Wednesday, April 30, 2014

What Makes Us free? / Wise Speech

The quotes below were excerpted from an article titled "What Makes Us Free" which was published in the January, 2014 issue of Shambhala Sun Magazine. This was an interview with Insight Meditation teachers Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein at northern California's Spirit Rock Meditation Center, moderated by Michelle Latvala [ML]. These excerpts represent about 1% of the interview. the entire interview is available from Shambhala Sun.


A canine Buddhist zealot.

Re: Effective meditation practice:

Joseph Goldstein: 

"The other thing that can really transform the quality of practice in our lives is understanding and practicing wise speech. We speak a lot in our daily lives, but how many of us pay attention to the motivation for our words before we speak? Probably not that many! We're in conversation, whether it's at work or with friends and family, and the words just tumble out. Sometimes they're motivated by wholesome, loving qualities, and sometimes not.

My favorite Pali word is samphappalapa. It means exactly what it sounds like--useless talk. I love the practice of watching my mind about to samphappalapa, because the tendency is so strong to speak for the sake of speaking. That has no value, no purpose. By seeing that "about to", you can then think, "No, I don't have to do that." It's amazing how free we feel in that moment of restraint."

Jack Kornfield:

"When the texts begin, 'Oh nobly born' or 'You are the sons and daughters of the awakened ones,' they help us remember who we are. They point to our capacity for joy, well-being, and freedom. That motivates and strengthens our practice."

ML: "One of the Buddha's most fundamental teachings is that we need to incline the mind toward wholesome states that bring happiness and away from unwholesome states that cause suffering. Could you tell us more about how to practice that?"

Joseph Goldstein:

"So with the two truths as a framework we can think about inclining the mind toward the wholesome. The Buddha gave a very powerful discourse on this in which he described two kinds of thoughts. Put the thoughts rooted in greed, hatred, and delusion on one side, he said, and the thoughts rooted in generosity, love, and wisdom on the other. Then as we see what is arising in our minds, we can decide which thoughts we should let go of and which we should cultivate."

The Buddha said that what we frequently think about and ponder will become the inclination of our mind. When thoughts go through our mind we tend to think of them as isolated--a thought is arising, now it's passing away. What we don't consider is that every time a particular kind of thought arises, it is deepening and strengthening that neural pathway in the brain. The more frequently we think about or ponder certain kinds of thoughts, the more established these pathways become. So we are creating our lives. We are creating our future lives through the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that we're having now.

So it's essential that we understand which are wholesome thoughts--those are the pathways worth deepening--and which thoughts and emotions are unskillful. Those are worth letting go of so we're not unconsciously deepening their pathways.

...all thoughts are empty. They're really very unsubstantial. There's not much to them, whatever their content is.

ML: 

One of the Buddha's most fundamental teachings is that we need to incline the mind toward wholesome states that bring happiness and away from unwholesome states that cause suffering. Could you tell us more about how to practice that?

Joseph Goldstein: [Much abbreviated like all responses quoted here].

So with the two truths as a framework, we can think about inclining the mind toward the wholesome. The Buddha gave a very powerful discourse on this in which he described two kinds of thoughts. Put the thoughts rooted in greed, hatred, and delusion on one side, he said, and the thoughts rooted on generosity, love, and wisdom on the other. Then as we see what is arising in our minds, we can decide which thoughts we should let go of and which we should cultivate.

The Buddha said that what we frequently think about and ponder will become the inclination of our mind. ...every time a particular kind of thought arises, it is deepening and strengthening that neural pathway in the brain. The more frequently we think about or ponder certain kinds of thoughts, the more established these pathways become. So we are creating our lives. We are creating our future lives through the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that we're having now.

So it is essential that we understand which are wholesome thoughts---those are the pathways worth deepening--and which thoughts and emotions are unskillful. Those are worth letting go of so we're not unconsciously deepening their pathways.

...at the more ultimate level, all thoughts are empty. They're really very unsubstantial. There's not much to them, whatever their content is.

ML:

We all face adversity, conflict, and fear in our lives. How does Buddhism help us deal with them?

Jack Kornfield:

So the first thing is to recognize that life itself entails difficulty and conflict at times, and that's not the problem. The real issue [ PGO "issue"=newspeak California euphemism. = "oldspeak" New York bluntness: "problem"; "Issue" = "Problem".] is how we respond.

Joseph Goldstein:

It is interesting how often we don't take responsibility for the suffering or disturbance in our own minds. We think it's somebody else who is making us feel a certain way.

It's very empowering to realize that it's totally up to us how we relate to the situation [italics are PGO's]. Nobody makes us relate to our own emotions or external situation in a particular way. Conditions may arise that bring up anger or fear, but how we relate to them is totally up to us [italics are PGO's]. 

ML:

All of the Buddhist traditions are available and practiced in America today, which has never really happened before in Buddhist history. Can you talk about the challenges of that, as well as the benefit of incorporating different methods?

Jack Kornfield:

But Buddhism is not some system or idea or set of beliefs. It is an invitation to have a direct experience of the mystery of your own body and mind. We explore what causes our suffering and what makes us free.

...if your practice is helping you become more present with the way things are, instead of imposing some view on it, then you will start to feel freer and your practice will deepen.

ML:

What advice did your teachers in Asia give you about how to present Buddhism in the West?

Jack Kornfield:

When I was coming back to the United States from Asia, Ajahn Chah said to me, "Find whatever language works for people so you can help them understand how to alleviate suffering, how to let go of their fears and confusion. If you want to call it Christianity, do that--use whatever language is helpful to people."

Joseph Goldstein:

My first dharma teacher said: "If you want to understand the mind, sit down and observe it."



Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Be A Lamp Unto Yourself

By the [East] Indian painter Aziz. "Buddha Purinama". 3 dimensional mural painting.

" In order to produce the powerful energy of enlightenment, compassion, understanding, you need a sangha, a community."--Thich Nhat Hanh

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"Lamps of Enlightenment." 2007. Collage on canvas board. 8" x 10".
 Buddhist art collage made in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Includes images of: The
 Dalai Lama,Sakyong Mipham, Pema Chodron, Silvia Boorstein, Roshi Joan 
Halifax, Thich Nhat Hanh andmany other Buddhist teachers.

This collage is available for print on demand from:
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 The quotes below are from "In Search of the Genuine" by Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo which was published in the January 2014 issue of Shambhala Sun Magazine.

"We self medicate with denial."

"We ordinary human beings are filled with self-attachment, which causes us to have all kinds of hidden agendas and unconscious motivations."

"On the Buddhist path, motivation is paramount. Motivation can seem like a small thing, but actually it is everything. After all, it only takes a single match to burn down a forest. Even very small thoughts and actions can be the cause of things that are very great or very destructive."

"When we lack mindfulness, we forget to reflect on and maintain a positive and unselfish motivation. Checking in with what is happening within us and becoming more mindful of our own selfish thought patterns help us purify and cultivate a more genuine motivation.  ...work for the benefit of others and, ultimately, for peace."   

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" Be A Lamp Unto Yourself" poster by Peter Gumaer Ogden. Archival giclee print is available from:http://peter-gumaer-ogden.fineartamerica.com



The Quotes below are from "Be A Lamp Unto Yourself" by Larry Rosenberg which appeared in the January 2014 issue of Shambhala Sun Magazine.

"...open you mind to take a fresh look at your views and opinions, and to accept nothing on faith alone. As you practice, you will be encouraged to investigate your most cherished convictions..."

"You live in a great swirling spiritual marketplace, full of promises and claims."

"Do you really want freedom? Can you handle the responsibility? Or would you just prefer an impressive teacher to provide answers and do the hard work for you?"

"He [Buddha] cautions us against blind obedience to the authority of traditions and teachers, or to the authority of our own ideas. He also cautions against blind obedience to reason and logic."

"Whatever is unskillful, leading to harm or suffering for you and others, should be recognized and abandoned. Whatever is skillful, leading to happiness and peace for you and others, should be pursued."

"...he [Buddha] gave us a set of practices that emphasizes learning how to live and how to lessen suffering, called the four noble truths: there is suffering; there is a cause of suffering, which is craving and attachment; there is cessation of suffering; and there is a path of practice that brings about this cessation."

"...ethics, stability of mind, and wisdom."

"Rather than rush to let go, he [Ajahn Chah] urged us to make direct contact with the suffering and to see whether it was caused by some form or craving and attachment, of wanting things to be other than the way they were."
 


 Seret and Sons. Santa Fe, New Mexico. Photo: copyright 2010 Peter Gumaer Ogden.
 

 Buddha at Seret and Son, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Photo: copyright 2010 Peter Gumaer Ogden
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The quotes below are taken from "You have the Buddha in You / An Interview with Thich Nhat Hanh" which appeared in the January 2014 issue of Shambhala Sun Magazine. The interviewer is Andrea Miller. The excerpts here represent only about 1% of the article.

AM: "What is the role of a teacher in spiritual practice?"

TNH: "You have to be intelligent and not be dependent on your teacher. If you follow him or her with blind faith, it's not good."*[see my note below].

AM: "Why is it important for Buddhism to evolve?"

TNH: "Society has changed. Young people have a lot of suffering, a lot of doubt. If you want them to ponder the sound of one hand clapping or ask them if a dog has buddhanature, they cannot stand it. If you continue to teach like that, you lose people. Buddhism has become marginal in Korea and Japan because that is what they are doing."

"Throughout the history of Buddhism, teachers tried to offer the teachings in such a way as to respond to the needs of their time. If they invented silent illumination, if they invented koans, it was because at that time those things worked. But when these things do not work anymore, why cling to them?"

"Our practice has to respond to the suffering of modern people."
"Vietnamese Buddhism is very close to original Buddhism..."

AM: "Some people say that once someone reaches enlightenment, they no longer produce karma. What do you think of that?"

TNH: "Karma is action. When you produce a thought, that's karma, either good or bad. When you say something, that's karma. When you do something, that's karma. ...you cannot say that the Buddha, because he is enlightened, has stopped producing karma. That's not true."
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TNH: " To be happy is the real success."

AM: "In our society, it feels like everything's speeding up and people are feeling overwhelmed."

TNH: The problem is that people believe that happiness is in the future. We are running away from ourselves, our families, and nature. We lose ourselves in our little devices. I myself have a 'Now Watch.' When I look for the hour, it always says 'Now.'"  

AM: "How do we find a positive purpose for our lives?
TNH: "Instead of wrong view, you want right view. Instead of wrong thinking, you want right thinking--thinking with compassion and understanding."
AM: "What is the key to happiness?"
TNH: "Stopping and learning to be happy in the present moment is the key. Buddhism is the teaching of waking up."
*Note: "...it's not good." This is the language of rational instruction in wise behavior. It is NOT the type of moralistic, judging, absolutist religious language which uses such words as: "wrong", "a sin", an "abomination", etc. --PGO

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peterogden7x7@yahoo.com

Monday, April 28, 2014

Hear the Earth Crying


The Zen teacher and poet Thich Nhat Hanh was asked, "What do we most need to do to save our world?" His answer was this: "What we most need to do is to hear within us the sounds of the Earth crying".

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"You are not alone! We are part of a vast, global movement: the epochal transition from empire to Earth community. This is the Great Turning. And the excitement, the alarm, even the overwhelm we feel, are all part of our waking up to this collective adventure.

Our corporate economy is destroying both itself and the natural world. Its effect on living systems is what David Korten calls the Great Unraveling. It is happening at the same time as the Great Turning, and we cannot know which way the story will end.

Our intention and our resolve can save us from getting lost in grief.

Joanna Macy, Ph.D. in the Winter 2011 issue of Tricycle.


The Three Resolutions and the Ten Precepts



THE THREE GENERAL RESOLUTIONS

  1.  I resolve to avoid evil.
  2.  I resolve to do good.
  3.  I resolve to liberate all sentient beings.

THE TEN CARDINAL PRECEPTS

  1.  I resolve not to kill, but to cherish all life.
  2.  I resolve not to take what is not given, but to respect the things of others.
  3.  I resolve not to misuse sexuality, but to be caring and responsible.
  4.  I resolve not to lie but to speak the truth.
  5.  I resolve not to cause others to abuse alcohol or drugs, nor to do so myself, but to keep the mind clear.
  6.  I resolve not to speak of the faults of others, but to be understanding and sympathetic.
  7.  I resolve not to praise myself and disparage others, but to overcome my own shortcomings.
  8.  I resolve not to withhold spiritual or material aid, but to give them freely where needed.
  9.  I resolve not to indulge in anger, but to practice forbearance.
10.  I resolve not to revile the Three Treasures [Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha], but to cherish and uphold them.  -Source: Rochester Zen Center


Monday, April 7, 2014

Miscellaneous Quotes Relative to Buddhism


1. "...our choices in conduct do indeed matter, literally---they materialize in consequences."

2. "...refraining from acting, speaking, or thinking in such a way as to cause harm."

-Bodhin Kjolhede in Tricycle Magazine, Winter 2011


3. "...when we act upon our more cooperative impulses, then both personal and collective suffering is diminished. The quality of our intention determines the quality of our disposition, which in turn determines the quality of our intention. If our goal ultimately is to be happier and to live in a better world, then it becomes skillful to abandon what causes harm and to develop what increases well-being."
 
4. "As with such martial arts as aikido, we can yield at every step and still wind up on top. Wisdom involves understanding cause and effect and thereby being able to see several moves ahead. "

- Andrew Olendzki [" Primordial Soup "]; Tricycle Magazine, Winter 2011.


5.  "We must cultivate responsibility for our actions and their consequences--not just at an individual level but also at a social, political, economic, and ecological level."

-Michael Stone ["G-20 Dharma. Nonviolence and engaged living."]; Tricycle Magazine, Winter 2011.