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What Would The Buddha Do?
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
When confronting a difficult situation(a personal crises) have you ever asked your self "What would the Buddha do ?"
Say for example you have studied the Dharma for quite some time, and have familiarised your self with the 4NT & 8FP so you have got the gist of what it's all about...
And as it helped ?
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Yes indeed.
It is part of Guru Yoga in Tantra
http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/approaching_buddhism/teachers/spiritual_student/theory_and_practice_of_guru_yoga/transcript_1.html
"So, what are we connecting here? What we are connecting really is our own Buddha-nature with the Buddha-nature of the spiritual master. That is why – I think it was Gampopa who said that when I realized the unity of my spiritual master and the yidam in my own mind, then I realized mahamudra. So we are linking our own Buddha-nature with the Buddha-nature of the spiritual teacher in order to gain the inspiration for us to realize our own Buddha-nature and fully actualize all its potentials. "
Interesting link............@lobster
I have done this questing with a Shingon teacher but mostly directly with dharmakayas, prophets, spiritual adepts, masters of the way. So in a sense my teachers are Tara, Mara, Bodhi Buddha and also the Buddha within the drunk I sat next to on the bus yesterday as he sang badly, apologised and carried on drinking . . .
What would Buddha do? Just be, just so.
@lobster I think that by just asking one self "What would Buddha do?" could set the ball rolling down the 'right' track, focusing the mind on the Dharma instead of getting caught up in the old reactive habits...
And a question like this can be asked at any time and in any situation...(not just cushion time)
Geshe-la the Tibetan Lama who comes to the island to give Dharma talks once a month often talks about "training" and or "tricking" the mind...
.
As long as you're only asking it of yourself and not putting it on bumper stickers without considering what it means
Yes, I ask often. Not necessarily "what would Buddha do" but "how can my Buddhist practice help here?" to retrain my thinking. I've been hard at work with just that this morning after feeling unappreciated by my family who seems to believe I am their maid. Still haven't resolved it...my inclination is still to throw out all their crap they leave laying around and force them to suffer without it since they can't be bothered to put it away
I have a WWBD ball cap. Thought it might help. Shakyamuni is way above my pay grade. So even if I knew WWBD its unlikely there would be much more than a poor imitation on my part.
I ask myself sometimes and wonder what would Gotama do after he discovered the middle way, before he became a Buddha.
WWBD? Leave in the middle of the night and go sir in a forest somewhere. Hmmmm....as tempting as that often is, I would miss the little rug rats! Plus my wife would tear strips off me when I came back (enlightened or not!)
Ah yes, I can just hear the dulcet tones of the ever-competent and totally serene Mrs Bunks ....
"where the hell have you been? Don't answer that, I'm not interested! Thanks for leaving me alone, yet again, to cope with all of this on my own! It's all very well you playing the virtuous, saintly, endlessly-patient and totally serene so-called 'Buddha',"... (Rolls eyes, makes sarcastic meditative gesture) ..."but I'm the one who's got to deal with all the crap here, while you conveniently make yourself absent, then come back, all wistful and calm, as if nothing has happened, while in actual fact, the shit's hit the fan and as usual, you've done sweet FA about it!
Well I'm going out! No, I have no idea where, and what's more, I don't know when I'll be back, so you bloody well cope for a change, and see how you like it! Enjoy! I'm off!"
Grabs coat, swipes car keys, slams door.
Children immediately begin screaming at the tops of their voices, and throwing a paddy.
Bunks begins to suck thumb.....
Personally, after asking this for a while, thoughts & feelings of compassion, acceptance and the like tend to arise, it's not easy but it does tend to be a buffer stopping the old reactive negative thought patterns involving the "self cherishing me" from kicking in...
I guess it can be quite hard breaking old habits of a lifetime especially when one has to give up something in return such as self cherishing...One needs all the tricks in the book to focus ones mind...
But I stress tis "Different strokes for different folks !" and WWBD might not cut it for some...
It's a full time job, but it pays not to stress oneself out about it...
"Paradoxically, it takes time to become what we already are!" (Practice makes perfect)
for me I'll put a different spin. Rather than 'what would Buddha do?' instead I say to myself that if I follow Buddha's path maybe I can get a similar result.
Very recently, I started that and felt somewhat sheepish about doing so.
But for me, I have to know that he would know exactly how to handle problem X because of how he viewed the problem, which makes me wish I could see / witness / experience exactly what he did when he became enlightened and awake!
I wanted to give that one Insightful and LOL @federica!
"A journey of a thousand mile(1609.34kms) begins with the first step !"
Yes, you see, I can appreciate both sides.... I'm Buddhist, but I'm also a mother....!
Are you their maid? What will happen if you stop behaving like one? Living in the human realm means that you have to behave as one sometimes.
Before doing something, especially before reacting or pouncing at someone's jugular, yes, I mentally go over how I can better apply what I have learnt down the Buddhist path to the situation at hand.
Sometimes I bask in Dharma, and sometimes it does not come second-nature.
@pegembara I am a stay at home mom. My husband works, and all 3 kids (all boys) go to school. None of them cares much what the house looks like, but it bothers me greatly. So when they all abandon the house in the morning, I'm left with the tornado they leave behind. I can leave it until they get home, but it literally impacts my entire mood to have a messy house. I usually collect their stuff in a basket and put it at their spot at the table, so it's not that I'm doing it all for them. I just get tired of picking up pop bottles, dirty socks, wet towels and so on. It's my job to keep the house. But, IMO, it's not my job to pick up after all of them when they are perfectly capable of doing so. But, because I am the only one bothered by it and the only one home, it falls on me no matter what. Most of the time, I just accept it and remind them when there is time. But some days, it bothers me more than others. Today was one of those days. The kids especially have it pretty easy, so I get really friggin tired of hearing them complain when I ask them to pick up their own messes.
Because an untidy house bothers you more than them, you have literally trained them not to do their part. "No worries, the house will automatically be cleaned when we get home."
Your attachment to having a tidy home at all times not only affects your mood but also let others take advantage of the situation. Notice I did not say take advantage of you because it is not personal.
With metta
Then I moved to Australia and had to do it all myself !
Boy was this a culture shock! If your boys don't care about cleaning now. Good luck to them when they leave home! Going to be a very steep learning curve.
Especially the dreaded rent inspections!
My wife likes a clean home, fortunately she has trained me up a bit. She liked it clean for the same reasons you do. Often a home dirty reflects what is going on inside a person. The fact you try keep it clean is a good thing.
If my wife is really stressed she goes into cleaning mode. It's therapeutic. Ordered home means your emotions are more likely to be ordered.
WWBD? Probably find out why a messy home upsets your mood.
Me, why don't I want to clean? Because of my childhood conditioning. This has changed.
Write a roster for the boys!
Asking yourself WWBD? seems like a powerful hack to get your own Buddha nature to show itself.
In fact, I desperately needed the reminder tonight
You Shoshin, are part of my good karma 
@karasti: both of my children were absolute pigs, unrepentant to boot. But when they got their OWN place, one that felt like theirs, and had nothing to do with good ole Mom, they transformed into 'neat and tidy' like someone hit them with a magic wand.
Especially my son. He couldn't find his way out of his bedroom. Now that we all live on the same property after several years, I am aghast. He is neat as a pin. I walked in on him one day and found him washing down the cupboards. He even makes their bed!
It sure is a right PIA for you now, but don't worry that you haven't TAUGHT them how to manage their stuff. You undoubtedly have. There's just not enough reasons that matter to them to accommodate your requests, for now. It's not personal to you, it just doesn't occur to them, they take you for granted like air. That's probably how parents are supposed to be regarded, by their kids . . . not easy on the parent at all.
@karasti, I left a note in a prominent place one day, and it said:
"I will pick it up and put it away, once.
A second time, I will pick it up, but YOU will put it away.
A third time, I will put it away in the bin.
Please note, 'it' could be anything, and need not be the same 'it' on the three occasions!"
Once all members (including H.!) had had to retrieve precious items from the bin, just once, they got the message!
I kept my word - after that, they were a lot more attentive with their stuff!
Tis easy to wear a smile and be pleasant, when ones life flows along like some sweet song...( Often the calm before the storm)
But a person worthwhile, is one who can still wear a smile, when things in their life go all wrong !" (Having made preparations for weathering the storm ie ongoing meditation practice)
Lately, my son seems to complain every time I ask him to do anything.
Just pronouncing his name, you hear him sigh or fume or both.
What would the Buddha do? He DID the right thing: he run for the woods...
Well, what do you want? he was a 'bloke'! Retreated to his 'Man Den'...!
"Oh Siddharta, what are you thinking?"
"Nothing...."
@federica is hardcore buddha machine!
I am heading to the nearest bin before I make the place look untidy . . .
I don't think they do people collections from the kerbside, I think you need to take yourself to your Local Household Waste & Re-Cycling centre....