The Revolutionary Buddha Way of Working Shit Out

In Meditation: How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind, Pema Chödrön writes:

It is the usual approach; you just try to solve the outer problem again and again and again. But the Buddha said something quite revolutionary, which most of us don’t really buy: if you work with your mind, you will alleviate all the suffering that seems to come from the outside.

 

It kinda sucks how much we do this, even after we start to realize how stupid it is. What was it that one yoga teacher said?

“Those who believe in existence as solid are stupid. Those who believe that everything is empty are even more stupid.” Saraha, qtd. in Chödrön, pg 137.

It’s not about being stupid. It’s about believing things to be as they appear to be. I can be thick at times and so I fall into this “stupidity” and have to re-learn the things I already know. Problems, like everything else, are impermanent. So, to try to stop that from the outside is somewhat futile, right?

According to the Buddha, the way to fix this shit is to work on the mind. When we see and think differently, our suffering which “seems to come from the outside” will be alleviated.

Dude! Why is it so hard to do what we know will stop the suffering?

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Is Buddhism religion?

Well, I love what Robert Thurman writes in chapter one of his translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead: “Rather than a founder of a religion, [the Buddha] was primarily a critic of religion. He critiqued its absolutist tendencies, its devaluation of human reason, and its legitimation of unreasonable, arbitrary, and oppressive structures of authority.”

The Buddha did not say, “This is the way it is.”

He said something like, “Here’s what works for me, try it for yourself.”

That was his critique of the absolutist tendencies. Also, having gone through several years of extreme ascetic practice after having lived the high life in the palace, he realized that there is a Middle Way. This reminds me of Sona Sutta. I’m including the relevant part of that here:

“Now what do you think, Sona. Before, when you were a house-dweller, were you skilled at playing the vina?”

“Yes, lord.”

“And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were too taut, was your vina in tune & playable?”

“No, lord.”

“And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were too loose, was your vina in tune & playable?”

“No, lord.”

“And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were neither too taut nor too loose, but tuned[1] to be right on pitch, was your vina in tune & playable?”

“Yes, lord.”

“In the same way, Sona, over-aroused persistence leads to restlessness, overly slack persistence leads to laziness. Thus you should determine the right pitch for your persistence, attune[2]the pitch of the [five] faculties [to that], and there pick up your theme.”

 

While discussing meditation, it is somewhat applicable to the Middle Way idea.

As to religion’s “unreasonable, arbitrary, and oppressive structures of authority,” it seems that enough has been witnessed and written about that. I love that the Buddha, and many Buddhist leaders, encourage people to stay with their religion. Buddhism doesn’t require that a person leave their religion in order to practice. There are aspects that may conflict from the viewpoint of the other religion, but do they really conflict? I leave that to the practitioner of those religions to figure out; it’s not my place to make that call.

If you would like to read more of Thurman’s translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, you can get a copy, here.

Peace.

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Anger, What Do I Do With It?

I want to share this chapter from Easwaran’s translation of the Dhammapada. You’re welcome!

221 Give up anger, give up pride, and free yourself from worldly bondage. No sorrow can befall those who never try to possess people and things as their own.

222 Those who hold back rising anger like a rolling chariot are real charioteers. Others merely hold the reins.

223 Conquer anger through gentleness, unkindness through kindness, greed through generosity, and falsehood by truth.

224 Be truthful; do not yield to anger. Give freely, even if you have but little. The gods will bless you.

225 Injuring no one, self-controlled, the wise enter the state of peace beyond all sorrow.

226 Those who are vigilant, who train their minds day and night and strive continually for nirvana, enter the state of peace beyond all selfish passions.

227 There is an old saying: “People will blame you if you say too much; they will blame you if you say too little; they will blame you if you say just enough.” No one in this world escapes blame.

228 There never was and never will be anyone who receives all praise or all blame.

229–230 But who can blame those who are pure, wise, good, and meditative? They shine like a coin of pure gold. Even the gods praise them, even Brahma the Creator.

231 Use your body for doing good, not for harm. Train it to follow the dharma.

232 Use your tongue for doing good, not for harm. Train it to speak kindly.

233 Use your mind for doing good, not for harm. Train your mind in love.

234 The wise are disciplined in body, speech, and mind. They are well controlled indeed.”

from “The Dhammapada (Easwaran’s Classics of Indian Spirituality)” by Eknath Easwaran Ed.

Read a preview or buy a copy