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hardie karges
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hardie karges
Modern Buddhism: The Proof is in the Suffering
Dukkha is probably the most debatable translation in all of the Buddhist canon, no doubt because of the logical suggestion that the traditional translation sounds, uh, maybe a little bit pessimistic, when the word in question means ‘suffering’. Because, from a western standpoint, that doesn’t sound too inspirational, which is largely how Western religions are oriented: e.g. hope, redemption, mercy, forgiveness, eternity, virgin birth and eternal life. All of which is well and good, if perhaps a bit unrealistic, but it was largely identified with the Christ child and a perennially young Jesus.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Iranian plateau, Buddhists are and were defining a religion based on dukkha, suffering, that doesn’t necessarily inspire you to be all that you can be, but clearly tells you what to avoid: ignorance, greed, hatred, anger, and especially lust, craving, and possession(s). It’s like positive space and negative space. In Christianity, especially since the Protestant era, the individual is something created from clay into one of thousands of creative creatures, while in Buddhism the individual is carved from a block of wood that is forever subject to rot, decay, and decomposition.
So, which one is better? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, and, for many people, beauty for a philosophy depends on beautiful words to inspire and bless. So, when Buddhism went West, those new monks immediately set out to remake the vocab. So, sati awareness became ‘mindfulness’, metta friendship became ‘lovingkindness’, and dukkha suffering became ‘unsatisfactoriness’, ‘stress’, everything but ‘bummer’. Now, these weren’t bloggers or vloggers, mind you, but senior monks often trained by Ajahn Chah, no less, in the mainstream Theravada school.
And how did that go over in Asia? Pretty good, it seems, to the point that most Asians seem to not notice the difference, assuming that ‘lovingkindness’ was first and foremost a translation for metta in Pali, when its deliberate conversion from the Hebrew chesed to the English language for Christian use some 500 years ago is well documented. If the term had been in popular Buddhist use in 1984, wouldn’t the Dalai Lama have said, “My religion is lovingkindness”? Yes. Of course. But this is good, because it means that two major religions are moving closer together, Islam notwithstanding. And does the practice shift with the language? It would seem, since ‘hugging meditation’ is now popular, something unthinkable just yesterday…
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hardie karges
Buddhism and the Meeting of East and West…
Buddhism in Bhutan When President George W. Bush proclaimed loudly that the USA was an ‘ownership society’, he was not being apologetic. He was bragging. He was bragging about the fact that we are possessed by our possessions. He was bragging about the fact that we are too deficient in our own resources that we need constant ‘outside’ stimulation to keep us happy. He was bragging about our constant cravings that inspire popular songs and desires forever unrequited.
And that’s where the old traditional Buddhism comes in, because that’s what it’s all about, almost, not so much mindfulness and meditation, which are largely the concerns today, for whatever reason. The reality seems to be that Modern Christianity and Modern Buddhism are moving together so quickly as to almost be indistinguishable, so that the traditional ‘meeting of East and West’ is largely accomplished, even if many of the problems still remain, even if spread out over a more uniform landscape.
The proof of that is manifold, if not the popularity of meditation in the West, then the popularity of ‘lovingkindness’ in Buddhism. Because every native English speaker knows that term from way back, long before any interest in Buddhism, it historically developed specifically for Christianity some 500 years ago, a fact well attested. Indian nationals swear that it is a translation for the Pali term metta, which it certainly is—now.
But that term was translated as friendliness, i.e. friendship, for many hundreds of years, before the modern Buddhists got hold of it, whether from Western Buddhists or creative Asians, a fact easily proven by related terms for ‘friend’ in many Asian languages, variations on metta, e.g. mit, maitri, etc. The effect is the same, since Buddhism suddenly got a little warmer and emotional in the process, and maybe the West got a little cooler, too, in the exchange. ACIM, A Course in Miracles, the modern Christian spiritual juggernaut, now talks about Enlightenment in the same way as many Buddhists, and their Heaven is something accessible NOW. Sound familiar?
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hardie karges
Buddhism in the Morning Paper and the Evening News…
The Buddha stressed Right Actions. But he never said to do nothing all the time. That’s why the long-distance Buddhist monk tudong walkers have accomplished something more than just a little bit special in the ranks of the Buddhist sangha. Because it’s always been a little bit of a joke amongst Thai expats that if you want a free ride in life, then become a monk, because they don’t really have to do much to stay fed. And it wasn’t easy to refute those snickering claims—until now.
Because now we’ve got simple country monks performing heroic feats of self-sacrifice and long-distance hiking all for the love of dharma and karmic merit. And they always smile and they never complain. They even perform the more intricate ‘tudong’ (dhutanga) rites among the highly disciplined of them, including upright sleeping and barefoot walking. How’s that for a country song? The effect is splendid, too, even if the accomplishments are largely symbolic.
But those symbols can go a long way, too, and they’ve only gotten started. Peace is no easy conquest, even if it’s just inner peace, no rush for the Strait stuff of heroic duels and the lingering whispers of duality. Those things take time. First, we start with baby steps and then we see what hill we can climb. I think metta and maitri are the next big steps, more brotherly love than mom’s lovingkindness, and that means continuing the quest in ‘foreign’ countries. Because that’s the only way we’ll ever truly become brothers, albeit with the same mothers. Think big. It’s time for Christianity and Buddhism to admit their common cause. Stay tuned.
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hardie karges
Buddhist Middle Path: Hold Your Applause
All you need is kindness. Compassion is good, too. These are the Buddhist foundational concepts known in the Pali language as metta and karuna, often combined in modern standard Thai language as mettakaruna. I guess that’s similar to the Christian compound word ‘lovingkindness’, but without all the gratuitous emotion, please. That’s more Christian than Buddhism has ever aspired to, and largely by design.
Christians need to hug and kiss, often, while Buddhists could usually care less. Christians are emotion junkies, while Buddhists are cool as cukes, usually, salad dressing optional. So, Christians deliberately took that word from the Hebrew Chesed and translated it to lovingkindness to make a point. Then, when Buddhism came to the West, many practitioners figure what’s good for the goose… you know. But, by then, Buddhism has changed its character, and not necessarily for the better.
But that’s one way to fight the charge of pessimism and nihilism: slather the special sauce, and Bam! Thailand becomes like the Philippines, all of a sudden, fiery and passionate. I suppose there’s no real harm, but it’s really not what Buddhism is in its essence–just the opposite. Emotions go up and down as if by design, while the Buddhist path steers towards the middle always. That’s not a hard rigid path, but it’s not seeking peak emotion, either. That’s American Photography Course 101, always seeking ‘peak emotion’. Good luck with that. I’ll follow the Middle Path.
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hardie karges
Buddhism on the Installment Plan (with Quick Easy Payments)
If Science conquers Death, then Buddhism may be out of work, but I doubt it. Because, for all the rap about Buddhism being pessimistic, the truth is that it’s not; it’s realistic. Now, that may contrast sharply with the goo-goo eyed optimism of Sunday School Christianity (any denomination) and their doctrines of eternal life and passionate love, but it’s only being realistic—and rational. You’re going to die. Get over it. For an adult, that’s the starting point of any life equation. You’ve got x amount of years to produce y amount of children and z amount of money, so you better get started, because time’s wasting.
Or not. Buddhism always allows for negation in any of its tetralemma style catuhskoti logic, so, if that’s negative, by definition, then so be it. Negation is often the only certainty, just as Emptiness is often the only Eternity. And that is why Buddhism is so often defined by its meditation, which is essentially doing nothing—creatively, watching thoughts come and go while breath counts the time and plays rhythm. But it’s only a partial renunciation, unlike the Jains’ total immersion, from which they seldom emerge. That’s the Middle Path, neither total leisure nor lack, buffet nor snack.
Buddhism is so ‘right’ simply because it’s so simple. Avoid extremes and be nice; seek friends. Because that’s the heart of Buddhist ‘love’, metta, friendship. Ex-Christians try to soup it up by invoking ‘lovingkindness’, with Mary and babe at the breast, but really, it’s just friendship, non-possessive and cool, not hot, male or female, jewelry or not. Feel free to try it at home. It’s non-toxic. Or form a group. Some call it sangha. Others call it family. And don’t forget to wash your karma.
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hardie karges
Buddhism and the Middle Path Dialectic…
Gratitude is the companion to kindness and compassion in a perfect circle of Right Action and virtuous intent. Gratitude may be more of a Western thing than an Eastern thing, but that changes nothing. Gratitude is good. Lovingkindness was more of a Western thing than Eastern, also, until the Buddhists adopted it as their own as a suitable translation for the Sanskrit/Pali word metta, and the rest is history. The circle is complete, West meets East, Buddhism meets Christianity, and we are all better off for it.
Because there is no fundamental distinction between the positions of West and East, not really, simply flip sides of the same coin, two pillars of a dialectic, in which antithesis counters the thesis in order to reach a higher synthesis. Now that’s not strict formal Buddhism (it’s Hegel), but I think it’s a nice approach to the Middle Path, illustrating clearly the fact that the Middle Path is not a cold hard set of prohibitions or dogmas, but is open and fluid and capable of change if and when the time is right for it.
Notwithstanding the fact that India and the West have a common origin (see my upcoming book) genetically and geographically, if you go even farther back, the entire civilized world has common origins in Africa as homo sapiens and even farther back in Pangea as the large family mammalia, that split then from their reptilian ancestors. That’s who we are, consciousness and all, putting nouns and verbs together in sentences growing more complex every day, looking for a path with heart, despite all the suffering. Look inside; that’s the trick.
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hardie karges
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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hardie karges
Buddhism 202: True Love Can Save the Planet
The truest love is metta, friendship, without the burden of possession. That’s a hard sell to a teenager with a bone he’s trying to drive home, but it’s true nevertheless, for long-term or short, which is the proof of its purity. Powerful passions may produce plentiful babies, but without lovingkindness, most of those efforts will be largely lost before the high school graduation exercises, and that’s what’s important. Because we’re no longer the young planet that we once were, raw and untamed and unpopulated.
Now the danger is over-population and the possibility that we might become victims of our own successes, as Global Warming would seem to suggest. So, a different attitude than constant growth is recommended for long-term survival. This means a more thoughtful and less cavalier attitude to our relationship with others, gentler and kinder, less aggressive and careless. If that overlooks the reality that sometimes Buddhism can be too passive, then so be it. The alternative is worse—uncontrolled aggression.
That’s the reason that I became a Buddhist, to save myself, then save the world. That’s my motto and mantra that also sums up the transition from early self-centered Theravada Buddhism to later society-centered Mahayana Buddhism, not that such a generality explains much about either of them. But the motto and mantra still work, for me, at least. Be kind, first and foremost, and the world will become a kinder place in return. That’s karma.
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hardie karges
Buddhism Basics: Metta and Karuna, Kindness and Compassion…
Kindness and compassion, metta and karuna, are not the path of weakness. They are the path of true strength, which may or may not coincide with the popular images of ‘big men’ and ‘strong men’ flexing muscles and making waves, but that is not the paradigm of the Buddhist monk in partial renunciation from the world. That is the paradigm of the world that the Buddhist must renounce, at least partially, the world of hatred, fear, and anger, often masquerading as bravado, strength, and victory.
Ironically, many Buddhists may defer to such popular images of strength and victory while forgoing it themselves. Because they know that such phenomena are the manifestations of the world, samsara, over which they have little of no control. We can only control ourselves. But, if we can stay on the good side of those circumstantial strong men that the world spits out like so many celebrities for sale, then so much the better. That’s ‘skillful means.’ It doesn’t imply superior dharma or any kind of enlightenment on the part of the big man, just survival instincts on the part of the average bloke.
But Buddhism is a path of kindness and compassion. That much is certain. The only question is how best to manifest that in our own private lives. As always, the Middle Path seems to offer the best clue. Don’t be too passive or too aggressive. There is a sweet spot right there in the middle somewhere, defined by an almost equal distance from the extremes that we must avoid. And if it seems like this is a path for losers and nondescript middlemen, then nothing could be farther from the truth. Living right is its own reward.
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