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  hardie karges 2:33 am on October 25, 2026 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Buddhism ( 537 ), CHRISTIANITY ( 174 ), Five Precepts,, Hardie Karges ( 350 ), ISLAM ( 69 ), language ( 239 ), meditation ( 296 ), Middle Path ( 91 ), Ten Commandments ( 7 ), Three Marks of Existence   

  Buddhism, the Meaning of Life, and the 3 Marks of Existence 

  

  To grasp at sensations to relieve boredom is like grasping at straws to save your life. But that is the situation we are faced with, having come so far from the formerly primitive state that we languished so long in, somewhere between low flying angels and high-flying monkeys. Now we are successful and have nothing much to show for it, while capitalists jack the rents up to line their pockets with profits and the rest of us struggle to make ends meet, all while AI threatens our jobs and politicians too often take sides with the mob.

  The concept of balance is sorely lacking in most of our lives, but that is certainly implied if not explicitly stated in the Buddhist Middle Path. To avoid extremes is to seek balance. But, if that means to forego some treats that might provide some temporary rush of excitement to the pleasure centers of the brain, then most people will pass on that option, even if that means to forego some savings that might come in very handy during lean times or retirement years.

  And that’s what the Buddha himself recommended, saving 25% of income for a rainy day (Sigalovada Sutta, DN31), back when incomes were much simpler than today, and even recommending 50% reinvestment to create and guarantee future income, allowing only 25% for daily expenses. Did someone say something about the present moment? Of course he did. That is meditation. He also had some good suggestions on how to live a good life. Don’t lie, Don’t kill, Don’t cheat, Don’t steal, etc. Sounds a lot like the Christian Ten Commandments, doesn’t it?

  The Second Five of the Ten Commandments, yes, are almost identical to the Five Precepts of Buddhism, except for the one that says Don’t Drink, ouch. The First Five are almost identical to Islam. I suppose the difference between Precept and Commandment is much of the difference between Buddhism and Christianity, too. Buddhism has few sacred names or days, while carved statues and parents are optional. Sabbe sankhara anicca, Sabbe sankhara dukkha, sabbe dhamma anatta. All conditioned things are impermanent and imperfect. All phenomena are without souls. Those are the Three Marks of Existence.

   

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  hardie karges 1:03 pm on August 28, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: ahimsa ( 7 ), anatta ( 24 ), bliss ( 4 ), Buddhism ( 537 ), Eightfold Path ( 20 ), Four Noble Truths ( 19 ), happiness ( 5 ), Hardie Karges ( 350 ), Three Marks of Existence   

  Buddhism 202: Happiness Sandwiches, with Something in the Middle… 

  

  

  If you’re looking for bliss, then you may be disappointed. Happiness for me is the reduction, and hopefully cessation, of suffering. Anything else is icing on the cake. Count your blessings. In other words, bliss is optional and perhaps not even desirable. After all, when your psychological pendulum swings too far in one direction, isn’t it bound to swing back to the other with equal force? It’s very likely. And isn’t bliss an extreme emotion to begin with, tongue flagging and tail wagging, like a dog with a fresh bone, until it’s suddenly all gone?

  And that’s the problem, isn’t it, that extremes usually never cease rebounding in search of their opposites, in ever-widening arcs, never satisfied and never at rest?  It certainly seems that way, the curse of consciousness, chasing its own tail in a race to the finish. When we’re hot, we want cold. When we’re cold we want warmth. At what point do we get to enjoy our happiness? There’s no time like the present of course, and anything else is probably BS.

  And this goes right to the heart of Buddhism, the middle path, but not necessarily The Middle Path, between luxury and lack, or Existence and Non-existence, but any middle path, between any two sets of opposites, for which the middle is almost always the best option, that notion of balance and equilibrium always desirable, even if the word ‘compromise’ doesn’t suit you, with the notion that maybe it’s a cop-out. It’s not.

  It suits me just fine, and I think it should probably be enshrined as an important addendum to the main body of Buddhism, which includes the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold path, and the Three Marks of Existence, especially non-self anatta. Then there’s ahimsa, non-violence, though not necessarily non-action. That sounds like the perfect balance between violence and passivity. So, this notion of balance, little brother to the Middle Path, works almost every time, and should get the attention and credit that it deserves. Try it. You’ll probably like it.