#enligthenment

[aluracein]

If it isn’t like this, it isn’t love!

[finewindclearmorning-blog]

How Grass and Trees Become Enlightened

During the Kamakura period, Shinkan studied Tendai six years and then studied Zen seven years; then he went to China and contemplated Zen for thirteen years more.

When he returned to Japan many desired to interview him and asked onscure questions. But when Shinkan received visitors, which was infrequently, he seldom answered their questions.

One day a fifty-year-old student of enlightenment said to Shinkan: “I have studied the Tendai school of thought since I was a little boy, but one thing in it I cannot understand. Tendai claims that even the grass and trees will become enlightened. To me this seems very strange.”

“Of what use is it to discuss how grass and trees become enlightened?” asked Shinkan. “The question is how you yourself can become so. Did you ever consider that?”

“I never thought of it in that way,” marveled the old man.

“Then go home and think it over,” finished Shinkan.

Read more zen stories

[garywonghc]

Real Happiness

by Sharon Salzberg

Meditation is essentially a way to train our attention so we can be more aware of both our inner workings and what’s happening around us. It’s straightforward and simple, but it isn’t easy.

People have been transforming their minds through meditation for thousands of years. Every major world religion includes some form of contemplative exercise, though today meditation is often practised apart from any belief system. Meditation may be done in silence and stillness, by using voice and sound, or by engaging the body in movement. All forms emphasise the training of attention.

“My experience is what I agree to attend to,” the pioneering psychologist William James wrote at the turn of the twentieth century. “Only those items I notice shape my mind.” At its most basic level, attention — what we allow ourselves to notice — literally determines how we experience and navigate the world. The ability to summon and sustain attention is what allows us to job hunt, juggle, learn math, make pancakes, aim a cue and pocket the eight ball, protect our kids, and perform surgery. It lets us be discerning in our dealings with the world, responsive in our intimate relationships, and honest when we examine our own feelings and motives. Attention determines our degree of intimacy with our ordinary experiences and contours our entire sense of connection to life.

The content and quality of our lives depend on our level of awareness — a fact we are often not aware of. There’s an old story, usually attributed to a Native American elder, that’s meant to illuminate the power of attention. A grandfather imparting a life lesson to his grandson tells him, “I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is vengeful, fearful, envious, resentful, deceitful. The other wolf is loving, compassionate, generous, truthful, and serene.” The grandson asks which wolf will win the fight. The grandfather answers, “The one I feed.”

But that’s only part of the picture. True, whatever gets our attention flourishes, so if we lavish attention on the negative and inconsequential, they can overwhelm the positive and the meaningful. But if we do the opposite, refusing to deal with or acknowledge what’s difficult and painful, pretending it doesn’t exist, then our world is out of whack. Whatever doesn’t get our attention withers — or retreats below conscious awareness, where it may still affect our lives. In a perverse way, ignoring the painful and the difficult is just another way of feeding the wolf. Meditation teaches us to open our attention to all of human experience and all parts of ourselves.

Meditation is pragmatic, the psychological and emotional equivalent of a physical training program: If you exercise regularly, you get certain results — stronger muscles, denser bones, increased stamina. If you meditate regularly, you also get certain results, including greater calm, and improved concentration and more connection to others. But there are other rewards.

You’ll begin to spot the unexamined assumptions that get in the way of happiness.

These assumptions we make about who we are and the way the world works — what we deserve, how much we can handle, where happiness is to be found, whether or not positive change is possible — all greatly influence how and to what we pay attention.

I was reminded of how assumptions can get in our way when I visited the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., to view a work of art by a sculptor friend. Eagerly I checked every room, peered at every display case and pedestal — no sculpture. Finally I gave up. As I headed for the exit, I glanced up — and there was her beautiful piece. It was a bas-relief hanging on the wall, not the freestanding statue I’d expected; my assumptions had put blinders on me and almost robbed me of the experience of seeing what was really there — her amazing work. In the same way, our assumptions keep us from appreciating what’s right in front of us — a stranger who’s a potential friend, a perceived adversary who might actually be a source of help. Assumptions block direct experience and prevent us from gathering information that could bring us comfort and relief, or information that, though saddening and painful, will allow us to make better decisions.

Here are some familiar assumptions you might recognise: We have nothing in common. I won’t be able to do it. You can’t reason with a person like that. Tomorrow will be exactly like today. If I just try hard enough, I’ll manage to control him/her/it/them. Only big risks can make me feel alive. I’ve blown it; I should just give up. I know just what she’s going to say, so I don’t really need to listen to her. Happiness is for other people, not me. Statements like these are motivated by fear, desire, boredom, or ignorance. Assumptions bind us to the past, obscure the present, limit our sense of what’s possible, and elbow out joy. Until we detect and examine our assumptions, they short-circuit our ability to observe objectively; we think we already know what’s what.

You’ll stop limiting yourself. When we practice meditation, we often begin to recognise a specific sort of conditioned response — previously undetected restrictions we’ve imposed on our lives. We spot the ways we sabotage our own growth and success because we’ve been conditioned to be content with meagre results. Meditation allows us to see that these limits aren’t inherent or immutable; they were learned and they can be unlearned — but not until we recognise them. (Some common limiting ideas: She’s the smart one, you’re the pretty one. People like us don’t stand a chance. Kids from this neighbourhood don’t become doctors.) Training attention through meditation opens our eyes. Then we can assess these conditioned responses — and if parts of them contain some truth, we can see it clearly and put it to good use; if parts of them just don’t hold up under scrutiny, we can let them go.

You’ll weather hard times better. Meditation teaches us safe ways to open ourselves to the full range of experience — painful, pleasurable, and neutral — so we can learn how to be a friend to ourselves in good times and bad. During meditation sessions we practice being with difficult emotions and thoughts, even frightening or intense ones, in an open and accepting way, without adding self-criticism to something that already hurts. Especially in times of uncertainty or pain, meditation broadens our perspective and deepens our sense of courage and capacity for adventure. Here’s how you get braver: little by little. In small, manageable, bearable increments, we make friends with the feelings that once terrified us. Then we can say to ourselves, I’ve managed to sit down, face some of my most despairing thoughts and my most exuberantly hopeful ones without judging them. That took strength; what else can I tackle with that same strength? Meditation lets us see that we can accomplish things we didn’t think ourselves capable of.

You’ll rediscover a deeper sense of what’s really important to you. Once you look beneath distractions and conditioned reactions, you’ll have a clearer view of your deepest, most enduring dreams, goals, and values.

You’ll have a portable emergency resource. Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime, unobtrusively. You’re likely to find yourself in situations — having a heated argument at work, say, or chauffeuring a crowd of rambunctious kids to a soccer game — when you can’t blow off steam by walking around the block, hitting the gym, or taking a time-out in the tub. But you can always follow your breath.

You’ll be in closer touch with the best parts of yourself. Meditation practice cultivates qualities such as kindness, trust, and wisdom that you may think are missing from your makeup but are actually undeveloped or obscured by stress and distractions. Meditation practice gives us the chance to locate these qualities so we can access them more easily and frequently.

You’ll recapture the energy you’ve been wasting trying to control the uncontrollable. I once led a retreat in California during a monsoon like rainstorm. It’s so soggy and unpleasant that people aren’t going to have a good retreat, I thought. I felt bad for the participants; in fact, I felt responsible. For a few days I wanted to apologise to everybody for the rain until a thought flickered: Wait a minute. I’m not even from California; I’m from Massachusetts. This isn’t my weather. This is their weather. Maybe they should apologise to me! And then the voice of deeper wisdom arose: Weather is weather. This is what happens.

We’ve all had weather moments — times when we’ve felt responsible for everyone’s good time or well-being. It’s our job, we think, to fix the temperature and humidity, or the people around us (if we could only get our partner to quit smoking, consult a map, stick to a diet). We even think we’re capable of totally controlling our own emotions — I shouldn’t ever feel envious, or resentful, or spiteful! That’s awful! I’m going to stop. You might as well say, “I’m never going to catch a cold again!” Though we can affect our physical and emotional experiences, we can’t ultimately determine them; we can’t decree what emotions will arise within us. But we can learn through meditation to change our responses to them. That way we’re spared a trip down a path of suffering we’ve travelled many times before. Recognising what we can’t control (the feelings that arise within us; other people; the weather) helps us have healthier boundaries at work and at home — no more trying to reform everyone all the time. It helps us to stop beating up on ourselves for having perfectly human emotions. It frees energy we expend on trying to control the uncontrollable.

You’ll understand how to relate to change better — to accept that it’s inevitable and believe that it’s possible. Most of us have a mixed, often paradoxical attitude toward change. Some of us don’t think change is possible at all; we believe we’re stuck forever doing things the way we’ve always done them. Some of us simultaneously hope for change and fear it. We want to believe that change is possible, because that means that our lives can get better. But we also have trouble accepting change, because we want to hold on permanently to what’s pleasurable and positive. We’d like difficulties to be fleeting and comfort to stick around.

Trying to avoid change is exhausting and stressful. Everything is impermanent: happiness, sorrow, a great meal, a powerful empire, what we’re feeling, the people around us, ourselves. Meditation helps us comprehend this fact — perhaps the basic truth of human existence, and the one we humans are most likely to balk at or be oblivious to, especially when it comes to the biggest change of all: Mortality happens, whether we like it or not. We grow old and die. (In the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, a wise king is asked to name the most wondrous thing in the universe. “The most wondrous thing in the entire universe,” he says, “is that all around us people are dying and we don’t believe it will happen to us.”) Meditation is a tool for helping us accept the profound fact that everything changes all the time.

Meditating offers a chance to see change in microcosm. Following our breath while observing how thoughts continually ebb and flow can help us realise that all elements of our experience are in constant flux. During a meditation session, it’s natural to go through many ups and downs, to encounter both new delights and newly awakened conflicts that have bubbled up from the unconscious mind. Sometimes you tap into a wellspring of peace. Other times you might feel waves of sleepiness, boredom, anxiety, anger, or sadness. Snatches of old songs may play in your head; long-buried memories can surface. You may feel wonderful or awful. Daily meditation will remind us that if we look closely at a painful emotion or difficult situation, it’s bound to change; it’s not as solid and unmanageable as it might have seemed. The fear we feel in the morning may be gone by the afternoon. Hopelessness may be replaced by a glimmer of optimism. Even while a challenging situation is unfolding, it is shifting from moment to moment, varied, alive. What happens during meditation shows us that we’re not trapped, that we have options. Then, even if we’re afraid, we can find a way to go on, to keep trying.

This is not a Pollyanna sentiment that everything will be just fine, according to our wishes or our timetable. Rather it is an awakened understanding that gives us the courage to go into the unknown and the wisdom to remember that as long as we are alive, possibility is alive. We can’t control what thoughts and emotions arise within us, nor can we control the universal truth that everything changes. But we can learn to step back and rest in the awareness of what’s happening. That awareness can be our refuge.

[the-funtime-autocrat]

The various Indo-European civilizations were all world-colonizing, whether in a military sense or in a cultural one. Taken together they eventually brought our entire planet under their dominion, with the two most vast colonial structures being the Persian Empire and British Empire. The former was the largest Indo-European superpower in terms of population (including nearly half of Earth's denizens at its zenith), and the latter was the most extensive realm in geographical terms. Buddhism's conquest of East Asia, from its cradle in Northern India, can be seen as a purely Aryan conquest, one which, as we will see was primarily carried out by Iranian missionaries traveling the Silk Route. The Indo-Europeans originated nearly all of the exact sciences and technological innovations based on them, the rich artistic and literary traditions of Europe, Persia and India, as well as major philosophical schools of thought and religious traditions such as Platonic and Germanic Idealism, Enlightenment Progressivism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism and Buddhism. This heritage is exclusionary, as Carl Schmitt rightly understood the constitution of all properly political states to be. It is, however, by far the most broadly encompassing basis for the emergence of a world state from out of the world war of civilizations and in the face of the technological apocalypse.

Jason Reza Jorjani, “World State of Emergency.”

[aluracein]

• nobody has to be perfect but atleast give it your all

[finewindclearmorning-blog]

Not Far from Buddhahood

A university student while visiting Gasan asked him: "Have you ever read the Christian Bible?"

"No, read it to me," said Gasan.

The student opened the Bible and read from St. Matthew: "And why take ye thought for rainment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these... Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself."

Gasan said: "Whoever uttered those words I consider an enlightened man."

The student continued reading: "Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened."

Gasan remarked: "That is excellent. Whoever said that is not far from Buddhahood."

Read more zen stories

[garywonghc]

How to Communicate with your parents without tearing your hair out

by Venerable Faxun

Many teen often appear angelic outside their homes, but parents complain just as often that their teems have no respect for elders or lie without batting an eyelid… the list goes on. While they (parents and teens) may try very hard to communicate with each other, very often, conversations end up in heated arguments. Each party is unable to handle effectively the tension that builds up quickly, resulting in temper exploding or cold wars with either or both parties refusing to talk to each other!

The Buddha’s teaching on Right Speech is instructive in addressing and resolving this modern issue of communication between parents and children. A good teaching is one that we can apply directly in our day-to-day living and this reaching on Right Speech is certainly one. It is something practical which we can use to transform harsh speech into gentle speech, and false speech into truthful speech.

Here is a typical conflict scenario involving parents and their teen. Teenager Joan made an appointment with a friend to study in a library at a nearby town centre after school the next day. She informed her parents out of responsibility and respect. Her parents expected her to be home by 5pm, as granny would be visiting that evening before flying off to China. Joan promised her parents to be back by then.

So the next day, Joan and her friend proceeded with their plan, but arrived late at the library as they were held up in school by their teacher and were caught in traffic. They were deeply engrossed in their studies at the library when at 5pm, Joan’s mother called, half screaming on the phone. Hearing her mum’s angry voice, Joan looked at her watch and realised that she was late. She turned the phone off in a panic, not knowing what to say at that moment! When Joan got home and was questioned why she had turned the phone off during the call, she lied that the battery had gone flat.

Teenagers often resort to telling lies out of desperation. Most know when they are wrong; they also know it is not right to lie. Yet often, out of fear of being scolded or punished, they try to get out of unpleasant situations by lying, with the hope of covering up their mistakes.

Taking an objective view, Joan obviously felt agitated and frustrated about the whole situation. A noble deed to help a friend with studies turned into a situation beyond her control as she was held up by their teacher and caught in a traffic jam; these had not been taken into account in her plan. She would have also felt guilty for not keeping to the promise to be home by 5pm. Emotionally, there was guilt, frustration, probably anger too. An intended action of goodness turned into an unpleasant situation through no fault of her own. Upsetting indeed!

Her parents, on the other hand, were probably worried when Joan did not return home at the expected time. Could she have met with an accident? Did something bad happen? Or, they might be upset that their daughter had no sense of punctuality. In particular, Joan’s mother probably felt angry to be cut off when she called Joan, and might have guessed that Joan had lied about the battery being flat. It would have been too easy to check on the battery level, but such an act of mistrust would only aggravate the whole situation. Experiential interactions with teenagers reveal that many usually do not know how to handle broken promises (especially with authoritarian parents who scold at the slightest provocation, even when truth is spoken). Out of desperation or fear of have the face the music, they resort to temporary measures of ‘escapes’ such as shutting off their phones or telling lies. Often, they are not aware of the consequences of their actions. While they yearn so much for trust and freedom from their parents, by their reactive actions, they break the trust for which they yearn. Many are constantly caught in such a situations and do not know how to cope or get out of the cycle. Such frustrating experiences often result in confused and conflicting emotions and feelings – often the very cause of dysfunctional communication between children, especially young teens and their parents.

SOME GUIDELINES FOR TEENS …..

1. Reflection

Instead of getting angry or frustrated, it would be more helpful to calm your mind, check your action and reflect upon it. How do you see yourself when shutting off the phone and lying to your parents? How do you feel? How would your parents feel? How do you prevent something similar from happening again so that you gain the trust of your parents? What would be a better approach so that you don’t lose the trust of your parents regarding your time management or sense of responsibility, while showing care and concern for your friend at the same time?

2. Keep Calm and Be Truthful

Most teens resort to lying out of desperation to cover up a mistakes they have made. As a result, they end up telling one lie after another to cover up the previous one. The way out of this endless cycle is to learn to keep clam and be truthful.

THE PRINCIPLE IS ALWAYS TO BE SINCERE AND TRUTHFUL.

Instead of reacting in an escapist manner, when confronted with a situation which feels threatening or which you feel you do not know how to deal with, take a deep breath and breathe out the anxiety and fear. Then explain the situation by telling the truth.

In the Digha Nikaya, the Buddha says: “By giving up false speech, one becomes a speaker of truth….thus becoming a trustworthy and reliable person….. Giving up harsh speech, he says what is gentle and pleasant, pleasing to the ear, affectionate and like by most (DN1).” There is no more necessity to lie.

Taking the earlier scenario as an example, Joan should simply explain the situation, that she was held up by the teacher and caught in the traffic, etc. Furthermore, not only do we need to explain, we need to explain calmly and clearly, and not get caught up in our emotions. Always be kind and gentle in your speech.

3. Courage and Acceptance

Most teen know that it is their fault for not keeping a promise. But they are just too afraid to face the music. It might be helpful to seek inspiration from the life stories of great people in the past. For example, George Washington, the first president of America, chopped down his father’s favourite cherry tree but was brave enough to admit his deed when questioned. We need to learn to be courageous, admit our misdeeds and accept the punishment, if any. Courage is a good attribute (quality) to develop. It will certainly enhances our development as responsible adult.

4. Responsibility and Trust-Building

It is your responsibility to inform your parents if you are late. For example, if you are caught up in a traffic jam, you could simply use your mobile phone to send a text message, or better, telephone one of your parents to tell them why you will be late. Do not wait for your parents to call you. Such an act of responsibility will certainly build your parents’ trust in you.

5. Time Management

Some teens simply lack time management skills. When your parents ask when you will be home, you should not give an unrealistic time. Otherwise, you will be unable to keep to the time promised. The ultimate consequence is that your parents become upset and you lose even more trust from your parents.

Learn to work out how much time is needed to travel from point A to point B. Let’s take the earlier case as and example again – in this case, library to home. In addition Joan will also need to factor in time for packing-up, time for lunch, even for answering nature’s call, and also have some time allocated for walking between bus stops and train stations; even time waiting for the bus and train.

Likewise, after you have worked out a realistic time, you may wish to add a few extra minutes’ allowance to ensure you return home on time or even earlier.

6. Empathy

Try to put yourself in the shoes of your parents. How would your parents feel when you are not home by the promise time? Most parents would worry. They become concerned for their beloved child – are you in an accident? Are you safe?

HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU ARE A PARENT?

7. Patience

Be patient; it takes time for you to earn your parents’ trust. If you continue to act in a responsible an mature way, eventually you will gain their trust.

Parents will usually let go and give you more freedom once they notice you are mature and responsible.

Saint Francis de Sales said what was necessary for a contemplative life was “a cup of understanding, a barrel of love, and an ocean of patience.”

In essence, we need to re-learn the ancient wisdom handed down by the ancient sages. The Right Speech in the Noble Eightfold Path and the Buddhist Teaching on Loving-Kindness is a good guideline for more effective communication.

[garywonghc]

Wake Up to the Revolution

by Thich Nhat Hanh

We can all experience a feeling of deep admiration and love when we see the great harmony, elegance, and beauty of the earth. A simple branch of cherry blossom, the shell of a snail, or the wing of a bat—all bear witness to the earth’s masterful creativity. Every advance in our scientific understanding deepens our admiration and love for this wondrous planet.

When we can truly see and understand the earth, love is born in our hearts. We feel connected. That is the meaning of love: to be at one. Only when we’ve fallen back in love with the earth will our actions spring from reverence and the insight of our interconnectedness.

Yet many of us have become alienated from the earth. We are lost, isolated, and lonely. We work too hard, our lives are too busy, and we are restless and distracted, losing ourselves in consumption. But the earth is always there for us, offering us everything we need for our nourishment and healing: the miraculous grain of corn, the refreshing stream, the fragrant forest, the majestic snow-capped mountain peak, and the joyful birdsong at dawn.

We need to consume in a way that keeps our compassion alive. Yet many of us consume in a way that is violent. Forests are cut down to raise cattle for beef or to grow grain for liquor while millions in the world are dying of starvation.

Reducing the amount of meat we eat and alcohol we consume by 50 percent is a true act of love for ourselves, for the earth, and for one another. Eating with compassion can already help transform the situation our planet is facing and restore balance.

There’s a revolution that needs to happen and it starts from inside each one of us. We need to wake up and fall in love with the earth.