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How the Ego-Mind Tries to Destroy Faith

3/30/2019

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One of the most important steps in ending our suffering is to reconnect with the faith and trust that is in our heart, our true Buddha self.  This is not faith and trust in others, or in the world at large.  It is faith and trust in ourselves.

Whether it’s faith that we will be ok, safe, regardless what life throws our way because we have returned home to out true Buddha nature and are at peace and happy.  Whether it’s faith that we are a good person.  Or weather it’s faith that our efforts will bear fruit.  Having faith is important to not succumbing to the endless sniping, the doubts, emotions, confusion, and negativity, of the ego-mind.

When I think of the importance of faith, I’m reminded of the title of the Bach cantata, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”  Indeed, if you have faith, and it comes from deep in your heart, it is a mighty fortress.  The other aspect of our fortress is taking refuge in the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha, because it is only through the support of their wisdom that we learn to find our true selves, our Buddha nature, and free ourselves from the control of our ego-mind.

Regarding faith that our efforts will bear fruit, perhaps in the way we envision, perhaps in some other way, it is important to note that this is free of attachment.  We approach our efforts with the attitude that if it happens as we envision, great; if it doesn’t, that’s ok too.  But we still have faith in our efforts.  The two attitudes are not inconsistent.

Nor is there anything un-Buddhist about thinking about the future.  It is impossible to go through life without planning for the future.  As I’ve frequently written, being present does not mean not planning for the future.  It does, however, impact how we plan for or think about the future.  (See my posts, “As a Buddhist, How Do You Think About the Future,” and “As a Buddhist - Revisited.”)

But faith to the ego-mind is similar to what light is to a vampire.  Because faith can deal a mortal blow to the ego-mind by denying it access to you; by creating a forcefield around you that repels any negative energy.  The ego-mind therefore seeks to destroy your faith either by belittling it, perverting the concept of faith, or rolling over it by sheer force of power.

One way it destroys is by saying that faith is “just words.”  If you’re miserable now, if your lacking what you want … that is what’s real.  Faith in the future is just words.  And that sentence can have a devastating impact on faith if the faith does not run deep.

A related way is using the Buddhist emphasis on being present to destroy faith.  The ego-mind will remind you that you have to live in the present, everything else is thought.   So forget about faith.  But this is a perversion of the concept of faith; it is not thought, it is not a function of the mind, it comes from the heart.  So even if one is present, one can have faith.

If all else fails, the ego-mind will try to overwhelm you with the power of emotions and roll over your faith like a steamroller.  The power of the ego-mind and its willingness to use that power regardless of its impact on your wellbeing is not to be underestimated.

As with all challenges in walking the path, one must be ever vigilant of the darkness and negativity of the ego-mind.  It is not your companion in your search to end suffering; it is your adversary.  Have compassion for it, but know that it is your adversary.

You may well ask the eternal question, why does the ego-mind do this to us?  The ego-mind has been formed by our life-experiences and what it sees as the way to protect us from these experiences in the future.  It does not want to hurt us, but if we are destroyed in the process of trying to protect us, that doesn’t seem to impact the ego-mind.

Also, remember that your wounded inner child is the avatar of your ego-mind.  He is very much alive in you right now.  Your wounded inner child sees the world as a menacing, hostile, place.  Until your wounded inner child is healed, he will continue to scream and yell, throw temper tantrums, when he is confronted by what he sees as the hostile world.  He takes everything very personally.  His trauma is so deep that it distorts everything.

​
Knowing this, being aware, is of critical importance as you try to move from a past controlled by your ego-mind to a future in which you put your will and your life in the care of your true Buddha nature.
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How to Offer Others Joy

3/23/2019

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It is a central teaching of Buddhism that an important part of our experiencing joy is offering joy to others.  For example, part of the grace that was said before our meals at a temple I used to attend was, "With the first taste, I promise to offer joy.  With the second taste, I promise to help relieve the suffering of others.  With the third taste, I promise to see others' joy a my own."  It is part of the tradition of selflessness.

In my view, offering others joy is of even deeper importance.  As I've written, our only purpose in life is to offer ourselves and others joy. This is the essence of being human, of humanity.  (See my posts, “What is Your Task in Life?” and “Offering Myself Joy!”   And for the one exception, see my post “Evil - How Should a Buddhist Respond?”)

Before going any further, it would be good to remind the reader what the definition of joy is in the Buddhist context.  It is not fun; it is not laughter; it is not excitement.  Joy is a spiritual feeling that resides in the heart.  It is a feeling of purity and goodness.  It is a feeling of lightness.  It is a feeling that can only be experienced free of the influence of the ego-mind.  (See my post, “Joy - At Last Real Understanding.”)

You offer yourself joy by taking pleasure in each passing moment, being free of any desire for the present moment to be different in any way from what it is right now; being in touch with the positive energy, the joy, in your heart at all times; and having unconditional compassion for yourself.

But how does one offer others joy?  Most people would say that you do this by doing good things for people, by giving them things that they want.  This may indeed make someone happy, but it does not offer them joy. Remember, joy is a spiritual feeling about oneself and one's relationship with the world around you.  

To understand the answer to this question, we first need to remind ourselves why most people, including ourselves, suffer.  People suffer because they were raised ... whether by their family, their social circle, or the prevailing culture ... in a manner that created deep feelings of insecurity which led to feelings of fear and anxiety, among others.  We feel we are not listened to, we are not respected.  We are thus consumed by our feelings of insecurity and the related emotions of anxiety, fear, anger, resentment.  The list goes on and on. 

If we want to offer others joy, then at a minimum we should not add to their suffering and hopefully help them feel good about themselves.  One way of doing both is by showing others that you have faith in them doing whatever it is they set out to do.  By always being a positive support next to them.  By honoring them.  And by seeing them as yourself.

How does this translate into real life actions?  How do we implement this?  Most people do not have a lot of faith in themselves.  Even if they are full of bravado, deep down they do not have faith in themselves; their bravado is a facade.  So the first step in offering joy is to show them you have faith in them by not interjecting yourself into their process.  Because when you do that, the impact is that they feel you don't trust their ability to sort things out themselves; if necessary to learn from their own mistakes. And that undermines their own self-confidence. 

There are several ways of implementing this intent.  This first is to not challenge or question them.  The second is to not finish their thoughts or restate their thoughts.  The third is to not interrupt them, correct them, or think for them.  Fourth, do not doing anything for them unless asked.  Finally, do not put in your two cents unless asked directly.

This is very, and I mean very, hard for most of us to do.  Why?  Because we are subject to our own egos.  We think that we have the answers or at a minimum that we can help the process the other person is going through.  It can be something as simple as how to drive from point A to point B, or something very complex. 

If you think about it, you will find that in your interactions with others, you regularly do all the things that I just listed one shouldn't do if you want to show someone you have faith in them doing what they set out to do.  If you intend to offer them joy. You may think this all sounds silly; that people need to grow up, that's life.  But think about how you feel when someone does these things to you.

This does not mean that you can never have input, make a suggestion to someone.  But the timing of your comment and how it is made is of critical importance.  Basically, you never interject in the middle of the process, while it is happening.  You wait for a quiet time, like at dinner, when you can bring something up, comment, and what you say has a chance of being received with equanimity.

The next step is being a positive support for people.  We do  this by always being in touch with the positive energy in our heart and the neutrality of our senses, free of the intervention of our ego-mind.  Then we are free of worries and concerns; then we are full of faith in the other person.  And so when we speak, we will always do so in a way which offers positive support.

The next way to make people feel good about themselves is to honor them.  This means paying attention, listening, to what the other person is saying.  Stopping whatever you're doing when he or she speaks and turn your body towards him.  Every person deserves your undivided attention when they speak.  Again, if the other person feels that you are not paying attention to them, then that activates feelings of lack of respect from their learned experience.

Finally, you help insure that you perform the steps mentioned by seeing the other person as yourself.  By seeing their needs and your needs.  Their need, for example, for boundaries as your need for boundaries.  Their need for respect as your need for respect.  Their need for self-confidence as your need for self-confidence.  And by seeing things through their eyes, their perceptions.  If you step into someone's shoes and understand where they are coming from, then you are more likely to be on guard for things you would otherwise automatically do that could harm the other person.  And stop yourself from doing them. 

This will also make you a better listener, because if you're thinking about your reactions while someone is speaking, you really can't hear what they're saying.  The time for your perceptions is later.

​
Again, this is all a real challenge for most of us.  It means adopting a very different perspective in our relations with others, whether it's our loved ones, colleagues, or strangers.  But if you truly want to experience joy, if you want to connect with your heart, your true Buddha self; if you want to offer others joy rather than just stroke your ego-mind … then your intent should be to implement these steps.
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The Three Stages of Embrace

3/18/2019

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In talking to several people about the process of the heart’s embrace (see my post of that title), I found that the idea of embracing very negative, hurtful, experiences or what their inner child and therefore they had become because of those experiences was not something they were open to.  Indeed they were resentful of the experiences and hated what they had become.

This is precisely why, as taught by many including Pema Chodron, they need to embrace these experiences and aspects of their being in order to end their suffering.  But the word “embrace” is something that the ego-mind rebels against.  And although these were all people deeply on the spiritual path, they could not get past the fury of their ego-mind.

As I sat with this quandary, I realized that as with acceptance and forgiveness/compassion, embracing deep trauma has to be approached in stages.  (See my posts, “The Stages of Acceptance,” and “The Stages of Forgiveness/Compassion.”)

The first stage is understanding how these experiences or these aspects of being came to be.  The experience that caused the trauma was itself the expression of suffering.  As a monk once told me, if anyone does something that pushes your buttons or harms you, that action was a direct result of their suffering.  It is how they were programmed to act in response to their suffering.  No one voluntarily does something hurtful.

This is true even if someone is truly evil, the devil incarnate.  And while I would not treat such a one (they are no longer human, so I don’t use the word “person”) with loving kindness, I do have compassion for them.  (See my post, “Evil - How Should a Buddhist Respond?”)

The trauma itself was caused by the fragility of the ego-mind.  The feeling of insecurity that we all acquire very early in our childhood.  (See my post, “Insecurity - Nurture not Nature.”)

The point is that both the experience itself and the resulting trauma came about not through some freely willed action, but rather through an automatic response based on the conditioning that we and the other had received.  No one was at fault in the deepest sense of the word; responsible yes, but not guilty.  Guilt presumes a choice.

Understanding this leads to the second stage which is compassion, both for the person who caused the traumatic experience and for ourselves for reacting to it in a way that was traumatic.  In a way which we often characterize as weak.  This too has its stages (see my post noted above).  We are not by nurture (we are by nature, but not nurture) compassionate.  And so we must first have the intent to be compassionate based on the spiritual teachings we have received.  Then we must actually open up are hearts to being compassionate.  Just do it.

Once we have achieved compassion, the door is then open for the heart’s embrace.  Remembering that embrace does not mean putting a positive value judgment on it, that it wasn’t bad or hurtful. Embrace is just saying it was the way it was, owning it as part of your life, and being aware of its having a positive impact in so far as making you the person you are today, seeking peace and happiness on the path.

​
Once you do fully embrace your experience and being, you will find that all internal and external struggle will cease to be because nothing offends anymore.  And when nothing offends, you stop fighting against it, which paradoxically only gave it more power.  You will be at peace.
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Insecurity - Nurture Not Nature

3/15/2019

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We are all born with the Buddha nature inside us.  The unborn child is thus at peace, feels safe and secure (barring negative in-the-womb experiences).  But that peace is taken away from us almost from the moment of our birth and by most of the life experiences we’ve had since.

Birth, being thrust out of the womb, has to be a scary experience. When an animal is born, it is typically licked all over by the mother and is always next to the mother’s warmth until weaned. But when a baby is born, it is slapped on the behind, washed by a stranger, rolled up in a blanket and given to its mother to be held and fed before being put in a basinet by itself. Not a nurturing environment.

When a child is born, he has four basic needs:  food, freedom from pain, warmth/nurturing, and physical security. These are the four irreducible needs of all human beings.  (See my book, The Self in No Self.) In particular, a baby’s need for nurturing, for unconditional love, is almost without limit. So from the moment of its birth, a baby finds that its needs are not met, and the first seeds of insecurity are sown.

This pattern continues during the child’s formative first years. It’s not that parents don’t love their new child and shower it with attention; it’s that the needs of the baby and toddler go beyond what most parents are able to give. Whether it’s how they were raised, the demands of work or home, or having their own problems to deal with … it’s just the way it is.  And so the child’s insecurity takes root.

As an example, there’s the question of whether and how long to let a baby cry before the parent picks up the child.  From a parent’s perspective, a crying child is frequently inconvenient, and so the baby cries for some period of time.  Then there’s the French perspective reported several years ago in The New Yorker that it will actually help the baby to let it cry for five minutes before picking it up.  But an infant’s cry is instinctive, not reasoned, and must be responded to promptly to provide the nurturing the child needs.

This may seem very minor, but such repeated experiences create a reservoir of feeling unheard, unloved.  There are few things more important to the healthy development of a child’s psyche than feeling loved unconditionally.  How a baby is responded to impacts that.  By the way, unconditional love does not mean that a parent can’t criticize a child, but the context within which that happens and how it is delivered does matter.  (See my book, Raising a Happy Child​.)

As the baby becomes a young child, proceeds through adolescence, and attains adulthood, the seeds of insecurity planted at birth and during his formative years grow to become a huge tumor inside each of us. Why?

The tumor grows because it’s fed by much of what we experience in life … at home, in school, at work, and in the media. We don’t feel respected or loved. We are either told or learn that we are clearly lacking in some way. Negative labels are applied to us … bad, stupid, ugly, fat.  If we want to be loved or admired, we learn that we must change something in ourselves or acquire something. Or if we are praised, we nevertheless understand how easy it is to fall from grace and so are fearful. In fact, those who become famous or successful, although they are often thought of as having huge egos and are imperious, typically have even greater insecurities than the average person because their success is a coping mechanism and they have more to lose.

Because this insecurity runs so deep and is so threatening to us, our mind … what I refer to as the ego-mind … develops a host of strategies early on to “protect” us. If it feels we have been treated badly by others, for example, it will throw up a wall of anger or disdain which gives us a feeling of self-righteousness that obscures the hurt. If it feels we need to do more to achieve success or happiness, it creates cravings and attachments that drive us to get what we need at all costs.

But these strategies do not in fact protect us; instead, they cause us suffering. Yet we take comfort in these familiar emotions/desires because we believe they do protect us or provide us with a path to achieving happiness.

And so every person, each and every one of us, ends up a prisoner of their ego-mind … of the feelings and perceptions, emotions, judgments, cravings, and attachments that are the mind’s reaction to our life experiences. Our every action and thought is controlled by our feelings and perceptions. The habit-energy is ingrained.

Insecurity thus seen is nurture, not nature.  We were not born insecure, but we were raised that way.  Thankfully, though, our true Buddha nature remains inside us, buried but in tact.  The path provides us the way to reconnect with our true Buddha nature, to free ourselves from this insecurity and the emotions and perceptions that flow from it, and thus find the peace and happiness that is our birthright.
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Thought Objects

3/8/2019

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There’s a line in one of my favorite spiritual poems that goes “When the mind rest undisturbed, nothing in the world offends, and when no thing offends, all obstructions cease to be, thought objects disappear.” 

I have always found the phrase “thought objects disappear” to be odd.  I know it does not mean that the objects disappear.  But I didn’t know what to make of it.


In a truly “duh!” moment in my meditation recently, when I recited those words, I realized that what the phrase means is that when one is in that state one does not apply thought to objects.  They just are.  You simply observe them.  You experience them directly free of the intervention of your ego-mind.

You would have thought I would have picked up on that a long time ago, but I didn’t.  Such are the vagaries of the mind.
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The Fourfold Path to Freedom

3/2/2019

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When the Buddha set turning the wheel of the dharma, he taught the Four Noble Truths regarding suffering, the cause of it, and the ending of it.  As we all know, the ending of it is a real challenge, often seemingly impossible.

When I lived in Michigan and went to a rural Vietnamese Zen temple for 10 years, I received very powerful teaching from the monks there.  They hammered home constantly the cause of suffering and ultimately what was necessary to relieve ourselves of that suffering … surrendering our ego to our true Buddha nature.  When I wrote The Self in No Self and Scratching the Itch: Getting to the Root of Our Suffering, I related their teaching distilled into what I called the Fourfold Path to Freedom,.

The third Noble Truth related by the Buddha is realizing that by giving up our cravings, being free of them, we can end our suffering.  And the fourth is the path that leads to the cessation of our cravings … the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of Right View, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

Many teachers operationalize this teaching by talking about mindfully ceasing to do the things that cause us suffering and doing positive things that bring us happiness. That’s fine as far as it goes but the process is too circumscribed.

The catch with the Eightfold Path is that in order to practice it one must first be free of ego … the ultimate cause of all our suffering. One cannot practice Right View or Right anything if ones ego, ones learned experience, is an active force in ones mind, because the ego will intervene by generating thoughts/obstructions which commandeer our mind and obscure our true Buddha nature, from which flows the various Right activities.

That said, I do not mean that following the Noble Eightfold Path is dependent on successfully freeing oneself from all intervention of your ego-mind.  Rather as one slowly increases the moments of your life which are free of the intervention of your ego-mind, you will become more and more able to make progress on that path.  

The Buddha said at one point, “To be rid of the conceit ‘I am’ – That is the greatest happiness of all.”  Because only then is one truly free.  But how to free ourselves from our ego?

Many Buddhist teachers do not address this matter directly. Those that face the power of our ego head on, such as Sogyal Rinpoche, teach that as our discriminating awareness strengthens through meditation, we begin to distinguish clearly between the guidance of our true Buddha nature and our ego.  Eventually, the destructiveness of our ego will be clear and that will release us. Similarly, Krishnamurti calls for a “revolution of the psyche” and posits that understanding our conditioning/ego immediately without thought allows us to be free of that conditioning.

Yet many have reached such realization and still remain bound by their egos; it is that powerful and deeply-rooted. Recognizing the difficulty and the centrality of this action to leading a Right life and ending our suffering, the teaching that I received from two Vietnamese Zen monks, Ven. Huyen Te and Ven. Thai Tue, focused on a more defined path to free ourselves from our ego.  I have called this the Fourfold Path to Freedom.

Somehow I have not related the Fourfold Path to Freedom in a post, just in my books.  Realizing this recently, I am now filling this gap.  This teaching had a huge influence on my practice and so I want to share it with you.

Understanding that all things are impermanent and   
   changeable.
Understanding that all our perceptions have no             inherent nature, they are just a product of our             mind, and that they are the direct cause of our           suffering.
Practicing the Six Paramitas.
Surrendering our ego to our true Buddha nature, 
   turning our will and our lives over to the care of 
   our true Buddha nature.

For 20 years since receiving that teaching, I worked to discern through my practice how to not just have the intent but to truly surrender my ego to my true Buddha nature, or as I rather put it, turn my will and my life over to the care of my true Buddha nature.  The monk said once, speaking to the sangha, that we had come far but that we were still standing on the precipice because we had not surrendered our ego to our true Buddha nature.  He told us that the choice was ours.  Not so simple!  That challenge and struggle is the core of all my posts and the books I have written.

The Fourfold Path mentions the Six Paramitas.  To help get us to the point where we are able to surrender our ego, it is helpful to gradually free ourselves from our ego-centric mentality and behavior.  One way we do that is by developing compassion for ourselves and others.  The Five Precepts are an essential place to start.  But to deepen our practice, it is very helpful to practice the Six Paramitas.

The Six Paramitas are … generosity, virtuous conduct, understanding, enthusiastic effort and diligence, meditation/concentration, and wisdom. (See Chapter 5 in my book, Scratching the Itch: Getting to the Root of our Suffering.)  To practice these teachings is to water the seeds of our true Buddha nature.  As we develop these qualities, bring them to the surface of our consciousness, we decrease our suffering and increase our awareness, freedom from our ego, and happiness.

​
If we can be free of the conceit of the ego, then we will be free of our cravings and reach nirvana.  This challenging process is described in great detail in my new book, How to Find Inner Peace.  But again, remember that all things on the path are incremental.  Walking the path is not about achieving perfection.  It is the intent which is essential.  Better to be free of the control of your ego 60% of the time than not at all, because the 60% will bring you peace and joy.

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    All
    1. The Goal Of Buddhism
    1. The Goal Of Buddhism - Clarified
    2. End Of Suffering Cheat Sheet
    3. 12 Steps On The Buddhist Path
    4. The Choice Is Yours
    5. You Have A Self But It's Not The Ego
    6. The Mind - Understanding Its Facets
    A Buddhist Trinity - Amended
    A Buddhist Trinity - Further Support
    A Buddhist Trinity - The Core Path To Peace And Happiness.
    A Carefree Day And Life
    Acceptance Is The Answer
    Accepting The Life Of Those Around You
    Acknowledgement Of The Cause Of Suffering Is Key
    Allow Nothing To Disturb Your Peace And Happiness
    An Open Letter To President-elect Trump And All Americans
    Antagonist Or Challenge?
    A Path To Compassion And Loving Kindness
    Approaching The Other Shore
    A Prayer For America On This Election Day
    Are You Reading And Willing To Let Your Cravings Go?
    As A Buddhist How Do You Plan - Revisited Again - Relying On Your Buddha Nature
    As A Buddhist How Do You Think About The Future?
    As A Buddhist … Revisited Again - Do We Need To Know Where We’re Headed?
    As A Buddhist ... Revisited - Planning Without Thinking
    As A Buddhist … Revisited Yet Again - How Do You Implement Moving Forward Without Having A Destination Point?
    A Simpler Path To Experiencing Joy
    Attachment To Self
    Avatars - Their Usefulness
    Back To Basics
    Be A Light Unto Yourself And Others
    Be Aware When Reading - Yearn To Please Or To Offer Joy?
    Be Careful The Monk/Teacher You Choose
    Befriend Yourself
    Being Aware Of Abundance
    Being Good To Yourself
    Being - Not Being
    Being One With Your True Buddha Self
    Being Present Is Being Flexible
    Being Present Is The Key To Peace And Contentment
    Being Present - No What If’s Or Imagining The Future
    Being Present - Part 2
    Being Present Requires Faith
    Being There For Someone
    Belief In You Buddha Nature - The Beginning And The End
    Believe In Yourself
    Be One With Your Divine Essence
    Be Sustained By The Love Of Buddha Within You
    Be The Eye Of The Hurricane
    Beware Complacency
    Beyond Acceptance
    Beyond Awareness
    Beyond Dispassion - The Next Step
    Boredom
    Boundaries
    Buddha Mind - Child Mind
    Buddha Mind Free Of Thought
    Buddha Nature Gentle And Serene
    Buddhism And The Divine
    Burying Your Old Identity
    Burying Your Old Identity - II - Separating Yourself From Your Old Identity
    Can't Find Your Buddha Nature - Look In The Mirror
    Change Your Life By Changing The Direction Of Its Energy Flow
    Changing The Direction Of Your Energy Flow - II - Manifesting
    Changing Your Reactions
    Chicken Or Egg ?
    Cleansed
    Co-existence Of Buddha Nature And Ego-Mind
    Compassion
    Control
    Control Your Reality
    Craving "Survival" Condemns You To Suffering
    Crying - An Understanding
    Darkness Before Light
    Darkness V Light
    Death And Life
    Death And Life - Part 2
    Death Heaven And Hell
    Deflating The Ego
    Dependence
    Desire - The Gerbil Trap
    Desperate For Love And Acknowledgment?
    Discipline - It’s Essential
    Dislike - An Insidious Obstruction
    Dispassion Does Not Mean Wtihout Feeling
    Dispassion - Enter The State Of By Becoming Aware Of The Emptiness Of Our Ego-mind
    Dispassion - Obstacles And Options To Achieve It
    Dispassion - Unlocking The Doors
    Don't Just Negate Specifics - Replace Your Total Frame Of Reference
    Don't Just Say No To Your Mind
    Don’t Speak/Help Unless Asked
    Don’t Waste A Moment
    Don’t Waste A Moment
    Do We Suffer Or Not? - The Choice Is Ours
    Do You Really Want To Be At Peace And Content
    Ego - Changing Your Relationship With It
    Embrace The Moment Not Merely Accept
    Emptiness - What Does It Mean?
    Emptying Myself Of Myself - The Divine's Will Not Mine
    Enter Your Buddha Mind
    Equanimity But Feel Someone’s Pain
    Everything That Disturbs Us Is A Product Of Suffering
    Everything You Need To Be Happy
    Everything You Need To Be Happy- II
    Evil - How Should A Buddhist Respond?
    Expectations? - Not If You Want To End Suffering
    Experiencing The Fullness Of The Present
    Facing My Insecurity
    Faith And Mind Not Separate
    Faith And Mind Not Separate - 2
    Faith And Mind - Take III
    Faith And Reason
    Faith Even When You Are Dependent On Others
    Faith: The Essential Element Of Spiritual Practice
    Faith: What Is It And Why Is It Essential?
    Fear And Anxiety - There's More
    Fear Anxiety And Craving - Chicken Or Egg #2
    Fear Arises From Our Desire To Control
    Fearlessness
    Fear's Destructive Impact
    Fear V Common Sense
    Fear V Faith
    Feeling Lack - A Most Insidious Perception
    Feeling Off? - Adjust Your Attitude
    Finding Happiness In Each Moment
    Focus On Eternity
    Forgiveness - A Different Take
    Freedom From The Future
    Freedom From The Known
    Freedom - What Does It Mean?
    Freeing Yourself From Anger And Resentment
    Freeing Yourself From Attachments
    Freeing Yourself From Fear
    Freeing Yourself From Fear II
    Freeing Yourself From Fear - III
    Freeing Yourself From Suffering - The Prerequisite Step
    Freeing Your Soul
    Freeing Your Soul - II
    Freeing Your Soul - III
    Free Of Thought - Important Clarification
    Frustration ... Our Canary In The Mine
    Get Over Yourself
    Getting To Know Your True Buddha Self
    Give Yourself A Choice
    Going Through Life With Blinders - The Obstruction Of Labels
    Good Guys Finish Last?
    Go Slow
    Grateful For Being Alive
    Guilt
    Guilt And The Defensive Beast
    Half Measures Don't Work
    Happenstance
    Happenstance - Part II - You Your Buddha Nature And The Universe
    Happiness Is Elusive
    Happiness - What You Need To Be Happy
    Happy New Year 2017?
    Have Directions Not Goals
    Have Faith In The Process
    Have You Heard Of Narcs - The Final Answer To Why I Was Frowning
    Healing Your Inner Child - Healing Your Wounded Heart
    Healing Your Inner Child - Update
    Hell Is Just Resistance To Life
    How I Failed Myself
    How The Ego-Mind Tries To Destroy Faith
    How To Desire Yet Not Crave?
    How To Find Faith?
    How To Find Your True Self Your Heart
    How To Free Yourself From The Control Of Your Ego-Mind
    How To Live In Our World
    How To Love Yourself
    How To Maintain Joy Regardless What
    How To Observe Through The Eyes Of Your True Buddha Self
    How To Offer Others Joy
    How To Process The Election
    How To Protect Yourself Against Psychic Attack
    How To Respond To Acts Of Aggression
    How To Spiritually Respond To The Election?
    How To Start The Day
    How To Surrender Your Ego Or Turn Your Will And Your Life Over To The Care Of Your True Buddha Nature
    Humbling Myself
    Humility
    Humility - How To Gain It?
    Humility - The Price Of The Lack Of Humility
    Humility: The Truth About "My" Good Accomplishments
    I Am Being Reborn
    I Am Therefore I Am
    If Nothing Offends All Internal Struggle Ceases
    If This Is Practical Buddhism Why The Pastoral Setting
    "If You Love Someone You Will Suffer"
    Imagining In Meditation
    I'm Back
    I’m Grateful To Be A Jubu
    Inner Happiness - Outer Happiness
    Innocence Or Ignorance?
    Insecurity - Nurture Not Nature
    Instead Of Forgiveness Show Compassion
    It Doesn’t Have To Be
    It's All About Survival - Or Is It?
    It's A Sin -The Harm We Inflict On Ourselves
    It’s Just The Way It Is
    It’s Just The Way It Is And It’s All OK
    It's Just The Way It Is - Take III
    It’s No Crime To Think About Oneself!
    Joy - A Hopefully Final Take
    Joy - At Last Real Understanding
    Joy - Experience It Now
    Joyful Dispassion - Excited Non-attachment
    Joyful Dispassion - Update
    Joy/Happiness - A Choice We Make
    Joy - One More Take
    Joy - The Final Take - Taking Joy In Each Moment Is Only Possible When You Radiate Light
    Joy - Yet Another Take
    Knowing Best?
    Know The Greatness Within You
    Know Thyself - The Power Of Awareness
    Know Who You Are - Be Who You Are
    Lack V Abundance
    Learning From Falling Off The Spiritual Wagon
    Let Go - Let God
    Letting Go
    Letting Others Go Their Way
    Liberate Yourself From Thinking
    Likes And Dislikes - A Potential Trap Examined
    Listening To Others
    Listening - Why Is It So Difficult?
    Looking For Your Treasure
    Love At First Sight - NOT
    Love/Loving-Kindness - Defined In The Buddhist Context
    Love Yourself Unconditionally
    Make It Your Own - An Extension Of “The Heart’s Embrace”
    Making Lists - Objectifying Your Fears The Things That Push Your Buttons
    Making Peace With The Outside; Making Peace With The Inside
    Making Sense Of Being Tested
    Making The Most Of Every Day
    Manifestation - DANGER DANGER!
    Manifesting
    Manifesting In The Moment
    Meditation - Coming Home Releasing And Being At Peace
    Meditation - The Importance Of Daily Practice
    Memory - Don’t Trust It
    Mental Obstructions
    Mind Resting Undisturbed
    Mirror Mirror On The Wall - A Revelation
    Mirror Time
    Money And Spirituality
    My Daily Task
    My Daily Task - 2
    My Ego's Sneak Attack
    My Life - A Being Dichotomized
    My Meditation Isn't Working!
    My Mind Trapped Me
    My Road To Peace
    My True Buddha Self And Me
    Nature Of Mind Revealed - A Transformation
    Never Stop Going Deeper
    Newly Discovered Trauma
    Nirvana - It's Right Before Your Eyes
    No Expectations No Hope?
    No One’s Life Is Ordinary
    No Reason To Be Defensive
    No Self - Not!
    No Spiritual Force Can Protect You From Yourself Your Mind
    Not Engaging Your Thoughts
    Nothing To Prove
    Not Me - Peeling Off The Layers Of Our Ego-Mind
    Observe
    Offering Others Joy - From The Heart
    Offer Joy Experience Joy
    Offer Myself Joy!
    Oneness Does Not Mean Sameness
    Opening The Door To Being Present
    Our Over-sexed Culture And Lives
    Pain - A Cry For Help
    Paradise Lost
    Peace And Happiness Is Your Birthright
    Peace - What It Is And How To Achieve It
    Personal Boundaries As Part Of A Buddhist Life
    Preparing A Child For Life
    Pride Is A Function Of The Devil
    Problem - NOT!
    Proof Of The Nature Of Mind - Fear Ego And Buddha Mind
    Prosperity And Abundance
    Protecting Yourself From The Elements
    Psychiatry Needs To Incorporate Buddhist Teaching
    Putting Spirituality Into Practice 24/7
    Que Sera Sera - Whatever Will Be Will Be
    Real Clarity V The Delusion Of Clarity
    Reality Is Not What We Experience
    Receiving The Love Of Your Buddha Nature
    Reciting Affirmations
    Reclaiming The Narrative Of My Life - II
    Reclaiming The “Story” Of Your Life
    Reflecting On 75 Years
    Reincarnation - An Unorthodox Take
    Rejoice And Be Happy
    Rejoice And Be Happy - II
    Releasing All Desire
    Releasing All Desire - II
    Releasing Negative Energy
    Renouncing What You Have Always Depended On
    Replacing Weakness With Strength
    Reprogram Your Mind To End Your Suffering
    Returning Home - Returning To Your True Buddha Nature
    Right Attitude
    Ritual Burning Of The Past
    Safety Defined
    Saying Grace
    Saying “No” To Negative Thought
    Seeing The Light
    Seeing Through The Eyes Of Your True Buddha Self
    Seek And You Shall Find
    Seeking Guidance From Buddha Mind Not Ego Mind
    Seeking Guidance From The Buddha/God/the Universe - II
    Seeking Guidance From The Buddha/God/the Universe - III
    Seeking Guidance From The Buddha/God/the Universe - IV
    See Things Through Your Heart Not Your Mind
    See Yourslef And The World Through Different Eyes
    Self Re-examined
    Self-Responsibility During The Pandemic
    Sex - Misused And Abused - A Different Perspective
    Shall We Dance? - An Invitation To The Dance Of Death
    Shame
    Soul’s Yearning Distorted By The Ego-Mind
    Soul -True Self - And Ego-Mind
    Speaking The Truth
    Speaking To Your Buddha Nature/Divinity/Heart
    Speak The Truth But Beware
    Starving The Ego
    Step #10: Continued To Be Mindful Of The Arising Of Cravings And Desires And When They Arose Did Not Attach To Them And Allowed Them To Subside.
    Step #11: Sought Through Meditation To Constantly Improve Our Conscious Contact With Our True Buddha Nature
    Step #1: Admitted Our Cravings Cause Us Suffering And That We Are Powerless Over Them
    Step #2: Came To Believe That Our True Buddha Nature Could Restore Us To Peace And Created A Platform Of Serenity
    Step #3: Committed Ourselves To The Path By Practicing The Five Precepts And The Six Paramitas
    Step #4 Came To Believe That All Our Perceptions Are Learned - That They Are Just A Product Of Our Ego-mind - And That Our Ego-mind Is Not Our True Self - Instead We Knew That Our True Self Is Our Heart.
    Step #5: Were Ready And Willing And Made A Decision To Surrender Our Ego And Turn Our Will And Our Lives Over To The Care Of Our True Buddha Nature Opening Our Heart To Embrace All Aspects Of Our Being.
    Step #6: Came To Believe That We Have Everything We Need Within Ourselves To Be At Peace And Happy
    Step #7: Came To Be Free Of Our Cravings
    Step #8: Were Entirely Ready To Love Ourselves Unconditionally And Have Compassion For Ourselves And To Accept Ourselves And The World Around Us As Being The Way They Are Because It's Just The Way It Is.
    Step #9: Made A List Of Persons We Had Harmed And Made Amends To Them
    Stopping Self-Sabotage
    Strength Not Courage
    Suffering Is Universal - But Why?
    Survival - The Force That Controls Our Life
    Taking Pleasure In Each Passing Moment
    Taking Refuge In Yourself
    Taking Responsibility Is Not Blame
    Teaching Only Points The Way
    Test The Wisdom Of What You’re Doing Or Thinking Of Doing
    The 3-legged Stool Of Spirituality
    The Art Of Self-Nurturing
    The Challenge Of Staying Aware
    The Coexistence Of Ego And Buddha Nature
    The Conceit "I Am"
    The Devil Is Alive And Well
    The Distinction Between Pain And Suffering
    The Divine And Man
    The Ego As Saboteur
    The Emptiness Of Intrinsic Existence And Its Relevance To Global Warming
    The Felt Need For Acknowledgment
    The Five Precepts
    The Four Bodhisattva Vows
    The Fourfold Path To Freedom
    The Four Noble Truths
    The Fragility Of Man
    The Freedom Of Focusing On Someone Or Something Outside Yourself
    The Heart/Mind Divide
    The Heart’s Embrace - More On Freeing Ourselves
    The Heart's Embrace - Updated
    The Hurt Of Rejection - Its Enduring Impact
    The Illusion Of Control
    The Imperative Of Self-Preservation
    The Lessons Of Siddhartha
    The Light Within You
    The Limits Of Rational Thought
    The Lord's Role In Your Work
    The Meaning And Power Of Selflessness
    The Middle Way - A Way Back From The Breach
    The Mind And The Wounded Inner Child
    The Mind And Your Inner Child - II
    The Mind Is Sneaky - Surrender It
    The Mind's Deep State
    The Mind - Suffering Connection
    The Miracle That Is You
    The Misleading Teaching Of No Self
    The Missing Noble Truth
    The Myanmar Situation
    The Mystery Of The Ego - An Answer
    The New Me - I Not I
    The Noble Eightfold Path
    The Original Trauma - Birth
    The Parable Of The Raft
    The Path As Tightrope
    The Path From Peace To Joy
    The Path Is Never-Ending
    The Power Of Affirmations - Use Carefully
    The Power Of Giving Voice To Thoughts
    The Power Of Prayer
    The Present Beyond Us
    The Purpose Of Life
    The Purpose Of Meditation
    The Push/Pull Of Ego-Mind
    The Question Is Not Whether The Glass Is Half Empty Or Half Full
    There Are No Bad Persons
    There Is Nothing Wrong With You
    The Remnants Of The Ego
    The Serenity Prayer
    The Serenity Prayer - II
    The Soul’s Yearning And How Best To Fulfill It
    The Source Of Equanimity And Peace
    The Stages Of Acceptance
    The Stages Of Man’s Spirit
    The Subconscious
    The Sun Is Always Shining/ There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather
    The Three Stages Of Embrace
    The Truth – Seeing It And Speaking It
    The Unaware Consumer
    The Wisdom Of Chickens
    The Wisdom Of Now
    This Is Not Me This Is Not My Self
    Thought Objects
    To Free Yourself From Cravings You Must Free Yourself Of Fear
    To Love Unconditionally = Loving-Kindness
    Tonglen - How To Approach Its Practice
    To Observe Free Of Mind - To Experience Joy
    To See Opportunity You Must Be Free Of Fear
    To Thine Own Self Be True
    Trauma
    Trauma Begets Trauma
    Trauma Denied No Longer
    Trauma - Healing It Is Critical
    Trauma - It’s Release
    Turning Your Will Over To Your True Buddha Nature
    Waking Up
    Walking Away From Modernity
    Walking On The Beach
    Walking The Path - It’s A Lot Of Work But It’s Well Worth It
    Wandering Until ?
    Wealth Poverty And Buddhism
    We Are All One
    We Are Not Meant To Suffer
    We Have Everything We Need To Be At Peace And Happy Inside Ourselves
    We Have Lost Our Sense Of Place
    We Make Our Own Mental Environment
    We Never Stop Healing
    What Activates The Ego-Mind?
    What Are We Celebrating On July 4th?
    What Blocks Me From Being Truly Present And Radiating My Inner Energy 24/7?
    What Drives Us Mad?
    What If The Present Is Bad?
    What Is Joy? What Is Happiness?
    What Is Life Without Emotion?
    What Is Most Important To You?
    What Is Your Task In Life?
    What Lies Behind Our Good Deeds?
    What Nourishes My Soul?
    What Price Peace And Happiness?
    What's In A Name?
    What's Real And What’s Not Real?
    What’s The Real Challenge - Life Or The Ego?
    What To Do When You Lose Faith?
    What Use Fame Power Fortune?
    What You Can’t Will And What You Can
    When A Heart’s Desire Is Commandeered By The Ego
    When Joy Is Not Joy
    When Love Is Not Love ...
    When Nothing Offends
    When Really Bad Things Happen
    When Smiling Toddlers Cry
    When The Mind Intervenes
    When Things Are Not The Way We Want Them To Be
    Who Am I?
    Who Are You?
    Who/What Is Your True Self?
    Why Diets Fail - A Buddhist Perspective
    Why Do We Crave?
    Why Is Being Grateful Such A Challenge?
    Why Is It So Hard To Be Free Of Your Ego?
    Why Is Mankind Trapped In A Box?
    Why Point The Compass Towards Tomorrow?
    Why We Take Offense
    Wisdom - What Is It?
    Wounded Our Ego-Mind Becomes The Devil
    Yes Virginia There Is A True Buddha Nature
    Yet Another Past Attachment
    You Are Not Alone
    You As Observer
    You Can Be In Control
    You Cannot Radiate Light If You Are Filled With Fear
    You Don't Need To Be Liked
    Your True Self And The Irrelevance Of The Min
    Your Will Not My Mind's - II
    Your Will Not My Mind's - III

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