Many Modes of Spirituality
The contemporary world is such a confusing place. We have available to us a greater plethora of ideas than perhaps any previous age. The spiritual treasures of the whole world and much of history are spilled out at our feet and we do not know how to choose from amongst them. Actually any single jewel may be sufficient. It is surely not a matter of finding the right one any more than it is a matter of quantity. Sufi, Buddhist, Catholic, or even agnostic-yet-spiritual... there are many modes. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, said Shakespaere, but if one wastes so much energy disputing the name that one never stops to savour the aroma, the point is missed. They are all modes of expression of our deepest longing, our prayer and it is important that that longing find expression one way or another.
Loving the Divine No Matter the Creed
There are a growing number of people whose spirituality transcends the boundaries of traditional religions. They might be those who, like myself, practise one specific creed and benefit hugely, yet still know that it is just one vehicle and that many other vehicles might have done passably well; or they might be people who have never really settled in any one confessional community yet still harbour a strong spiritual sense of life. Such people, and there are many, find themselves at home with others who have fallen in love with the Divine no matter what their creed, but are less at ease with those who claim that one single interpretation of ultimate truth and one single book and church are exclusively right, all others being wrong and blameworthy, even if the church in question is our own – what embarrassment – and even if the creed is called "science" and the book was written by Darwin.
Continue reading "Opening onto a Broad Vista ~ Dharmavidya" »
From Toni Bernhard:
According to the dictionary, to forgive is to stop feeling angry or resentful toward yourself or others for some perceived offense, flaw, or mistake. Keeping that definition in mind, forgiveness becomes a form of compassion. This is because compassion is the act of reaching out to yourself and others to help alleviate suffering. Forgiving yourself and forgiving others has just that effect.
To inspire you to work on cultivating forgiveness for yourselves and others, I’ve provided commentary on ten carefully gathered quotations. I hope some of them will resonate strongly enough with you that you’ll jot them down on a piece of paper as a reminder you can refer to now and then.
Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness. —Marianne Williamson
In my own life, I’ve found this to be true: peace comes when I’m feeling good-will toward others and not contending with them. Both of these require that I forgive those who may not have acted as I’d hoped they would. This can be a challenge.
Many of us find it hard to forgive. We’ve been conditioned from childhood to think of forgiving as a sign of weakness. But we can change our habits. That’s one of the most wondrous characteristics of the mind: it’s malleable. Each time we forgive ourselves or others, it becomes easier to do so the next time. This means that we are gradually changing a habit in a way that will bring us peace of mind.
It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody. —Maya Angelou
This is a tall order—not only to forgive ourselves and some people, but to forgive everybody. The best way for me to get a handle on this is to remember that we can “forgive but not forget.” And so, if someone has treated me badly, I can work on generating compassion for how much they must have been suffering to have behaved the way they did. That can lead to forgiveness. But forgiveness doesn’t mean I should forget, meaning that I may need to take steps to protect myself in the future from this person. Our minds should be forgiving…but they also should be wise!
Continue reading here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/turning-straw-gold/201601/how-live-compassionately-forgive-yourself-forgive-others
"This is a lovely, gentle introduction to a lesser known (in the west) Buddhist tradition. It gives a user friendly outline of what Pureland Buddhism is and a realistic insight into the lifestyle of devotional religion. The authors use their experience to carry a message of compassion and a deep insight into Human nature as foundational aspects of a revolutionary way of life. An essential read for the Buddhist who wants to look beyond the dogma to the heart of the teaching. Namo Amida Bu!"
~ Adam Dunsby
"An enjoyable and understandable read. Very open, honest, and realistic. Covering day to day temple life and daily experiences, and shared moments of real insight.
Both writers and contributors capture the essence of what is unique in Pureland Buddhism and explain simply the various methods of practice.
A very positive and helpful book with a feeling of real gratitude running throughout."
~ Stan
"This is a very accessible introduction to Pureland Buddhism and an open account of life in a temple. Factual information is clear and never dry, and this alternates with personal experiences which are always honest. The overall impression is of warmth and acceptance - a must read for Buddhists, non Buddhists and the spiritually curious."
~ Amazon customer
We Need Restraint Not More Bombs
We are all dismayed by the events in Paris. Yet, have we been equally dismayed by the daily events in the Middle East where our own governments are dropping bombs? I am deeply sympathetic to the French people affected by the recent violence. I am deeply sympathetic to the people in Syria, in Iraq, in Afghanistan and in the whole Middle East Region. I understand why there is hatred. I understand why people want to kill. However, killing more and more will not bring the killing to an end. Only restraint, understanding, wisdom and compassion will do that.
We are caught up in a tit-for-tat world and each retaliation only provokes more of the same. Every bomb we drop generates a new group of people who hate us. Every atrocity increases the likelihood of more. It is like fire spreading. Let us all pray for restraint and ask wisdom of our leaders.
A Little Political Analysis
Who are Islamic State? They are basically the Sunni Muslims who were driven out of power by the invasion of Iraq. Since we invaded their country, do we expect them to be our friends? They have been more successful than was expected in establishing a new proto-state by becoming the most effective element in the opposition to the Assad government in Syria, but were not our own governments also supportive of that opposition? In effect, there is a civil war going on in the Middle East, mostly between Sunni and Shia Moslems. The West has changed sides several times in its interference in this regional conflict. Sometimes it is anti-Iran and therefore anti-Shia, then it is establishing a Shia government in Iraq and so being anti-Sunni, then it is opposing Assad and being anti-Shia again, then it is dropping bombs on the most effective anti-Assad faction and becoming anti-Sunni again. It is difficult to escape the impression that the basic logic of Western policy is to keep changing sides frequently so as to generate the maximum amount of chaos and ensure that nobody in the Middle East ever become powerful enough to establish peace and order and become a rival to Western interests. If we carry on like this, what can we expect? Do we think that exporting chaos, destruction and death to a whole region is never going to come home? And now that some of it is coming home, do we think that we can re-stabilise the situation by escalating the strategy that is responsible for the trouble in the first place?
What Will Happen?
If we go on like this we can only expect the situation to worsen, both in the Middle East and in Europe. No analyst I have read thinks that Islamic State can be destroyed by bombing alone, even if this were desirable, and no Western country seems likely to commit ground troops, so why are we fighting a war we cannot win? Apart from the horror of the killing involved, it makes little or no political sense. The only power that is at all likely ever to commit ground troops to the defeat of Islamic State is Turkey and the expansion of Turkey in the region would probably only lead to sudden, startled Western suspicion of Turkish intentions and a new arena of conflict. Perhaps the whole region will be carved up by Turkey and Iran. It has happened before.
Alternatively, there will be ever increasing fragmentation, chaos and killing. In the short run we need restraint, but I am pessimistic. The tit-for-tat may continue to escalate. If it does we shall lose civil rights, become paranoid, elect extremist governments and much that has been achieved in Europe in the past generation will be lost. I hope this pessimism is unfounded. All spiritual people should now be urging restraint. Many are doing so. Let us pray that wise voices prevail.
Bringing Pureland to the West one runs into a mesh of ideas that have developed in our very different Western context. A crucial ideological element in our Western outlook derives from Adam Smith and the idea that if each looks after his own (economic) interest it will bring (by means of a "hidden hand") the greatest good for all. This is a corner stone of our Western type of "individualism". At the same time, we also have a monotheistic ethic that includes an idea of surrender. This reaches its fullest development in Islam. The word Islam itself implies surrender to God. However, the idea is also present in Christianity and from there it has come into programmes like Twelve Step and Course in Miracles. The existence of these two different ideals can lead to a kind of swinging from one extreme to the other and a sense that self-care and care for others are mutually opposed principles. This has been further strengthened by the historical fact that the early Christian church broke through the resistance of the Pagan Roman empire by Christians becoming martyrs. We thus have a rather strong current in our cultural unconscious of martyrdom and a good deal of contemporary pop psychology is dedicated to trying to eliminate this. However, one does not eliminate a pendular swing by adding energy to the other extreme.
Benefitting Self & Other
Buddhism comes from a different cultural context. Now these cultures are talking to each other. In Buddhism there is an implicit assumption that what is genuinely good for one is good for all and that by practising the spiritual path one is benefitting self and other automatically. This makes it a middle path in relation to the Western concerns. Actually Buddhism does not really have the idea of surrender in the sense of the military analogy. It is not really that the Buddhas are a "higher power" that one surrenders to. It is rather that they are an unfailing support. With that support one never has to surrender and one is never defeated. Yet one's state of never being defeated is not because of one's personal strength. It is because one has the merit power of the Buddhas supporting one. One's actions thus naturally become a further extension of that merit power, which is much greater than one's own little accumulation. The image is more of the Buddhas "underneath" than "on high". Hence we have the lovely little poem of Saichi:
The ocean is full of water
it has the seabed to support it.
Saichi is full of blind passions:
it has Amida to support it.
We can see in this poem that Saichi's sense of his "blind passions" is somewhat impersonal. It just happens to be so, but that is not a disaster because there is Amida (and, by implication, therefore, all the Buddhas and other celestial beings) supporting. Even the blind passions will somehow work out OK.
No Day of Judgement
So Saichi does not feel that one day he will have to answer for his passions and justify them or be punished. For sure they will have consequences in this world and it is better to be wise than stupid, but sin is not a cosmic or metaphysical catastrophe. He feels that the passions are just part of how things are - just as it is - and that is not terrible because, although his merit is small, he can rely upon and partake of the merit of the Buddhas.
We in the West have a cultural background of fear-of-God and fear-of-judgement and this drives both the sense of self-responsibility and judgementalism. In Buddhism, the gods are in the same boat as we are and the Buddhas do not judge, they help. For sure, we are vulnerable to urges that get us into trouble in various ways and even lead to us sometimes being cruel, mean or stupid, but still the Buddhas smile upon us in the same way as a good parent continues to love the child even when it has a temper tantrum or gets into trouble.
Relaxing in the Deepest Place
The Buddhas are looking out for us. They help when they can, past, present and future, here and hereafter. We live our lives by such light as we have, and they help and give us more light whenever we open up enough to receive it. The more appreciative we are of the spiritual support, the more we relax in the deepest part of ourselves. The more relaxed we are in the deepest part of ourselves, the easier we are to live with and the more others benefit from our presence. Self and other thus both benefit in a single process. There is no opposition between what is good for self and what is good for other. It is possible to see this as a kind of surrender, rather as one surrenders to a deckchair, but it is not surrender in the sense of the warlike analogy of becoming defeated or a slave. One remains undefeated. In fact, one relaxes because one knows one cannot and will not be defeated. Even if the whole universe is consumed by fire, one will be fine in the only sense that ultimately matters.
Thus what we call self-care and care for others happen, but without a strongly self-conscious contrivance of some kind. The bodhisattva saves all sentient beings but does not have a sense of saving all beings; cares for self but without any special sense of caring for self. Eat when hungry, sleep when tired, do what needs doing, see needs and attend to them, but no need to make a big deal out of it. That is the Buddhist spirit. It is really a kind of naturalness that becomes possible through the sense of having spiritual support.
Being Shattered but Not Defeated
There is a story that Quan Shi Yin was busy saving sentient beings for many eras and then paused to take stock and saw just as many beings needing saving as when she started. At this point she shattered into a thousand pieces. It was at that point that Amida appeared and put her back together again. Amida continues to appear in her headdress as you can see in the picture.
When we try to do things by our own power sooner or later we feel shattered. When she was shattered she stopped for a moment, and at that point, some light got in. At that point she was stopped in her tracks, she did not know what to do or what was what. Her "vedana" stopped, momentarily. In terms of her previous program she was defeated, but Amida appears and, in effect, says, "No, you are not defeated because I am here. You did not notice me before because you were too busy with your idea. It was not a bad idea, but it did blind you to my presence. Still, here I am, and all is well. You are not defeated. You can go on with your work, but now that you know I am here you will do it in a new spirit." Hearing this, she can relax. She will continue her work, but in a much more natural relaxed way and, with much less expenditure of effort, she will actually be much more effective. Furthermore, she will enjoy it more and feel happy and grateful, knowing that whatever happens, all's well and all shall be well.
~ Dharmavidya
