The Unemployed Buddhist –Closing

I’m told that the time has finally come when our company will cease operations. I feel conflicted about the closing, which is supposed to be Friday. I am nervous about the prospect of being unemployed, while simultaneously relieved to be getting off this freakin ride.

It’s strange how you can be vigilant about the details of something and be totally blindsided by what seems to be a completely arbitrary event.
I would have expected the end of our company to be the result of poor sales, poor management, or both. As it happens, our undoing is the direct result of our major shareholders greed.

When I last posted to this topic I wrote that I had much to say, but that the timing wasn’t right to Blog. I’m not sure that the timing will ever be right, but here I Blog anyway.

Brutus
You may have read about our ‘Brutus’ recently, or seen coverage about him on TV; he is the Indianapolis millionaire accused of running a ponzi scheme. You can read the details yourself; the short of it is that he purportedly stole around 200 million from investors.
We have the unfortunate distinction of being one of the ‘assets’ where some of this money was supposedly invested. You can imagine that having the federal government involved in business operations is neither pleasant, nor helpful. Initially, there was a suit aimed at seizing Brutus’s assets, which would have destroyed our company immediately, somehow this action was dropped, but there are still pending charges/accusations.
I’m not really sure why Brutus hasn’t been charged yet, I imagine that the FBI and SEC want to have all their ducks in a row to ensure that Brutus goes away for a long time.

I’ve met Brutus; I even stayed in his mansion once, on a business trip to discuss the performance and future of our company. (And no, I wasn’t there when he was having one of his playboy bunny parties) He is a very smart man; I would venture a guess at an IQ around 160+.
Brutus seemed different than most upper class folks that I’ve met; he had a certain graciousness about him. After taking us out for dinner and drinks, he invited us to come back to the mansion and stay the night, instead of returning to our hotel.

Once we arrived at his home, he gave us a tour of his multi-level garage which is much larger than my house and contained collector cars worth millions. It was all quite impressive, but I was more intrigued by what his perceptible success meant to him.

We had a short discussion about his rise to ‘material wealth’ and it became apparent to me that he was lost in his acquisitions, that he had little or no regard for anything but becoming the richest man alive. I didn’t begrudge him his pride, his idea of success, we all have our illusions. I simply asked him if he was happy, to which he replied, snickering, ‘look around you’.

We had other conversations that night, mostly what I got from them was a sense of his incredible arrogance and disregard for societal norms. He had a cold view about employees and adversaries, akin to Gordon Gekko; portrayed in the movie Wallstreet, in fact, it’s quite possible that Gekko is a hero of his.

The Beginning
I can only imagine the first conversations Brutus had with the Captain about buying a stake in our company; a Great White shark negotiating with a new born baby. I can see the Captain, star struck, eyes wide with amazement as Brutus gently eased the Captain into the worst decision of his life.

The partnership worked well for the Captain for many years, right up until the bottom fell out of the economy and Brutus started feeling the heat of some of his poor business decisions and practices. Brutus still had plenty of money at the time, but he was greedy, he wanted to be liquid so that he could take advantage of discounted stock portfolios and general panic, so that he might acquire more wealth. I imagine that some of this movement of money might be what triggered the initial investigation and now I think he might have greater concerns than trying to become ‘The Richest Man Alive’.

Back to our little company and how this negative activity has sealed our fate.

As I have mentioned in other articles, we have begun generating reasonable income again, but cash flow and debt acquired over the past year and a half continue to be serious threats to the company’s survival. Many of our clients seem to be waiting to see if we are going to pull through before making any payments to us. It’s a rare day when the Captain hasn’t received a call from someone inquiring about our viability. In business as in many things, perception is as influential as reality, and many perceive; correctly, that our company is in big trouble.
The best solution at this time might be to sell the company to some amenable suitor, many have actually inquired about this possibility. The Captain has gone through initial disclosure processes with potentials, to no avail. Pending action from the Fed does seem to be a big bargaining no-no.

Caught in a corner, with no way to help the company, without huge potential loss, the Captain is calling it quits, and who could blame him, he has lost tens of thousands this year alone, and hasn’t paid himself in over six months.

So here we are, at the end of a strange journey and the beginning of something new, who knows what will happen next.

Although the Captain never reads this blog, and I don’t imagine that he ever will, I would like to thank him for all of his tireless efforts over the last year. I have certainly had my issues with the Captain, but I have to say that I’m proud to be associated with a man of such warmth, compassion, and consideration of others.
To all of my co-workers, it has been a pleasure and I hope that your fortunes improve as a result of this change, and that we have occasion to work together again.

Now the reason for this series actually begins, I would have imagined this phase occurring months ago. I’m thankful for the extra time, but I’m really in no better financial position to bear this now than I was six months ago, shame on me.

On a side note: I have begun working with some new clients, thanks to the Captain for the introductions.

It is also extremely cold here, we have had temperatures down in the 30’s, I know, nothing compared to the temperatures the North is experiencing, but very cold for here.

Yesterday I found a gecko next to the door who appeared to be dead, when actually he was more in a state of extreme lethargy, brought on by the cold. I brought him home last night and placed him in a small container with some food. He didn’t eat the food, but he does seem to be much happier today 
I’ll keep yah posted on his progress; hopefully I can release him soon.

Ambud

Thanks to Brit Hume, Buddhism is in the news again. I love reading Buddhist blog entries which are abuzz with chatter about what Buddhism can and can’t provide. Think of all the people who are reading these blogs getting a taste of what Buddhism really is.

As in any controversy the opinions vary widely; from Barbara over at about.com to James at the Buddhist Blog. Some folks are offended, others seem to support what Brit said.
Personally, I am about as interested in what Brit Hume had to say about Buddhism, as I imagine Tiger Woods is, and that’s not very interested. It’s not like Brit had some earth shattering insight that he shared with Tiger and the rest of the Fox News audience, it was merely a simple and ignorant remark supporting his own Christian beliefs; nothing more, nothing less.
I find it interesting that many Buddhists have been asked: what advice they would give Tiger Woods, like it’s somehow our right to get involved with his drama.
I imagine Tiger has much on his mind and I hope that he might find some comfort in meditation or some practice of forgiveness for himself, but ultimately, he will decide where he goes from here.

As for Brit Hume’s comment on Buddhism:

“I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, ‘Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.”

What can we say, if Brit meant that there is no God in Buddhism to look upon Tiger and offer him forgiveness and an opportunity to be liberated from his sins, then perhaps his biggest blunder was proselytizing, which we all know will get you into plenty of trouble with mainstream media and the public.

Generally speaking of course, Buddhism offers plenty of opportunities to forgive ourselves and others. It’s an integral part of any practice which helps develop compassion and equanimity. Redemption from our sins on the other hand is really not a Buddhist idea, mostly because sin is more a Christian construct.
Still Buddhism has morality and sexual misconduct is not the path to enlightenment. We could speak here about Karma etc., but really, I think that would serve to support a misguided idea of Karma as somehow being a moral phenomenon.
We can say that Buddhism will be very helpful to Tiger, if he truly practices it. Following the eightfold path and meditating he might find the peace that we all seek.

I won’t cast stones at Tiger Woods or Brit Hume, I have certainly committed my share of ‘sins’, and said things that I have regretted.

I wish them both happiness and freedom from suffering.

Ambud

The Unemployed Buddhist

Sometimes I’m challenged to find something to write for this Buddhist Blog. This is not the case at the moment; I have much to write about. We are in the midst of some very turbulent times, I am, however, very busy dealing with our business and some unexpected fallout which legally and ethically, I shouldn’t blog about; at this time.

We all understand that change is inevitable; this doesn’t seem to make it any easier. I am happy when I can manage to ‘keep my head’ in such a whirlwind, but lately, I find that I am catching myself lost rather than observing the moment, in the moment. Sometimes my mind tricks me into believing that this situation is different, that it’s ok to let my mind runoff exploring possible actions and consequences to deal with everything that is going on. It’s kind of like playing a game of chess with myself; if this happens, then I will do that, etc. I create much suffering for myself; involved in theoretical possibilities, when my energy could be better spent doing just what is necessary, right now! It is at times like these that I find comfort in the Taoist parable:

Good Bad..Who Knows
There was once an old peasant farmer who lived in the Caucasus region of Eastern Europe with his young son. Together, they just managed to eke out a living by subsistence farming. They owned a small piece of land at the base of the mountain range and one horse, which pulled the plow through the terse earth, guided by the old farmers strong young son. It was a hard life but they were alive and healthy.
Then one-day tragedy struck, some how the gate to the horse’s field came open and their only horse escaped. Without the horse, it was impossible plough and farm the land. Both their meagre income and ability to feed themselves had gone with the horse. The horse represented a massive investment for the farmer and the son, which they could never hope to recoup without the ability to farm.
The neighbours in the area heard about the old farmers misfortunes and were very keen to come round and commiserate with the old man. “Oooh isn’t that just awful, what terrible luck for you both. How on earth will you survive now without your horse?”
“Good, bad, who knows?” replied the old farmer.
A few days later the horse returned to the farm. It had been wandering lost in the mountains and during it’s adventures, it had joined a heard of wild mountain horses. When the horse entered it’s field to be fed, the heard of wild horses followed. The farmer’s son noticed the horses in the field and ran out to close the gate. He managed to capture over thirty wild mountain horses. The farmer and his son had just gone from imminent collapse and starvation to being rich beyond belief in one moment.
The neighbours were back round again to mutter jealously about the old farmers unbelievably good fortune and the amazing turnaround in events.
“Good, bad, who knows?” replied the old farmer.
In an attempt to capitalise on their stroke of good luck, the old farmer asked his son to break and tame some of the wild horses so that they could be used on the farm or sold for a profit. Whilst his son was trying to tame one of the horses he was thrown from the beasts back. He landed badly and seriously broke his leg.
This was surely a disaster for the old man and his son. Too old and feeble to plough their field with a horse, who would work the farm now the son was injured? Starvation and ruin were hanging over the farm once more. Again the old mans neighbours were slightly over keen to come round and commiserate with the pair. “Oh my, what a terrible thing” they all cried. “Who will plough your fields and how will you eat this winter?” they all asked. “What terrible luck!”
“Good, bad, who knows?” replied the old farmer.
Several weeks later, war broke out between the old farmers country and a neighbouring principality. The army desperate for new recruits travelled through the mountains pressing any able bodied, eligible young men they could find into military service to help in the fight. When they came through the valley where the old man and his son lived, they took all the young sons of the old man neighbours. The old farmers son was no use to the soldiers with a broken leg so they didn’t take him.
Good, bad, who knows? You decide.
Ambud says:
I intend to Blog about the actual situation more when things settle down a bit and the legal and ethical aspects subside. For now, I will try to stay as present as possible and keep an open mind about outcome.
Ambud

Attachment to desire

For a long time after I started reading about Buddhism I would lump attachment and desire together. I understood that desire and attachment are basically what keeps us in Samsara, but never really separated the two. In my mind, the words were mere synonyms instead of an idea; attachment to desire.

Seeing the cause of suffering as attachment to desire rather than attachment, or desire, was more profound to me, particularly when I felt torn between the benefit of enlightenment and the enjoyment of my wife and family. It answers the question that Melissa has often asked, ‘How can you be in a relationship with someone and not be attached’?

Keeping desire and attachment separate in a relationship is a big challenge, but it also offers great rewards. If we successfully desire our partner without the expectation and possessiveness of attachment we don’t create such a solid concept of ‘Melissa’, instead she is free, to be as she is, while reaping the benefit of love unconditioned.

The way I see it, desire without attachment is a good thing. The desire to help others or to live comfortably is vastly different from the attachment to my desire to help others. When attachment factors into my intent, the result is most likely negative Karma, since it becomes more about how it makes me feel to help others; which is essentially ego based delusion; caused by the idea of an inherently existing self.

This differentiation makes me feel more like I’m choosing Samsara over enlightenment, rather than perceiving enlightenment as some far off goal that I will hopefully achieve someday. The insight makes me feel lighter; an understanding that enlightenment truly is right here, right now, it is only my attachment which separates me from the absolute.

Besides the obvious benefit of clarifying this concept for myself, my new understanding of ‘attachment to desire’ made living ‘now’ more enjoyable because it makes it ok to want or to desire. It also helped move my practice forward because I started looking for the attachment to my desire in everyday activities.

May we all desire to be detached from our desire.

Ambud

An American Buddhist Perspective

What are we, if not hybrid independent thinking mutts, here in the U.S.
Wave after wave of immigrants have enriched and changed our society. The diversity and underlying principles of our country lead to a richness of new possibilities. Changing ideas about religion and spirituality have spawned a veritable cafeteria of religious beliefs that are sliced and diced into a spiritual salad. Buddhism has become the romaine lettuce in many of these salads; its growth continuing despite some of the more dogmatic and ritual tendencies of many Buddhist Sects. Americans have become very secular in their views; rejecting any type of religious conformity and embracing those philosophies which support a modern lifestyle.

While many Americans can see the value in a philosophy which supports basic human goodness, praying at alters and worshipping any deity may have been overplayed here in the U.S., thanks in large part to Christianity with its focus on the necessity of faith and compliance with doctrinal imperatives.

As Americans evolve and endure significant environmental, economic, and societal changes we all experience feelings of fear, hope, and wonder. As a group, the Buddhist community seems poorly suited to embrace the needs of those looking for new answers. Of the many Buddhist sects, Zen Buddhism has enjoyed the largest increase in adherents, quite possibly as a result of practices which appear to be more practical to an American audience.
Over the past several decades many Sangha’s have been born in the U.S., most notably Chogyam Trungpa began the Shambala centers, while Thich Nhat Han brought us his flavor of Vietnamese Zen Buddhism. Still many Americans sit on the sidelines intrigued by the softer aspects of Buddhism which embrace the environment, world peace, and the application of meditation in daily life, while simultaneously turned off by certain core constructs of Buddhism which seem more nihilistic than philosophical.

As Buddhism grows in our country it seems logical to assume that Americans will develop their own brand of Buddhism. I’m sure that there are many traditionalists who are aghast at this idea since they believe that Buddhism must be accepted and practiced in the way it was handed to them.

What would the Buddha do?

When we decide that we want to practice Buddhism, we necessarily ask the question; which Buddhism. And this is a good question indeed. We have to wonder why there are so many disparate views in one religion. I’m not saying that this is unique to Buddhism; Christianity, and most other religions also have these divides. We can account for varying schools of Buddhist thought because of its evolution in different countries with unique cultures and because the Buddha gave diverse messages to different audiences based on what they needed to hear.
Why then, would we expect the Vietnamese or Tibetan message to be suitable to Americans. There has always been huge gaps between eastern and western thought and often Americans are viewed as less mature, and thus less willing to accept philosophy presented in a negative light. I don’t support this view, debatable or not, but I can assure you that Americans won’t bend over and be spanked into a new way of thinking.

It seems counterproductive to be part of the Buddhist community that fundamentally desires to lead sentient beings to Nirvana, while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge the need of those seeking to follow. After all, that which does not bend will break, and Buddhism in America is not different in that regard. We must find a way to preserve the essential teachings of the Buddha while finding new, more acceptable ways of presenting his message.

I realize that this post has gotten quite lengthy, and it’s time for me to bring it to a conclusion. There is no point whining about something if I’m not prepared to offer a solution. Certainly there are many in the Buddhist community that are qualified to help in this effort. If you read this article and would like to participate please contact me.
In the meantime, I will begin writing articles which I hope will create a new view of Buddhist concepts designed for a western audience.
Currently I’m working on the Four Noble Truths.

Ambud

Geesh, I wish that the article said something about Obama’s response to China.
Basically, China is Asking Obama to keep the Dalai Lama out of the U.S. now.
You have to wonder how much leverage we will give China because we owe them Billions.
I certainly hope that Obama told them to go to Hell.
China Raps Obama over Dalai Lama and Others

Yes Men - Remind Us to Question
A Political Buddhist?

You can find the Yes Men Blog Here.

Perhaps I’m a bit behind in my viewing of documentaries since I just saw ‘Yes Men’ this past weekend; it was released in 2003. The creators have just released another movie titled: ‘Yes Men Save the World’, which I don’t intend to wait six years to watch.
Characters Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno mimic members of the World Trade Organization at venues across the globe.

The documentary begins with the Yes Men creating spoof sites for: GW Bush, the WTO, Dow chemical, and other organizations. Members of the WTO, confused by the similarity in the real and spoofed web sites, mistakenly invite the two clowns to actual WTO meetings all over the world.
Without getting too political or giving away too much of the movie, Andy gives presentations at numerous WTO events, and remains deadpan as he satirically discusses world trade issues with a frankness that he hopes will elicit responses of anger, shock and disbelief. Much to my amazement, many in the audience seemed to accept what Bichlbaum was saying, without so much as a question; sort of makes you wonder how much hooey these folks would actually swallow.

In one clip, Andy (posing as a WTO representative) even went so far as to suggest that slavery is just what is needed to help third world countries develop. In another clip he reveals a golden suit with a large phallic shaped object bouncing in front of his face; which he demonstrates as a new management tool that would allow managers of offshore resources to keep an eye on their employees.

It’s been quite a while since I have seen a documentary this entertaining and meaningful at the same time. While the duo certainly has their moments of hilarity and immaturity, the point they wanted to make is definitely driven home. One can’t help but walk away from this move astonished at the lengths that the ‘Yes Men’ went to protest. Makes me wonder why I can’t get off my duff and do a little something to show my own dissatisfaction.
But what really hit home with me was the apathy and acceptance of the audiences; that, with the exception of a college audience, seemed to nod along with the ludicrous, even outrageous assertions of Bichlbaum, as though they were hearing ideas that they had come to expect from the WTO.
I think we all might take a lesson from these WTO audiences, whether we are: not truly listening, or just being apathetic, or simply following blindly, each moment requires our attention and participation. Imagine, if this is how the House and Senate pay attention as they legislate our future.

Ambud

Dalai Lama to Visit Indian Region Claimed by China
I found this news article today it mentions several developments with regard to Tibet and The Dalai Lama. The article focuses primarily on H.H visit to an area in India that is largely Tibetan Buddhists, which China is now claiming as part of its territory.
Every time I read an article like this I am struck by two things:
China has changed very little in its human rights and desire to take whatever it likes by what ever means necessary.
One man; The Dalai Lama in this case, can change much. I sometimes read criticism of the Dalai Lama on the internet, I wonder how much of it is Chinese propaganda. Whatever its source is, I am dumb founded by the assertions which wish to somehow paint this gentle, caring, and tireless example of humanity as somehow inhumane.
However this territory dispute ends in India, I see the Dalai Lama and his people as winners; a triumph of human spirit over greed ignorance and power.
Funny how a government that could benefit so much by the practice of Buddhism is so hell bent on destroying it. Imagine if China
could understand the ridiculousness of killing over a boundary that could only be described as an illusion.
Here is the Article.

Ambud

The Unemployed Buddhist
There isn’t much Buddhism in this blog post, but I wanted to give an update.
It’s been a while since I’ve written a new article for this series. The reason that I haven’t written is that with the exception of our normal ups and downs, there has been very little to write about.
One of the best/worst things about a small business is that things can change very rapidly.
Lately, it seemed like our company was beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, and in some ways, it was.

As I’ve said before, the Captain loathes the idea of cutting salaries, people etc. He really has done as much as he can to avoid reductions, but at some point, it becomes the only solution.
It really has been a roller coaster ride over the past year, I can see the emotion in my coworkers as their livelihood moves between some stability and completely threatened, as if strapped to the side of some sadistic Yoyo masters Duncan, while he ‘shoots the moon’.
I’m not trying to be overly dramatic in this article, in fact I write with some hesitation, simply because things do change so quickly in this company. Today several employees were notified that they would no longer work a regular forty hour week, Monday, who knows, they might be told that we hit the freakin lottery, and that the drinks are on the house.
I’ve been meeting with the Captain quite a bit over the last few days and from our conversations, I gather that one of our major divisions is having serious financial difficulties, enough so, that we will likely allow it to go into chapter 11.
We have other divisions that are doing pretty well, and the focus for the future will be on those divisions; most likely as a new business entity.

At the moment my job is not threatened, as a matter of fact, currently the captain and I are negotiating a possible partnership for the new ‘entity’. But again, who knows, by Monday this could be entirely different, and I have been on this ride long enough to know that it ain’t over yet.

I began this series expecting the eventual end of my employment here; I still can’t say that won’t happen I hope it won’t. The series has been much different than I had anticipated; I really thought it would be about my reaction to unemployment.
Hopefully, you will continue reading the series, as we work through the next phase of our company’s evolution.

Ambud

Many, who are looking at Buddhism for the first time, are confused by the new concepts presented and would just like to be able to understand the benefits of a Buddhist practice.
Looking back I can remember wondering what kind of monumental task I was undertaking by beginning my Practice. I’m thankful for all the excellent writers and teachers that were available when I was a budding Buddhist.
With life so hectic for many, time to sift through book after book, or weeks of meditation classes, may be too much effort to simply answer the question; ‘Is Buddhism for me’.

I begin this series with what I consider to be the Top Ten results of a good Buddhist practice.
Disclaimer
There are too many benefits to a good practice to summarize, perhaps even to list. And no matter what order I put this list in, there are going to be those who disagree on which result is ‘Most important’. That makes a lot of sense to me, since importance is a subjective judgment, also, excepting the Top few results, it really does become difficult to weigh these results against each other.

Anyway, let’s get the article started by talking about Result number 11.
Hold on, I thought you just said; ‘Top Ten’?
I did, but I had to throw in reason number 11 for funzies.

11 of 10 (Top Ten Results of a Good Buddhist Practice.)
You can start your own Buddhist Blog. (HaHa).

Actually, I would be interested in reading a Blog that followed the startup of a new Buddhist practice. I think it would be neat to read about the method of practice and the progress, on a regular basis. Perhaps it could even be interactive and have an ‘Ask the audience section’ where long time practitioners could answer questions.
Hmmm…I really like this idea, if anyone is interested in launching this, let me know.
I would be happy to setup the website and host it too – At no charge.

10 of 10 (Top Ten Results of a Good Buddhist Practice.)

Concentration.

If your going to start a Buddhist practice, meditation is a key component. You can read about Buddhism forever and never get near the benefit that you will through direct experience. Many practices begin with single pointed meditation alone, where the breath is used as a focal point. Meditating daily, even for 3-5 minutes will bring greater concentration to your life.

9 of 10 (Top Ten Results of a Good Buddhist Practice.)

Productivity.

Awe, come on, this is starting to sound like a self help book; what’s next, ‘Buddhism for fun and profit’?
In a way, that’s what Buddhism is; a way to find happiness, besides, Buddhism is the original Self Help program. Buddhism isn’t an instant drink though; just add water and stir. It does, however, have many benefits that come relatively quickly. Productivity in this case is a direct result of the concentration we spoke of in result 10, combined with mindfulness. With a new awareness coming from meditation, we are able to see how much time we waste on useless thoughts and bring our mind back to the task at hand. And who knows, perhaps this increase in productivity will be just what you needed to get that raise, at your next review (Sorry, couldn’t help myself).

8 of 10 (Top Ten Results from a Good Buddhist Practice.)

Self Confidence.

Geesh, I guess you weren’t kidding about the ‘self help’ thing.
Sorry, just tellin’ it like it is.
It’s nice that something as relaxing and enjoyable as meditation can bring these kinds of results. Self Confidence is a natural side effect of increased concentration and awareness; you don’t have to try to buy it in your local bookstore’s ‘Self help’ section.

7 of 10 (Top Ten Results from a Good Buddhist Practice.)

Self Awareness.

Wait, I thought Buddhism was about reducing our selfishness, why so much talk about ‘Self’?
We first need to see who we are and how we react to our world, before we can understand how our negative thoughts and emotions create our selfish actions. Self awareness allows us to truly understand how others really see us, how we really respond to everything around us. Once again, meditation features predominantly; regular meditation will increase our self awareness.

6 of 10 (Top Ten Results from a Good Buddhist Practice.)

Health.

Wow, Buddhism is a regular panacea, a soup to nuts approach to mental and physical health?
Now you got it!
It was hard to find the right place on the list for the health aspect of a Buddhist practice. I’m sure that for many, this is the most important benefit of any program. Buddhism results in improved health, but this is not the ultimate goal, and the top five results become more spiritual and more a result of the combination of meditation and Buddhist study. Healthiness really becomes a very nice side-effect of a practice which incorporates meditation, different eating habits, and a new view on life.

5 of 10 (Top Ten Results from a Good Buddhist Practice.)

Balance.

While meditation certainly plays a big part in helping to create a balanced mind, Buddhist study which helps us understand Karma and equanimity also plays a big role in helping us live a more balanced life through an understanding of universal cause and effect. The Buddhist idea of causality features heavily here, which takes the control of our actions, our lives, and puts us in the driver seat.

4 of 10 (Top Ten Results from a Good Buddhist Practice.)

Acceptance.

Wait, are you saying that by practicing Buddhism I will gain the acceptance of my friends, my wife?
Not exactly.
Acceptance as a result of Buddhist practice is about seeing ourselves; as we really are, reality; as it really is, and our acceptance of others. This major benefit of a Buddhist practice results from study, followed by meditation, this helps us with insights into our own ultimate nature.

3 of 10 (Top Ten Results from a Good Buddhist Practice.)

Compassion.

A Buddhist practice which helps us to understand that we are all the same in many ways: wanting happiness, not wanting pain and suffering, that we are all human, allows us to feel compassion for the suffering of others because we stop seeing everything as separate and distinct from ourselves. We begin to realize through different Buddhist practices that we are all interconnected and as a result, we know that if we hurt others we also hurt ourselves. The development of altruistic compassion becomes a latter stage result of Buddhist practice, which is fundamental to the attainment of Nirvana.

2 of 10 (Top Ten Results from a Good Buddhist Practice.)

Wisdom.

Hold on, this one conjures up an image of a kindly, gray haired old man with a long, white Fu man Chu, leaning on a cane. How long do I need to practice Buddhism to get this result?
Wisdom comes at various stages of practice with different insights adding to our overall understanding of the ultimate nature of our own existence, and that of reality. Wisdom comes as a result of blending meditation with Buddhist study. Wisdom combined with Compassion, induces enlightenment; the ultimate Buddhist ‘attainment’.

1 of 10 (Top Ten Results from a Good Buddhist Practice.)

Happiness.

What else could it be?
Whether we practice Buddhism and meditation to achieve enlightenment or simply to improve our lives, happiness is the ultimate goal.

May you achieve an abundance of happiness on your path.

Ambud

Does Buddhism consider Human Life Trivial?

I was looking at my log files on the Ambud server, and found several queries asking if Buddhists considered life trivial. I decided to write an article to answer the question.

In Buddhism, there is a belief that we have been around for countless millennia, reborn in many different forms; from worms to humans. While many have difficulty with concepts of re-incarnation and rebirth, Buddhism essentially holds that consciousness is neither created, nor destroyed; only conditioned, similar to energy. In fact, I read a statement by the Dalai Lama on consciousness, where he stated that consciousness should be thought of as; ‘riding on the back of energy’. At each moment we are essentially reborn; one moment of consciousness creating the next. Each instantiation of life, which may have left us as a worm, essentially continues this flow of consciousness.

We need a human mind to be able to purposefully condition consciousness. It is believed, that as a person, we have the ability to condition our Karma in a positive way; creating positive results. This is not a Good/ Bad thing, positive and negative, in this sense is more about balance; similar to Taoism’s yin and yang. So, Buddhism thinks of human life as most precious, since this is a time where we can sow the seeds, which will help achieve higher states of being.

The Buddhist stance that all things are impermanent, un-lasting, and changing shouldn’t be a difficult concept to prove out. Look around you, what is static, what is unchanging. Even at the most basic level we understand that the molecules in our bodies, a chair, and yes, even my precious Mercedes, are constantly being replaced.

Another Buddhist idea, which asserts that things ultimately exist in dependence on causes, and their own parts, is front and foremost in the philosophy. These two ideas, coupled together, cause many who are un-initiated to Buddhism, to decide that Buddhism is Nihilistic (the idea that nothing exists or that nothing matters). The conclusion then becomes that Buddhists believe life is trivial, which couldn’t be further from the truth. All life is considered precious in Buddhism; from ants to Humans.

Ambud

Fullness vs Emptiness

James of the Buddhist Blog commented on one of my posts: http://ambud.org/WordPress/2009/09/15/critics-of-buddhism-part-v

James said:

’ I liked your interpretation of anatta. Once I understood the bigger picture; the idea of anatta didn’t make me feel fatalistic or like a zombie. Once I saw it in my day to day life and observations it made me feel balanced, whole and at peace with everything. I think part of the problem is the words used in English and other western languages. We need a different way to describe these things than saying “emptiness” and “no-self.” I’ve been struggling for different words to use for some time. It’s hard to describe anatta at all but to have to do it in just a few words is harder still.’

Ambud Said:

He was speaking about how emptiness and other such concepts in Buddhism tend to give American readers the hebegebes. I concur with what James said, and I’ve been thinking about an alternative to ‘emptiness’.

What about ‘Fullness’, as in being full of that which is not self.
Once we begin to see that things don’t exist without dependence on their parts and causes our mind relaxes to a greater experience. We notice that attachment to temporary and impermanent phenomenon is greatly reduced, opening the doorway to unconditioned love and the flow of reality.
We become full of life and experience its self by reducing our own self involvement.

This could become known as having ‘fullness’, rather than realizing ‘emptiness’.

Certainly, there are many more concepts and ideas that could be worked with to help stop putting people off to Buddhism; just because of language and interpretation. In fact, even as I tried to write a synopsis above, my first sentence speaks about, ‘that which is not self’, probably another breakdown needed there.

What do you think?

Ambud

This was my signature post when I first began this blog.
Whenever I catch myself caught up in my desire for the ideal, I read it again.
I hope that you enjoy the article, I am re posting it as I’m sure that many have never seen it.

Margaret is downstairs making coffee and breakfast for Jim and the kids. Jim wakes to the giggles of his young children, tugging on him to play. He tosses them in the air, big smiles on their faces as they bounce off the mattress, tickling and roughhousing they joyfully begin their day.

Mom calls up the stairs that breakfast is almost ready and it’s time to set the table.

Everyone scrambles downstairs and into the kitchen to the smell of home made waffles. They all pitch in to set the dishes on the table, grab the milk and orange juice and sit down to eat. The breakfast conversation is easy and everyone is eager to participate in this delightful family ritual.

Happy, smiling parents and siblings working together to create a family life we all dream of. Those were the days, or at least I like to think that there were days like that.

Fast forward nearly sixty years to the rush and hurry of modern life where convenience and instant gratification are the new paradigm. Breakfast, what breakfast? And coffee, well that’s something yah grab at the convenience store, or if you’re lucky your local ‘Dunkin Donuts’. We don’t have a ‘Dunkin Donuts’ near our house, so I settle for the almost warm jolt of my local Circle J’s coffee, jump in my car and speed off to work.

As I travel down the road not fully engaged with the task at hand (driving), it occurs to me that once again I didn’t get up early enough to meditate.

I try to shake off the disappointed feeling with a little self directed love and kindness, but it just doesn’t do the trick.

My mind goes over all the excuses, searching desperately for the reason for my undisciplined transgression. Maybe I didn’t sleep well with all the pressure and demands of my job, or maybe it was the hangover from the millionth argument with my ‘So much smarter than me’ teenage daughter about why it’s not ok for her to sneak out the window.

The life of a monk cries out to me, ahh to live in a cave somewhere in Tibet with only my thoughts and the odd moon bear to distract me.

Returning from this fantasy, my mind begins to question how productive such a simple life would be. After many years of living alone and recently getting married to a woman with three children of her own, I’m not sure it would benefit me.

It certainly was easy to believe that I had achieved a higher level of peace until the chaos of our new lives together began to unfold. It’s amazing how easily the mind is convinced of an illusion. The fact that conflict was not as present in my life had me believing I had become better at managing it. This confusion in my mind was quickly remedied with the help of several raucous teenagers.

I’m really not complaining, I realize how wonderful my hectic life is, how wonderful all the distractions are. The opportunity to work with my stuff is very exciting to me.

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to sit back, relax and enjoy the ambiance of the 50’s; blame our crazy, out-of-control society for my inability to discipline my own mind.

But maybe there has never been a better time to be a Buddhist, maybe ‘now’ with all of it’s distraction, hatred, and self gratification, is the best time to actualize patience, tolerance, and compassion. Maybe now is when emptiness is most evident.

So I stop struggling, stop pushing back all the annoyances of my modern life and breathe.

Breathe it all in, feel the pangs throughout my body, watch the anger and resentment bounce around my mind. I look at all the drama I created feeling guilty for not meditating, smiling at the idea that my reason for meditation is to feel peace.

At last, the end of Mr Horgan’s article, he doesn’t finish weakly though, he ends his article with a climax of ignorant deduction.

All religions, including Buddhism, stem from our narcissistic wish to believe that the universe was created for our benefit, as a stage for our spiritual quests. In contrast, science tells us that we are incidental, accidental. Far from being the raison d’être of the universe, we appeared through sheer happenstance, and we could vanish in the same way. This is not a comforting viewpoint, but science, unlike religion, seeks truth regardless of how it makes us feel. Buddhism raises radical questions about our inner and outer reality, but it is finally not radical enough to accommodate science’s disturbing perspective. The remaining question is whether any form of spirituality can.

Ambud said:
Here we go again; ‘All religions, including Buddhism, stem from our narcissistic wish to believe that the universe was created for our benefit, as a stage for our spiritual quests.’

Is this what the whole article was written to prove? Wow, must have been a twisty, turning road, which got us to this conclusion. I want to break this statement down a little bit; here is a definition of ‘narcissistic personality’:

Narcissistic personality disorder is a condition characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, need for admiration, extreme self-involvement, and lack of empathy for others.

Hmm, and how does the Buddhist practice which cultivates compassion, empathy, and wisdom, specifically, the wisdom of the empty nature of our own existence, correspond with this definition of narcissistic behavior?
Short answer; it doesn’t correspond at all; nothing could be further from the truth. What is Buddhism, if not; the compassionate and empathetic understanding that we are the universe, that we don’t, ultimately, exists as separate, distinct individuals.
I’m not even going to touch the last part of the sentence: ‘the universe was created for our benefit, as a stage for our spiritual quests.’ - it’s just too ridiculous.

The next part of the paragraph leads me to believe that the author has never picked up and read a book on Buddhism, or even tried to understand any Buddhist philosophy:

In contrast, science tells us that we are incidental, accidental. Far from being the raison d’être of the universe, we appeared through sheer happenstance, and we could vanish in the same way.

I don’t see a conflict between Buddhism and science here, of course, I also don’t believe that the universe was created so that I could become enlightened. Buddhism doesn’t espouse some grand plan; some ultimate destiny, for which the universe was made, quite the contrary, it teaches us about cause and effect through karma, and that we are not separate from the universe, through realizing emptiness.

I like how the author ends the article with; ‘The remaining question is whether any form of spirituality can.’
As if he had answered a question; I’m still pondering what the ‘question’ was.
Ambud

Great news!
The company has been moving along pretty well over the last couple of weeks.
Morale is up and we have even begun to make some structural changes to our sales area; removing walls, adding windows between rooms, etc. The idea is to get all the sales people back together, in hopes that this will bring more energy and excitement to their jobs, and of course, ultimately, increase sales.

I have had a setback over the past couple weeks, the Captain decided he was short on funds for payroll, and the easiest way to correct that was to once again, decrease my salary. Our business is an interesting one, revenue is up, but we won’t receive the money from these sales for thirty to ninety days, so while things are looking up, we still have a cash flow issue.

Initially, I wasn’t that disturbed about the cut in pay, I figured I could find a way to somehow subsidize the loss. The interesting thing was that immediately following the cut, me and the Captain had a conversation about my new availability to the company; obviously, since my pay has been cut in half, I figured my time allocated to this company should also be cut in half. The Captain agreed to this new arrangement, and then immediately began loading new tasks on my plate.

Suddenly, I have months of work piling up on my desk, and all of the tasks are of the highest priority. I truly believe that I can be as gracious as the next guy, but I was starting to get pissed off! To add to this frustration, our passive aggressive sales room ‘manager’ starts thinking this change somehow signals an opportunity for him to take over control of the company.

I’ve never worked at a job where there wasn’t a ‘Stan’. In Part VI, ‘Why Can’t we all be Buddhist’, I wrote a little bit about Stan’s interaction with me; griping about another employee.
Stan always has a problem, because there is always someone between him and getting his way. He feeble mindedly believes that he is the center of the universe, and that he should get what he wants no matter what the circumstance. Stan is a successful representative for the telemarketing division of our sales force. Although he is called ‘manager’, he never performs any managerial functions, largely because he is functionally illiterate and because his temper and tantrums make it impossible for him to garner respect. I’ve tried to work with Stan on these issues over many years, but he is either uncapable of changing, or has no desire to change. I lean toward the latter, and regardless of his weaknesses, he fancies himself as the all powerful, all important cog; single handedly responsible for the success or failure of the entire company. There are very few days that pass where I don’t have to manage the fallout of Stan’s behavior, in one way or another, but once he starts thinking that he can move up, forward in the company, it becomes time for me to wear a helmet to work, and compassion for his stupidity and awful behavior becomes less and less possible.

I’m rereading this last paragraph and I guess it’s pretty obvious that I’m not a big fan of Stan. It’s not for lack of trying, I can tell you that he is a recurring subject in many of my loving kindness meditations, he also features heavily in my equanimity sessions; can you guess which figure he is in the meditation(Friend, Neutral, Enemy)?

I’ve written this article not as a way to defame Stan, or to simply complain about my recent wage losses. I realize, while these things are happening, that my mind hasn’t been in a state of love and equanimity. I truly want my mind to be impervious to these stimuli; to be unaffected by the sometimes hurtful actions of others. I also realize that these are the circumstances which bring me closer to my ultimate desire; peace, and that Stan is my friend in that regard, since he requires so much of my patience. He tests me daily and reminds me where I want to be.
I can remember back a couple of decades, before I started meditating and really studying Buddhism, and I can feel good, seeing the progress I have made, slowly but surely moving closer to happiness.
I return to myself much more quickly now than I did back then, and peace is a much bigger part of my life. I still have moments of anger and frustration, and all the other human emotions I’d rather not spend energy on, but they have far less impact on me and my behavior.
I hope that this article can give some hope when others are feeling discouraged, wary of a path that reaps no instant rewards.

Ambud

Hmm, interesting development, as I was searching the internet to gather some information, I came across a book which Mr Horgan published that included information from the article I am using for this series. I decided to look at reviews of the book; the results were mixed: apparently, many Scientists found the book to be ‘Silly’, and others said that the book had an Atheist bent, with lots of writing about psycodelics. I’m not entirely sure what is in the book, the title is below, in case you are interested:
Rational Mysticism: Dispatches from the Border Between Science and Spirituality.

Eeeegads, this mess was published in a book?

Somehow, knowing that Horgan is a published journalist makes this writing even more offensive to me. In my opinion, it takes the intention from possible ignorance, to spoon feeding misinformation.

Excerpt
Why I gave up on finding my religion.
By John Horgan Posted Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003, at 3:54 PM ET
http://www.slate.com/id/2078486/

‘Even if you achieve a blissful acceptance of the illusory nature of your self, this perspective may not transform you into a saintly bodhisattva, brimming with love and compassion for all other creatures. Far from it—and this is where the distance between certain humanistic values and Buddhism becomes most apparent. To someone who sees himself and others as unreal, human suffering and death may appear laughably trivial. This may explain why some Buddhist masters have behaved more like nihilists than saints. Chogyam Trungpa, who helped introduce Tibetan Buddhism to the United States in the 1970s, was a promiscuous drunk and bully, and he died of alcohol-related illness in 1987. Zen lore celebrates the sadistic or masochistic behavior of sages such as Bodhidharma, who is said to have sat in meditation for so long that his legs became gangrenous.’

-Ambud Said:
I am personally unaware of Chogyam Trungpa’s treatment of his students, there are many reports that he may have been abusive in his methods, and that he did suffer from alcoholism, and perhaps he was also promiscuous. I have read some articles which refer to some of his methods as ‘crazy wisdom’ and that speak of a continuation of those methods still today, by other Buddhist teachers. I believe that the methods still used aren’t considered abusive, but I am unsure, if one of you know, please feel free to post about it.

I have read several books by Chogyam Trungpa, can’t tell you exactly which ones, it was at least 15 years ago, but I can say that I remember that I thought his writing was extremely informative, and helped me to better understand many things. No person is: ‘Just a drunk’, ‘Just Promiscuous’,’Just a bully’, in fact, no person can really be categorized as anything concrete.
If Chogyam Trungpa had students who thought his methods were abusive, or wrong, or simply not for them, they should NOT have continued studying with him. This is true with any Buddhist teacher, any teacher, for that matter. Buddhism insists that authority is questioned; it is unlike many religions, spiritualities, in that regard.

The author attacks certain ‘Buddhist masters’, not Buddhism.
Once again, it appears that the author is seeking out bits of information which he narrowly presents in an effort to support relatively weak arguments. Why should an article describe one individual Buddhist practitioner’s behavior as evidence against an entire philosophy? Shouldn’t the argument be with the philosophy? Even if we could say that Chogyam Trungpa was ‘Bad’, does that prove that Buddhism is ‘Bad’?
There are a couple of assumptions that the author makes in this excerpt:
‘To someone who sees himself and others as unreal, human suffering and death may appear laughably trivial’. -
Ambud said:
This assumption goes back to the authors misunderstanding that Buddhist’s strive to create an ‘unreal’ perspective of their selves. I guess if the foundation is no good, the rest of the house will be similarly unstable. It’s unfortunate that the authors’ intention to malign Buddhism makes him miss the mark completely. One of the most important qualities a Buddhist cultivates is compassion; anyone truly practicing Buddhism is more aware and concerned with human suffering.
More assumption and narrow minded conclusion:
‘Even if you achieve a blissful acceptance of the illusory nature of your self, this perspective may not transform you into a saintly bodhisattva, brimming with love and compassion for all other creatures. Far from it—and this is where the distance between certain humanistic values and Buddhism becomes most apparent.’

Ambud said:
It’s interesting to me how the author starts this statement passively, almost magnanimously, and then slams the car into the ditch. His entire argument that there is a huge gap between humanistic values and Buddhism is hinged on his dislike of Chogyam Trungpa, and Zen lore. Buddhist’s are concerned with morality, it is the foundation of a meaningful practice; you can’t have peace of mind while you are hurting your neighbor. Compassion, love, and empathy are the best of human values, and are considered the most important qualities to develop in Buddhism.

Ambud