Blog Archives

The Truth – Seeing It and Speaking It

9/30/2022

A very important aspect of being one with your true Buddha nature, the divinity within you, is seeing the truth and speaking the truth.

It is an aspect of being one with your true Buddha nature because only when you are free of the control of your mind can you know the truth, because only then can you observe yourself and the world around you with dispassion, free of labels, free of emotion, free of the intervention of your mind. You see reality.

When you are not free of the control of your mind, you see everything through the lens of your mind; what you observe with your senses - sight, sound, smell - which are themselves neutral, is interpreted and refracted by your mind's life experiences, emotions, and perceptions into your mind's biased version of reality.

There is an old saying that the truth will set you free. It's not always what you learn about the truth – although often that will in fact be the case, especially about the past – but that since you can only see the truth when you are free of your mind's emotions and perceptions, that is what sets you free.

Seeing yourself and the people and world around you as things truly are is critically important for making sound judgments, decisions, as you go through life. Depending on how far you are along on the path, to what extent you have renounced your mind and are at one with your true Buddha nature, your mind may still be strong enough to counter the truth you see and make you adhere to its view of things. Certainly one must be aware that the mind is always out there, waiting for an opportunity to assert itself, no matter how far along you are on the path.

As for speaking the truth to others, only when you are one with your true Buddha nature will you have the courage to do that. Why does that take courage?

Because most people do not want to hear the truth – about anything. They see the world and themselves through the lens of their own mind, they have their own personal version of reality, and they do not want to hear the truth because the truth is threatening in many ways. The truth is challenging. It rocks the boat.

Having the courage to speak the truth does not mean that you speak the truth to everyone in every situation like you're on a mission. One has to judge when the truth is needed and when the truth can be spoken without inflicting harm (although there are situations where speaking the truth is so critically important that even if it harms someone, it must be done). In one sense, one can say that the truth is always needed, but without question in some situations the need is more urgent than others.

You must be aware, however, that by speaking the truth, you may well be shunned by the very people or their friends that you a trying to help. Again, people just don't want to hear the truth because typically they will hear something they don't want to acknowledge.

So speaking the truth is often an isolating experience. That's why it takes courage.

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Beware Complacency

9/24/2022

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When one gets to a certain place in one's practice – and that place is different for different people because their goals are different – there's a human tendency to pat oneself on the back and say you've done it. And when the mind does that, we become complacent and let down our guard regarding the source of our samsara, our mind.

If one is aware that one is feeling complacent or self-satisfied about one's practice, a bell should ring out – Danger! Danger!

I say this from personal experience. It has happened in the past, and just recently I felt after a morning meditation that things were truly coming together, there was a coherence among all aspects of my practice. When I said "your will, not mine," I felt a burden being lifted from my shoulders.

And so what happened in rather rapid order? Twice over the course of the following 12 hours I violated key aspects of my daily mantra regarding my relations, my interaction, with others. This caused grief to people dear to me and thus grief to me.

My purpose in life is to offer myself and others joy. When I instead cause someone and myself grief, I am not only not fulfilling my purpose in life, but I am truly hurting myself and others.

And so I must remember what I have said many times: the path never ends. One must be mindful of the power and persistence of one's mind, knowing that if it sees any opportunity, any crack in your force field of spirituality, it will take advantage of that opportunity to assert itself and at least momentarily knock you off your spiritual balance.

My intent is to always empty myself of myself, to be in touch with the Buddha nature/my divinity inside me, the source of my supply, my substance, to be humble before it saying "your will, not mine," and so be filled with abundance and light, peace and equanimity, happiness and contentment, faith and strength, And never allow myself to be complacent.

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What Nourishes My Soul?

9/17/2022

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Everywhere I have lived, I have been drawn to nature. Whether living in a city or the country, it is nature I seek out – nature read large. Ether a large body of water, like Lake Michigan or the ocean, or a vista that includes the open sky and some element of nature.

What is at work here? Whether a large body of water or a vista, they connect me to the infinite nature of the universe, the primal forces that are present. Probably that's why I've always been interested in astronomy, in what's out there. Connecting with forces beyond me, beyond the known. Connecting with the abundance and beauty of the universe.

I believe that is also what draws me to good music and beautiful art. It's not just the aesthetic quality, which is pleasing; it connects me with something deeper, spiritual.

It is the spirituality of nature, beyond man's control, and of man himself when he is in touch with the presence of the divinity within him, that nourishes me. Because that feeds the divinity within me, my true Buddha nature.

I function very well in cities, but i need access to this spiritual dimension, which can come from a high-rise with a beautiful vista (not just other buildings), or something that dwarfs or is apart from the man-made environment (like Lack Michigan in Chicago). Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City, for example, lovely as they are, don't work for me because they are very much a part of the man-made environment. They feel like nature in a cage.

The other thing that nourishes me, being human, is human contact. Which means contact with people that is not fraught with the things that usually drive people, that has instead a spiritual quality. The contact does not have to be deep or intellectual, just human, pure, honest. Given the way we are raised and the society in which we live, that is not easy to come by. I am grateful that when I go to temple, this is what I receive from the sangha. And I have found that if I radiate light when in public, even in this impersonal space, I will get an occasional positive response.

If I know that this is what nourishes me, how can I increase the nourishment in my life? We make decisions every day about what direction our lives will take, both on matters large and small. Typically the mind has a large say in these decisions. Even when one has turned one's will and life over to the care of your Buddha nature, your divinity, when you have surrendered your ego, emptied yourself of yourself, the mind still seeks to have influence, just like Mara would consistently tempt the Buddha.

And not being enlightened, even if you are aware of this, it is a challenge to distinguish whether the guidance you are receiving is coming from the mind or from your heart. Clearly if it causes you suffering, then as the Buddha said, "this is not you, this is not yours, this is not your self;" I know it is not coming from my heart. But that is not always the case, or better put, by the time I realize it is causing suffering, I have already invested time and energy in the wrong path. This is a painful lesson.

My intent is to be ever vigilant so that this knowledge and awareness of what nourishes me influences all my actions and activities.

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Emptying Myself of Myself - The Divine's Will Not Mine

9/10/2022

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If you have been reading my posts, you know that I have gone pasts traditional Buddhist teaching to embrace elements of the Divine. (See my posts, "Buddhism and the Divine" and "Happenstance - Part II, You, Your Buddha Nature, and the Universe.") This is all consistent with the Buddha dharma, but it introduces concepts and forces which are not explicitly recognized in the dharma.

You are probably familiar with the phrase, "God's will, not mine," which is a central part of 12-step programs (although the reference is to one's higher power, so the phrasing is "your will not mine"). This is an essential part of surrendering your ego to your true Buddha nature, turning your will and your life over to the care of your true Buddha nature.

When I incorporated this mantra into my practice, I felt a burden being lifted from me. I had no fear of not being in control. Instead I felt relief at not being in control, of things not depending on my mind's efforts.

Recently, though, I learned that a further step on this path is to empty myself of myself and so be one with my the Buddha nature, the divine, inside me. For only when one is in that state can one truly say, "your will, not mine," because at that point you have no will because you have emptied yourself of yourself, not merely turned your ego over to the care of your Buddha nature.

Also, when you are in that place, you are in a position to not just receive but to accept and follow any guidance you receive from your Buddha nature/the divine inside you, your heart. There truly is no struggle then, for there is no "I" to struggle with the divine.

This is my intent every day, every moment of the day, as I continue walking on the path

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Renouncing What You Have Always Depended On

9/3/2022

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Recently I have written about the teaching of being at one with your Buddha nature/divinity, seeing it as your source and your supply, and your substance. And so be filled with abundance and light, peace and equanimity, happiness and contentment, faith and strength.

That sounds like the whole ball game, right? Well, the other morning while meditating I realized that in order to be fully in that space, I must renounce my dependence on things, people, and experiences for my source and supply. That may be implied by looking to the presence of your Buddha nature/divinity as your source and supply, but implication is not sufficient. You must clearly renounce, relinquish, that habit energy that has been with you throughout your life.

The Abundance Book as well as The Course in Miracles makes clear the importance of renouncing what we have previously put our faith in as providing for or supply, namely money and material things, jobs, people. It's not that these things are not important to one's life, but they are not the source of your supply. Buddhist teaching is very clear that that comes from within, and it comes from our being one with our Buddha nature, our divinity, or if you wish, the presence of God within us. (See my post, "Buddhism and the Divine.")

This is one more aspect of the importance of surrendering your ego to your true Buddha nature. See my post, "Turning Your Will and Your Life Over to Your True Buddha Nature."

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