I’ve Anticipated my Expectations

When asked to talk about a substantive teaching that is relative to the everyday, modern person, without hesitation, I firmly say “Anticipations and expectations.” Many times our experiences of what we encounter in our everyday world are shaped by our pre-conceived notions; weather based on someone else’s experiences or on some commonly held belief. How many times can you remember saying, “Yea that was much better/worse than I thought it was going to be!”


Personally, it is difficult for me to render up some memory of an event that had met every expectation that I had placed on it before that event even occurred. How we end up feeling about something and how things end up turning out in life are always relative to everything else, the things we can see and the things we can’t. When we take a moment to reflect on this fact, we can easily see how this is true. Yet it is a stark, unforgiving fact we forget time after time.

In the trivial type events of our lives, going to see a movie, seeing a concert or watching a sporting match, our anticipations and expectations become nothing more than a guide to talk about the experience and some measure the event. What we fail to see is that our mind creates these expectations and anticipations for every sort of encounter in our everyday world. Moment after moment we find ourselves pleasantly surprised or inversely frustrated and let down, since this entangled mesh of the mind’s future never really turns out to be so true.

Imagine, we place these kinds of anticipations and expectations on things such as other people’s feelings, emotions and actions. We place labels such as love and hate, create bias and bigotry, view good vs. evil and see them all as right or wrong. Can you see how confusing and turbulent the world can seem and how quickly it can become so unsatisfactory and frustrating? In Buddhism, these terms are known as Karma, Samsara and Dukkha.

The up’s and down’s of life are always going to remain with life, no matter how hard we try to create some state of unchanging perfection. Indeed, the harder we try to stop our mind’s turbulent reactions and thoughts, the more ‘dukkha’ we inevitably encounter. Perhaps, if we can just begin to slow down, take a moment, breathe and remind ourselves to keep these anticipations and expectations in an honest perspective, maybe we can start to find some relief. An open mind expressed into any moment is ready for any eventuality that is encountered.


GO REDSKINS!! KICK THE COWBOY’S ASS THIS WEEK!!!!!................bet ya didn’t expect that or the kitten picture, did ya?

Quantum Physics and the Oneness of Reality

Physicists over the past 100 years have stumbled across some of the most bizarre and intriguing phenomena created in laboratory experiments. Today, some of these experiment phenomenas are still simply unexplainable by scientists and remain some of the most controversial cosmic mysteries. Many theories have been extended to try and put this mysterious nature of reality into some nice neat equation and interpretable parity. As of yet, reality hasn't been willing to be captured by simple ideas that can be placed into some epic textbook of everything. Perhaps, as Buddhists, we have a slightly different take on this weird and strange thing they call the nature of reality.

The Double Slit Experiment (Explanation)



So, just the act of being present and watching matter, changes the entire course of it's behavior? Interesting, isn't it?

Quantum Entanglement - (Explanation)



Wait! Physicists are saying that all matter and energy that 'is' and constitutes reality aren't really separate and distinct objects? So the change of one part in some aspect affects everything else in the universe?

The exotic oddness doesn't stop here!

The Brain, Creation, Realization and Time Reversal Symmetry (Partial Explanation)



When we start to watch our mind and the world around us, moment by moment, with the honest eye of a scientist, it is possible to start to understand all of these absurd and outlandish phenomenas that science can't put into a simple textbook explanation or equation. Have no illusions, what we begin to understand can be frightening to some at first, but nevertheless, cosmically and universally profound.

Buddhism, in a relative sense, can begin to bridge this gap between science, religion and philosophy. Science is beginning to see that we must study the mind and its workings in conjunction with studying natural phenomena. We are very fortunate to live in this moment, to be part of this great evolution of spiritual thought and scientific endeavor. Its no miracle to see these things if we watch and are mindful of the nature of transiency. In fact, I think miracles aren't luck or divine or mystical, just dependent arising.

"The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. The religion which based on experience, which refuses dogmatic. If there's any religion that would cope the scientific needs it will be Buddhism...."
~Albert Einstein

The Livelihood of Greed and Wisdom

Its no secret the financial markets of much of the world, especially in the United States, are tipping dangerously close to a modern day global crisis. Inflation is soaring, unemployment is rising and currency is being devalued faster than a VHS tape of Hee Haw at a flee market. No question that some poor government policies and a looooong leash given to investment firms and banks via deregulation have created a quagmire of worthless debt and a spidering earthquake of financial instability.

Greed is such a powerful force. Like a Heroin addict in a poppy field, greed will leave a highway of destruction through the hearts of the most righteous men. Money and power can drive us to do such selfish and shameful actions, we can get blinded by want, unmindful of those it affects. The only thing that trickles down from the top is pain, suffering and despair. Weather does not discriminate again the homeless man and hunger does not wait for payday.

What we do in our lives, the livelihood we choose, affects everyone and everything in some fashion. Even today, especially these events of the last couple of weeks, remind us that what we choice to make our money at still holds great importance in our practice. This does not mean we need to renounce money and material things or good paying jobs. It means we, as Buddhists, need to be mindful of greed and the golden mouse trap of treasure it offers.

We should enjoy the abundance earned by our hard work and the material comforts this modern world offers, as long as we are mindful. Go to Orlando, see that giant damned mouse and play Put-Put in Bermuda shorts and knee high socks, but remember to be mindful. Live in this world knowing what we do is not ultimately separate from all things, even from a family left homeless in Kansas City, Missouri or a single mother of three struggling to feed her family tonight in Dublin, Ireland.

"There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up.”
~Oscar Wilde

Blood, Sweat and Enlightenment

Watching a good football game is fun, isn’t it? Nothing beats the excitement of seeing the game unfold play by play, sitting on the edge of our seats full of anticipation, watching each move develop. Every moment of the game, every step each player makes, every bounce the ball takes changes the course of the final outcome, and this not knowing is what makes the game so special. It wouldn’t be so fun if someone just told you the score of the game? Blue Jays 7 Rockets 3; it wouldn’t hold hardly any excitement, would it?

We even find ourselves learning every aspect of the game. The stats, each players strengths and weaknesses, the play books, the team history's and even the equipment. Hell, we can even coach it if we know enough.(or in my case blog) We love football so much because it brings some sort of pleasure so we sometimes immerse ourselves in these trivial things to keep these good feelings going.

But how can somebody truly know football if they never actually step on the field and play? We forget why we love football, we forget that it isn't numbers or stats
or players, but the joy of the event unfolding. We need to immerse ourselves in the mud and the sweet and the blood and the fierce competition to understand football at it's core level.

As students of Buddhism, it can become very easy to fall into a similar cycle. We learn the teachings and read many books and develop theory's and ideas about enlightenment and self. We talk, and blog and think about it, but we can end up losing the meaning of the way to the goal.

Dogen Zenji said "To study Buddhism is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self."

It is indeed necessary to get some mental knowledge to help encourage us on our path. These teachings are fine road signs pointing the way, but they are not in themselves the way. As long as we are mindful of ourselves while we are talking and writing and thinking about Buddhism, it is still making for right effort. But we must never forget why we are students of Buddhism, and what our real problem is, Dukkha.

We must practice our concentration and mindfulness moment after moment, constantly making effort in this moment. Practice, practice, practice. Eventually understanding will make itself clearer and clearer. It is impossible to have a mental conception of ultimate truth so it is impossible to figure out enlightenment with our thoughts. Indeed Buddhism itself can become just another obstacle to seeing. Anything you read or hear about the Buddhist practice, this right effort is the most important lesson we will need to learn on our journey!

Isn't it time to get off the sidelines and immerse yourself in this journey? It's a choice we make in each and every moment, as it is only you who can ultimately set yourself free.

“However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you If you do not act on upon them?"
~Buddha

ps. I realize that American readers see the term 'football' as meaning a different sport than most of the rest of the world, 'soccer' err football err...I'm now officially confused. But anyway, hence the two pictures.

Our Tradition, Our Choice

One of the great things that I find about Buddhism is how the common thread of peace, truth and liberation of mind are present in all forms of Buddhism. Vajrayana(Tibetan being one example), Theravada, Mahayana(Zen being one example) are the 3 major schools, though there are many others. The basic principles are the most important thing, that the core teachings to do not change. It does not matter what coat of tradition you flavor it with, in fact, over the centuries, Buddhism has worked its way into the lifestyle of the culture where it sits and does not become the culture itself.

Its like flavoring water I think. You can have lemon water, coffee, tea, tonic water or anything in between. As long as the at the basic level, water is the major key ingredient, we have no problem. However, if that water becomes only a minor ingredient in the mixture, and becomes too diluted, it will not work. I study and follow a Soto Zen tradition, which has taken a most definite Western flare here in the States. It is true that I do, however, take some traditions or teachings from Theravada and Tibetan cultures. The path we each take is a very unique one, differing from person to person. However, i think it is important that we create our own traditions and values here, in Western society, as guide posts for those new to the teachings.

I see it maybe difficult for some western people to get past the traditions and hang-ups on conceived ideas about bald monks bowing to golden Buddha statues or caricatures of avenging Zen Samurai or fat happy belly rubbing Buddhas....etc,etc. This is why I think it is important, that we as Westerners find our own path. It is a great opportunity we have to build something new, that threads through the fabric of our culture, much like a yellow string sewn into a black shirt.

Here in America, especially, the teachings of Anatta(emptiness of self) are very difficult for many to understand. Its just my opinion of course, but where we raise our children based on pride and with a strong sense of self, breaking down the illusion of self is much more difficult than in many Asian cultures where ego is not as ever present. We drive our big trucks, climb the corporate ladder and revel in our pride. This is obviously a generalization, relative to all other things, but if we can find a new way, using the strengths of what we do have, conceptual understanding and breaking things down to see how they work, maybe we can break through the ignorance of ego......slowly.

My 7 year old son saw the Dalai Lama on the TV a few days ago, pointed at him then pointed at me. I said to him, "He is a Buddhist man, Tibetan, but he is me and you as well. Zen and Tibet, same thing, just different flavor of man" To which he quickly replied, "No! TV! Turn to Blue's Clues!."

Is the idea of creating and building our own way of Western/Progressive Buddhism(in a very real and tangible sense), realistically possible?

Life Lessons

While driving home this morning, I noticed this fairly attractive woman, driving in her car beside me, constantly peering into the rear view mirror fixing up her makeup. It occurred to me what a wonderful thing it would be if we, as a society, could put so much effort looking it our mind and inward as we do worrying about our outward appearance. What a sacred mirror this would be to be able to reflect our mind and thoughts as it reflects our superficial features!


"How can I be happy?
How can I avoid pain?
Why do I even exist?"

I don't see that we ask the wrong questions, but we are looking the wrong places for the answer. In our western culture, we constantly impress the notion 'its all about appearances'. "Maybe if I could be a little better looking, or make more money or drive a nicer car, maybe I can be accepted by others. This will bring some happiness." As we get older we see through our experiences how silly a notion this becomes. Wisdom tells us through our life lessons that we aren't finding the answers to these questions outwardly.

I've been married twice, divorced twice. In my younger days it seemed so important for me to be in a relationship. I thought another person could somehow create happiness, fill those blank spots in my life. I never was happy by myself to begin with and I felt so incomplete. In the end, it only caused more pain and confusion for myself. As in medicine, you can't cure an infection by eating ice cream; You can't find answers by being in a relationship with another person. A relationship can be a beautiful, wonderful thing if both people enter in, unattached to these ideas that I so naively clung to.

How can we, as Buddhist students and teachers, bloggers and community members, begin to show these life lessons to others in our modern world without falling into some sort of 'religious dogma'? It is said that when the student is ready a teacher will appear. How can we make our appearance more obvious without being so evangelical?

Maybe we can show others that this sacred mirror is already built right inside ourselves, if we just payed close enough attention.

Put up your Dukkha's

The first noble truth of the Buddha Dharma isn't so, well, shall we say set in stone in the Western world. Usually, the first truth is stated as 'life is suffering', and much of the time this is the first teaching many in the West are exposed to when asking about Buddhism. It rings a cord for sure, especially those that aren't in a great and wonderful place in their lives. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that many Westerns are drawn to Buddhism for the first time because it offers a grain of truth and a chance of hope in lives that are on a rather painful cycle. This is how I came to study Buddhism myself. I can't say I see many Westerns, happy and cheerful, to so eagerly identify with this first truth when put in this way.

However, once we begin to look closer we can see that 'suffering' does not encompass all in what the Buddha was pointing too. We soon see many variations of the first truth, just some of which are:

Life is unsatisfactory.
Life is turmoil.
Life is despair.
Life can suck.
Life is death and loss.
Life is confusing.
Life is ....

To the teachings about the first noble truth Buddha Gautama said this:

"Now this, monks, is the Noble Truth of dukkha: Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, & despair are dukkha; association with the unbeloved is dukkha; separation from the loved is dukkha; not getting what is wanted is dukkha. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are dukkha."

I think it is important in Progressive or Western Buddhism that we do keep some of these Sanskrit words, because at first, to many new to Buddhism, they truly have little to no meaning. Dukkha is so much more (and less) than suffering, and new practitioners can begin to fill the empty meaning of this word with what they struggle with in there everyday lives. When we discuss the teachings we begin to talk about labeling and naming the objects in the world and how these labels ultimately can cause some pain because all things change. Our minds attach to these labels, then repel in horror once this thing is now that thing. Our minds continually work in adjusting and remaking the world we live in.

How would you talk about or explain what Dukkha is?

So, those new to Buddhism, yes, life is suffering....but "come and see for yourself."

Time, Good Riddance

Tick Tock, Tick Tock. Time. Our modern lives revolve around it. I schedule it down to the last minute of my day. I'm on a timetable, a timeline, a time crunch and when I'm out of time I am borrowing time. These events in my life I measure by seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years and decades. I spend so much time worrying about time I lose track of time.

We have seasons, cycles, terms and millenniums. All this measure of time, to measure all sorts of events all so we can use our time more wisely. There is a time for everything weather it's the best of times or worst of times. Time is money, we are told to value time, to make the most of time because we don't want to waste time!

Hurry up and wait, hurry up and get in line, hurry before we miss it. But time creeps along. Time flies as time waits for no man.

My modern life is enslaved around time. I look to the past to predict my future. I sniff the sweet air of tomorrow and feel the bitter cold of yesterday. What if, only if....

Wait!
Stop!
What if time isn't really real?
What if time is merely a concept?
What if time is just an object of mind?
What if time is nothing more than a measure of change?

But...... I spend so much time thinking about time. If time is merely some illusion of my mind...then what do we really have?

Allow me to take this moment to think about it.

The Heart of the Matter

Yesterday, the new Large Hadron Collider, a high energy particle accelerator, was switched on a tested for the first time. It ushers in a new era of human scientific endeavor, in a quest as old as man himself, to find the true nature of ourselves and our Universe. The Holy Grail of the upcoming tests is the search for an extremely controversial particle element called the Higgs boson. Believed by some to be the particle that gives all mass to matter, a building block of all that exists, it has been dubbed "The God Particle". If found, it would complete what in science is called the Grand Unification theory, which unities the 4 known basic energy forces.
(Thanks to cpd314 and http://1.bp.blogspot.com/ for this image!)

In the last 200 years, science has taken magical leaps in discovering the true nature of mass and matter, not by looking outward, but by looking deeper inward, peering increasingly smaller and smaller. In the early 1800's science was able to identify the atom, thought at first to be the smallest particle of matter. Shortly after, Physicists found that the atom was made up of yet smaller particles called protons, neutrons and electrons. During the middle part of 20th century, not satisfied that these particles were the true makeup of matter, scientist continued to look inward, and after a series of amazing leaps in technology, quarks were discovered to be the base elements of these protons, neutrons and electrons. Just like a Matryoshka doll, every time a box was opened, they found yet another box.

I think as Buddhists, our effort should be like that of these scientists, continually looking inward, for the true nature of what makes me.....well "me". At first we see emotions, then after sometime and some effort, just by watching we can see these subtle thoughts that bring about these emotions. Then, deeper into our practice, we can study how these thoughts arise. But I think its important we keep looking for the "I" inside ourselves, even if some teachings talk about the emptiness of self, it should be our goal to still find it. Even after all attempts yield yet another Matryoshka doll, we should make all effort in this moment to keeping looking, keep searching. Along with the keen eye of a scientist, an honest motive is imperative if we are to see what is true as true.

This honest motive is sometimes called a pure heart. As Westerners, we already have a sense to dig into the workings of all things to see how they operate, and we should use this talent the best we can. Even though we may not know it, as long as we are honest with ourselves, with a pure motive, we can begin to see ultimate truth and what is really at the Heart of the Matter. No doubt, if you are reading this, you already have that pure heart.

Why Buddhism, why now?

I sit at my desk day after day, head swirling with thoughts, randomly strewn about like dirty clothes on a child’s room. I have bills to pay when I get home. My coworker is humming again! What am I going to have for lunch? Is tonight my kid’s baseball game? Endlessly, all day, these thoughts invade my mind. How can I or anyone ever find peace!

A Zen master asks us what it is we seek.

Lama Gyurme once said that Buddhism is part Religion, part philosophy and partly a way of life. It is a Religion in the sense that it is important that the original message of the Buddha stays undiluted, a philosophy in the sense that Buddhism is a broad school of philosophical and conceptual thought and a way of life in the sense that it is meant to help right here and right now in each and every one of our lives.

I am not interested so much in the first two but I am very interested in the latter. It does not matter what beliefs you have or what religion you are. This is not about belief or even about God, but rather seeing the world and ourselves with a very honest and keen, almost scientific eye.

But why, what's in it for me?

Well, you can begin to go through life fearless; Fearless in the face of change, in the face of others aggression and yes, fearless in the face of death. We can learn to smile at those that harm us, extend a hand to those that lash out at us and learn to walk this earth with a compassionate heart.

How?

Not by belief in any ideal or teaching, but with an open heart and open mind, begin to see the true nature of our existence. See for yourself life is change and recognize our minds reaction to this change. All suffering arises with in us, all turmoil is based on the inimitable truth that everything changes and nothing can be grasped. With kindness and compassion to yourself, you can learn to become unattached to these material things that will never persist, and simply begin to watch how this ride we call life unfold.

What it is we seek? Perhaps we can find out together.

The Buddha once said, “You are strong, you are young. It is time to arise.” In our modern world, it is rare that one follows the path of the awakened.....but it is no less true today then it was 2,500 years ago. "So....Arise!"

(A thank you to the webmaster of this blog for allowing me to be a contributor!)