Final Days of the Buddha (sutra)

Wisdom Quarterly, Great Final Nirvana Discourse (Parinibbana Sutta, DN 16), based on Sister Vajira/Francis Story translation, "Last Days of the Buddha," Part II: Journey to Vesali

(MaretH/flickr.com)

  
The Four Noble Truths
1. Now the Buddha spoke saying: "Come, Ananda, let us go to Kotigama."
 
"So be it, venerable sir." Then the Blessed One took up residence at Kotigama together with a large community of ascetics.
 

(Glowing Star/flickr.com)

2. There the Blessed One addressed them, saying: "It is through not realizing, not penetrating the Four Noble Truths that this long course of birth and death has been passed through and undergone by me as well as by you.
 
"What are the four? They are the noble truth of anguish; the noble truth of the origin of anguish; the noble truth of the cessation of anguish; and the noble truth of the way to the cessation of anguish.

"But now that these have been realized and penetrated, craving for rebirth is cut off, destroyed is that which leads to becoming, and there is no re-arising."
 
3. Thus did the Blessed One say, and further the Happy One, the Venerable One said:
 

"Through not seeing the Four Noble Truths,

Long was the weary path from birth to birth.

When these are known, removed is rebirth's cause,

The root of sorrow plucked; then ends rebirth....

 

Stages of Enlightenment

Golden Buddha (freestyle-thailand.com)

6. Ven. Ananda approached the Blessed One (Bhagavan), greeted him, sat respectfully to one side, and said: "Venerable sir, here in [the city of] Nadika there have passed away the monk Salha and the nun Nanda.

 

Likewise there have passed away the layman Sudatta and the laywoman Sujata; likewise the layman Kakudha, Kalinga, Nikata, Katissabha, Tuttha, Santuttha, Bhadda, and Subhadda. What is their destiny, venerable sir? What is their future state?"

 

7. "The monk Salha, Ananda, through the destruction of the taints in this very lifetime has attained to the taint-free deliverance of mind/heart and deliverance through wisdom, having directly known and realized it by himself [Note 17].

 

"The nun Nanda, Ananda, through the destruction of the five lower fetters (that bind beings to the world of the senses), has arisen spontaneously (among the Pure Abode devas) and will come to final cessation in that very place, not liable to return from that world.

 

"The layman Sudatta, Ananda, through the destruction of the three fetters (self-belief, doubt, and clinging to the belief that rules and rituals can result in enlightenment), and the lessening of lust, hatred, and delusion, has become a once-returner and is bound to make an end of suffering after having returned but once more to this world.

 

"The laywoman Sujata, Ananda, through the destruction of the three fetters has become a stream-enterer, and is safe from falling into the states of misery, assured, and bound for enlightenment.

 

"The layman Kakudha, Ananda, through the destruction of the five lower fetters (that bind beings to the Sense Sphere), has arisen spontaneously (among the Pure Abode devas), and will come to final cessation in that very place, not liable to return from that world.

 

"So it is with Kalinga, Nikata, Katissabha, Tuttha, Santuttha, Bhadda, and Subhadda, and with more than 50 laymen in Nadika. More than 90 laymen who have passed away in Nadika, Ananda, through the destruction of the three fetters, and the lessening of lust, hatred, and delusion, have become once-returners and are bound to make an end of suffering after having returned but once more to this world.

 

"More than 500 [an idiom that means "a large number" of] laymen who have passed away in Nadika, Ananda, through the complete destruction of the three fetters have become stream-enterers and are safe from falling into the states of misery, assured, and bound for enlightenment.

 

The Mirror of the Dharma

8. "Truly, Ananda, it is nothing strange that human beings should die. 

"But if each time it happens you should come to the Tathagata [a self-referential term for the Buddha] and ask about them in this manner, indeed it would be troublesome to him. 

"Therefore, Ananda, I will give you the teaching called the Mirror of the Dharma, possessing which the noble disciple [one who has attained at least the first stage of enlightenment], should it be desired, can declare of oneself: 'There is no more rebirth for me in hell, nor as an animal or ghost, nor in any realm of woe [beneath the human world]. A stream-enterer am I, safe from falling into the states of misery, assured am I and bound for enlightenment.'"

 

9. "And what, Ananda, is that teaching called the Mirror of Dharma, possessing which the noble disciple may thus declare?

 

Mara comes as a gentleman.

"In this case, Ananda, the noble disciple possesses unwavering confidence in the Buddha as follows: 'The Blessed One is an arhat, the Fully Enlightened One, supreme in knowledge and conduct, the Happy One, the Knower of the World, the foremost trainer of beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.'

 

"The noble disciple possesses unwavering confidence in the Dharma as follows: 'Well expounded by the Blessed One is the Dharma, evident, timeless [18], inviting investigation, leading to liberation, to be comprehended by the wise, each for oneself.'

Mara's Craving, Lust, and Aversion lure Siddhartha (omegafoundation.siriuscomputing.net)

 

"The noble disciple possesses unwavering confidence in the Blessed One's Order of Disciples as follows: 'Well faring is the Blessed One's Order of Disciples, harmoniously, wisely, and heedfully, that is to say, the four pairs, the eight classes of persons. The Blessed One's Order of Disciples is worthy of honor, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of veneration -- the supreme field of merit [beneficial, exponentially profitable karma] in the world.'

 

"And the noble disciple possesses virtues that are dear to the Noble Ones, complete and perfect, spotless and pure, which are liberating, praised by the wise, uninfluenced (by worldly concerns), and favorable to composure/concentration of mind.

 

10. "This, Ananda, is the teaching called the Mirror of the Dharma, whereby the noble disciple may know: 'There is no more rebirth for me in hell realms, nor as an animal or ghost, nor in any realm of woe (apaya). A stream-enterer am I, safe from falling into the states of misery, assured am I and bound for enlightenment.'"
  

Mara under the Bodhi tree (sarvajan.ambedkar.org)

11. In Nadika, in the Brick House [Monastery], the Blessed One often gave counsel to the ascetics thus: "Such and such is virtue; such and such is concentration; and such and such is wisdom. Great becomes the fruit, great is the gain of concentration when it is fully developed by virtuous conduct; great becomes the fruit, great is the gain of wisdom when it is fully developed by concentration; utterly freed from the taints of lust, [again-] becoming, and ignorance is the mind/heart that is fully developed in wisdom."
  

12. When the Blessed One had stayed in Nadika as long as he wished, he spoke to the Ven. Ananda, saying: "Come, Ananda, let us go to [the city of] Vesali."
 

"So be it, O venerable sir." And the Blessed One took up his abode in Vesali together with a large community of ascetics, and stayed in Ambapali's grove. ...
 
Mara's Appeal

Mara Devaputra (fabulousmasterpieces.co.uk)

7. And when Ven. Ananda had gone away, Mara Namuci approached the Blessed One. And standing to one side he spoke to the Buddha, saying: "Now, O venerable one, let the Blessed One come to his final passing away; let the Happy One utterly pass away! The time has come for the final nirvana of the Venerable One.
 

"For the Blessed One, O venerable sir, once spoke these words to me: 'I shall not come to my final passing away, Namuci, until my monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen, have come to be true disciples -- wise, well-disciplined, apt and learned, preservers of the Dharma, living according to the Dharma, abiding by the appropriate conduct, and having learned the Buddha's word, are able to expound it, preach it, proclaim it, establish it, reveal it, explain it in detail, and make it clear. And when adverse opinions arise, they shall be able to refute them thoroughly and well, and to preach this convincing and liberating Dharma' [23].

The Buddha reclining into final nirvana, Thailand (perstephone/flickr.com)

 

8. "And now, O venerable sir, monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen, have become the Blessed One's disciples in just this way. So, O venerable sir, let the Blessed One come to his final passing away! The time has come for the final nirvana of the Venerable One.
  

"For the Blessed One, O venerable sir, spoke these words to me: 'I shall not come to my final passing away, Namuci, until this supreme life taught by me has become successful, prosperous, far-renowned, popular, and widespread, until it is well proclaimed among devas and humans.' And this too has come to pass in just this way. So, O venerable sir, let the Blessed One come to his final passing away, let the Happy One utterly pass away! The time has come for the final nirvana of the Venerable One."

9. When this was said, the Blessed One spoke to Mara Namuci saying: "Do not trouble yourself, Namuci. Before long the final nirvana of the Tathagata will come about. Three months hence the Tathagata will utterly pass away." More

• PHOTOS: Amazing Theravada Buddhist Thailand

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Monks sickly on diets without work or yoga

CC Liu, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

Theravada monks with alms bowls in hand (Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

   
Eating a decadent diet -- white rice, meats, burned and carcinogenic vegetable oils, sugar, synthetic flavorants and excitotoxins -- has long term consequences. Exercise keeps the aging (oxidizing) effects at bay for lay people, who color their hair, get false teeth, and endure various and sundry skin treatments. Monastics do not have it so easy. Their sedentary lifestyle, often missing the heart of a monastic's duty of meditating on a regular basis, is full of toxins, calories, and excess, the essence of craving. In ancient times there would also have been ample work duties and what we recognize as yoga postures (asanas) to keep the body limber and unconstipated. Now doctors are documenting the predictable results:

A research study indicates that almost half of Thai monks are overweight or affected by noncommunicable diseases

The Nation

Thai monks (Markus Gebauer/flickr.com)

The study focused on the health concerns of Thai monks and how to offer them food during the upcoming Buddhist Lent [Vassa, the Rains Retreat when monastics refrain from travel].

The survey’s participants included 246 monks from the Dhammayuttika Nikaya [an ascetic strain of forest monks that comprises only 10 percent, as contrasted with most Thai monks who are members of the Maha Nikaya school] and Mahayana movements in 11 provinces. [Since there is next to no Mahayana presence in this overwhelmingly Theravada country, it is likely that the study authors or reporters are mistaking Maha Nikaya and Mahayana.]

Forty-five percent of the monks experience varying levels of obesity, while 40 percent of them face such diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and allergies, partly due to the rich, oily, and sugar laden foods offered to them by the Buddhist faithful.

The average monk’s only sporting activities is walking in the morning while on rounds seeking alms and sweeping temple courtyards. Only around 21 percent have annual health checkups.

According to the study, some monks have more than three evening drinks each day, for they must abstain from eating food. However, some of the drinks offered to monks are not healthy, as they are mostly soft drinks with sugar, leading to diabetes.

A dualtrack campaign is being prepared to teach monks to select healthy drinks and also to inform food donors about healthy food when offering alms to monks.

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"Craving" the movie (Trishna)

IFCfilms.com/films/Trishna; Trishna the Movie

Slumdog Millionaire's breakout starlet Freida Pinto and Riz Ahmed co-star, with original songs by Amit Trivedi and an original score by Shigeru Umebayashi, in Trishna (Sanskrit tṛṣṇā, "craving," Pali tanha). Shot in India and based on the novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, TRISHNA is the story of a girl named Trishna.

She lives with her family in a village in Rajasthan, India's largest state. As the eldest daughter, she works in a nearby resort to help pay the bills. Jay (Riz Ahmed) is the wealthy son of a property developer. When he takes up managing a resort at his father's request, he meets Trishna at a dance and fate takes its course: Jay finds every opportunity to win Trishna's affection, and she accepts his advances with shy curiosity. But when the two move to Bombay (Mumbai) and become a couple, Jay's deep family bonds threaten the young lovers' bliss.
 
Produced by Melissa Parmenter and directed and shot with Michael Winterbottom's agile camera, TRISHNA is a powerful look at the tension between ancient privilege in India and modern equality, between codes of urban and rural life. Ultimately it is a hymn to both the glory and the tragedy that accompanies beauty in all forms. 

• Twitter: updates and information @TrishnaMovie

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Q: Is "Swinging" Sexual Misconduct?

Wisdom Quarterly (EDITORIAL)

Q: "Let's say someone did find themselves in a mutually consenting relationship and wanted to go to a swinger's [sex] party or engage [with] multiple, even random, sexual partners. While it might not be sexual misconduct in the first instance, might [it become] that if [it] developed into an accustomed habit over expos[ing] oneself sensually? To keep with the spirit of the Dharma, would it be better to let go of craving, or is it neither-here-nor-there to cultivate such [a habit]?"

-Wei Jer

 

A: This is gorgeous and candid question (inspired by the article Buddhism's "Sexual Misconduct" Defined) to keep the editing team on their toes. Let's take it in pieces.

• Men's penises, women's orgasms, and other mysteries

What is sexual misconduct (kamesu micchacara)?  Technically, the Buddha defined it in terms of intercourse with 10 kinds of people:

• Sexual misconduct: conducting oneself in a detrimental manner (to oneself, another person, or both (society?) with regard to sensuality. Namely, one has intercourse with those under the protection of (1) father, (2) mother, (3) parents, (4) brother, (5) sister, (6) relatives or clan, or of (7) their religious community; or with (8) those promised to someone else, (9) protected by law, and even with (10) those betrothed with a garland" (Book of the Tens, AN, X.206).

"Think about it; you don't have to answer now."

What do these mean? Since this list is from The Book of the Tens, it stretches and contracts like an accordion, even at the risk of being redundant, to add up to ten. Let's summarize: 

  

It refers to any person under the protection or guardianship (meaning that someone is responsible for said person in addition to the person being responsible for him or herself) of someone else. It also covers those protected by law or decree (such as those incapable of giving consent due to their stage or condition) and those who are already engaged, dating, or promised to someone else. Societal and historical factors come into play, and it should be remembered that while the Buddha was speaking to ancient India, he was revealing a universally applicable, karmically effective principle: 

 

Let us do no harm
as we pursue our sensuality.

  

For to do so harms us as well and harms even those not directly involved. He was concerned with the agent, the passive recipient(s), the parents, the guardians, and the society as a whole. In the West we are prone to think only of the other person and sometimes only of ourselves. We rarely think of all the rest of those we affect.

What is being talked about? According to the "spirit" of the law, kamesu refers to sensuality. 

   

Sex and Buddhism (Suite101.com)

Sex represents (epitomizes) the entire class. But gluttony, a more common form of sensual abuse nowadays, is included as are all other abuses of our healthy senses. Who's to say what's "healthy"? We are -- unless we are under protection, in which case our guardian is. We are ultimately responsible for ourselves, but so is that person until we become independent. So let us defer to them then start doing whatever we want when we come of age. Or we can just do whatever we want right now -- but then let's not call that wise karma or Buddhism or even a smart or responsible thing to do.

Many of us have terrible parents, but we can't judge. We don't know they are "terrible" until we better understand the world and the danger we are protected from in our blissful ignorance. Everyone wants to do what s/he wants (by definition). Being willful is neither the way to wellness nor wisdom. Learn from teachers, the first of which are our parents and/or guardians even if we later look back and say they are fools. Why? There's an ancient Eastern saying:
   

"The wise person learns more from the fool than the fool ever learns from the wise."

As we read the Buddha's advice on sensuality, one overriding thing has to be kept in mind: 

  

Buddha at Thiksey (Ragg Burns Imaging/Flickr)

What is my goal? If my goal is the straight path to enlightenment and nirvana, it is wise to abandon sexuality and sensuality -- at least temporarily -- until something better comes are along.

 

What could be better than sensuality? There is a supersensual pleasure, bliss, that comes from virtue and concentration (sila and samadhi) that cannot be explained to those sunk in sensuality. It can. But who would believe it? Try it. It's better. It's superior to sensuality and sexuality. The Buddha never asked anyone to give up a greater thing for a lesser thing, always only the other way around.

  

This bliss or joy (piti) guided Siddhartha to right concentration -- the development of the first four absorptions (jhanas). It established him on the firm foundation of samadhi, which makes insight practice yield great results. So if the goal is the ultimate, do not settle for the immediate.

   

Most of us, however, are in no rush to reach the end of all suffering. We imagine we have time and a temperament for more suffering. That being the case, we know little relief from it other than sensuality. In this case, the Buddha advises us to avoid the dark karma trap of "misconduct." But conduct is okay. We may engage in things, but how will we keep from getting sucked in, "addicted," accustomed, trapped? It is possible so long as we go in with care and remain mindful of others as well as ourselves..

  

What is conduct? What is behavior, what is choice, what is action? Karma. Karma is bright, dark, neutral, and everything in between.
  
If it becomes an "accustomed habit," that does not make it misconduct. "Misconduct" technically refers whom we choose as partner(s). The ten to be avoided are those dependent on another, unable to give consent, and those promised to another. By avoiding these, we avoid blame and harm. Consenting individuals, if they can be found, pose no problem. Nor is sensual experience the problem with independent partner(s).
  
The real question is this: "To keep with the spirit of the Dharma, would it be better to let go of craving, or is it neither-here-nor-there to cultivate such [a habit]?"

Yes, it would be better to let go of craving. That is easy to do. First, one develops the habit of giving, which is a kind of letting go. We cultivates non-clinging or detachment. One takes a sober look at what one is holding onto and abandons the craving for it, first by sharing, then by giving away, then by not picking up the object. This will never lead to real letting go! Real letting go does itself when we develop insight:
   

Christy Turlington (sportforus.com)

Wise reflection (yoniso manasikara), contemplation (anussati), and insight-meditation (vipassana) takes the serene and concentrated mind and brings it to the object. What do we cling to? We might be clinging to anything, but generally we cling to ten general things. Whereas the first five are difficult to let go of, the next five are almost impossible to let go of because we never think to reflect on them as foreign, not ours, painful and distressing, impersonal, and wise to relinquish.

The first five are the "five strands of sensuality" -- what is experienced as pleasurable by way of sights, sounds, tangibles, tastes, and fragrances. The other five are the Five Aggregates of Clinging -- physical form, feeling, perceptions, (50) mental formations, and consciousness.

When the absorption-purified mind/heart knows-and-sees things as they really are (impermanent, impersonal, and suffering), it lets go. The temporarily-released heart (freed by concentration) is permanently released by wisdom.

CONCLUSION
So do what you want. Avoid hypocrisy. Avoid harming anyone in the process. And it should be okay, we say. Oh and, most importantly, call and invite us to the party: (555) WIS-DOM Q.

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Audio Dharma by Bhikkhu Bodhi

Bhikkhu Bodhi, Tricycle.com, Chaung Yen Monastery

Afghan (Gandhara) style Buddha (San Francisco Asian Museum)

  

From the wide range of meditation subjects found in the Buddha’s discourses [sutras], the ancient teachers of the Theravada tradition have selected four subjects and grouped them into a set known as “the four protective meditations”: 

1. Recollection of the Buddha
2. Loving-kindness meditation
3. Contemplating the Unattractive Nature of the Body
4. Mindfulness of Death

The four are called “protective” meditations because each offers protection from a particular unwholesome tendency and reinforces a beneficial quality essential to the path. 

  

The four can be developed either as a preparation for a more intensive type of meditation or as independent subjects.

1. Recollection of the Buddha protects against dissatisfaction and generates faith [confidence] and devotion, which in turn give rise to joy. 
2. Loving-kindness is the antidote to ill will and generates feelings of friendliness and altruistic concern.
3. Contemplating the unattractive nature of the body debilitates sensual lust and inclines the mind toward disenchantment and [liberating] dispassion. 
4. Mindfulness of death is a potent remedy for heedlessness, reminding us of the transience of everything we cherish.

Over the next four weeks [the American monk] Bhikkhu Bodhi* will explain each of these meditation subjects in turn and conduct each as a guided meditation.

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• A Critique of Bhikkhu Bodhi
• Reading Bhikkhu Bodhi's translations and copious commentary, one clearly understands he has a dry-insight method bias [characteristic of the Theravada school of the past few centuries], to the detriment of absorption practice (jhana).
• The Appeal of Buddhism in the West
• Padmasambhava predicted that, "When the iron eagle flies and horses run on wheels, the Tibetan people will be scattered over the Earth and the Dharma will go to the land of the red man" (Westerners were considered reddish pink by Asians).

*Ven. Bodhi teaches at Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, New York. He is currently translating the Anguttara Nikaya, The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha.

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Can girls be sex addicts? (video)

TurnMeOnDamnit.com; Amber Dorrian, Seven, Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Indieculturebox

Sex addiction (whether called nymphomania or satyriasis) is a sad condition, but it is funny and entertaining as the topic of a Scandinavian teen sex comedy -- with all the neurosis and discomfort of high school.
 

TURN ME ON, DAMNIT! was awarded "Best Screenplay" at the Tribeca Film Festival 2011. It is a story about a group of teenage friends who feel trapped in the Norwegian small town they live in, which they constantly flip off. "D*ck-Alma" is experiencing desires she never felt before as she is discovering her sexuality. [No precipitating molestation is shown but it can be inferred.] Her sexual curiosity makes daydreaming and phone-sex an escape from everyday life. At a party, Artur -- the boy who frequents Alma's dreams -- makes a bold move on her, but everything seems to go wrong. The life Alma wanted to escape from has somehow become even worse. The film consists of beautiful frames and music, with dialogue that is careful but spot on. Jannicke Systad Jacobsen strikes against all the taboos surrounding young women's sexuality. The world has been waiting for a film like this. And we can only hope that we have evolved enough that fewer people will feel squeamish or shamed by something everyone goes through at a certain age. Starring: Helene Bergsholm, Malin Bjørhovde, Henriette Steenstrup, Beate Støfring, Matias Myren.

Laci Green saves the world (again)
   

Even with the success of Zen and Fifty Shades of Grey -- Catholic, Jewish, Christian fundamentalist America may not be ready for a light film on such a heavy topic. But since it comes from faraway Norway, it just might avoid protests, intolerant outbursts, and church condemnation. As Americans we are very confused about sex due to our hopelessly entangled Puritanical and pornographic roots.

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Bill Maher: Buddhism is a Crock and Outdated.

The Worst Horse as usual is on its game in reporting another example of just how foreign Buddhism still is to many in the West. Bill Maher, the American comedian and t.v. show host (who I usually find hilarious) recently said some pretty uninformed things about Buddhism. His comments are in red and mine in yellow:

Maher: [Buddhism] really is outdated in some ways — the “Life sucks, and then you die” philosophy was useful when Buddha came up with it around 500 B.C., because back then life pretty much sucked, and then you died – but now we have medicine., and plenty of food

(James::Not all of us Bill, a lot of people in this world don't know where their next meal will come from. And medicine? Americans can't even afford medicine these days let alone impoverished countries. Go to Africa where I lived for two years and tell me there's enough food and medicine for everyone. Then tell me that thus there isn't much suffering from it.),

Maher: and iPhones, and James Cameron movies – our life isn’t all about suffering anymore.

(James: And life wasn't all about suffering back in Buddha's time either)

Maher: And when we do suffer, instead of accepting it we try to alleviate it,

(James::Buddhists seek to alleviate suffering too but we also have had the revelation that no amount of "relieving" can end the suffering. What Buddhists are more interested in other than alleviating suffering is to END suffering once and for all through, what I would consider to be the first "12 Steps" program that is the Eight-Fold Path). If Buddha saw life as hopeless as Maher believes he taught then why would he have even tried to develop a system to deliver himself from it?

Maher: Tiger said, “Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves” makes us unhappy, which confirms something I’ve long suspected about Eastern religions: they’re a crock, too. Craving for things outside ourselves is what makes life life

(James: And despite its highlights, life is full of a lot of suffering Bill. There isn't enough money--even for a lot of millionaires who won't be "satisfied" until they get a BILLION dollars. Even those that spend their money can never buy enough houses, clothes, boats, vacations to feel satisfied for long. We lust after something until we get it and then quickly become bored with it and we return again to enslaving ourselves to crave once more. Buddha didn't say that we couldn't enjoy life but that we should enjoy life in moderation to reduce our suffering, and he laid out a path that many people have followed over the millennia toward lasting peace of mind and happiness.

And Buddha didn't command any of this, which is what I think separates Buddhism from many of the traditionally defined, "religions." Buddha encouraged seeing for oneself if his techniques do indeed bring about a greater peace and a life of less suffering by direct experience, which isn't unlike the scientific method where direct observations are the basis of knowledge. Pursue a life of constant seeking for the next "buzz of pleasure" and then live life for at time following the Buddha's guidelines and see, which way gives you the strongest feeling of satisfaction and happiness of life. If you find you think Buddhism is only causing you more problems then best of luck. Sincerely. A lot of people come and go with Buddhism. Buddhism doesn't want to force anyone to do anything. Buddhism would rather let the people come to it so that they are making a choice of their own free will and feel ready to follow such a path).

Maher: — I don’t want to learn to not want, that’s what people in prison have to do

(James: We're in a prison, now, Bill--look around you--We Want a better job, want a new car, want our body to heal quicker or look sexier, want our spouse to change to how we think they should be, and on and on. It's a prison without bars that lures us with shiny new distractions to keep us from finding a way out of the suffering. However, it doesn't have to be an either or proposition as you're stating. You're saying Buddhism says "life sucks, it has no meaning, purpose or value" but that is a common misconception. That isn't Buddhism--that's nihilism. Buddhism teaches that there is a way to live in balance with things of the world yet reduce your long-term suffering. That is what Buddhism offers).

Maher: And reincarnation? Really? If that were real, wouldn’t there be some proof by now? A raccoon spelling out in acorns, “My name is Herb Zoller and I’m an accountant.” …something?

(James: First of all not all Buddhists believe in reincarnation. A lot of Buddhists believe in rebirth and yet still others believe in neither. As for proof? Even science says that energy never disappears but simply changes form. There are many Buddhists who say that it doesn't really matter much what happens after death (if anything) because the only moment we have is this one. For these Buddhists they focus on the rebirth that happens within this lifetime. For example, I am a completely different person from who I was 10-12 years ago when I was an ardent Mormon who was politically conservative. Now I am a Liberal Buddhist!!

But the point of rebirth, in my view, isn't so much about whether we are reborn a slug, or even reborn at all but rather that we realize how our actions affect our future. It's about becoming aware of how we alone are the architects of our own life and what our life becomes is directly influenced by our actions. So, for me, it comes down to what you reap is what you sow. And if all you water are seeds of hatred, greed and delusion then you will reap a lot of misery but if you water seeds of love, compassion and patience then you will reap the opposite and leave a better world behind then when you were born into it.

Maher: People are always debating, is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy: it’s a religion. You’re a religion if you do something as weird as when the Buddhist monks scrutinize two-year-olds to find the reincarnation of the dude who just died, and then choose one of the toddlers as the sacred Lama: “His poop is royal!” Sorry, but thinking you can look at a babbling, barely-housebroken, uneducated being and say, “That’s our leader” doesn’t make you enlightened. It makes you a Sarah Palin supporter.

(James: Bill, I like you--I really do, and while I think your usually well informed, on Buddhism you're quite ignorant. Only one school of Buddhism believes that their teachers are reincarnated, and that's Tibetan Buddhism. If you have a problem with Tibetan Buddhism then take that up with the Dalai Lama, but I would have expected you to know better than to lump all Buddhists together. I didn't want to write this to defend Buddhism so much as to explain it, as best as a common practitioner like myself can to those who aren't familiar with Buddhism so they, can hear both sides).

~Peace to all beings~

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Dalai Lama: Tiger Woods? Who's that?

Besides the obvious advice of cultivating self-discipline, I think the best thing about the Dalai Lama's comments in regard to Tiger Woods and Buddhism was that he needed to be told who Tiger Woods was in the first place!! I think the Dalai Lama's ignorance about celebrities and their lives is a good thing--it's a good example to put forth. So many of us are obsessed with celebrities because we find our own lives unsatisfactory, boring or inadequate in one way or another. This obsession is a craving for a different life, one where we are famous, beautiful and/or rich. Anything but our "ordinary selves."

The world of celebrity looks glamorous and ideal but it's a facade for fellow, flawed humans who are just as miserable as anyone else in this sea of samsara. Because when we peel back the layer of glitz, glamour, make-up and good acting skills we see that they live very flawed lives of sex, drug and money addictions amongst many other chains of suffering that bind them. Our obsession is a form of escapism in a desperate but futile search for happiness in the material world. Yet once we return from the movie or finish reading the celebrity magazine we must face our lives again. The waves of reality come washing back in like a tidal wave to inundate and knock us over with the suffering that we tried to ignore.

This is why, like the Dalai Lama, I generally am not very interested in the lives of celebrities. I appreciate their art but I don't see them as examples of how to live a life with less suffering. One of the only "celebrities" that I think does that is the Dalai Lama himself.

~Peace to all beings~

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Tiger Woods Credits Buddhism in Helping Him Deal with Cravings.

(PHOTO: [Getty images] Tiger Wood's embraces his mother who is a devout Buddhist)

Personally I don't care too much about the whole Tiger Woods "scandal" except how Buddhism fits into it. I'm not one of these people who feels that Tiger Woods personally owes me an apology or any kind of explanation of what he's dealing with. He's apologized to the public and yet that's not enough for some people. They want their pound of flesh. Why do some people live through the lives of celebrities like they are apart of their lives to where they'd deserve an apology? Just leave him and his family alone to deal with their issues. The media is asking, was his apology enough to gain the forgiveness of the public?" As if we all are apart of his personal life!!

This obsession we have in America of worshiping celebrities and then tearing them down when they show that they're human, (just like us) is a highly corrosive aspect to our society. It is escapism to live vicariously through other people, so that we don't have to face our own struggles, obstacles and weaknesses. So, when these celebrities inevitably miss the mark of perfection we feel let personally let down because we have this delusion that our happiness is somehow tied up into how they live their lives. Personally, I think that this incident is between him and his wife but he said in his public statement that Buddhism is helping him deal with his sexual attachments and that's what I'd most like to focus on in this post. Woods said:

"I have a lot of work to do, and I intend to dedicate myself to doing it. Part of following this path for me is Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a young age. People probably don't realize it, but I was raised a Buddhist, and I actively practiced my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years. Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously I lost track of what I was taught."

James: Buddhism is a compassionate religion, which I think demands that we give people a second chance because who amongst us hasn't needed one ourselves? I think we should be supporting him whole-heartedly in his pursuit to free himself from samsara. It is quite common for humans to turn to spirituality in times of need and suffering. In that sense perhaps something good can come out of the ashes of Tiger's previous life. In some ways our suffering does us a favor in channeling us toward a path to free ourselves from that misery but you can't force that path onto someone who isn't ready. I think that is in part why we Buddhists don't do much proselytizing. Buddhism doesn't come to you, you have to come to it. Because proselytizing often involves using coercion and fear, which causes suffering. So you're basically causing people suffering to get them to overcome their suffering!! It's a futile exercise. Once Tiger was ready, the teacher arrived to help him blaze a new trail, and I for one wish him the best and support his recovery and dedication to living a life with less suffering.

Perhaps in a strange way to others, Tiger Woods is a role model again in drawing attention to how much attachments can make us suffer and how one can go about alleviating it. So says renowned Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield, "The fact that people could see this kind of behavior causes suffering is an incredibly important message for all kinds of people who respect Woods." If someone with such a high profile as Woods can inspire others to deal with their own toxic suffering then this whole situation will have been positive overall. That is where he'll find redemption. He has the potential in this moment to inspire countless people to excel at more than golf. Besides working through this with his family, I can't think of a better way for him to find the redemption he seeks. The compassion in Buddhism is seen in part how each moment we can start a new. May Tiger, his family and his ex-lovers find the peace and happiness that all sentient beings deserve.

~Peace to all beings~

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