Go, Go, Go

21 Oct 2011 2 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Time FliesToday has just been one of those days.

Up at a crazy time in order to get to my first ever spinning class at the health club in Ringwood, quick shower and change and dash to work for 8:30, one thing after another all day, a commando style sortie into Ringwood high street at lunchtime, back on the wheel all afternoon, stuck in mega traffic on the way back home, loads to do for my trip to Bristol tomorrow … and finally it’s pretty much done … but so is the day …

Thank heavens for mobile chanting, it raises the life-state and calms the mind when you are up against it, stuck in the traffic, when you’d rather be somewhere else.

Death Of A Tyrant

20 Oct 2011 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Gaddafi by John Cox © 2006The reports of the capture of Muammar Gaddafi started filtering through around about three o’clock this afternoon. Initially the news was that he had been injured, but was still alive. Later it became clear that he had been killed in an intense gun battle with supporters of the new regime.

There were sounds of understandable joy and celebration from the liberated masses, clear signs that Gaddafi was never as popular amongst his own people as he would have liked us to believe. Interviews with a number of Libyan citizens showed that there was mixed reaction to the deposed leader’s death.

Some people were obviously overjoyed at his demise, others had wanted him to be captured alive, so he could stand trial for the war crimes against his own people. Either way, there appeared to be relief that the strife of the civil war would now be over, and the work of rebuilding the devastation left behind, could begin.

I am pleased, for the Libyan people, that his tyranny of forty two years has come to an end. I am unconvinced that Cameron’s claim that it was a justifiable end to a successful military and political mission. I am left rather sickened by the nature of the celebration over the death of another human being.

Whilst we were aware of his rule of iron over his people, and his involvement in numerous terrorist atrocities such as the Lockerbie bombing, he was still a man when all was said and done. Buddhism teaches us that everyone, without exception, has the life-state of Buddhahood within them. Even an evil monster like Gaddafi loved his wife and children and could show compassion to those around him.

On a great day for Libya, for the progress towards a humane and democratic society, let us celebrate with dignity. We are not savages, dancing round the carcass of our latest kill. So whilst rejoicing in the liberation of another middle-eastern nation from their oppressive overlords, let us not demean ourselves by glorying in the death of a fellow human being.

On Deaf Ears

19 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Let Battle Not CommenceDespite my plea yesterday, the blame and counter blame emails started flying this morning, so sad. I understand that everyone wants to put their side of the story, make themselves look like the innocent party, get the family on their side. But isn’t that just the way wars and feuds start?

In the past, I was as guilty as the next man of doing exactly the same, but since finding Nichiren Buddhism I find, as I’ve said before, that I seem to have the ability to see things from both sides. I just hope that the first salvo doesn’t set the tone for the battle to come.

In situations like this, the people who suffer the most are the children. Not because they care any more, or understand any less, but because they have no control of their destinies, and get swept along with the tide of emotions.

Of course they will side with their mother, they have lived with her all their lives, apart from the time away at school or college. She has had the major influence on them, has nourished and cared for them, as any mother would. But that in itself slants their view of the situation and colours their opinions.

I do hope that all parties involved can come out of this long and often painful process without becoming bitter or vindictive toward the others. It’s a big ask, and something that is not often achieved, but I hope that the intention is there, at least at the start. As I said yesterday, we need to have wisdom, courage and compassion by the barrow load.

A Heartfelt Plea

18 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

When It Ends In TearsTonight’s post is a plea from the heart to my family and those who are close to me. When problems arise between two people, there are always two sides to the argument, nothing is black and white, and one side’s view will never coincide with the other’s. So as an onlooker, please take a pace backwards and try, as far as humanly possible, to see the situation from both sides with a quiet, but understanding sadness.

Matrimonial disputes are always messy. Once the lawyers get involved, it is almost impossible to resolve things in an amicable way, because that’s not in the lawyers financial interest. They will advise their client to get as much out of the situation as possible, often with little or no concern for the heartache they may be causing in so doing.

My position, and I will state it clearly here, is that I am here for either side. I admit that, for me, blood is thicker than water, but that doesn’t mean that I am blinkered to the pains of my non-blood relatives involved. I will speak my mind to anyone who seeks my counsel, though,  I admit, that particular queue may be very short indeed.

But having been through more divorce proceedings than is good for one person, at least I know the emotions and feelings that those concerned are battling with right now. It is a horrible set of circumstances to go through, but it can be made easier for all concerned if only those driving the process show a little wisdom, courage and particularly, compassion.

Why Help Pakistan?

17 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Pakistan FloodsIt is a well documented fact that Pakistan is a very active area for the organisation and training of al-Qaeda terrorists. On the southern border of Afghanistan it is perfectly placed to allow it to be used as a base for the insurgents’ attacks. It also appears that the Pakistani government is prepared, if not to aid, to turn a blind eye to the training camps. It was not really a huge surprise that Osama Bin Laden was finally trapped in a compound in Abbotabad in north west Pakistan.

So why should we be moved by the scenes of starvation and death from the Singh province in southern Pakistan?

I suppose the most obvious answer is that these poor, and malnourished people, who have seen their crop harvest decimated by horrendous floods, are part of the human race, just as deserving of assistance, as you or I. They are not the people to blame for the terrorism, but they have been all but forgotten by their own government and the rest of the world.

A less obvious, but maybe more appropriate reason, in the cause of Kosen Rufu, how can we better build bridges to this country? We have been attempting, mostly in vain, to supress the terrorist factions through the use of arms and violence. What have we to lose if we change tack and help the country, win the hearts, and save thousands of lives into the bargain?

The aid organisations are crying out for donations. They are saying that the international response to calls for donations have been ‘pathetic’. So why not stop spending millions of pounds a week on a futile war, and channel some of that money into going some real good?

Being Aware

16 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Tour de FranceOut on the bike again, I started to see things that related to the weight issue we discussed yesterday. The contrast between the other cyclists, the runners and skaters, and those folks tucked in their beach huts, was amazing.

Cycling burns about 250 calories an hour, even if you are just out for casual bimble. Hard riding burns considerably more, for example the riders in the Tour de France burn over 4000 calories a day. Now admittedly I’m no where near the pro-cyclists league, but there is a real satisfaction in the tiredness you feel after an aggressive ride.

But back to the beach huts. Most of the occupants were slouched in deck chairs, most were rather overweight, and the ice cream salesmen must have been having a bumper day, judging by the number of folks who were tucking into a cornet or lolly.

Now I’m not a party-pooper, and I have eaten my share of Ben and Jerry’s in my time, but it just served to show why some people are so overweight, while others are slim. It goes back to karma, to the cause and effect principle. It is so simple, if you make bad causes, in this case eating more calories than you need, you will see bad effects, namely weight gain.

I know a number of people who would like to be slimmer, I was one of them. But unless you make that a heart-felt goal, that you are aware of how much you are eating, it will never happen. I’m not going on some one-man crusade to get people to lose weight, but if you are one of the people who would like to, all you have to do is stick to the simplest formula. Eat less calories than you need, each and every day.

Just Get On With It

15 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

The PromenadeThis lifetime will never come again, it is precious and irreplaceable. To live without regret, we must have a concrete purpose, continually setting goals and challenges for ourselves. But setting these challenges will achieve nothing unless we keep moving towards those specific targets steadily and tenaciously, one step at a time.

So following on from yesterdays post, the concrete of my concrete purpose was the promenade stretching from Sandbanks to Christchurch. It was a perfect day, beautiful sunshine and the wind in my face on the way there, so it was at my back on the way home. The sunshine brings out the promenaders, so it was a bit of a stop start bike ride, and the recent strong winds have deposited mini dunes all along the stretch from Bournemouth to Christchurch.

So another step towards my goal of reaching 75kgs, and only another 100kgs to go … only kidding, it’s actually about 6.5kgs, so it shouldn’t take too long now. Then the next goal will be to keep it off !!!

Measuring Self Discipline

14 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Measuring Self DisciplineI’ve been listening with interest to the news regarding the government plans to stem the growing number of obese people, particularly children. There are ideas regarding emulating the Scandinavian ‘Fat Tax’ idea, where fattening foods would be taxed at a higher rate than less fattening foods, discouraging people from buying them. There are also plans to involve the food manufacturers, suggesting that they reduce the fat content, or even the size of packaged foodstuff portions.

One reason that I have been so interested is that I have been ‘dieting’ myself since the beginning of August. I put dieting in quotes because I haven’t had any hard and fast rules, no real ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’, I just been eating a lot less than I was and doing more than I was too. The good news, from my own point of view, is that I have lost well over ten kilos, or more than a stone and a half in old money, in that time.

But there really isn’t any magic, it’s exactly the same as karma, it’s cause and effect. The nice thing is, that compared to karma, the results are pretty instant. On days where I have been strong, stuck to my self regulated plan, I see a weight loss. On the odd day when I have eaten more than I planned, I usually see a small gain. Good causes, good effects, bad causes, bad effects, it’s as simple as that.

So is there really any need to go to all this trouble to help obese people to lose weight? I don’t really think there is. The real problem is that people often lack the determination or self disciple to reach their goals. It is much easier to gain weight than it is to lose it, and it’s a far more pleasant process too. But if you want something bad enough, and set achievable, smaller goals, it’s not beyond the reach of anyone.

If I can do it, you can do it. It’s simply a case of finding the self disciple to consume fewer calories than you burn each day. The one thing that I can say, is that there is very little to compare with the pleasure you feel when you reach each small goal, one after another, after another. Self discipline is a wonderful thing. If you can find it within yourself, it will reward you time and time again, and when people notice and comment, that’s a bonus.

The Jewel In The Crown?

13 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

NHS ReformsListening to the reports this morning of elderly patients who have been failed in the level of care to the point of criminal neglect, it is obvious that Question Time’s first topic about NHS reforms completely missed the point.

Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley admitted that he has been working on the proposed changes to the NHS for eight years, and appears to have come up with a plan that lacks any support from the doctors and health professionals who are at the coal face.

Dr Phil Hammond pointed out that the current bill has more than eighty references to competition, but less than ten references to integration. So it is clear that they are planning to invite private companies to compete for the services offered. Dr Hammond agreed that competition can be useful in finding efficiencies, but it must not be at the expense of the quality of care.

We are told that we all love the NHS, that it is the envy of the rest of the world. It beggars the question about health services in other countries, if they envy our senior citizens the situation where they get such poor care that they are forced to lie in their own excreta.

Lets, take off the blinkers. Whilst the original idea of services, free at the point of care is an ideal worth fighting for, the quality of those services has to be as good as can be achieved, otherwise we are chasing a costly pipedream. A pipedream that, in certain cases, has turned into a nightmare.

Watching The Watcher

12 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

WatchingEach day brings us joys and challenges, each of which have the ability to alter our life-state in some manner. Joys tend to raise our life-state, challenges may lower it if we let them, and there lies the conundrum. We need to be vigilant, to observe our life-state from moment to moment, but in doing so, we affect that life-state.

Just as in quantum physics, the mere act of observation affects the phenomenon being observed, self observation of our life-state can, and most likely will affect it too. Imagine a situation where you become angry because something has not gone the way you would like. Initially you may be reacting instinctively, in an animalistic fashion. But as soon as you realise that you are reacting in such a manner, in other words, you observe your life-state, there is a large chance that you will change to that of a more calm and reflective mood, even into a state of tranquillity.

So we have this little test for ourselves. We must be, as far as possible, aware of our life-state. Ideally we want to be in one of the higher states, not grubbing around in the worlds of Hell, Hunger, Animality or Anger, but in Learning, Realisation, Bodhisattva or even Buddhahood. The act of testing can help us raise our life-state through awareness, which is a good thing. But be warned, when the results come back, and you find you are in one of the lower worlds, that can be a sobering moment, when you realise that you are not as far along the path to enlightenment as you would like to be.

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