"Do not believe in something because the authorities say it is so. Do not believe in hearsay, rumor, speculative opinion, public opinion, or mere acceptance to logic and inference alone. Help yourself, accept as completely true only that which is praised by the wise and which you test for yourself and know to be good for yourself and others"

Living

We are one with everything we see around us, just as we are separate from it all also. We are beings bound by the dharma locked into the universal form, just as we also are beings of immense and exquisite free will.  This is a paradoxical approach to being human. This is reality.

Darkness

Darkness does not exist it is only the absence of light. Hate does not exist it is only the absence of love.

“Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to save them.”

The first vow of the Bodhisattva is “Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to save them.”  Just what does that mean to us as westerners mostly unaccustomed to thinking in such terms? First and foremost just what is a sentient being? Secondly how can we save that something or someone that is uncountable?  

The definition of a sentient being is 1. having the power of perception by the senses; conscious. 2. characterized by sensation and consciousness. Now it is quite obvious that this covers a lot of ground. So here we are not just talking about humans but all beings. Nobody can say with this first vow that Buddhist don’t set the bar high. Buddhist thought and philosophy endeavors to shake us free of our small minded preconceived notions of reality.  

Herein is the concept of unity. We save all sentient beings by first saving ourselves. As when we learn to grow a garden properly or how to hunt for food it takes practice before we can be proficient. After we reach a certain level we start naturally to share our knowledge in these matters.

            So to it is with awakening. We need to practice our chosen method and when we become proficient then we will naturally want to share it with others. The Bodhisattva is not a person it is a realization that comes into you when you turn to another with true compassion in a time of need. When you meet a person who has just lost a loved one and you share their pain, not superficially, but in a real sense, you are the Bodhisattva.  We all can save beings one at a time by being awake to situations that arise all around us and acting out of our compassionate nature.

            To act out of our compassionate nature we need to develop it with our practice. When we start we are lost as to what to do or how to act. As we progress our compassionate nature becomes awakened within us and we act accordingly in each situation as it arises. Like a fire we can light the path for others to awaken and thus save ouselves and them.  

What to do

When I started this journey I thought that getting myself enlightened was what it was all about. Now I think serving/saving all sentient beings is the thing to do. The question remains, do I know the right thing to do? Would I know it if it hit me right square between the eyes? All I can do is hope.

an apple

I shine an apple,

A gift for my blind teacher,

I take a big bite.

Cold and Hot

A monk asked Tozan “ How can we escape the cold and heat?” Tozan replied “Why not go where there is no cold and heat?” “Is there such a place?” the monk asked.  Tozan commented, “When cold, be thoroughly cold; when hot, be hot through and through.”

The world in which we, these bodies, live is a place of dissatisfaction. We are to hot or to cold, to thin or to fat, to young or to old. We strive for perfection, fight and dig our way to the top of given situations only to find that, once there, we are not fulfilled.  As the Heart Sutra says:

Form is exactly emptiness, emptiness exactly form.

Sensation, conception, discrimination, awareness, are likewise like this.

When we are involved a given drama of life we need to be in it thoroughly, and then let it go. Clinging is what gives rise to suffering. When you are cold be cold, when you are hot be hot. Do not cling to the cold or hot just be. Do not cling to the drama live it and let it go. Become the master of your life not the servant.  

Thus the bodhisattva lives Prajna Paramita,

with no hindrance in the mind; no hindrance therefore no fear.

New Years

Ah the end of another year and a new beginnings. The story that I’m reminded of is one that I read at the sangha last night.

Ummon said” I do not ask you about fifteen days ago. But what about fifteen days hence? Come say a word about this!” Since none of the monks answered, he answered "Every day is a good day."

How true, that we live our lives dwelling on past events that we cannot change and a future that, is as well equally impossible to act upon. While it is true that we can make plans for future happenings, the reality is that what we plan for can easily fall apart like a sand sculpture at the beach. While we need to plan and set goals for ourselves we also need to realize that this day, this moment, we are living will never come again. On realizing this we must put the effort forth to live it to the fullest. I love how this is put in the evening gatha.

Let me respectfully remind you,

Life and death are of supreme importance.

Time swiftly passes by, and opportunity is lost.

Each of us should strive to awaken.

Awaken!

Take heed: do not squander your life.

Be aware of moments that can change your life or the lives of others. Act on these and I can guarantee that your life will be richer and more full for it.   

The Book, thoughts on a new year

Staring through the window as the rain turns to ice

The trees are bare and have a lonely look

I remember lost moments of my life

As I prepare to write a new chapter in the book

Snow

I see the beauty

In the flakes of falling snow

Like stars drifting down