Wavelenghts

Sometimes we say "We're on the same wavelength" when meeting or talking to somebody.  Others sometimes are on a totally different wavelength.

Harmony

To practice understanding, acceptance and compassion to all involves a harmony of wavelengths on all levels.  How can one do this?  Perhaps with mindfulness, understanding, and unbiased opinion, or abolishing ego.  I know in posts past I have gone on about "ego."  But this is really what drags us down as humans.  We put ourselves first and cling to the idea that "I am" or "I need."  

So what if we could be on the wavelength of anybody?  I personally am trying to do this myself, trying to judge others less, and accept people.  Of course there are people I don't want to be involved in my personal life, and I have made measures to do so.  I don't believe this to be hypocritical, there are just people out there who may have a negative influence on you or people who are holding you back from what you believe is your potential. Though, to understand life and this "whole" we need to understand everybody and everything without exception.  

In short, it's important to have a wavelength or form of understanding to give compassion and acceptance to all beings.  Also it is very important to realize the influence and affect we all have on each other.

In Gassho.  _/\_

Inner-Peace and Happiness

A member of our Sangha asked a question which inspired me for this post.  "Do you think there is a difference between inner-peace and happiness?"

I believe there is a difference but they are definitely interconnected.  To me, happiness is an emotional response to conditions and events.  Inner-peace is a mindset (for lack of a better term) which allows us to accept conditions, whatever they may be, and can be the root for happiness.  The Buddha himself valued inner-peace above happiness.

With a clear mind and inner-peace we can accept suffering with less stress and figure out the root cause of it.  That lessening of stress inevitably leads to happiness.  Of course, we as humans aren't always happy.  We always have a desire for what "is best in our view."  Though through inner-peace, we can realize that we are able disregard what "is best in our view" by extinction of ego and desire.  Therefore, happiness ensues.

Guest Post: Earth Hour

This post is by my wife who writes her own blog at Living In Iowa.

 I firmly believe that we all have a spiritual connection to the earth. When the Buddha sat under the bodi tree battling Mara to reach enlightenment, Mara asked him, “Who will be your witness?” The Buddha pointed to the earth and touched it and the earth shook. “The earth will be my witness,” he replied.
 

The earth is an integral and foundation part of our lives—without it, we are literally, nothing. A while back I was thinking about the impact I want to have on the earth. We have an almost automatic give and take relationship with the earth. Plants give oxygen that we take and breathe in. We breath out and give carbon dioxide that plants take and breathe in. Unfortunately, this original balance of give and take has been thrown out of kilter by or current industrialized society. While thinking about my impact on the earth during my lifetime, I realized that if I continue to live in the way I am, I will mostly certainly take far more from the earth than I give.

So, I decided it was time to make an attempt to restore the balance. There are sooooooo many things we can to do restore and rehabilitated the earth. What is most important is to start with your corner. How are you consuming products and energy? How can you reduce your consumption of goods and energy? How can you give back? 

I’ve figured out ways that I can give back in my neighborhood include gardening, composting, recycling, buying local foods, and utilizing bike trails. I also participated in earth hour this year. Earth Hour calls on individuals, businesses, communities and governments to commit to developing a habit that is a positive action for the planet. To celebrate that commitment with the people of the world, Earth Hour asks participants to switch off their lights and anything else plugged into an outlet (within reason) for one designated hour ever year.

This year Earth Hour was planned for March 26th at 8:30pm. My Earth Hour habit that I am committing myself to is "Killing my TV" or yanking out the cable and only using my TV set to watch DVD's. As of March 26th, my cable can take a hike, and so will I...OUTSIDE.

Diamonds Are Forever

I have recently read the Diamond Sutra and it has taken my mind for a spin.  Not only does it discuss the Six Paramitas, but some other hefty stuff as well.

I'm gonna discuss the more hefty stuff in this post, like the arbitrary-ness of everything.  After reading this sutra, I don't even know if adjectives are relevant.  It expresses that everything is a phenomenon and that base-reality holds no ideals. Opinions and describing words or adjectives, are all arbitrary and based on Ego.

In absolute reality there is no ugly, no pretty, no bright, no dark. Everybody's opinion is different. These are all comparative words relating to the opinion of ego.

The Buddha tells us in The Diamond Sutra that all of these phenomena are merely expressions, and in absolute reality, these expressions are actually non-existent.  We, like all phenomena, are empty, and must realize this to cross to the other shore.

I believe this is the meaning of "being empty."  Disregarding ego and opinions. In doing so, we can truly see absolute reality. If we toss out bias and opinion, accept, and truly "empty our cup." This also gives rise to equanimity and loving everybody for who they are,  (which of course can be difficult sometimes).

It's not that we can't express our opinions, but we shouldn't hold onto them.  If we realize it's only phenomena and holds no substance, then we can see everything at its base, in absolute reality. Diamonds are the hardest and toughest substance, which have the ability to cut through any other substance.  We need to forge our minds in the way of a diamond to cut through illusion and that which is arbitrary, to view the universe and life in its true state; absolute.

Yang, Yin, Interdependency

I would like to discuss in detail the symbol of the "Yin-Yang" and how it's more that just a symbol for opposites. Many believe or have been told that the Yin Yang represents opposites, i.e.  Heaven & Earth, dark & light, male & female, etc.  If the symbol only suggested and represented only opposites, it would be like this:

 But the Yin Yang, (actually pronounced "yeen yongh"), is distinctly characterized by it's curved lines.  This takes the symbolism to a whole new level: Interdependency. Nothing in the universe is only just Yin or Yang.  Yang contains Yin, and Yin contains Yang, and that's why the lines are curved.
Buddhism and Taoism teach us that every thing co-arises.  You couldn't have the egg without the chicken and you couldn't have the chicken without the egg.  The Buddha himself spoke,
"This is because that is, that is not because this is not, this comes to be because that comes to be, that ceases to be because this ceases to be."  There is no cause and effect, there are no opposites, everything is part of everything else, everything is condition.
The Tao-Teh-Ching also states in Chapter Thirty-Six:
"Before one can contract a thing, it must first be extended; before anything can be weakened, it must first be made strong, before anything can be wasted, it must be present; before one can take a thing by force, someone else must give it up."

As we can see, all of the circumstances mentioned in Chapter Thirty Six, (and in many other chapters of the book), are all interdependent.

On another note of interdependency, you are reading this because the universe produced the earth, the earth produced oil, the oil was drilled and made into plastic, the plastics were molded into shapes, a technician put the plastic shapes together to make a computer, you purchased the computer, etc.  If we look deeply enough into anything we see that it is all connected.  Even the chair you may sit on was once a seed from a tree, given light from the sun and water from the clouds with rain, turned into a tree, cut down by a logger, a carpenter took the wood and furnished it into a chair, with his saws and nails deriving from iron ore found in the earth, which was hardened into the ore millions of years ago by the earth orbiting the sun.  It's a full circle.

Now going back to the Yin Yang, the Yang of the sun wouldn't be without the Yin of space to give light, producing photosynthesis to grow the tree, the Yin of the cutting the tree down, and the Yang of the fire in the furnace to harden the wood, etc.

Even in martial arts, the Yin Yang is very applicable.  When we strike, that is Yang, when we evade that is Yin.  You cannot only be a forward moving Yang, you must yield and advance.

In conclusion, everything is essentially a lot more than what it seems to be.  I hope this gives a better representation of the Yin Yang than just opposites.

The original symbol had arrows signifying the interweaving of energies, made popular again by Bruce Lee with Jeet Kune Do.