Blabbered and Stumbled

Funny to have just blabbered about something, then click on stumbleupon and read a Master's deeper rendition on the topic.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/4RKtFO/buddhaofhollywood.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-buddhism-religion-part-two.html

Is Buddhism A Religion? - Part Two

The Conditioned, The Unconditioned, and Consciousness

Religions always point to the relationship of the mortal, or the conditioned, with the Unconditioned. That is, if you strip any religion down to its very basic essence, you will find that it is pointing to where the mortal, the conditioned and time-bound , ceases. In that cessation is the realization and the understanding of the Unconditioned. In Buddhist terminology, it is said that "there is the Unconditioned; and if there were not the Unconditioned, there could not be the conditioned." The conditioned arises and ceases in the Unconditioned, and therefore we can point to the relationship between the conditioned and the Unconditioned. Having been born into a human body we have to live a lifetime under the limitations and conditions of the sensory world. Birth implies that we come forth out of the Unconditioned and manifest in a separate, conditioned form. And this human from implies consciousness. Consciousness always defines a relationship between subject and object, and in Buddhism consciousness is regarded as a discriminative function of the mind. So contemplate this right now. You are sitting there paying attention to these words. This is the experience of consciousness. You can feel the heat in the room, you can see your surroundings, you can hear the sounds. All this implies that you have been born in a human body and for the rest of your life, as long as this body lives, it will have feelings, and consciousness will be arising. This consciousness always creates the impression of a subject and an object, so that when we do not investigate, do not look into the true nature of things, then we become bound to the dualistic view of "I am my body, I am my feelings, I am my consciousness."

Thus, a dualistic attitude arises from consciousness. And then, from our ability to conceive and remember and perceive with our minds, we create a personality. Sometimes we enjoy this personality. Other times we have irrational fears, wrong views, and anxieties about it.

Aspiration of the Human Mind

At the present time, for any society in the materialistic world, much of the human anguish and despair arises from the fact that we don't usually relate ourselves to anything higher than the planet we live on and to our human body. So the aspiration of t he human mind towards an ultimate realization, towards enlightenment, is not really promoted or encouraged in modern society. In fact it often seems to be discouraged. Without this relationship with the higher Truth, our lives become meaningless. We cannot relate to anything beyond the experiences of a human body on a planet, in a mysterious universe, all our life really amounts to is putting in time from birth to death. Then, of course, what is the purpose, what is the meaning of it? And why do we care? Why do we need a purpose? Why must there be a meaning to life? Why do we want life to be meaningful? Why do we have words, concepts, and religions? Why do we have that longing or that aspiration in our minds if all there ever is, or all there ever can be, is this experience based on the view of self? Can it be that this human body, with its conditioning process, simply lands on us fortuitously in a universal system that is beyond our control? We live in a universe that is a mystery to us. We can only wonder about it. We can intuit and gaze at the universe, but we cannot put it into a little capsule. We cannot make it into something in our mind. Therefore, materialistic tendencies in our minds encourage us not to even ask those questions. Or else these tendencies make us interpret all life's experience in the realm of logic or reason, based on the values of materialism and empirical science.

Venerable Ajahn Sumedho

Blabberings

When it comes to matters of the mind, most are fearful.

The issue with the reaction ‘don’t screw with my mind’ does not lie in the screwing, it lies in the ‘my’. I am afraid that if enough ‘screwing’ is done, the mind won’t be able to take all these emotional upheavals anymore and be uncontrollable. It won’t be mine anymore.

The truth beneath is: probably it isn’t in the first place. It is just mind, with no one to belong to. Only processes of interactions that create this illusion, and millions around the world living in this illusion waiting to be awakened.

Some mistaken that to know the mind requires abandoning all that is present in the current life: our families, our work, our dreams, our aspirations and goals. And with this, delays with the reason it’s not time yet, I still have commitments to fulfill.  It need not be, and it should not be. For it is here in the very things that is happening in this life, that the understanding can be unraveled, experienced and matured.

The experience takes a turn to become richer and more colorful, as the grasping of the untamed mind is released; we pay more attention to what is present. The life is lived more fully, with a calm acceptance of all that comes into it as well as all that leaves from it.

So there is freedom, it’s always been.

What Buddhism Is

A simple diagram illustrating what Buddhism is.

Timelapses Montage

Very enchanting videos of timelapses scenaries, taken from http://vimeo.com/11892211 and http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/this-time-lapse-montage-will-blow-your-mind-20100925/

Watching these videos, one sees the stillness in all the movements.

Enjoy!


Baja California Timelapses from Mike Flores on Vimeo.



Timelapse Montage from Mike Flores on Vimeo.

Die Before You Die ( From Samsara to Nirvana) - Mooji

Die Before You Die (From Samsara to Nirvana) ~ Mooji from Anne Power on Vimeo.

Yogis of Tibet

Christian the Lion

Man in ‘hugging’ lion video reveals its secrets

One of animal’s owners tells story that still tugs heartstrings after decades

22 Breathtaking Monasteries Around The World | Decoded Stuff

22 Breathtaking Monasteries Around The World | Decoded Stuff

Amazing!

Aftermath of chaos

August and September 2010 shall go down as the most turbulent 2 months in my work life. Although the light is visible now as we approach the end of the tunnel, what has been experienced shall serve as a reminder that the 3 poisons of desires, aversion and delusion will always creep up unnoticed. Previous experiences has brought back the dharma into this life, and fortunately the practice has served well during these tough times, as im able to continue to breathe freely in the midst of the chaos.

The price we have to pay for our endeavors may escalate beyond our control. The pain caused to people may also cause imprints that will take lifetimes to resolve. And after going through one big cycle, the temporary relief of our personal problems will only open the door to invite new ones to enter. It may well seems like we have benefited, but in reality is it really the case? The endless cycles of samsara beckons, unless we break free and come into realization of our true nature.

There is much sadness in this, yet balanced with a feeling of hope. These are but emotions that will pass, but only if we open our hearts.

Nature of life is impermanent, and things will go in the best way that befits the conditions present. If friendships are to be lost in this episode, let it go in the best possible way. In this heart the friendship lives on though, together with the memories of the good times as well as the bad. But this too shall pass, and there will be letting go, for that is the law of impermanence.

At this point, I wish my friends a happy life. One that is filled with blessings, compassion, peace and happiness. And to again share my favorite quote.

"IT’S POSSIBLE TO DO GOOD and equally possible to do harm, and so we’re stuck with the necessity of choice and consequence. And no choice can ever be encompassing and conclusive because the moment is a movement and requires continual adaptation and adjustment. We can faithfully adhere to a precept, and yet end up doing irreparable harm. We can never trace the ultimate consequence of our choices, but it’s safe to conclude that whatever we decide to do will be fraught with certain error and fall short of the best intent."




May we be happy always.

With metta.

25 Movies To Remind You What’s Important In Life

25 Movies To Remind You What’s Important In Life

Good List!

Letting go of Emotional Attachments

Taken from http://askthelama.tumblr.com/post/1167889768/emotional-attachments

Letting Go of Emotional Attachments

Tammy W: My biggest struggle is with overwhelming emotions and emotional attachments. I am a solo practitioner with no access to a dharma center in the US. I am also fairly new to Tibetan Buddhism so I am struggling with many aspects, but this seems to be the major one. What daily practices can I do to help with this?

Lama Surya Das: This is a huge question, and one of the most important issues we all face in life, whether or not we’re on the spiritual path. No simple answer will do, although too may are availible. Let go and let God? Let go, let be? Acceptance has it’s own transformative magic. See everything as like a dream, a fantasy, echos, mirages, like rainbows in the sky, as it says in Buddhism’s Diamond of Wisdom Sutra. Does this kinda pithy one-liner instruction do it for you, my friend?

First, I think it’s helpful to assess the situation— your precise situation, as you experience and understand it, as you seem to have already begun to do. That’s good! 

Then, honestly and conscientously introspect and observe the cost in terms of dissatisfaction and frustration, anxiety,  pain and suffering  of continuing to be overly entangled by the conflicting emotions and habitual, conditioned states of mind and moods of the heart— called klesha, in Buddhism, or obscuring defilements, which includes mosty if not all the jumbled up stuff of consciousness in connection with outer reality as well as your internal, subjective state. Buddhism talks about being wary of letting yourself contuinue to be blown about by the 8 worldly winds of pleasure and pain, loss and gain, fame and shame, praise and criticism. Through self-awareness and spiritual realization wisdom arises within, and we become masters rather than mere victims of circumstances and conditions. This is spiritual freedom and self-mastery, the realization of autonomy within interdependence.

You might benefit by trying to learn to meditate and practice contemplating these things without attachment and aversion, as they appear in and effect you/your consciousness: seeing as they are and observing them come and go, arise and fall, appear and disappear, along with all other things (phenomena and noumena) in this evanescent world. You could learn and practice on a daily basis the  mind clearing-and-calming concentrative serenity meditation (shamatha), or utilize the mantras, prayers and lojong (mind training and spiritual refinement) practices taught at every Tibetan center and in accessible and practical modern Dharma books. (These things, including centers and small sitting groups, are pretty ubiquitous today, so do check around. Also online.) Patience furthers, and effort is also called for on this journey of awakening.

“It is not outer things that entangle us, Naropa, but inner fixations and attachments which entangle us”, as an enlightened master of old once sang. Our inner kleshas— greed, hatred and delusion, pride and jealousy in the Buddhist formulation— must be dealt with, personally and first hand. Freedom and liberation of awakening is an inside job.

Submitted by Tammy W. via Facebook on September 21st.