| Buddhist Equations and Reincarnation |
[Oct. 18th, 2006|09:33 pm] |
Karma:
Effort + Time = Result
Suffering:
Suffering = Pain + Resistance
I've been thinking a lot lately about reincarnation. It makes sense, even in this life. From day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year, much about "me" changes. My thoughts change, my moods change, my ambitions and aspirations change. I came across a quote somewhere that said when we die, the only thing we take with us is our awareness.
This makes sense to me, on an intuitive level.
Because really, in life, the only thing I take with me is my awareness. Everything else swirls and changes around it. Following the premise of "as below, so above", reincarnation between bodies would simply be this same principle writ large. Perhaps our awareness travels from life to life, seeing through different lenses depending on how we've lived before.
Reincarnation, if it is true, explains a lot of things. There is a certain justice because all beings, over time, should eventually evolve to the final point of the enlightened state. Yet there is no rush. We cannot force some one to accept the dharma, to see the Tao, to follow the Way because they can only do so according to each individual's level of development. If some one has a grosser soul, so to speak, then perhaps they can only learn basic moral truths. Some one a little further may be able to understand a little more, and so on. THis answers a lot of questions, and creates a certain justice within. Why are people so violent, so mean, so stupid, and so on? Karmic evolution. They can only act according to the level of their own development. Can we really expect more? Perhaps a little more.
SN Goenka teaches that if some one is immoral, you teach them sila, right conduct. Once they have mastered this, you can then teach them samadhi, or meditation. Once they master this, they are ready for panna, or wisdom. Some people may only be at the first stage, others the second, still others the third.
Something to ponder. |
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| Meditation Tip |
[Oct. 13th, 2006|03:05 pm] |
When meditating, do not force the thoughts to stop.
Do not become involved in the thoughts.
Simply watch the thoughts as they come and go. |
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| Buddhism |
[Oct. 13th, 2006|02:54 pm] |
One of the fundamental axioms in Eastern practices is that knowledge is incomplete without personal experience. This fits even in the Western tradition, in the sense of the Biblical word "to know." The same word is used for knowledge in the common sense, but also for intimate (i.e. sexual) relationships.
This is interesting because Biblically, the union between a man and a woman creates one flesh, i.e. two become one. This fits with the Eastern view of knoweldge: when you know something by personal experience, there is a unification between the knower and the known. The known imprints us physically, mentally, and emotionally.
When Buddhism posts the Four Noble truths (1) life is suffering; (2) desire is the cause of suffering; (3) the end of desire is the end of suffering; (4) the way to end desire is through the 8 fold Way, or in Theraveda shorthand, sila (right speech, right action, right occupation), samdhi (right concentration, right mindfulness, right effort), and panna (right aim, right understanding)), it is not enough to remember this information mentally. To really "get it", one must personally experience these truths for oneself.
This puts suffering in an entirely different perspective. When one suffers, one is already on the path to liberation, because one is experiencing directly the First Noble Truth. If one is attentive, then one can also experience the Second Noble Truth. This is already a very long way to enlightenment. |
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| Futility |
[Jul. 17th, 2006|12:14 pm] |
I will never cease to be amazed at how suddenly and completely an entire life can change based on a single act, a single impulse, a single moment.
It is good to plan, I think, but foolish to think that our plans will come to pass. All plans are contingencies, and one should be able to chart a completely new course in a short time. I am reminded of this for it seems that whenever I feel stable, something comes along to knock me completely off center.
Good thing that variety is the spice of life. |
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| Thought for the Week |
[Jun. 28th, 2006|11:51 am] |
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The weight of the entire world rests on a single moment. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 15th, 2006|11:34 am] |
My wandering thoughts
Dissolve
The beautiful day
The beautiful day
Dissolves
My wandering thoughts. |
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| From a Zen teacher |
[Jun. 7th, 2006|08:36 am] |
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How does the whiteness of this Buddha statue help to teach the Buddha's message? |
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| Homeostasis |
[May. 6th, 2006|04:33 pm] |
Homeostasis: n. the ability of an organism to maintain its current state of equilibrium.
i.e. Why things remain as they are. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 28th, 2006|08:25 am] |
The question for today:
Why does humanity always return to a state of perpetual sleep? |
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