Buddhism East and West (travel)

Ashley Wells, Seven, Amber Dorrian, Wisdom Quarterly

Golden Buddhas in Thai Grand Palace (Steveohim/flickr.com); trekking Himalayan foothills, West Bengal, Singalila Nat'l Park, Darjeeling district, near Sikkim (Biswarupsarkar72).

 
As the world was ending, most of us gathered in Los Angeles, the mecca (Bodh Gaya) of world communication right at the planet's throat chakra. But two of our editors took a trip to the far reaches of Buddhistdom, which is just outside of Christendom and the world's other Vedic/Hindu offshoots.

One went east, the other west, one to India, the other to Europe. There didn't seem much use in traveling to world-class cities to find Buddhism hiding out in the city. We can get that at home.
 
No, all spirituality resides, as it has for millennia, in and around the Himalayas. It's the rooftop of the world. The "Rebirth Stories" (Jatakas) tell of the Bodhisat resorting to quiet Himalayan caves.

"Enlightenment does not perfect personalities;

it only perfects perspective."

Saints may be jerks, but you can't let that get you down.

We need to stand right where we are and begin our climb.

  

Island peak on Indian Sea (NH53/flickr.com)

Alas, what did we find? Travel is amazing, amazing beyond imagining. Get a backpack, and get on the road! We recommend it to everyone. If only because it lifts us out of the provincial, the biases we never even think to question.
  
Buddhist Europe is more Central Asian, having traveled up from its co-origins in ancient India/modern Afghanistan. Kalmykia is a lot like being in a second or third world Asian country but with Caucasians.

Bhumi (Earth) is a great place to learn.

Better to spend time on top of the world with a guide like Bish. But what is there to find? Talk of the food, talk of the pain, talk of toilets, talk of dreams, talk of pushing limits, talk of past misgivings -- but for all that what we find is that YOU CAN STAND IN THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE. That is, you can begin right where you are, wherever that may be.

 

Kukulcan pyramid naga temple (wiki)

We should have all gone to Mexico together and danced at the foot of Kukulcan temple pyramid in Chichen Itza and danced with the Aztecs. Right here, right now, this is where it's at. We dreamed of going there (anywhere) to begin. But we have to stake our ground and set up our mats-and-cushions (zafus and zabutons) and do our sitting (zazen) until dhyana/jhana (zen). Then on to insight (vipassana).

None of this takes a plane ride, a bus tour, a train hop, or a suicide-by-taxi bid. It can all start right NOW. Stop, drop, and roll (out a sitting mat) and see. One can start meditating right here, right now. Or, if one prefers to stand, R.E.M.'s lyrics may make a little more sense. So sit.
  

"Stand" as performed by Legos and R.E.M.

"Losing My Religion" by R.E.M. live on MTV

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Mayan Calendar: A Second Coming?

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly (COUNTDOWN CLOCK: -14)

The second coming...of Q

(BCI.org) Quetzalcoatl was described as a pale male with a beard, wearing long robes, spreading a message of love, forbidding blood sacrifices, teaching that the god he represents in space is supreme, giving Toltecs technology that provides for their material well being that advances their culture, such as providing them with an accurate calendar. Q left the Toltecs because of the enmity and persecution of powerful religious leaders. 

 

But he promised to one day return, just as he had left, coming over the ocean from the east. This return, as explained in Warriors of the Rainbow (William Willoya and Vinson Brown, Naturegraph Publishers), is by no means necessarily a return of the same physical being. It may simply mean the return of the same spiritual message being channeled through another prophet. Q has been described by Dr. Herbert Joseph Spinden as "perhaps the most remarkable figure in ancient American history." He not only established a religion from space ["heaven"] but taught the people all manner of arts, sciences, and useful social customs. More

If Q comes back, can Tezcatlipoca be far behind?

The Mayan calendar ends?
Don't all calendars end? Does the world end with them? What happens at the end of our Gregorian calendar? The same thing that happens at the end of all calendars: They repeat. Ad nauseum. Samsara has no end point but instead whirls like a wheel. We ourselves must get off this endless merry-go-round rather than expecting it to stop.
  
A Second Coming?

All of the world religions speak of a second coming. Christendom is Waiting for Godot. And Islam awaits the great Imam (Madhi). This belief is rife with connotations that Buddhism is boarding the bandwagon it actually created when the historical Buddha spoke of buddhas who had lived aeons ago and the next person, already living in a space world called Tusita, who would go on to reach the goal and become a world teacher. That, too, however, is not for aeons. There is little chance of Maitreya arising anytime soon. But other great, universal teachers with a unitarian message may indeed use the Mayan Calendar to herald the new Age of Aquarius. And we will all be as one. What will December 22, 2012 be like? It will be as people wish it to be, in accordance with the timeline they choose, which means that for us it will be like the ending of "40 Year Old Virgin":

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Witnessing my thoughts in meditation (video)

Seven and Pagan Peace Punk, Wisdom Quarterly

Dubious Buddha quote or a free translation of an actual sentiment (H. Kopp Delaney)

  

It's almost as if people have forgotten that the world ends this December. The Mayan Calendar's 2012, Gibson's real-life Apocalypto, a Rapture, some Revelation (unveiling), the Second Coming (of Quetzalcoatl)... Then what?

 

"There will be no coffins when you and I die, no consecrated ground, no sin to end all sins and angels with scorched wings -- and if the thought of it stings: Sorry, God, there's no coffins, just bloody jellies," Nick Blinko insists.

"You're trippin," they'll say. The breath goes in; the breath goes out. The baby gets in, water's dirty, pull the plug, Bye-bye, baby. Where was I? Breath goes in; breath goes out.... Why was I born, and where will I go next? Uptown? Downtown? Another town?
  
"No coffins, just bloody jellies. Glance at the nice town. See the war plan it owns. There'll be mass graves. So I want my death grant, 30 pounds, in advance. Buy now. Don't leave to chance. At least it's the final kill. No coffins, just bloody jellies."

 
Neither Buddhist, Hindu, nor Jain sacred texts say the world ends on any magical date like 12-21-12. Nor does shaman lore from anywhere around the world. Maybe only the West ends? The world is ALWAYS ending. Why are we holding our breath for a big kerrang?

  
Oh. Breathe in/breathe out, breathe in/breathe out... Who knows more, the Sayadaw or the Lama? Neither of them say, GAME OVER; no need to buy X-mas gifts this year. "No coffins, just bloody jellies. This their creation, to purify the planet, a new beginning, no it's not destruction!" Ah, Blinky's smart and prescient.

Sitting on top of the world, the Himalaya. All is still, all is quiet. We can concentrate.

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