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It Doesn’t Have to Be

6/24/2015

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How often when we speak with people about fear, anger, or insecurity do we hear the rejoinder, “That’s human nature.”?  One of the saddening things about being aware and believing in the teachings of the Buddha is that one knows that it doesn’t need to be this way.  The world does not have to be full of suffering.  There will of course always be poverty and various forms of physical suffering, but psychological suffering is a product of man, it is a product of the mind.

Last night when I was at a meditation and dharma discussion at the local Shambhala Center, two comments were made that were very telling and relevant.  A man from India noted that Westerners were so sensitive to what other people say or think.  In Eastern cultures, he said, people are taught self-love from the very beginning.  So their self-esteem is not dependent on other people.  And so they suffer less.  

It is important to note that this is not “self-love” in the contemporary American sense.  Here the term is used to describe children, typically upper class, being told they are bright, talented, etc. to the point that they believe they are owed everything and can do no wrong.  This is an egotistical self-love, not spiritual self-love.  It may lead to “success” but it also leads to self-doubt and insecurity as people rarely measure up to the exaggerated image they’ve been given of themselves, and they know what that foretells in the real word … failure … and so it leads to always wanting to be more than one is.  A perfect prescription for samsara.

Spiritual self-love is understanding that you are the embodiment of the Buddha nature … good, kind, pure, caring of others.  If you have such self-love, you are secure in yourself and will never think less of yourself regardless what you encounter in life.  Success or failure are ego-terms; they are irrelevant to self-love.  Regardless what someone does or says to you, they can never take away that feeling of self-love.  Spiritual self-love is caring; contemporary self-love is conceit.  The former enables one to feel loving-kindness towards oneself and others; there is no kindness or caring in the latter, even towards oneself. 

Of course, it goes without saying that the average American child receives neither type of self-love teaching.  Instead, they are more likely to be told often that they are bad, stupid, lazy, don’t do as told, etc.  Thus for the average person, the spiritual problem is more one of self-hatred and insecurity than a narcissistic self-love and insecurity.

The other comment  was a story someone had read about the Dalai Lama.  He was meeting with a group of Western psychologists who started talking about low self-esteem.  The Dalai Lama wasn’t familiar with that term and asked his translator to explain.  (I assume this was early in the Dalai Lama’s life.)  When he did, the Dalai Lama commented that he would think that was very rare.  Again, he grew up in an Eastern culture, Tibet, where self-love was taught most every child and so low self-esteem was not an issue.

As I’ve written before, insecurity is not a fact of human nature.  It is a product of human upbringing, which changes from culture to culture.  But even in India, I’m sure there are many children who are not taught self-love and are told they are bad, stupid, etc.  At least the emphasis of the culture lies elsewhere.



Of course, even if you have spiritual self-love and are secure in yourself, that does not mean you are free of samsara, from the forces of society and the push and pull of your ego-mind.  You just have fewer challenges or obstacles in walking the path, making the choice, and finding peace and happiness in the moment.

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As a Buddhist … Revisited Again - Do We Need to Know Where We’re Headed?

6/19/2015

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I have written several posts in the past about how to plan for the future while still being present (“As a Buddhist, How Do You Think About the Future?” and “As a Buddhist … Revisited - Planning Without Thinking”)  Those posts accepted as a basic fact of life that one needs to plan how to get from point A to point B in one’s life.

But I was just writing a note for someone and was going to include this point, when it hit me!  If you are present, or if you want to be present, there can be no point B that you aspire to.  Period.

Now, at some stages of one’s life, planning how to get from point A to point B is inescapable.  For example, you want to send your children to college.  One has to plan how to either save the necessary money or combine that with scholarships to achieve that goal.  It won’t just happen by itself.  The phrase, que sera sera, just doesn’t apply to such a situation.  My posts of how to do that and still be present the rest of the time by not obsessing about the future and planning without thinking remain relevant and helpful.

However, regarding most of the point Bs in our life, they are unnecessary and are only an object of our ego mind at work.  Why do we need to know where we are headed?   Because we want the sense of security that brings.  But there is no such thing as security in the normal sense because all things are impermanent and changeable. One is only secure when one accepts that fact, is present, and lets go of the search for security.



You’d  think I wouldn’t be surprised anymore, but I still am amazed at how many things are so deeply embedded in our habit-energies that we don’t even realize that they run counter to the Buddha dharma and need to be let go of if we want to be at peace, present, open to all the present moment has to offer,  grateful, and find happiness in the moment.

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No One’s Life Is Ordinary

6/13/2015

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I have been aware for many years that although my Buddhist practice has changed my life, freed me from feelings and perceptions that had tormented me, and brought me much peace and happiness, my disposition … at least when I am by myself … (physically evidenced by the expression on my face and my posture) is not light; I feel more numb than calm.  I’ve noted in my writings how I’ve meditated on this and sensed that this was probably the residue of all my years of suffering, that my facial muscles and posture were trained to sag.  I was still not free of the psychic weight of the past.

But last night while talking to a friend, I heard myself saying that despite all my progress on the path, perhaps there remained a slight undercurrent of dissatisfaction.  That my life felt mostly ordinary, divorced from the magic that I knew was present in everyday life.    Even when I was present, in the sense of my mind not being somewhere else, I didn’t feel fully present because there remained this last barrier.  I wasn’t getting upset, frustrated, agitated or any of those samsaric feelings, I know things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is, nothing in the world offends, but I wasn’t experiencing a lightness of spirit.

When I meditated the next morning, I had a “Duh!” moment.  (This is really embarrassing to admit.)  “Ordinary” is nothing but another label.  My life is not ordinary.  It just is.  In fact, ordinary = not ordinary.  While most people’s lives seem to them ordinary, every life is actually unique; one could say that the true norm of life is its non-ordinariness.  Even in this mass culture of ours with its attribute of conformity, everyone comes to each moment with his or her own particular blend of experiences and nature.

With that revelation, the veil was lifted and everything within and around me was alive … the workings of my body, the objects around me and all the work by so many people that had gone into their production as well as the miracle of nature that provided the raw material for the objects.  

It’s not that I haven’t had such moments in the past when I’ve truly been present, but those moments were typically fleeting.  In the days since this meditation, however, wherever I walked the things around me were palpable.  And the people were real; I saw them as persons, unique, a product of their experiences.  Many had a positive aura despite the suffering that I knew was universal and thus also within them, and I admired their ability to have positive energy.  Many had an aura of anger and negativity and yet I knew that within each person there was warmth to be found.

And yes, I’ve felt a slight smile on my face.  And so people reacted to me differently.  Several smiled.  When I stood next to someone, or sat down next to someone on the bus, strangers often talked to me.  (Not my usual experience.)



So remember, if you ever feel your life is ordinary, it is not.  That is just a label your mind puts on it because it wants your life to be something that it is not.  Your life is in fact something unique to yourself.   Realize that, be present, love yourself, have compassion for yourself, and experience the magic in yourself and the world around you.
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There Are No Bad Persons

6/12/2015

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In the Buddhist view, there are no bad persons, just persons who do harmful things.  Each of us when born is one with his true Buddha nature, or as taught by Zen Master Bankei, his unborn Buddha mind.  What causes people to do harmful things is not their true self but rather the learned experiences they have accumulated during life and form the ego.  Defilements of Buddha nature. 

Now one may well ask why, if we’re born with our unborn Buddha mind and thus are enlightened at birth, do we absorb all of these “harmful” life experiences rather than view them through our unborn Buddha mind and dismiss them.  I addressed this question in an earlier post (which I can’t identify right now), but bottom line, my theory is that the Buddha mind is a very passive spirit, it is not a fighting spirit, and so it easily becomes overwhelmed by the forces of learned experience, especially when we are very young.  And even when we become aware of what is going on at some later point in our lives, it takes a huge amount of discipline to free ourselves from this learned experience and return home to our unborn Buddha mind.

But I digress.  Not only do our learned experiences overpower our true Buddha nature, but they program us to act in certain ways.  Thus we in fact do not have the commonly assumed free will to choose between a wide range of options.  So when someone does something harmful or bad, he does not choose, in the sense of free will, to do such an act.  It’s done because he has been trained, programmed, to think that it isn’t wrong, or so what if it’s wrong, or it needs to be done to protect him.

“But what if an act is illegal?”  the reader may ask.  Many people are trained to give no credence to the societal view that something is illegal.  Others will disagree as to whether a specific act is wrong and should be illegal, and so feel free to act in an illegal way.  The fact is that few people will choose not to do something illegal unless their training programs them in a way that either says that that act is wrong or that one should never do something that is illegal.



Just think of how many times you have consciously broken the law because you felt you weren’t doing anything wrong or harmful … speeding, jaywalking, etc.  Granted these are not what we usually think of as criminal acts, but the same analysis applies.


If you believe in this Buddhist teaching, how does that impact how you react to examples of someone doing harm, even horrific harm?   While not condoning the action, you have compassion for the perpetrator because you are aware that learned experience programmed him to do something harmful.  You thus do not hate the person or get angry at the person; you have compassion for his suffering.   And from that compassion flows a perspective which informs both our personal interactions as well as how we view the criminal justice system.

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Why We Take Offense

6/5/2015

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When someone treats us badly or when something happens we don’t like, we generally take offense.  That usually leads to us getting upset and angry.  Yet we know from past experience that getting agitated after such things happen doesn’t make things better nor change the situation.  We just get upset and suffer as a result.

This raises the question, why do we … why does our ego … take offense?  In an earlier post, "When Nothing Offends," I addressed the question from one perspective.  Here is another. 

We take offense because we don’t accept that things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is.  And that is the basic answer.   If we would accept things, we would not take offense, and thus we would not suffer.

But during a recent meditation, I thought that given the problem many people have with acceptance, it might be helpful looking at this somewhat differently.  An obvious place to start would seem to be that we take offense because something happens that we don’t like or that impacts us negatively.

Is it that straight-forward, though?  I would posit that we take offense because we feel that the person or group purposefully acted in the way which offended us.  We feel a victim … whether of a perceived slight or something worse … and part of feeling a victim is feeling that someone has done something to us purposefully, whether it be an individual or the “system.”

But what if the offensive act was not the result of purposeful choice?  It is a core Buddhist teaching that we are all born with our true Buddha nature intact.  However, after birth our learned experiences overwhelm our Buddha nature and form our ego, the basis for all of our actions.  

How we act is thus a function of our learned experience not our true Buddha nature.  Different people react to a given situation in different ways not because they make a choice between one reaction or another but because they are programmed by their different learned experiences to respond in different ways.  They essentially have little choice, no free will.  

So if you believe in this teaching of the Buddha, would you still feel slighted?  Would you still take offense?  Probably not.  You would more likely just shrug your shoulders and move on.  This is another way of coming to the understanding that things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is.

The same holds true when we feel that the larger society is doing something that harms us.  Everyone from the highest to the lowest is programmed to act as they act.    Again, it’s just the way it is.

As a practicing Buddhist, you hopefully have an awareness that you personally do have a choice … at least if your are present … because you understand that all feelings and perceptions are just functions of the mind; they are not you.  And that reality is not what your mind relates.  Yet even with that awareness, you know only too well how difficult it is to free yourself from the intervention of your mind, to be present.



The vast majority of people unfortunately have no such awareness, and thus have no choice and just walk through their life asleep.  They are deserving of compassion, not contempt.
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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
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    Beware Complacency
    Beyond Acceptance
    Beyond Awareness
    Beyond Dispassion - The Next Step
    Boredom
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    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
    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
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    Humility - How To Gain It?
    Humility - The Price Of The Lack Of Humility
    Humility: The Truth About "My" Good Accomplishments
    I Am Being Reborn
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    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
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    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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