What is compassion, what is wisdom?

Ven. Dhammika (Buddhanet.net); edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddha's eyes of wisdom, Maitreya, Thiksey Monastery, Ladakh, India (dailymail.co.uk)

I often hear Buddhists talk about wisdom and compassion. What do these two terms mean?

Some religions believe that compassion or love (the two are very similar) is the most important spiritual quality, but they fail to develop any wisdom.

The result may be ending up a good-hearted fool, a very kind person with little or no understanding.

Other systems of thought, like science, believe that wisdom can best be developed when all emotions, including compassion, are kept out of the way. The outcome of this is that science has tended to become preoccupied with cold results and has forgotten that science should serve not destroy us or make corporations rich. It is out of greed for money, not hate, that scientists lend their skills to developing nuclear waste, bombs, germ warfare, plastic xenoestrogens, and the like.

 

Religion sees reason and wisdom as the enemy of emotions like love and faith. Science sees emotions like love and faith as enemies of reason and objectivity. Science progresses, religion declines.

Buddhism, on the other hand, teaches that to be a balanced and complete individual, we must develop both wisdom and compassion. This is the highest wisdom; this is the greatest compassion. It is not dogmatic. Buddhism bases this on actual experience. Buddhism has nothing to fear from science.

 

According to Buddhism, what is wisdom?

Sensual-pleasure is low, jhana is high (H-K-D)

The highest wisdom is seeing that in reality all phenomena are incomplete, impermanent, and not self. This understanding totally frees our hearts and leads to the great security and happiness called nirvana. However, the Buddha doesn't speak too much about this level of wisdom. It is not wisdom if we simply "believe" what we are told. Real wisdom is something to directly see and understand.

At an ordinary level, then, wisdom is to keep an open mind rather than being closed-minded, listening to other points of view rather than being bigoted, carefully examining facts that contradict our beliefs rather than burying our heads in the sand, being objective rather than prejudiced, taking time to form opinions and beliefs rather than accepting the first or most emotional thing that is offered to us, and it means remaining flexible and strong rather than stiff and brittle about what we believe.

We are wise to be ready to change our beliefs when facts that contradict them are presented to us. The Buddha's advice to the Kalama people was not to believe nothing. It was to investigate and see for oneself so that what one believes agrees with one's own experience.

A person who does this is certainly wise and is certain to eventually arrive at higher (liberating) understanding. The path of just believing what we are told would be silly and easy. The Buddha's PATH is a practice that requires courage, patience, flexibility, intelligence, and compassion.

 

So we arrive at compassion. According to Buddhism, what is compassion?

Imperfect translation has heart in the right place (zazzle.com)

Just as wisdom covers the intellectual or comprehending side of our nature, compassion covers the empathic (emotional) or feeling side of our nature.

Like wisdom, compassion is a deeply human quality. Compassion is made up of two words, "co" meaning together and "passion" meaning strong feeling.

And this is what compassion is. When we see someone in distress, we feel their pain as if it were our own -- so naturally we strive to eliminate or reduce their pain. This is compassion (karuna), the active side of love (metta,  loving-kindness, friendliness).

All the best in human beings, all the Buddha-like qualities like sharing, readiness to give comfort, sympathy, unselfishness, concern, and caring -- these are all manifestations of compassion.

Notice that in the compassionate person, care and love toward others originates in care and love for oneself. They are not mutually opposed. It is best to care for other while caring for oneself. They are mutually supportive activities.

(Playing the role of martyr makes two people miserable, ourselves and other. We give rise to pride or resentment. Then if someone helps us, we feel guilt. This is no way to practice compassion).

We can really understand others when we really understand ourselves. We can give to others when we give to ourselves. Selflessness does not mean self-abnegation; it means seeing that things are really impersonal so we can give them up, give up clinging, give up greed, give up selfishness. This is wisdom as it feeds compassion.

We will know what's best for others when we know what's best for ourselves. We can feel for others when we feel for ourselves. So in Buddhism, one's own spiritual development blossoms naturally into concern for the welfare of others.

The Buddha's life illustrates this very well. It was not one of sitting in the Himalayas, as he had done in past lives cultivating absorption (jhana) and developing good qualities, simply withdrawn enjoying the bliss of meditation.

He spent six years struggling for his own welfare, striving to be of benefit to the whole of the human world and the devas.

So you are saying that we are best able to help others after we have helped ourselves. Isn't that a bit selfish?

We usually see altruism, concern for others before oneself, as being the opposite of selfishness, concern for oneself before others. Buddhism does not see it as either one or the other but rather as a blending of the two. 

Genuine self-concern gradually matures into concern for others as one sees that others are really in the same boat, suffering in many of the same ways, not so different from oneself. 

This is genuine compassion, and it is the most beautiful jewel among the many treasures of the Buddha's teachings.

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Why do we have wisdom teeth?

Frank J. Jerome, D.D.S, Tooth Truth (New Century Press, pp. 370-371); Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddha had 40 magnificent teeth, straight and white, partly because he was born in the East, partly because they are part of the major Marks of a Great Man (KanikaBadwal).

  

Why do we have wisdom teeth? This is a question many patients ask. We have wisdom teeth for the same reason we have front teeth. 

  

Have you ever asked, "Why do we have front teeth?" Probably not, because they do not cause problems. So the question should be, "Why do wisdom teeth cause problems?"

Are they left over from caveman days when our mouths were bigger and will they eventually disappear from human beings? These are possibilities, but it is much more probably that the problem is cause by us. The truth may be found by looking at people in other countries, countries with a more natural diet than ours.

Teeth in Other Countries

Novices, Ladakh, Buddhist India (Sayid Budi)

When Dr. Weston Price toured the world in the 1930's, he found that it was the influence of Western diet that had the most to do with the improper growth of the body, including the jaws which hold the teeth.

When the jaws do not develop to their full size, they are too short to hold all 32 teeth. The last ones in are the wisdom teeth, and there is no room left.

This crowding is also seen with the eye-teeth (canine or cuspid), which may come in like tusks in people with small arches. We do not wonder if we will be losing our eye-teeth through evolution.

If you consider the full meaning of this information, you will understand this this same lace of space caused by our diet is the reason that millions of American teenagers continue to need braces year after year.

Have you ever wondered how the billions of poor people around the world get along without an orthodontist to handle all their crooked teeth? For the most part they don't need them because their teeth are not crooked. 

Having orthodontists to fix our ids is not a luxury Americans can afford because we are a rich, but because our diet causes the crowded teeth. And the more generations that are on the Western diet, the worse the problem becomes. The solution has been know for generation but the only response by the dental schools is to produce more orthodontists. (See "Braces.") [Prevention first then treatment.] More

  

Dr. Hulda Clark [Cure For All Diseases] has sparked a growing debate on the way diseases are treated. Her one-woman crusade to help people escape the archaic methods of many medical practices has take root. ...Her claim is that the body is self-healing, once we can clean up the body of toxins, bacterial invasion, poor nutrition, and parasites [which her device detects and eliminates], is echoed throughout the literature. She has joined earlier voices against the toxic effects of dental materials (p. 35).

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Why are American teeth crooked, decaying?

"How Are Teeth Damaged?" (Tooth Truth by Frank J. Jerome, D.D.S., pp. 199-200)

Famous Budai, the fat happy smiling Mahayana monk or "Buddha" (shutterstock.com)

 

Dr. Weston Price [westinaprice.org] was a highly respected research dentist who worked in the first 40 years of the 19th century. For several decades he was employed by the American Dental Association (ADA) as head of its research programs. [He produced volumes of valuable work for them.]

After leaving his post at the ADA, he traveled the world. Taking photographs of native people in Polynesia and other remote areas, he was able to show the influence of the Western (American) diet [or SAD: Standard American Diet] on children in the same families raised before sugar and white flour were introduced and those born after its introduction.
   

"I thought cavs and crooked teeth was normal!"

The children exposed to sugar and white flour had dental disease and their faces were narrower, causing bad bites with crowded, crooked teeth.

In some places, when the Western diet stopped being available, children born after the previous native diet was resumed were again healthy, just as the older children and the parents. Dr. Price's book about his observations of dietary influences on growth and decay, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, has become a classic in nutritional literature.

"Ah, no more vivisection on us!" (funnycats4u)

Dr. Francis Pottenger, M.D. did dietary experiments, using cats. When fed Western diets (human foods), the kittens grew with all the problems we exhibit including allergies and deformed dental arches. When these kittens became adults, he fed them their natural diet, and it took five generations before their kittens were completely healthy.. When the experiments were extended by feeding the cats the Western diet for three more generations, none of the kittens survived to breed. These experiments suggest that after long exposure to the Western diets, the facial deformities common in America -- the long, narrow faces with crowded, crooked teeth -- will become more common...

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Self-view, non-duality, and Zen (video)

Alan Watts (alanwatts.org); KPFK.org (Audio Archives); Wisdom Quarterly

• PLAY NOW ("Intellectual Yoga," Aug. 5, 2012 8:00 am)

Yoga (to yoke) means union. There are different ways (to yoke, to union). It opposes alienation, the view of separateness of "self" from all (sakkaya-drishti). Experiencing the ONENESS of all things is not enlightenment. But it is blissful, a  relief, giving a sense of connection longed for (connectedness) at a profound and innate level. How? Allow it.

   

We may be finding it difficult to meditate. That's common and to be expected for untrained hearts. Stress not. Relax more deeply. Wish for it less. But keep applying the "method" -- bring mind back to the object of meditation. What does that mean? It only means remember to give attention to what the mind is being centered on -- the present moment, this breath, a mantra, a sensation, a visualization, a fragrance. If one is engaged in the fundamental practice of not concentrating on the breath but simply allowing attention to go back to the breath again and again until it sits there. There is no effort to make other than persisting, waiting for a natural elevated state to come as a result of everything falling away, letting go, restoring consciousness to pure awareness without a goal.

Full-length "The Art of Meditation" by British Zen teacher Alan Watts

 

MCTB The Non-Duality Model

DharmaOverground.org

The Non-Duality Model essentially says that the goal is to stop a process of identification that turns some patterns of sensations into a Doer, Perceiver, Center Point, Soul, Agent, or Self in some very fundamental perceptual way. By seeing these sensations as they are, the process can gradually be seen through until one day: “In the seeing [there is] just the seen, in the hearing just the heard, in the thinking [otherwise experienced] just the thought”...

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Meditation: Will Anything Happen? (cartoon)

June 2010, Wisdom Quarterly

Trent sings "Will Anything Happen?" by Blondie. Daria Morgendorffer sits cross-legged.

   

I always said you could make it. I know what I said, and I meant it. I always liked the way you wandered like a star. I always knew that someday you'd go far. And if you do, will anything happen?

Will it come true, will anything happen? Will light see you again? Light said it'd be through here again. Please don't forget I'm here waiting. Light always said that it would never change like the people that you've met and the places that you've been.
  
And if you do, will anything happen? Will it come true, will anything happen? Will light see you again? Will light see you again?
   
I always said you could make it. Just don't forget that I said it. 'Cause I always liked the way you wandered like a star. And I always knew that someday you'd go far. And if you do, will anything happen? Will it come true, will anything happen? Will light see you again? Will light see you again? Will light see you again? And if I do, will anything happen?

• 

  What is a nimitta? It is a learning or counterpart-sign, a light produced by the mind in meditation that becomes the object only when it becomes established at the point of concentration.
• Attachment, even to the good, is something to abandon. But first make use of it. The sign is a treasure to protect, to cultivate, to bring to culmination. It is associated with bliss. Equanimity awaits.
  

  • The Real Daria (interview)
  • The Secrets of Meditation
    

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The Tao of Joy Every Day by Derek Lin.

The beauty of Taoism is that the wisdom is simple yet profound and that is the strength of Derek Lin's book, The Tao of Joy Every Day: 365 Days of Tao Living. Its easy reference style makes it a great gift for those who are often too busy for deep, extended, contemplative meditation.

The book offers up easily digestible wisdom for when you need a quick bit of inspiration. It is a great way to start the day, and it's small size makes it ideal for a nightstand book. It's short but powerful entries are great for settling the mind before bedtime, or on nights when you can't sleep.

Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed was the ancient, Taoist wisdom is translated for a modern audience and tailored for today's society. Therefore, it's quite easy to see how the Taoist wisdom can be applied in our every day actions and situations. It's a great "stocking-stuffer" gift for this, and any other holiday season. It's a great addition to any Eastern wisdom book collection.

~I bow to the Buddha within all things~

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In Defense of the Kalama Sutra.

My writings lately on the Kalama Sutra being a Buddhist version of the "scientific method" have sparked a discussion about its essence. Found here. And, so, I decided to make a new post using my comments addressing the points of the readers Dylan and Jayavara. Dylan mentioned a discourse of the Kalama Sutra by the Theravadan monk Bhikkhu Bodhi. I won't speculate on Dylan's intentions in posting that link but I do disagree slightly with the Bhikkhu's analysis on the sutra. I want to make it clear that I'm not ascribing any of the following Bhikkhu Bodhi comments as being the same of Dylan. In the discourse, the Bhikkhu seems to reject the idea of using the Kalama Sutra as a guide for knowing when a teaching of Buddha's is helpful. Bhikkhu Bodhi said:

Now does the Kalama Sutta suggest, as is often held, that a follower of the Buddhist path can dispense with all faith and doctrine, that he should make his own personal experience the criterion for judging the Buddha's utterances and for rejecting what cannot be squared with it? It is true the Buddha does not ask the Kalamas to accept anything he says out of confidence in himself, but let us note one important point: the Kalamas, at the start of the discourse, were not the Buddha's disciples. They approached him merely as a counselor who might help dispel their doubts, but they did not come to him as the Tathagata, the Truth-finder, who might show them the way to spiritual progress and to final liberation.

James: I am not saying in my post that Buddhists should dispense with all faith and doctrine because of this sutra. I think you should be balanced with both faith and reason. As for this sutra being specifically for the Kalama people and not applying to actual Buddhists; I would disagree because many who first read the sutra are already Buddhist practitioners. Additionally, to say that certain sutras are only for Buddhists and others for non-Buddhists is a form of dividing people and denying the oneness of all beings that Buddha taught. All of us can learn from the sutras whether we are full blown, card carrying, Buddhist or just investigating Buddhism. To say some teachings are just for Buddhists seems somewhat elitist. All of us come to Buddha to dispel our doubts and answer our questions of life. Not just Kalamas. To suggest otherwise is to say that Buddhists don't need to dispel doubts or answer questions. It seems to suggest that Buddhists already have it all figured out, which clearly isn't true.

Bhikkhu Bodhi goes on to say: Thus, because the Kalamas had not yet come to accept the Buddha in terms of his unique mission, as the discloser of the liberating truth, it would not have been in place for him to expound to them the Dhamma unique to his own Dispensation: such teachings as the Four Noble Truths, the three characteristics, and the methods of contemplation based upon them. These teachings are specifically intended for those who have accepted the Buddha as their guide to deliverance, and in the suttas he expounds them only to those who "have gained faith in the Tathagata" and who possess the perspective necessary to grasp them and apply them.

James: Here the Bhikkhu seems to be saying that the four noble truths are only for Buddhists. How then do you teach someone about Buddhism (as the 4 noble truths are apart of the very foundation of Buddhism) without mentioning the four noble truths? The idea that Buddha would categorize those seeking his wisdom doesn't jive with my own experience and with other teachings of his in other sutras. And I gain that insight from using the admonitions in the Kalama sutra to use (in-part) one's own experiences and observations as a guide. Not the only guide but a necessary tool to help figure out what makes causes less harm and what doesn't. Then Bhikkhu Bodhi seems to contradict himself and agree with the line of thinking that I was expounding upon.

Thus the discourse to the Kalamas offers an acid test for gaining confidence in the Dhamma as a viable doctrine of deliverance. We begin with an immediately verifiable teaching whose validity can be attested by anyone with the moral integrity to follow it through to its conclusions, namely, that the defilements cause harm and suffering both personal and social, that their removal brings peace and happiness, and that the practices taught by the Buddha are effective means for achieving their removal. By putting this teaching to a personal test, with only a provisional trust in the Buddha as one's collateral, one eventually arrives at a firmer, experientially grounded confidence in the liberating and purifying power of the Dhamma. This increased confidence in the teaching brings along a deepened faith in the Buddha as teacher, and thus disposes one to accept on trust those principles he enunciates that are relevant to the quest for awakening.

James: Here he seems to be backing up the idea of using the Kalama Sutra as a "control" to assess further the core of Buddha's wisdom and enlightenment. He calls it an "acid test" (which is a scientific test). Just like the idea of it being a form of the "scientific method." In the end, you have to make up your own mind about this sutra by putting it to the test. Like all of the Buddha's teachings in the Sutras. While I do put a lot of weight behind the Kalama Sutra I also advocate (as the Bhikkhu does) cultivating faith and adhering to doctrine that one finds helpful. I don't agree that the Kalama Sutra only applies to non-Buddhists. If it's not a sutra that Buddhist practitioners should listen to then why is it in the "sanctioned" Pali Canon?

Then, my friend Jayavara said the following when addressing my last post: I think we are in danger of over cooking the (so-called) Kālāma Sutta. Yes, it is a charter for an empirical approach, but to what?. But there are quite a number of limitations on this approach. The Buddha seems to be only talking about the moral sphere in that discourse. He is telling the Kālāmas that they should decide what is ethical on the basis of what they know to be good. There was then, as now in our societies, some doubt as to the basis of morality. Specifically moralities based on ideas of karma and rebirth of which there were a number of variations at the time.

This can be seen in the varied ways that karma is talked about in the Pāli texts themselves, and in texts which are likely to date from near that time like the early Upaniṣads, particularly the Bṛhadāranyaka. The Buddha was suggesting natural morality to the Kālāmas - i.e. that they don't go on ideology, but on "what they know to be right". But I don't think he goes beyond this into the sphere of meditation or wisdom and there we cannot use it as a measure for judging any teachings per se, but only for judging the suitability our own actions. Because of the subjective nature of Buddhist morality - it's all about what's going on your mind when you act - it makes applying the scientific method quite difficult. Science is all about repeatability and on the level of individual actions, none is ever repeatable.

So we tend to look in hindsight, and to try to assess actions collectively. At best it gives us broad brush strokes like: "refrain from acting when angry otherwise you will cause harm, or at least unhappiness." This is indeed the kind of truism that 'social scientists' come up with after years of research, which make us wonder why we fund such 'science'. I've trained in both disciplines - Science (I have a B.Sc in chemistry) and Buddhism. I do find some cross fertilisation. But it's more a spirit of enquiry and observation, than a full blown application of scientific method. And since it is all very subjective, all about knowing my own mental states, the scientific method has little to get a purchase on. In short there is nothing to measure. Learning from experience is not necessarily the scientific method - everyone does it. The only way to know if a teaching 'works' is to try it out for yourself.

James: Just because Buddha is mainly speaking to the Kalamas about karma and rebirth doesn't mean that the wisdom can't be applied to other teachings that one is doubting or investigating. For example, the heart sutra applies to many situations. As does the Diamond sutra and others. I think compartmentalizing his teachings as addressing only the people he is directly speaking to in a particular sutra; and about only that specific situation presented, is limiting the impact of the Dharma. We are limiting the Buddha's scope. Faith also requires us to have faith in ourselves that we can adapt Buddha's teachings to guide us in all situations. Otherwise, none of us should be following ANY of the sutras because they were all spoke to people that are long dead. So how can any of the sutras apply to us if we are to only look at them in the context of who he was historically addressing?

To teach otherwise seems to be focusing more on protecting a particular tradition or dogma than encouraging direct experience based on the faith in Buddha as a wise teacher. As we know, there are many varied schools of Buddhism. So, if it's possible to have such diverse styles of practicing the Dharma then surely it's possible to interpret the sutras several ways. And apply them to several time periods and situations. It feels like limiting the scope of Buddha's wisdom. I would only somewhat disagree with you that all actions aren't repeatable. If Buddha is specifically saying in the Kalama Sutra that testing his teachings will help you realize whether they help cause less harm or not then I think testing them to see if greed (for example) causes harm is pretty repeatable. As millions throughout varied ages have discovered the same reality that greed is harmful using the directions from Buddha to not accept anything that causes you harm.

I don't mean to say that the advice in the Kalama Sutra is EXACTLY like the scientific method. But that there are similarities, which would seem to be beneficial in understanding the wisdom of the Dharma to the modern mind that is so influenced by science. I agree that the only way to know if a teaching works is to try it. Just like the only way to know if a scientific hypothesis is right is to try it in a test. That's why I compared such advice to the scientific method. Again, they aren't exactly the same but both provide a way to test ideas based on direct, concrete actions. I also don't suggest that we should only follow our direct experience and intuition. Of course, faith and trust in our teachers is important as well.

~Peace to all beings~

PHOTO CREDIT: Students in the Emory Tibet Science Initiative take turns, looking through a microscope. Emory University.

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Guessed it in Our Imaginations. REPOST.

James: I've been reading the excellent blog, "Genkaku Again" for awhile now and always come away from reading his posts with a view of something that I hadn't noticed before. For example, I've often wondered about the authenticity of the canon's claiming to be the words of Buddha but I eventually realized that it's more important if the teachings work than who actually said them. So, when I read this post about the literal nature of Buddhist writings and teachings over at Genkaku's blog--I was riveted:

On a BBC Buddhist bulletin board, in a thread asking "what was the source of Buddha's wisdom?" one fellow, who describes himself as a "peaceful Muslim" posted this:

Do we have anything written by the Buddha himself; or you have guessed it simply in your imagination?

I purely love the question because I purely love the answer that I come up with, i.e., yes, we have simply guessed it in our imaginations. Of course there is nothing written by Gautama Buddha himself any more than there is anything written by Jesus himself or, for all I know, Mohammad himself. Everything was written after the fact, usually out of a strong oral tradition, by disciples and friends and adherents. So it's all second hand at best. And even those who get the word straight from the horse's mouth -- who heard some exalted poo-bah uttering one pearl or another ... STILL we "guessed it" in our imaginations. And so it goes in all spiritual endeavor. Anything called "authentic" is not yet authentic because the one hearing it has not yet put it to the test.

I think this small bit of information should be mandatory in all classes or temples purporting to disseminate so-called religion: The teaching may be very fine indeed, the pointers may be very fine indeed, the wisdom may be very fine indeed ... but it's all second-hand stuff in a world where people yearn to live authentic and peaceful lives ... you know, living first-hand, so to speak.

Calling teachings second-hand stuff is not an insult. It is just an observation. Second-hand stuff can have wonderful pointers and directions. But it needs to be admitted that, yes, we guessed it in our imaginations ... right up until we put it to the test. No more second-hand lifestyle! Guessed it in our imaginations ... I love that.

James: This reminds me of the Kalama Sutra, which is one of my favorite sutras and is probably the one that the foundation of my Buddhist practice is anchored upon. As you can see, Genkaku is a great blogger, and insightful Buddhist. So, you'd find great benefit in adding him to your reader list.

PHOTO: Buddha teaching, found at Dharma Folk.

~Peace to all beings~

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Fierce Fudo Myo-o.

If you've been reading me for a while now then you also know that I like deities, Bodhisattvas and other super natural beings, but as archetypes only. They inspire, motivate and help give me strength to face the challenges of life. That is primarily because as an artist their visual representation brings their meaning and symbolism out stronger for me sometimes than just reading esoteric lines in a daunting tome.

Though don't get me wrong, I adore a good esoteric tome but they are best absorbed in my brain coupled with visual representations. These statues of beings are powerful representations of aspects that exist within all of us. Fudo Myo-o is one of the "Five Wisdom Kings" in Vajrayana Buddhism. A wisdom king is a being that is not yet a Buddha, nor Bodhisattva. They are guardians of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas--they are the gate keepers to those advanced states of being. Those states of being that unlock the doors to allow the lotus of enlightenment to unfold above the waters of fear and delusion. Of course wisdom isn't the only attribute to cultivate. The masters teach us that it must be balanced with compassion to reveal the truly balanced being that comes from realizing enlightenment. Represented by the mythological demi-Buddha, Avalokiteshvara of Kwan Yin.

Fudo Myo-o (also known as Acala in sankrit, which appropriately means "Immovable") is known for his wisdom, which compares to the development of wisdom in our practice. Fudo Myo-o is that development process--he is that state of mind, which propels us to realize greater wisdom. Meditating upon him is to remind ourselves of our potential. He is a destroyer of delusion. So, he compares to the strength and perseverance within us all to realize the hold that delusion has over our lives, and destroy it through wisdom. He reminds us that wisdom is also a sacred treasure to be protected but shared. This, "knowing" then, like a guardian protects our Buddha-to-be essence and/or our Bodhisattvas vows, which can be compared to our true nature. This wisdom protects these natures and vows from the "poisonous" influences of greed, hatred and delusions. Thus, the fierce-some appearance of the kings who will turn on even us if we miss use our wisdom.

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"The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines."

Knowing this, a wise and learned bodhisattva, works not towards Arhatship, nor enlightenment, nor Nirvana. In the practice alone one trains for the sake of the practice.

James: So goes the 22nd verse of, "The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines." I hadn't heard of this treasure until now. However, hanks to the generosity, thoughtfulness and compassion of two people I've been given a great gift: My friend Jamie and the blog, "The New Heretics." Thanks Dharma buds. You should take some time and read the whole discourse because it's beautiful, insightful and an invaluable teaching. As well as a gentle and wise but compassionate reminder of what the essence of the Buddha Dharma is all about. After reading it I felt as though I had just received a rare teaching from a wise monk from centuries ago. It feels as true today as it was in Buddha's era.

So without further ado, "The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines" as interpreted by "The New Heretics."

PHOTO: Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Monjusri or Monju as said in Japan. He holds a scroll to represent wisdom and a sword to cut through ignorance. He represents the wisdom in all of us.

~Peace to all beings~

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The Oasis of Dharma.

The Self cannot be pierced by weapons or burned by fire; water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it. The Self cannot be pierced or burned, made wet or dry. It is everlasting and infinite, standing on the motionless foundations of eternity. The Self is unmanifested, beyond all thought, beyond all change. Knowing this, you should not grieve.

-Bhagavad Gita 2 23-25

James: This description of oneness is the kind of wisdom that initially attracted me to Eastern spirituality. As many of you know I was raised in a very strict, dogmatic Christian religion, which shaped my life in every way. Eventually as I matured into adulthood that carefully constructed, isolating world started showing cracks. I could no longer stay in the religion because I began to see it as incompatible with the world I was discovering as an adult.

It didn't fit with the new ideas, concepts and information that I had been sheltered from all those years and my world crashed down around me like a cascading crystal chandelier falling from above. For the first time in my life I felt truly alone, lost and didn't know what or whom to trust. And so like many in this world of chaos, selfishness and suffering I felt overwhelmed. Add modernity's way of diminishing peoples' value and I was living in constant fear and anguish.

I was going through my own process of seeing the true unsatisfactory nature of the real world as Buddha did. I drifted into nihilism and hated just about everything and everyone that I came into contact with and then I began reading books on Buddhism and other Eastern spiritual traditions. I began to see hope and sought out every book and teacher on the subjects that I could find. I was insatiable. It was like I had been wandering in a desert thirsting for relief and stumbling upon a cool, relaxing, refreshing oasis. Except that at this oasis there was a Buddhist master patiently sitting at the side of the clear, clean, crisp pool waiting for me to finish guzzling the water. The water was like the initial gratification of finding Buddhism before realizing that was just the tip of the iceberg. It was as if he smiled and said, "Water is nice but you must find the infinite oasis for lasting relief."

This master (Buddhism) began teaching me not only how to survive the suffering of thirst (greed, anger, delusion--suffering in general) but taught me how to survive traveling through the desert (samsara) in a way that wouldn't be so painful and discouraging. So that one day I would reach my destination (Nirvana--liberation from traveling from life to life in an infinite cycle of suffering) and no longer be lost wandering the disorienting desert (samsara). This of course was the Dharma. I had spent too long just looking for the next oasis (immediate gratification) instead of trying to actually find the way out of the damn desert altogether!! It took Buddhism to show me that life changing discovery.

I was no longer looking through the self-isolating eyes of individualist, materialism. I zoomed out and saw the bigger picture, which made me smaller and I found some much needed relief in that reality. Saying that feeling small made me feel relief might sound odd to those new to ideas of the Higher Self or Oneness. Or to those use to the materialism of the West. However, it helped me feel for the first time that I wasn't alone and that I didn't have to take on this overwhelming world alone.

I was apart of a much bigger essence that could never be diminished, tarnished or taken away regardless of what this sometimes mean and nasty world could present as an obstacle. It gave me a feeling of belonging, true belonging that could never be taken away because how do you take away everything that is? How do you take away Oneness? How can you separate the molecules that make up your body from the molecules that make up the air that surrounds your entire body? How do you then separate the air molecules from those that make up the radiation from the sun that keeps all things on Earth alive? And how do you separate those radiation molecules from dark matter and gravity? So if we are both this body AND air, earth, water, fire, space dust, dark matter and who knows what else--how can you feel alone and lost after knowing all of that? As the quote says,"Knowing this, you should not grieve." It's easy to diminish an individual but impossible to diminish the totality of the all that exists.

I soon realized, however, that it isn't as easy as just making that discovery--it takes a lot more than discovering a mine to find enough to gold to free you from poverty. It's not easy following the path of Dharma but I have seen enough to know that it sure is worth it and better than the alternative. It's easy to forget to look at the compass (not practice the Dharma) while traveling toward the end of the desert (samara) so I keep meditating and breathing my way toward liberation. The funny thing is that in reality there is no desert!!

~Peace to all beings~

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Zen is Very Simple.

James: Zen Master Seung Sahn is one of the most fascinating personalities and wise teachers in Buddhism today. His style is so approachable from the videos, quotes and writings that I have seen/read.

He has a way of teaching serious subjects in fun, innovative and yet always challenging ways. The ability to teach from so many different angles is the sign of a great teacher to me because people learn in various ways and are at different points along the spectrum of practice.

From the 1985 Sumner Kyol Che Opening, Ceremony:

Linc just said, "Zen is very simple. Dishwashing time, just wash dishes; sitting time, just sit; driving time, just drive; talking time, just talk; walking time, just walk." That's all. Not special. But that is very difficult. That is absolutes thinking. When you're doing something, just do it. No opposites. No subject, no object. No inside, no outside. Outside and inside become one. That's called absolutes.

It's easy to talk about "When you're doing something, just do it," but action is very difficult. Sitting: thinking, thinking, thinking. Chanting: also thinking, thinking. Bowing time: not so much, but some thinking, thinking, checking, checking mind appear. Then you have a problem.

But don't hold. Thinking is OK. Checking is OK. Only holding is a problem. Don't hold. Feeling coming, going, OK. Don't hold. If your mind is not holding anything, it is clear like space. Clear like space means that sometimes clouds come, sometimes rain or lightning or airplane comes, or even a missile blows up, BOOM! World explodes, but the air is never broken. This space is never broken.

Yeah, other things are broken but this space is never changing. Even if a nuclear bomb explodes, it doesn't matter. Space is space. That mind is very important. If something in your mind explodes, then don't hold it. Then it will disappear. Sometimes anger mind appears but soon disappears. But if you hold it, you have a problem. Appear, disappear, that's OK. Don't hold. Then it becomes wisdom. My anger mind becomes wisdom. My desire mind becomes wisdom. Everything becomes wisdom. That's interesting, yeah? So don't hold. That's very important point.

-Zen Master Seung Sahn

~Peace to all beings~

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A Swept Floor Never Stays Clean.

By Arnie Kozak

If you sweep the patio in November after leaves have fallen, you wouldn’t expect it to stay clean forever. The patio is like the mind. Mindfulness meditation practice can feel like sweeping the mind and clearing away the thoughts strewn about making a big mess.

It’s easy to get caught up in resistance and resentment toward these leaves: “Damn it, I just swept that floor!” Despite our protests, nature has another idea. Nature doesn’t care if we’ve swept the patio or how long it took us to do it. In the same way, the mind has its nature and it doesn’t really care about your agenda. The mind will continue to do what it does: give rise to thoughts. If we expect the mind to stay “swept,” we are setting ourselves up for disappointment.

Meditation will not “fix you”; it will not change things once and for all. Nothing can do this. Our job is to keep sweeping. Thoughts will continue to come and blow onto your clean-swept patio. Just sweep. No need to ask questions. No need to complain. Keep sweeping. We don’t need to analyze, interpret, or fix the leaves; time after time, we just need to sweep, returning to this moment just as it is, again, again, again.

With continued practice, we can start to recognize the wisdom in not reacting, or if reactions arise (as they sometimes will) of not amplifying them and feeding them. We can learn to enjoy the coming and going of the leaves—and even of the endless sweeping as well!

–Arnie Kozak, from Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants (Wisdom Publications).

~Peace to all beings~

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Faith and Wisdom.

The Buddha compared faith to a blind giant who meets up with a very sharp-eyed cripple, called wisdom. The blind giant, called faith, says to the sharp-eyed cripple, "I am very strong, but I can't see; you are very weak, but you have sharp eyes. Come and ride on my shoulders. Together we will go far." The Buddha never supported blind faith, but a balance between heart and mind, between wisdom and faith. The two together will go far. The saying that blind faith can move mountains unfortunately omits the fact that, being blind, faith doesn't know which mountain needs moving. That's where wisdom is essential, which means that a thorough understanding of the teaching is crucial.

-- Ayya Khema, When the Iron Eagle Flies

~Peace to all beings~

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"In God's Name." A Book Review.

I was recently invited by the National Geographic Society publishing department to read the book, "In God's Name" and do a review of the work. I found the title intreaging and agreed. I was provided a copy of the book and just finished it. It is by Jules Naudet and Gedeon Naudet. The photos are taken by Stephan Crasneanscki and the interviews by Virginie Luc.

The design of the cover was obviously the first thing that I noticed. It has a nice gold colored cover with a complimenting black binding and lovely white script. The mixture of these three colors lends itself well to the noble topic within as gold, black and white are all colors associated with spirituality in many religions.

Then I opened the book and was rewarded with a stunning, brilliant and artistic photo of a trio of Buddhist monks wrapped up in their robes with one monk peering out from around his shroud at the camera. The pictures in this book live up to the standard of photography that the world has come to expect from National Geographic. There is also a wonderful picture of Buddhist nun peering over glasses while reading as well as young Tibetan Buddhist monks playing soccer. The wisdom in her face and eyes is endearing and captivating.

And so this book is worth buying for the pictures alone but the wisdom from diverse religions within is just as worthwhile. The various religions include: Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Shinto and Hinduism. I hope I named them all. So the wisdom is simple but like most simple messages of spirituality that are deeply profound. I will touch on a few of the quotes from other religions but being a Buddhist I will focus more on those.

The Dalai Lama was introduced in this book with him describing the balance between being seen by Tibetan Buddhists as Avalokiteshvara (Kwan Yin) and a sentient being like everyone else. He has such disarming honesty when he says, "I am also ridden with a bit of laziness. So, while talking to other people, I do not give airs to myself. I speak the real fact. That is why people love me. For me too, I have no uneasiness. It is troublesome if I think I am smart and higher." This kind of humility is exactly what makes him such an enlightened being. He is truly living and epitomizing the middle way.

Another spiritual leader in the book that I found fascinating is the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England. His answer to the question, "How do you feel the presence of God?" sounded very similar to Buddhism and reminded me how similar we are all despite our different spiritual beliefs. He says, "I am aware of the presence of God every time I'm aware of my own breathing, my own heartbeat. (James: That's very Buddhist to talk of finding peace in one's breath and heartbeat).

Then when asked, "What is the meaning of death" the Dalai Lama said, "If you think that a natural thing has come, tranquility shall prevail. For example, fruits fall down when ripened. There is no reason to be surprised. That is what it is. But if you think that something catastrophic has happened, then a lot of unhappiness shall follow.

When asked, "Can different religions coexist" the Dali Lama responded, "In early times, in each place, people lived in isolation from the rest. It was right for them to abide within a solitary religious milieu. In their isolated milieus, it was right for them to promote their particular religion. We can't decree that this or that particular religion is the most important. I can not say that Buddhism is the best for each one of us." This kind of acceptance is a big reason that I became a Buddhist.

All in all I was enthralled with this book and pleased to have had the chance to read and review it. I would highly recommend this piece of art and would be a great gift. It would be a great coffee table book.

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