Life’s Ups & Downs

21 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Ups and Downs Of LifeMany things happen in life. There are joyous days and times of suffering. Sometimes unpleasant things occur. But that’s what makes life so interesting. The dramas we encounter that are part and parcel of being human.

If we experienced no change or drama in our lives, if nothing unexpected ever happened, we would merely be like automatons, our lives unbearably monotonous and dull.

Therefore, it is important to develop a strong self so that you can enact the drama of your life with confidence and poise in the face of whatever challenges you may encounter.

~ Daisaku Ikeda

Life Is Trying, So Keep Trying

20 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Life Is TryingThere is no self-improvement without effort.

Without taking action, happiness will never come, no matter how long you wait. A life without peaks and valleys is a fairy tale. Reality is strict, because it is a win or lose struggle.

This is the way it is for human beings. Therefore, you should not allow yourselves to be battered about by reality but rather willingly rise to its challenges and use them as opportunities to train and strengthen yourselves.

~ Daisaku Ikeda

Made To Measure

19 Mar 2014 5 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Nichiren BuddhismSo many of the World Religions base their beliefs on a God, a Supreme Being, a Creator or an Entity whose existence is the focus of the religion’s belief.

As a confirmed Atheist, that focus never sat comfortably in my psyche. I don’t think anyone really believes in a white haired old man sitting in the clouds these days, but there are millions of people who base their faith on a Being whose existence cannot be proven. In fact, many religions actively seek to dissuade followers from even trying to prove that existence.

I was schooled in the Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology as well as Psychology, and those sciences demand proof for each and every hypothesis. So when I stumbled, and that is the right way to describe it, upon Nichiren Buddhism, I was overjoyed to find that there was no supreme being and that every part of Practice demands we examine the results of that Practice as proof of it’s validity.

Nichiren Daishonin said that we should seek proof of the effectiveness of our Practice in the results it brings. He also says that if the results do not support the practice, that we should desist.

I don’t want anyone to think that I am putting Nichiren Buddhism above or before any other religion, I am only saying that, for me, it fits my thinking and for me, it works. Although I have been practicing for a while now, I am still learning new things all the time, and the results have been amazing, so the proof is there for me and others to see.

In Another Person’s Shoes

18 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

Another Person's ShoesThere is an old saying, that before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticise them, you have a pair of their shoes, and you are a mile away 🙂

But seriously, it is easy to see the faults in another when you are only seeing things from your point of view.

There is a wise Buddhist saying that says ‘we hate in others, what we refuse to see in ourselves’. Before you start picking on someone for their faults, make sure that you don’t have he same faults yourself.

Seeing the other persons viewpoint takes wisdom, courage and compassion, particularly in the heat of the moment. But taking a few seconds to allow yourself to become mindful, and then trying to reach a balanced view will do no harm, and may help resolve the issue once and for all.

Never Give Up, Not Never Ever

17 Mar 2014 2 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

DeterminationRecently, we talked about the fact that we only lose when we decide we have lost. Having the courage, patience and determination to press on, even when all the signs are telling you to stop, to give in, to cut and run, can allow amazing unexpected results to occur.

Remaining calm, collected, objective and compassionate, even when the circumstances may be urging you on in other directions, is a feature of our nature that requires time, patience and practice.

I don’t think it is simply a coincidence that practice, meaning repeating a task or skill to improve your proficiency, and Buddhist practice, use the same word. As Gary Player, the famous golfer once said of his game, ‘the more I practice, the luckier I get’. Luck has nothing to do with it of course, and he, and we, know it.

So if you find the odds stacked against you, start getting disheartened by the way events seem to be going, you must believe in yourself and your practice. You might be surprised by what actually happens. So apply for that job, write that email or make that phone call, what have you got to lose?

Not All It Seems To Be

16 Mar 2014 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

The Penrose TriangleWhile the ‘real’ world is out there, all around us, in physical form, ‘our’ world is contained within the amazing structure we call our brain.

Whilst we can process, interact with and interpret the events and objects around us, our brains are guilty of playing tricks on us if we do not keep a close eye on them.

Our brains are amazing things, I think we can all agree on  that. But they are also capable of making the simplest of mistakes. Take a look at the image above. Each angle looks like a perfectly plausible part of a three dimensional triangle, but as you move from one angle to the next, it becomes clear that the object we perceive is, in fact, an illusion.

Our brains are programmed by evolution, to make sense of partial information. Being able to recognise a Sabre-Toothed Tiger from just a small part of his outline would be a very valuable asset to pre-historic man. But being able to recognise a scenario from a handful of unrelated, or even imagined mental clues, can lead us right up the garden path, to completely the wrong conclusion.

Imagination, illusion and our Fundamental Darkness are all facets of real life, but beware of leaning too heavily on one or all of these when you are piecing together your next mental jigsaw puzzle, you might find you are confronted by an unpleasant picture that is wholly inaccurate.

The Rough With The Smooth

15 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Waiting For The FerryIf you ride a bicycle on UK roads, you’ll know how lovely it can be to find yourself on a stretch of nice smooth new tarmac. The lumps and bumps of our older repaired roads really can rattle your bones, so the new surface is a real treat.

Life is like that too. It’s the lumps and bumps of everyday life that make you realise just how comfortable the smooth untroubled times are. But without the rough times, we would never recognise the comparison and enjoy the easier times all the more.

We all know that as we move through life, it is impossible to stay on the smooth untroubled path. The bumpy times are a simple fact, just as they are out on the road. So when they come along, just be determined, hold on tight, keep pedalling and look forward to the smoother times ahead.

Here are a couple of photos from my ride today …

Destination Old Harry

Beautiful Sunshine

Cheer The Folks Up !!!

14 Mar 2014 3 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Be Their Sunshine

Life is full of ups and downs, as we all know.

Little things can make friends and family members unhappy or even depressed, so make it your job to make them feel better.

There are so many people, so many lives on this planet, too numerous, in fact, to count.

From this great multitude, we wondrously find ourselves together with those in our families, as parents and children, as brothers and sisters, as husbands and wives.

If we do not live joyfully and cheerfully with whom we share this profound bond, what is life for?

Should the atmosphere at home be sombre, you can be the ‘sunshine’. By being a shining presence, you can cast the light of hope on your mother, father, children and indeed the whole family.

It’s That Day Again

13 Mar 2014 7 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

My Nan, Charlotte and HannahMarch the thirteenth always stirs up the saddest of memories for me and for my family. It is exactly twenty two years ago today, that I lost the second most important lady in my life, my paternal grandmother. Just to make it even worse, if that were at all possible, ironically, March the thirteenth 1992 was a Friday, probably the worst Friday the thirteenth ever.

She was the most wonderful grandmother anyone could ever have had. She looked after me when I was very young, when my Mom was suffering from Tuberculosis, at a time when it was often fatal. She was a tweeny, a maid between stairs, in the days when real-life Upstairs, Downstairs or Downton Abbey was a lot less romantic that it is on TV today. She was married to my grandfather Walter, back when Wally wasn’t a derogatory name.

She lived in a council house in Erdington, Birmingham, never owned a car, never really had two pennies to rub together, but was dignified and always proud of the way she looked and the way she kept that house. I spent many, many happy school summer holidays there, and remember being spoiled rotten.

She made the best bread pudding in the world, always had tinned peaches or pears and trifle on the tea table and knitted me more school jumpers than I can count. We went on lots of holidays together as a family, but never once outside the UK, in fact she may never have been abroad in her whole life. She was never happier than when she had something to worry about, but she was always happy and full of love.

She was just wonderful, was always there for us and is greatly missed. It makes me happy to know that she is back in the world somewhere and I know she will be spreading love and light wherever she (or he) is. We miss and are thinking of you Nan.

Well, If You Will Ask …

12 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Qs and AsI learned a really important lesson today, one which at my age, you might expect I had already learned. When you ask someone a question, you must be prepared to receive an answer, and not necessarily the answer you were expecting.

Without going into any detail, I asked a light hearted question of someone this evening, and already had the answer ready in my own head. To my huge surprise, I actually got a completely different response to the one I expected and it really threw me.

After further discussion, and not a little self reflection, the mini wobble was stabilised, but it did teach me a good lesson as I said. That is, to never ask a question of someone unless you are truly prepared to deal with the answer.

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