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why they call it "the middle way"
There is something I learned early in my study, that I think alot of beginners fail to get right off the bat. It is the tendency to take the teachings and rules of buddhism as absolutes. I see alot of "I cant eat meat" "I cant own things" "I have to follow the precepts to the letter". This is a noble approach if you can pull it off, the problem is no one can, or for that matter should. The beauty of Buddhism is that it is totally open to interpetation. No rule is an absolute. Extremism, regardless of your intention is sure fire path to failure. Think of it like this. The Buddha said in a nutshell that all life is suffering, suffering is born of desire, suffering can end, you just need to end desire, right? Ok, well do I desire to breathe? Try this, have someone hold you under water, and try as hard as you can not to desire to breathe. youre mind might be able to do it, but your body has another plan, eventually it will try to breathe, and youll drown. On the plus side, youll be free of that suffering problem. On the minus side youll be on the way to your next life. You will always have desire, even if its the desire not to have desires. That is where the middle way comes in. Take that term to heart. Dont try to end desire, just reduce it. Thereby you reduce suffering. Dont get rid of everything you own, but do consider if you really need that brand new cell phone with the 50 gig mp3 player, gps, web access, and built in cheese grater.....dont be a vegetarian if you dont want to, but dont needlessly use animals either. By doing this you reduce suffering, help clear your mind, advance in your practice, and mature as a person. Then the cycle can repeat itself. by this method you will never eliminate your suffering, but youll certainly lessen it. In other words dont abuse the rules, or ignore them, but know when they should be broken, and dont beat yourself up when you break them. Youre not a failure as a buddhist when you want a new computer, or eat a steak, or have a beer with that steak. Youre a failure when you let those things drive you to quit. How many times did I almost give up when I realized I could never follow all these strict rules? How silly did I feel when I realized there were no rules, just thus...
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Eventually they get rid of the "stuff" and concentrate on the practice - but maybe it is a stage we all have to go through.
Look at just how much money, for example, reputable 'baby' shops rake in, convincing 'new' parents they simply must have this gadget, or that cot, or this sterilizer, or that changing table for their new baby... and young impressionable couples always fall for it hook line and sinker - inspite of seasoned parents (including their own, at times!) telling them that really, all they need is a couple of buckets, a sturdy table, and an empty bottom drawer - for the baby to sleep in!
They end up spending an absolute fortune on their first baby.... only to opt fort a couple of buckets, a sturdy table and a bottom drawer when baby #2 comes along!
I think at times you have to 'live' it to learn it!
Yup - the person who never made a mistake, never made anything at all.
Exactly the same thing happens, as you say, for the new believer: get the rosary/mala/bible, dress like all the others, buy pictures, etc. The problem is that some people stay there, clinging to their ideas as well as to their trinkets.
Both the tradition from which you and I spring (the Catholic Christian) and that towards which we move have a strong tradition of renunciation as the 'royal road' to liberation. But I think it really does take time and practice to realise it.
But we know that there are few things, if any, that you can completely absorb into your life and not have to change something or come to some crossroads regarding it.
I, too, believe that ~that~ is the beauty of the Middle Path. It doesn't allow us to selfishly ignore certain teachings - but it does allow us the time to learn.
-bf
I'm glad you brought this up, Ethan, because as we walk along this Path we're going to meet others (and ourselves often, too) who take the Buddha's teachings so seriously they become very inflexible in mind, word and deed and who seem to have forgotten that this system is called The Middle Way for a reason. It's the same, as we all know, in other religions, but it's particularly glaring in Buddhism because it IS the Middle Way. I don't think the importance of avoiding extremes can be overstated, especially for newcomers. The understanding of this gives everything a new meaning, doesn't it? We need to have the time to catch our breath when we're encountering Buddhism for the first time. As BF so beautifully put it:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an06/an06.055.than.html We all have to find the right 'pitch' for our individual practice and just keep our mind focused on our objective, bringing ourselves back to attention when we catch ourselves. Be to rigid on ourselves, and the practice will break. Be too lax, and it won't make a sound (we won't progress).
Seriously - what a great OP! You hit the nail right on the head...
Peace
The new parent analogy is GREAT! I started costing out a baby, and I recon we could spend less than £1000 for 2 years worth of clothes, food, nappies the lot, including a cot and sling... How did we spend so much on our first?! Hehe.