Category Archives: Buddhism
Letting go of Buddhism
At the end of the road you will find your self in the boat that has been dragged onto the shore, hesitant to leave it.
It has been your loyal companion and home for so long. I am of course talking about the boat that was to bring you to the other side. Buddhism.
When reaching some level of enlightenment and understanding you naturally become deeply grateful for what Buddhism has brought to your life.
And there are many places in the literature that warns of getting attached to the boat. At the end you must let go of Buddhism as well, to fully become a Buddhist.
It is like the famous painting of a pipe, where the plague below says “this is not a pipe”, and people may look confounded because to them it looks like a pipe, even though it is a painting.
And so, we must not confuse being a Buddhist with Buddhism. Buddhism being the vehicle and not the state.
Finding your self in that boat-on-shore situation you can turn to U.G. Krishnamurti. He will dispel any such attachments at once.
Buddhist Holidays and Festivals
Buddhist year 2561 is the year 2018 in the calendar based on the birth of Jesus.
Buddhism celebrates many holidays and festivals, most of which commemorate important events in the life of the Buddha or various Bodhisattvas. The date of the holidays are based on the lunar calendar and often differ by country and tradition.
Buddhist holidays are joyful occasions. A festival day normally begins with a visit to the local temple, where one offers food or other items to the monks and listens to a Dharma talk. The afternoon might consist of distributing food to the poor to earn merit, circumambulating (walking around) the temple three times in honor of the Three Jewels, chanting and meditation.
Some of the most important Buddhist holidays and festivals are briefly outlined below.
The fabric of persona
A psychotherapist once said to me that the human fabric was very tough. That it took so much to change a behavior. Even if the person he was trying to help wished for it ever so much.
In Buddhist circles, there is often talk about how much work one has to do before reaching enlightenment, or awakening. A few teaches ventures to say that there is no work involved at all, that you can become wise in a brief moment. What are you waiting for?
There is a reluctance to change. And so there is.
This reluctance is preventing you from change. It is a firmness that you think makes you the person you are. A fear that if you let go and change some ideas that you would unravel, become unattractive, lose your job, lose friends and so on.
What is fear?
Lets try to break it down a little.
There are 24 negative emotions of the heart. Anger (Krodha), Confinement (Upanah), Hypocrisy (Mrikshapradana), Envy or Jealousy (Irshya), Malice (Matsarya) and so forth.
If you look deeply you see that they all have the same nature. Their fabric is fear.
All fear is in egoic mind, there are no lions or wolfs where you and I live.
Fear is always related to the past or the future. Never to the present.
Now already the picture is clearer.
Also you are never in the present, always in the future or the past.
It would seem you are always the same place as fear. Coincidence?
On a Thursday you are running late and on your way back from work you get a flat tire, so you are late for supper. You get into a quarrel with your spouse and the kids cry. It is a “horrible” day.
Now you (mind) will try to avoid this from happening ever again. It will start looking for similarities to give you an early warning. Any given moment it will inquire if this could lead to the same bad situation. If it does you will feel fear arise in any of the 24 forms depending on the type if threat. We are much evolved in this regard.
But this is not the end of it. As we become older and more seasoned we will eventually start fabricating measures. We tire of looking for early signs instead we try to navigate so we can feel save without looking.
And in this trying to prevent you from future sorrows YOU are born.
This is why Krishnamurti wrote “Fear IS you. You ARE fear”.
If you look you will see that faith is the antidote to fear.
The pledge
These (judgmental) thoughts arise in my conscious awareness.
I did not invite them or create them.
They are the past karma of the human race.
I shall endeavour to give them the love they craved when they were born long time ago.
They shall come to rest in me, and not pas on to the next generation through me.
I shall make room for them in my heart.
I wow to not hate them or hold any aversion towards them.
I can release my self from their suffering by granting them unlimited love in my heart.
I pledge to melt this iceberg of uncried tears.
Acceptance & no-judgement
Acceptance is;
A quality of presence.
No concepts, thoughts and ideas.
Yes instead of no. There is agreeing to it.
A willingness to let go. If you experience a feeling of holding on, then you must let it go.
Being completely free, of a voice that is saying you are doing it wrong.
Just to experience what is there. Just touching the moment.
To notice where there is non-acceptance.
This too. This too is ok.
If i feel it in my body i see there is anger.
And if i bring acceptance and attention to that.
I realise that it is fear. Feel it in my body, fear, fear, in my throwte
I see it is fear that i will loose something,
or someone will destroy my happyness.
And if i accept the fear and look at it, i realise it is careing.
It is love.
And then i can let it live in my body because i understand this now.
So by accepting this anger, i can move into the next understanding.
If I do not accept it, reject it, then i will just be reactionary to it.
Accept is not giving up. It is loving as is, loving without change.
Tonglen meditation
All-Embracing Compassion: The Heart-Practice of Tonglen. As human beings, we have a very interesting habit of resisting what is unpleasant and seeking what is pleasurable. We resist, avoid, and deny suffering and we continually grasp at pleasure. If we observe our behavior, it is easy to see that we habitually resist and avoid people, situations, and feelings we consider to be painful, unpleasant, or uncomfortable, and we are naturally attracted to people, situations, and feelings we consider pleasant, comfortable, and gratifying.
According to Buddhist teachings, this behavior is a symptom of fundamental ignorance and is influenced by the defilements of greed (attachment), hatred (aversion), and delusion (misperception of reality). To break the spell of this dualistic perception, to dissolve the barriers in our hearts that keep us feeling separate from others, and to cultivate a deep compassion for all living beings, including ourselves, we need to meet and embrace reality in a radically new way.
All buddha’s
In the suffering is also the possibility of becoming enlightened. And the Buddha often tried to teach his followers by asking difficult questions.
So you may consider every person you meet to be a Buddha, who is trying to teach you something, or giving you a challenge.
That is one of my most important mantras. I always think about what I can learn from the people i meet. Especially the difficult ones.
Split personality
“I can’t stand my self, i can’t live with my self”
“I am ashamed of my self”
“I am always pushing my self”
“I am afraid I will not live up to peoples expectations”
Think about this very common thoughts. There is no doubt whatsoever that there is two parties involved.
There is “I” and “myself”.
Buddhism is about becoming myself, and choking the “I”.
The western condition is that we have been hi-jacked by some alien being, that keep tormenting us.
In the East they have been educated to not let the “I” take over your life.
Don’t strive
What I am is what I want to be. I am already perfect.
If I crave to be somewhere or someone else, then I do not appriciate my self or this place.
Make peace with the condition or place or mood.
Don’t strive or crave. Be.