Probably not everything you ever wanted to know about

Buddhism



I'm no Buddhist scholar (although I really wanted to be one once). Nor am I a really rigid practitioner, although I am a practitioner. For me, Buddhism is not about chanting every day, unless that really helps me focus. It's not about prostrating in front of statues, although that kind of puja (ritual) is really good when working on cultivating humility and devotion in your life. It's not about waiting for nirvana. Buddhism is about living. Let me say that again.

Buddhism is about living!!!

It's about living fully, living now. It's about realizing that all our conceptual categories are bullshit. Conceptual categories are how we order our world, but it's all just random, you see? It's just a lot of noise and a light show to keep you distracted. What really matters is being focused on what you're doing and in what mindset you are doing it.


Other people in history had it right:


Life is a tale told by an idiot
Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

~~Willaim Shakespeare


And that is paraphrased nicely:

Life is pretty stupid, with lots of hubbub to keep you busy,
but really not amounting to much.

~~Steve Martin
Now, I'm pretty bad about this. I daydream all the time, fantasizing about what I would like to do in the future. IN THE FUTURE. But I wasn't doing what I needed to do right now. Past, present, future... these are all just categories we've been taught to believe in by our society. But it's not wrong (another conceptual category).

Confused? So was I, for a long time, and still am for that matter. Language is part of the problem. Language is a system of symbols that is in the business of creating conceptual categories. See, the big challenge with Buddhism seems to be to transcend these conceptual categories. Not do away with them. We use them to speak, to communicate. But once we master them, we don't need to be attached to them anymore.

Still confused? OK. Let's take two conceptual categories: "You" and "Me." We've been taught "you" and "me" so that we can order our world. "Me" is the perspective I have, the complex organic computer that sits at the top of a body that houses it. "You" is not "me" but "you" experience "you" as "me". It's confusing, and our brains can't keep up usually, so we create these Categories to help us understand what is "me" and what is not "me".

And therein lies the problem. Buddhism states that there is no separation between "you" and "me." No boundaries. I am you. I am this computer. Our physical bodies are not entirely "me" but they are part of "me".

It's hard to put into words that make any sense, as you can see. But what this all amounts to is that as we realize that the boundaries between beings are culturally induced hallucinations, and when we start seeing each other as a part of ourselves, then we find ourselves experiencing compassion. Hey, if that kitten struggling to survive in the ditch is really me, then I'm trying to survive, too. If people across the world are suffering from oppressive governments, then we too suffer. So...

Buddhism is about compassion!!!

One more thing. None of us lives in a vacuum. OK, so what if just one person realizes that all these conceptual categories are crap, and the boundaries begin to dissolve, and while we feel pain, we also feel joy, because hey! it isn't really real. But we are still feeling pain, others' pain from all over the globe, plus our own pain because we are living HERE amidst all this yuck. Well, we have different options. Some have realized all this and decided they'd had enough, and they were able to leave this cycle of existence (called samsara). The Famous Buddha (not just Buddha; it wasn't his name, it was a title), whose name was Siddhartha Gautama, decided to blow this popsicle stand. He'd been around a long time, many many lifetimes. He'd stayed for quite some time to help others along the path and he figured it was time to teach and leave. So he did. But when people have it just about figured out, and they realize all this suffering is happening, and that they are a part of this suffering (both as victim and as perpetrator) well, some of them make a vow, called the Bodhisattva Vow. Bodhisattvas stay and vow to help others out, to help others see that it's just all a bunch of malarky, and hope that the words spreads so far and wide that we all finally say, "Oh, you mean I don't have to go through all this?" and the whole show ends its run.

Now, let's get a couple of details straight. No Buddhist monk, nun, Bodhisattva, or teacher ever wanted to say that people do not experience pain. In fact, that is just the point. People often LIVE in their pain. It is real to them. Very real, very present, very damaging. But that's just Buddhism's point. It's all real, but it's not real (see what I mean about language??). Buddhism is not about denying that people experience grief, illness, pain, misery, anguish. They most certainly do. But the conditions that cause all that stuff CAN be avoided. No, that's not right either. The conditions that cause all this stuff...are brought about by conditions that created them, which were brought about by conditions that created them, and so on ad nauseum until we reach the first thought of any being ever. As soon as there was the distinction between "me" and "not me" there came about this attitude that if that is not "me" then I do not have to care about what is "not me".

Now, classical Buddhism also states that when we feel joy, we are also suffering, to which many a student has said, "Huh?" Now, I could be wrong, but here's my take on it: if I experience joy, but someone, any other being is not experiencing the joy I experience, and if they are in fact experiencing pain, and if I am connected to these people because the conceptual categories of "me/not me" are bullshit, then I am still experiencing pain/suffering. Also, whatever joy we experience is impermanent because all these other sentient beings are still in a world of shit. Is any of this becoming clearer? So...

Buddhism is about interconnectedness!!!

We are connected to every other being on this planet. If an ant suffers, if the planet suffers, if a child suffers, if a murder occurs, WE ALL SUFFER!!! We are all a part of the cause, and we are all victims of the act.

Well, so far that seems pretty brutal. "Euw," you must be thinking, "Buddhists sound like pretty dismal folks." Not exactly. In order to combat the stress of knowing that you're plugged in to all the shit in the world, some Buddhists seem to also plug in to the love and joy in the world as well. Have you ever seen His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama? If I have ever seen a holy man, it is this guy. His native country has been invaded and taken over. He has lived in exile for nearly 40 years, struggling the whole time to get his people home, or at least stop the oppression, rape, and killing in his homeland, Tibet. The United Nations passes resolutions that mean nothing, it seems, to governments of China, which invaded Tibet, and the United States, which claims to support the struggle for human rights of people all over the world, but refuses to take a stand about Tibet, catering to China's every whim. He lives with the knowledge that the Tibetan language is threatened with extinction, that 6000 monasteries in Tibet were looted and destroyed, and that people die there every day. How discouraging!! Had it been me, I think I would have been so discouraged, angry, and sad, that I don't know how I could ever crack a smile again, let alone be reasonably happy. Yet, the Dalai Lama shows compassion for China's leaders and citizens. He laughs easily, even though he struggles daily to raise awareness about Tibet and his people's situation. I have seen him speak twice, and both times, he has shown a gentleness and childlike enthusiasm for living. He is not crazy. He is not cold or indifferent to his people's situation. Rather, I think this demeanor says more about him, his people, and Buddhism, than all the Buddhist texts in the world.

A lot of people see Buddhism as a very strict way of life, and granted, the Vinaya (rules for living for monks and nuns) are pretty strict. But it's not all like that. Want to see the other side of Buddhism? Visit the home page for a great newsgroup on the Usenet called "alt.buddha.short.fat.guy" (YES, that's really the name) and see what I mean. Be sure to check out the FAQ, and drop Alf the Poet a line. Click on the icon below to visit.

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I'm sure I'll have more to say later. I'll put a list here of Buddhist links and stuff. In the meantime... I wish you happiness today!