The Good, The Bad and The Very Ugly

02 May 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

Disgrace On You AmericaOn the day that the USA is delirious over the reported death of Osama bin Laden, I was torn between blogging that, or events in my own life which, to me, are far more important.

The announcement today, that US Navy Seals, under orders from President Obama, had killed Osama bin Laden is over every news program, website and newspaper.

Whilst it is obviously an important story, I find the whole thing rather surreal and not a little disgusting.

The disgusting way the American public have shown their delight at the death of this man, shows exactly why The West is so reviled. But the whole story is all too West Wing. They have been searching for this man for ten years, and the day they find him, they kill him, take back to their aircraft carrier and ‘bury him at sea’. No proof, no photos, nothing.

Sorry, but for me, it is not the huge story it appears to be for everyone else.

It just goes to show how very, very far we are from a World of Peace and Compassion.

Secret? What Secret?

01 May 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Image078It is interesting how people react when they discover that I am a Buddhist.

Some immediately imagine that I wander around in saffron robes going “Om”, others seem to have an idea that Buddhism is a retreat from the reality of life.

Being a practicing Nichiren Buddhist is neither of those things, nor anywhere between the two. And there’s nothing secretive about any of it either. I guess that the only thing that people interested in becoming a Nichiren Buddhist is that, as I found out myself, you have to seek them out, they are unlikely to come looking for you.

One interesting thing about Nichiren Buddhism is that there are no rules, no do’s or don’ts, it is perfectly suited to fit into and around your life and lifestyle, because you make it fit the way you want. Personally, I chant morning and evening every day. If there is something on my mind, I’ll chant longer. or I’ll take myself off for a walk or a drive during the day and chant more often. I would bet there are many, many people who drive the route between Poole and Ringwood every day, who have seen me chanting away while negotiating the traffic. So there are no hard and fast rules, if it works for you, then you are doing it right.

If you follow my blog, you’ll know how much my Practice has changed my life, in so many ways. It is no secret, and anyone can benefit from it, the way I do. If you would like to know more, visit the SGI-UK website or go and take a listen to Jason Jarrett’s podcasts, that’s how I found this ‘secret’.

Decisions, Decisions

30 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags:

Stick Like GlueWhen you make a difficult decision for all the right reasons, stick to that decision.

Whether it is painful, or you convince yourself that it was a mistake, stick to that decision.

Back tracking, skirting round the issue, being persuaded to change your mind, what ever it may be, will end in tears.

So … stick to that decision !!!

The Global Society

28 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

Global SocietyAs Globalisation proceeds, we enter an age in which everybody’s actions strongly influence everybody else.

When we realise this, we can then alter our mind-set and strive to build a global society of mutual coexistence and mutual prosperity.

This will be done by going beyond devotion to the interests of the nation-state and devoting ourselves to the interests of all humanity.

As Dr Martin Luther King said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’.

The key to the solution is the imagination to care for others.

It is the empathising heart, or what Buddhists mean when they talk about mercy.

You Can Lead A Horse To Water

26 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

You Can Lead A Horse To WaterYou know the old adage, ‘you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink’. I believe it means that you can introduce an idea to someone, but you can’t make them accept the suggestion.

So it is with Nichiren Buddhism, or in fact any religion, but let’s talk about Buddhism in this instance.

I have many friends who show an interest in my Practice. They ask lots of questions, often offer their views and sometimes will join me in Daimoku or Gongyo.

I find that the most difficult thing about this, is to feed their inquisitive nature without allowing my own enthusiasm to take over. It is so easy to appear evangelical and that can be a most unattractive trait, particularly for someone who is just taking the first tentative steps.

If you were teaching a child to swim, you wouldn’t take them to the poolside, explain a little about how to do the breast stroke and then push them into the deep end to experience it for themselves. At best, they might flounder their way back to the side, never to ask you for guidance ever again, at worst they might get into real difficulties, need rescuing and develop such a phobia, that they would never go near deep water again.

And so it can be with Buddhism. Like learning to swim, Buddhist practice can open up amazing new vistas on the world and be a life-long pleasure, but it has to be introduced gently, wisely and at the right pace for each and every individual.

To try to rush someone into Buddhism, or swimming for that matter, may be depriving that person of a life-changing journey, so show some wisdom and let them go at their own pace.

Sun, Sea And Steam Engines

24 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags:

Another glorious day on the Dorset coast.

Swanage Bay

A quick bimble over to Norden to catch the steam train down to Swanage, what could be more perfect? Well a carriage that isn’t full of parents, whose idea of a nice day out didn’t include playing rap on their mobiles and shouting at their children about anything and everything maybe?

Locomotive EddistoneEvery time something like this happens, I realise that Buddhism and life are one and the same thing. Having the patience to let the rumpus drift away like the plumes of steam from the engine is something that has to be cultivated over time, but I’m slowly getting there.

Realising that these people are simply another aspect of life, and that they have as much right to enjoy their day out, however that may be, takes Wisdom and Compassion.

So a little more chanting and taking time to enjoy the photographs of the railway and Swanage bay may just do the trick.

Determination

20 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

DeterminationDetermination grows out of adversity. To accomplish an easy or pleasant task does not require determination, it is the difficult or unpleasant task that most definitely does.

Dreams don’t come true on their own. Determination is required to achieve the things we set out to accomplish and to keep things going in the face of discouragement.

The essential purpose of Buddhism is to make people happy. True happiness is the result of consistent effort and constant growth as a human being.

Remind yourself every day, why you are pursuing your goal. Self doubt and negative thoughts are the making of your fundamental darkness. Confront your inner demons and tell them that you are going to overcome them. Take heart and strength from your Practice, chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo will raise your life-energy and help you focus on the task in hand. Remember, nobody ever felt satisfaction from giving up on their dreams.

And keep this in mind when times get tough …

When your determination changes, everything else begins to move in the direction you desire. The moment you resolve to be victorious, every nerve and fibre in your being immediately orient themselves toward your success.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

Nuclear Energy – Your Choice

19 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

Ban The BombWe had a very lively and informative discussion this evening at Jayne and Ken’s.

After Gongyo, the topic under the spotlight was nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, whether either can be regarded as a good thing, and if not, how would we go about reducing and finally removing their use altogether.

Simon chaired the meeting, and came up with some very frightening figures in terms of the number of nuclear warheads still in existence. Some 25,000 by all accounts, enough to destroy all life on this beautiful planet of ours, several times over.

We also discussed the alternatives to nuclear power stations. In the light of the terrible situation in Japan, non of us were very happy with the prospect of building more nuclear power stations in this country, but what are the alternatives?

Wind, wave, solar, even hydrogen powered cars, all were mentioned, but I, playing devil’s advocate, wondered whether any, or all of these actually present a realistic alternative in terms of ‘on demand’ power generation. Of course, reducing our individual power needs would reduce the World’s need for energy. We must all ‘do our bit’.

We came to the conclusion that nuclear is a necessary evil at present, though weapons must go, and that must be accomplished through a change in the public psyche. The acceptance that killing thousands of citizens, whether of a different race, political idealism, or religion is totally wrong. We must show the politicians that we will no longer accept their feeble excuses and explain to them that they are our employees, rather than we, their pawns.

The Power Of Optimism

17 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

The Light of OptimismThe noted pacifist scholar Johan Galtung tells young people …

“We must be realists in our brains while keeping the flame of idealism burning in our hearts“

Both of these – to see the world as it is and how it could be – are essential to reform.

A firm hold on reality should not entail being swamped by or resting easy in the status quo.

To pioneer uncharted ways requires that people today keep the lamp of optimism lit.

Is It Going To Be A Good Friday?

14 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

The Wheel of LifeThe next phase of our web project is nearing completion, and not before time.

With over a million items of stock to be carefully catalogued and stored in the database and a brand new website with well over a hundred pages to be designed, created and published, it has been a labour of love.

The launch date, planned for next Tuesday and the onset of the inevitable teething problems that ever such project encounters, we look set to be working into and maybe over the Easter break.

It struck me that as a Buddhist, Easter should not be such an important festival. Of course I respect all other religions and their important events. But Easter may be one of the closest encounters that Christianity and Buddhism have throughout the year, because of the not small matter of reincarnation.

Of course Christians do not consider that Jesus was reincarnated, they believe that he rose after the third day, and after meeting with a few of his disciples, rose up to Heaven to sit at the right hand of God.

Buddhists believe that we all, some say forty nine days, but certainly shortly after passing on from this life, come back, reincarnated in another life, over and over again.

What is clear, is that neither belief can be proven beyond doubt, but both offer a strong message of hope for us when we come to the end of this life.

The one big difference that I see in this, is that the Buddhist belief brings a certain continuity to the process. If you believe that the karma in your next life is the result of the causes we make in this life, I feel there is a real incentive to make good causes in order to lay the path for our next life.

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