as the Buddha himself in claiming that change is a cause of suffering, maybe second only to craving and clinging, but still, permanence is a wonder to behold. And if change is only painful when you refuse to accept it, then it can be something truly special when you initiate it yourself. I’m not sure if the Buddha ever experienced that, but I think that it holds true, and I swear by it myself.

    So, if there’s any one thing that I would improve on with Buddhism, it would be the negative connotation of change (and the status of women). Change can be something good, if it follows the Eightfold Path, and so something to seek, not necessarily something to avoid. In the ancient world, I can certainly understand how that could have been an issue, but in our modern world, I think that the greater sin is to avoid change altogether. As always the trick is to follow the Eightfold Middle Path and pursue Right Change, not the bad stuff. Avoid that.

     
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    hardie karges 2:31 am on May 18, 2025 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , commandments, , language, , ,   

    Buddhism 401: Language Falls Flat 

    Politics is rarely polite. Civilization is often uncivilized. And language is hardly equipped to explain why. So just be nice. Stricter commandments may be easy to come by and easy to plaster on walls and gates, but the cost of strict enforcement is rarely worth the time it takes. So, why make things complicated when a simple rule of thumb will do? After all, aren’t the Buddhist precepts and the Christian commandments similar enough that they hardly bear endless repeating?

    The main difference is literary, the contrasting roles of commandment and prohibition, and active voice versus passive voice, differences more of style than substance, the Western preference for direct action versus the Eastern predilection for unspecified involvement. After all, sometimes there is little action available except for jumping up and down, which rarely solves many problems and often creates new ones. In any case language is rarely equipped to help much.

    In fact, meditation is the crowning achievement of Buddhism, by almost any measure. Some ‘schools’ emphasize it more than others, true, but all respect and encourage it, and Theravada has largely redefined itself as Vipassana, one of the more ubiquitous and modern forms of meditation, though I personally make not so much difference between them, except in the case of silent versus ‘guided’ meditations. Either way, language rarely explains much, but if it can ‘guide’ or show the way, then that is the proper role for it.

     
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    hardie karges 4:38 am on May 4, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism on the Installment Plan: Samma Advaita? Coming Soon… 

    There should be no quarrel between science and religion, or philosophy and physics, because truth is an evolving body of knowledge. But there is, and it can occupy a lot of space in that wide hopefully open field called consciousness. And if ‘dualism’ is looking for some extra work on tricky subjects, then the opposites of mind and body, or matter, is not a bad place to start. Because that is the core dichotomy which underlies them all, usually, to the point that a convenient synthesis is really not possible.

    If there were an easy synthesis to override the apparent duality, then it would be a simple dialectic. That’s easy with adjectives, but not so easy with nouns. So, the better alternative is often to define the space, so that each can exist in its own sphere of influence. Physics by definition deals with a material conception of reality, and so philosophy should respect that field of knowledge, since nothing can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.

    Thus, there is no true metaphysical certainty, because it presupposes an inquiry which is logically misplaced. Philosophy is better off with ethics and logic and anything ese for which certainties are possible. Likewise with science and religion. Science is a method of proof. Religion is not, and more often than not is defined by acts of devotion. That’s not Science, so it’s best to ask questions pertinent to each of the two disciplines. Right non-duality to go with right views and right action? We’re working on it…

     
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    hardie karges 4:35 am on April 20, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism and Mindfulness, Language and Life… 

    ‘Mindfulness’ is a tricky term, full of modern marketing. I prefer ‘consciousness,’ the original meaning to the same word in Pali, sati. Now that may seem like a minor quibble, but I prefer to keep superstitions and general ‘woowoo’ and ‘joojoo’ to a minimum for easier acceptance. Because I don’t want Buddhism to be something magical and mystical, even if that brings in some fervent fanatics full of vim and vigor. But it rules out science and that is the problem for me. Religion and science should be perfectly compatible, and that is best accomplished by staying off each other’s turf.

    Maybe it’s an impossible task, I suppose, but it’s still worth trying, I think. Because already a certain stratum of words has been ‘Buddhafied’ and elevated to a meaning that doesn’t conform to that of the ordinary world and its ordinary usage of the word. I’m not worried about the extra work of cataloging two meanings in my mind, but I’m concerned that we’re losing something by avoiding that original meaning. So, when samsara comes to mean ‘endless cycle of rebirths’, rather than its original meaning as simply ‘the world’ (e.g. in modern Nepali), well, something has changed, and not always for the better. You can check to see if that original meaning still works in every case, and it does AFAIK, but with a difference—authenticity.

    Only rarely does a word totally change meaning within the historical period, like the English word ‘passion’, for instance, once suffering, now a kind of special love, for us silly westerners, of course. In modern standard Thai, the word that now means ‘mindfulness’ is sati, from the Pali, but there it simply means consciousness. When I was lying on the side of the road after a motorcycle accident near Wiang Papao, no one was asking if I was mindful. They were asking if I was conscious. There’s a difference. Original early Buddhism was very down to earth. Transcendence came later. For me mindfulness is the opposite of mindlessness, pure if not simple.

     
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    hardie karges 2:47 am on April 6, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism, Life, and a World Defined by Challenges 

    Good things take time. Anger solves nothing. Life is defined by its challenges. So, I think that’s my philosophy of life, in a nutshell, based heavily on the Buddhist acceptance of suffering, but without succumbing to that fact and any sordid fate that may await that cruel date. Because it doesn’t have to be seen as pessimistic. And that’s the rap that Buddhism has to fight hardest, in order to make Western converts, the idea that it’s too negative, not full of abundance, eternity, infinity, and all the other fantasies that Christianity has bequeathed us, in its two short millennia of existence.

    But Buddhism is not pessimistic, just realistic. You’re going to die, so get over that, and let’s get some things done while we’re here—or not. There’s no shame in renunciation. That’s not passivity. That’s acceptance of reality. Buddhism is only guilty of a mistake if it promotes passivity. Passivity is residing homeless on the streets of LA, not as an ordained monk in Asia. That’s creative, collective, and cooperative. Society could survive like that, even if the pay’s the same as the godforsaken streets of LA.

    Survival is the current concern, also, species survival as much and as well as individual, since we are living in a world of species identity, even if we sometimes transcend those limitations. But we don’t have to go to Mars to do that, though the moon would be nice, especially during the rainy season, haha. Or we could possibly accomplish as much or more in Virtual Reality, if and when the time is right, and the speed and memory are sufficiently available. It’d probably cost less than Mars, too, to create a perfect world as a digital twin of this world. We already have a neural twin. It’s called life, defined by challenges.

     
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    hardie karges 4:36 am on March 23, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhist Sati: Enjoy the Mindfulness… 

    Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing, absolutely nothing. Just do it mindfully, with intent and purpose. But this is the hardest thing for a Westerner, European or American, to comprehend, that sometimes we don’t need to be jumping up and down, racing around, and blowing things up, that indeed sometimes it’s preferable to chill, baby, chill, and let things proceed one step at the time with clear and simple awareness, rather than obsess about populating Mars instead of making our own planet earth more livable.

    So, the Mars freaks blow things up in midair, invent self-driving cars, accelerate them zero to sixty in four seconds, bore tunnels under cities, insert chips in your brains, and what have they accomplished? Not nearly enough, and far too much, all at the same time. Have the sick been healed? Have the homeless been given housing? Has anyone even tried? True, the poor may always be with us, but that’s no excuse for not trying to help. Jesus knew that, and the Buddha did, also.

    I’d like to go to Mars, too, truth be told, but only when the time is right, and the opportunities exist for anyone to share in that dream, if they are so inclined. But I made a conscious decision that renunciation would be preferable than for the world to continue on its path of mindless consumption. Enter mindfulness, the opposite of mindlessness. Do things consciously, one thing at a time, without fear nor favor. If something isn’t broken, then don’t pretend to fix it, just to satisfy transient desires. Live like there is no tomorrow, calm and steady, because there may not be…

     
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    hardie karges 4:47 am on March 16, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism in the Time of Troubles… 

    The healing begins when the fighting ends, and hatred subsides in its wake. Because, what is hatred, if not misplaced emotion in search of a carrier, like some disease looking for a victim? We assume that these emotions are ‘ours’, as if we should be proud of that fact, when neither assumption is true. That is, we don’t own those emotions, and even if we did, there’s nothing there to be proud of. And nothing is better proof of the ‘aggregate’ nature of our personalities than the transient nature of ‘our’ emotions.

    Because, when we speak of ‘personality’ it’s clear that we are not speaking of any kind of ‘self’, much less an immortal soul. And that is our predicament here in this life in this world, that we are not much more than a bundle of emotions, looking for a place to lay the burden down. If that sounds like cruel fate under a cruel weight, then the reality itself may not be quite so bleak. Because the flexible nature of impermanent circumstances does have the advantage of a flexible response to changing conditions. If Buddhism is a failure, the it’s a failure as dogma.

    After all, how can you fashion agreement from a core fanbase that speaks probably at least a hundred languages from a few dozen countries spread out over the world’s largest continent and two largest countries over the last two millennia? And that’s just the core! It’s a challenge to be overcome, and it’s a glory to behold, that these diverse peoples from a thousand different circumstances can and do debate the dharma from diverse traditions, whether conservative or liberal, and still agree on certain starting points: the presence of suffering, the vacuity of personality, and the impermanence of…nearly everything.

     
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    hardie karges 4:55 am on February 23, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism 102: Craving is the Curse… 

    Don’t test positive for COVET disease, because jealousy is a hard habit to break, as many a fine pop song has elucidated quite well. But it rings true, especially in the Buddhist attitude toward the world, fully established in Noble Truth number two as the cause of suffering. That’s craving, of course, also known in its manifestations as jealousy, which is only slightly different, or even lust, with its own category of trsna or tanha, Sanskrit or Pali, a thirst gone too far, beyond the simple satisfactions of life, and into unrequited desire. And then there’s greed, one of the three poisons, all closely related on the scale of Dependent Origination.

     But such is the nature of desire, or craving, that it can never be satisfied, by the very nature of its existence, the unsatisfactory nature, i.e. suffering. The best that we can do is ameliorate it, that is, acknowledge its presence, and its call, and give it something, but don’t give it all, of your time or your money, just enough to keep it at bay, far far away, out of your life and out of your mind. Because that is the greatest curse of all, to let nefarious emotions and influences occupy all of your precious thoughts.

    This is why thinking sometimes gets a bad rap and a bad rep, simply because, if left to fester uncontrolled, thoughts can run wild and waste all your time, leading to what we often call ‘monkey mind’, in reference to the constant chatter and mindlessness that defiles us and denies the reason we’re here. And so, we seek more mindfulness, and a decrease in suffering, caused by craving, firstly, and impermanence, secondly, the phenomena of existence that must be dealt with, but not succumbed to, similar to wild dogs prowling Main Street late at night, howling at the moon for lack of something better to do. But we have something better—meditation. When danger threatens, do nothing—quickly.

     
    • jmoran66's avatar

      jmoran66 5:00 am on February 23, 2025 Permalink | Reply

      “When danger threatens, do nothing—quickly”. That’s a keeper.

    • Hardie Karges's avatar

      Hardie Karges 6:06 am on February 23, 2025 Permalink | Reply

      Haha, thanks

  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 4:45 am on February 9, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism 201: Beyond Metta and Karuna 

    If kindness and compassion are the primary virtues, then patience and restraint are the primary disciplines. Be willing to wait, all the time. Whenever someone baits you with fear and anger, just wait before responding, usually nothing else required. And isn’t that the hardest part? Of course. The heat of the moment is always the peak emotion, and if that is magic for some, it’s probably misery for others, because the present moment is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can be the most sublime pleasure. But, on the other hand, it can bring the worst pain.

    If you want to take the analogy one step further, then we could easily say that self-control is one of the best tools of Buddhism, but that is a tough sell to a free-thinking crowd in the Western world, where the word ‘control’ smacks of subversion and freedom is the cause for which we will die gladly. But, there’s a difference between self-control and control of others, just as there is a difference in the freedom TO and the more important freedom FROM, at least from a Buddhist standpoint. Just because we want to be free of certain defilements doesn’t mean that we can do whatever we want.

    Bottom line: what’s good on the battlefield isn’t necessarily so good on the Buddha fields. Because here we’ve got all the time in the world to do things right, and little time or tolerance for doing it wrong. We’re playing for keeps in this samsaric time out of mind and hedging our bets on another life after this one. But that issue is above my pay grade here as a humble scribe, so I’ll let the physics and philosophy professors and proficiency masters work out those equations and analyze that language. Me, I’ve got a tea kettle whistling, so that’s all for now. The Big Questions can wait until next time.   

     

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