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The Heart’s Embrace

10/28/2015

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This post is about opening up your heart to embrace all aspects of your being and everything that’s ever happened to you or will happen to you.  You may react react with, “That's crazy!  Why would I want to do that?”  Stay with me.

​Note: I initially wrote a post on The Heart's Embrace in 2015.  In the intervening years, as my practice has deepened, this practice has evolved into something even more powerful. And so I have written a new post that reflects my current practice.


All of our suffering stems from our memory of past experiences.  There is no end to our storehouse of bad memories about the past, whether it involves our interaction with parents and siblings, peers, or the larger world.  And these memories impact us here and now by affecting how we respond to situations we encounter in the present and how we think about our future.

Most of us certainly have good memories as well, but somehow those are of less interest to the mind, and it’s the bad ones that surface with regularity to torture us in the present.

Perhaps this is because from an evolutionary standpoint, the bad memories are what we needed to learn from; those dangers were real.  But today’s bad memories have to do mostly with things which are life or soul threatening because of our mind’s reaction to them, not because of the events themselves, regardless how bad or unpleasant they may be.

If you want to end your suffering, what I’ve described is clearly a harmful dynamic.  How to change that dynamic?  That’s what The Heart’s Embrace is all about.  It’s amazing what we can endure and even thrive in the face of if we have the right attitude.

First let me give you a bit of background.  While my spiritual practice had freed me from many of my emotions, including for the most part from the biggest one - fear - I didn’t feel happy.  I was more or less calm, at peace, nothing really pushed my buttons anymore, but I felt that there was a gray cloud always hanging over me.  I was definitely worried or better put concerned about all aspects of the future.  The endless “what if’s” that the ego-mind throws at us.

Then one day several years ago, a friend told me about a teaching he had come across that encouraged opening your heart to embrace all aspects of yourself. He noted that I often seemed caught up in trying to free myself from various “problems” and that I should try this practice of embracing them instead. I knew this was certainly consistent with the teaching of Pema Chodron and others.

And so when I next meditated, I sat with my heart and I felt it embrace all aspects of my being, including my trauma, my weaknesses, my wounded inner child. As I did this I hugged myself. The experience was cathartic, with tears streaming down my face.

Notice that I did not say that “I” embraced all aspects of my being, instead my heart, my true self, did this. My mind would never embrace all aspects of my being. Only my heart, my true self, will do that and free me.

An important part of changing how we react to things, to opening up our heart, is to increase our identification with our heart, to turn our will and our lives over to its care, as discussed in my video, “Your True Self = Your Heart.”  To let go our ego’s desire to control everything. This is difficult for us because the ego is so strong and it is our habitual way of life.

For example, the Sufi developed a chart of nine personality types (called the enneagram) and the “false core beliefs” that underlie each of the nine. “These beliefs reflect the conclusions about ourselves we came to as the result of our early childhood traumas or experiences,” and these are engraved on our mind.

When I read the nine false core beliefs, I knew which one was mine, “There must be something wrong with me.”   In one way, this was not a revelation to me because I had been aware for many years that this belief had a major negative impact on my childhood and life. But it was a revelation in that I now understood why I did not feel happy despite all the progress I had made on the path. I had not “connected the dots.”

This false core belief was so deeply embedded in my mind that no matter how far my spiritual practice had come, it still controlled the overall ambiance of my persona. Thus I always felt there was some grayness surrounding me. When I was fighting my perpetual frown and trying to rid myself of it, it only made this false core belief stronger. As the ancient Chinese poem "Affirming Faith in Mind" says, "seek rest and no rest comes instead."

But opening up my heart to embrace all aspects of my being took this aspect of my psyche which was so deep it was in my bones and removed all internal struggle. It in effect smothered these negative feelings with love. I was made whole.

A further development in this practice over time was that I specifically embraced all aspects of my being and experience … and not just past, but past, present, and future.  I felt this was critical.  Embracing the past and present is an essential part of accepting my life as it is at this moment, without which there is no peace.  This is one of those things where one doesn’t ask how do you do it; you just do it.  It’s amazing when you say things to yourself repeatedly … whether it’s affirmations or self-criticism … the power those things have to change your life, either for good or bad.

One important note about embracing the trauma in your past.  Because trauma is so hurtful, the idea of embracing it does not sit well with many.  But think of it this way.  The trauma you experienced as a child, or as an adult, has made you the person you are today.  You would not have the character you have, were it not for the trauma.  You would not have the connection with your soul, were it not for your trauma.  You're familiar with the phrase, "No pain, no gain."  This is related.

​Trauma, regardless how horrific and hurtful it is, can provide a catalyst for inner growth at the same time that it's impact on the mind is one of fear and anxiety.  The point of embracing our trauma is to touch that aspect that has given us strength, instead of being consumed with the fear and anxiety brought on by the trauma.


As for the future, this is a matter of faith.  You may ask, “Faith in what?”  As I have said in other videos, not faith that things will change the way you would like; nor faith in your fellow man.  Rather, faith in yourself.  In the sense that you know that things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is and that you will be ok, safe, regardless what life throws at you, like the title of the 50s song, Que sera sera, what will be will be, because you have returned home and will always return home to your true Buddha nature, to your heart, and so be at peace and happy.

When you have that faith, because you know you will be at peace and happy regardless, nothing offends and all internal and external struggles cease to be.

How do you know that?  As a further result of opening my heart to embrace all aspects of my being and experience, I for the first time knew from within myself the truth of Pema Chodron’s teaching that we have everything we need inside ourselves to be at peace and happy.  Because we don’t need anything to be a specific way to be at peace and happy; I had embraced everything, regardless what comes to be. Free of internal struggle I felt at peace and happy; that is my natural state.

Only we can take that state away from ourselves. And by implication, we have the power to give it back to ourselves. I felt an undefined faith and trust. And because I was one with my heart, I felt strong. And I smiled.

Please note that, as with all practices, this is not a once and done thing. You need to come back to and implement the heart’s embrace regularly, if not daily. It will be a fundamental underpinning for your inner peace.

It has certainly become a foundation of my daily mantra practice.  As an example, here is what I recite every day:

“Loving myself unconditionally, my true buddha self opens my heart to embrace all aspects of my being and experience … past, present, and future.  Regarding the past, my heart embraces all past trauma (as I say this I visualize key moment of my trauma), opens my throat chakra and allows the pain to rise up and express itself, and so my trauma is being healed.  Regarding the present, my heart accepts that my life is the way it is right now at this moment because it's just the way it is.  It's all ok and will work itself out.  Regarding the future, my heart’s attitude is que sera sera, what will be will be, I have faith that whatever life throws my way I will be ok, safe, because I have returned home and will always return home to my true Buddha nature and be at peace and happy.

And so nothing offends.  All internal and external struggle cease to be.  I know I have everything I need inside myself to be at peace and happy.  And I will allow nothing to interfere with that peace and happiness."


Why all this detail?  As with other areas of practice, I found that the more specific one is as to what you are addressing, the better.  When I used to say, “I embrace all aspects of my being and experience,” it was almost too easy to say and although it was a global statement it did not reach into all the corners of my samsara.  Even when I added, “past, present, and future,” it still did not direct me to where I needed to go.  When I recite the practice in its current version, when I embrace my trauma I visualize various key moment of my trauma, not just from childhood but as an adult as well, and so my heart is directed to the key moments that the heart needs to embrace in order for me to be truly free of my mind and thus at peace and happy. 

My life has truly been transformed by this meditation. Nothing that I have experienced since has agitated me, has pushed my buttons. I am aware and experience things directly and dispassionately, free of labels. And because I know I have everything I need inside myself to be at peace and happy, I do not allow my mind to engage in its endless “what-if’s” about the future.  I know that I will be spiritually safe, regardless, and allow nothing to interfere with my peace and happiness.

May you find peace and happiness.
  


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It’s All About Survival - Or Is It?

10/23/2015

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Recently while meditating, I realized that for animals and humans alike, it’s all about survival.  Every action we take is taken because we think it either increases our chance for survival or, in the case of a parent, our children’s survival.  And since survival is a powerful primal instinct, everything we do to that end is invested with its power.  Whether we free ourselves from that primal instinct is the difference between a life of samsara and making progress on the path.

In earlier posts, I have written about how we all suffer from feelings of insecurity that have been formed almost from the moment after birth and how strongly these feelings impact us and the choices we make.  And now I know why those feelings of insecurity have such power.  Because an insecure person worries more about his or her survival.  Which turns insecurity into a primal fear.  Indeed, that is also why the ego has such power … the “I” is all about survival.

When I first was exposed to Buddhism, I took the second step because I sensed that this was a possible path to end my suffering.  When I was in the zendo in Chicago and experienced its peace and warmth, unlike anything I had experienced, I saw the sliver of light of a door slightly opening. I somehow sensed that suffering was not necessarily a given.  

Over the years I first learned and then became aware that in fact all of the things that we seek in life are due to cravings which are a product of the mind and cause us suffering.  That all the “what if’s” we obsess about are all mind games.   That there is no reality other than the present moment; all else is thought.

As a Buddhist now, except for those moments when I am still in my ego-mind, I am present and I know this is the only reality.  And I know that all feelings and perceptions are just a product of the mind.  Things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is.  And so I am at peace and find happiness in the moment.  

One moment follows another; that is the only survival known to a Buddhist.  Just as I do not fear death, I do not obsess about survival, as all things are impermanent.

But for the unfortunate masses who never experience that sliver of light, survival remains a primal instinct and the only way they know to survive is to pursue the dictates of their ego-mind.  If they are rich or powerful, or waanabes, they are driven to achieve what they do not have; become what they are not; or retain what they already have.  For those that feel that they are just cogs in the machine, for whom the avatars of culture and family are unquestionably out of reach, they may not try but are still left frustrated with the “defeated” lives they are forced to live.  Either way all are caught in the endless grip of samsara.  

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The Heart/Mind Divide

10/17/2015

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Often we are told, “Listen to your heart.”  Not just in spiritual books, but in everyday conversation.  Then there are common phrases like, “He has heart,”  or “He wears his heart on his sleeve.”  A spiritual book I am currently reading says that from a mystical perspective, personality is built around the heart.

Since the heart, physiologically, is an organ which has a purely physical function in our body, it is not a sensory organ, where does this concept of the heart that exists in both the common vernacular as well as in spiritual writing  come from?

Before I explore this history, let me share with you my initial reaction to this question.  The heart is the source of life.  It is the organ which brings blood and oxygen to the body.  The brain on the other hand is basically a switchboard, an incredibly complex computer which controls/directs all of our body and thought functions.  And since the thought processes of the brain are programmed by life experiences,  we will be controlled/directed by the brain in quite different ways depending on those learned experiences.  That is consistent with the Buddha’s central teaching of dependent origination.

Since the heart is the life force in us, it makes sense that the heart is seen as the force of goodness in us because the life force is good.  The brain on the other hand is a largely mechanical organ.  Since all of our memories are stored there, and our thoughts and value judgments derive from the brain, it makes us more like a robot than not, as unflattering as that may be.   It is those established synapses, the programming of our brain, that establish our habit-energies and that by the time one is a grown child have totally buried the unborn Buddha mind, the goodness, we were born with.

In delving into the history of this semantic phenomenon, I came across various things.  First, there is the Buddhist term, “bodhicitta.” Bodhicitta is a mind totally dedicated to the welfare of others and to the achievement of enlightenment for the benefit of others.  “Bodhi” is the Sanskrit word for “awakening” or “enlightenment.”  “Citta” means the mind or consciousness.  

This would appear to be directed to the function of the brain, since that is the seat of the mind and all consciousness.  Indeed, citta is thought to be the storehouse of consciousness, which is certainly the brain.  But in Pali, the language spoken by the Buddha and the language in which all the sutras were originally written, “citta” is defined as heart/mind, emphasizing it is the emotive side of the mind as opposed to the intellectual side.  Again raising the question, how does heart come into play here?

Actually, it turns out that in all ancient languages, whether Chinese, Pali, Hebrew, or Greek, when referring to the emotive process referred to the heart.  For example, in the Bible, whether in Hebrew or Greek, the word “heart” is used to refer to both the center of physical health as well as emotional/moral/intellectual activities, as in “Pharoah’s heart was hardened.”

The answer to the question I posed is that until the function of the brain began to be recognized, during the 1st millennium BC, the heart was thought to be the seat of emotion and intelligence.  But even as that scientific knowledge increased, the term “heart” continued to be used to refer to the essential goodness of man.

So where does that leave us, modern man and woman, in reading and making sense of these texts.  In an earlier post, “Proof of the Nature of Mind - Fear, Ego, and Buddha Mind”, I offered proof that Buddha mind and ego-mind are not two separate things but rather two sides of a continuum.  This is consistent with the concept of “citta” which contains all consciousness and can be directed one way through meditation and another way by the ego.  

​But because “Buddha nature” or “Buddha mind” is a concept foreign to us, and because as I noted above all thoughts in the brain are learned while the heart is our primal life force, it is sometimes easier for people to refer to one’s heart, which is always understood to be unblemished and unadulterated, as the symbolic source of goodness.
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Faith and Mind Not Separate - 2

10/14/2015

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A friend recently shared his meditation on faith, and it was very powerful.  When I described faith in my previous post, I described the components that led to faith and what my faith consists of.  In his meditation, my friend perceived faith as just being, untouchable.

​This is larger than the faith in my own true Buddha nature that I described.  The faith that I described still involves “I am,” for it depends on having faith that that I will go deep within myself and return home to my true Buddha nature.  My friend’s faith is in the cosmos … not in the sense of its bringing about any particular result.  It’s “just” faith.  Things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is.  All will be well.  Period.  He recently had the same experience while meditating on trust.

The mind wants to know where to find faith and leads one to look for it hither and yon.  As I did, although in a spiritual place.  But faith as revealed in his meditation just is.  Nothing can touch it.  Nothing that we come up against in our daily life can disturb such faith because it is not based on something happening or being.  It just is.  As it says in the poem, Affirming Faith in Mind, when “true faith pervades our life … thought cannot reach this state of truth, here feelings are of no avail.”

In his meditation, faith cast off a golden, yellow light, like an eternal flame.  It reminded me of a poster my father used to have hanging in his office, “Better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” 

I had always interpreted that proverb as meaning that rather than bemoan all the problems we face, we should do something that alleviates them, that brings light to the situation.  Be proactive.

My friend’s meditation gives that interpretation a somewhat different slant.  It is that the light of faith leads one out of darkness, it leads one out of the dark paths that the ego-mind takes us down.  So turn to faith to find your way rather than venting your emotions over all the things that you are dissatisfied with in your life.  That is the path to peace.

And where does one find this faith?  For one has to discover it or reveal its presence.  But not in the way that the mind would seek to find faith.  One finds this faith by going deep within oneself in meditation.  As with all spiritual truths, faith must be revealed from within, not from teachings we have received, to truly change our lives, end our suffering, and bring us peace.  So will I meditate further on faith and trust.

But best be reminded that the fact that one has come to faith from within does not mean that one is home free from the intervention of the ego-mind.  It is constantly there looking for a weak moment to insert itself and pull you away from your faith and into its vortex.  One must be ever-vigilant and strong.  One must have the courage of one’s faith and say “no” to the ego-mind when it arises, to not engage it.
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The Power of Giving Voice to Thoughts and Thoughts Themselves

10/11/2015

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In a recent post, I spoke of the power of giving voice, whether to your ego-mind’s feelings and emotions, or to your true Buddha nature.  Watering seeds, whether positive or negative.  But the power of voice goes beyond that discussion … it is often predictive.

The basic concept is very simple.  When we say that something is a problem, it will in fact be a problem for us.   When we say that it’s ok, then it will in fact be ok for us.  Why is this so?  Because how we react to something, our state of mind, is what controls … not the thing or situation that is being experienced.

This practice can be applied countless times throughout each day, actually throughout each hour.  You would be amazed how frequently you utter a value judgment about something … the weather, a colleague,  your finances, virtually everything that occupies our mind. And the words we use almost always contain a value judgment; we virtually never describe the actual elements of something in factual terms because we feel neutral about nothing.  Listen to yourself carefully and you’ll see the truth of this observation.

So this becomes another very practical way of watering “good” seeds so that the roots of your true Buddha nature grow deep, and not watering the “bad” seeds so that your ego is starved and weakens.  

Every time you begin to react to something by voicing your view of it as a problem or undesirable, stop.  Such a statement makes that feeling more concrete and strengthens your belief in and commitment to the truth of that observation.

Luckily, since it is “just” a matter of your state of mind, you can with awareness point yourself in a different direction by either referring to the thing or situation using neutral words, or when free of the negative construct actually find something positive or spiritual to say about the thing or situation.  

The adage, “If you don’t have something good to say, don’t say anything,” is a wise saying, as far as it goes.  And when we are free of the intervention of our ego-mind, there is almost always something good to say, or something spiritual that opens the door to compassion and happiness.  

This is another area where using imagining in your meditation (see my post, “Imagining in Meditation”) can be very helpful.  Imagine situations where you habitually express disapproval, that separate you from the world around you, and then imagine how if you were free of the intervention of your ego-mind you would react in a spiritual way.  And then feel the peace that comes over you, rather than the frustration that follows your habitual reaction. 

When you are comfortable implementing this practice, then turn to your thoughts.  The same principle applies, it’s just more difficult to be aware when something is in the thought stage than when you give something voice.

For example, I was walking down the street the other day and started having my habit-energy reaction to the buildings I saw, especially the “ugly” ones.  This was all thought; nothing was voiced as I was by myself.  This may sound silly to the reader, but I find it can be somewhat depressing looking at what we’ve built, especially post WWII, whether in urban or suburban areas.  

But I quickly became aware of what I was doing and was reminded instead of what a monk said recently about everything we experience that pushes our buttons or disturbs us in some way being the expression of someone’s or society’s suffering.  And so I looked at the “ugly” buildings and saw them as an expression of the architect’s suffering, and also society’s.  Likewise, I looked at the “beautiful” buildings and saw them as an expression of the architect’s spirituality.  How appropriate as “beauty” is defined, in an arts context as opposed to a beauty contest, as something that exalts the spirit.

I made no more value judgments and just saw the buildings as they were.  I derived happiness both from the elements that came together to make some buildings spiritually nurturing and the knowledge that they were an expression of someone’s spirituality.  And I felt sorrow that the architects that produced the non-nurturing buildings (it can be very difficult to find a word that doesn’t contain some value judgment) suffered, and indeed that this was just an extension of society’s suffering.  

But that sorrow was not depressing, it wasn’t agitating, it wasn’t frustrating.  I know that it’s just the way it is.  The cold, impersonal, buildings were almost all post-WWII and were an example of man’s being further distanced from beauty after WWII and more oriented towards technical innovation, which is not the same as creativity, as a step on the path to the holy grail of progress. 

Always water the seeds of your true Buddha nature and starve your ego-mind.

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Acceptance, Courage, and Wisdom

10/9/2015

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I have always been aware that it takes a great deal of courage to accept things as they are, or in the language of some writers, resign oneself to thing as they are.  It takes courage because it means going against our ego-mind, and our whole life has been spent following the advice of our ego-mind.  It’s all we’ve known until we started exploring our true Buddha nature.  

Not only is the ego all we’ve known, it’s very forceful and insistent.  It’s power is akin to the power of the devil in Christian theology.  And just as the devil tries to pull man away from his God-spirit, the ego-mind tries to pull us away from our unborn Buddha mind.

We’re used to thinking of “courage” in terms of the ego-mind … standing up to things that affront us, protecting ourselves, not being weak.  That is why it rejects acceptance or resignation, which it defines as weakness.  But courage in Buddhist-speak needs to be based on wisdom.  And wisdom results in action quite the opposite of what the ego-mind presses on us.  

First there is the basic understanding of wisdom as taught by the Heart Sutra.  For a Buddhist, wisdom means being aware that all five skandhas, all our feelings and perceptions, are a product of the mind.  That’s basically it.  With that awareness, we are then able to experience things directly with dispassion, free of likes and dislikes, free of fear and anger … free of our ego.  And when we experience things directly, when our minds are free of fear and obstructions, all suffering and doubt cease.

Second, armed with that wisdom, we understand that acceptance or resignation is not being weak, not giving in to something, but is instead quite the opposite … an exercise of will, of not letting our ego-mind take us down a road that will harm us.

​And so, despite all the yelling and screaming of our ego-mind, we find the courage to say, no.  To not engage these feelings and instead return home to our unborn Buddha mind.  And when the ego-mind is ignored, it will subside.  Then we are at peace, open to all that the present moment offers, and find happiness in that moment.

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Starving the Ego

10/7/2015

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Gardening is a good analogy to our practice: we water the good seeds so they germinate and grow deep roots while we either pull out the weeds or starve them of nutrition so that they weaken.

A large part of either watering or starving both our true Buddha nature and our ego is giving them, or not giving them, voice.  When we give things voice … that is take something that is a thought and verbalize it … it strengthens it, whether it be a virtue or a craving.  There is something about giving something voice that makes it more concrete, and in the case of cravings starts the vortex of obsession turning.  Obsessive ranting or venting is for the ego like spinach for Popeye.

So. if what we want is peace and happiness, if we believe that our true self is harmony and love, and if we realize that the ego in all its various guises does nothing but bring us suffering, then we will want to do everything we can to starve our ego and water the seeds of our true self.

Thus each time you start to open up your mouth to vent about this or that, regardless of how self-righteous it makes you feel when you are angry, regardless how it feels like you are protecting yourself, standing up for yourself, you will know that in fact you are harming yourself, that you are falling into your ego-mind’s trap, pulling you away from your essence of peace, harmony, and love.  And so you will stop and not vent, instead returning home to your unborn Buddha mind.

There is one emotion, however, that doesn’t tend to erupt with our voice.  Fear, for some reason, doesn’t need to be given voice to become obsessive.  It does very well on that score while just a thought in our ego-mind.  Actually, that seems to be its best growing medium, not speech.  The bogus nature of fear is actually exposed more readily when through voice it enters the realm of the real world.  That’s probably why we instinctively rarely verbalize our fears.

But the same basic technique still applies.  To starve the ego, you will stop your mind from fixating on fear before it gets pulled into the vortex.  

Now this is much harder to do than stopping yourself from venting because it’s all still in the mind.  You can’t hear yourself being fearful, so it’s harder to be aware.  But without doubt you do feel fear building inside you.  As soon as you become aware of what your mind is doing, you need to have the discipline and courage to stop and focus on your breathing to center yourself.

Then practice the antidote to fear by giving voice to your knowledge that fear is just a product of the mind and your faith that all will be well regardless what life throws at you because you will always go deep within yourself and return home to your unborn Buddha mind.  That you will thus be at peace, present, aware of the emptiness of your feelings and perceptions, know that things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is, be grateful, compassionate, and find happiness in each moment.  This is watering the good seeds of your true Buddha nature.

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What’s the Real Challenge - Life or the Ego?

10/2/2015

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So often we say that life is a real challenge.  That life presents us with so many challenges each day.  But that is in fact not true.  It is true for the ego-mind, but it is not true for our true Buddha nature.

The other morning while meditating, it suddenly hit me … truly a “duh!” moment … that the underlying problem that makes walking the path so difficult is that it is our ego that has defined the playing field.  For the ego, it’s all about wanting what we don’t have.  For the ego, it’s all about us v them, with the “them” clearly a threat.  So of course for the ego, life is a constant challenge and a constant frustration.

But for our unborn Buddha mind, life is not a challenge.  It experiences things directly with dispassion, free of labels, free of the intervention of the thinking mind, knowing that things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is.  It is one with everything and everyone.  And so the Buddha mind rests undisturbed, nothing  in the world offends.  It is open to receiving all that the present moment offers, is grateful, compassionate, and finds happiness in the moment. 

Life is a constant challenge for us only because we have to deal with our ego and its neuroses.  It is our ego that is our biggest challenge.  Not life.

​We can never loose sight of that truth.  The ego is not our friend, it is not our protector.  The ego’s thoughts are not in our best interest; they cause us suffering.  I would not call it our enemy, because it is part of us, but it is clearly an antagonist, THE threat to our peace and happiness, our well-being.


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    All
    1. The Goal Of Buddhism
    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
    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 Courage And Wisdom
    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
    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
    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
    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 ?
    Co-existence Of Buddha Nature And Ego-Mind
    Compassion
    Control
    Craving "Survival" Condemns You To Suffering
    Crying - An Understanding
    Darkness Before 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 Say No To Your Mind
    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
    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 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 Suffering - The Prerequisite Step
    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
    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 Observe Through The Eyes Of Your True Buddha Self
    How To Offer Others Joy
    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: 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 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 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 - Yet Another Take
    Knowing Best?
    Know Thyself - The Power Of Awareness
    Lack V Abundance
    Let Go - Let God
    Letting Go
    Letting Others Go Their Way
    Liberate Yourself From Thinking
    Likes And Dislikes - A Potential Trap Examined
    Listening - Why Is It So Difficult?
    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 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
    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
    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
    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 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 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 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 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 Soul’s Yearning And How Best To Fulfill It
    The Stages Of Acceptance
    The Stages Of Man’s Spirit
    The Subconscious
    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
    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 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
    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 Don't Need To Be Liked
    Your True Self And The Irrelevance Of The Min

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