Evan Thompson quote

 “it’s not the case that the experience of bare attention independently establishes the descriptive truth of the Buddhist mind-doctrine; rather, the Buddhist mind-doctrine is needed to give meaning to the experience of bare attention.” (Why I Am Not a Buddhist by Thompson)

Red Pine travel to south China

I’ve met people from Nanchang and Yantai in the park recently. Their children play with my daughter. That's not in south China, which is where this travel book explores. This area isn’t even that much studied by the Chinese, let alone in the English language. In south China there are over 50 ethnic groups.

I’m reading Red Pine’s book about South China travel that came out in 2015. But it’s based on his audio recording from his trip in 1992. 

It’s not really Dharma but I also enjoy culture and you can pick up bits when a Buddhist writes. He visits temples. I feel like the more I know about different cultures, the better. The better to understand people around me, and the better to understand the Dharma styles those areas, in the south of China. I also got this book with his traveling to the spots of the Zen Patriarchs. Thought I would read this book first because it's shorter. An I learned about the Tai ethnic group in China that follow Theravada Buddhism.

If I wasn't vegan I'd want to travel to the frog festival of Pingan. The mythology of locations is interesting. There are two tribes that descend from tree stumps, and all manner of dragon coupling. It feels like conditions create different cultures. Mythological thinking is so fascinating. I like the god of literature. Mythology is messy. Abraham is important in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The Four Guardians are in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. 

I’ve read too many fantasy novels, where the author’s experiences seem fantastic. Black rice and river moss. Women who play music tea leaves. History lost and found about great explorers with huge boats that sail the seasonal winds east and west. I want a new novel from Shelly Parker-Chan. Accidentally giving cultural signals for love, Porter has a woman coming to his room. He must politely decline an offer of love, after accidentally giving the signals. The Ani women don't hide their breasts and genitals. Two tribes descend from stumps and two tribes descend from union between humans and dogs, after a dog tricks the king into giving his daughter in marriage. The myths are so good other tribes co-opt them. Back through the mist of time they didn't worry about appropriation. These fantastical myths and stories are fun, some local color in Bill Porter's travels.

I read the book in the park and talk about it in with the Chinese whose English isn't so good. It's better than my Mandarin.

Quotes

 “My friend Gary Snyder once told me that two most important questions friends of the earth should ask are, Where does my water come from? Where does my garbage go?” (P. 159)

“It was Hsishuangbanna's most famous pagoda, and it was known far and wide as the White Pagoda. It was first built in 1204, and it had been rebuilt many times since then. It looked like the last time hadn't been very long ago. As with the Black Pagoda, the main ingredients were cement and white paint, with yellow and red trim. There was also a shrine hall, but pilgrims did their bowing outside at the base of the pagoda. On closer inspection, I discovered why. The pagoda was built on a huge boulder, and when I walked over to the southwest corner of the boulder, I noticed a small niche at the base. The niche was covered with glass, and there was a slot for people to insert donations. I looked inside and saw the reason for their veneration. It was the Buddha's foot-prints. Yes, the Buddha's footprints. By some mysterious power the Buddha had traveled here from India and left his footprints on the surface of the boulder. Buddhist pilgrims came here from all over China, as well as from Burma and Laos and Thailand, to pay homage to the footprints, which, according to the sign, the Buddha left when he visited that part of the world at the age of 62.

According to historical records, the pagoda itself wasn't erected until 1,700 years after the Buddha's visit. It wasn't surprising, though, to see footprints at a Theravadin Buddhist shrine. When Buddhism first developed as an organized religion, there were no statues of the Buddha, because it was felt that the human form somehow misrepresented the Buddha's message of liberation from all form. Instead, his disciples used his footprints to represent his transcendence from this world of dust. A pair of footprints was the only thing in the way of symbolism that early Buddhist shrines contained. I joined half a dozen other pilgrims in paying my respects before the niche, while a hundred flags flapped their prayers above us.” (P168-9)

“ Kashyapa was one of the Buddha's greatest disciples, and he reportedly came to Chickenfoot Mountain 2,400 years ago. To understand Kashyapa's importance, it's necessary to go back to when Brahma, the Lord of Creation, offered the Buddha a flower and asked him to preach the Dharma. The Buddha took the flower and held it up. His devotees and disciples were puzzled-all except Kashyapa, who smiled. This marked the beginning of Zen: the direct transmission of understanding with a flower and a smile. Kashyapa thus became the First Patriarch of Zen in India. Though there are no records attesting to it, Kashyapa was said to have come to Chickenfoot Mountain following the Buddha's Nirvana. And he took up residence in a cave below Huashoumen.” (P204)

Links:

Kirkus review "As satisfying as any trip by Paul Theroux but with a much less prickly and much more forgiving narrator."

Moon Hill

Frog Festival

Huating Temple

Stone Forest

Cheng Ho which Wikipedia says is spelled Zheng He. Fascinating fellow who was castrated and became a great diplomat and sea explorer, seven journeys to India. In a weird way the history of his life wasn't really taken up, China is weird in some ways in that at times they seem indifferent to their history. He seems like an interesting fellow but this is the first time I've ever heard about him. He was muslim and went to Mecca. 

Chickenfoot Mountain

Which class in line with Buddhist ideals?

 

Secular/traditional

I don’t like the intro so far. I experience it as not dharma. Maybe it’s clearing the brush around the Dharma. Interesting dichotomies: traditional/secular, modern/traditional, east/west.


The first chapter by Sarah Shaw of Oxford is about Ashoka so far, which if fascinating to me. I like how after killing a hundred thousand people he found Buddhism. I guess it's never too late. His edict quoted preached a multiculturalism and tolerance of other sects which I liked.


She has a good list of ruler virtues:


1. dana: generosity
2. sila: the moral or ethical behavior of keeping the five precepts
(of not killing, stealing, practicing sexual conduct likely to cause
harm, lying, or letting oneself become intoxicated)
3. pariccaga: renunciation
4. ajjava: straightness (Skt. arjava, to rju, to uju in Pali)
5. maddava: softness; often, with straightness, found related to
mudutà, the softness of mind and body present in skillful
consciousness
6. tapa: self-restraint
7. akkodha: the absence of anger; loving-kindness
8. avihimsa: the absence of harm; compassion59
9. khanti: forbearance
10. avirodhana/ avirodha: gentleness; the absence of obstruction

I like it in the essay by McMahan referencing Gergen’s Saturated Self. Articulation of modern selfhood is complex. The buffered self is a phrase that runs through my mind. 

The third essay by Funie Hsu is a deft takedown of the American implications to secular Buddhism.


Links:


Secular Buddhist Network Review.

Amazing statue

 More/source Bangkok Thailand.

Pickup

29

Silver stars dot the beam

green silk marks the weight

buyers move it forward

sellers move it back

never mind the other's anger

just as long as you prevail

when you die and meet Old Yama

up your butt he'll stick a broom

(P285, translation Red Pine)

36

Those who leave home leave to be free

and pity the suffering masses

they proselytize for the Buddha

telling others to choose a path

but who can they possibly save

doing whatever they please

descending with everyone else

into the same abyss

(P288)

37

Drunk on delusion greed and anger

dazed and unaware

you turn money into a dream

a dream that becomes an iron jail

using one pain to get rid of another

you never get rid of pain

unless you learn before it's too late

you learn to turn to yourself

(P291)

41

Those who leave home nowadays

turn out to be fools at heurt

at first they seek liberation

then run errand instead

visiting laymen all day long

chanting and acting solemn

earning money for wine

funkies in the end

(P293)

43

By and large the monks I meet

love their meat and wine

instead of climbing to Heaven

they slip back down to Hell

they chant a sutra or two

to fool the laymen in town

unaware the laymen in town

are more perceptive than them

(P295)

48

For a mud ball dropped in water

big plans make no sense

for a fragile dreamlike body

a hundred years are rare

unable to ponder deeply

and claiming they're immortal

people steal a ton of gold

then leave it all behind

(P297)

Did Hanshan do magic mushrooms,

290

Relaxing below Cold Cliff

the surprises are quite special

taking a basket to gather wild plants

bringing it back loaded with fruit

spreading fresh grass for a simple meal

nibbling on magic mushrooms

rinsing my ladle and bowl in a pool

making a stew from scraps

sitting in sunshine wrapped in a robe

reading the poems of the ancients

Pickup has a poem about it too

33

We slip into Tientai caves

we visit people unseen

me and my friend Cold Mountain

eat magic mushrooms under the pines

we talk about the past and present

and sigh at the world gone mad

everyone going to Hell

and going for a long long time

(P286, Red Pine translation)

Reddit 

Devotion

What is the queasy feeling I feel when I look at the rupa I've meditated in front of for almost 20 years? The Buddha got up and bowed to the tree he was sitting under. I love imagining the Buddha beckoning me to come meditate with him.

Anandi gave me the mala. I leave it on the rupa. The Tibetan elements have dropped away from my practice, but I do love mantra and puja. 

The feeling I feel when I look at the representation of the refuge tree for Triratna, with its teachers of the past, it's bodhisattvas and arhants. The archetypal Buddhas.

All coming out of the void.

One time I was at a Chicago museum and when I saw a statue of the Buddha (rupa) I wanted to throw myself down onto the ground and prostrate, lay down and put my hands over my head and back again, like the prostration practice I've done visualizing the refuge tree. 

It's so easy to just learn the vocabulary of Buddhism and just keep doing what you want. The bite of trying to be more, different, can have uneven results. I'm mostly screwed up my life, but there are some things I'm proud of. 

I get a feeling when I read sometimes, like I'm looking at Indra's net as clearly as my foggy vision will allow me.

So many memories of fellowship along the way, conversation, discussion, listening, sharing. 

I'm having a practice day. My daughter is going camping and I'm freed of the responsibility of caring for her. I haven't meditated this much in a long time. I feel very grateful and hope I can put this mindfulness to good use with others. 

My outdoor meditation spot:

Dhamapada 131

Whoever torments with the stick (danda)

creatures desirous of happiness, he himself

thereafter, seeking happiness, will not obtain

happiness.

Hanshan 265

When hermits hide from society

most retire to the hills

where green vines veil the slopes

and jade streams echo unbroken

where happiness reigns

and contentment lasts

where pure white lotus minds

aren't stained by the muddy world

Cold Mountain

"No fair! You changed the outcome by measuring it!"

I love Futurama and I thought of this quote from Dr. Farnsworth after I read the following:

“How are these two ways of thinking about bare attention—as disinterested disclosure of how the mind truly is versus as shaping it according to a valued standard—supposed to be related? They seem to be in tension. To disclose something requires not changing it as you disclose it. To shape the mind is to change it. How can bare attention reveal the mind if it also changes it?” (Why I Am Not a Buddhist)

Evan Thompson

 “Buddhism is one of humanity’s great religious and intellectual traditions. It is, and deserves to be, a participant in the secular and liberal democratic societies of our modern world. It is, and deserves to be, a contributor to a cosmopolitan community, one in which people participate in relationships of mutual respect and cooperation, despite their differing beliefs.”

Above are the first sentences from Why I Am Not a Buddhist by Evan Thompson. 

Why do I feel like he's going to spend the rest of the book dismissing it?

It's good to explore the opposite case. I have a lot of hope for this book, hope that I don't renounce Buddhism. But it has to be a real possibility to engage honestly. 

I've been playing a lot of chess. When you make a bad move, inaccurate, it ruins a game, you lose. I hope I can get through the book without quitting too early. If I'd quit Buddhism because I made some bad moves, I would have regretted it. I keep playing.

Lindisfarne Association (1972–2012) was not something I knew about. 

Thompson's experience when the zen of Reb Anderson joins the community:

“My sister, Hilary, and I were not so impressed. The other kids weren’t either. We were used to running all over our ten-acre property doing whatever we liked. Now we had to take off our shoes and keep quiet whenever we entered the main lodge. There were more dinners with mushy brown rice and overcooked steamed vegetables that not even huge gobs of ketchup could fix. A weird formality seemed to have taken over many people in the community. The occasional silent meals were the worst. To get anyone to pass you anything you had to make hand gestures and bow afterward. Of course, we made faces at each other trying to get someone to break down and laugh. Then we’d run around imitating the pious expressions and silly gestures of the adults. I was the oldest kid, and sometimes I would go to the daily group meditation at five-thirty in the afternoon before we ate dinner at six o’clock. My father thought the presence of Zen made the meditation room’s atmosphere thick and weighty, but the Zen demeanor seemed forced to me.”

He went on to study with Thurman, and did his senior thesis on Keiji Nishitani and his first published article was comparing Nishitani and Heidegger. “Thurman had taught me that critical reasoning was itself a form of meditation.” In his explorations in mediation, “I kept encountering anti-intellectualism, sanctimoniousness, naïve reverence, and downright fetishism.” I've seen that word a lot lately. Feishism's non-sexual meaning is "worship of an inanimate object for its supposed magical powers or because it is considered to be inhabited by a spirit."(Oxford Languages)

He references this article regarding the sexual misconduct of Buddhists, and others. He's referenced so many interesting books I want to read, including Ann Gleig's American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity. He writes, “I mention the scandals because people I know have suffered as a result of them. These events and their harmful effects need to be acknowledged in any book on modern Buddhism. They’re also one reason why I was unwilling to join the Buddhist communities I encountered.” 

Wow. I respect his decision but I don't expect teachers or gurus to be perfect. Sexual misconduct is a huge problem in the sangha, true, but only because perhaps we expect to renounce sexuality in pursuit of the goals. And as everyone knows making things forbidden can ramp up the excitement. 

He takes a turn into neuroscience that I'm afraid loses me. But he asks some interesting questions: “Can scientists who are personally invested in meditation practice be objective and impartial in their research on meditation? Why is there so much antecedent commitment to establishing that meditation is beneficial when many people also report experiencing negative effects?” He starts to define Buddhist exceptionalism: “Buddhism was seen as superior to other religions, or as not really a religion but rather as a kind of “mind science.”

“From a philosophical perspective, the problem with Buddhist exceptionalism is that it presents Buddhist theories of the mind as if they’re value-neutral descriptions, when they’re based on value judgments about how to cultivate or shape the mind to realize the supreme Buddhist goal of nirvana. In philosophical terms, the theories are normative—they’re based on ethical value judgments—and soteriological—they’re concerned with salvation or liberation. Buddhist theories of the mind lose their point if they’re extracted from the Buddhist normative and soteriological frameworks.”

He goes on to describe Buddhist modernism: “This is the modern and transnational form of Buddhism that downplays the metaphysical and ritual elements of traditional Asian Buddhism, while emphasizing personal meditative experience and scientific rationality. Buddhist modernism presents itself as if it were Buddhism’s original and essential core, when in fact it’s historically recent.”

He gives his answer as to why he wasn't a Buddhist: “Since I didn’t want to join a traditional Theravāda, Zen, or Tibetan Buddhist monastery, the only way to be a Buddhist was to be a Buddhist modernist. But Buddhist modernism is riddled with philosophical problems.” (p.22)

“Buddhist modernism encourages a kind of false consciousness: it makes people think that if they embrace Buddhism or just pick out its supposedly nonreligious parts, they’re being “spiritual but not religious,” when unbeknownst to them religious forces are impelling them.” (p.24)

He references an article: Spirituality as Privatized Experience-Oriented Religion: Empirical and Conceptual Perspectives

At a certain point I see that I'm quoting too much and I just suggest you read the interesting book, and indeed I hope I can follow up on some of the interesting stuff he refers to as well.

I’ll be looking for a path between Buddhist exceptionalism and modernism without being a mother mastic which Thompson doesn’t think possible.

I'm reading Reddit too much

I'm an imperfect western practitioner of 20 plus years, read a million books but did not always display virtue, at times, had some deep experiences on retreat, make no claims, not a teacher, never been perfect.

I don't read posts with the following words in them "attachment", "no self", "nirvana", "no desire", "Reincarnation", or people who trumpet Alan Watts as a great teacher. I hope his books can give some money to his 7 children and their descendants, and can appreciate his wit at times. 

The path is about ethics, community, fellowship, study, meditation, devotion. Quibblers are too superficial for me. We think and talk because we have brains but to me Buddhism not a philosophy, it's a religion, and religion is about organizing the world psychologically, with deep and difficult to express feelings of devotion. Zizek seeing the religious as fetishist is offensive, but I'm OK with people who don't have any deep experiences spouting off at the mouth, that seems to be how the internet fills out it's content. 

I'm a little wary of people who are from the east and can cite books about 2500 years ago, and the similarities with what became Hinduism and Jainism. That may be true, and a historical understanding is important, but I don't think you're somehow more clear or perceptive if you're from the east, you have to express clarity and perceptions. Westerners are often pretty superficial and underestimate the depth of Buddhism, but again we must treat people based on their actions, what they say.

I have a skeptical mind, when I read about gods, I imagine them as psychological projections and not literally true, but recognize that psychology makes them feel literally true. People have corrected me that the gods of the Buddha's times were not Hindu gods, that wasn't a religion yet. The Buddha was operating in the time before Hinduism I'm not sure how to characterize the gods of those times, but I'm disinclined to say it's literally true because the Buddha was speaking the vernacular of the times. Part of being a Buddhist is understanding contingency. I respect the traditions that see reincarnation as essential Buddhism. As an American fleeing the oppressions of Christianity, the constant proselytizing I'm wary of arbitrary metaphysics to prove I'm part of the tribe, but I somehow do want to be considered a Buddhist, even if it's in my own imperfect western way.

Reincarnation is an idea that can be perverted or exaggerated. I'd rather just stick to conditionality. This being that becomes, imasmim sati idam hoti. If personalities are transferred beyond one life, then it will be evident. If it's a metaphysic of the times, and isn't necessary, that will be proven out by time. Secular Buddhism isn't a sangha but it's possible in another 2500 years it could be considered one. Time will tell. I think it's a cultural belief of those times, and I don't mean any disrespect. I have considered it for my entire life as a Buddhist out of respect. I'm still open to it. I don't think I'm colonizing Buddhism as a white man, but if I inevitably do that, then I guess I have to. That doesn't mean I don't have to be more sensitive and learn things, and listen to others. The idea that stealing eastern gold, and not caring about the people isn't true of me, I do care about everyone, we are interconnected, but I am puny and limited. I have great reverence for the cultures that passed on the tradition even if it doesn't seem so to some. I know Native Americans feel burned and are more reserved now, guard their wisdoms, and that happens in Buddhism some but the translations of the Pali Canon, which I read every day, are the most amazing resources, and I hope I respect these great texts, hold reverence for them. I hope to be forgiven by the context of Christian America to be more empirical, and my efforts and sincerity will be appreciated, but I understand victims like to reverse the script and victimize, I have no special rights beyond just being another human. 

I really just need to focus on my practice, but I am sensitive to the circumstances and want to understand the circumstances to support others, if that is even appropriate, and I'll be honest that sometimes I've wished to help and it was unwanted, and even worse, I've given unwanted feedback to others. My zeal and excitement is often misplaced, confused, and not appropriate. Nobody likes being projected on, not seen as a subject. I never really understood Buber's metaphysics, but I really like the idea of strive to treat others as a thou. I have been crap at spiritual friendship, but I still like friends, and live off the memories of past friendships. I make mistakes but I want to keep trying.

I'm not a hermit because you can't be a hermit and read the internet. I love Hanshan's poetry:

238

We hear about the ministers of state

their red and purple ornaments of rank

their limitless wealth and countless honors

their quest for glory their resistance to shame

their courtyards of slaves and stables of horses

their vaults full of silver and gold

but a fool's paradise is brief consolation

for someone who blindly builds his own hell

he suddenly dies and all plans stop

sons and daughters gather to cry

unaware of approaching disaster

what was his headlong hurry

his family is ruined and scattered

without any food to eat

cold and hungry and wretched

and all because of ignorance

Mating Mind

Living single for the first time in 40 years, I've become aware of what I guess I'll call the mating mind. I have a book about the mating mind, and in it I learned that the human brain is the peacock feathers of humans, unnecessary ornament. We don't need the minds we have to survive really, it's overclocked. 

What to do with this mind? I think that is why the Dharma is so important. It's good to understand it and all, but the development, the literature, the ideas, the sharing of the tradition, the history is all something to put that peacock mind to. When you simplify life, what do you think about? 

I listen for metta, positive welling up, warm feelings about relationships. What is the equivalent in mindfulness of breathing? It's the rapture, the positivity in following the breath. It's as much about seeing what's blocking these things as it is feeling these things.

How light my body!
Touched by abundant
rapture & bliss,
—like a cotton tuft
borne on the breeze—
it seems to be floating
—my body!

Thag 1:104

Sound of Music

I love the movie Sound of Music. I saw it in middle school, the whole school took a bus to the theater and we watched it at school. At the time I was just glad to watch a movie instead of have school, but I really appreciate the movie now. 

The struggle of a new novice who loves life, is interesting. It has me thinking how renunciation has been scrubbed out of the western version of Buddhism, and why there are subreddits like r/goldenswastika, which inter alia contrasts western versus eastern followers, converts versus heritage followers. Mostly it's Theravadan against the rest, but that is almost something ashamed they hide. Some ancient lineages try to jump onto bandwagon. In general communication between strangers isn't always polite. And it's also an opportunity to show your true face. That the sangha has many divisions is nothing new.

My root guru Sangharakshita, though the joy of aesthetic appreciation was essential to the spiritual life. These modern exceptions might be why he thought it was OK to experiment sexually, that got him into trouble, and delegitimize his movement started in 1967, what is now called Triratna. I'm not convinced that much of the vilifying is anti-gayness. There's always going to be tension in updating and modernizing Buddhism. What is essential and what is of the times?  

The Mahayana path of living in the world and striving for the high ideals of Buddhism is what Maria chooses in the Sound of Music. She marries into a Jewish family who must flee during the Holocaust. I don't really understand what sides of a story need to be taught about the Holocaust. People who deny it happening are quacks, and you don't have to entertain every quack who comes along. There are holocausts going on now, I'm sensitive to the ones going on in so called Buddhist countries, against the Rohingya and the Uyghur. Genocide is the name now.

I like New York City where Muslim and Buddhist get along, where Russian and Ukrainian get along. The conflict here is between those who don't value life and pretend to, and those who really value life. I suppose it's the same conflict. People can decide it's OK to kill certain people for various reasons everywhere. I can only cut down the murderousness in my life. I had a hankering for an egg sandwich the other day, and gave into it. My moral slips are around food these days, but I believe corporations need to do more for the global warming crisis. I'm a drop in the bucket. I think the excessive moral preoccupation with individual choices are because the group doesn't seem to be making the right choices and that feeds into the guilt of the individual, passing off blame the corporations really deserve. How long will it take for humanity to work out these kinks? The world is changing so rapidly but humans still seem to be a mixture of good and not quite as good. 

One fascinating aspect of the movie Sound of Music is that Jewishness seems to be totally scrubbed from the movie. No Yiddishisms or Jewish food, or mention of anything Jewish. On the one had that seems weird, on the other perhaps it's saying there are no differences between human beings, and a little cultural difference isn't even noticeable. That's the hope of America not inspired by MAGA anyway. Economic tensions bring out intolerance, and when politicians use it to get into office, hate crimes go up. Growing up naive in Wisconsin, I didn't really know about Judaism or the context, and I didn't really get the movie when I first saw it.

You know each time you see an old classic movie there's a song you didn't notice before. I thought this one was interesting for some reason, the way it's both pushing and pulling on confidence. 

I Have Confidence

What will this day be like?

I wonder

What will my future be?

I wonder

It could be so exciting

To be out in the world

To be free

My heart should be wildly rejoicing

Oh, what's the matter with me?

I've always longed for adventure

To do the things I've never dared

Now here I'm facing adventure

Then why am I so scared?

A captain with seven children

What's so fearsome about that?

Oh, I must stop these doubts

All these worries

If I don't I just know I'll turn back

I must dream of the things I am seeking

I am seeking the courage I lack

The courage to serve them with reliance

Face my mistakes without defiance

Show them I'm worthy

And while I show them

I'll show me

So let them bring on all their problems

I'll do better than my best

I have confidence

They'll put me to the test

But I'll make them see

I have confidence in me

Somehow I will impress them

I will be firm, but kind

And all those children

Heaven bless them

They will look up to me

And mind me

With each step I am more certain

Everything will turn out fine

I have confidence

The world can all be mine

They'll have to agree

I have confidence in me

I have confidence in sunshine

I have confidence in rain

I have confidence that spring will come again

Besides, which you see

I have confidence in me

Strength doesn't lie in numbers

Strength doesn't lie in wealth

Strength lies in nights of peaceful slumbers

When you wake up

Wake up!

It's healthy

All I trust I leave my heart to

All I trust becomes my own

I have confidence in confidence alone

(Oh, help)

I have confidence in confidence alone

Besides, which you see

I have confidence in me

Hanshan poem 229 & 230

229

All of you are priceless gems

aboard a rotting ship at sea

in front the mast is gone

in back there is no rudder

heading wherever the wind may blow

moving with the waves

how will you reach shore

don't just sit there stiff

230

All I see are fools

piling higher gold and grain

getting drunk and eating creatures

imagining they're well-to-do

unaware of Hell's abyss

seeking only Heaven's bliss

but with karma like Vipula

how can they escape disaster

suddenly the rich man dies

people crowd around in tears

then they hire some monks to chant

though such ghostly pay is void

and provides no future blessings

why support the hairless bunch

better to wake up in time

don't create a hell of darkness

be a tree that fears no wind

steadfast and unmoved by fate

tell the blockheads you might meet

read this over once or twice

I had not seen this

 "A monk who has been accepted should not deprive a living being of life, even if it is only a black or white ant. Any monk who purposely deprives a human being of life, even to the extent of causing an abortion, is not a contemplative, not a son of the Sakyan.

"Just as a solid block of stone broken in two cannot be joined together again, in the same way a monk who has purposely deprived a human being of life is not a contemplative, not a son of the Sakyan. You are not to do this for the rest of your life."

— Mv I.78.2

Some of the practices of endangering the life of the mother because we’re swinging too far towards pro-birthers of low chances in highly compromised and deformed fetuses. And the dangers of botched illegal abortions, plus the rise in crime as abortion becomes illegal doesn’t make it so clean. It’s a religious stance that doesn’t necessarily mean to be imposed on those who don’t follow. Not everyone aspires to be a Theravada monk.

If some sects aren’t vegetarian, then ahimsa doesn’t always carry the day. The culture and context matter. I’m not sure about the translation.

I wouldn’t personally ask a woman to have one, but I feel it’s important not to impose my religion on those who don’t believe it. For me the frame of taking away the choice and autonomy of women’s bodies for non-believers doesn’t feel right in this day and age.

There are all sorts of complicated scenarios, and I think when you're in them, the medical setting should be guided by people who understand the medicine and don't have an ideological idea one way or the other. These political judgements from a distance are not really necessary. The political situation is that people who don’t take life preciously are interested in control.

Quotes and Memes not Buddhism, but around the spiritual life

 

The Vajji Seven

Numbered Discourses 7.29 quote:

"These seven things don’t lead to the decline of a lay follower. What seven? They don’t miss out on seeing the mendicants. They don’t neglect listening to the true teaching. They train in higher ethical conduct. They’re very confident about mendicants, whether senior, junior, or middle. They don’t listen to the teaching with a hostile, fault-finding mind. They don’t seek outside of the Buddhist community for those worthy of religious donations. And they serve the Buddhist community first. These seven things don’t lead to the decline of a lay follower.” (Sujato)

First off, there is a lay/monk split in the world. Monks can go for it, and the lay just means you're not a monk and you can go for it, but it's less likely since you haven't renounced the world. Improving circumstances is supportive of the path. 

My question, if you have these deep meditative states that are fragile and depend on isolation and supportive conditions, do they evaporate when the supportive conditions aren't present? 

I think the point is to develop a level of insight that sustains a practice back in the world. 

A mendicant is a wandering teacher. That means they have given up the home life if they wander. They have gone for refuge. Can you get teachings from a lay follower? There are plenty of these. 

It's important to get teachings from good teachers, of course. 

Ethics is important. Start the spiritual life and neglect ethics, and you'll find you can't really go deeper, because everyone is criticizing you and it interferes with your mental state. But the biggest critic is yourself, and you people can justify anything. I saw Ghislaine Maxwell didn't seem to be remorseful, that contributed to her getting 20 years. I've been reading about the Manson Family. There's a kind of entitled I can do whatever I want attitude, based in the wild west of trauma reactions. Manson had a horrible childhood. When you get into the real adversity of childhood, you can see how people would have something missing. It's not clear why the followers had something missing, but I'm more interested in virtue than forensics. 

The rise in narcissism is a function of the capitalist system of neglect, where parents have to work all the time, and child care doesn't pay. If America really valued itself, children would be invested in. The right's response is family, not government. You don't have a stable family? I guess we're all shit out of luck. Parenting used to be easier, you fed them, clothed them, and gave them some prompts, but school and outside took care of the rest. Now children aren't alone outside, and you're supposed to be an expert of sensory integration, nutritionist, reading teacher, homework helper, media educator, and a million other things. Now it's an impossible project. In the age of information, parenting is often about how you fall short of some crowd sourced expectation. Despite it all children are raised well, despite the formidable new and old obstacles.

Every problem in my life can be attributed to a breach of ethics I didn't understand. Live and learn. Patience, humility, empathy and willingness to learn can go a long way.

Trusting the tradition enough to seek them out is another important aspect. In this day and age you have to evaluate the quality of the source of information. The guru system is about identifying leaders, and getting into a personal relationship with them, where they guide your learning and development. 

I don't set myself up as a teacher, but I do like to articulate my attempts at understanding.

Question: Does wanting a teacher signal dependence, and an unwillingness to trust your own experience and ability to navigate your own development?

I spent 10 years in the belly of the sangha and 10 years hermit solo, and I miss other's natural checks, but I don't miss other's trying to enforce their personality, in the mistaken idea that there is only one way to be. 

For every person who's excited by Alan Watts videos on YouTube, there are people who seek out the teachers who are really doing it, and aren't as dynamic communicators because they articulate a difficult path, and aren't about accumulation of attention for material gain. These unsexy humble teachers will be the best. 

The marketplace in America rewards popularity and saying things that get you popular. It's hard for their to be a really merit based system when the consumers are learning. This is why I like the system of not having to pay for the teachings. The teachings are free. A retreat perhaps covers the rent and supplies, fees can cover the room for sangha night, but I don't see money being needed. I've really benefited from the retreats at Aryaloka, but I don't have the money or time for retreats, and I really feel it. When things are scarce you savor memories. I have feasted on memories the past 10 years. The independence I have developed is my silver lining. Here is a quote from the Pali Canon:

Dhammapada 329: If for company you cannot find a wise and prudent friend who leads a good life, then, like a king who leaves behind a conquered kingdom, or like a lone elephant in the elephant forest, you should go your way alone.

We're more "connected" through the internet, but I feel like it's just helping us to realize how alone we are. 

Taking responsibility for my spiritual life, it behooves me to get the best support available. 

Lots of questions on Reddit are quibble questions. If there's no self, what is reborn? How can you become desireless? How do you know the Buddhists gods are the one true gods? 

The principle of charity means you imagine the other person is onto something and isn't just blowing smoke because you're not familiar with it. It's also from the other side called the benefit of the doubt. 

I redirect people to connect with sangha, and develop from there. If you're exploring Buddhism to prove your other path is the right one, then that's not really an exploration. 

It's weird, if life you come to conclusions and think about things and imagine you've settled them. I've decided I've not made up my mind on this crazy abortion debate going on in America. I don't want to take anything off the table. And I'm not impressed by people expressing certitude. There was a fascinating article in Tricycle, where a lay woman gives her views, and I found it to be interesting, and important because it was a woman expressing her opinion, instead of the men enforcing their narrow views where they feel entitled to take things off the table, declare it's settled. Followers often follow such sure people, but not me. 

Reddit seems to be split between people living in Buddhist countries who assume they don't have to modernize or update the teachings, and new age hippy dippy anything goes western liberals. These two don't mix well, and by bombing social media one side or the other can seem to win. Discussion isn't so much about winning and losing though, IMHO, and more about sharing of experience. 

Once again I feel like we're at a place where people are trying enforce personality, and not really support other people's practice. Spot the polarization and pick a side. I'm learning to resist that temptation more and more. 

Beginner's mind is important when approaching study, teachers, and sangha relationships. The Bible really thumps on humility, but the Pali Canon doesn't as much, it's much more sprinkled with a variety of virtues. Still humility is important. As someone who rejects Christianity, it's tempting to go in the other direction, but that's reactive and not creative. 

Sometimes I want some spice. I recently got interested in Jiddu Krishnamurti. Sometimes it feel claustrophobic to only read the pali canon. There have been some developments since the Buddha 2500 years ago. Lots of ideas. The best teachers update and integrate the teachings, and yet somehow hold onto the tradition, if I can get away with having it both ways. I try to read at least a few sentences of pali canon every day, to keep in touch with the teachings. That's why I'm doing this sutra today. Being focused on the teachings of the Buddha is an important trait of a Buddhist. In a way I think it leads everyone to be a scholar and a monk. So be it.