Contradictions

Contradictions are not easy for me. I like things to be neat and predictable. I realize as a Buddhist that I have a long, long way to go because life is not predictable, or neat, or fair, or without contradictions. Things change all the time whether you want them to, approve them or even see them coming. I accept that as a living being. I do. But I have difficulty letting go of my expectations that there are some things in which we can expect consistency. The U. S. Supreme Court taught me today that that may not be a reasonable expectation either.

I'm not a lawyer, and I don't know much about the law butI have a curiosity about the workings of the U.S. Supreme Court and often follow rulings made by the court that could effect my life and the protection of individual rights in America. I understand the importance of the court as the interpreter and guardian of the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court ensures that all Americans, regardless of social standing or economic position, will receive equal justice under the law. I don't always agree with the court's rulings. In fact there are times when I fear for the constitution's power in guaranteeing individual rights to citizens.

The current social climate, with a clear and strong agenda proposed by a conservative minority, has taken some steps away from the individual rights interpretation of the constitution that has permeated the Court since the 1950's. In yesterdays's ruling onGeorgia v. Randolph, the Court voted on whether police could search a home when one occupant, who is present, gives consent, and the co-occupant, who is also present, does not give consent. The Court voted 5 - 3 for police needing consent of all present occupants. Good news for those of us who are proponents of individual rights.

In thinking about this ruling I couldn't help but contrast it to a ruling the Court made on June 23, 2005 on Kelo v. New London . In that 5 -4 ruling the Court voted to allow use of the power of emminent domain to force the purchase of individually owned properties for the sole purpose of building businesses that would create jobs in the economically depressed New London CT community. In the past eminent domain has applied to use of property deemed for public use only. This ruling, conceivably, allows big business to legally confiscate properties in preferred areas for the sole purpose of promoting their own profit making opportunities. And, oh yea, it will create a number of service jobs as well. Visions of smaller homes and communities being dismantled along the coasts of America by large casinos and resort operations are easy to conjure with this law.

Sometimes I don't know what these people (the justices) are thinking. In the course of 9 months they have voted that police cannot enter without all occupant's, if present, approval, BUT a company can come along and force you to sell to them at their price if they can prove it will change the economic outlook of the community. So, no one can come into your house without consent, but your house and property can be confiscated and demolished without your consent.

Buddhist or not, this does not make sense to me.

A Word From Merton

In technological society, in which the means of communication and signification have become fabulously versatile, and are at the point of an even more prolific development, thanks to the computer with its inexhaustible memory and its capacity for immediate absorption and organization of facts, the very nature and use of communication itself becomes unconsciously symbolic. Though he now has the capacity to communicate anything, anywhere, instantly, man finds himself with nothing to say. Not that there are not many things he could communicate, or should attempt to communicate. He should, for instance, be able to meet with his fellow man and discuss ways of building a peaceful world. He is incapable of this kind of confrontation. Instead of this, he has intercontinental ballistic missiles which can deliver nuclear death to tens of millions of people in a few moments. This is the most sophisticated message modern man has, apparently, to convey to his fellow man. It is, of course, a message about himself, his alienation from himself, and his inability to come to terms with life.“

From Love and Living by Thomas Merton

Footnote: Thomas Merton died by accidental electrocution in Bangkok, Thailand, while attending a meeting of religious leaders on 10 December 1968, long before public access to the internet and the common use of email.

The Antedote

"Often we see other sentient beings as hassles: "This mosquito is disturbing me. Those politicians are corrupt. Why can't my colleagues do their work correctly?" and so on. But when we see sentient beings as being more precious than a wish-fulfilling jewel, our perspective completely changes. For example, when we look at a fly buzzing around, we train ourselves to think, "My enlightenment depends on that fly." This isn't fanciful thinking because, in fact, our enlightenment does depend on that fly. If that fly isn't included in our bodhicitta, then we don't have bodhicitta, and we won't receive the wonderful results of generating bodhicitta--the tremendous purification and creation of positive potential.

Imagine training your mind so that when you look at every single living being, you think, "My enlightenment depends on that being. The drunk who just got on the bus--my enlightenment depends on him. The soldier in Iraq--my enlightenment depends on him. My brothers and sisters, the teller at the bank, the janitor at my workplace, the president of the United States, the suicide bombers in the Middle East, the slug in my garden, my eighth-grade boyfriend, the babysitter when I was a kid--my enlightenment depends on each of them." All sentient beings are actually that precious to us. "

--from Cultivating a Compassionate Heart: The Yoga Method of Chenrezig by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, published by Snow Lion Publications

The Wit and Wisdom of Kurt Vonnegut

Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.

I don't know about you, but I practice a disorganized religion. I belong to an unholy disorder. We call ourselves "Our Lady of Perpetual Astonishment."

Evolution is so creative. That's how we got giraffes.

We are here on earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different.

Do you think Arabs are dumb? They gave us our numbers. Try doing long division with Roman numerals.

The highest treason in the USA is to say that Americans are not loved, no matter where they are or what they are doing there.

There are two things about American culture no Martian would ever understand. What is it, what can it possibly be about blowjobs and golf?

Life is no way to treat an animal.

My Father said, "when in doubt, castle."

~all quotes from A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut

A Dangerous Mind in a Powerful Position

President Bush reaffirming his strike-first policy against terrorists and enemy nations: "If necessary ... under long-standing principles of self defense, we do not rule out the use of force before attacks occur."

President Bush in reference to Iran, March 15, 2006

FROM THE NATIONAL SECURITY STRaTEGY MARCH 2006
The new strategic environment requires new approaches to deterrence and defense. Our deterrence strategy no longer rests primarily on the grim premise of inflicting devastating consequences on potential foes. Both offenses and defenses are necessary to deter state and non-state actors, through denial of the objectives of their attacks and, if necessary, responding with overwhelming force.

Safe, credible, and reliable nuclear forces continue to play a critical role. We are strengthening deterrence by developing a New Triad composed of offensive strike systems (both nuclear and improved conventional capabilities); active and passive defenses, including missile defenses; and a responsive infrastructure, all bound together by enhanced command and control, planning, and intelligence systems. These capabilities will better deter some of the new threats we face, while also bolstering our security commitments to allies. Such security commitments have played a crucial role in convincing some countries to forgo their own nuclear weapons programs, thereby aiding our nonproliferation objectives.

Deterring potential foes and assuring friends and allies, however, is only part of a broader approach. Meeting WMD proliferation challenges also requires effective international action – and the international community is most engaged in such action when the United States leads.

From Section V: Prevent Our Enemies from Threatening Us, Our Allies, and Our Friends with Weapons of Mass Destruction, 4. The Need for Action

This man could get us all killed.

What a Dump!

Bette Davis said "what a dump!" was her favorite movie line. I don't think I ever saw the movie she actualy said it in but I did see her do a parody of her own performance of that line when she was between 80 and death.

The line comes to mind after several days of hearing tragic news about the war in Iraq, the death of Slobodan Milosevic, the murder of an American hostage in Iraq, the genocide in Sudan-Chad which no one is doing anything about, the AIDS pandemic in Africa, the "spin" our American President puts on it all, and the total incompetetance and lack of concern of the United States Congress. All these things make me feel this world is a dump!

I cant remember a time in my life that I have been this disgusted with politics and the American democratic process. Angry? Yes, but not disgusted. Spurred to action? Yes, but not disgusted enough to walk away from it all and not give it another thought. Right now I am at the point of doing just that. I am so disgusted (I can't think of a better word) with the level of dishonesty and bullshit being spouted on all media outlets by the people who are entrusted with resolving problems. All I see is that these poor stewards are creating more problems rather than solving some that are unavoidable.

I think in the old days - you know, when everything was in sepia tones - people didn't know so much about what was happening in every corner of the world and they were able to focus more on what was happening in front of their own faces. As overwhelming as personal and local problems can be, when you have them and the burden of millions being slaughtered several thousand miles away, it can be numbing to the point of detachment from your own humanity. The sadness and anger and grief can be so overwhelming as to render one useless. Useless. I guess that's how I feel. A long believer in one voice-one vote can change the world I no longer believe that is true. The dump we call our world is bigger than my one vote and one voice.

This is a rather pointless blog. I just needed to rant a bit about my disgust (again, the best choice)with the news of the world.

The Benefits of Meditation

This past Friday evening, Khenpo Ugyen Tenzin held at public talk at FCCJ Kent campus entitled, "Benefits of Mediation."

TheVenerable Khenpo Ugyen Tenzin is a Tibetan Buddhist scholar holding an Acharya Degree (Ph.D. equivalent) and is the new Abbot of KarmaTriyana Dharmachakra in Woodstock NY.

Khenpo Ugyen began his teaching with a recitation of the Mahamudra Lineage Payer. Following are my notes from that evening:

Meditation is a vast field covering a variety of topics of meditation, such as tranquility, faith, loving compassion, kindness, and suffering, to name a few.

The basis of all meditation is Shamatha Meditation - the meditation of tranquility and Vypashana Meditation - the meditation of insight.

Suffering - physical, mental and emotional suffering - are all the result of manifestations of the mind. In essence, suffering does not exist. Most beings do not understand that suffering is a mental creation. In that same way, peace of mind is also a mental creation. We don't understand that suffering and pleasure are mental creations and so we seek external ways to recreate these manifestations.

In order to achieve lasting peace we cannot achieve it through external or material means. Our material bodies are not permanent. We fill our lives with jobs and all kinds of activities seeking peace and happiness. But we can't find peace in material things because they too are impermanent. An example: When a house is demolished so are the drawings on the wall of the house. So we can decorate the house however we like, but because the house will not last forever, neither will the decorations. All material things do not have true existence because they are impermanent.

If we seek happiness or pleasure from our mind it will be true or lasting. Our mind is what is permanent. We can achieve peace and happiness in this life and in future lives.

If you meet a person who has harmed or hurt you, or will harm or hurt you, your mind can conjure thoughts of hatred or fear. Thoughts of hatred and fear is suffering. Physical suffering is also a mental creation. When we cannot protect ourselves we feel fear and we suffer. Mental anguish produces physical suffering. If you give up thoughts of hatred, fear, and retaliation you will have peace whether the person harms you or not.

Mental conceptions produce anger. Suffering is produced from attachment. If you are content you won't develop fear or anger.

If we meet people who are equal to us and we try to be competitive with them to be better than they are - that is attachment. Attachments brings suffering. If we meet people who are better than us and we become jealous and competitive to be as good as them or better - this is attachment. These thoughts will bring you no peace or happiness, only suffering.

When we cannot feel satisfied and are motivated by jealousy and restless thoughts it results in suffering.

If we learn to be satisfied with what we are, who we are, and what we have we can let go of competitiveness and jealousy and suffering will not appear. If we are satisfied we will have no hope. Hope breeds fear - fear of not achieving our goal. If we let go of all this we can have peace.

If we let go of all thoughts and concepts of attachment - anger, jealousy, craziness (negative emotions) - we can have peace in this life and future lives.

The purpose of meditation is learning how to let go of these thoughts and negative emotions which produce suffering. Through meditation we can train our minds to let go of these thoughts. Meditation means to let go of negative emotions and focus our mind single-pointedly on wholesome thoughts.

At our present stage our minds are so restless, like the waves in an ocean or a candle in the wind. Our minds are always distracted by thoughts of the past, present and future. Our minds are not able to rest for even a single moment.

Meditation pacifies all kinds of upset and emotions and agitations. Through meditation one can get stability in one's mindfulness.

If we encounter suffering while practicing meditation it is the result of one's past karma. This kind of suffering can be overcome.

Through training, utilizing the meditation of tranquility, and focusing the mind on the breath, we can achieve stability of our mind. Don't reject thoughts, just let them come and then turn your mind back to your breath. Through this, negative emotions will be suppressed and they will subside.

We will not be able to completely eliminate negative emotions through tranquility meditation alone. To get to the root of the negative emotions we must also practice insight (vypashana) meditation. During insight meditation we analyze the "I" and "mind." What is mind? Is there an I? What is ego? Who is asking the question?

If we do insight meditation without the stability of tranquility meditation it will be like a candle in the wind - not lasting. Inseparability of tranquility and insight meditation is absolute bodhichitta (ultimate nature of the mind).

If we meditate we can pacify the sufferings of this life and future lives.

These are my notes on the talk. Any thing that doesn't make sense or is not correct is my error, not Khenpo Ugyen's.

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"Hard to hold down,
nimble,
alighting wherever it likes:
the mind.
Its taming is good.
The mind well-tamed
brings ease."

-Dhammapada, 3, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Emotions

I am often filled with emotion. I take medication and it doesn’t seem to alleviate the malady. To be more specific it is better, it’s just not fixed. I can go for long periods of time with my emotions appropriately in proportion to every thing else in my life. And then there are those other times when my emotions seem to have a life of their own and they loom large in my daily life. I hate the fluctuation of my emotions. I don’t hate that they are constantly changing, I accept that as the nature of the beast. I hate that the volume pumps up periodically and really disrupts the peace of my life.

In Tibetan Buddhist teaching there is a distinction between emotions and feelings. Traleg Rinpoche teaches that “feelings are associated with the body and emotions are partly mental and partly physical. Emotions can be skillful or unskillful. Feelings cannot… Our thinking and our experience of emotions are intimately related; we cannot separate the two… What we believe in and how we think has a direct influence on the emotions we experience.”

There are times when I am completely, almost to the point of incapacitation, filled with emotion. My emotions can rage to the brewing over point, with all the fortitude my mental justification can muster. I keep thinking it is situational; that it is situations in my life and relationships that cause the flare-ups. Maybe that’s true. I don’t know. I need to find out. That is what my quest is at this point. Maybe it’s a fool’s quest.

Maybe it doesn’t matter why it happens. Maybe the key is in controlling it no matter what the stimulation. I don’t know the answer to that either. I do believe that my thoughts effect my emotions. I do know that if I change how I think my emotions will change. Is it merely an issue of looking at situations and realizing what I think is happening isn’t happening? I don’t know. Is there ever a case when situations or environments can do nothing but create raging thoughts and emotions in a person? I don’t know.

I think of people who experienced horrible atrocities, like war, extreme poverty or impending annihilation. What about their emotions? Are extreme emotions appropriate and healthy in that situation? Is it possible in those situations to find peace within yourself and control of your emotions regardless of the suffering imposed by the situation? If it is appropriate in those situations, when, or at what point, do they become inappropriate?

I don’t have the answer to any of these questions, certainly not in an experiential way. But I want to find out.