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  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 9:33 am on May 31, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    The Buddhist Middle Path Between Bliss and Industry    

    The most difficult attachments are to (our) selves and (our) lives, which almost goes without saying, because what could be more logical and apparently natural? But it’s probably worth the effort to say it, because it may not be natural at all, maybe just the opposite, in fact. Because the only thing connecting it all is consciousness, and that hardly implies attachment, only awareness. This is a core principle of Buddhism, and nothing is more important.  

    Because once you’ve become attached to yourself, then you will certainly become attached to your wife and your children and your job, as if nothing could be more natural. But there is something almost more natural, and that’s non-attachment. Imagine the bliss that becomes possible by simply being alive without transacting, becoming blissfully wet when it rains and playfully engaged when it dries? So, why don’t animals do that, then, as we imagine they do? 

    But they don’t, or not totally. Jesus has already been busted for claiming that birds don’t build barns, when in fact they clearly do. In the English language we call them nests. In fact, these birds are a full step ahead of those imaginary ‘present moment’ Buddhists, as they are more like Middle Path Buddhists, splitting the difference between bliss and industry, very much in the moment, but with an eye to the future, too. We humans were once like that, planting seeds but also practicing crafts. Cities should be unnecessary with the advent of high tech. Maybe we should try that.   

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 4:18 pm on May 22, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism and the Conundrum of Forgiveness 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:44 am on May 17, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism and the Parable of the Poisoned Arrow  

    First the Parable of the Prejudicial Porpoise: If it looks like a fish, and acts like a fish, it still might be a mammal, or a shark. Now I don’t spend a lot of time composing parables, or sutras, but if the shoe fits, then I’ll wear it. The point is that things are not always what they seem, and the wise man with limited funds might help himself a bit by defining his circumstances carefully.  

    The Buddha once said, of course, that the important thing is not whether the criminal was a man or a woman, nor what he or she was wearing, but stopping the flow of blood in the wound, so that the victim can resume a normal life as soon as possible. But sometimes all that extra knowledge can pay off, such as what kind of poisons are involved, the age of the victim, or the exact location of any projectile or sharp-edged object.  

    So, with all due respect to the Parable of the Poisoned Arrow, Gulamalukya Sutta, and its prohibitions warning again abstract metaphysical abstractions, there is no prohibition against useful knowledge. In this respect Buddhism is in perfect sync with Science and unforgiving to sometimes useless metaphysics.  

    As always the Middle Path pays off, that Goldilocks ‘sweet spot’ that sometimes defies categorization, and that is at least part of the point. Precise definitions are inherent to Science but sometimes useless to logic. Can’t decide? Split the difference. Make the big decisions later. The important thing is to do something Now, even if it seems almost like nothing…

     
    • Dr B's avatar

      Dr B 6:24 am on May 18, 2026 Permalink | Reply

      My personal view of the poisoned arrow teaching can be summed up with a diagnosis I knew was coming, that I had cancer! But I refused to shoot myself with extra arrows: can it be cured, what’s the treatment, will I die, how long have I got, will it be painful blah blah all in my head. Natural questions maybe, but not before the diagnosis I knew was coming!

    • hardie karges's avatar

      hardie karges 6:15 pm on May 18, 2026 Permalink | Reply

      Yes, cancer is a difficult experience, given all the hype around it. I was there myself some fifteen years ago, borderline stage 3 with the prostate, and here I am now, almost feeling guilty that I didn’t suffer more, like so many do. TBH I usually default to Science, but that wasn’t a good option 2500 years ago. Cheers…

  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 2:23 am on May 10, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    To be Reborn in the Spirit of the Buddha  

    Every day should be a re-Birth day, in spirit, not DNA. And, as much as I hate to get involved in the Buddhist rebirth debates and disputes, I’ll have to say that I probably like the Christian use of that term ‘reborn’ more than I like the Buddhist flirtation with Hindu reincarnation. Because the Christian usage is almost always phrased as ‘reborn in the spirit of the Lord’ or something like that, which seems healthy, not superstitious. It might even be for Christians what mindfulness is for Buddhists, a simple way of being, more than anything else. 

    The Tibetans don’t even pretend otherwise, of course, as they scour the countrysides looking for someone who looks a lot like what a Dalai Lama should look like, while the Mahayanists settle for multiple Buddhist manifestations presumably emanating from some eternal source, and the occasional black-belt Bodhisattva who will assert himself on the field of spiritual battle to prove that such a thing is still possible, the rare individual doing what enlightened beings do, saving the world and making it better for others.  

    But leave it to the Theravadins to do what Buddha himself did, training himself to a fine fit of a spiritual soldier, ready to forego random desires and craven cravings in order to reduce suffering in the long run and promote inner peace in the short run. And leave it to the Theravadins to walk for months nonstop, too, to promote world peace. That’s what the Buddha would do. Note: I support all schools and sects of Buddhism, but I’m especially proud of Thai Theravadins right now. They’ve truly shown the world something with their Walking for Peace…

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 4:56 pm on March 30, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddha Talk: the Science of Silence… 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 4:24 pm on March 27, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddha Talk: Save Yourself, then Save the World… 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 3:12 am on March 22, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism 499: Taming the Mind…  

    Treat perfect strangers with the same kindness you give your pets and the world will be a better place. And pets deserve that special treatment, of course, but don’t we all? Because all too often, kindness is transactional, tit for tat, is it not? Yes, it is, whether we even realize it or not, we’re so accustomed to that sort of reciprocity, as long as the dog is loveable, of course, and silently obedient. And many Buddhists do that, also, which is not a bad thing in itself, unless it rewards evil at the same time. 

    Because justice and fairness is a real thing, too, of course, and that is the flipside to the equation. Pets are a special circumstance in the hierarchy of the world, and I love them greatly, no vestigial nostalgia for the savage wilderness here, no thank you. I wish that every animal in the world could be tamed and therefore survive, rather than live a precarious existence in a world where it is commonly thought that returning an animal to the wilderness is somehow standard logical procedure. 

    As always, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Conscientious taming seems perfectly acceptable to me, in lieu of wilderness, but dancing bears would seem to be going too far. But the point is that the kindness so often typically displayed toward our pets de rigueur is often totally lacking in our relationships to our human equals, even when they’ve done much to deserve it. No matter that there are Buddhist websites called Wildmind and so forth, the founding principle of Buddhism is to tame the mind, and that is a very good thing… 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 4:30 pm on March 19, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddha Talk: Buddhism and the Conundrum of Change 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 4:38 pm on March 9, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddha Talk: Buddhism on the Curriculum, Learning to Give… 

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 4:13 pm on February 27, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddha Talk: 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. 

     
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