Daily Buddhism

Podcast Episode 60: Buddhism Once Again

Brian Schell — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:21:28 +0000

Podcast Episode 60: Buddhism Once Again

Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number Sixty. My name is Brian Schell, and I am the your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com.

Announcements:

Do we have anything to talk about in this episode? How about my nearly three-month absence from the world of podcasting? I’m sure I mentioned back in April or May that I had gotten a new job teaching, and it seriously takes up most of my time now. That being said, it’s been six months since I started doing that, and I can’t let it take over every minute of my time, no matter how much I enjoy it. I need to get back into doing some of the things I used to do for fun, so here I am. I’m not going to promise to do this every single week, but I am going to put out an episode every chance I get.

As always, the Daily Buddhism Email Newsletter goes out with one topic at a time, and I save them up to do the podcast. Since it’s been ages since I did the last podcast, I have a lot of newsletter material set back to podcast. The questions and articles that you are about to hear are from early July’s newsletters, and the next few podcasts we’ll be playing catch-up. That’s OK, most of this stuff isn’t going to go obsolete in our lifetime.

If you aren’t signed up for the email newsletter, just go to www.dailybuddhism.com and fix that oversight right now. It’s free and easier than ever to sign up.

And now let’s get on with this week’s show!

Koan: The Thief Who Became a Disciple
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1377

Koan: Zen in a Beggar’s Life
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1375

Buddhist Tattoos and Books
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1372
Book Article: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1186

Learning Non-Materialism
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1371

Don’t Fear the Karma
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1367

Koan: The Dead Man’s Answer
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1365

Free Newsletter: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/sign
Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com
Donate: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/donate

12 Steps, Higher Powers, and Buddhism

Brian Schell — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:50:06 +0000

Question:

I appreciate all the hard work that you spend in spiritually enriching the lives of myself and, I’m sure, countless others. It is a matter of life and death for me, as I am on a path of recovery from addiction. I am unable to embrace a “higher power” via the christian concept because of issues in the past, having felt that god was not there for me during a most dire time of need; so an alternative is a serious need for me..

This is turning into a different communication than I had intended, but regarding recovery in the 12 steps, where your “higher power” takes an active role in your life, for example:

“restoring us to sanity”
“turning or will and lives over to the care of god as we understand him.”
“admitting our character defects to him and asking him to remove them”
(we)Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Does Buddhism have the notion of a higher power that personally intervenes in ones life, or lend guidance on a personal level, one that will actively be on the receiving end of “turning your will and lives over and guide us? Is there a god one can achieve “conscious contact” with or indeed even has a “will” for our lives and can bestow “power to carry it out”? If these concepts do not apply, What might be a counterpart in Buddhism. How might one apply such concepts within the framework of Buddhism?

Or, more broadly how may Buddhism assist one in achieving the same goals, and aid in recovery within or even totally removed from the 12-step concept?

Answer:

We covered this topic once before in a guest post, which I will link to here: “Buddhism and the 12-Step Process” I would definitely suggest reading that before continuing.

Although there are groups of Buddhists who have something that could be called a “higher power,” most do not. Buddhism, more than any other “religion” emphasizes personal responsibility. You got yourself into this trouble, and you are the only one that can get you out. Regarding the quotes in your question, I’d say there is nothing there that couldn’t be dealt with in Buddhism.

“Restoring us to sanity” That’s pretty much why we’re all Buddhists in the first place, isn’t it?

“Admitting our character defects and asking him to remove them” Meditation and reflection is all about learning about ourselves and seeking to change things that need changing. The only difference is that you must take on the responsibility of change yourself, which if you are coming from the “there is no higher power” point of view, you realize already.

“Praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out” Again, this is meditation and reflection upon our own Enlightenment.

“turning or will and lives over to the care of god as we understand him.” This is the big one. If you want to follow the steps perfectly, then you need to substitute something for God. For Buddhists, this could be your own inner self, the universe as a whole, nothingness, or even the concept of Buddha himself as a wise teacher. And yet the wording of that line is problematic: the whole point of Buddhism is to gain control over your will and life, not to give it to some abstraction. You need to work this one out for yourself.

I read many other social media sites, including Digg and Reddit, both of which have a very vocal group of Atheists. Every time the topic of Alcoholics Anonymous or another group that uses the 12-step program comes up, they are attacked for being “religious indoctrination centers” or something equally hostile. It’s not just the Buddhists who have trouble with the whole idea of higher powers. More and more, people are scrutinizing the 12-step approach and picking it apart. Yet for millions of people it has worked. It’s just a matter of adapting yourself and adapting the program to fit YOUR needs.

Previous article http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/890

Ambition

Brian Schell — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:00:26 +0000

Question:

How do I let go of the constant striving for a higher paying job with more power and a title? The whole idea of making more money in order to buy more things is a way of thinking that is hard to break free from. I am a fifth grade teacher and I love teaching. I am happiest when I am in the classroom. I recently finished a degree in leadership that would make me qualified to become a principal. I did not do this out of desire for the job but rather as a way to compete with other teachers that talked about wanting to be a principal. It was also a convenient way to attract attention to myself. I did not enjoy one moment of the degree or the internship hours. Yet even though I am aware of all of this I feel a sense of duty to continue to seek that powerful, higher paying job. This whole situation is causing a great deal of stress that I cannot seem to meditate myself out of.

Answer:

I can relate. I’ll probably run into the same thing myself within a few years, maybe sooner. I’ve always been far too competitive.

You state several things that might be the cause of this, but I think you should be able to narrow it down to just one. It’s important to think on this and see if you can narrow down your reasons for this behavior. Are you simply competitive? Are you greedy, wanting more and more money (teaching probably isn’t the best career for you if that’s the case)? Or are you doing this out of a need for self-promotion, attracting attention to yourself?

None of these ideas make you either unique or a bad person; we’re all raised with the idea of becoming a wealthy, successful person in a position of power. It’s not that hard to do it if you apply yourself and work hard. The problem comes when you get to that place by doing something you don’t enjoy doing, or cause yourself suffering by grasping too hard for more and more.

Buddhists can have ambitions. Buddhists need money too. Buddhists like recognition as much as the next guy. The problem arises when these things become goals, not tools.

You need to think/meditate on this and figure out why you are doing it. If you love the classroom, you’ll probably be miserable in an administrative position. It’s a whole different world. If you can find a good reason to become a Principal, then go for it. If you simply do it because of ambition, greed, or a need for attention, you are going to resent giving up the job you love.

Your instincts already tell you that there’s something wrong with your desire for this promotion. You already know that it’s not going to be what you want. You just need to figure out what the root cause is and work on that problem before your ambition or greed drives you to something you don’t like.

Aging and Suffering

Brian Schell — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:14:42 +0000

Question:

Brian, I was asked to join Facebook by a friend. I really did not want to do it but I did. I now wish I never had. I have found lost friends but at a huge price. The first was a big strapping Marine who was one of the first kick boxers in the USA. He is now relegated to a wheel chair with Parkinson disease. The second was my sparring partner. He now has Lou Gehrig’s disease. The third was one of my martial arts instructors who now has cancer. The fourth is our main instructor who has grown old and feeble.

I understand impermanence and I understand attachment. But this just plain scares the hell out of me. As a Buddhist I know what I am supposed to think, but in reality it is not working.

Answer:

We all age and we all die, and most importantly, we all know it’s coming. But when we are confronted with too much of it all at once, as you were, it really leaves an impact.

Everything in life changes. Everything. The b it of poetry last week by Li Bai exemplified the concept. In the comment section below that post, a reader mentioned that given enough time, even the mountain itself would be gone, and that’s an excellent point. If even the mountains wear down and “die” (ask any geologist, they really do), then why should even the strongest of humanity, such as your kick-boxer friend, be any different?

Buddha himself said that change leads to suffering, and in the case of your friends, that’s clearly true. Of course, as you say, you already know all of this. It’s applying these ideas to your life that is the hard part.

The only words of advice that I have that might help is to repeat again that all things do change; the same thing that terrifies you and causes your suffering right now can also be the solution to the problem. Your friends’ suffering is temporary as well. Yes, I mean death. In your case, your friends aren’t suddenly dying, they are suffering lingering, debilitating diseases; the worst of the worst. Most people don’t really fear death itself, but I think most of us fear a long, drawn-out process of dying. Even giving up your own attachments would not mean giving up compassion for those suffering.

None of us, not even Buddha himself, really knows what comes after death. Yet if you think about it, one thing we do know is that the suffering resulting from aging will stop. The survivors, such as yourself, will move on and continue with life for as long as it lasts, while your friends will move on to whatever comes after, if anything. Does this solve your problem? No, of course not. There is no solution. But keeping all this in mind may help a bit, and that’s all we can do.

Poetic Impermanence

Brian Schell — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:15:55 +0000

Just a short post for today, but just a few words can hold a deep meaning. This is a short poem attributed to Li Bai, an 8th century Chinese poet, and expresses the Buddhist idea of impermanence perfectly. Just a reminder, zazen is a form of meditation where one just sits silently.

“Zazen on Ching-t’ing Mountain”:

The birds have vanished down the sky.
Now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains.

Help With Mindfulness and Meditation

Brian Schell — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:15:28 +0000

Question:

Can you share some tips for being mindful for new practitioners? Also, do you have any tips for being motivated to meditate for new practitioners? I read the post about being mindful at work the other day and this is something I would LIKE to do but it is a daunting task because my job involves being responsible for up to 160 rowdy teenagers. I also wear a lot of hats at my job so my mind is always bouncing around and it is hard to meditate, I don’t think I have yet managed to do it. I was thinking some sort of item, or items, around the house or on my person might serve as reminders to do both of these things. I saw a Buddha candle holder the other day that made me think of this and I was also considering a small pendant or bracelet. However, I tend to side with you on the issue of idolatry and shrines, etc. Your perspectives on these issues are most appreciated.

Answer:

As you mentioned, we have discussed idols and shrines in the past. I believe that they aren’t necessary and tend to cause unnecessary attachment. That being said, the main point of having a statue or shrine is that they DO help with mindfulness. If you have a Buddha statue where you see him often, that will help with mindfulness, at least in theory; you can probably learn to tune him out if you ignore him too much. Other forms of Buddhist artwork and objects will have a similar benefit. You don’t need these objects for religious reasons, but they certainly won’t hurt in building your mindfulness. “Out of sight, out of mind” works in the opposite direction too.

I have only one tip to help new practitioners to meditate more often, and it’s a bit obvious. Set a specific time and do it every day. Force yourself to do it if you have to, but get in the habit of doing it regularly, just like any other physical exercise. Once it becomes a regular habit, you can start getting flexible with your timing, but you have to get to the place where you want to do it and look forward to it. It’s not meant to be unpleasant or something you put off or with which you procrastinate.

Everyone has their own ideas about what is or isn’t a good tip for mindfulness. I turned the question loose on Twitter and got the following responses:

@sacredmusick Take one minute every hour to sit and breathe. It will have amazing effects on overall focus and mindfulness.

@izablessing Hi Brian, I actually did a workshop with the Healing From the Core foundation. It was entitled Developing Therapeutic Presence! Excellent!

@cacwgirl Listen to the office staff!

@pamdodd Work tip: If busy, tell interrupters you’ll get back to them and set a time.

@Annie_Fox To be more mindful at work (or anywhere) begin 2 notice when UR annoyance levels kick in, then… http://bit.ly/gvkXi

@BruceDinwiddie Tips for mindfulness at work? Give up multi-tasking and focus on single tasks intently.

Koan: The Stingy Artist

Brian Schell — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:15:37 +0000

Koan: The Stingy Artist

Gessen was an artist monk. Before he would start a drawing or painting he always insisted upon being paid in advance, and his fees were high. He was known as the “Stingy Artist.”

A geisha once gave him a commission for a painting. “How much can you pay?” inquired Gessen.

“Whatever you charge,” replied the girl, “but I want you to do the work in front of me.”

So on a certain day Gessen was called by the geisha. She was holding a feast for her patron.

Gessen with fine brush work did the painting. When it was completed he asked the highest sum of his time.

He received his pay. Then the geisha turned to her patron, saying: “All this artist wants is money. His paintings are fine but his mind is dirty; money has caused it to become muddy. Drawn by such a filthy mind, his work is not fit to exhibit. It is just about good enough for one of my petticoats.”

Removing her skirt, she then asked Gessen to do another picture on the back of her petticoat.

“How much will you pay?” asked Gessen.

“Oh, any amount,” answered the girl.

Gessen named a fancy price, painted the picture in the manner requested, and went away.

It was learned later that Gessen had these reasons for desiring money:

A ravaging famine often visited his province. The rich would not help the poor, so Gessen had a secret warehouse, unknown to anyone, which he kept filled with grain, prepared for those emergencies.

From his village to the National Shrine the road was in very poor condition and many travellers suffered while traversing it. He desired to build a better road.

His teacher had passed away without realizing his wish to build a temple, and Gessen wished to complete this temple for him.

After Gessen had accomplished his three wishes he threw away his brushes and artist’s materials and, retiring to the mountains, never painted again.

Wishing Your Life Away

Brian Schell — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:39:59 +0000

Question:

I am particularly concerned about a friend who always seems unhappy at work, complains about how some colleagues are making her life difficult, and how little she earns. She believes that marrying and giving up her job would bring her happiness. She reads books that teach her “10 Ways of Dealing with People Who Make Your Life Miserable”, which is not a very useful category of writings, in my humble opinion. She also believes that an ideal job is one in which she could look forward to going into office every morning.

I think she is suffering because her expectations aren’t realistic. Particularly, I find the state of “always looking forward to” something very dubious. I have only ever looked forward to work probably for the first few months in a job. To me, “looking forward to” something is an extreme emotion that can only last for a short period of time. If I look forward to the weekend, I am probably expecting that I would enjoy every minute of it. There is some amount of indulgence involved in it. If I look forward to lunchtime everyday, it would probably make the rest of my day very tiresome in comparison. Hence constantly “looking forward to” some event is not only impossible to achieve, it also causes more suffering if that event is not what one would expect.

Well, that is my layman’s opinion. I would like to hear about the buddhist view of this. Is “looking forward to” something a realistic feeling that can be sustained in the real world, or even when one is enlightened? Or is it an extreme emotion, not unlike intense passion and attachment, which a Buddhist should avoid?

Many thanks for your response. I hope my question is not too vague to you, as I have not learnt proper buddhist terms to explain it in.

Answer:

Proper Buddhist Terms? Here? Not necessary at all, and I try to steer away from all the jargon anyway.

I don’t think having hopes and dreams are unrealistic at all. I have them, and I sincerely hope you do too. The problem, from the Buddhist standpoint, is when we get too attached to the dreams and start to avoid reality. If your friend is neglecting the here and now in favor of these hopes for something better in the future, then yes, she’s probably going to regret it someday. We’ve talked before on whether or not it’s OK for Buddhists to make long-term plans and expectations for the future (it is OK, by the way), and this is a related problem.

Buddhists are realists. The simple facts are that the past is gone. Dwelling on the past is unproductive. The future may or may not happen the way we envision it, and there’s no use in getting attached to hopeful outcomes. You are in the present, here and now. NOW is the only time you really have any control over, so make the most of it. NOW is all you really have, so enjoy it, learn from it, do some good with it.

Wasting the Now, thinking about what might be (or could be, or should be, or whatever) is robbing reality to spend on dreams. Work harder to make the reality of the Now a better place.

What Happens, Happens.

Brian Schell — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:06:31 +0000

Question:

After having studied Buddhism for a while, I have come to some ideas about the philosophy and in particular its’ relation to morality. For westerners especially, Buddhism seems to be paradoxical and difficult to really categorize. I can accept that some things cannot be controlled, that man cannot directly choose his circumstances all the time. However, Buddhism, in particular Zen, which is influenced by Taoism has, throughout its’ teachings a kind of ‘whatever happens, happens’ kind of ideal. It seems to me that this could be fatalistic. If life is out of our control, then what about morality. If bad things just ‘ happen’ and chaos to order, order to chaos is inevitable, doesn’t that destroy our notion of choice? This can also create a kind of unclarity in one’s mind about what is right, what is wrong and can be used as an excuse for surrender to responsibility for one’s own life.

Answer:

My own chief complaint with Taoism is that it is seems passive in the extreme. Buddhism isn’t quite so passive, however. Yes, it teaches us to accept what comes by not grasping at expectations, but that’s not the same is being helpless to control ones own fate.

Bad things do sometimes just happen. So do good things. We need to learn to roll with the punches and deal with things as they happen. A great deal of suffering and unhappiness results from broken expectations and unpleasant surprises. Learn to see past all that.

This all relates to bad things that come from outside sources, not our own choice to do good or bad. If a truck runs off the road and drives through your house, is there anything you can do about that? No. Yet, if you continually hang around negative, discouraging, “toxic” people, is it likely that you will grow to take that point of view? Yes. You do have control over that sort of thing. You have control over who you call a friend. You have control over the food you eat. You have control over the words you speak and the choice of entertainment you enjoy. Most importantly, you have the choice and the control over your own actions, and this is where the Buddhist ideas of morality come into play. You do in fact have control over your thoughts and actions, and that’s really the only thing you do have control over.

We all need to learn the difference between the things you have control over and the things you do not, and focus your energies on changing the thngs we can. There’s an old prayer (not Buddhist) that goes like this:

‚ÄúLord, grant me patience to bear the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.‚Äù

Rebirth Revisited

Brian Schell — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:19:16 +0000

Question:

I know that Buddhist belief is based greatly on experiencing teachings for yourself, and not taking what anyone says (even the Buddha himself) as truth without first examining it ourselves. However, I am confused as to where the belief in rebirth and karma comes from in Buddhism. I agree with this Buddhist belief that we should not blindly follow anything anyone says, and must figure things out for ourselves and experience them, but the belief in reincarnation seems to go against this. How can we possibly know that rebirth occurs if we cannot see it for ourselves? Thanks for the wonderful podcast.

Answer:

We’ve talked about this in the past (several times), but I think this may be the number one point of Buddhism to which Westerners cannot relate. Most non-Buddhists recognize reincarnation as the butt of uncountable jokes, scams, and is generally taken seriously only by some very strange celebrities. The fact that a huge portion of the world’s population do believe in rebirth is irrelevant if all you know are Shirley Maclaine jokes.

No one really knows the origins of the rebirth idea, it goes way back beyond Buddhism, into Hinduism, and is likely far older than that. I’m only guessing here, but I’d bet that the idea of rebirth is probably older than the concepts of heaven or hell; ancient people understood the cycle of life very well. You are born, you age, you die; it’s no great leap to see that cycle as a wheel that repeats. The idea is so old, however, that no one can say absolutely where it came from, but the idea has been refined and elaborated over the years, first by Hinduism, then by Buddhism.

As you said, it’s not a requirement that you believe anything blindly, and Buddhism encourages questioning. While it is true, that many of the writings on Buddhism concern themselves with reincarnation, it’s not really absolutely necessary to believe in it. The majority of Buddhist ideas relate to your life here on Earth, right now. “Promotion” or “demotion” in the next life is not something to be strived for (more attachment and grasping); the goal is to live a good life now. Whatever happens next time around, just happens. If the Buddhist concept of rebirth is correct, it will happen to you whether you believe in it or not, so don’t worry about it. If it causes you doubt and “suffering,” then throw it out.

Keep an open mind, do some research into different ways people explain rebirth, and maybe someday you will come to believe it. Or maybe not.

Here are links to two previous articles on the topic. Be sure to read the comments below each.

Reincarnation, God, and Things You Don’t Believe: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1323

Rebirth and Karma: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1182

Koan: How Grass and Trees Become Enlightened

Brian Schell — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:34:15 +0000

Koan: How Grass & Trees Become Enlightened

During the Kamakura period, Shinkan studied Tendai six years and then studied Zen seven years; then he went to China and contemplated Zen for thirteen years more.

When he returned to Japan many desired to interview him and asked obscure questions. But when Shinkan received visitors, which was infrequently, he seldom answered their questions.

One day a fifty-year-old student of enlightenment said to Shinkan: “I have studied the Tendai school of thought since I was a little boy, but one thing in it I cannot understand. Tendai claims that even the grass and trees will become enlightened. To me this seems very strange.”

“Of what use is it to discuss how grass and trees become enlightened?” asked Shinkan. “The question is how you yourself can become so. Did you ever consider that?”

“I never thought of it in that way,” marveled the old man.

“Then go home and think it over,” finished Shinkan.

Ignorance and Arguments

Brian Schell — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:24:58 +0000

This was a comment left on the blog in response to my post yesterday, titled “Trouble in Texas.” The original question that I responded to yesterday was, “Due to the ignorance of others here in Texas, I get no leverage and I try to remain peaceful, but its very hard, I get frustrated. What should I do to ignore these conservatives and reach Enlightenment?”

And as my response, I pointed to a previous article about Dealing with Hatred.

Comment:

I am a little disappointed in your answer for two reasons; 1: the author did not ask about how to deal with hatred, he asked how to deal with the ignorance of others. 2; I really wanted your opinion on the subject because I have wanted to ask the very same question MANY times as I have struggled with the same subject many times.

Other than that keep up the good work, I find that your writing stimulates the thoughts of others, and that cannot be a bad thing.

Response:

First, let me point out that if you wanted to ask the question many times, then you should have asked sooner! I love to answer questions, they give me something to write about. So by asking questions, you’re doing me a favor as much as you are helping yourself by asking. Don’t hesitate or fear to email me! I’m always eager to tackle any topic.

Now, on to your real comment. I feel that ignorance and hatred are heavily intertwined. Generally, we fear or hate things we don’t fully understand, and we don’t try to understand things that we instinctively hate. It’s a major catch-22, and we have to try to handle those subjects carefully.

In theory, if you are simply running into plain ignorance, then all you have to do is explain yourself to the person in question and they won’t be ignorant any more. It’s rarely that simple, since there is either fear or hate involved. Fear and hate are powerful barriers to an open mind. Still, simple explanations are probably the best place to get started if you really want to beat ignorance and teach others.

One way to co-exist with those who are judgmental is to simply not give them anything to judge you with; become a model of good Buddhist behavior, live the life and be a real role-model. Personally, I don’t walk around town advertising the fact that I’m a Buddhist; there are only a handful of non-Internet friends and family that even know I am one. I see no need to tell everyone what I believe, as there are always some people who are going to judge me in a negative way. Yes, that’s due to ignorance on their part, but I know that I cannot educate everyone, especially those who have already made up their minds. I’m perfectly happy being the best Buddhist I can be in my actions and words, and every once in a while when the topic comes up with a friend or colleague, it’s the perfect opportunity to explain things to them. By demonstrating in my day-to-day actions that Buddhists aren’t “Heathen Idolators” (or whatever some people want to call us out of ignorance) people are much more open to my opinions when it does eventually come up.

I’m talking about Buddhism, but the same goes for the original questioner’s opinions on gay marriage, abortions, philosophy, and Communism. Both sides of each of the topics he mentions have strong arguments that make perfect sense to the people who advocate them; neither side is clearly wrong or blatantly stupid, although at times the opposition probably feels otherwise.

People in California are generally speaking more liberal-minded than those in Texas; that doesn’t make either group right or wrong. Still, if the writer is walking around Texas in a Che Guevera t-shirt carrying his Marx book and holding his boyfriend’s hand at the Pro-Choice rally, he’s going to find a lot of people unwilling to accept, or even listen to, his ideas. The writer didn’t say he was doing those things, but he definitely seems to have an issue with Conservatives, so I get the impression that the hostility may be mutual. I don’t intend to attack anyone, but sometimes the people who yell the loudest about others ignorance are the ones trying hardest to shove their own ideas down someone else’s throat. If this is the case, then he needs to examine why it is so important to him to change the minds of others and let that go.

I’ve always found that a little diplomacy goes a long way, and simply keeping my mouth shut in some situations goes even farther. If you go out looking for a fight, it’s usually pretty easy to find one.

Trouble In Texas

Brian Schell — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:03:37 +0000

Questions:

Hello, I am pretty new to Buddhism, I have been Zen buddhist for a year, before that, I was a Christian, I left due to the people who are conservatives, and I disagreed with it. I was born in California, now in Texas, so as you guess, I get no gain here in Texas.

Besides that, My questions are that, I’m a proud supporter of Gay marriage and I support Stem Cell Research, and I’m pro choice, do my beliefs check out with Zen Buddhism, or is what I believe sinful?

I also am studding Che Guevara, he turens out to have been a great guy, studing the Buddha and Marx, is it wrong to agree with Che or is it okay?

Also I read a great book recently titled, Siddhartha. It was about his life, in the book he states that there is another buddha, Gotma, is that true? Is Siddhartha a true book based on the real life of the buddha?

Last but not least, due to the ignorance of others here in Texas, I get no leverage and I try to remain peacefull, but its very hard, I get frustrated. What should I do to ignore these conservatives and reach enlightment?

Answers:

Wow- There’s lots to work with here. I’ll warn everyone ahead of time that everything that follows is MY opinion. Feel free to add yours in the comment section, especially if you disagree!

1) Let’s start with the easy part. The book Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, isn’t really about the Buddha. It’s about a regular man named Siddhartha who lived in the same region at the same time as “The” Buddha. The “Gotama” character in the book is the person we call Buddha, Siddhartha is just a character in this book of historical fiction. It’s a great book, but none of it is considered to be true.

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1934648035/?tag=askdrarca-20

2) I see nothing wrong with studying Marx; he IS one of the world’s major philosophers after all. You’d be cheating yourself to not understand what it was he was saying.

I’m not here to promote my own political beliefs, but Che Guevara is NOT on my list of admirable people– quite the opposite in fact. You won’t be finding one of those T-Shirts in my closet. Rather than turn this post into a rant, I’ll stop there.

3. As far as the acceptability of gay marriage, stem cell research, and pro choice, that varies from Buddhist to Buddhist just as it does with any other group. For the most part, I think the majority of Buddhists are probably OK with gay marriage but against abortion. I don’t really understand the stem cell argument well enough to comment on that. Every individual has their own opinion on these topics.

4. I have addressed the topic of “Dealing with Hatred” in the past. Check out http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1343 for the whole story (and especially the comments) on that post.

Playing Mix & Match with Religion

Brian Schell — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:15:04 +0000

Question:

Hello, I love the podcast and hope more come out soon. Any way I have a question. Is it legitimate to follow another religion and use buddhism as a philosophy? Thank You and All Blessings Be.

Answer:

Absolutely– People do it all the time. People follow Christianity or Judaism, for example, and still practice all the non-religious aspects of Buddhism as well. Since Buddhism doesn’t generally involve God or prayers, there’s no reason at all that one cannot simply add Buddhism as another “layer” to one’s own foundational belief system.

Many Christians practice Buddhism on the side, and so many Jews do it that they actually came up with a term for it, Ju-Bu (Jewish Buddhist Wikipedia Link). Depending on your specific local church, and how well they understand what Buddhism is really all about, your specific church may or may not support this.

From the wording in your question, however, I suspect you are not coming from a Judeo-Christian background. I suspect it may be even easier to fit Buddhism into one of the less dogmatic religions such as Wicca. If anyone would like to share their personal story on making Buddhism mesh with their pre-existing belief system, I’d love to hear it.

Koan: Right and Wrong

Brian Schell — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:45:50 +0000

Right & Wrong

When Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.

Later the pupil was caught in a similar act, and again Bankei disregarded the matter. This angered the other pupils, who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that otherwise they would leave in a body.

When Bankei had read the petition he called everyone before him. “You are wise brothers,” he told them. “You know what is right and what is not right. You may go somewhere else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave.”

A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire to steal had vanished.

Depression and Drugs

Brian Schell — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:31:06 +0000

Question:

Paul phoned in to ask: What’s the Buddhist view on Antidepressants? Is it looked on the same as alcohol?

Answer:

I hate to put words into Buddha’s mouth, but I suspect that his prohibition against intoxicants wasn’t intended to condemn medicinal treatments.

In a perfect world, antidepressants would not be necessary; you would have such perfect mental control that they would be redundant. In reality, that’s rarely the case. People battling depression (and it IS a battle) are not taking the drugs for enjoyment or pleasure; they are taking them in order to function. The fifth precept (‚ÄúI undertake the precept to refrain from taking intoxicants‚Äù) was not meant to harm anyone, but rather the point was to keep monks in line. You cannot meditate and reach Enlightenment when you are too drunk to sit up straight. On the other hand, you cannot meditate and reach enlightenment if your depression keeps you from caring one way or the other. If it takes antidepressant medication to get you through the day, then that’s just what it takes– there is no reason to judge it.

There is, however, a fine line between a necessary psychological/medical treatment and fueling an addiction. An addict needs his ‚Äúdrug‚Äù too, but as with many things dealing with karma, intention and motives have to be considered. We have occasionally talked about addiction and recovery here in the past, so if you are not actually taking the medication under a doctor’s supervision, I would look into some kind of treatment program.

as always, just my opinion. There ARE other viewpoints on this.

Mindfulness At Work

Brian Schell — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:59:48 +0000

Question:

How does one stay mindful and calm at work?

Answer:

I don’t know if there is any easy or quick solution to this one. In my own case, I meditate regularly, and it’s my belief that this causes me to be naturally more calm in everyday situations. It reduces my overall stress levels, and this in turn causes me to become less likely to explode when something unexpected or unpleasant occurs.

Mindfulness at work, though, is a much harder thing to accomplish, for me at least. When I am being mindful, everything I do is controlled and deliberate. Nothing is done out of habit or instinct; it’s pure mind at work. It’s also pretty rare that I actually get to that place; usually I run around doing whatever needs to be done, acting and re-acting from instinct and habit like everyone else.

I’m sure that other readers will share their tips and tricks for staying mindful, but I suspect that it really just comes down to practice and effort. The more mindful you are, the easier it will be to be mindful; a definite chicken-and-egg problem.

Attachment TO Buddhism

Brian Schell — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:05:00 +0000

Question:

This is a general question… In studying Buddhism, we learn that attachment is undesirable. We learn we need to recognise and remove attachments that we identify we have. Is there a point where we can become too attached to the teachings of Buddhism? i.e. the Four Noble Truths, the Five Precepts, etc? In the end, does the path to Enlightenment simply boil down to the Buddha’s last words: “Conditioned things are perishable; with vigilance strive to succeed.” (from http://www.visiblemantra.org/buddha-last-words.html) i.e. simply trying one’s best at anything, the pursuit of excellence in any field, so that one loses oneself, and becomes one with the subject matter (say, like a great concert pianist, lost in the moment of playing)is what leads to Enlightment / salvation.

Answer:

Remember Buddha’s life before he attained Enlightenment. He was a wealthy, pampered prince, and then became an extreme ascetic, nearly starving to death. He definitely knew a thing or two about taking things to the extreme. One of his main teachings was that of the middle way, or moderation in all things. Too much of anything, even meditation and study, can be harmful.

That’s not to say anyone can reach Enlightenment without a great deal of effort and dedication. It’s not unusual to read about monks that went off into the wilderness for years of solitary meditation, nearly dying in the process. These stories are not told with ‚Äútoo much effort‚Äù being the point. Buddha himself abandoned his kingdom and family, and this also is not told with ‚Äútoo much sacrifice‚Äù being the point. There’s a long way between what most of us do to practice Buddhism and the ‚Äúextreme.‚Äù

That being said, there comes a point where dedication to anything can become an obsession. This is not good. It can damage your relationships, job, family, and so forth. Whether or not this is acceptable is entirely up to you. Most of us don’t go that far, but some do. They are the monks who dedicate their lives to reaching Enlightenment. That’s an admirable goal, and I applaud (and envy) those monks. Yet for most of us, we must remember the middle path and avoid the ‚Äúextremes.‚Äù

Sin & Skepticism in Buddhism

Brian Schell — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:03:57 +0000

Question:

Last night I was listening to the Skeptoid podcast, which examines various things from a skeptic’s perspective. The host was discussing sin and mentioned that being skeptical was a sin in Buddhism. Your podcasts have lead me to think otherwise. Was the host misinformed? Please elaborate. Thanks!

Answer:

I listen to a couple of skeptic podcasts as well; I prefer the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe. I didn’t hear the episode of Skeptoid in question, but yes, I’d guess the speaker was probably just misinformed about Buddhism; they can’t be expects in everything. Generally, I agree with the skeptics’ views on religion, but I think in this case, he was either looking at some specific sect of Buddhism or just plain wrong.

Most, if not all, sects of Buddhism encourage open-minded thought and debate. Some are more open to modern science and thinking than others, but I’m not aware of any group that would consider doubt a form of “sin.” There is a reason many people (although once again, not everyone) prefer to call Buddhism a philosophy rather than a religion, and open-mindedness is a big part of it.

If any of the Daily Buddhism readers out there are familiar with a case where skepticism or critical thinking was discouraged in Buddhism, please post a comment. I’m sure it happens, but it’s definitely not the general rule.

Koan: The Thief Who Became a Disciple

Brian Schell — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:50:55 +0000

The Thief Who Became a Disciple

One evening as Shichiri Kojun was reciting sutras a thief with a sharp sword entered, demanding wither his money or his life.

Shichiri told him: “Do not disturb me. You can find the money in that drawer.” Then he resumed his recitation.

A little while afterwards he stopped and called: “Don’t take it all. I need some to pay taxes with tomorrow.”

The intruder gathered up most of the money and started to leave. “Thank a person when you receive a gift,” Shichiri added. The man thanked him and made off.

A few days afterwards the fellow was caught and confessed, among others, the offense against Shichiri. When Shichiri was called as a witness he said: “This man is no thief, at least as far as I am concerned. I gave him the money and he thanked me for it.”

After he had finished his prison term, the man went to Shichiri and became his disciple.

Koan: Zen in a Beggar’s Life

Brian Schell — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:47:18 +0000

Zen in a Beggar’s Life

Tosui was a well-known Zen teacher of his time. He had lived in several temples and taught in various provinces.

The last temple he visited accumulated so many adherents that Tosui told them he was going to quit the lecture business entirely. He advised them to disperse and to go wherever they desired. After that no one could find any trace of him.

Three years later one of his disciples discovered him living with some beggars under a bridge in Kyoto. He at once implored Tosui to teach him.

“If you can do as I do for even a couple of days, I might,” Tosui replied.

So the former disciple dressed as a beggar and spent a day with Tosui. The following day one of the beggars died. Tosui and his pupil carried the body off at midnight and buried it on a mountainside. After that they returned to their shelter under the bridge.

Tosui slept soundly the remainder of the night, but the disciple could not sleep. When morning came Tosui said: “We do not have to beg food today. Our dead friend has left some over there.” But the disciple was unable to eat a single bite of it.

“I have said you could not do as I,” concluded Tosui. “Get out of here and do not bother me again.”

Buddhist Tattoos and Books

Brian Schell — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:55:19 +0000

Question:

Hello Brian, Which podcast discusses books that you and others have read? Best of luck with the new job! I miss getting semi daily tweets.

PS- what is a Buddhist opinion on tattoos? Are tattoos considered desecrating to the human body and isn’t the body considered a temple?

Answer:

Thank you, the new job is going well, and I’ve finally managed to shuffle things around to hopefully make time for everything. I may not be Tweeting as much anymore, but at least the blogs and emails are going out regularly again.

The post about books was called “Beginner’s Buddhism Books,” and you can find it here: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1186 , or listen to the podcast version here: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1191

If you or anyone else has recently found a book that you recommend, feel free to add it to the post in a comment.

Tattoos? Hmmm. I don’t know of anything Buddha himself said about tattoos. I think that the whole idea of “Your body is a temple” is more of a Christian idea than Buddhist. Remember, Buddhists believe that the body is just a temporary shell, to be discarded when we are doe with it.

Tattoos and how they are looked upon is more related to culture than religion in my experience. In Japan, for example, no “civilized person” shows tattoos publicly. Americans who have tattoos and visit Japan are advised to cover them up, as only the “Japanese Mafia” wear tattoos openly. I’m not going to say there aren’t exceptions to that, but it seemed pretty accurate as far as I could see. I don’t have a tattoo, but my roommate did, and he absolutely got a negative reaction out of it. On the other hand, it’s not that unusual for children to have tattoos in America; they’re simply everywhere.

In countries where tattooing is socially acceptable, there is a huge variety of very beautiful tattoos of Buddhist imagery. A quick Google of “Buddhist Tattoos” will show many examples.

Learning Non-Materialism

Brian Schell — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:33:40 +0000

Question:

I am fairly new to Buddhism, though I have been interested in the Buddhist system of beliefs for many years. I am wondering if you can suggest any practices to help develop non-attachment, particularly in regards to food and material things. Perhaps you have covered this in a previous episode, I have not listened to all the back podcasts yet. Thank you for your time and for the work you put into the website and podcasts. It is very helpful to a novice Buddhist like myself.

Answer:

No, I don’t think we’ve covered this before, at least not from the “how-to” perspective, and yes, it’s a difficult thing to master.

In the Four Noble Truths, Buddha himself explained that one of the primary causes of suffering is attachment. He meant more than just attachment to material things; he meant attachment to ideas, people, emotions, beliefs, and much more. But let’s focus on just worldly material possessions for today.

In the East, historically, it has been tradition for householders to support wandering monks, mendicants, ascetics, and other traveling “holy men.” It was completely possible for these men to survive owning nothing but the clothes on their backs, and in some regions, even clothing was an option. With modern society in the East, and even moreso in Western countries, this lifestyle just doesn’t work well anymore. Generally speaking, we don’t look at “homeless people” as holy men; often it’s quite the opposite. Clearly, for most of us, we need to find some kind of middle way between being totally homeless and propertyless and blatant greedy materialism.

There’s nothing wrong with having a job, driving a car, wearing decent clothes, and owning a few “toys.” The trick is not to get too attached to them. How would you react if somehow you lost it all tomorrow?

In my own life, I never really learned this lesson until I went to Japan. Basically, all I took with me was the contents of two suitcases, and had to make do with those items for the duration of my stay (finding clothing in my size over there was not something I ever managed to do). It was tough, but it was also easy to visualize how it could have been worse; I wasn’t broke and I did have options if there was something I really needed. Still, I had a house full of possessions back in the States that I was giving up, and it turns out after a couple of weeks, I didn’t miss those possessions at all. Upon my return, I have been slowly working at getting rid of many of those things. It’s just “stuff” now, and I see now that “stuff” is just another ball & chain.

So I’ll open up the question to all of you: How do you manage your attachment to material things? Is it a problem for you, and if it’s not, then why not?

Don’t Fear the Karma

Brian Schell — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:25:03 +0000

Question:

I have only recently started listening to your podcast. Listening to it has been part of my seeking of a belief system. I have found it extra-ordinarily difficult to find something to believe in be it spirituality, ideas, people and even myself. Though I know this issue has to do more with my own psychology then a faith structure, I have found the notion of Buddhism to be most in line to what I think is true of my reality.

My question has to do with the concept of karma. I understand that it is a central part of Buddhism, but I find that I fear it the most. I know it is perhaps an irrational fear, but could you explain to me the causal affects of karma? There have been things which I have done in my life that I am not particularly proud of, and I have done my best to make amends to those that I have hurt (emotionally). But, I do not believe that I have ever been forgiven, I don’t know what this means for me in terms of karma. If I am destined to this feeling of sadness or not being able to understand that was my past and now I live in my present.

Answer:

There are a few things to consider with karma. First, karma is simply the way the universe works, it’s like gravity. There’s no “mind” controlling it, nor does it seek “revenge” on people.

You say you have done bad things, and since I don’t know you, I won’t argue that point. On the other hand, you say you have made amends to those you have hurt. If you have truly made amends, then it seems likely that karma will balance out. You say that you have not been forgiven… by whom? The person you wronged or by some idea of “God?” If the person forgave you, then that’s all that matters. If you have truly atoned for whatever it is that you did, then karma will take care of itself.

There are some things that you might not be able to truly atone for having done. Some things, you cannot simply just “undo.” So, yes, your actions do have consequences in the next life (lives). You cannot know the ultimate effect on your karma or what your next life will be, so there is no point in getting “attached” to the outcome. If you want to influence your future life, then work hard to live a good life NOW. Maybe you’ve messed up in the past, but you still have a future to make up for it.

The important thing is not to suffer needlessly over the worry. Whatever happens will happen whether you fear it or not. Learn to act in a “good” way simply because that is the best way to act, not because you want some future reward.

Good luck!

Koan: The Dead Man’s Answer

Brian Schell — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:06:30 +0000

The Dead Man’s Answer

When Mamiya, who later became a well-known preacher, went to a teacher for personal guidance, he was asked to explain the sound of one hand.

Mamiya concentrated upon what the sound of one hand might be. “You are not working hard enough,” his teacher told him. “You are too attached to food, wealth, things, and that sound. It would be better if you died. That would solve the problem.”

The next time Mamiya appeared before his teacher he was again asked what he had to show regarding the sound of one hand. Mamiya at once fell over as if he were dead.

“You are dead all right,” observed the teacher, “But how about that sound?”

“I haven’t solved that yet,” replied Mamiya, looking up.

“Dead men do not speak,” said the teacher. “Get out!”