Mass Distraction

This may be different for certain people.  But what would happen if you turned off your TV, stepped away from your games, or stayed home from the pub?  Just with silence around and nothing to do.  Would you feel lost?  Confused as to what to do to past the time?

Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh said in a Dharma talk that, we thrive on these distractions because we are afraid of ourselves/one's own mind.  The more I think about this, and the more I try to break away from these stimuli, the more I find it is true.

Our present day is filled with a constant stream of input and data.  90% of it is essentially useless in all truth.  It's filler, not unlike the foods we think we taste with other elements mixed in.  It distracts us from who we truly are and who we can be.  But how many of us take time to take that inward step to realize what we are and where we are?

Understandably, not everybody's life can include a long period of solitude.  But what about a half hour, or even twenty minutes a day to reflect and be mindful of where we are and what we do?  Just to mindfully breathe and realize that we are not the only thing that matters. What we do inevitably influences others in some way. 

This is important even to the non-Buddhist.  It can be stress relieving, and open the mind to more things than a self-centered reality. 

Marrow of the Bone

What is spirituality or religion?  What is life?  By seeing the two as separate things, we create a dualistic view and feel one is separate from another.

As Katagiri Roshi puts it,
down to the marrow of your bones.

True practice, as defined by many masters such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Katagiri Roshi, and Dogen Zenji, is total unification of the both.  In other words life is spirituality, and spirituality is life.  This is living a true spiritual life.

This idea isn't just for monks and priests, but for anybody who claims  they are spiritual, Buddhist, Christian, etc.  Pardon my words, but what is the point of a half-ass practice?

To see the true rewards of practice, this is what must be done; a complete unifying of life and practice.  The Buddha and all Bodhisattvas were only human and they were able to do this.  Saints of other practices have also realized this.

rcz.org

What are ways we as Buddhists can achieve this?  A continuation of practice.  Zazen/meditation, daily sutras and chanting, and living mindfully.  I believe this is also one of the reasons that there is The Noble Eightfold Path.  Of course it may not happen immediately if you are new to Buddhism, but always keep the words of the teachers and masters who have said the same thing as I have here and you will surely be able to live a truly spiritual-life.

In Gassho

To Suffer Is To Practice

When I was taught that suffering and enlightenment are one in the same, it was hard for me to accept immediately.  I looked at it more deeply, over time realized how true it is.

Lotus Flowers

 

Everyone suffers daily.  To practice is how to handle the suffering, and work towards the end of that suffering.  I was listening to a Dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh, and he said, "Suffering is to enlightenment as mud is to the lotus flower.  Without suffering we cannot know enlightenment, without mud a lotus cannot bloom."  This makes sense why the lotus is such an icon and major symbol in Buddhism.

We can never truly stop suffering, it is a holy truth.  It's the manner in which we accept it and work with it that defines our practice.  From my own practice, much of my suffering stems from my desires and ego.  To each person it may be different in their practice.  This is also why enlightenment/Buddhism is a very personal experience and why the Buddha tells us to "Find our own light."

Having learned this personally, my practice has taken on more meaning.   To live is to suffer, to suffer is to practice, to practice is joy.  We are all enlightened beings and we all suffer. All we need is to practice with our lives to realize this and then we can know peace.

Gassho

What's Wrong?

What's wrong?
I'm sure we've all heard this question before when somebody notices we are upset.  But is anything really wrong?  Just because we are upset by something doesn't mean that emotion is technically wrong.  We have to accept and acknowledge all of our emotions.  If we never suffered, how could we learn some important life-lessons?

Also, the phrase "What's wrong?" can invalidate another's emotion.  Try to be mindful of what the other is feeling and suffering from.  Most of the time there is a reason they are suffering which we could possibly learn from or offer our compassion and mindfulness to the matter to help them heal.

By accepting, acknowledging, and being mindful our unpleasant emotions, it helps us heal them faster.  We recognize the cause of the suffering, and the remedy.  I like to think of our joy as a flowing stream.

A flowing stream turns and encounters obstacles in its course.  The rocks and turns are like unpleasant emotions and suffering. They don't completely  block the stream. The water just acknowledges something is in the way, accepts that it cannot change it, and finds a way to flow around.

Why be unhappy if you can change the problem?  What's the use of being unhappy if you cannot change the problem?  Accept it, fix it if you can, and return to being.

Thich Nhat Hanh states in The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching that, "Our feelings are formations, impermanent and without substance. We learn not to identify ourselves with our feelings, not to consider them as a self, not to seek refuge in them, not to die because of them."  Clinging to our emotions is a high risk action.  It can elevate our suffering when we don't have joy, or by letting our unpleasant emotions fester by not letting them pass.
So is something wrong when you are upset?  Or is it just the course of things?  Nothing is technically wrong, it just is, and we need to accept that.

This Too, Shall Pass

One of the Buddha's most important lessons was that of impermanence.  When we can realize that everything is impermanent, we can begin to find freedom from our desires and suffering.

  

The acceptance and realization of impermanence helps us in many ways.  It can help us along in the grieving process (there is no escape of age or death), it can help us say "No" to other's offers (if I drink this alcohol, the buzz is only temporary and may cause others suffering), and physical pain (in most cases).  Even our emotions come and go, such as anger and joy.

But we can't just say to our pain/suffering, "You are impermanent, so GO AWAY!"  We need to acknowledge our suffering or pain to figure out the root cause and also to transform that suffering into healing.  Being mindful of impermanence will also help us be more appreciative of our loved ones.  We know that we wont be here forever, we know we will probably outlive our pets, and our parents.

Our bodies, scientifically, are impermanent during our life.  Different than the were roughly six to nine months ago.  Because of cell replication, old cells die off, new ones are created, and our skeletons even recycle themselves.

Thich Nhat Hanh says in his book, The Heart of the Buddha's Teachings, "Impermanence is what makes transformation possible."  This is very true.  How could we become enlightened or further ourselves if what we were (our habits, emotions, etc) were permanent?

It impermanence that helps turn suffering into joy.