Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
A Dharma for the masses
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Changing the world and all that. Hmm. I am absolutely 100% a world changer. Since I was 18 and I had some kind of awakening, I’ve felt in the deepest parts of my soul that I am here to make a difference to the world. From the age of 18 to my present 29 years I have taken on an onslaught from people who, like you, have told me, basically, to ‘get real’, and that I am naïve, idealistic, dreamer etc. etc. But every year, contrary to what my well intention commentators have to say, I grow more, become more capable of making a difference, and actually do make more of a difference to those around me, and so whilst my peers discourage me, life continues to lift me up and give more reason to keep moving forwards with what my heart aches to do. It’s difficult, and I am riddled with self doubts, but where once your words would have crushed me and left me desolate for a long period, now they are just another raindrop in the storm I have already been drowned in, only now I welcome each drop as a cleansing shower that removes me from any concern for what people feel they can judge about me.
Let’s be clear… you have not been where I am today. There are countless factors that go into a lifetime that add infinite dimensions to one intention. One man wishes to make millions and lives in poverty, another man wishes to make millions and makes billions. I am here stating clearly that I wish to make a difference to this world in whatever way my soul determines… I have no investment, I don’t dictate where my path leads me, I just follow where my heart goes, and yeah, it terrifies me, and for a long time I tried to wriggle my way off it every time I could, but all that happened was that I ended up miserable, and so I’ve learnt to just get on with it and trust that whatever is to be is to be. So yes, my motives are to help to create a better world, I’m sorry if that is not palatable to you, but really it’s not my concern. I might be here to make a billion, but I might also end up in the gutter, but so long as I have been true to myself then I’ll at least have a smile on my face.
I say keep on keepin' on. If one way doesn't work, figure out another. It's a noble cause to want to alleviate suffering. Keep refining it, using what people say to adjust, but don't take them all too seriously and certainly don't give up just because they can't imagine you can make a difference. You can make a huge difference, I believe that.
As I said before, I do not believe that 95% of Cambodians are Buddhist. I don’t think that being born into a tradition, having it stamped on your birth certificate, being inducted in various ceremonies, being indoctrinated in their beliefs and thoughts etc. is what makes a Buddhist, Christian, Muslim etc. It has to begin in your own heart. The UK might be X% Christian, but I hardly know anyone who actually practices Christianity, it’s just the national religion, but it doesn’t make you a Christian being born in a Christian country, what makes you a Christian is, from your own heart, following Christ’s teachings. Well, I’d say that Buddha nature is kind and caring, and would therefore result in kind and caring action. And I never said that this definition would achieve that! If only life were so simple! I’ve not yet met one human being who does not value kindness from me, and that’s all I’m interested in promoting. Yeah, cos they are not Buddhist! I don’t think we need to present the four noble truths to overcome suffering. Not really. The Power of Now was very Zen, but it was not about practicing compassion and kindness, but about being fully present in the moment… which would allow the arising of compassion and kindness, but that’s not the sort of practice I have in mind. The Secret was the law of attraction, and presented more as a tool for material gain than anything to do with kindness. I’ve never heard of Big Mind.
I haven’t presented anything but some intentions so far, so I’m not sure how you know what territory I’m covering, because I don’t see any resemblance between what I’ve suggested and the above mentioned books. Yes. The core teachings are those that enable the arising of compassionate, kindly thoughts and actions. Like I said, you can take away karma teachings and you’ll still have Buddhism, you can take away impermanence teachings and you’ll still have Buddhism, you can take away meditation and you’ll still have Buddhism, but if you remove compassion then you have no Buddhism.
And those four noble truths aren't particularly hard to grasp. It's one of the simplest, yet most profound set of statements I've come across. And there's only four of them. Fantastic!
Perhaps I'm missing something very obvious here, but if you say something like this, doesn't it sort of mean you're not a Buddhist?
Now I realize "A buddhist" is just a label, so that may not mean much to you. But you are on newbuddhist.com after all. Ok so it's "new" Buddhist. But if you throw away the four noble truths ... well someone more experienced help me out here, what have you got?
How you can improve upon something that's been around for 2,500 years, and that's pretty concise and simple as is. Moreover, is there a need? You say yes, I say no. That's where we differ I guess.
MK
The four noble truths are wonderful, that is true. All I’m saying is that they are not needed to relieve suffering… just ask a Christian! In my suggested adaptation the four noble truths would be the foundations that inform the teachings, but they probably wouldn’t be promoted, that is all I’m saying… they’d be there in spirit, if not explicitly stated. There is no throwing away of anything! I don’t want to change Buddhism, it is beautiful as it is, I just think an offshoot that is more concise and appealing would be beneficial. Kind of like twenty-twenty cricket next to test cricket… if you follow cricket, that is.
Test cricket is fantastic. 20/20 - not my style.
But trying to create a better world and trying to change the world are actually two very different goals. Saving a kitten - creating a better world. Giving up your seat on the bus - creating a better world. Working hard and honestly - creating a better world. Being truthful - creating a better world. Trying to bring people round to your way of seeing things - trying to change the world.
Creating a better world - acceptance, kindness, humility
Trying to change the world - control, pride
See the distinction? While the goal of trying to change the world sounds noble, it's actually very naive which isn't a good thing, naive is just a nice way of saying ignorant. You simply can not change the world. You can do your best to make it a better place, but that isn't the same as trying to change it, as outlined above.
Again, I'm not raining on your parade and trying to "drown" you, I'm just telling you as someone who has most certainly been where you are, that this path isn't a wise one.
You said yourself that you've stopped listening to what other people have to say when it doesn't agree with you, so I guess it doesn't really matter, but I promise you I'm just trying to do you a favor. I've never said you shouldn't go ahead, I'm just warning you of the dangers of this particular path as someone who has crossed that terrain already.
You can do as you wish with what I've said, that's none of my concern, and I've gone as far as I feel I ought in this conversation so I'll just leave you with my best wishes.
Now you are deciding who is and who is not Buddhist?????
We tend to focus on compassion because it is already widely understood and accepted across religions and cultures, but from a Buddhist perspective, that compassion is inseparable from the more mysterious wisdom realizing emptiness.
Compassion progresses through stages--give a guy a sandwich, give a guy a job, give a guy a liberating philosophy, give a guy permanent release from the cycle of suffering. Even though we say "give" we can note that at each stage, the guy becomes more responsible for his part in the process, until the final stage which only he alone can accomplish (recognizing reality and therefore self-liberating).
All religions teach compassion for our fellow man, but from Buddhist perspective compassion does not stop with a better world--it progresses to total liberation for all beings, the complete end of suffering itself. Wisdom, realizing emptiness, is that liberation.
So if we're working on a way to help beings, from a Buddhist perspective, wisdom is inseparable from compassion, unless we want to stop somewhere between the sandwich and the liberating philosophy.
I think the idea, though, of making Buddhist sandwiches more widely available in a generous, non-pushy way is wonderful. It would be vital (if we really want to help people via Buddhist philosophy) not to diss the emptiness and wisdom part. Wisdom realizing emptiness isn't a cold, clinical pursuit for the brainy; wisdom is the very basis and reasoning for teaching compassion, just as compassion is the very basis and reasoning for teaching wisdom.
A serial rapist and murderer says he is a Buddhist... is he a Buddhist?
I think the "until we stop killing each other" rests on the wisdom teachings, though. Otherwise we are trying to get people to be compassionate "just 'cuz," instead of "because." What I see as one of the great values of Buddhist thought is finding and establishing the "because," so that our actions are deeply grounded in something that can't be shaken.
I think if we focus only on compassion, we can still be doing something good, definitely--it falls into the category of "try to do good things, but at least don't do bad." The most basic Buddhist instruction. There is definitely nothing wrong with that instinct, or that teaching.
If we're really saying, though, that "something's not working," that it's not as effective so far as we think it should be, I would personally look at shoring up the wisdom side of basic teachings. Find a way to make sure at least basic wisdom points are part of the "free Buddhist sandwich." Even just something as saying that Buddhist theory is grounded in compassion and wisdom, which are seen as inseparable; I'm just saying, maybe we shouldn't leave it out.
I think there's a precedent to this: quite a number of schools are introducing meditation to their students, and they've had to figure out a way to do it secularly. Both the compassion and wisdom qualities of Buddhist reasoning can indeed be taught secularly, I believe. I highly recommend the Dalai Lama's "Ethics for the New Millenium," as well.
Again, this is not some Buddhist sneak attack, but really a way to share what Eastern research--2500 years of trial and error--has developed.
This whole thing is a bit like trying to bang a square peg into a round hole. Sure you could chisel out the space around the round hole so that the square peg fits neatly into the new hole you have created, but this doesnt really "change" the fact that the peg still has abrubt corners and and therfore more prone to fixing itself in position when outside of the hole, much like a house is square and just sits where it is. But if you instead decide to chisel the peg to make it round, it will not only fit well into the round hole, but it can also roll about in movement when it is outside of the hole, in relative freedom like a bicycle. Then the peg can go almost anywhere and do almost anything.
Before insight, you are a square peg. After insight, you can become a round peg. And thats the beauty of the Buddhist teachings: it's you that needs changing, not the hole. Because the hole is everything and everything is always perfect (a circle being the universal symbol of perfection) if only we choose to look at it as such. Any attempts to square the round hole are attempts to ignore what Buddhism is trying to teach you...
it is a personal choice to become what you are, not a mandate or a slick proposition. Nothing to buy, nothing to sell.
This is why I love the story of Siddartha Gautama... he put himself through hell on earth before he accepted compassion and decided it was him that needed changing so he could see the world for what it is. He rounded his edges and found the way to fit into the world, into the round hole. Too much to be gained from that metaphor to abandon it completely... change the name or the approach if you want to, but it really helps me to know that a regular human being was able to come to this understang, as I am just that, too.
The 4 noble truths are the cleanest expression of and actualization of compassion that I've experienced. They are Buddhism.
Although I'm wary of ism's and their associated identity issues, most of the time, to my ear, you sound like a student of Jesus in Buddhist drag.
Not to say one is better than the other, just wondering if it explains much of your approach?
But, I couldn't help but think that this is happening already? There's plenty of "new age" tinted buddhism spirituality books popping up in the west, and have been for quite a while now actually. For example, things such as "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle and "The Secret", and much other books based on similar foundations. Not exactly buddhism, but neither is what you are explaining either...
Those 2 books above actually led me to find buddhism, so I definitely think they have their place. Although, their messages were a little too tinged with new agey-ness for my tastes, which is why I began stripping them down to their basics, and found a very interesting similarity between what both the authors found (the very basics) and buddhism. And here I am
Attributed to HHDL
in a recent email.
Maybe this works for you?
'I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether.'
Maybe this works for you?
Small example - I've often thought it would be fun to do an album where each song carried a core Buddhist message - not in your face, so subtle in fact that maybe many wouldn't get it. The idea isn't to convert, but to communicate, be part of the resonation of worthy thoughts, making those thoughts reverberate more throughout the universe. Maybe this is too lazy - on the other hand, I'm often extremely effected by what I hear in others' songs. Ani Choying Drolma made a great album with my hometown guy Steve Tibbets--wonderful, spiritual music set to spooky guitar. Somehow not as "new agey" as other projects I've heard, I think because the core song always leads the track; the guitar adorns the traditional spiritual song, not the other way around.
So, expanding Buddhism in new ways, sharing it in new ways, is something I definitely see as positive--art, music, dance even (now there's a challenge). Anything, really, that communicates--which is most things.
Guess that wasn't so brief...sorry!
P.S. Is this all leading to rock bands in temples, lol? Oy
So yeah, enlightenment would be wonderful, but the reality seems to be that for most human beings on this planet now that that is not going to happen in their current lifetimes... but can an increase in compassion occur in their lifetime? Yeah! Will this help to create a better world? Yeah! Would I rather have a peaceful world with no Buddhism than a hostile world with Buddhism? Well, yeah. I don't care about religions or spiritual philosophies, I care about people being happy and treating each other with respect, and if the time has come where religions no longer faciliate that effectively then let's forget religions. If more people will practice and implement compassion in their lives through alternate means to religion then great, so be it. I just can't get beyond the fact that even after a few thousand years of Buddhism and Christianity that more people are killed in war, and we are more capable of killing more in war, than ever before. I know things are changing and improving in many ways, but it won't happen by itself, it's for us to facilitate that change, not sit back and think it's going to take care of itself. Whilst I am here I just want to do what I can to help facilitate that change, and nothing is more sacred than love, and if slicing up Buddhism helps get more people living with love then I don't think we should hesitate for a second, and I think the Buddha would agree, for it was he who made it clear to take what works and leave what doesn't, and it was he who instructed his followers to believe by reason, not by faith in him.
Several thousand years of great minds studying and commenting on the teachings, and now more and more excellent translations of that material, as well as the work of modern western Buddhist masters to make it more accessible.
Any attempt to water it down would detract from the most important aspect of it. Which is that one can start at the most basic level and benefit from it in ways that are noticeable immediately.
And one can go as deep as they want to. Go on to study very challenging material. All the way to awakening.
There is no end to new age or self help material out there that is designed to be easy to absorb. Anyone with a spiritual bent will find what they need. I have read a good deal of it over the years. It is never the complete package the way Buddhism is.
Truthfully, most Buddhists will probably frown upon what you are considering and might even see it as more evidence of the impending "Dhamma ending age".
I mean, when I first walked into a temple, I wasn't sat down and given an initiation; the brilliance of great teachings is that they carry beginner messages for beginners AND advanced messages for older students, all in one teaching.