2012

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 8/30/2012
The bad logic of Buddhist materialists
Presence in the face of dying
Buddha Realms
"Oneness" is an abstraction. "Manyness" is reality.
Uncover Your Awesomeness Course, & The Sea Change Challenge

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT

"An open beginner's mind is a powerful tool for developing patience."

~Allan Lokos

Technorati Tags: Buddha Buddhist Buddhism Meditation Dharma

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The bad logic of Buddhist materialists

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 07:00 AM PDT

It doesn't matter how many Dharma centers a person attends, or how many Buddhist chat forums they've contributed to, the overarching tenor of modern Buddhism in the West is materialism. Buddhism in the West only wears an Asian robe. Beneath the robe is the heart of a materialist.

One of the cardinal tenets of materialism, going back to the time of Gautama, is the nonbelief in a spiritual absolute which survives the death of the human being; which is unconditioned. This dogma appears in Buddhism as the doctrine of 'no self'. Oddly, this dogma arises, supposedly, from statements made by the Buddha which simply cannot be construed as no self. Here is one example.

"Bhikkhus, form is nonself [anattâ, lit. not the self]. What is nonself should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.' Feeling is nonself... Perception is nonself ... Volitional formations are nonself ... Consciousness is nonself. What is nonself should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self [na meso attâ].'" (S. iii. 22–23). (trans. Bhikkhu Bodhi. Brackets and emphasis are mine.)

Towards the end of this passage, we learn that not a single aggregate mentioned (there are five) is the self (attâ) of the Buddha! This leads to an important question: How does the Buddha know that each aggregate is clearly not his self? It would be one thing to be a materialist who could not care at all about self or its survival; who assumes that when the body dies, that's it. But in the passage, the Buddha sees that it is very important to be able to distinguish his self from nonself (i.e., each one of the five aggregates).

At least we can say that for a Buddha he is able to distinguish his self from what is not his self, namely the Five Aggregates which comprise a human being. The ability to discern between the self and what is not the self first requires that we fully know what the self is! How else might we distinguish self from nonself without first knowing the self or attâ?

A materialist could not distinguish self from what is not the self. The idea of self has no interest for the materialist, in fact. The self is regarded as an epiphenomenon of the human body. For the materialist, nothing survives at death. Buddhism does not teach this. It runs counter to it.

Every discourse in which the Buddha teaches that the Five Aggregates, that make up the human body, are not his self, presupposes a self. It is impossible to claim objects a, b, c, d & e, are not x, or non-x, without an accurate foreknowledge of x. Without foreknowledge of self the discernment of what is not the self is impossible.

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Presence in the face of dying

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 06:00 AM PDT

At the end of a daylong meditation workshop, Pam, a woman in her late sixties, drew me aside. Her husband, Jerry, was near death after three years of suffering from lymphoma. "I wanted so much to save him," she told me. "I looked into ayurvedic medicine, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, every alternative treatment I could find, tracked every test result . . . We were going to beat this thing." She sat back wearily in her chair, shoulders slumped. "And now I'm keeping in touch with everyone, giving updates, coordinating hospice care. If he's not napping I try to make him comfortable, read to him . . ."

I responded gently, "It sounds like you've been trying really hard to take good care of Jerry . . . and it's been very busy." At these words, she gave me a smile of recognition. "Hmm, busy. That sounds crazy, doesn't it?" She paused. "As far back as I can remember I've really been busy. But now . . . well, I just can't sit back and let him go without a fight."

Pam was silent for a few moments, then looked at me anxiously. "He could die any day now, Tara. Isn't there some Meditation practice or ritual that I should learn? Is there something I should be reading? How can I help him with this . . . with dying?"

"Pam," I said, "you've already done so much . . . but the time for all that kind of activity is over. At this point, you don't have to make anything happen, you don't need to do anything." I waited a moment and then added, "Just be with him. Let him know your love through the fullness of your presence."

Check out Emotional Healing and other titles by Tara Brach.

At this difficult time I was calling on a simple teaching that is central to my work with my meditation students and therapy clients: It is through realizing loving presence as our very essence, through being that presence, that we discover true freedom. In the face of inevitable loss, this timeless presence brings healing and peace to our own hearts and to the hearts of others.

"In those most difficult moments," I suggested, "you might pause and recognize what you are feeling — the fear or anger or grief — and then inwardly whisper the phrase 'I consent.'" I'd recently heard this phrase from Father Thomas Keating, and thought that as a Catholic, Pam might find it particularly valuable. Saying "I consent," or as I more frequently teach, "yes," relaxes our armoring against the present moment and allows us to meet life's challenges with a more open heart.

Pam was nodding, but she had an intent, worried look. "I want to do this, Tara, but when I'm most upset, my mind speeds up. I start talking to myself . . . I talk to him . . . How will I remember to pause?"

"You probably will forget, at least some of the time," I said, "and that's totally natural. All you can do is have the intention to pause, the intention to feel what is going on and 'let be.'" Pam's face softened with understanding. "That I can do. I can intend, with all my heart, to be there for Jerry."

A month after my conversation with Pam, she called to tell me what had happened after the workshop. She acknowledged that, even in those final weeks of her husband's life, she had struggled with the urge to be busy, to find ways to feel useful. She shared that, one afternoon, Jerry began talking about having only a short time left, and about not being afraid of death. She bent over, gave him a kiss, and said quickly, "Oh dear, today's been a good day, you seemed to have more energy. Let me make you some herbal tea."

He fell silent, and the quietness shook her. "It became so clear to me in those moments that anything other than listening to what was really going on—anything other than being fully present—actually separated us … I avoided reality by suggesting a cup of tea. But my attempt to steer away from the truth took me away from him, and that was heartbreaking."

While Pam boiled water for tea, she prayed, asking that her heart be fully present with Jerry. This prayer guided her in the days that followed. During those last few weeks, Pam said she had to keep letting go of all of her ideas about how her husband's dying should be and what else she should be doing, and just remind herself to say "I consent."

At first she was mechanically repeating the words, but after a few days she felt as if her heart actually started consenting. When her gut tightened with clutches of fear and feelings of helplessness, she'd stay with those feelings, consenting to the depth of her vulnerability. When the restless urge to "do something" arose, she'd notice that and be still, letting it come and go. And as the great waves of grief rolled through, she'd again say, "I consent," opening to the huge aching weight of loss.

This intimate presence with her inner experience allowed Pam to fully attend to Jerry. As she put it, "When all of me was truly consenting to the fear and pain, I knew how to take care of him. I sensed when to whisper words of encouragement or just listen, ways to reassure him with touch . . . how to sing to him, be quiet with him. How to be with him."

Before she ended the call, Pam shared with me what she considered to be the gift of her last days with Jerry, the answer to her prayers: "In the silence, I could see past a sense of 'him' and 'me.' It became clear that we were a field of loving—total openness, warmth, light. He's gone, but that field of loving is always with me. My heart knows that I came home . . . truly I came home to love."

Pam's willingness to be present with her inner life, no matter how painful, made it possible for her to connect with the vastness of love. Her growing capacity for staying with the truth of her moment-to-moment experience, for embracing the true refuge of presence, enabled her to find her way home, even in the midst of great loss.

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Buddha Realms

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Interesting documentary on Buddhism in the world.

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"Oneness" is an abstraction. "Manyness" is reality.

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 08:00 PM PDT

I like the idea of oneness. But I'd hate the reality of it, oneness plain and simple. Well, more accurately I couldn't hate absolute oneness if it existed, because there wouldn't be any me to feel hate.

Or anything else, since there's no room for two in One. Thus it's impossible for anyone to experience oneness. "Anyone" and "oneness" are two separate entities.

So whenever someone talks about how the cosmos is One, they're referring to an abstraction, not reality.

Nothing wrong with this. Abstractions can be fun to intellectually play around with. That's a big part of what philosophizing is all about: thinking about the nature of "good," "truth," and other high-flying abstract notions. (I consider "God" to be another abstraction.)

The world we all live in, though, clearly is composed of separate things. Manyness rules.

Yet also interconnectedness, which is the practical form of Oneness. You and I aren't completely distinct, nor are we completely unified. You're reading thoughts that I've typed out in the course of composing this blog post, which now are rattling around inside your own mind.

We've established a connection. A two-way street, because you could leave a comment on this post which I'd read, and then have your thoughts rattling around in my mind.

Neither of us dominates this connection. I can say what I want, and you can say what you want (if your comment isn't in accord with this blog's guidelines it may not be published, but you can still write whatever you choose).

Oneness, though, is much more authoritarian.

Meaning, religions or spiritual practices which claim to know the way to Oneness almost always are hierarchical. This is one of the core themes in a section I read recently in "The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power," a book I've owned for several years but hadn't picked up until I discovered it sitting on a shelf on a few days ago.

Here's some of what the authors, Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad, have to say about the manipulation of Oneness by gurus, masters, and the like.

Once a person has had a Oneness experience, it is not difficult to make being in that state more of the time, or all the time, the meaning and goal of life. This can also be true for those who have not had the experience, but have heard of it and give it credence.

Doing this is reinforced by presumed spiritual masters who not only claim to live in this exalted state, but also insinuate that this place of unity is more real and superior to ordinary reality where separation is experienced.

...So the way the mystical experience is experienced is not "pure" (nothing is) but is historically and culturally embedded. The concept of Oneness is an abstraction created by thought as a way of framing and attempting to describe the mystical experience.

Insofar as Oneness is placed in a higher realm or plane than the world of separation and multiplicity (the Many), this is done by abstracting out and reifying a presumed quality or essence from life, and making that more important than the individual expressions of life itself.

...the concept of Oneness is used by spiritual authorities to make their pronouncements unchallengeable, and therefore authoritarian.

...What should not be forgotten is that it takes an individual to experience unity. Oneness is an abstraction that presents itself as beyond dualism, but has within it a hidden dualism. Dividing the cosmos into two categories or levels of reality is dualistic by nature.

...One of the cheapest guru ploys is to make people feel inadequate by showing how their behaviors are tainted with self-centeredness -- always an easy task... The guru's "getting" and self-enhancement are masked by images of enlightenment and selflessness and thus are made unconscious.

Once his purity and hence superiority are taken for granted, it is assumed that he deserves to be "getting" precisely because he is thought enlightened. He can thus reprimand the disciple for the very activity he was involved in on a far grander scale without it seeming hypocritical.

...Once it is assumed that some people embody or express the true nature of reality more than others, an authoritarian hierarchy flows naturally from that basic assumption. This also lays the foundation for perpetuating the hierarchy, because the one who knows best can decide who is enlightened and thereby transfer the mantle of authority.

One person deciding when another is enlightened does seem a bit strange. [Note: this is my problem with traditional Zen Buddhism.] One would presume that if enlightened, one would know it without being told.

...Once unity or interconnectedness is made sacred, a category is created that is not sacred -- individuals and their individual concerns. Once the sacred was separated off into a special realm, religions became renunciate, with the religions defining both what to renounce and the perceived higher good that doing so brings.

...The spirituality embedded in the Oneness worldview creates lofty ideals of selfless moral purity that have worked well with authoritarian hierarchies. Hindu ashrams, Tibetan Zen Buddhism monasteries, and Zen centers are all authoritarian hierarchies.

Duty, obedience, and sacrifice are the key authoritarian virtues making such hierarchies work. When unity is valued over diversity, whether it be the One over the Many or the state over the individual, there are always those higher on the hierarchy to define for the lower just what that unity is and what must be sacrificed for it.

Here's what should be sacrificed for it: nothing. For several reasons.

First, as noted above it is impossible to become one with the One. If such a state exists, that's called death. Non-existence. You can't know you're one with the One if it ever happens, and neither could anyone else. So forget about it.

Second, achieving the lesser unified state of interconnectedness doesn't require a guru, master, or teacher. It's how the world already is. If you and I weren't connected to a larger reality, we wouldn't exist. Every atom in our bodies and every bit of energy that fuels our life existed before us, and will exist after us.

So love life. Live life happily. Seek unity wherever you can. Hold hands. Embrace. Reach out and touch something or someone. You don't need to follow any authority, adhere to any commandments, engage in any ritualistic practices.

Discard the abstraction of absolute Oneness. Experience the reality of interconnected Manyness.

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Uncover Your Awesomeness Course, & The Sea Change Challenge

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 06:00 PM PDT

Post written by Leo Babauta.

Today through Aug. 31, I'm opening membership registration for the Zen Habits Sea Change Program — and with this membership comes three special opportunities.

For those new to the Sea Change Program, it's my monthly membership program that offers occasional mini-courses on different topics (meditation, mindful eating, and procrastination so far), along with live video webinars, a member forum, articles, videos and more.

So there's a wealth of useful content already in the program, but in the next three months, I'm offering three things to all members:

The Uncover Your Awesomeness Course (Sept-Nov)
The Sea Change Monthly Challenge
The Writers & Bloggers Challenge & Seminar

Because the membership content has grown, I've increased the price a little, to $ 26.99 a month. If you subscribed before and the unsubscribed, you'll unfortunately need to subscribe again at a higher price.

Uncover Your Awesomeness Course

This will be the most important course I've ever offered, it will be spread out over three months (Sept.-Nov. 2012) in small doses each month.

What is the course? It's about getting at the root of why people have such difficulties in their lives, from difficult relationships to unhealthy habits to debt and addictions and unhappiness. The root problem: most people are unhappy with themselves, and haven't discovered the awesomeness they already have.

This course aims to help you not only accept yourself as already great, but to fall in love with the awesome person you already are. It will help you unlock your potential career, build great habits, be better at relationships, and be happy much more often.

The course will be structured so that you'll receive 1-2 articles/videos each week for the next three months (Sept. 1-Nov. 30), along with a monthly video webinar where you can ask questions, and a forum for members to discuss the course content and help each other with their problems.

Please note that in order to access all three months of the course, you'll be charged a membership fee each month. But this fee includes all the other content in the Sea Change Program, including the other courses listed here.

The Sea Change Monthly Challenge

In August, I held a month-long challenge for Sea Change members where they each set a personal challenge that they were going to do each day, with rewards each week. It worked very well for those who applied the principles. I personally stretched for at least 10 minutes every day in August. We'll be holding challenges each month for at least the next few months, and you can use this powerful tool to build the habits you want to stick.

The Writers & Bloggers Challenge

September marks the first monthly challenge specifically for Sea Change members who are writers and bloggers, for accountability and support for writing goals. This is a member-run challenge (I won't be moderating it). In addition, I'll be holding a live video seminar for writers & bloggers on Thurs. Oct. 13, available to all Sea Change members.

How to Register

You can register for the Sea Change Program here by subscribing for $ 26.99 per month:

You'll be able to use your Paypal account if you have one, or pay with a credit card by creating a free Paypal account. When you subscribe, you'll be billed every month at the same time each month, until you cancel the subscription. You'll have access to all the member content as long as you're subscribed, but access will be closed if you unsubscribe.

Read more about the Sea Change Program on the membership signup page.

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