NO BULLSHIT BUDDHISM

 

 

Coming out of sleep I lie in bed

The fan blowing a gentle breeze across my body

I kick off the covers and stretch

I clear my mind from monkey dreams

And listen to the quietness of the house

I have been a Buddhist practitioner since the late 1970’s when I first read The Three Pillars of ZEN by Roshi Philip Kapleau. 

 

Since that that time I have read and studied numerous books by numerous authors on Buddhism, and particularly Zen.     I have also attended a Zen Sangha and practiced with a Buddhist community; but I find this type of practice unrewarding and particularly contrary to my needs and my feelings of what Buddhism is about. 

 

To me, formal Buddhist training is elitist and probably drives away many westerners who might otherwise benefit and desire to live the Buddhist experience without the commitment to a ritualistic practice of religious nature.

  

My Buddhist practice in No Bullshit Buddhism.    To me, Buddhism, and particularly Zen, should be practiced at its most basic level.   The practice need not be about teachers, or koans; not about robes, bells, icons or timed meditation.

After hours of meditation the Buddha found enlightenment (or realization) when he saw a beautiful young girl, was refreshed by cool water and tasted a bowl of rice.    It is that simple.  The Buddha realized that contentment can come from stopping our search and simply focusing on beautiful and satisfying things around us at the present moment.

The Buddha achieved enlightenment without teachers and community or adopting someone else’s ideas and values.   The Buddha is important only for sharing his realization that to truly live we must be conscious of the moment.    We each have a Buddha nature and by starting from Buddha’s enlightenment we each have the ability to seek our own way.   And there is no One Way.

   

 In my No Bullshit Buddhism the role of meditation is not to stress myself in a painful meditation marathon.  I do not believe that the Buddha was awaken because he spent hours in painful meditation; he was awakened because he became suddenly aware of the beauty of the moment.    However, meditation is a necessary practice to discipline our mind to more fully appreciate the NOW.

Many Zen writers and teachers say that you should not seek an outcome in the practice of zazen (meditation.)      This flies in the face of western thinking and calls for that leap of faith that I refuse to make.

 

 In my No Bullshit Zen I find a quiet, comfortable and familiar location.   I seat myself on a zafu; but a pillow, bench or chair would do – comfort being the object.  I place my right hand in my left, touching my thumbs, bringing both the right and left sides of my brain into equilibrium.    Some texts recommend counting your breaths, but I prefer to gradually slow my breathing while visualizing the air entering my nose and filling my lungs then exiting.  The object is to empty my mind of all thoughts.   If my mind wanders, I bring it back to empty.  I sit until it becomes uncomfortable; then come back to the present calmly and gradually.   As I have practice over time the length of my meditation has naturally increase.  

 

Meditation can lower your blood pressure; it can calm you in stressful situations; and eventually it will allow you to conquer your monkey mind and enable you to more completely focus on the NOW without distracting thoughts.   These are the goals of my zazen practice.

 

In the Shambhala Sun article Essential Teachings of Thich Nhat Han - Beyond Words, he states, “Zen doesn’t travel along a path of learning through writing and words; it relies on direct transmission between teacher and student.”

This may be cutting off the head of the Buddha, but I could not object more.  I read and enjoy many Buddhist books and periodicals and therefore have an insight from numerous different perspectives; but I take nothing on faith and follow no one else’s path.  A teaching or account must make sense to me before I adopt it. 

At the most basic, The Four Noble Truths attempts to explain the cause of our discontent and the Eightfold Path offers a guide to live by.

There are as many paths to living with Buddhist values as there are peopled.   I prefer No Bullshit Buddhism because:

·       I do not feel the Buddha intended his teachings to come at a price.

·       I do not feel the Buddha intended the path of the Buddhist way to be difficult.

·       I do not feel the Buddha intended teachers and Sangha to set themselves as the only path to enlightenment.

·       I do not feel the Buddha intended enlightenment to be sought; but for contentment to be lived.

I have never felt more alive that the moment I released my grip on the wing strut and stepped off the wheel of a small airplane becoming unattached to the earth; or in the stern of a canoe rocketing down a mile of rapids on the Allagash River in Maine; or during the erotic throws of a sexual encounter with a partner responding with abandonment.   These moments far outweigh the experience of the almost zombie state of walking meditation.

  

In our mundane times we should not fail to stop and smell the roses and contemplate the beauty of the time and place; but life experience and reward goes far beyond that.

  

It is my belief, with the exception of monastic training, that the Buddha intended his teachings be simple, to help everyday people in everyday life to understand that hardship, reward, elation, monotony and finally death is a natural part of our existence; and that by living consciously in every moment we live this short life more fully. 

 

I am into my eighties, and at this point in my life impermanence is real.   All people in their younger days understand that someday they will die, that time will erode the mountains and that at some point in the future the sun will turn into a red dwarf and the oceans will evaporate; and even perhaps in the far distant future the expansion of the universe will slow, stop and finally reverse shrinking into a massive black hole where time and space do not exist; but the realization of impermanence does not actually register until we are faced with the experience in our immediate future.

Introspection helps me accept that death is the final obligation I owe to nature; but in the meantime, life is to be lived fully by being unrestrained by concepts and being conscious in the NOW.

 

For what it is worth, this is my No Bullshit Buddhism. 

I retired from the military; graduated from the University of Maine and the University of Alaska; my wife and I taught school for eleven years in the remote Indigenous People’s villages of Alaska.    I am now retired and live in a mobile home in a mobile home park in north-western Maine.  I still experience the winter snows and the summer heat; and listen to the wind, natures voice, as she reminds me how unimportant I am.

 

   the Ol'Buzzard

BULLSHIT BUDDHISM

Coming out of sleep I lay in bed

The fan blowing a gentle breeze across my body

I kicked off the covers and stretched

I cleared my mind from monkey dreams

And listened to the quietness of the house

Zen

I have been to a Zen sangha – a Buddhist teaching community – and have read extensively; and one lie that is promulgated throughout, is that it is necessary to have a physical teacher in order to achieve enlightenment – to become a Buddhist. 

 

Buddhism, and in particularly Zen, in its most basic teachings, is not about teachers or chants (Koan), not about robes, bells, whistles, icons or timed meditation.   Buddhism is simply a path to help a person achieve contentment by appreciating every conscious waking moment; and Zen is a path to achieve that consciousness through meditation.

The Buddha found enlightenment by himself and each of us have a Buddha nature.  When we are seeking a more contented nature we can distill Buddhist writings and lectures to a basic path that fits our own individual needs.  

Christianity became a formal religion in 325 AD at the council of Nicea (Nicaea) when men decided that Jesus was a god, and what writings would compose the bible, and what the laws and teachings should be.

Likewise after the death of the Buddha, men who had been explaining the simple concept of achieving contentment through focusing on the beauty of the Now, began adding trappings and rituals and requirements that was not the intent of the Buddha.   Teachers venerate themselves, they set themselves up as somehow superior to us – again not the intent of the Buddha. 

If you are interested in alleviating stress and living a more conscious life I would suggest you read Buddhist materials – but not take them as gospel.   

“Buddhism is not about beliefs and practices… it is not a religion.   It is about the teachings of awakening – about examining the world clearly.”

Steve Hagen

The Ol’Buzzard

BUDDHISM PLAIN AND SIMPLE

 There was some discussion on my blog post concerning the availability of the book BUDDHISM PLAIN AND SIMPLE by Steve  Hagen,    

Steve Hagen lectures and teaches at the Dharma Field Meditation  and Learning Center in Minneapolis.   

The book is available through the center for $10.00:

DHARMA FIELD


A  further link:  Dharma Books


the Ol'Buzzard

I AM TWO PEOPLE

I am two people.  Not of a parallel universe, nor a radical personality disorder; but a person with a strong Physic background and a practicing No Bullshit Buddhist. 

 

Physics describes the world around us with concrete laws backed up by provable experimentation and mathematics equations.    Theoretical Physics strives to explain why things are as they are, and the logical consequences of expanding known attributes into the unknown.   Astrophysics attempts to explain the universe; the beginning, the now and  the future of the cosmos.

Buddhism says it’s all bullshit – it doesn’t matter – the NOW is all we have: how we live this day, in each moment, in total awareness can bring us peace and tranquility throughout this short life – and that’s really all that matters.

Steve Hagen, a trained Physicist, now a Buddhist priest explores the links between Science, Philosophy and Perception in his book HOW THE WORLD CAN BE THE WAY IT IS.

  

Steve Hagen is the reason I practice my own version of Buddhism today.

 

My first interest in Buddhism came after reading THE THREE PILLARS OF ZEN by Roshi Philip Kapleau in the 1960’s.   Afterwards I read numerous books with esoteric explanations of Buddhism, many verging on religion and mysticism.  It wasn’t until Steve Hagen’s BUDDHISM PLAIN AND SIMPLE that I was able to codify a simple (No Bullshit) Buddhist practice that seemed practical and worthwhile to me.

I am still awed by Theoretical Physics; but, especially at my age, it is strictly entertainment.   Zen is a way of life. 

   

I have fallen away from my ZEN practice, but now it is time for me to come back.

The beginning of this new year is a good time to explore ZEN as a more peaceful and conscious way to live.

  

If you are interested, I recommend starting with Buddhism Plain and Simple.   I will also post a series of earlier blog post I have done over the years.   My particular Buddhist practice is personal, and I feel each person should develop their own – or not.  There are Buddhist Sangha in almost every state for more formal Buddhist training. 

 

And, of course, you don’t need Buddhism or religions to live a good life and be a good person. 

the Ol’Buzzard   

NO BULLSHIT BUDDHISM

Coming out of sleep I lie in bed

The fan blowing a gentle breeze across my body

I kick off the covers and stretch

I clear my mind from monkey dreams

And listen to the quietness of the house

I have been a Buddhist practitioner since the late 1970’s when I first read The Three Pillars of ZEN by Roshi Philip Kapleau.

  

Since that that time I have read and studied numerous books by numerous authors on Buddhism, and particularly Zen.     I have also attended a Zen Sanghi and practiced with a Buddhist community; but I find this type of practice unrewarding and particularly contrary to my needs and my feelings of what Buddhism is about. 

 

To me, formal Buddhist training is elitist and probably drives away many westerners who might otherwise benefit and desire to live the Buddhist experience without the commitment to a ritualistic practice of religious nature.

  

My Buddhist practice in No Bullshit Buddhism.    To me, Buddhism, and particularly Zen, should be practiced at its most basic level.   The practice need not be about teachers, or koans; not about robes, bells, icons or timed meditation.

After hours of meditation the Buddha found enlightenment (or realization) when he saw a beautiful young girl, was refreshed by cool water and tasted a bowl of rice.    It is that simple.  The Buddha realized that contentment can come from stopping our search and simply focusing on beautiful and satisfying things around us at the present moment.

The Buddha achieved enlightenment without teachers and community or adopting someone else’s ideas and values.   The Buddha is important only for sharing his realization that to truly live we must be conscious of the moment.    We each have a Buddha nature and by starting from the Buddha’s enlightenment we each have the ability to seek our own way.   And there is no One Way.

   

In my No Bullshit Buddhism the role of meditation is not to stress myself in a painful meditation marathon.  I do not believe that the Buddha was awaken because he spent hours in painful meditation; he was awakened because he became suddenly aware of the beauty of the moment.    

However, meditation is a necessary practice to discipline our mind to more fully appreciate the NOW.

Many Zen writers and teachers say that you should not seek an outcome in the practice of zazen (meditation.)      This flies in the face of western thinking and calls for that leap of faith that I refuse to make.

 

 In my No Bullshit Zen I find a quiet, comfortable and familiar location.   I seat myself on a zafu; but a pillow, bench or chair would do – comfort being the object.  I place my right hand in my left, touching my thumbs, bringing both the right and left sides of my brain into equilibrium.    Some texts recommend counting your breaths, but I prefer to gradually slow my breathing while visualizing the air entering my nose and filling my lungs then exiting.  The object is to empty my mind of all thoughts.   If my mind wanders I bring it back to empty.  I sit until it becomes uncomfortable; then come back to the present calmly and gradually.   As I have practice over time the length of my meditation has naturally increase.  

Meditation can lower your blood pressure; it can calm you in stressful situations; and eventually it will allow you to conquer your monkey mind and enable you to more completely focus on the NOW without distracting thoughts.   These are the goals of my zazen practice.

 

In the Shambhala Sun article Essential Teachings of Thich Nhat Han - Beyond Words, he states, “Zen doesn’t travel along a path of learning through writing and words; it relies on direct transmission between teacher and student.”

This may be cutting off the head of the Buddha, but I could not object more. 

I read and enjoy many Buddhist books and periodicals and therefore have am insight from numerous different perspectives; but I take nothing on faith and follow no one else’s path.  A teaching or account must make sense to me before I adopt it.

 

At the most basic, The Four Noble Truths attempts to explain the cause of our discontent and the Eightfold Path offers a guide to live by.

There are as many paths to living with Buddhist values as there are peopled.   I prefer No Bullshit Buddhism because:

• I do not feel the Buddha intended his teachings to come at a price.
• 
  
• I do not feel the Buddha intended the path of the Buddhist way to be difficult
• .
• I do not feel the Buddha intended teachers and Sanghis to set themselves as the only path to enlightenment.
• 
  
• I do not feel the Buddha intended enlightenment to be sought; but for contentment to be lived.

I have never felt more alive that the moment I released my grip on the wing strut and stepped off the wheel of a small airplane becoming unattached to the earth; or in the stern of a canoe rocketing down a mile of rapids on the Allagash River in Maine; or during the erotic throws of a sexual encounter with a partner responding with abandonment.   These moments far outweigh the experience of the almost zombie state of walking meditation.

  

In our mundane times we should not fail to stop and smell the roses and contemplate the beauty of the time and place; but life experience and reward goes far beyond that.

  

It is my belief, with the exception of monastic training, the Buddha intended his teachings be simple, to help everyday people in everyday life to understand that hardship, reward, elation, monotony and finally death is a natural part of our existence; and that by living consciously in every moment we live this short life more fully. 

I am well into my seventies, and at this point in my life impermanence is real.   

All people in their younger days understand that someday they will die, that time will erode the mountains and that at some point in the future the sun will turn into a red dwarf and the oceans will evaporate; and even perhaps in the far distant future the expansion of the universe will slow, stop and finally reverse shrinking into a massive black hole where time and space do not exist; but the realization of impermanence does not actually register until we are faced with the experience in our immediate future.

Introspection helps me accept that death is the final obligation I owe to nature; but in the meantime life is to be lived fully by being unrestrained by concepts and being conscious in the NOW.

For what it is worth this is my No Bullshit Buddhism.

 

The Ol’Buzzard

I retired from the military; graduated from the University of Maine and the University of Alaska; my wife and I taught school for eleven years in the remote Indigenous People’s villages of Alaska.    I am now retired to a small post and beam cabin in rural Maine where I cut fire wood in the summer and feed the wood stove in the winter. 

    

MOREZEN

Buddhism is more than meditating.

Here in the west we hold ideas of how things ought to be and how we ought to live.  We are constantly at war with our environment trying to make everything fit into our desired outcome – and when we fall short, which we most often do, we carry the stress of failed expectations.

We hold a fixed idea of who we are and how we want to be perceived.   But there is no fixed I or Ego because everything changes – new causes produce new effects. 

“One and the same human being is, at various ages, under various circumstances, a totally different human being.

Solzhenitsyn:  The Gulag Archipelago

The Buddha realized that most often people were carrying stress, and that this stress prevented them from appreciating the refreshing taste of cool water – the beauty of a young girl – or the satisfying taste of rice (his awakening.)   

Buddha also realized that the stress is most often self-inflicted.   He addressed this in The Four Noble Truths.

The Four Noble Truths

1.     Duhkha*: Life is often like a wheel out of kilter. We are constantly dissatisfied.    We feel we have to fight for control.   We move from one crisis to the next – reacting – never satisfied with our outcome. 

2.     Our dissatisfaction originates from our own expectations and desires.

3.     By focusing on, and being content in the present, instead of fantasizing on future or the past, we can alleviate much of our dissatisfaction.  

4.    The Eight Fold Path is the Buddha’s teaching – a suggested path toward a fulfilling and contented life.

   

*(Spelled Duhkha in Buddhism Plain and Simple; spelled Dukha in The Essence of Zen; spelled Dukkha in Intro to Buddha – and probably other spellings.   There are four major sects of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana and Zen; this probably creates confusions in spellings and definitions.  It is the concept that is important.)

THE EIGHT FOLD PATH

1.    RIGHT VIEW:  accepting the way your world is, though not necessarily the way you would like it to be.  Understanding that nothing is static and everything is changing. 

2.    RIGHT INTENTION: address each problem in your life with resolve; but always choosing the noble path – you instinctively know what is right and what is wrong: for the good of all – unselfish centered.

3.      RIGHT SPEECH: speak the truth; but never to injure.

4.     RIGHT ACTION: act from a clear mind, not from preconceptions or prejudices.  

5.     RIGHT LIVELYHOOD: we should strive to choose an occupation that benefits others, and one that satisfies our needs; but we should apply ourselves in whatever endeavor we occupy.

6.    RIGHT EFFORT: live in the NOW.

7.    RIGHT MINDFULNESS: conscious of how we are actually engaged in the world from moment to moment.

8.    RIGHT MEDITATION: practice zazen regularly

Notice that the Buddha does not give commandments – there is no ‘thou shall not…’   These are the Buddha’s suggestions – his clarity.

Buddhism is not a belief system.  It is not about accepting beliefs or following rituals.   It is about seeing the world clearly.  

It is said that at his death the Buddha told his followers ‘Look not for refuge to anyone beside yourself.’    

the Ol’Buzzard

MEDITATION IS THE VEHICLE OF ZEN

Meditation is the vehicle of Zen.

When I attended a Zen teaching I realized that meditation was not being practiced as a refreshing reset of the mind but an endurance sport.  My legs went to sleep, my butt ached and my back hurt.  It was a grand effort to keep my mind empty while my body was expected to remain in a stress position.   After what seemed an eternity we hobbled up and did walking meditation around the room and then back to the torture.  

It is said that during Japanese Zen meditation in monasteries Zen masters walk around with bamboo canes and whip the backs of neophytes that are flagging in their meditation zeal.

I can’t believe that this is what the Buddha expected.  

The Buddha’s awakening was that cold water from a well was delightful and refreshing; that a young girl was beautiful and that simple rice tasted delicious.

After searching for the meaning of life the Buddha realized that the meaning had always been surrounding him, but he had been too distracted to see.   Being alive is being in the moment and the ability to put aside distraction and enjoy the Now. 

Meditation helps us to control distractive thoughts and to focus the mind.   There are monkeys in our minds and they swing from tree to tree and constantly chatter.   Through meditation we can learn to calm the monkeys and take control of our own thoughts.

Joan Sutherland said it best in This Floating World: “Awakening is not a destination and meditation is not a bus ride.”

Meditation is simply a tool to empty your mind and relax your body – to empty your thought process so that subsequently you can focus on the present without distractions from the past, or the future or fantasies of how you would like things to be. 

Zen meditation is known as Zazen.

Zazen aims to develop the individual’s power of concentration.

1. Find a quiet pleasant place to meditate.
2. Provide a cushion or pillow to raise your butt allowing you to comfortably cross your legs in front of you.
3. I place one hand in the other in my lap with thumbs touching (I find that after practicing this a while it becomes an automatic indicator to the mind that it is time for meditation.)
4. I prefer to close my eyes at the beginning and begin focusing on my breathing while consciously relaxing my body, but at the same time keeping an upright posture.
5. Some people count their breaths but I find that distracting; I prefer to visualize the air going into my lungs and then expelling.  I visualize this process over and over while slowing down the breaths as the body relaxes.  
6. The monkeys will try to run through your mind and distract you with random thoughts.  When this happens you don’t give them pride of place, but refocus on your breath. 
7. You might start with five minutes; but stop if you become uncomfortable – you can increase time with practice
8. When you are done, sit for a few moments and continue to regulate your breathing while you look around – come out peacefully.

“A thought rises.  A thought last awhile. A thought goes away.   What a relief it is when every passing thought or reaction doesn’t automatically take pride of place, doesn’t need us to bend the world according to its whim”     Joan Sutherland

I can have my blood pressure taken, then place my hands together with thumbs touching and clear my mind and have the blood pressure taken again, and it will have dropped at least ten points.

Meditation works in the moment to calm you; but with constant practice it helps your ability to stay focused on the activity and surrounding of each moment. 

The beauty of life, the meaning of life is happening in the present moment if you can only take the time to see it. 

the Ol’Buzzard  

BACK TO ZEN

BACK TO ZEN

TRY AGAIN

LIVE IN MINDFULNESS

How many times I have come back

The crazy world

Distracting

Unsettling

I find myself wandering in a forest of anxiety

Dashing about in frustration

Seeing no way out

Never noticing the path I am standing on

And the beauty of the trees around me.  

This morning I got up, did some stretches, weights, and then meditated for five minutes.

  

I have fallen away from the beauty and contentment of the path less traveled, and become lost among the masses that trod the well-worn road that inevitably leads to anxiety and discontent ((Duhkha.)

I am over the hump of my seventies and seem to be aimless.   I am reacting instead of acting; I am focusing on things I have no ability to change; the stream of the world is flowing by around my ankles and I am stomping at the waves; I have lost my mindfulness – and it is time to return…  to Zen.

It is not a distant journey; it is only one step.

As I move back to mindfulness, I will post the journey.  

Zen reminds us that if we don’t see the beauty and mystery of our present life – our present moment; it is unlikely we will live in the beauty of any moment of life.

NOW is holy

the Ol’Buzzard

A BUZZARD EGG OMELET #30

Taking a crap is probably one of the most Zen like things you can do.  Unless you ruin it by taking a magazine or newspaper with you to read.  It is a time to zone out with nothing to focus on except your own bodily function – no counting breaths, no reciting koans and no chasing the monkey-mind: just sitting quietly and experiencing the moment. 

The Buddha became awakened after seeing a beautiful girl, tasting the refreshing quality of water and eating a bowl of rice.   Buddhist text doesn't say so, but I am sure later that evening he totally zoned out taking the first good crap he had had in many months.  

It is rewarding how simple bodily functions can bring so much contentment if you can stay focused in the moment.  

  

Perhaps this is more than you would like to know: but sometimes I err by trying to name my craps – usually after a Republican Congressperson.   It takes me out of the moment and is totally unrewarding.   I find the rest of my day lacking in tranquility. 

Like a sexual orgasm, taking a crap is a personal experience, and if you are not focused in that moment you miss out on a great happening that can never be reclaimed. 

the Ol'Buzzard

   

NAKED BUDDHISM THE BEGINNING

Balloons break, love affairs wanes, we all have to visit the dentist.   Life is not perfect.

Surya Das

The Buddha-dharma (the teachings of the Buddha) describes the Four Truths – this is where we must start to understand Naked Buddhism.

The First Truth: Shit happens.   There is no idyllic - perfectly happy life.  Problems in relationships arise, people get sick, financial and personal worries exist, accidents and sickness cause physical pain and death is inevitable.

The Second Truth: Life can fuck with us.  We always like to feel in control.  When trauma descends on us it can send our lives into a tail spin.  Buddhists refer to this as duhkha (doo-ka) which loosely translates as a wheel out of balance.   I like this analogy: if we lose the little balancing weights on our automobile or motorcycle tire the wheel will start to wobble and the vehicle will be undrivable.  

The Third Truth: Suck it up.  If we can step back from our problems and diagnose them…look at their origin…acknowledge their possible outcomes then we can deal with them.  If we allow situations to take control of us we become miserable.   We can change the things that can be changed and learn to accept the things we cannot change.  We only go around one time – we only have this life today.   It is important that we keep problems in perspective and move on. 

The Fourth Truth: Life will move on.    You can never stand in the same river twice.  If we free our minds; if we focus on the now we can overcome depression and despondency and live this insubstantial life to the fullest.   Buddhism offers a way to free our mind through meditation and we can bring about a cessation of duhkah by living a wholesome life as prescribed by the Buddha’s Eight Fold Path.  

I will cover the Eight Fold Path in my next naked Buddhism post. 

A Buddhist story:

A farmer comes to the Buddha for advice.  The farmer says ‘I like farming, but sometimes it doesn't rain enough and my crops fail.  Last year we nearly starved.  And sometimes it rains too much, so my yields aren't what I’d like them to be.’

  

The Buddha listened patiently.

‘I am married also,’ said the man.  “She is a good wife, but sometimes she nags me too much and I get tired of her.   I have kids, and sometimes they do not show me respect.’  

The man went on like this with all his difficulties and worries, finally winding down as waiting for the Buddha to say the words that would put everything right.

“I can’t help you,’ the Buddha said.

‘What do you mean,’ asked the farmer. ‘I thought you were a great teacher.’

‘Everyone’s got problems,’ said the Buddha.   ‘In fact we all have eighty-three problems; and there is nothing we can do about it.   If you work really hard on one you might be able to fix it but another will pop into its place.    Your problem is that you want to have no problems and I can not help you with that.”

the Ol’Buzzard

  

NAKED BUDDHISM

There was some interest in an earlier post on the book Buddhism Plain and Simple.   This book is the most relevant to me of the many Buddhism books I have read.  Because of the interest shown I will submit perhaps two or three more post explaining my take on ‘Buddhism as it was meant to be.’ 

I call it Naked Buddhism – that is Buddhism without the robes and whistles and gongs and all the trappings you see in formal Buddhist settings.  

Here is how I see it:

About two thousand-five hundred years ago the man we call Buddha was a privileged young man.  He was of a wealthy family and educated for his time.    As he became an adult he realized that all he was privileged to was impermanent, and that his life would inevitably end in sickness, disability and death.  Depressed and despondent, he found his life meaningless.   In search for peace of mind – for something to believe in - he left home.  Over the next six years he joined many different religious groups finally adopting the precepts of ascetics – a group that believed in self-denial as a religious discipline.   Eventually, self starvation and exposure brought him to the verge of death.   Weakened and emaciated he sat under a tree near a well and determined to meditate unto death. 

As he sat, exhausted, a beautiful young girl came to the well for water.   Seeing a young man dying under the tree the girl took pity and brought him water.   The girl was beautiful and compassionate; the water taste wonderful; the country side appeared glorious – and suddenly the young man became a Buddha – he was awakened – he realized that life and contentment can exist in the moment.   The now – this moment is all we have – and is wondrous if we choose to see it.

That’s it.   That’s all there is.

Whether this story is true or false it carries an indisputable truth.  People who have survived near death situations suddenly step back and realize that all the bullshit we load ourselves with on a daily basis is actually unimportant: they tend to see colors more vibrant, nature more wonderful, and people they care for more important.   Unfortunately, because of the stress of our society, this feeling doesn't survive. 

Naked Buddhism helps us try to attain that fundamental view that life at this moment is a gift - if we are able to step away from our concerns, and see it.

In my next Naked Buddhism post I will cover the steps (as I see them) the Buddha suggested that can help us bring our life back into balance. 

the Ol’Buzzard