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"general banter"
genkaku
Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
"Good morning," says your neighbor.
"Good morning," you reply.
"Looks like more rain today."
"At least the flowers seem to be happy with it."
"Yeah, but if the grass gets much higher, I'll have to think about harvesting hay."
"A little sunshine would be nice."
"What the hell -- we'd probably be complaining about the heat then."
General banter. A passing bit of contact. Nothing much to write home about. Not at all as worthy of attention and focus as, say, Buddhism. Better to separate the world of Buddhism and the world of general banter ... make it clear that their import and essence do not deserve the same treatment. Compassion, clarity, emptiness, enlightenment -- these are not frivolous matters ... as frivolous, say, as a little general banter.
Effort and focus are required in Buddhist practice. Getting sidetracked -- the habit of a lifetime -- is something worth examining. Attention ... responsibility ... Buddhism.
As focused and dedicated as anyone might be, I think it's important to keep in mind that to the extent that Buddhism is kept separate from the general banter of our lives, it is not yet Buddhism.
Or anyway, that's my view. What's yours?
"Good morning," you reply.
"Looks like more rain today."
"At least the flowers seem to be happy with it."
"Yeah, but if the grass gets much higher, I'll have to think about harvesting hay."
"A little sunshine would be nice."
"What the hell -- we'd probably be complaining about the heat then."
General banter. A passing bit of contact. Nothing much to write home about. Not at all as worthy of attention and focus as, say, Buddhism. Better to separate the world of Buddhism and the world of general banter ... make it clear that their import and essence do not deserve the same treatment. Compassion, clarity, emptiness, enlightenment -- these are not frivolous matters ... as frivolous, say, as a little general banter.
Effort and focus are required in Buddhist practice. Getting sidetracked -- the habit of a lifetime -- is something worth examining. Attention ... responsibility ... Buddhism.
As focused and dedicated as anyone might be, I think it's important to keep in mind that to the extent that Buddhism is kept separate from the general banter of our lives, it is not yet Buddhism.
Or anyway, that's my view. What's yours?
0
Comments
General banter is showing attention to someone. There is a time and place for self-absorbed introspection, and that is on the meditation cushion. For a lay person, the most effective practice is one of compassion in every encounter during the day. A few words is all it takes to show someone that you care for them as a human being, not see them as an obstruction or machine performing a function.
It's as easy as looking at the woman working the cash register and trying to earn enough minimum wage to pay the rent -- instead of bitching about the long lines that she has no control over, make a comment showing you understand how tired she must be.
We're verbal animals. Little bits of human contact go a long way. Be mindful of what you say and how you say it, and turn general banter into a part of your Buddhist practice.
Today, with its (my) hold lessenED, I agree, genkaku.
Many thanks.
In Gassho.
In one of Luang Pu's branch meditation monasteries there lived a group of five or six monks who wanted to be especially strict in their practice, so they made a vow not to talk throughout the Rains Retreat. In other words, no word would come out of their mouths except for the daily chanting and the bi-weekly Patimokkha chant. After the end of the Rains they came to pay their respects to Luang Pu and told him of their strict practice: In addition to their other duties, they were also able to stop speaking for the entire Rains.
Luang Pu smiled a bit and said,
"That's pretty good. When there's no speaking, then no faults are committed by way of speech. But when you say that you stopped speaking, that simply can't be. Only the noble ones who enter the refined attainment of cessation, where feeling and perception stop, are able to stop speaking. Aside from them, everyone's speaking all day and all night long. And especially those who vow not to speak: They talk more than anyone else, simply that they don't make a sound that others can hear."
- Ajaan Dune Atulo
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/dune/giftsheleft.html