Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone

07 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Defeat Your Dark PassengerChallenges we set ourselves can be easy, or they can be hard. Generally speaking, the challenges that are worth setting, take us well out of our comfort zone. So what is the secret of success in such a situation?

Well speaking from my own experience, it is all about confidence and determination. My weight loss ‘program’, if you can call it that, was set in motion through a determination to get into shape, both physically and in terms of my own self image. It’s easy to put off till tomorrow, that which you should start today, and to give in today, promising that you will put things right tomorrow.

Feelings like that are normal. It is our Fundamental Darkness talking us into wrong thoughts and deeds. The only weapon we have against it, and we all have those thoughts, is our determination to succeed. By imagining that our Dark Passenger,  as I prefer to call it, is actually something outside ourselves, we can mentally argue our case and through determination change our actions.

Yesterday’s ride, although no Tour de France, was by far the hardest ride I have undertaken in years. My Dark Passenger was coming up with all manner of reason for why I shouldn’t embark on the challenge. It’s too far, what happens if you get a puncture, worse still, what if you get to Swanage and are too tired to get back? Well I ignored his negativity, got on my bike, literally, and showed him that, given the confidence and determination, I could achieve my goal, and I enjoyed every second of it.

I have set myself some much tougher goals in that respect. I am, once the weather improves in the spring, going to cycle up to see Charlotte and Hannah in Bristol. That will be a journey of over seventy miles in one day, or one hundred and fifty miles if they send me packing and I ride straight back. I’m also going to take part in the Beach to Beach ride in aid of Asthma Research, from Bournemouth to Brighton, next May, so I need to push myself still further to help that good cause.

Success is sweet, failure is bitter and the only difference between the two is determination. Any goal, no matter how large or how small, is only unattainable if you lack the determination to go on. No cause is lost until you decide that it is lost. So ignore, or better still defeat your Fundamental Darkness, have confidence in yourself, be determined, and never, ever give up. In that way, you will always be a winner, will achieve your goals, and be forever tasting that sweet taste of success.

Food For The Soul

06 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

Sunny SwanageToday has been an unseasonably sunny and warm(ish) day, so what could be better than to get out in the fresh air, challenge yourself to ride to a beautiful destination and burn off a whole bunch of calories? Yesterday was a rest day in my schedule and I ate well in preparation for today. So by 8:30am I was up and preparing myself and the bike for the trip to Swanage.

Setting off at 9:00am it was still pretty chilly, even though I was wearing several layers, but by the time I passed the St. Peter’s Finger pub, I was warming up nicely. I guess that 9:00am is still a little early for most people to be about on a Sunday, so I had the roads pretty much to myself. One thing you do notice on a road bike, with thin and very hard tyres, is just how poor some of our roads have become, and how come they always seem to get rougher when the road starts to climb?

Swanage or BustThe route almost picks itself, out through Upton through Lychett Minster and then onto Sandford road at the A35. I always have a little smile to myself as I pass the Half Way Inn pub, just the child within me I guess.  Now the route is not exactly flat, but it doesn’t really get you standing on the pedals until you reach Corfe Castle. The rise to the castle entrance is quite challenging, there is a side road, with a horse and rider waiting to cross this morning, then a pedestrian crossing and all manner of obstacle that could potentially slow your progress.

Having successfully negotiated all of that, it’s off down East Street, though no sign of Bruce Springsteen today, and off towards Harman’s Cross. As a bit of a closet train spotter, steam trains of course, the joy of crossing the Swanage Steam Railway line, just as a locomotive goes under the bridge, was brilliant. Sadly I didn’t have enough pairs of hands to capture the event on my phone.

You would imagine, that having got over the highest point at the castle, it would be a nice downhill bimble into Swanage, but nothing could be further from the truth. As you can see from the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast, the land along the South coast is a series of folds, and some of those folds are not so gentle at times. But apart from the lumps and bumps, and being chivvied along by a farmer on his tractor, the last few kilometres were pretty uneventful, and I rolled onto the promenade at about 10:20am.

Taking a short rest round by the pier, I took the photo at the top of the post. As you can see, there are a few ‘white horses’ rolling in and it was quite windy down by the sea. Of course, the problem with riding down to the coast, is that you have to ride all the way back home. The good news was that the wind was generally in my favour, which on a bike is a real bonus. So although the energy levels were being tested towards the end, I was back in The Quay before 12 noon. A wonderful way to spend a glorious Sunday morning, and a little secret, chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is a great way to keep your cadence high, whilst remembering to breathe.

Unacceptable

05 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Lest We ForgetMy Grandfather, George ‘Chalky’ White fought for his country in World War I. He fought the Turks at Gallipoli and was one of the few to survive. He was then posted to France to fight the Germans, to the Somme to be exact, where he was blown up, gassed and shot, but still he survived. In the manner of many of his generation, he never talked about what he did, or what he saw, but like all the men and women who offer their life in the service of their country, he was a hero.

At the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, we stand in silence, to reflect on the sacrifice that these men and women made, and continue to make. We make this gesture once a year, come rain or shine, to show our gratitude. In Ypres, Belgium, at the Menin Gate, at 6pm every day, they close the road, stop the traffic and stand while the local fire brigade brass band play The Last Post.

The heroes and heroines deserve the recognition they receive, they made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. So to hear that FIFA has banned the England team from wearing a Poppy emblem on their shirts, in the friendly game against Spain next weekend, is nothing short of a disgrace. They claim that the Poppy emblem is a political statement. It is not, it is an symbol of respect, something FIFA know little about. For these trumped up little demi-gods to pontificate on such a matter is totally unacceptable. I implore the English FA and the players to ignore this ruling, and to stand up for our heroes, in this small way, as they have all done for us.

Anger In Buddhism

04 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Become A Lion KingI think all of us are more than a little angry about the current injustices in our society. It appears, on the face of it, that the banking community has plunged the world into a state of turmoil, yet they are the first to be offered help to get out of the mess of their own making.

Nichiren Daishonin was never afraid to confront injustice. He spent a large part of his life in prison and exile because he was unafraid to voice his feelings about it and had this to say:

‘Each of you should summon up the courage of a lion king and never succumb to threats from anyone. The lion king fears no other beast, nor do it’s cubs. Slanderers are like barking foxes, but Nichiren’s followers are like roaring lion kings.’

So summon up your courage and roar at the injustice we are seeing right before our very eyes. We all understand that we will have to make sacrifices, but those sacrifices have to be borne by every individual according to the ability to survive having made them.

None of us want to reside in the lower world of anger, but turning that poison into medicine is the route to, not only solving the injustices in the world, but also the financial situation in which we find ourselves.

Watching Out For The Neighbours

03 Nov 2011 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Assos - CephaloniaWe are all waiting, with bated breath, to see what will happen next in the unbelievable story of Greece and the Eurozone. I have been guilty of becoming frustrated with the zig-zag path that their politicians are taking, and there are more turns yet to come.

But having watched Joanna Lumley travelling around Greece, it is clear, and I have witnessed it myself in Cephalonia, that the ordinary Greek citizens are not solely responsible for the mess in which they find themselves.

They are a friendly, welcoming and cultured people. Their civilisation and history have left a wonderful legacy in all facets of modern life. The arts, science, politics and medicine were all hugely advanced by the ancient Greeks, and we have much to thank them for.

So whilst it is easy to feel anger towards Greece as a whole, for the way that it is currently deepening the world monetary crisis, that anger must be tempered towards the Greek people themselves. We must use wisdom, courage and compassion in our response to these luckless citizens, who are on a roller-coaster ride to a destination to which they have no personal choice.

Watching the program tonight, I relived the idyllic days of wonderful weather, sights and sounds, and the warm welcome I felt from the locals of Trapazaki and Argostoli the capital of the island. These people deserve our thoughts and prayers in their time of trouble, and maybe we should all make an effort to help by thinking about visiting their beleaguered land and supporting their tourist economy.

Open For Business?

02 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Dr SmugListening to Dr Richard Chartres, the Anglican Bishop of London, on BBC Radio 4 this morning, I was amazed at some of his answers to the questions posed by Sarah Montague.

Saying that St. Paul’s was ‘open for business’ as usual, was only the first in a number of pseudo-political answers he trotted out during the eight minute interview.

I’m not making any further comment, but if you would like to listen to the whole interview and make your own mind up, it’s here.

W, C & C

01 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

George PapandreouAfter all the negotiation of last week, of the leaders of the Euro zone countries, putting together a bail out (or is it bale out) plan for Greece, it was unbelievable that the Greek Prime Minister announced a potentially deal breaking referendum.

One of Uncle Ken’s favourite quotes is “A great inner revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of an entire society and, further, will cause a change in the destiny of humankind.” Well I’m not sure that George Papandreou has actually had an inner revolution, or that the change in destiny is quite that envisaged by Ken’s quotation, but it is frightening that just one man’s decision can wipe billions off the world’s stock markets at a single stroke.

George Papandreou has, without doubt, courage in abundance. I do however fear that it is not matched by equal measures of wisdom or compassion. I fear that his decision was taken for personal reasons, in an attempt to bolster his flagging political popularity, rather than as an attempt to secure a deal of control, over their financial destiny, for the Greek people.

From the newsreel footage from across Europe today. It is clear that Minister Papandreou has done immeasurable damage to his popularity amongst his peers, though for him, that may be an inconsequential aside. I hope that the Greek people see the bigger picture, realise that Europe is trying to help them out of a state of bankruptcy, but that hope may just be pie in the sky. Time will tell whether they grasp the chance to control their own futures at the expense of the rest of the world.

Just Another Manic Monday

31 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Just Another Manic MondayBy now you know that Monday isn’t my favourite day. A whole weekend worth of questions and issues, a shed load of orders to process, and two of the lads out of the office. The perfect storm.

But having weathered said storm, resolved the issues, answered the questions and processed the orders, there was still time enough to lose all the work I had done since Friday … nightmare !!!

But you know what was really amazing. Despite all the grief, all the angst, I was stoic and composed, I took it all in my stride. The day flew by, so much to do, so little time to do it in, but another set of challenges dealt with and another tick in the ‘we’re getting there’ column.

Determination To Succeed

30 Oct 2011 2 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Determined To SucceedThe world’s population has just passed seven billion, and our small planet is obviously not getting any bigger. To support all these hungry mouths we have to collaborate more closely than ever, to stop fighting and start farming.

All those hundreds of years ago, Nichiren was utterly convinced we could change even the most dire and painful reality, including the danger of war, and indeed that it was imperative that we do so.

This conviction underlies his unwavering determination to create a peaceful society by disseminating the teachings of Buddhism. This is why we are working with endless determination today, to achieve Kosen Rufu, World Peace.

Constructive Criticism

29 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

Criticising-OthersIt is very easy to be critical of others, particularly when they are out of earshot. It is, however, valuable to also look for their strengths, as you gain nothing by only criticising others imperfections.

In fact, it is helpful to take a step back, for even a moment each day, and try to consider the feelings and positive qualities of those of whom you are critical.

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