On The Limitation Of Changes

06 Dec 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

The Limitation Of ChangesMy Buddhist practice has changed the way I interact with everything and everyone in my own personal Universe.

The change is difficult to explain, and even more difficult to prove over the short term to others within that Universe.

Those difficulties are still further compounded by the fact that no matter how radical the change, nothing can change the past.

Like karma, my past was formed from the past causes I made. What I can do, is to try to make better causes now, and in the future. What I can not do, is influence the past.

That limitation is a very real sadness on this journey towards a happier and more enlightened future. But we must always look forward and not let our past get in the way of our path through the present into a brighter future.

Be Determined To Speak Out

05 Dec 2014 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

The Lotus SutraIt may be amusing listening to the tittle tattle about people, at work or in the pub, but we should all remember that this is a real person we are discussing.

Particularly with Facebook, Twitter and the other social networks in mind, we are all likely to be held to account should we slander someone in public.

Nichiren Daishonin, in his writings to Soya Jiro Hyoe-no-jo Kyoshin, said this about speaking out in defence of slander of The Lotus Sutra …

To hope to attain Buddhahood without speaking out against slander is as futile as trying to find water in the midst of fire or fire in the midst of water.

No matter how sincerely one believes in the Lotus Sutra, if one is guilty of failing to rebuke slander of the Law, one will surely fall into hell, just a single crab leg will ruin a thousand pots of lacquer.

This is the meaning of the passage in the sutra, “Because the poison has penetrated deeply and their minds no longer function as before.”

Nichiren was referring specifically of The Lotus Sutra, but we should speak out against all manner of slander, the likes of which appear to be on the increase in modern life.

Staying On Course

30 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Staying On CourseDealing with the ever changing aspects of life is a little like sailing a yacht in a squally breeze.

There are external influences that push and pull on the direction of our path.

Our role as skipper of our own craft, is to deal with the challenges that those influences bring, whilst trying to steer in the direction we want our lives to go.

The similarity to sailing is most evident when you compare the way a yacht has to sail across the wind, in a direction as close to, but rarely directly towards, the desired goal. So there has to be a degree of compromise in order to make progress towards that goal.

Life is exactly the same. It is pretty rare to find, that the influences on our lives, push or pull us directly towards our goals. The old adage of ‘two steps forward and one step back’ is often very accurate. A little progress in the right direction is often followed by a period of consolidation, during which we may even find that we have slipped back a little.

It is good to remember that, as illustrated in The Buddha, Geoff and Me, resistance is not only inevitable, and a measure of our progress, but is essential for some processes to work at all.

On Making Decisions

29 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Fork In The RoadLife is a journey full of possibilities, for which we have to make decisions, and for which in turn, we are all accountable.

Wouldn’t it be marvellous if there was a What-If machine, which you could use to play out each possible choice, see which one worked out best, and then make your decision based on that outcome?

Sadly there isn’t, nor will there ever be. So it is left up to us to make the best decision at the time, and then live with the consequences.

Of course, many of the decisions we make are of little consequence, tea or coffee, red or white wine, vote or abstain etc. none or these will, in all probability, change your life. But there are some decisions that, whichever way you decide, change the course of your life irrevocably. Not only that, but whatever you decide, you will never, ever know how things would have turned out had you made the opposite choice.

When I find myself faced with such a conundrum I chant, and chant and chant, until the possible outcomes are clear in my head, as well as all the reasons for why I might make each of the choices available, that I have identified all the pros and cons, I make the choice, and it is made with wisdom, courage and compassion. Once it’s made, there should be no going back. There is nothing worse than flip-flopping between decisions. It does no good, and can do a lot of harm, so stick to your guns.

On Anger In Buddhism

23 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Become A Lion KingI think all of us are still angry about the current injustices in our society. It appears, on the face of it, that the banking community plunged the world into a state of turmoil, and the continuing fines being dished out to RBS, Barclays and the like show that there is still huge room for improvement.

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.

On Being Open And Honest

20 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

HonestyWhen you find yourself in a situation where you have to decide what happens next, you must be completely honest, with everyone concerned, including yourself. When that decision is possibly not what others expect or want, you must be compassionate when you announce it.

Of course you can hurt others if when your decision is contrary to theirs, but you will hurt them more by delaying or by going along with them, just to go with the flow. Eventually, your feelings will show and the result will only be more angst for all.

So when you feel that you have to make a decision that will be difficult for others to accept, make it quickly, announce it gently but firmly, and reduce the pain, to you and those affected, to the minimum.

Having made the decision, you must stick to it. There can be no going back, and doing so only makes it worse for everyone concerned.

Just Bite Your Tongue

18 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Just Bite Your TongueSome situations in life just get stuck, they just refuse to offer a resolution, be that through indecision, lack of control or reluctance to move on.

Having the patience, with a person or situation, to see things through to their conclusion takes Wisdom, Courage and Compassion for the following reasons:

The Wisdom to see that the desired path is both achievable and may lead to the correct outcome.

The Courage to stick to the path, despite setbacks or obstacles.

The Compassion to see things from another’s viewpoint, whether it agrees with your viewpoint or not.

One big problem with being patient, is that you never know what the outcome will be until it’s happened.

About Illusions

16 Nov 2014 Leave a 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.

Taking A Little More Responsibility

15 Nov 2014 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Be ResponsibleResponsibility, they say, can weigh heavy on the shoulders of some people. But that need not be the case if we all accept that each and every action we take comes with automatic responsibility.

We all make mistakes from time to time, we are only human after all and mistakes are an all too human trait. The mistakes themselves are, quite often, easily forgiven, if we take the simple, and honest action of owning up.

Owning up is a bit of a strange saying, don’t you think? Owning means responsible for, owning a dog means being responsible for that animal, owning a house means being responsible for the upkeep of that building. So owning up to a mistake really means accepting that you are responsible for that mistake.

The big problem comes, it seems to me, when we refuse to be responsible for making, or refuse to accept that there is, any mistake we have made. Being a fully paid up member of the human race, I’ve made more than my fair share of mistakes. The problems have always come along when I’ve failed to own up.

So there are two simple ways to help with our mistakes. Think before you think, say or do anything, and if it transpires at a later time that it was a mistake, take responsibility for that mistake before it causes any more problems.

Just Think About It

09 Nov 2014 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

AngerNo matter the situation, make sure that the last thing you say is not something, you or the person you say it to, will regret for the rest of your lives.

We’ve all been there, a disagreement or a heated moment, where we’ve said something we later regretted. Imagine if that were the last conversation we ever had with that person, it could leave a shadow hanging over us forever.

In terms of karma, it’s never going to be in the plus column either, is it?

So whatever you may be feeling, however the situation will be left, you can always find something positive, kind or caring with which to end the conversation.

What’s the worst that can happen? It may be the last chance you ever have to say it, so have the Wisdom, Courage and Compassion to make it constructive.

Namaste

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