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    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…

     
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    hardie karges 7:32 am on April 26, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism, the Present Moment, and a Walk for Peace  

    The only thing certain is the past, and that’s dead and gone. Maybe that’s why so many Buddhists emphasize living in the present moment, because it’s alive and free, even if uncertain. I’m not sure if the Buddha agreed, but he probably would have. Because in the original Buddhism there is a contract between Buddhist society and society at large that the sangha would ensure some level of goodness in this world if society would feed them and house them in turn. 

    So, monks can essentially be children of Nature, while the householders can plant and f*ck and do all those other things that most people consider ordinary. And so now they bargain for a higher honor, as they walk for peace in multiple countries and on multiple fronts, begging for attention, not alms, but to make a point, not to rock this joint, that point being simply to live a mindful existence in whatever ways possible, and to be peaceful about it. And if the immediate ramifications for Buddhism are more for show than substance, the larger ramifications are palpable.  

    Because, if Theravada Buddhism has long been moving toward an emphasis on Vipassana meditation and a decrease in dogma, now that is official. There should be no more quibbling over the minutiae of Abhidharma or debates over what exactly is reborn with rebirth. The point now is to have a happy day and spread the cheer around town. Now, if we can only get old-time Buddhists on the same page as the newcomers, many of whom are still trying to escape cyclical rebirths in samsara, then we will truly accomplish something.  

     
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    hardie karges 2:27 am on March 29, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    The Buddha’s Parting Words Revisited: Lamp or Island? 

    You can be an island or a lamp, on a bicycle or a ship, and the path to fruition is the same, if you plant seeds along the way. The reference is to the Buddha’s parting words in which he urges followers to be a ‘lamp’ or to be an ‘island’, or either, or both, or neither, in catuhskoti logic, subsequent narrators, translators, and explainers suggesting that the word dipa can somehow mean both, when the reality is that it can only mean either, unless you’re making a play on words in Magadhi prakrit, aka ‘Pali’. 

    Because big brother Sanskrit shows that the original word(s) are clearly distinct, modern transliterations being closer to dvipa than dipa for the word that means ‘island’, for which the prakrit speakers presumably simply slurred down the more complex sorta-three-syllable word into only two distinct syllables, while explainers suggest that the original meaning is essentially the same. The only problem is that they’re not the same. So, this is more than linguistic fun, notwithstanding that Buddha might have simply made a pun, which I’m sure that he was capable of, being the human that he was. 

    Or maybe he was simply being prescient, since being an island refuge for yourself and/or a lamp for yourself and your path (and others’, since lamps tend to radiate outward), is very similar to the difference between the Theravada approach to Buddhist practice and the most obvious approaches to a Mahayana practice, that outward radiation being obviously more diverse by design and definition, more Bodhisattva than arahant. There are many Mahayanas. There is only one Theravada. Or in my Buddhist dialectic, it can allow for two-in-one, all in good time. As I said before, save yourself then save the world.  

     
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    hardie karges 2:19 am on February 15, 2026 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism 103: The Best Meditation Requires no App…  

    Only silence can solve the problems caused by language. But this is a difficult reality for many people, especially Westerners, to accept. After all, our psychological method is basically ‘talk therapy’, wherein somehow the words all fall into position in a way that makes sense and provides meaning for the patient, i.e. listener. Within the Buddhist tradition, I’ve only had ‘guided meditation’ from western lamas in the Tibetan/Vajrayana tradition.  

    In my own Theravada Buddhist tradition, I’ve never had, nor even heard of such ‘guided meditation’, though I wouldn’t be surprised to find that in the English language and specifically intended for a Western audience. Because this is a fundamental distinction between East and West. There are few, if any psychologists or psychiatrists in most Asian countries, and I would only expect to see those few for Western clients. If that sounds inconclusive, then go to an Asian bookstore and find the psychology section, if they have one. So, you’re thinking, maybe, ‘I’m Okay, You’re Okay’?  

    It’s probably more like ‘How to Make Money without Really Trying.” This is why I suspect that many psychologists have problems with Buddhism, and vice versa, hence the term ‘spiritual by-passing.’ They don’t use that term with Christianity, or any other religion, all of which are far more ‘religious’. Westerners love engagement. That’s why Mark Z pushes it constantly, and why many people leave Facebook eventually. I guess it pays off for him, but other lessons are more valuable to learn. Welcome to Buddhism—and silence. 

     
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    hardie karges 5:53 am on October 26, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism In an Imperfect World. The world outside… 

    The world outside may be cruel and cold, but the world inside can be perfect. This is implicit in the Buddhist teachings, Theravada especially, before the Mahayana emphasis on the Bohisattva’s sacrifice of enlightenment until all sentient beings can join in the awakening. And, if that seems selfish of the Theravadins, then it’s not, not really. It’s simply a recognition that the challenges are many and the awakenings are few, in an imperfect world, with few Bodhisattvas available, so maybe being a satisfied arhat might be better.

    Because, even if the world were infinite, with no need for competition, there would still be the challenges of hate, anger and greed. Those are the kileshas that haunt all of us, rich or poor, no matter our status or our position in life. And competition is a function of greed, no matter that there might be an infinite abundance, somehow somewhere. No alpha male is worried about getting his share of the offerings. He wants them all, or at least a controlling interest, no matter that there is plenty to go around.

    That is the difference between us and the animal kingdom, the ability to reason and ration any scarcity of resources fairly amongst all interested parties. That is why the alpha male is an anachronism in the world of humans, strutting his stuff as if he were king of the jungle. For the human race to advance, we must leave the jungle behind, and any notion of a warrior ethos that defines us. It doesn’t. It only divides us.

     
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    hardie karges 2:22 am on October 12, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism 302: Save Yourself, then Save the World 

    Fight the war within your heart and so leave the world at peace. That largely summarized the original Buddhist philosophy in a nutshell, with regard to the world at large, at least. Everything is perfect in its imperfection. It is just what it is, so accept it, and make the best of it. In other words: save yourself, then save the world. First Theravada, then Mahayana. It is useless to try to save the world when you yourself have accomplished nothing yet in your own life.

    And, by accomplishment, I don’t mean the acquisition of stocks and bonds, or stocks and grains and the ties that bind families together. I mean the ability to take that or leave that, all in an appropriate context. Some people still diss the Buddha, because he left his wife and son behind, but I think that they prospered well enough in the arftermath, and the alternative would have been far more disastrous. The Buddha never made any money, but no one was more accomplished. You could say the same for Jesus or Plato, I think.

    Opinions fall flat in the face of reality. It is useless to crave certainty. The only certainty in life is death. Gather flowers along the path. Don’t be in such a hurry. Life is in no rush. The waiting is the best part. Once you grasp something, you will only want more. These are among the many messages that the Buddha left us with, and they all work well, about the need for giving and not craving, the acceptance of change and the inevitability of death. Don’t just stand there. Do something good. More importantly: don’t do anything bad.

     
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    hardie karges 2:47 am on August 10, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism to Order: Save Yourself, then Save the World… 

    Extinguish the fires inside, then extinguish the fires outside. Or, as I sometimes like to say it: save yourself, then save the world. And this is the basic difference between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, and much the very reason why Mahayanist (Large Vehicle) Buddhists like to call Theravadins ‘Hinayanists’ (Small Vehicle) Buddhists, as if there were something ‘lesser’ about training your mind rather than wasting much time and energy trying to train the world top act better.

    But I don’t see it that way. I just see it as dealing with first things first. If you are truly capable of training yourself to a high state of Buddhahood, then you have nothing to lose by turning your attentions to the problems of the world as a Bodhisattva for hire—cheap, haha. But most people will never reach that level of Enlightenment. And anyone who claims that they have attained that level is probably mistaken—by definition. A truly enlightened person, or Bodhisattva, would never make such claims, for fear of diminishing the others with their own paths.

    That doesn’t mean that you should surrender all politics to the shenanigans of autocrats and scammers. Just don’t pretend that that’s the final destination for all mankind. The path never ends. Even when politics are at their smoothest and best, there are still probably thousands of sleights and injustices to rectify and make whole. To fight for what’s right is the hardest thing in the world, since fighting itself is so wrong. But when our survival is at stake, then that is what we must do sometimes.

     
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    hardie karges 4:33 am on April 27, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism Meditation and Emptiness 

     Meditation is the art of open heart and open mind, closed mouth, eyes optional. To me it’s almost amazing how many Theravada Buddhists don’t meditate at all, but I suppose that speaks to the time and the place as much as anything, as well as the ultimate goals and prime motives. Because a Thai citizen or resident doesn’t really need a motive to be Buddhist, except to be good and be social and contribute to the overall well being of the populace. If you’re already Buddhist, then you don’t really need a reason to be Buddhist.

    But a Westerner needs a reason to be Buddhist, and so for many of us that’s long been a choice of Zen or Vajrayana (Tibetan), two of the more exotic versions of the field, and so an attraction to those for whom an attraction is helpful. The only problem is that the Buddha himself might not recognize either of them as representative of his teachings. For us street-corner philosophers, that’s plenty of motivation by itself, the simplicity and veracity of the original message. So, now that Theravada is re-branding itself as Vipassana, pure and simple, that accomplishes a necessary goal, to get Buddhism back to its root without worrying about word games and past lives.

    Because Theravada Buddhists were always the best meditators, even if many never did it. And meditation can accomplish with practice what precepts and concepts can only suggest with words. You can talk about shunyata—emptiness—all day and not know much more than what you started with. Or you can sit silent unflinching for an hour while concentrating on breath and know quite a great deal, without uttering a word. It’s an acquired taste.

     
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    hardie karges 4:56 pm on February 2, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    Buddhism 499: Causes and Conditions… 

    It’s not enough to temporarily alleviate a bad situation, but better to permanently change the causes and conditions that created it. This gives the lie to the dismissive notions that Buddhism is only interested in the ‘present moment’, and that ‘thoughts have no thinkers’, and other casual self-disses that imply that Buddhism is superficial and unconcerned with deeper meanings. The Buddha never said that, and nothing could be further from the truth. Those are popular modern themes, but the historical reality is quite different.

    In fact, Buddhism has been extremely concerned with causes and conditions since day one. And if that’s readily apparent in the earliest Theravada Buddhism, it’s a frank obsession by the time of Vajrayana. Never is there a call to cease suffering without a simultaneous call to end the causes of suffering. I think it’s even fair to say that this was likely something of a revelation in that pre-scientific time. Because in that era prior to the scientific era of experimentation, deep contemplation was the next best thing.

    Even Einstein knew that from his deep thought experiments, and the Socratic dialogs of Plato at or around the same time as the Buddha’s sutras were a dualistic echo of the same approach. It requires deep thinking and difficult training, not just a fly catcher nabbing a thought or two on their way through the garden to the kids’ pool. It’s even very possible that it was Buddhist monks who invented (yes, invented) the zero, something which would not catch on in the West for almost 2000 years. It first existed as a concept in shunya, before making the jump to higher math. How do you transfer the liquids between two full containers? You need an empty container. That’s a zero. Think about it. Then meditate. That’s a zero.

     
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    hardie karges 4:46 am on January 26, 2025 Permalink | Reply
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    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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