Tag Archives: Buddhism

As children we are constantly bombarded with orders from our parents.

“Don’t eat that.”

“Don’t put that in your mouth.”

“Don’t touch that.”

“Don’t leave the yard.”

“Don’t go out in the street.”

”Don’t talk to strangers.”

We learn as adults that our parents (hopefully) were just trying to look out for us, to teach us right from wrong and keep us from injury or death. Most parents do the best job that they can to protect us from the evils of the world. The world is full of dangers and poisons. You hear about a kid dying or being horribly maimed on an almost daily basis. Parents want to teach their kids the lessons that they need to be healthy and successful in this world. Kids have a tendency to test the boundaries, stretch the leash. It’s a constant tug of war. It’s all a part of growing up.

There are different kinds of poison. There are the cleaning chemicals that we keep under the kitchen sink. There is spoiled food. There are all of the lawn supplies and gasoline in the garage. There is all of the pills and toiletries in the medicine cabinet. The list goes on and on.

And then there are the poisons of the soul.

The Buddha taught this in his First Noble Truth, “Life Is Suffering.” He also taught about the Three Poisons, greed, anger, and ignorance. The Three Poisons are the three-headed monster of human suffering. Greed is equivalent to desire. We are creatures of desire. We desire for sex, money, material items, love and happiness. We are always searching for the newest, better and bigger thing. The next door neighbor buys a new car, so we feel the urge to buy one too. We can’t possibly wear the same dress again to a big event. We need that new pair of high-tech running shoes or the newest laptop. I am just as guilty of that as the next guy. If you are desirous of that which you don’t or can’t have, then you are suffering.

The anger that the Buddha spoke of comes in the form of rage and hatred. We have a tendency as humans to hate, or at least be suspicious of those who are different from us. The difference can come in the form of physical attributes, religion, politics or ideology. Much like our ancestors, we divide ourselves into tribes. Many of us have numerous tribes that we identify with. We are (pick your country of origin)Americans, Catholics, Conservatives, New Yorkers, Steelers fans, vegetarians and Teamsters. By design, we therefore dislike (other)Americans, Muslims, Liberals, Californians, Cowboy fans, meat eaters and scabs. The divisiveness is as pronounced as it’s ever been. This dislike of the others can manifest itself in the form of hatred, resentment, and even discrimination. It has been seen recently in the U.S.A. in the venom tossed back and forth between the Liberals and the Tea Party. If you obsess on this kind of hatred or relate to it in any way, then you are suffering. The anger races through your brain like a lightning storm. This is what we define as stress.

And then there is ignorance. The ignorance that the Buddha speaks of isn’t the kind where you don’t know your ABC’s or multiplication tables. It isn’t that you don’t know how to read or can’t answer when someone says “Que pasa?” The ignorance that the Buddha speaks of is not knowing your true nature. We spend a lot of time examining other people. We should more time examining ourselves. Much has been made of the teachings and practices of the Buddha. There are many misconceptions about what it is all about. Buddhism is not about mysticism. Buddhism is about introspection. It’s about shining a mirror on yourself and your actions. When you examine your previous decisions and choices, then you can begin to be more conscious of your future ones. When you make conscious and informed decisions, you exercise your Buddha-nature. Anyone can be a Buddha and the Buddha-nature is in all things. As the Dalai Lama said, “There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple…” If you don’t know yourself, then you are suffering.

Your brain, your heart, your body is your temple. The Buddha just didn’t teach about the three poisons. He taught about the Three Antidotes.

Generosity is the antidote to greed. I’m not talking about the kind of generosity where you give a dollar to every panhandler that you see on the street. I’m talking about the generosity of spirit. It sounds cheesy, but I’m talking about say “how are you?” and meaning it. I’m talking about opening a door for someone, helping an old lady across the street. I’m talking about making a stranger smile.

The antidote to anger is compassion. When you have a moment where you feel the anger, the rage, the impatience start to rise up in you, take a second to examine the root cause of your anger. If it is directed to another person, ask yourself what that person ever did yo you. If it is a policeman, are you angry because you once got a parking ticket? If it is a service worker, is it because you once got a bad pizza? If that person has a different color skin than you, is it because you are afraid or angry because of something that happened somewhere else in the world? There are a million reasons that these feelings rise up, but is there any good reason to let them ruin your day? The strongest compassion that you can show is the compassion that you give to yourself. When a strong emotions flares reach inside yourself to examine the source. Once examined it can be discarded. The more you practice this, the less often you will have to do it.

The antidote for ignorance is wisdom. Once again, I’m not talking about the stuff you answer on the ACT. Wisdom is knowledge of self. You don’t have to be a Buddhist to take stock of your life. Meditation is an invaluable tool. Quieting your mind and staring internally can make you question your values and methods. It’s important to remember that life is a series of causes and effects. Wisdom is taking responsibility for the events in your life. Ignorance is finding someone else to blame. The sooner you drill down to the root causes, the faster the positive effects that you desire will come. Can you really wait around for someone else to make you happy? Better to take the reins and do it yourself.

That’s my plan.

World’s smallest footprints
in a patch of snow
cause me to pause
and ponder

Looking closer
I see ten perfect toes
and wonder what a baby
is doing unshod in the snow

Alarmed, I follow their progress

The footprints
grow smaller
closer together
almost as if

They never were

I turn around to a field
of unblemished snow
footprints are gone
baby’s and mine

Almost as if
We never were

“Wow, I really want this job.” You fill out the online application and send it off through cyberspace. Thinking that a phone call might be better, you make the call and leave a voicemail. You open another tab on your browser and pull up the company website. It seems perfect. You finally make the connection and set up the interview. You make getting this job your number one goal in life.

“Each minute in life should be a divine quest.” Paramansa Yogananda (1893-1952)

You wake early on the morning of the interview. You meticulously prepare, your hair and clothes are perfect. Your resume is updated. You leave early and arrive twenty minutes before you’re supposed to be there. Your stomach is tied in knots.

“Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.” – Jim Rohn (1930-2009)

You walk into the office and meet the Manager for the first time. She stands and walks around the desk and meets you half way. You are both smiling. You share a warm handshake. You talk about the job, its qualifications, responsibilities and compensation. You both agree that you are the perfect person for the job. It seems like all of your life experience has been leading you to this point. But has it? Let’s stop and examine this moment for a second.

“Time is not a line but a series of Now points.” Taisen Deshimaru (1914-1982)

Let’s imagine a few variables in this perfect occasion. Maybe the Manager spills her coffee right before you walk into her office, making her irritable. Maybe a car on the sidewalk splashes you out front, shattering your confidence. Maybe you cut yourself shaving, making you look less professional. Maybe the Manager used to work at one of your old jobs, or knows one of your references. Any little thing can spoil this perfect, magical moment. But is it a really magical?

“The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” Abraham Lincoln – American President

In truth, the future never comes. Just as we have no control over the past, we cannot control the future. We spin the past in ever-increasing fantasies, interpretations that fit our self- and world-views. At some point the past becomes some mixture of fact and fiction. If you don’t believe me, just pick up any history book and ask the winners and losers for their interpretations of it.

We try to guide our future. We plan meticulously. We prepare for that special day. Then we spill the coffee, cut ourselves shaving, get splashed on the street or say the wrong thing. Our plans go awry. All we can truly do is the best that we can and hope for the best. But there is one thing that we can control.

Let’s rewind to that moment when you stride confidently into that office and shake your future Manager’s hand. Even if any one of those variables has thrown up a roadblock, you can still salvage one good moment. And the one after that. You can only control the physical moment that you are in. If you walk into this same office one hundred days in a row, prepare just as meticulously, say all of the same things in the same order. You can never, ever, have a Groundhog Day moment. Something will always be different, even if it’s just that you wore the shamrock boxer shorts instead of the ones with the Tasmanian Devil. You and the Manager can never share this same moment again. As soon it is gone, that is when the legends begin to be written. So why not make that moment the best it can be?

“Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks to another day of loving.” Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)

You have the power to make this moment the best that it can be. You can choose to be happy and share that happiness with everyone who crosses your path. The past is gone and the future is nothing but a dream. All you have is now. So seize this moment and really live it. I know that I am.

Breathe

Place the heal
with purpose
on the ground
transfer the weight
to the ball of the foot
stride

And repeat

“The journey of one thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet.” Lao Tzu

Any journey, whether it involves running a marathon or walking to the refrigerator, requires the taking of that first step. As you place your foot on the ground and begin the transfer of weight to the ball of the foot, do you notice the texture of the walking surface? Do you feel the blades of grass, the grains of sand, the ridges of ice, the faux smoothness of the blacktop? Do you note how the temperature contrasts with that of your skin? Is your stocking dry or slightly moist? Is the soul of your shoe free of debris? Is the elevation on an incline or decline? Does your heel drag behind you or lift and drop? Do you notice the subtle difference as your other heel strikes to complete the step?

The right heel to the ball of the foot to the left heel to the ball of the foot. One step. One second that lasts a lifetime. No other step will ever be exactly the same. The next step will encompass another lifetime and the step you just took will be lost to you. You will never capture it again.

Maybe if you slow down, enjoy the tactile sensation of placing one foot in front of the other, you will realize what you are missing in the ten thousand lost lifetimes that you throw away every day.

“The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on green earth, dwelling deeply in the moment and feeling truly alive.” – Thich Nhat Hahn

“There is as much greatness of mind in acknowledging a good turn as in doing it.” Seneca (1 BC – 65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher

A lot is made of all of the hustle and bustle, the rat race of our world. We are on the go all of the time. We eat drive thru food in our cars as we race down the freeway. We have an internal clock that tells us when to be pissed off if that food takes more than thirty seconds. We are jacked into the matrix with our smart phones, email, text messages and Internet 24/7/365. In defiance of modern laws and conventions, we talk on those phones and send text messages while we are driving. Multi-tasking is viewed as strength instead of a distraction.

We need to slow down.

“Wake with a winged heart and give thanks to another day of loving.” Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) Lebanese Artist and Poet

I have been That Guy. That Guy that you love to hate when you see him on the road. That Guy who gets pissed off when his food takes to long. That Guy who talks on his phone or sends texts instead of paying attention to the road. That Guy who was constantly distracted by thoughts of past and future while missing the moment, missing the Now. I hated being That Guy.

I needed to slow down.

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” Cicero (106-43 BCE) Roman Statesman and Philosopher.

Eighteen months ago I found a website that has helped me slow down and get in the moment. It is called Philosophers Notes. It is a collection of notes and podcasts on 100 (a second 100 are in the works) of the greatest self-help, philosophy and spirituality books of all time. It is where I get my inspiration from authors as varied as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Pema Chödrön, Joseph Campbell, Tony Robbins, Marcus Aurelius and Lao Tzu. Each book has numerous big ideas that are juxtaposed with the big ideas of the rest to reveal universal truths and life lessons.

A sister site of Philosopher’s Notes is Gratitude Log. It is called the happiest place on the planet. It is all about giving thanks and recognizing those things in life that make it wonderful. I am trying to make it a daily ritual.

I dislike that word: try. I believe that you DO something. TRYing to do something means that you acknowledge possible failure before you start, giving you and excuse when you do fail. So just do it (too bad that phrase was coined by Nike). Even if you fail, there are lessons to be learned from it. But at least you started from a positive outlook.

We need our daily rituals to be all that we can be.

So this is my evolving daily ritual:

Rise with the sun
Meditate for twenty minutes to empty my mind and focus
Give thanks to all the wonders of my life
Write for approximately two hours
Take care of my hygiene 🙂
Catch the bus at 9:30
Make it to work fifteen minutes early
Greet everyone and thank everyone, along the way

“The deepest craving of human nature is to be appreciated.” William James (1842-1910) American Psychologist and Philosopher

Greet everyone and thank everyone along the way. That has become an important part of my life. I believe that we can become a more civil society. I believe that we can slow down and smell the coffee. There is more to us than accomplishments and a paycheck, a house in the burbs and two point five kids. When we share a moment, I will strive to make it a good one.

“Namaste. I honour the place in you where the entire universe resides, a place of light, of love, of truth, of peace, of wisdom. I honour the place in you where when you are in that place and I am in that place there is only one of us.” Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian pioneer of civil disobedience.

Namaste Friend. Thank you for being you and thanks for reading.

Going To War

Two armies face off
across a dusty plain
armored for a long siege
swords sharpened
quivers filled
arrows dipped in poison.

Death is imminent.

Warriors pound chests
chant slogans
build to a cacophony
of spirit
pride
and rage

A perfect killing storm.

The battle is joined
and no one
not General
cavalry
infantry
or Head of State

Can remember what the war is about.

We all live in a perpetual state of war. Or at least on the cusp of war. It might be war with your wife, kids, boss or friends. It might be political, religious, or ideological. A person is mean to you or to someone within you hearing. Someone cuts in front of you in the supermarket line, drives erratically while messing with their cell phone, gets your order wrong at the drive through, puts you on hold before you get to talk. It might even be that mosquito that keeps buzzing you when you are trying to concentrate. These little battles are a part of life. There are as many different reasons for war as there are people on this planet. They are inevitable. Unavoidable.

Or are they?

Life’s little battles happen all the time. We can ignore them or let them ruin our day. I am notorious for allowing my train to be thrown off the tracks by little things that I won’t even remember a week from now. It was especially bad when I was in the restaurant business. Heaven forbid that a pizza got made wrong, a server gave poor service, or a guest had to wait too long to get a table. If dishwasher or oven went down or the toilets backed up, I was a borderline basket case. If I am out of balance, I am not a nice person. You don’t want to be around me. I will make you cry.

There is a crucial moment that occurs right before we start to go off the deep end. You can see it in others. The eyes start to glaze over. The corners of her mouth start to tighten up. Her shoulders hunch. Her heart starts to harden and you can almost see the walls going up between her and the rest of the world. The stress is palpable. It is painful to watch it happen to a loved one.

Now imagine how they feel when they see it happen to you.

But does it have to happen? Perhaps. In the beginning. This “hardening of the heart” has been recognized and expounded upon over the course of history.

When force of circumstance upsets your equanimity, lose no time in recovering your self-control, and do not remain out of tune longer than you can help. Habitual recurrence to the harmony will increase your mastery of it. ~ Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius – MEDITATIONS (121 – 180 CE)

Equanimity is defined as “evenness of mind especially under stress” (Merriam Webster). I’ll call it balance. I think we can all agree that life is great when we feel like we are in balance, in the flow. We are like a finely tuned (or poorly tuned, in my case) automobile. When all the cylinders are firing in order we feel like we can conquer the world. But add a little water into the gasoline, throw in a bad sparkplug or a pinhole in the radiator and suddenly we are laboring to get through the day. The key is not eliminating all of the little distractions in our lives, but recognizing them and not allowing them to get in the way and slow us down.

Buddhist Pema Chödrön of Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia does extensive teaching on this subject. There is a Tibetan word, shenpa, which translates to “attachment.” Pema Chödrön prefers to call it “the hook.” Shenpa refers to all of these little speed-bumps that I’m talking about. It is that instant when we feel ourselves going off kilter. The moment when we get caught by that traffic light. The moment when our loved one is not as attentive as we wish. The moment when the cable goes out. The moment when the person hangs up on us or slams the door in our face.

Practicing Peace In A Time Of War

Pema Chödrön teaches that shenpa can be a powerful and instructive tool to not only help us keep our balance but improve it. Rather than viewing our little irritations as a weakness, we can learn to recognize their onset and power through them. She calls the irritation a “hardening of the heart” and advises us to “hold on to the soft spot behind it. Every time that we can conquer irritation in this way, we condition ourselves to be better and faster the next time.

Marcus Aurelius used to play a game with himself. Whenever he felt an irritation coming on, a flux in his equanimity, he would race to see how fast he could conquer it. He called it his “Equanimity Game.” Since I discovered this game a couple of years ago, I have learned to calm down, attack things rationally instead of emotionally. I make less people cry now.

MEDITATIONS ~ Marcus Aurelius

Life is like a fisherman who casts his line in a barrel. Millions of little hooks are dangling in the water, waiting for one of us to swim along and take the bait. If I get lucky and make that traffic light, the hook is still waiting there for the next driver, the unlucky one. If I say the right thing and make you smile instead of cry, the hook is waiting at the next table for the couple that is not on the same page. The hooks will always be there, dangling, waiting to catch you unaware.

The trick is knowing that they are there, dealing with them unemotionally, and getting on with your life. Pema Chödrön calls it her Four R’s.

RECOGNIZING (that the hook is there)
REFRAINING (from being knocked off-kilter)
RELAXING (into the feeling)
RESOLVING (to deal with irritation the same way over and over again)

The more you practice, the better, and more in balance, you will be. Not only will you be one step ahead of the game, but you can avoid some of the wars that seem inevitable in your life.

Namaste,
Brother T

a blast from 2004

…about the Soul Gathering, a weekly confabulation of art, music and spoken words, and about whether the very name of this event, “Soul Gathering” is exclusionary to some ethnicities. Marva suggested changing the name to the “Spirit Gathering” but I thought that was a very bad idea. So I asked myself, can a white boy have soul? I consulted the good Doctor’s Merriam and Webster.

SOUL
1: the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life

2 a: the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe

3: a person’s total self

4 a: an active or essential part b : a moving spirit c : leader

5 a: the moral and emotional nature of human beings
b : the quality that arouses emotion and sentiment
c : spiritual or moral force

6 : PERSON

7 : EXEMPLIFICATION, PERSONIFICATION i.e. she is the soul of integrity

8 a: a strong positive feeling (as of intense sensitivity and emotional fervor) conveyed especially by black American performers c : SOUL MUSIC d : SOUL FOOD e : SOUL BROTHER

SOURCE: Merriam Webster online

So, can a white person have soul? This question leads to, What is the dividing line between white and black? Why does there have to be a line? If God created us in his image, then why don’t we all look like Rosario Dawson? If we are different, then why can my blood be used to transfuse your blood? Why is it that our mixed race children are the ones that turn the most heads? Why why why why why why why? So many questions. The bottom line is ignorance. People see something different and what is their response? Envy and hatred. The grass is always greener, blah blah blah!

They say you only get one chance to make a first impression? I say that’s bullshit. When you look at me, what is it that you see? Am I a privileged white boy? An elitist? A preppie. A hippie? What? The truth be told, I’m a humanist. I see only one race, a human race. I believe we all descended from Dinkanesh, the three million year old girl found in the Afar Valley of Ethiopia. My white brothers named her Lucy, but I like Dinkanesh, which means “thou art wonderful” in the Ethiopian Language, It doesn’t matter if you believe in creation or evolution. We all came from the same family tree. The tree of life.

The first conversation that I ever had with Marva went something like this,

Marva: (bumping into me) Sorry I’ve got such a big booty.

Terry: Don’t ever apologize for that. God made your booty
just the way he wanted it.

Truth of the matter is, God created all of our booties just the way she wanted them. I have seen hatred in the eyes of people I have never even met. Peeps not liking the shape of my booty or the color of my booty or the color of the booty I’m with. I’m sure that every one of you out there can say the same thing has happened to you at some point in your life. It goes back to ignorance, upbringing, envy, and jealousy. You cannot judge a person by what they look like, only by what they think and how they act. This is the new millennium people, why does this shit have to be this way.

I get the argument. Four hundred years of oppression and slavery at the hands of the white men. I’m sorry and if I could turn back the clock I would. Truth is, it was Africans doing other Africans wrong that brought the slaves to the New World. It’s no different from the Prots holding down the Irish Catholics in Belfast, Muslims killing Christians and vice versa in Bosnia. Muslims killing other Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Sudan and Somalia. Cousins killing cousins in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Men keeping down women. People making a living by fucking over other people. Whosoever holds the power is going to do what it takes to keep the power. Women hold the majority in America. Men hold the power. That’s why we have no woman President.

We Wasps have done some pretty f*cked-up shit in the course of history, but I never did anything to you. The worst thing we ever did was round up all the Indians and put them on reservations, steal all their land and steal all of their culture. I got a sixteenth of Indian blood in me and I’m ashamed that my people could do that to my people.

It’s a proven fact that people suck. We ought get over it and start fixing our f*cked up world.

It’s not just the white boys in the wife beater t-shirts with the Confederate flags in the back window of their pick-em-up truck. They wear their colors where we can all see and deal with them. It’s the sharks in the suits that we gotta look out for. The jackass drug dealer in the Benz polluting our kids with shit that eats their minds. The apathetic school administrators that turn our kids out like a waitress turning tables at the Bob Evans. The parents who do drugs in front of their young children.

I was in love with a girl. I remember saying to my friend, “There’s this Indian chick that I work with, She’s somewhere between 17 and 24. She’s the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I think I love her.” I was so naïve. Turned out the girl was from Ethiopia and she was indeed twenty-four. I fell head over heels in love with her. Maybe it was my way of getting closer to little Dinkanesh. Anyway, her family couldn’t fathom the idea of one of the daughters of Sheba falling in love a white boy, marrying a white boy. They did everything in their power to break us up. It worked. I lost her. She moved to LA because she couldn’t stand to break my heart day after day. Did I mention that I hate LA.

So where does that leave us? Do I have soul because I have a sixteenth of a Blackfoot Indian running though my veins? Do I have soul because my Irish ancestors had to come here to get away from English oppression? Do I have soul because I descended from Dinkanesh, who roots we can all trace back to? Is soul in me because I loved her daughter?

The answer is no. I have soul because I want to end all this racist bullsh*t. There is but one race, the human race, and we all belong to the club. I have soul because I want every kid to get an equal chance in this world. It’s in me. You’d have to kill me to take it out.

With that being said, can I be your soul brother?

“Reality isn’t the way you wish things to be, nor the way they appear to be, but the way they actually are.”
~ Robert J. Ringer

Reality. What a concept. Lost in all of the holy books that we hold sacred in this world is the idea of reality. Accept Christ as your true savior and you will go to heaven (Christianity). Follow the Pillars and you will be rewarded at the Resurrection (Islam). Live righteously and you will spend your afterlife close to God (Judaism). Follow the eightfold path and you will transcend suffering (Buddhism). Your actions determine which of the four levels of afterlife you repair to (Hinduism). Respect all living beings as you respect yourself and you will achieve omniscience (Jainism).  Live in harmony with the world and you will have a long and happy life (Taoism). For every religion there is a different variation of rewards and consequences.The irony is that each one is absolutely sure that it is the correct version of the afterlife. And yet which of us has never had a moment in the middle of a crisis where our belief was shaken? So what is real?

“Reality is merely an illusion, although a very persistent one.”
~ Albert Einstein

Really, Albert? Really?

Reality is the only thing that we can have a firm view of and control over. Our belief systems be what they may. The righteous Christian can believe that he is going to heaven, just as a practicing Buddhist can know that she will transcend suffering with right action. Gurus, holy men, and positive psychologists all have a special formula for you to receive your desired effect. Heard of the “Law of Attraction?” But in the end, all we have is this moment that we are in right now. I could get electrocuted while sitting at this laptop as I type the next line. If so, I will go out doing what I love to do. Thinking, seeking and writing.

Lock: “Goddamnit, Morpheus! Not everyone believes what you believe!”
Morpheus: “My beliefs do not require them to.”
~ THE MATRIX RELOADED

In this scene from THE MATRIX RELOADED, Lock and Morpheus are in the same room. They share the desire to protect Zion from the attack of the machines. They also love the same woman. Yet they are diametrically opposed in their beliefs of what the solution should be. This is an excellent, if somewhat extreme, example of what we all go though on a day today basis. Our individual reality.

Maybe this is a better example. You and I go out to dinner. We are seated in a booth where I can see the bar and you can see the kitchen. I watch as the bartender expertly mixes a cocktail. You watch the cooks arguing with each other in the kitchen. I order us some drinks and as we toast, I distract you. Your smile returns.

As we continue to drink and chat, I notice an old friend walking through the door. I get up to greet him, leaving you to your unimpeded view of the kitchen chaos. As I return, I comment on your sour expression.

Our food arrives. We have each ordered our favorite food on the menu. It is perfectly cooked. Yet mine somehow tastes better than yours. You complain that yours is not as good as usual. The only variable in our experience was the side of the table that we were seated on. My experience was totally positive. I dined with a beautiful friend, I greeted someone from the past, I had a great cocktail and a splendid meal. Your experience was less than perfect because of that variable.

This happens to us every day.

I walk out the door and hop on the bus. My experience is completely different from the person I sit next to. It might ruin her day when I take the seat next to her. I hope not, but I’m sure that it happens.

I am one of three hundred people who walk into the convenient store for a cup of coffee. We will all get the same mix of coffee grounds and water. Yet mine might be too hot, your might be too cold, his might be too strong, hers might be to weak. It’s all a matter of personal taste. It is our personal reality. Three hundred  different people sharing the same experience with different results.

“But if you really thoroughly question everything, if you pursue your questions long enough and honestly enough, there will come a time when truth wallops you upside the head and you will know.” ~ Brad Warner  – HARDCORE ZEN

The only thing we know is the thing that happens in front of us on a minute by minute basis. Even the past becomes fuzzy and subject to interpretation. That is why it is so important to BE HERE NOW. Live in the moment. It is only if you are aware of what is happening to you RIGHT NOW, that you can take advantage of all the possibilities at your fingertips. What happens if you plan for tomorrow and tomorrow never comes? What if the world ends and we all are reborn on another planet in another galaxy? What if we do all end up in heaven? Or what if we just disappear into a void? What do you think about that?

“Be lamps unto yourselves.” ~ Buddha’s last words to his followers.

In other words, shine the light on your deeds and actions. Allow no one else to dictate your reality. Even your parents or your one true love. Worst case scenario, make it a conscious compromise that allows you to keep as much of yourself as possible. If you subjugate your hopes and dreams to the whims of another, there will come a time when you have to make a painful break. Or live forever in misery. Don’t bow to authority. Better to become your own authority, willingly live a righteous life by your own standards. Only you can live your life in this very moment.

So I say, kiss the one you love. Hug your child. Listen to your favorite song. Make a snow angel. Eat that bowl of ice cream. Do a polar bear swim. Throw the frisbee to your dog. Meet a friend for dinner. Read your favorite author. Write an epic poem.

Just Live. And be aware of that you are Living.

Until next time,

Your Brother T

In old times, a Chinese farmer’s only horse ran away. That evening all of the neighbors gathered to commiserate with him. He said, “What makes you think this is bad luck?”

The next day his horse returned, but brought with it six wild horses. The neighbors came shouting and celebrating his good fortune. He said, “What makes you think that this is good luck?”

The following day his son tried to ride one of the wild horses and was thrown. He broke his leg. Again the neighbors came to sympathize with the farmer. Again he said, “What makes you think this is bad luck?”

The very next day, the army showed up to conscript all of the young men to fight in the war. The farmer’s son was the only one left behind. The neighbors came to celebrate how things had turned out. The farmer said, “That is the way things go.”

Adapted from Alan Watts (1915-1973) TAO: THE WATERCOURSE WAY

Now you might have guessed that the farmer was a Taoist. As such, he knew that the world runs in never ending cycles. One of the main differences between Eastern and Western philosophy is the idea of (wo)man as individual.

Self

“Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one stop of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified.” – Samuel Johnson

In the West we are taught that it is us against the world. Our individual accomplishments take precedence over the furthering of our society. Our greatest accomplishment is to “make a name for ourselves.”

From the time we leave the womb we have an immediate family that cares for us. Over the course of our lives we develop an extended family, a spouse and children, friends, and other fraternal organizations. Many of us can count the number of people in our extended family from memory. The next layer of our sense of “us” is our country. We are “Americans.” That is who we are. The fact that there are many different communities of Americans, many of whom we deem illegal, is a story for another day.

In addition to the sense of self, we also operate with the belief that we can and should should control the world. We use science and technology to grow our food larger and faster. We make attempts to genetically engineer everything in order to make it more efficient and productive. In addition, we attempt to subjugate our natural resources in order to make them work for us. We constantly seek more electricity, more gasoline, more bandwidth. So we “drill, baby, drill” and strip mine for coal to burn in our outdated smoke-belching power plants. We dig up the most toxic elements on the planet in attempts to generate more power. Always more power.

“Though he should live a hundred years, not seeing the Truth Sublime; yet better, indeed, is the single day’s life of one who sees the Truth Sublime.” ~ Buddha

Laughter

In Eastern philosophy and religion “self” is subjugated to the “universal.” The Chinese farmer knows that all things are interconnected. As such, there is no such thing as an external influence. We are constantly interacting with the world 24/7/365. Circadian rhythms (a Western discovery in the time of Alexander the Great) run throughout the twenty-four hours of a day. The moon, being the closest astral body to the Earth, has a strong temporal influence on the rhythms within our bodies. The Sun, or rather the darkness, influences our sleeping rhythms, making sleep as necessary as food and water to our continued health.

Wind

In addition to knowing that the Earth rules her natural rhythms, the Taoist also uses the natural rhythms of the Earth to make life more aesthetically pleasing. She will find ways to live in harmony with her surroundings rather than try to bend them to her will. Use of the natural elements for power and building would be preferable to artificial and/or finite resources that are not sustainable. Wind and water are infinites that are not being fully utilized. The wind will be blowing long after the last human being on Earth draws a breath.

More than anything else, the reason that the Tao harkens me is the fact that it cannot be known. It is not something that can be read in a book. Seekers seek, that is what we do. Taoism is the act of seeking a knowledge which cannot be known. The word TAO translates to WAY.

Tao (Way)

The Tao that can be talked about is not the true Tao.
The name that can be named is not the true name.
~ Lao Tzu – THE TAO TE CHING Chapter 1

Rather than reading from a book that purports to know the true way, I would much rather devote my time to seeking it myself, catching glimpses in blades of grass, in icycles, in running streams, in wondrous insects. I would rather pick up a piece of trash than curse at the person who dropped it. I would rather pay it forward through acts of kindness and smiles. I would rather it be hearty handshakes, warm hugs, claps on the back. Enlightenment is not a way of life, but a series of brief glimpses. But I make one caution:

Don’t take my word for it. Find out for yourself.

Namaste,

Brother

Brother T