Solid Foundations

07 Feb 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Solid FoundationsHaving a solid foundation in our lives is vitally important. It means that the ups and downs of life can come and go, but we can maintain an even keel.

Naturally that makes life easier for us, but it also means that we can be a stable influence in the lives of those around us, our loved ones and also our less immediate circle of friends, colleagues and acquaintances.

Having my Buddhist Practice at the centre, as my Honzon, as my anchor is a very liberating state of affairs. At the centre of that Practice is my Gohonzon making it the absolute centre and the pivot, around which my whole life revolves.

Of course, the centre of many people’s lives are their partners, their children, their families and that is perfectly acceptable, but does mean that their anchor is not fixed, it is ever changing. These changes can be a major source of unhappiness. How often have we seen the elderly couple, totally devoted to each other, so that when one of them dies, the other goes soon after.

Having Buddhism and my Practice as my Honzon doesn’t mean that my family and friends mean any less to me, in fact it allows me to make more of those relationships. But it does mean that as situations change, as the inevitable problems in life arise, my anchor remains firm and I can cope with those challenges all the better.

Maybe it’s not for everyone, it does take a conscious effort to make the change after all, but for me, the effort is repaid many, many times over by the feeling of constancy in my life.

Accepting Those Challenges

30 Jan 2012 4 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

The Roller Coaster Of LifeWhoever said that life was supposed to be a bowl of cherries? Our journey from birth to death, whichever lap we happen to be on at any one time, is a series of lows and highs, the rough and the smooth, the not-so-happy and the happy, the bad and the good.

So by assuming that, even though things may be going along smoothly just now, we should prepare ourselves for the next pot hole, the unexpected hairpin or that most untimely puncture that will most certainly come along, to make that journey even more satisfying. Being prepared, as all boy scouts know, is the trick to reducing the effect that these unforeseen circumstances will have on our progress.

We have often talked about turning poison into medicine, using the difficulties in life as our way of making ourselves stronger, and seeing obstacles as challenges rather than problems. The old adage of ‘what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger’ is exactly right, if we approach these things in the right manner. Being doggedly determined not to be beaten, to meet the challenges head on and win through, come hell or high water, is a great start and a great way to move on.

Imagine how disappointed we would all be, if the latest ride at Alton Towers was a perfectly straight, perfectly level piece of track, that started slowly, trundled along at walking pace, and gradually slowed to a genteel halt five minutes later. Who in their right mind would queue for something so predictable, so comfortable, so boring? Nobody I know.

The most popular rides, the ones that have the longest queues, and the ones that we want to get back on, time after time, are the ones that scare us witless, the ones that actually make us wonder if we will live to tell the tale. And that is how life can be if we prepare ourselves for the turns, the plunges, the unexpected. The greatest books, films and life stories are all about facing almost impossible adversity, battling against the odds, getting the odd knock along the way, but coming out as the victor in the end.

So face up to the rigours of life, meet those challenges head on, stay strong, be brave and make your life the subject of the greatest story Hollywood has ever told.

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.

No Man’s Land

22 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

No Man's LandI have a strange feeling of being in limbo, again. Whilst I enjoy having a visit from my friend, I always feel a sense of loss when it’s over. The worst bit being that it leaves me in a position of being unable to go back as well as being unable to move forward, so I’m stuck. I am also on holiday for the week, and although I can keep in touch with happenings in the office, my input is not required, so yet again, I feel like a fish out of water.

So as I have said before, on several occasions, I have to be honest and make a decision that might not be well accepted by all concerned. It has to be the right decision, both for me now, and for the future. That might sound simple, but believe me, it isn’t. So I have to sit and chant, to get my head and heart in the right place, and then evaluate the situation in order to make a logical choice. I’m still not in that position, so I don’t know which way to go.

End Of Days

15 Nov 2011 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

Own GoalThis is really going to be short. The new software launch, the software we so carefully tested, preened, polished and cossetted, died a spectacular and explosive death today, taking the main site with it as it sank below the waves.

The problem was, and often is, that software that works perfectly when 1, 2, 5, even 10 people are using it, falls on it’s backside when Joe Public gets his hands on it. So here I am, with all my colleagues, battling against the odds to get the site back on its feet.

Challenges, poison into medicine and all that, sorry it’s a quick one, but time is pressing.

Expect The Unexpected

14 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Expect The UnexpectedYou know the feeling, you’ve had a great weekend, you’re rested, fresh and ready to face the new week, then wham, it all turns into an episode from Tales of the Unexpected. So it was today, the usual mountain of weekend orders to process, the usual banal questions from people who should know better, but we’re on top of it all, plain sailing and not a cloud in sight.

We have a new software release going in tomorrow. Today was going to be a day to confirm that everything was ship shape and Bristol fashion, then the power went down. I am old enough to remember the Three Day Week, from the last really serious economic crisis. People went without power for hours on end, just to save money and coal, and the Government was even less popular than it is today. The difference was, back then, your whole life didn’t depend on electricity.

So Ok, it was a nasty little blip, but it was back almost before we noticed it had gone. The lights dipped and everything in the office, that was plugged into the mains, went beep, all at once, in a terrifying harmony. Now PCs are pretty resilient these days. Time was that youmight even lose the contents of your hard drive, but not now. Servers on the other hand, even though they are backed up and connected to a UPS are just a little more fussy.

Even the IP phone system rebooted. But when it came back, it appeared that everyone and their uncle was testing it by ringing us. Of course the London office had no inkling that we had suffered the outage, so they just saw their email and back office systems fall on their face. Understandably they wanted to know why. But when you are at 100%, trying to get everything back up and running, the last thing you really need is Nanny McP calling to ask why her printer wasn’t working.

Anyway, it took about 30 minutes for the ripples to smooth and for the serenely calm atmosphere to permeate the office once more. Everyone was back online, the printers and back office systems were talking to each other again and all was again right with the world. But we know, we just know, that it will happen again. No matter what steps we take to ensure that everything survives, there will always be the chance that the unexpected is going to happen. So expect the unexpected, plan for it, bank on it happening. It’s life. Whether it’s a blip on the mains, or a blip in your dearest relationship, it will happen. So stay calm, rise to the challenge, use wisdom courage and compassion and soon you will be through it, better prepared to meet the next time, another day.

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.

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.

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