More Effort, Less Pain

11 Dec 2011 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

DeterminationAnother day of dealing with work issues, so it wasn’t a problem that it was cold and miserable outside. Of course I miss getting out on the bike, but it will still be there when the weather improves and the workload subsides. The best bit about getting stuck into a whole heap of work, is that it won’t be sitting there waiting for me in the morning.

Another nice thing was that I got to speak to one of our Canadian subscribers. He’s a major user of the software and has loads of ideas about how things should be and how they can be made more user friendly.

So a pleasant hour of work related banter and a whole bunch of ideas to run by the team in the morning. And that is quite enough for one day.

Keep On Keeping On

10 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Grit Your TeethIt may be the weekend, but that doesn’t mean that we can take our foot off the software support pedal. As with most websites, our traffic is higher in the evenings and at the weekends, when people who work all week have the time to surf the web.

Fortunately, the winter weather makes it less disappointing to be stuck indoors and be tied to the PC. There is a real feeling of satisfaction in resolving issues for our clients. It’s also nice to get the ‘thank you’ emails dropping into my inbox as people appreciate that we are still working out of core hours.

There was a point earlier in the week, when the emails were coming in faster than we could respond to them. A real feeling that we were losing the battle, baling as fast as we could, with the water still rising fast. But the new version of the product has reversed the trend, with people writing in to thank us for our efforts and even offering to help.

So the moral of the story is to keep your head, keep on keeping on, and your efforts will see you through in the end. Naturally, this applies to all aspects of life, not just to software projects, so keep your chin up, grit your teeth and press on regardless, knowing that good things will come out of it in the end.

A Way Of Life

09 Dec 2011 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

BuddhahoodAs you know, my Buddhist Practice is now a way of life. A routine of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and prayer, that I go through every day, a routine that also involves me writing this blog. But routine is also another word for boring, mundane or even hum-drum, so it’s important to keep in mind why we Practice.

We Practice for several reasons …

  • To raise our life-energy levels …

  • To chant for certain outcomes …

  • To move us along the road towards Buddhahood …

  • To give a stable anchor in our lives …

and there are many others, often different for every individual.

As a mere novice, I find that I can learn a little more each day Let’s face it, Buddhism has been around for well over two thousand years, so there’s plenty to learn about.. I can improve or seek to perfect my Practice and to maintain a more focussed attention to the subject of my chanting. I look forward to the feeling I get during and after Gongyo. I often find that I am quite warm when I finish chanting and in a really good mood, despite any problems I am facing.

I never cease to be amazed by the effectiveness of chanting either. To start with, the word coincidence came into my mind when I saw results, but not any more. But I do get surprised by the way the Universe solves the problems with which I have asked it to help. Not always the way I expected, and often in better, more subtle ways than I could have imagined.

So my Practice is a pleasure, not a chore. It’s something I enjoy and never something I feel I have to do. As Nichiren Daishonin said, ‘If you practice something, you must test it’s validity with the results you see’. In other words, if it doesn’t work, stop doing it. For me, it is still working wonders almost daily, and I truly believe the World would be a better place if more people were to discover those wonders.

Success At Last

08 Dec 2011 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

HappinessHaving said how tough things were yesterday, I am delighted to relate that today had been a much more positive and happy day, with some great progress and success in many areas. Many of the issues raised over that last week have been addressed and resolved, and I have spoken personally to some of the most vehement detractors, reducing their blood pressure and mine, and getting them back onside.

It is all too easy to let pressure get the better of us. To let ourselves focus on the negatives, to the detriment of the positives in life. Be that at work, in our home life or wherever, this is a big mistake and we all need to redress the balance if we are to meet the challenges.

So with work back on track, albeit that there is still much to do, things are now moving in a positive direction, I feel more able to concentrate on the more important things in life. Charlotte is due to have her last scheduled radiotherapy session tomorrow, and apart from that being a success in it’s own right, is a great relief to her and all her family and friends.

When we look back to the beginning of the year, with the devastating news about her cancer, the worrying news about her pregnancy and the difficult choices that were ahead, it is wonderful to reach this point. It would have been all too easy for us to dive into a state of hopeless depression. But with Charlotte’s own strength and positivity and my own blossoming practice, coupled with the huge support from everyone, we find ourselves coming out of the shadows and into the bright sunshine of achievement, with a beautiful baby boy and with Charlotte well down the road to full recovery.

Deep Breaths

07 Dec 2011 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Software ProblemsWe all know that we should welcome, if not exactly seek out problems, to test our practice. We also know that sometimes it is easy to see the benefits, sometimes it’s not and today has been one of those times.

Our software has had a few issues since launch and a select group of clients have been making their thoughts known most vehemently. I don’t know what gives them the right to think that they are such an elite group, because we have had some very nice emails from other people. But being bombarded with vitriolic criticism, when you have little or no control over the project, is a difficult place to be.

We need to take a step back, take a few deep breaths, try to see the situation from their point of view and put things right. I’m meeting the boss in the office tomorrow and I’ll need to chant all the way to Ringwood to get myself into the right life-state. Poison into medicine, challenges not problems, that’s the way we’ll drag ourselves back from the edge of this particular brink.

Pure Evil

06 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Outrageous AttackJust how wicked do you have to be to organise the suicide bombing of worshipers at a sacred shrine? The bombing of an Islamic ceremony in Kabul today showed just how low the Taliban are prepared to stoop in the struggle to stop Afghanistan emerging into a democratic society. The Taliban have denied that they are behind the attack, the Afghan government say they are lying. Combined with a second bombing in Mazar-i-Sharif, the coordinated attacks appears to have been aimed at the Muslim Shia minority.

Imagine being in the situation where, in the middle of the act of worship, the ceremony is brought to an abrupt end by the death of over fifty worshippers and the injuring of a hundred and fifty more. It beggars belief that these people are, in any way, serious about being involved in anything like a peace process.

To the families and friends of the dead and injured, I send my condolences and best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. Sure, these people are different to us in the West, but they are still part of the global family, and deserve to be treated with respect. I have never been very supportive of the war on terrorism, the aims being too woolly and undefined. But incidents like this one today, make a strong case for strengthening and intensifying the action against these evil people, they are oblivious to the suffering they are causing.

Feeling Unwanted

05 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Germany and FranceIs it just me, or is the way the Germans and French are talking about uniting Europe with or without the British a little worrying? Of course there needs to be tighter bonds and regulation within the Eurozone, in order to put a stop to the economic issues plaguing Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain, but a unilateral change in the treaties governing such ties must be a bad thing.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are working together for the good of their respective countries, and that is to be encouraged, but this cannot be allowed to happen at the expense of the other European countries. In a statement today in Paris, they are saying that change will go ahead, with or without agreement from other European partners.

What is really needed at this point is more dialogue, to produce a consensus and a workable solution for all our economic neighbours. The fact that the UK is, and rightly so in my opinion, outside the Eurozone, should not be a reason for us to be left out of the discussions.

Economic strife has been the cause of so much conflict of the centuries, now is not the time to be talking about going it alone. or leaving out partners for the sake of individual countries. Germany and France have been at the forefront of the bailout negotiations with Greece and Italy, but that does not give them the right to bulldoze through legislation that will affect every European citizen for the foreseeable future.

Let’s hope that President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel have the wisdom, courage and compassion to come to the right decision over this, not just for themselves, but for everyone.

Awkward Questions

04 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Facebook-ZuckerbergThere was a really thought provoking program about Facebook on BBC tonight. Emily Maitlis interviews Mark Zuckeberg, the founder of the social networking site, and asks some rather awkward questions about the underlying psychological issues and advertising practices facing subscribers.

As one of those subscribers, I had become rather concerned about the way commercial companies are now much more prominent and that they have access to all my details as well as all my friends if I choose to Like them, so I tend not to.

Nobody can argue that Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and the like haven’t changed the way we keep in touch with family and friends forever. But we should all pause to think about quite how comfortable we are, letting these companies have such easy access to our personal details as well as our spending patterns, simply in order to promote their products or persuade us to part with our cash.

Watch the program, via the link above, and then you decide.

Why Bother?

03 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Blah-Blah-BlahIt really makes me laugh, the comments I get when I write something contentious about religion or religious issues. So today I’ve had a great time reading the ‘hate-mail’ I’ve received regarding yesterday’s post about the Bideford council prayer issue.

The thing that really tickles my funny-bone is the way they all, almost without exception, go on and on about what a waste of their time it is for them to be reading my blog, and what drivel it all is, when all they are doing is wasting yet more time commenting on it.

Fortunately, my spam filter blocks them all, so after a cursory glance I hit the ‘empty spam’ button, and consign them to the great waste bin in the sky. Of course, everyone has the right to air their opinion, but I would really like to thank every one of the contributors for giving me such a laugh and raising my already high life-energy levels.

Oh God, You’re In Court

02 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

High CourtWhatever will our crazy society come up with next? Bideford Town Council defended their right to hold Christian prayers before its meetings in the High Court today. The defence was necessary because a former atheist councillor, Cline Bone, had tried to stop prayers because they made him feel ‘disadvantaged and embarrassed’.

Now call me progressive, but to my mind, prayers, beliefs, acts of worship and so on, are on a purely personal preference basis. Having said that, England is a Christian country, hence The Church of England. Even so, nobody should have to go to court to defend their beliefs, or their non-beliefs either.

So stop all this rubbish. At a time when the whole country is cash-strapped, people losing jobs and budgets being cut, left right and centre, the council tax payers of Bideford deserve better. Somebody bang these folk’s heads together and come to a compromise. I bet God is looking down on you all with a right proper frown on his (or her) face.

Of course, that compromise could be holding Gongyo before the meetings instead. I can just hear it now … Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, in a broad Devon accent, followed by clotted cream teas.

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