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

ALONE

 

I get up early with the cats while it is still dark outside.   It is quite before the world awakes.   I love this time of morning, and especially today with rain drumming on our metal roof.   After the cats are fed, they go back into the bedroom, onto the bed with my sleeping wife.  I am left alone, with the dark, and the rain, and I like it. 

 

Some of our most precious time is our mind time.   When we are alone with our selves and out thoughts.   

 

the Ol’Buzzard

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.

·       Find a quiet pleasant place to meditate.

·       Provide a cushion, pillow or sit on a small stool to raise your butt allowing you to comfortably cross your legs in front of you.

·       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.)

·       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.

·       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.

  

·       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. 

·       You might start with five minutes; but stop if you become uncomfortable – you can increase time with practice

·       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 

MY MORNING MEDITATION

I have a routine I try an adhere to each morning.   Right out of bed I go downstairs and drink a small glass of orange juice to add electrolytes to my body; then back upstairs, stretch out, and workout twenty minutes on my Total Gym.   I go from one exercise to the next without a break in-between and by the time I am finished I am in an aerobic state.

I turn around on the gym seat and place both my feet firmly on the floor, place my right hand in my left palm with thumbs touching, close my eyes and focus on slowing down my breathing.   After about a minute I am conscious of my heart beat and I focus on slowing down my heart rate.  That done, I focus on breathing for a few breaths and then totally blank my mind.     I spend no more than five minutes in meditation after workout – and I don’t time it.  

Anyone can do this with a committed practice.   It begins with finding a quiet, private place to meditate.   Sit comfortably on a pillow, a stool or a chair.  Close your eyes and focus on your breathing: visualize the breaths going in as you expand your stomach and visualize the air exiting as you release the breath.   Breath with your diaphragm.  Relax.   If your mind wanders bring it back to your breaths.   Spend no more than five minutes – but don’t time it.   When you feel totally relaxed open your eyes, focus around you and then gradually, comfortably, move your body and continue your normal day. 

With a minute’s meditation (even in a doctor’s office) I can bring down my blood pressure ten to fifteen points.    And you can too.    

As meditation becomes natural to you, you will find you can control anxiety, and relax your body, and focus your mind in times of stress; and with five minutes morning practice you can begin each day in a better frame of mind.  

the Ol’Buzzard

MINDFULNESS AND MINDLESSNESS

A couple of days ago, when it wasn’t raining and I had no appointments, I took a walk down our road.   When I got to my turnaround spot I realized that I had seen nothing, literally.   Instead of stopping at the two brooks and watching the water and paying attention to the plants and wildlife, I had walked with my monkey mind in charge, having some fanciful conversation with myself and occupying my thoughts with something other than my walk. 

I refocused and enjoyed my walk home.

Mindfulness is easy to deal with once you decide it should become a part of your daily life.

Mind-less-ness, on the other hand, requires a disciplined effort. 

 

This is the scenario of an imaginary person, but some aspects are probably familiar to most of us:

X wakes up in the morning and grabs his/her cell phone and takes it into the bathroom.   While eating breakfast X checks messages and social networks to see what others are doing.   On the way to work X checks and perhaps talks on the cell phone while dealing with traffic.   At work X places the phone within easy reach while dealing with the stresses of work.  On the way home X checks the cell phone while driving through heavy traffic.  At home X watches TV, gets on the computer, checks messages, e-mail and social media until supper time.   

TV, bed, and check the cell phone before going to sleep.  While asleep X’s monkey mind takes over causing restless dreams and restless sleep.

The mind never has time to unplug. 

At some point your mind needs to unplug for a few minutes on a regular basis.   Five minutes of meditation a day can do that.  

Find a quiet, comfortable room away from your cell phone.  Sit upright in a chair with feet planted on the floor; focus on your breathing and finally empty your mind - relax.

In lieu of this: take your rocking chair out on your porch and smoke a joint.

 

Mindlessness takes practice and discipline but the benefits are real

the Ol’Buzzard

THE MEANING OF LIFE - I WAS WRONG!

THE MEANING OF LIFE

I WAS WRONG.

IT’S NOT THE HOKEY POKEY

I have always said that the Chaos Theory described life, and that everything is chance.   I have used the analogy of the Hokey Pokey; but in retrospect the Hokey Pokey is choreographed: you put your left foot out, you put your left foot in, you put your left foot out and you shake it all about…

After 4 a.m. consideration it is obvious to me that life is a play without a plot.   All the actors are improvising, and every actor believes he or she is the star.  New actors show up while other actors disappear, but the show goes on.   The script is babble and the movement senseless.  

Does that mean that our life is worthless?   On a personal level, of course not: we come on stage and then we exit, but the journey between is up to us.  We can play out angry and bitterness our we can Zen out and play to the beauty in every minute - try to make the journey as pleasant as possible.  

Because in the end it’s bugger-all.

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. 

    

ZEN THOUGHT FOR TODAY

the Ol'Buzzard

THE ARE MORE WAYS TO ZEN OUT THEN MEDITATION

TAKE TEN

Shut out the outside world,  put on your headphones, close your eyes, relax and ZEN out.

the Ol'Buzzard

ZEN OF APATHY

A passenger aircraft shot down in the Ukraine.

There is nothing I can do about it.

800 dead in the 18 day conflict between Israel and Hamas.

There is nothing I can do about it.

Fighting continues in Iraq and Pakistan.

There is nothing I can do about it.

Fighting in Syria, atrocities in Africa.

There is nothing I can do about it.

Russia, Cuba, China;

I am powerless.

A dysfunctional U.S. Congress

Prisoners inhumanely put to death in Oklahoma, Ohio and Arizona.

Obama Care is being challenged in court.

Bigotry, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia…

I vote but my vote is canceled by the Tea Party.

Beyond  my control.

In my mid-seventies, my days are limited, the grim reaper rides bitch on my bike.

It is what it is.

Today I am going to prepare the west side of my house for painting.    I painted the front (south side) first of the week.   I have one more cord of wood to order and stack for winter fuel; and I plan to replace the front storm door before winter sets in.   I haven’t meditated in a long time.   I need to take a few minutes this morning for Zen time.  It is suppose to be a beautiful day today – sunny with temps in the low seventies. 

Change what you can and accept what you can’t change: live in the moment: appreciate this day.

The Ol’Buzzard

MEDITATION CAN MAKE YOU SMART…

WELL - ACTUALLY IT CAN’T

SO WHY MEDITATE?

Often Zen priest, trying to impress their followers with their own intellect, will answer a novice’s question of ’What should I try to get from meditation;’ with the answer: ‘Meditation.’

Do Zen priest have egos?    Are Zen priest human (that’s the Zen trick of answering a question with a question)?

Actually, they are wrong again.    There is a great deal to be gained from meditation.

Physically, you can drop your blood pressure in a very short time when you master the ability to place yourself in a meditative state.    In a doctor’s office (or at home) I can bring my blood pressure down at least ten points with sixty seconds of meditation technique. 

Mentally, you can force your mind into some down time giving you a chance to let go of emotionally charged concerns – somewhat like a reboot on a computer.  

Remembering that the goal of Zen is to let you view reality in order to live productively in the moment: Meditation practice along with Zen precepts can help free you of ego, preconceptions, prejudice and all the baggage you carry that dictates how you respond to the world.

There is no one way to meditate.   This is how I do it. 

1.    Find a quite place if possible

2.    I like to sit on a pillow on the floor with my legs crossed – but you can be just as effective sitting in a chair.

3.    I place my right hand into my left hand touching my thumbs – because it feels right to me. 

4.    I close my eyes – some people like to focus on an object.   The goal is to reduce as many distractions as possible.   Sometimes I play new age music like Windham Hill in the background to cover up outside noises.

5.    Many meditations instructors tell you to count your breaths – this doesn't work for me…I find it a distraction.   I inhale and visualize the air as it goes through my nose down my trachea and inflates my lungs.   Then I visualize the air as it exits my lungs and goes out through my nose (if you have sinus problems mouth breathing is fine.)  Very quickly you will be aware of your breathing slowing.

6.    After perhaps the first minute I visualize my legs relaxing; my hands; my arms; my shoulders – then I go back to visualizing my breath.   

7.    That’s it: now I am in a relaxed state controlling my breath.

8.    When I am finished I open my eyes and sit still and quiet for short time before moving – I want to carry with me that relaxed state.

No big secrets – no metaphysical mystery.  You might want to start at three minutes and build up – I rarely go beyond five.   I don’t use a timer but you might find it useful in the beginning. 

But, Beware the Monkeys:

We all have a monkey mind.  The monkeys can’t stand quiet relaxed environment and they try to drag distractions through to break into your thoughts.   This is normal and occurs often, especially when you are a beginner.   When this happens you simply acknowledge that you have been distracted, and go back to visualizing your breathing.

 If you attend a Zen Buddhist sangha (meditation group) you will probably find they tend to make meditation an endurance sport.  To me, sitting until I have no feeling in my legs and my back aches and I am physically and mentally uncomfortable has no purpose – then again the priest will tell you that there is no purpose to meditation. 

Then why do it?

Meditation has benefits; as does living a Buddhist life style.  I value Zen Buddhism; but the Buddha reminded us to accept nothing on faith. 

It took the Buddha years to become enlightened - but alas he discovered: ‘you put your right foot out; you put your right foot in; you put your right foot out and you shake it all about; you do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around: that what it’s all about.’

the Ol’Buzzard

A BUZZARD EGG OMELET #16

PERHAPS MORE THAN YOU WANT TO KNOW

When I was in the Navy I use to say that you knew the day was shitty if the best thing that has happened to you was the crap you had that morning.  

Now that I am older and wiser and don’t tend to rush through my days, and as a result I have come to appreciate a good crap.  This morning ritual now takes on the closest thing that I have to a religious experience: Zen meditation - a melding of mind, body and spirit with the natural world.

My wife knows that I am available 23 hours and fifty-five minutes out of every day to do her bidding.   But, when I am on the throne I do not want to hear about the latest happenings or problems, the news of the day, or take someone’s message on the telephone.  I don’t even want to hear the cat yowling or scratching at the door: Sanctum Sanctorum.

After great meditation on the subject I have come to understand that all craps are not alike – each has its own personification.   So, in the spirit of understanding I have named them:

·       ROMNEY:  Soft and squishy – no form

·       BOEHNER:  Like passing a pine cone – makes you cry

·       BACHMANN:  Diarrhea

·       RYAN: After a lot of grunting and straining you have to lie about the small results.

·       MC CONNELL:  Constipation

·       BUSH CHENEY:  A huge smelly turd

·       ANN COULTER:  A gas attack

·       DONALD TRUMP:  A routine evacuation

I hope that in the spirit of sharing you will come to appreciate the thought and study I have focused on this subject.   With renewed concentration you too may learn to live in the moment of the porcelain bowl and find that basic connection with all humans past, present and future. 

Namaste 

the Ol'Buzzard