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.

Be Prepared

09 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Be Prepared For LifeNo this isn’t a post about the motto of the Boy Scout organisation, it’s about being ready to face whatever life may throw at you. Many things happen to us in life. There are joyous days and times of suffering. Sometimes unpleasant things happen, but this is really what makes life so interesting. The dramas we encounter are part and parcel of being human.

If we went through life, without changes or dramas, if nothing unexpected ever happened, we could simply live like robots, and our lives would be unbearably dull and monotonous. We must therefore develop an inner strength, so we can enact the drama of our lives with confidence and poise, in the face of whatever challenges we may encounter.

Just as a footnote, my day today was rather joyous, how about yours?

You Are A Winner

04 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Intrinsic ValueThey are estimating the Friday Euro Lottery draw will have a jackpot of €100,000,000. What would you do with that kind of money? Buy a fancy car, a posh house, even buy Greece? It’s a pipedream for so many people, which is where all the money comes from, from the tickets that people buy. For many, it is, in effect, their only realistic route to such riches. Or is it?

Buying their lottery ticket once, or twice, even thrice a week, is their little bit of fantasy, their change to make it big. There is nothing wrong with such dreams, somebody has to win, sometime. But does it mask their responsibility for their own lives, futures, fortunes?

Of course, the idea behind the lotteries, scratch cards and the rest of the paraphernalia is to raise money for projects, causes and charity work that is so needed in these austere times. All well and good, it’s a bit of harmless fun, a couple of quid a week to buy the chance to live the high life.

I’ll never win it, I know that for a fact. The very first UK National Lottery was drawn on my 40th birthday, not as a celebration of that auspicious event, it just happened that way. For the first few weeks I went along with the wave of enthusiasm, the same as everyone else. When it became clear that there was more chance of being struck by lightning than picking six correct numbers, and I stopped.

Now I’m not preaching against the evils of gambling, for that is what it is. I don’t want to stop people having a little slice of fun, if that is how they want to achieve that. But we are all responsible, all in charge and in control of our own fortunes, not those fat cats at Lottery HQ. So have your fun, get excited as the balls rattle around inside Arthur or Lancelot, but never forget, your life is your responsibility, take charge with both hands, summon up boundless determination and make it happen.

A Whole Year

30 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Anniversay PartyAmazingly, today is the anniversary of my blog, and there’s been a post each and every day. As it says in the About it is the story of my path to enlightenment, but it also logs the past twelve months highs and lows of life.

I would like to think that you can see the progress, slight though it may be, that I have made since last September, it’s a fascinating journey as many of you know, and everyone’s is different. I would really like to thank all the people who have left comments on here or on Facebook or Twitter, they are all greatly appreciated and very often show that we are all learning as we go along.

When I wrote the first post, I was determined to keep it up. Whilst I cannot, hand on heart, say that there haven’t been days when I’ve though ‘Oh bum, it’s late, I’m tired and I still haven’t written today’s post’ but I have always made the effort. As with my practice, it’s the routine of it that makes the difference. It’s the discipline needed to keep going that adds to the progress through the practice, so when you feel like giving up on something don’t !!!

Barring fire, pestilence or flood, I’ll still be here, blogging away this time next year, and I hope that you are all still reading the posts too.

No Answers

25 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Rugby World CupWhat a strange weekend. A eclectic mix of work, sport, walking, sleeping and lots of chanting. I’m not sure that getting up in the middle of the night to watch the Rugby World Cup is having a beneficial effect on me, especially when Scotland managed to lose to Argentina in the last few minutes of their match this morning. Not the end of the world (cup), for them or for England or Argentina, but not the result I have hoped for.

The walk on the heather in the New Forest was great, and that at least solved a few questions, but there are still more requiring answers. Usually, chanting seems to bring situations into clear focus, but not this weekend. Each answer seems to have brought more questions, and each chanting session has brought more doubt.

The answer is, of course, to press on with even more determination. My practice is not the problem, my progress is not the problem either, so I will press on. The problem is my impatience with getting answers. Modern life is all about getting everything now, not later, instant access, not waiting, and realising that, is I guess, another part of the answer.

Tomorrow is the start of another working week, so an early night, followed by an early start will get me off and running. My search for enlightenment goes on, and sometimes, just standing still, rather than regressing, can be seen as progress.

Make That Change

21 Sep 2011 2 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

All ChangeWhen your life isn’t going the way you want it to, change it! We are all in control of our own lives, though at times that may seem a little hard to believe. We are all where we are today, doing what we are doing and being what we are being, because of the choices we have made along the way.

Karma is a perfectly imperfect science. Perfect because, as with everything in the universe, every effect has a cause, every cause has an effect. Imperfect because, with karma, the effect will only appear when the situation is right, so it’s rather difficult to predict. But that doesn’t detract from the truth, that everything we think, say or do has some form of effect, on us or others.

So if you are in a rut, if you are unhappy with your lot, if it feels as though the world has a personal grudge against you, change it. Sitting there feeling sorry for yourself will not help, sitting there blaming everything from the economy, your partner, your boss, all the way to the dog, will not help. Fix your mind on the changes you want to see in your life, decide the best route to achieving those changes, then make causes to bring that change about. Don’t wait, set about it with determination, there has never been a better time to make that change.

Torres Torment

19 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Fernando TorresAs a lifelong Chelsea fan, I was distraught yesterday when Fernando Torres missed a guilt edged, open goal chance in the match against Manchester United. Torres had done all the hard work, controlled the through ball, rounded the keeper and had the goal gaping in front of him. But he managed, unbelievably, to let the pressure get the better of him and shoot wide.

So what I hear you say, on earth, has that got to do with Buddhism? Well it’s everything to do with our old friend Kyo Chi Gyo I. It’s all about concentrating on our goals and forgetting the status that reaching that goal (in this case literally) will bring.

Torres joined Chelsea from Liverpool for £50m last season, and that has weighed heavily on his shoulders ever since. Pressure can do funny things to people, in this case, turning one of the most prolific goal scorers in the world into a bit of a disappointment, football wise.

I hope that someone at Chelsea has taken Fernando aside, put their arm round his shoulder and pointed out that this miss wasn’t a matter of life and death, and that the next chance will be along soon. They also need to point out that he needs to forget the status he will achieve next time he scores, and concentrate on the simple task of putting the ball in the back of the net.

And if anyone at Chelsea actually reads this (of course they all do), all you need to do is to tell Fernando that the fans forgive him and believe in him, and to get him to read this.

On a slightly more serious note, Kyo Chi Gyo I really is the route to everything, not just football, but to life. Set your sights on your goal, hone your related skills and steer unswervingly towards that goal and anything, no everything, is possible.

Time After Time

01 Sep 2011 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Time After TimeTime only moves in one direction, forwards. That is why we say time after time, and not time before time.

Life is eternal, and we need to fix our focus on the two existences of the present and the future. We must not let ourselves get caught up in the past, it is done, and cannot be changed or undone.

No matter what the circumstances, we must never concede defeat. Never come to the conclusion that we have reached a dead end, that everything is over, finished.

We all possess a glorious future, no matter how things look right at this moment. Precisely because of this fact, we must persevere, study, learn and go right on.

So focussing firmly on our goals, we must cultivate the strength of spirit to begin anew ‘from this moment’, to redouble our efforts and face our challenges, day after day after day, until we are victorious.

The Purpose Of Prayer

29 Aug 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Our Chosen PathIt is important to remember that our prayers reflect our state of life. In that respect, prayer is a solemn means to raise our life-state or condition. To receive exactly the results for which we are praying, it is crucial to make a determined, single minded effort toward that goal.

This is the true path of manifesting faith in our daily life. Those of us who proceed along this narrow path, day after day, month after month, year after year, will develop, without fail. Just as a sapling grows into a mighty tree, to become a person of outstanding strength and character,one with wisdom, courage and compassion, relies on us remaining true to our chosen path.

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