Brenda will be offering a four-week exploration of Buddhism starting Wednesday, October 19, as part of the First Parish adult religious education program:

On Sunday October 4th, there will be a half-hour meeting after church for a sharing of resources about Buddhism (books, videos, websites, meeting times/places of local Buddhist meditation groups). Following that, for four weeks starting October 19th (dates subject to change as we figure out calendar commitments), there will be four evening meetings for a short practice period and discussion on the following topics (subject to change, depending on interest):

Week 1 (October 19th): Buddhism in America Today
Week 2 (October 26th): The Buddha
Week 3 (November 4): The Main Teachings of the Buddha
Week 4 (November 11): Summary and Closing Discussion

This should be interesting and informative for anyone in our group who would like to understand more about the origins and broader context of our meditation practice.

If you are interested or have questions, please contact Brenda.

Ajahn David offered a couple of photographs for sharing. The first couple are from Ajahn Mangkone’s recent trip to Laos, where he put his civil engineering background to good use by designing and constructing a new kuti (monks’ quarters) at the Wat Ban Thaio monastery.

These photos were taken in April at Songkran, the Thai New Year.

The last photo is of Ajahn David, Ajahn Mangkone, the 14th Dalai Lama, and Tibetan monk Tenzin Josh, taken a few years ago at His Holiness’s residence in Dharamsala, India.

The extraordinary life of the Buddha assembled from the original texts and performed as a one-man play
Conceived & Performed by Evan Brenner

http://www.thebuddhaplay.com/

EXTENDED!
April 22-25 at the Boston Center For the Arts
Tickets go on sale Tuesday, April 14th at Noon
Playing:
Wednesday, April 22nd 7:30pm
Thursday, April 23rd 7:30pm
Friday, April 24th 8pm
Saturday, April 25th 3pm & 8pm

Good stuff. Lots to learn and reflect on…I’ve seen it twice now….)

I heard an interesting segment about anger on NPR’s “Morning Edition” today. The story is about a woman who, inspired by her own experience, opened a business called The Smash Shack which caters to people seeking a cathartic outlet for their anger and aggression. Modern psychological research, however, seems to suggest that “the more you get angry, the angrier you get.”

While it’s nice to see Western psychology finally catching up (for the most part), this insight is rather old news from a Buddhist perspective. In brief, when we practice something, we become good at it. This goes for both pleasant and unpleastant mental states. When we “practice” anger, we simply become more skilled at being angry. And the more we train ourselves, the more automatic it becomes.

Certainly there may be a kind of short-term satisfaction in venting our feelings, and it can be just as harmful — if not more so — to suppress them. However the short-term satisfaction is just that, and never truly addresses the underlying causes and conditions for our anger. The trick, then, to working skillfully with strong emotions is finding a balance point: acknowledging our feelings without letting them take control of our actions. And this requires being able to stop and pay attention to what’s going on in our own minds.

While smashing plates or hitting a pillow may seem like perfectly harmless activity, training in the unmitigated expression of anger is like building a bomb: it has the potential to go off when we least expect it, and in ways that can be truly harmful – such as road rage, mass shootings, and so on.

So the next time you’re so mad you feel like smashing something, do everyone a favor: just take a couple of minutes and watch your breath.

Very much back in the day, Theseus was the mythical king of Athens. And among his many possessions, he had a ship that he used to return from slaying the Minotaur. After his death, this ship was preserved for hundreds of years in the harbor of Athens. Or was it? Whenever a wooden plank rotted out, it was replaced. If a beam fell apart, a new one was fashioned in its stead. After enough time had passed, every part had been replaced. So now it was a boat that looked very much like the ship of Theseus, and occupied the same spot in the harbor, but not a single piece of it had existed when Theseus sailed. Essentially, it was a replica. And yet people persisted in referring to this ship as the ship of Theseus. In philosophy, this problem of identity has become known as the Ship of Theseus paradox.

To make the analogy abundantly clear: sports teams change from year to year. These days, they change a lot. You might hold a great attachment to the 2004 Red Sox World Series champions, but only around 10 percent of this year’s roster consists of players from that team (actual fact!). And if you have been rooting for the Sox for more than 14 years, you’re rooting for a fully replaced team – different players are playing the game, different owners get your ticket money. You can see why this is an absurdity. It is in no way the same team, and you are rooting for it out of inertia. You might as well root for any totally different team – the Oakland A’s, the Tokyo Giants. At least you’d be making an informed decision.

“Did you come on foot, or in a carriage?”

“I did not come on foot, reverend sir, I came in a chariot.”

“If your majesty came in a chariot, explain to me what a chariot is,” Nagasena replied, zeroing in on what has become a traditional Buddhist symbol of the self. “Can the chariot-pole be the chariot, O king? Is the axle the chariot? Are the wheels, or the frame, or the banner-staff, or the yoke, or the reins, or the goad, the chariot?” To each of these questions the king responded in the negative. “Then, O king, is the chariot all these parts? Well, O king, is the chariot anything else than these?” Again the king said no. “O king, I ask and ask you, and do not perceive a chariot. Is ‘chariot’ anything but a mere word? What is chariot in this matter?”

By pointing to something so concrete and obvious as the chariot, Nagasena was making a difficult point. The chariot obviously exists. It is more than a mere word, but it exists only in relationship to its parts. In Buddhist terms, we would say it exists as the designation of its parts. In the Buddhist psychology known as Abhidharma, the self that we take to be real, like the chariot of King Milinda, is a similar kind of vehicle. It has a reality but not the intrinsic one we assume through the process of identification. We can see form (the five sense organs and their objects), feelings, perceptions, mental factors, and consciousness, but we would have a hard time putting our finder on “self.”

I read a great article in the March 2009 issue of Ode Magazine introducing me to futurist, physicist and author on spirituality, meditation and the human mind, Peter Russell.

The article is a fascinating read, as is Peter’s website. Highlights of particular interest to fellow Buddhist practitioners:

Peter recommends measuring human age in days, not years. Here in the Northeast, we are able to experience the changing seasons that comprise a year, making the year of some relevance to our perception of age and passage of time. (Sidebar: An excellent book that uses the theme of seasons to help build a sense of gratitude is here). However, the passage of a single day may well be even more relevant, and certainly much more so for those living in regions with less or virtually no discernable change in seasons.

It was something I started doing 20 years ago. It just struck me that the day is the more natural cycle of our life. We’ve got 70, 80, maybe 100 years, but 20,000, 30,000 or 40,000 days to live on the planet. It’s a whole different perspective and makes us value each day. When you look at your life in days, time seems to expand. It helps make me more present.

Peter provides a handy age-in-days calculator on his website.

Widespread personal awakening (in the same sense of the word as understood by Buddhists) is absolutely essential for our world today.

(W)hatever happens [as a result of our global environmental crises], we’re moving into a world where there is going to be a lot of physical hardship and physical suffering…The more I looked at it, the more I realized that it didn’t matter which scenario you took. We still need to be doing exactly the same inner work to free ourselves from a self-centered, rather short-sighted mode of consciousness into a more open, compassionate, caring mode of consciousness…

My feeling is that we’re only going to come through this safely if we can let go of the old ways of thinking and have some shifts in our consciousness…What I try to do in my life and my work is focus on helping people see the value of that inner exploration and see how to do that. For me, teaching meditation is a fundamental way of doing it.

TV host Bill Moyers recently sat down with writer/teacher/activist Parker Palmer for a conversation about “maintaining spiritual wholeness even as the economy and political order seem to come apart.” One quote of Parker’s particularly struck me:

I think the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of reality because illusion never leaves us ultimately happy.

A few days later, I came across the following passage in Bhante G’s book, Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness, in the chapter on Skillful Mindfulness:

The present moment is changing so fast that we often do not notice its existence at all. Every moment of mind is like a series of pictures passing through a projector…. Mindfulness helps us freeze the frame so that we can become aware of our sensations and experiences as they are, without the distorting coloration of socially conditioned responses or habitual reactions.

Once we learn to notice without comment exactly what is happening, we can observe our feelings and thoughts without being caught up in them, without being carried away by our typical patterns of reacting. Thus mindfulness gives us the time we need to prevent and overcome negative patterns of thought and behavior and to cultivate and maintain positive patterns. It gets us off automatic pilot and helps us take charge of our thoughts, words, and deeds.

Moreover, mindfulness leads to insight, clear and undistorted “inner seeing” of the way things really are. With regular practice, both in formal meditation sessions and as we go about the activities of our daily lives, mindfulness teaches us to see the world and ourselves with the inner eye of wisdom. Wisdom is the crown of insight. Opening the wisdom eye is the real purpose of mindfulness, for insight into the true nature of reality is the ultimate secret of lasting peace and happiness.

I found these quotes from the Buddha at this url: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/buddha.html

I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the quotes, but I found them interesting food for thought. Number 21 puzzles me. Number 39 brought a moment of clarity.  And many of them just confirmed what I think I understand about the teachings.  So for your consideration and enjoyment:

1. A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.

2. A jug fills drop by drop.

3. All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.

4. All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.

5. All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain?

6. Ambition is like love, impatient both of delays and rivals.

7. An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.

8. An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.

9. Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

10. Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

11. Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence.

12. Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

13. Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.

14. Ennui has made more gamblers than avarice, more drunkards than thirst, and perhaps as many suicides as despair.

15. Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.

16. Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.

17. Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

18. Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.

19. He is able who thinks he is able.

20. He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.

21. He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes.

22. Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

23. Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

24. However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?

25. I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.

26. I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.

27. In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.

28. In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.

29. It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.

30. It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

31. It is better to travel well than to arrive.

32. Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.

33. Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.

34. Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.

35. No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.

36. On life’s journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.

37. Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

38. Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.

39. The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground.

40. The mind is everything. What you think you become.

41. The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.

42. The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.

43. The tongue like a sharp knife… Kills without drawing blood.

44. The virtues, like the Muses, are always seen in groups. A good principle was never found solitary in any breast.

45. The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.

46. The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.

47. The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve.

48. There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.

49. There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.

50. There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.

51. Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.

52. Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

53. Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

54. To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.

55. To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.

56. To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.

57. To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance.

58. Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the idea of Unity are already two.

59. Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good.

60. We are formed and molded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them.

61. We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.

62. We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.

63. What is the appropriate behavior for a man or a woman in the midst of this world, where each person is clinging to his piece of debris? What’s the proper salutation between people as they pass each other in this flood?

64. What we think, we become.

65. Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.

66. When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear.

67. Without health life is not life; it is only a state of langour and suffering – an image of death.

68. Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.

69. You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.

70. You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.

71. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

72. Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.

Matt T. kindly brought the following to my attention, if anyone’s in town and interested in attending:

A Journey To Wisdom with Joseph Kappel

Starts Wednesday, February 18
Continues February 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25
7:30 to 9pm
$85 for all six sessions

Joseph Kappel lived as a Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest Tradition for 20 years as Venerable Pabhakaro – “Maker of Light”. He studied with Ajahn Chah in Thailand for 13 years and another 7 years with Ajahn Sumedho in Great Britain.

His initial interest in Buddhism was inspired by visits to Thailand from Vietnam where he served as a combat helicopter pilot in 1969-70. During his sojourns to Thailand, Joseph was deeply moved by a country and its people who have been immersed in Buddhist teachings for hundreds of years. In short, Joseph’s combat experience compelled him to search deeply within himself. The result has been a lifetime commitment to explore the profundity and mystery of our shared suffering and humanity, while continuing to sow the seeds and cultivate the fruits of Buddhist practice in his life.

For more details: http://www.backbayyoga.com/events.html#kappel

The Dhamma Brothers is truly a must-see film. It tells the story of inmates at the Donaldson Correctional Facility in Alabama who volunteered to participate in 10-day meditation retreat under the guidance of two instructors from the Vipassana Fellowship. The two instructors were invited at the behest of Dr. Ron Cavanaugh, Director of Treatment at Donaldson, who had been inspired by a meditation program at the Tihar Prison in India.

What struck me most about the film is the poignancy with which the humanity — both positive and negative aspects — of the prisoners is conveyed. This something that is often lost in the public discourse about our system of justice/corrections. Certainly each man has been incarcerated for very good reasons, and there are graphic discriptions of the horrific crimes for which they have been convicted. Still, in hearing their individual stories one feels great compassion (karuna) for the suffering — often deeply repressed — that in many ways are the preface to the actions that eventually landed them in prison.The Dhamma Brothers is really the story of each of these men coming to recognize their own humanity and suffering, and finding a sort of freedom even within the context of a life sentence in a maximum security prison. The personal transformation that takes place over the course of the 10-day retreat is truly palpable — eliciting deep feelings of sympathetic joy (mudita) among the audience.

For me the take-home message of the film is twofold: First, our prison industry has largely abandoned any pretense of rehabilitation. Criminals are cast aside as (barely) human refuse, for whom and from whom nothing better can be expected. Yet progams such as the vipassana program at Donaldson shows that — with proper encouragement — even the most hardened criminal has the potential to get in touch with his own humanity: the innate wisdom and compassion that can arise even in the midst of suffering. When this transformation happens, we all benefit.

(PS —

Brenda wrote a brief blog post about a screening of The Dhamma Brothers she attended back in May. I’ve included links to some other “prison ministry” projects in the comments.)