Hi Everybody,
New episode, new chapter. And an important one I think. We've encountered the word 'practice' many many times in the text so far, in this chapter we find out what it means. So this is chapter 7, and it's called Buddhism and Practice.
' There is a striking phrase that I encountered many years ago that has stuck like a burr in my mind ever since, and every now and again when the circumstances warrent, it resurfaces and makes its presence felt. The phrase quite simply is,
' We don't see the world as it is. We see it as we are.'
What is remarkabel about it I believe is that it encapsulates in so few words, so profound and bottomless a piece of wisdom, that once heard you might say, it's never forgotten. In this particular form of words it doesn't happen to come from the Buddhist tradition, it comes in fact from the texts that make up the ancient Jewish Talmud, which is the first written compendium of Judaism's oral law. But it expresses an idea that lies aright at the heart of Shakyamuni's teaching, that essentially, we carry our environment around with us.
It reminds us , lest we should forget, that although we might think that what we do each day is to walk through a sort of external reality, to which we respond in various ways, that is very much not the case. It tells us in fact hat it is our own state of mind, our own attitude, how we are inside our heads, that plays so large a part in how we actually experience everything we encounter in our world and in our relationships.
We need to perceive our overwhelming responsibility that is, for shaping and creatingn our own reality and our own environment.
With even a few minutes of reflection we grasp the essential truth of that don't we? We all know full well that we can have intensely grey and gloomy days, and we can have brilliantly bright and sunny days, that have absolutely nothing to do with what's going on outside; they are created almost entirely by our own internal weather. We have all experienced, particularly in the working environment perhaps, the encouraging and uplifting effect of a colleague who seems always to have a bright and optimistic inner life, so that a whole team can be energised by such a spirit, however daunting the task in hand. And we've all experienced the reverse, the way in which the spirit of a whole group can be dragged down by a single colleague who tends to turn up full of negativity and proceeds to tip it out, rather like emptying a suitcase into the office. We have all been there.
But the key thing perhaps that we should take from this piece of ancient wisdom is the hope-filled life strategy it proposes. Because it tells us that we do have the ability to transform our lives. If we could only find a way of developing and sustaining an internal life state that is consistently hopeful and optimistic and resilient, then that will become the dominant perspective from which we will perceive and shape our environment...our reality...our life.
And that essentially is what a Buddhist practice is about.
That may seem a huge and sudden leap to make in the argument, but it's not really. The daily Buddhist practice is precisely about developing a much greater awareness or mindfulness of our internal weather, of where we are in our heads, and its profound effect upon our own perceptions, and upon all those around us. And then beyond that, building the determination to do something positive about it, to steadily shift our whole lives you might say, towards the positive end of the spectrum, nurturing those qualities of hope and optimism and resilience so that they become a consistent part of our daily aproach to life.
We want to become that bright and resourceful and optimistic colleague who everybody wants to have around. '
Well that's it for today. That's the introduction if you like to the substance of the chapter, and we now move on to the detail of the daily practice.
Hope it makes sesne ! And hope to see you next time.
Best wishes,
William
Could I ask a favour. would you mind chanting an hour a day with me for the next 7 days for two people who demand all our compassion. For the young women who was beaten to death for marrying a man of her own choice. And for the young mother sentenced to death in Sudan for marrying a christian man. I would really appreciate it. If you tell your friends we could send a powerful tide of compassion in their direction. thank you
Saturday 31 May 2014
Monday 26 May 2014
my buddhist blog number 43
Hi Everybody,
I got soaked walking in Richmond Park with Gatsby this morning. Just throwing it down. It's still a great way to start the day though. An hours daimoku followed by an hour jogging through the trees, before |I get back to a cup of coffee and the keyboard. I am so full of gratitude to have such a life.
We are right at the tail end of chapter 6, Buddhism and Ethics. Just a couple of paragraphs to polish off before we start chapter 7, Buddhism and Practice.
So the last episode finished on the idea of choice...' A Buddhist practice is aimed at helping us to be more aware and thus to recognise what is going on in any encounter or relationship more rapidly, and so make the positive choiuce more often. ' The text goes on...
' You will have noticed that we've been bumping into that word choice throughout the whole line of argument, and it's bound to occur again and again on this journey, because it is crucial to an understanding of what Buddhism is about, and indeed to an understanding of what it really means when it talks about happiness or well-being in this life. It has often been said that there can be no happiness without hope or optimism, and no hope or optimism really without freedom of choice...coupled we would hasten to add, to that profound sense of personal responsibility we've been talking about . The two have to be inseparable.
And in a sense that is the bottom line to this entire discussion we've been having about Buddhism and ethics. That is the basic Buddhist approach to all relationships of whatever kind, right across the filed of human experience. It is based solidly on that central, life-changing perception all those years ago by Shakyamuni, that every human being without exception, has this profound potential of Buddhahood within their lives. And the whole purpose of the daily practice is in a sense to sharpen of that potential in ourselves ...and others.
And that's where we go next. To de-mystify that word practice. '
Hope to see you there. Nice short one this time around.
Keep well. Keep smiling.
William
I got soaked walking in Richmond Park with Gatsby this morning. Just throwing it down. It's still a great way to start the day though. An hours daimoku followed by an hour jogging through the trees, before |I get back to a cup of coffee and the keyboard. I am so full of gratitude to have such a life.
We are right at the tail end of chapter 6, Buddhism and Ethics. Just a couple of paragraphs to polish off before we start chapter 7, Buddhism and Practice.
So the last episode finished on the idea of choice...' A Buddhist practice is aimed at helping us to be more aware and thus to recognise what is going on in any encounter or relationship more rapidly, and so make the positive choiuce more often. ' The text goes on...
' You will have noticed that we've been bumping into that word choice throughout the whole line of argument, and it's bound to occur again and again on this journey, because it is crucial to an understanding of what Buddhism is about, and indeed to an understanding of what it really means when it talks about happiness or well-being in this life. It has often been said that there can be no happiness without hope or optimism, and no hope or optimism really without freedom of choice...coupled we would hasten to add, to that profound sense of personal responsibility we've been talking about . The two have to be inseparable.
And in a sense that is the bottom line to this entire discussion we've been having about Buddhism and ethics. That is the basic Buddhist approach to all relationships of whatever kind, right across the filed of human experience. It is based solidly on that central, life-changing perception all those years ago by Shakyamuni, that every human being without exception, has this profound potential of Buddhahood within their lives. And the whole purpose of the daily practice is in a sense to sharpen of that potential in ourselves ...and others.
And that's where we go next. To de-mystify that word practice. '
Hope to see you there. Nice short one this time around.
Keep well. Keep smiling.
William
Friday 23 May 2014
my buddhist blog number 42
Hi Everybody,
We're just coming to the closing pages of this chapter on Buddhism and Ethics, and I must say as I re-read it, I think it covers some of the most important themes for anybody trying to understand the values inherent in a Buddhist practice, and the kind of contribution it can make to our daily lives. So today's sub-heading is, living with respect.
' let me round off this discussion by touching briefly upon the subject of respect, because it highlights what is an immensely important general point. Undoubtedly one of the most valuable contributions tha is made by introducing a consideration of Buddhist values into any discussion of human behaviour, is that they genuinely transcend culture, they don't have any boundaries, they are truly universal. So if you ask the direct question, what does Buddhism ask us to demonstrate in our relationships with other people...all other people without exception...that will enable us to create the greatest value in our own lives and our wider communities? The answer that comes back as loud and clear as a peal of bells, is this notion of respect. It is a central and indeed a dominant pillar of Buddhist thought.
Daisaku Ikeda constantly reminds us of its centrality.
' The misfortune of others,' he writes, 'is our misfortune. Our happiness is the happiness of others. To see ourselves in others and to feel an inner oneness and sense of unity with them represents a fundamental revolution in in the way we view our lives. Therefore discriminating against another person is discriminating against oneself. When we hurt another we are hurting ourselves. And when we respect others, we respect and elevate our own lives as well.' ( Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra Vol 1 p149)
Both Shakyamuni and Nichiren had profoundly revolutionary views of the way societies should function to create the greatest value for all. Those views were based essentially on everyone learning how to respect the dignity and the humanity of every other human being with whom they came in contact, whatever the circumstances. It was revolutionary then in the sense of being an ideal to be lived up to. When it is expressed in these direct terms it remains pretty revolutionary today. But let's be absolutely clear what it is asking of us, because it is a tough call, and it's one that if we take up the practice we can't fudge or somehow slide around.
Essentially Buddhism argues that if we want to live and bring up our children in a society that is based fundamentally on respect for the lives of other people, as most of us undoubtedly do, then we have to determine to become our own role model so to speak. We have to demonstrate that respect as a core quality in all our encounters and relationships. Not some but all. We certainly don't have to like everybody, still less to love them, or take them into our lives. But we do have to dig deeper than we otherwise might, and recognise their common humanity, whatever the circumstances of the encounter. That's the key point. No more but importantly no less than that. Like so many other things in Buddhism, we are called upon to make the positive, value-creating choice.
and Buddhism is very much based upon this central idea of freedom of choice. It's not remember, a morality that tells us how to behave, we choose. And that freedomof choice couples of course with the fundamental responsibility we've been talking about, extends right across the spectrum of our lives. One important interpretation of that word responsibility is indeed...respond-ability...that is to say, we always have the choice as to how we respond. Thus the way we experience any relationship is also, a matter of choice.
Good or bad. Negative or positive. Constructive or destructive. It's our choice. It's not something that is done to us, if I may express it in that way. We do it to ourselves. We can of course choose to respond to the bits that we don't happen to like, or that we feel to be the annoyances, or the irrationalities, or the inconsistencies in anothe rperson's behaviour, that happen to irritate us, or make the relationship inconvenient or awkward for us. That is if you like, the negative response. Or we can make the positive choice and dig deeper into our personal resources and detemine that we are going to create value out of this encounter, whatever our initial reaction to it might be. Not always of course. Once again we're only human. But a Buddhist practice is aimed at helping us to be more aware, and thus to recognise wha tis going on in the encounter or the relationship more rapidly...and so to make that positive, value-creating choice...more often.'
That's it for today. Again my unbounded thanks for reading this far.
My best wishes for the weekend,
William
We're just coming to the closing pages of this chapter on Buddhism and Ethics, and I must say as I re-read it, I think it covers some of the most important themes for anybody trying to understand the values inherent in a Buddhist practice, and the kind of contribution it can make to our daily lives. So today's sub-heading is, living with respect.
' let me round off this discussion by touching briefly upon the subject of respect, because it highlights what is an immensely important general point. Undoubtedly one of the most valuable contributions tha is made by introducing a consideration of Buddhist values into any discussion of human behaviour, is that they genuinely transcend culture, they don't have any boundaries, they are truly universal. So if you ask the direct question, what does Buddhism ask us to demonstrate in our relationships with other people...all other people without exception...that will enable us to create the greatest value in our own lives and our wider communities? The answer that comes back as loud and clear as a peal of bells, is this notion of respect. It is a central and indeed a dominant pillar of Buddhist thought.
Daisaku Ikeda constantly reminds us of its centrality.
' The misfortune of others,' he writes, 'is our misfortune. Our happiness is the happiness of others. To see ourselves in others and to feel an inner oneness and sense of unity with them represents a fundamental revolution in in the way we view our lives. Therefore discriminating against another person is discriminating against oneself. When we hurt another we are hurting ourselves. And when we respect others, we respect and elevate our own lives as well.' ( Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra Vol 1 p149)
Both Shakyamuni and Nichiren had profoundly revolutionary views of the way societies should function to create the greatest value for all. Those views were based essentially on everyone learning how to respect the dignity and the humanity of every other human being with whom they came in contact, whatever the circumstances. It was revolutionary then in the sense of being an ideal to be lived up to. When it is expressed in these direct terms it remains pretty revolutionary today. But let's be absolutely clear what it is asking of us, because it is a tough call, and it's one that if we take up the practice we can't fudge or somehow slide around.
Essentially Buddhism argues that if we want to live and bring up our children in a society that is based fundamentally on respect for the lives of other people, as most of us undoubtedly do, then we have to determine to become our own role model so to speak. We have to demonstrate that respect as a core quality in all our encounters and relationships. Not some but all. We certainly don't have to like everybody, still less to love them, or take them into our lives. But we do have to dig deeper than we otherwise might, and recognise their common humanity, whatever the circumstances of the encounter. That's the key point. No more but importantly no less than that. Like so many other things in Buddhism, we are called upon to make the positive, value-creating choice.
and Buddhism is very much based upon this central idea of freedom of choice. It's not remember, a morality that tells us how to behave, we choose. And that freedomof choice couples of course with the fundamental responsibility we've been talking about, extends right across the spectrum of our lives. One important interpretation of that word responsibility is indeed...respond-ability...that is to say, we always have the choice as to how we respond. Thus the way we experience any relationship is also, a matter of choice.
Good or bad. Negative or positive. Constructive or destructive. It's our choice. It's not something that is done to us, if I may express it in that way. We do it to ourselves. We can of course choose to respond to the bits that we don't happen to like, or that we feel to be the annoyances, or the irrationalities, or the inconsistencies in anothe rperson's behaviour, that happen to irritate us, or make the relationship inconvenient or awkward for us. That is if you like, the negative response. Or we can make the positive choice and dig deeper into our personal resources and detemine that we are going to create value out of this encounter, whatever our initial reaction to it might be. Not always of course. Once again we're only human. But a Buddhist practice is aimed at helping us to be more aware, and thus to recognise wha tis going on in the encounter or the relationship more rapidly...and so to make that positive, value-creating choice...more often.'
That's it for today. Again my unbounded thanks for reading this far.
My best wishes for the weekend,
William
Monday 19 May 2014
my buddhist blog number 41
Hi Everybody,
Today we're looking at a principle that is really central to a Buddhist view of life, the principle of cause and effect. So we dive in at the deep end.
' Central to a Buddhist practice is this principle that we alone are responsible for the action sthat we take, or the causes that we make, good, bad and indifferent, and in the same way, wholly responsible for the effects that those causes plant in our life, like seeds, good, bad and indifferent. At some time, and in some place Buddhism teaches, those seeds will surely bear fruit. This notion of course embraces the whole spectrum of behaviour, thoughts and words as well as actual deeds, and it's clearly central to a fuller understanding of Buddhist ethics.
Buddhists often use the phrase, ' Buddhism is reason ' to describe their practice. What they are talking about isn't simply that much of Buddhist teaching would seem to be sound common sense. They also have in mind that there is a profound sense of balance, a sense of a reasonabe, meaningful inescapable relationship, between what we do, the causes that we make, and the effects that those actions, those thoughts words and deeds, plant in our life. We inevitably reap if you like, what we sow. Although of cours eit goes without saying that we may very rarely, if ever, be able to perceive or work out the connection between the causes and the effects they generate.
In fact even to expect that is in a sense to miss the point of the principle. Of course we can all think of some experience when a connection seems fairly clear.; when we made huge efforts say, and achieved what we were after, or when we we didn't, and saw an oportunity that was within our reach slip away. But those clear connections are very much the rare exception. And since Buddhism is wholly concerned with the down-to-earth reality of everyday, it isn't in any way, talking about a direct, perceptible connection between causes that we make and their effects. That would be simply unreal.
What it is saying however is that once we take on board this central idea, accepting total responsibility for the values that we embrace, and the choices that we make, and the actions that we take...and see them as our causes...then we are introducing a new and powerful dynamic into our lives. A dynamic that can only have very beneficial and positive results, for us and for our families and friends, and workmates and communities, all the various societies we inhabit, because it empowers us, it puts us in charge of what you might call both halves of the equation.
Of course it's also pretty demanding; particularly when our life is going through a rough patch, and we would much rather point the finger of blame at someone or something else. Just look at what happened to me, we sa, or look at what they made me do. We commonly point at anything else as a cause of our current predicament, rather than at ourselves. We all do it. And of course accepting complete responsibility in any sphere of life is always challenging. You could argue in fact that Nichiren Buddhism is both immensely refreshing in that it doesn't lay down a prescriptive code of behaviour we are expected to follow, and immensely challenging, in that it asks us always to accept total responsibility for the causes that we make. Always.
But as we've already mentioned, with a moment's thought we can see that it is an approach to the daily reality of our lives, tha tis also full of hope and optimism, since once we accept that the causes lie within our own life, then so too do the remedies. We can see where things are going wrong, and we can set out to put them right. We may not always succeed of course, we are only human, but we can set off down that road.
Nichiren Buddhists often talk about this particular aspect of their practice as ' doing their human revolution,' and the phrase is undoubtedly appropriate, in the sense that simply to take hold of part of our life that isn't working, or causing us a fair amount of suffering, and set about changing it, is indeed, something of a revolution. It's what we all want to be able to do. And if you think about it even briefly, there aren't many teachings, or philosophiesor life-style techniques around, call them what you will, that help us to recognise the source of the problem in this way, and offer a practical and proven, and down-to-earth method for putting it right.'
Thats plenty enough for one session I'm sure. Hope it helps to emphasise how practical and useful a Buddhist practice is in dealing with the stuff of our everyday lives.
See you next tiem I hope.
Best wishes,
William
Today we're looking at a principle that is really central to a Buddhist view of life, the principle of cause and effect. So we dive in at the deep end.
' Central to a Buddhist practice is this principle that we alone are responsible for the action sthat we take, or the causes that we make, good, bad and indifferent, and in the same way, wholly responsible for the effects that those causes plant in our life, like seeds, good, bad and indifferent. At some time, and in some place Buddhism teaches, those seeds will surely bear fruit. This notion of course embraces the whole spectrum of behaviour, thoughts and words as well as actual deeds, and it's clearly central to a fuller understanding of Buddhist ethics.
Buddhists often use the phrase, ' Buddhism is reason ' to describe their practice. What they are talking about isn't simply that much of Buddhist teaching would seem to be sound common sense. They also have in mind that there is a profound sense of balance, a sense of a reasonabe, meaningful inescapable relationship, between what we do, the causes that we make, and the effects that those actions, those thoughts words and deeds, plant in our life. We inevitably reap if you like, what we sow. Although of cours eit goes without saying that we may very rarely, if ever, be able to perceive or work out the connection between the causes and the effects they generate.
In fact even to expect that is in a sense to miss the point of the principle. Of course we can all think of some experience when a connection seems fairly clear.; when we made huge efforts say, and achieved what we were after, or when we we didn't, and saw an oportunity that was within our reach slip away. But those clear connections are very much the rare exception. And since Buddhism is wholly concerned with the down-to-earth reality of everyday, it isn't in any way, talking about a direct, perceptible connection between causes that we make and their effects. That would be simply unreal.
What it is saying however is that once we take on board this central idea, accepting total responsibility for the values that we embrace, and the choices that we make, and the actions that we take...and see them as our causes...then we are introducing a new and powerful dynamic into our lives. A dynamic that can only have very beneficial and positive results, for us and for our families and friends, and workmates and communities, all the various societies we inhabit, because it empowers us, it puts us in charge of what you might call both halves of the equation.
Of course it's also pretty demanding; particularly when our life is going through a rough patch, and we would much rather point the finger of blame at someone or something else. Just look at what happened to me, we sa, or look at what they made me do. We commonly point at anything else as a cause of our current predicament, rather than at ourselves. We all do it. And of course accepting complete responsibility in any sphere of life is always challenging. You could argue in fact that Nichiren Buddhism is both immensely refreshing in that it doesn't lay down a prescriptive code of behaviour we are expected to follow, and immensely challenging, in that it asks us always to accept total responsibility for the causes that we make. Always.
But as we've already mentioned, with a moment's thought we can see that it is an approach to the daily reality of our lives, tha tis also full of hope and optimism, since once we accept that the causes lie within our own life, then so too do the remedies. We can see where things are going wrong, and we can set out to put them right. We may not always succeed of course, we are only human, but we can set off down that road.
Nichiren Buddhists often talk about this particular aspect of their practice as ' doing their human revolution,' and the phrase is undoubtedly appropriate, in the sense that simply to take hold of part of our life that isn't working, or causing us a fair amount of suffering, and set about changing it, is indeed, something of a revolution. It's what we all want to be able to do. And if you think about it even briefly, there aren't many teachings, or philosophiesor life-style techniques around, call them what you will, that help us to recognise the source of the problem in this way, and offer a practical and proven, and down-to-earth method for putting it right.'
Thats plenty enough for one session I'm sure. Hope it helps to emphasise how practical and useful a Buddhist practice is in dealing with the stuff of our everyday lives.
See you next tiem I hope.
Best wishes,
William
Friday 16 May 2014
my buddhist blog number 40
Hi Everybody,
Great news this week was that Jason Jarrett flew in from his new home in Vancouver for a brief spell of work in London, and came to supper on Tuesday. We had a really good evening, talking about everything under the sun. And he tells me the Case for Buddhism is about to be launched on the podcast. That's really wonderful news because the podcast has established such a wide audience, 11/12K downloads every month in over 140 countries. It's a genuine window on the world, and the feedback that comes to me via facebook is just remarkable. Every writer loves feedback. It makes all those afternoons spent sweating over a lonely keyboard infinitely worthwhile.
Back to today and today's episode and we're in the middle of a passage that has the sub-heading in the book, ' Problems are the only gym in town! And basically it argues that the constant flow of difficulties and problems in our lives provide the only training ground there is , the only gym in town you might say, for us to develop our emotional and spiritual muscle. They provide, Buddhism constantly reminds us, the only available means for getting the very most out of who we are, for becoming the strongest, the most resilient, the most resourceful, and the most optimistic individual that we are capable of being. We all want those qualities don't we? We're just not sure how to get them. Buddhism opens up for us this new perception of how we might do just that.
If that idea strikes you as an eccentric, not to say somewhat perverse proposition, I can only say that is precisely how it struck me when I first encountered it. ' Who needs problems? 'was my initial response. But of course needing them isn't the issue, it's dealing with them when they inevitably occur that causes so much pain and suffering. The key to unlocking the situation Buddhism teaches, is to see the situation for what it really is. It's not so much the problem itself that is causing the suffering, as our response to it. That may seem an unreal distinction, but in fact it is the fundamentally important one. So fundamental that once we really grasp the truth of it, it can change our whole lives from the inside out.
Indeed, if it is the only truth that you take away from this book, the writing of it will have been worthwhile. Buddhism argues that whether a problem, any problem, big or small, is a cause of suffering, or a source of personal growth, depends essentially on our attitude towards it. And the difference in attitude Buddhism argues, the change from a negative mind-set, to a positive one, is crucial to achieving this huge difference in outcome. And let's face it, that's what we all want don't we? Whatever our personal circumstances may be, however good, howeverbad, we all want to dwell in a positive life state rather than a negative one.
So a Buddhist practice is focused essentially on achieving that crucial attitude chang, and it releases a whole new source of energy and determination. We can't simply think our way into it, ' From now on I'm going to live like this.' Life isn't that simple. We have to learn how to make the change, just as an athlete has to train hard to develop new muscle and to develop new reflexes to get the best out of his or her body, so we have to learn a new set of skills and responses and ways of thinking. It isn't a destination, it's a continuous journey.
There is a striking Buddhist text which goes, ' There is no path to happiness...happiness is the path.' This is that very path. Learning how to achieve this crucial change in attitude towards the tough stuff in our lives. '
As I write those words I know full well just how hard they are to believe. Immensely hard. But hang in there. When I started out on this path no one could,have been more sceptical than me. Such belief as I did have was paper thin. A puff could have blown it away. But...I was going through a very hard time. I happened to be a name at Lloyds in the City of London, and had been defrauded of just about everything I owned. And about a year earlier my wife had met someone else and had left me. So I was living in a kind of grey desert, in a kind of despair. And I couldn't really see any way out. Then Sarah, who is now my beloved wife, who was quite young in her Buddhist practice, had the wisdom to say to me, ' Well they've taken all your money. Are you going to let them take your spirit as well? Why don't you try the practice? So I started. And as I've said, my belief was paper thin.
Since then I have never stopped.
I've never managed to win back the material things I lost that I thought were so crucial to my life. And I've had a multitude of problems since, as we all have of course. Not least the cancer. But I honestly count myself among the happiest people on the planet. Why? Because I find that I have managed to build for myself a stability, a resilience, a constantly positive spirit that remains even when all kinds of tough stuff comes out of the woodwork. The practice has given me this ability to take problems as they come and work out solutions, and to have plenty of life force left over to help others when they need help. As I've mentioned somewhere in the book, people often come up to me and say, ' How do you always manage to have such a positive spirit? ' The answer, strange as it may seem, is that I really don't know...but I believe I owe it entirely to the practice.
Enough for today. Hope you managed to stick with it to the end.
See you next time.
Best wishes,
William
The Case for Buddhism is available from Amazon, and as an e-book on Kindle.
Great news this week was that Jason Jarrett flew in from his new home in Vancouver for a brief spell of work in London, and came to supper on Tuesday. We had a really good evening, talking about everything under the sun. And he tells me the Case for Buddhism is about to be launched on the podcast. That's really wonderful news because the podcast has established such a wide audience, 11/12K downloads every month in over 140 countries. It's a genuine window on the world, and the feedback that comes to me via facebook is just remarkable. Every writer loves feedback. It makes all those afternoons spent sweating over a lonely keyboard infinitely worthwhile.
Back to today and today's episode and we're in the middle of a passage that has the sub-heading in the book, ' Problems are the only gym in town! And basically it argues that the constant flow of difficulties and problems in our lives provide the only training ground there is , the only gym in town you might say, for us to develop our emotional and spiritual muscle. They provide, Buddhism constantly reminds us, the only available means for getting the very most out of who we are, for becoming the strongest, the most resilient, the most resourceful, and the most optimistic individual that we are capable of being. We all want those qualities don't we? We're just not sure how to get them. Buddhism opens up for us this new perception of how we might do just that.
If that idea strikes you as an eccentric, not to say somewhat perverse proposition, I can only say that is precisely how it struck me when I first encountered it. ' Who needs problems? 'was my initial response. But of course needing them isn't the issue, it's dealing with them when they inevitably occur that causes so much pain and suffering. The key to unlocking the situation Buddhism teaches, is to see the situation for what it really is. It's not so much the problem itself that is causing the suffering, as our response to it. That may seem an unreal distinction, but in fact it is the fundamentally important one. So fundamental that once we really grasp the truth of it, it can change our whole lives from the inside out.
Indeed, if it is the only truth that you take away from this book, the writing of it will have been worthwhile. Buddhism argues that whether a problem, any problem, big or small, is a cause of suffering, or a source of personal growth, depends essentially on our attitude towards it. And the difference in attitude Buddhism argues, the change from a negative mind-set, to a positive one, is crucial to achieving this huge difference in outcome. And let's face it, that's what we all want don't we? Whatever our personal circumstances may be, however good, howeverbad, we all want to dwell in a positive life state rather than a negative one.
So a Buddhist practice is focused essentially on achieving that crucial attitude chang, and it releases a whole new source of energy and determination. We can't simply think our way into it, ' From now on I'm going to live like this.' Life isn't that simple. We have to learn how to make the change, just as an athlete has to train hard to develop new muscle and to develop new reflexes to get the best out of his or her body, so we have to learn a new set of skills and responses and ways of thinking. It isn't a destination, it's a continuous journey.
There is a striking Buddhist text which goes, ' There is no path to happiness...happiness is the path.' This is that very path. Learning how to achieve this crucial change in attitude towards the tough stuff in our lives. '
As I write those words I know full well just how hard they are to believe. Immensely hard. But hang in there. When I started out on this path no one could,have been more sceptical than me. Such belief as I did have was paper thin. A puff could have blown it away. But...I was going through a very hard time. I happened to be a name at Lloyds in the City of London, and had been defrauded of just about everything I owned. And about a year earlier my wife had met someone else and had left me. So I was living in a kind of grey desert, in a kind of despair. And I couldn't really see any way out. Then Sarah, who is now my beloved wife, who was quite young in her Buddhist practice, had the wisdom to say to me, ' Well they've taken all your money. Are you going to let them take your spirit as well? Why don't you try the practice? So I started. And as I've said, my belief was paper thin.
Since then I have never stopped.
I've never managed to win back the material things I lost that I thought were so crucial to my life. And I've had a multitude of problems since, as we all have of course. Not least the cancer. But I honestly count myself among the happiest people on the planet. Why? Because I find that I have managed to build for myself a stability, a resilience, a constantly positive spirit that remains even when all kinds of tough stuff comes out of the woodwork. The practice has given me this ability to take problems as they come and work out solutions, and to have plenty of life force left over to help others when they need help. As I've mentioned somewhere in the book, people often come up to me and say, ' How do you always manage to have such a positive spirit? ' The answer, strange as it may seem, is that I really don't know...but I believe I owe it entirely to the practice.
Enough for today. Hope you managed to stick with it to the end.
See you next time.
Best wishes,
William
The Case for Buddhism is available from Amazon, and as an e-book on Kindle.
Monday 12 May 2014
my buddhist blog number 39
Hi Everybody,
Would you mind if I write out again a brief passage from Daisaku Ikeda that occurred in last Friday's blog? Why? Because it shines so clear a light right into the heart of our practice that if we can just grab hold of it and keep it in our minds, will change all our lives. So it goes,
' Shakyamuni Buddha explained the fundamental spirit of Buddhism as a sense of individual responsibility. ' You are your only master. Who else? Subdue and discover your master.' In other words we must each take responsibility for our own self-discipline and for cultivating meaningful lives. ' Just three lines, and it tells the whole story. And it is particularly relevant for today's theme because it comes under the sub-heading in the book...Life is Tough.
' Indeed Buddhism was created out of the recognistion that life is toug, and that how we choose to respond to that toughness determines the nature of our life. Not just for some of us, but for all of us. Without exception. For those who have a generous supply of the world's goods, as well as for those who don't. It's just that the nature of the toughness is different.
It is something of a digression perhaps, but let me just expand on that thought for a minute or two, because it says something very important about how Buddhist teachings work in the modern world. Whatever we may wish or hope for, or delude ourselves about, there is no perfect defence that we can erect to keep at bay the stresses and strains that come with our humanity. None. Not status, nor wealth, nor success, nor power. Material prosperity may change the superficial circumstances, it may get rid of the hunger and the cold, but it doesn't change fundamentally the nature of the human condition. We are all in that sense in the same boat. And I think you could argue that never has that been more evident than in this so-called age of celebrity, when the lives of those who have the slightest claim to fame are laid bare before us every day of the week, in countless magazines devoted entirely to that task, let alone newspapers ferreting around for another scandal to seel a few thousand more copies.
Scratch a princess or a prime minister or a soap star or a football icon, and however glamorous or shining their lives may seem from the outside, the reality is of course that they go through exactly the same pain and suffering as the rest of us, indeed more or more extreme in many cases. Wealth and success bring their own pressures. So what all that is saying is that none of us can buy our way, or insulate our way, out of life's difficulties. And as we all know, the current crop of difficulties will be replaced by the next crop, and so on. They are as natural a part of our life on this planet as gravity. And just as apples always fall downwards, so human life is always filled with complexity and problems.
So the plain and demonstrable fact is that Buddhism is not in any way about finding some refuge from the troubling complexity of modern life, in some inner meditative sanctuary. Nor most emphatically is it about stoicism, about bearing the burden, learning how to keep the head down and just tough out the storm. Nor about learning how to remain immensely calm and patient, when all around you are losing theirs! None of that, or indeed anytthing like that. If I had to choose a single word to describe a Buddhist practice I think the word would be challenge. Because right at the heart of Buddhism is the idea that although of course we cannot change the inherent complexity and problematic nature of human life, it is possible to change fundamentally our attitude to those recurrent problems and difficulties. We can tha tis train ourselves to challenge them, to respond to them positively, rather than negatively.
That may not on the face of it, seem to be very challenging. 'Is that all there is to it? you might say. But think about it for a moment, because it is challenging. Very. Basically Buddhism asks us to come to understand tha tthe problems and the difficulties and the anxiety-making troubles that we all encounter as we go through life, and that we all spend so much time and energy and ingenuity in trying to avoid, are in fact not just an inevitable part of life, they are invaluable to our well-being. We might even say essential to it. How can I say that? Because this constant flow of difficulties and problems provides the only training ground there is, the only gym in town you might say, for us to develop our emotional and spiritual muscle. It provides, Buddhism constantly reminds us, the only available means for getting the very most out of who we are; for becoming the strongest, the most resilient, the most resourceful, and the most optimistic individual that we are capable of of being. And we all want those qualities don't we? We're just not sure how to get them. Buddhism opens up for us this new perception of how we might do just that. '
I could go on, because I'm enjoying this, but enough to take in for one session I think. Better to stop sooner rather than have you all bailing out. Thanks for reading this far. See you again next time. And of course if you can think of anyone who might get something out of these sessions, I'd be very grateful if you would bounce on the link.
Best wishes,
William
Would you mind if I write out again a brief passage from Daisaku Ikeda that occurred in last Friday's blog? Why? Because it shines so clear a light right into the heart of our practice that if we can just grab hold of it and keep it in our minds, will change all our lives. So it goes,
' Shakyamuni Buddha explained the fundamental spirit of Buddhism as a sense of individual responsibility. ' You are your only master. Who else? Subdue and discover your master.' In other words we must each take responsibility for our own self-discipline and for cultivating meaningful lives. ' Just three lines, and it tells the whole story. And it is particularly relevant for today's theme because it comes under the sub-heading in the book...Life is Tough.
' Indeed Buddhism was created out of the recognistion that life is toug, and that how we choose to respond to that toughness determines the nature of our life. Not just for some of us, but for all of us. Without exception. For those who have a generous supply of the world's goods, as well as for those who don't. It's just that the nature of the toughness is different.
It is something of a digression perhaps, but let me just expand on that thought for a minute or two, because it says something very important about how Buddhist teachings work in the modern world. Whatever we may wish or hope for, or delude ourselves about, there is no perfect defence that we can erect to keep at bay the stresses and strains that come with our humanity. None. Not status, nor wealth, nor success, nor power. Material prosperity may change the superficial circumstances, it may get rid of the hunger and the cold, but it doesn't change fundamentally the nature of the human condition. We are all in that sense in the same boat. And I think you could argue that never has that been more evident than in this so-called age of celebrity, when the lives of those who have the slightest claim to fame are laid bare before us every day of the week, in countless magazines devoted entirely to that task, let alone newspapers ferreting around for another scandal to seel a few thousand more copies.
Scratch a princess or a prime minister or a soap star or a football icon, and however glamorous or shining their lives may seem from the outside, the reality is of course that they go through exactly the same pain and suffering as the rest of us, indeed more or more extreme in many cases. Wealth and success bring their own pressures. So what all that is saying is that none of us can buy our way, or insulate our way, out of life's difficulties. And as we all know, the current crop of difficulties will be replaced by the next crop, and so on. They are as natural a part of our life on this planet as gravity. And just as apples always fall downwards, so human life is always filled with complexity and problems.
So the plain and demonstrable fact is that Buddhism is not in any way about finding some refuge from the troubling complexity of modern life, in some inner meditative sanctuary. Nor most emphatically is it about stoicism, about bearing the burden, learning how to keep the head down and just tough out the storm. Nor about learning how to remain immensely calm and patient, when all around you are losing theirs! None of that, or indeed anytthing like that. If I had to choose a single word to describe a Buddhist practice I think the word would be challenge. Because right at the heart of Buddhism is the idea that although of course we cannot change the inherent complexity and problematic nature of human life, it is possible to change fundamentally our attitude to those recurrent problems and difficulties. We can tha tis train ourselves to challenge them, to respond to them positively, rather than negatively.
That may not on the face of it, seem to be very challenging. 'Is that all there is to it? you might say. But think about it for a moment, because it is challenging. Very. Basically Buddhism asks us to come to understand tha tthe problems and the difficulties and the anxiety-making troubles that we all encounter as we go through life, and that we all spend so much time and energy and ingenuity in trying to avoid, are in fact not just an inevitable part of life, they are invaluable to our well-being. We might even say essential to it. How can I say that? Because this constant flow of difficulties and problems provides the only training ground there is, the only gym in town you might say, for us to develop our emotional and spiritual muscle. It provides, Buddhism constantly reminds us, the only available means for getting the very most out of who we are; for becoming the strongest, the most resilient, the most resourceful, and the most optimistic individual that we are capable of of being. And we all want those qualities don't we? We're just not sure how to get them. Buddhism opens up for us this new perception of how we might do just that. '
I could go on, because I'm enjoying this, but enough to take in for one session I think. Better to stop sooner rather than have you all bailing out. Thanks for reading this far. See you again next time. And of course if you can think of anyone who might get something out of these sessions, I'd be very grateful if you would bounce on the link.
Best wishes,
William
Friday 9 May 2014
my buddhist blog number 38
Hi Everybody,
I had some extraordinary news this week. I learned that the Spanish versions of The Reluctant Buddhist and Buddhism and the Science of Happiness have actually penetrated to the high Andes. In fact to the famous city of Medelin. That just blows my mind I have to say. But it speaks volumes for the clear universality of the message, even when it's conveyed by someone like myself, just trying to put their thoughts down about the value of Nichiren Buddhism, to any life, anywhere, in any circumstances. Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. OK, so we're talking about Buddhism and ethics. And we've talked a bit about the fact that all the world's major religions come with clearly defined sets of commandments, dogma even. Buddhism doesn't, and that's where we pick up the htread.
' So Buddhism sets out to describe for us in great detail what it sees to be the way that our lives work.That is to say, what kinds of thoughts and actions are dysfunctional in that they lead to anxiety and suffering, both for us and for those whom our life touches. What kinds of thoughts and behaviour lead to a greater sense of hope and optimism and well-being, again for us and for those around us. That is the accumulated body of understanding and wisdom about human nature and human behaviour that Buddhism presents to us. That basically is what it's all about; a profound understanding of the motives and impulses that drive human behaviour, and their effects on our sense of well-being. Tha tis one of the reasons for example, why many modern psychologists are so interested in the body of Buddhist understanding.
But the key point perhpas to take away from this brief exposition is that Buddhism is essentially observational rather than prescriptive. That, I suggest, is a key differentiator between Buddhism and other great religious traditions. So how does that work you might ask? What does it mean in practical terms in our daily life? Essentially it means tha tin the light of that deep understanding of human nature that it presents to us, Buddhism argues that it's your life. No one else can live it for you. No one else can tell you how to live it. Only you can resolve all the various influences and impulses and opportunities and challenges that come to bear upon you as you travel along your unique life journey. No one else can do it for you. And so, by the same token, only you can be responsible for the ways in which you resolve those influences.
That is the very heart of the issue.
As Daisaku Ikeda explains it for us,
' Shakyamuni Buddha explained the fundamental spirit of Buddhism as a sense of individual responsibility. ' You are your only master. Who else? Subdue yourself and discover your master' In other words we must each take responsibility for our own self-discipline and for cultivating meaningful lives.'
Just commit that line to memory....we must each take responsibility for our own self-discipline and for cultivating meaningful lives, because it is genuinely life-changing.
So Buddhism opens up for us a completely different perspective. Whereas all other major religions are built around what might be called codes of behaviour, describing in precise terms, as we have seen with our brief look at the Ten Commandments, what is entailed in the struggle to lead a good and value-creating life. Buddhism is built essentially around this idea of personal responsibility. The metaphores that are commonly used vividly reinforce that idea. We alone are the gardeners of our own life garden. We alone are the authors of our own life story. In every way it is our deal, our choice, our responsibility, and we have to get on with it. Buddhism does of course offer intimate and detailed guidance at every step along the way, the owner's handbook if you like, that has been drawn up on the basis of many centuries of experience of human behaviour in a tough world. And the daily Buddhist practice is the essential support programme, that helps us to develop the wisdom and the compassion and the courage and the personal discipline, to enable us to handle the responsibility more effectively.
And Buddhism argues, that discipline and that courage are certainly needed...because life in this world is tough.
Indeed Buddhism was created out of the recognition of life's toughness, and that how we choose to respond to that toughness, determines the very nature of our lives. Not just for some of us, but for all of us. Without exception. For those who have a generous supply of the world's goods, as well as for those who don't. It's just that the nature of the toughness is different. '
That's it for today.
I like that passage even if I say so myself. I think it opens an essential window on Buddhism.
I hope you like it too.
See you next time.
Best wishes,
William
The Case For Buddhism is available on Amazon and a paper back and as an e-book.
I had some extraordinary news this week. I learned that the Spanish versions of The Reluctant Buddhist and Buddhism and the Science of Happiness have actually penetrated to the high Andes. In fact to the famous city of Medelin. That just blows my mind I have to say. But it speaks volumes for the clear universality of the message, even when it's conveyed by someone like myself, just trying to put their thoughts down about the value of Nichiren Buddhism, to any life, anywhere, in any circumstances. Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. OK, so we're talking about Buddhism and ethics. And we've talked a bit about the fact that all the world's major religions come with clearly defined sets of commandments, dogma even. Buddhism doesn't, and that's where we pick up the htread.
' So Buddhism sets out to describe for us in great detail what it sees to be the way that our lives work.That is to say, what kinds of thoughts and actions are dysfunctional in that they lead to anxiety and suffering, both for us and for those whom our life touches. What kinds of thoughts and behaviour lead to a greater sense of hope and optimism and well-being, again for us and for those around us. That is the accumulated body of understanding and wisdom about human nature and human behaviour that Buddhism presents to us. That basically is what it's all about; a profound understanding of the motives and impulses that drive human behaviour, and their effects on our sense of well-being. Tha tis one of the reasons for example, why many modern psychologists are so interested in the body of Buddhist understanding.
But the key point perhpas to take away from this brief exposition is that Buddhism is essentially observational rather than prescriptive. That, I suggest, is a key differentiator between Buddhism and other great religious traditions. So how does that work you might ask? What does it mean in practical terms in our daily life? Essentially it means tha tin the light of that deep understanding of human nature that it presents to us, Buddhism argues that it's your life. No one else can live it for you. No one else can tell you how to live it. Only you can resolve all the various influences and impulses and opportunities and challenges that come to bear upon you as you travel along your unique life journey. No one else can do it for you. And so, by the same token, only you can be responsible for the ways in which you resolve those influences.
That is the very heart of the issue.
As Daisaku Ikeda explains it for us,
' Shakyamuni Buddha explained the fundamental spirit of Buddhism as a sense of individual responsibility. ' You are your only master. Who else? Subdue yourself and discover your master' In other words we must each take responsibility for our own self-discipline and for cultivating meaningful lives.'
Just commit that line to memory....we must each take responsibility for our own self-discipline and for cultivating meaningful lives, because it is genuinely life-changing.
So Buddhism opens up for us a completely different perspective. Whereas all other major religions are built around what might be called codes of behaviour, describing in precise terms, as we have seen with our brief look at the Ten Commandments, what is entailed in the struggle to lead a good and value-creating life. Buddhism is built essentially around this idea of personal responsibility. The metaphores that are commonly used vividly reinforce that idea. We alone are the gardeners of our own life garden. We alone are the authors of our own life story. In every way it is our deal, our choice, our responsibility, and we have to get on with it. Buddhism does of course offer intimate and detailed guidance at every step along the way, the owner's handbook if you like, that has been drawn up on the basis of many centuries of experience of human behaviour in a tough world. And the daily Buddhist practice is the essential support programme, that helps us to develop the wisdom and the compassion and the courage and the personal discipline, to enable us to handle the responsibility more effectively.
And Buddhism argues, that discipline and that courage are certainly needed...because life in this world is tough.
Indeed Buddhism was created out of the recognition of life's toughness, and that how we choose to respond to that toughness, determines the very nature of our lives. Not just for some of us, but for all of us. Without exception. For those who have a generous supply of the world's goods, as well as for those who don't. It's just that the nature of the toughness is different. '
That's it for today.
I like that passage even if I say so myself. I think it opens an essential window on Buddhism.
I hope you like it too.
See you next time.
Best wishes,
William
The Case For Buddhism is available on Amazon and a paper back and as an e-book.
Friday 2 May 2014
my buddhist blog number 37
Hi Everybody,
We ended up last time with this key question which is a ctually a sub-title in the book...so what do we mean by morality?
This is a key question in our understanding of Buddhism. Why? Because we are so completely accustomed, conditioned even, to the idea that religions come complete with a clearly defined set of commandments, or dogma, or rules behaviour, that basically tell us the way that we should live, the rules we must observe if we are to live what that particular religion defines as the good life, both for ourselves and for the society we inhabit.
In the western world the ten Commandments might be said to provide the perfect example. So in Judaism and Christianity, they provide what has been described by religious historians as the universal and timeless standard of right and wrong. And so pervasive are they, so embedded are they in the western psyche, that they provide the model, the template so to speak, of what religions do. Even if we are not Jewish or Christian we can make a pretty good shot at listing them....well, most of them! For Jewish believers they cover all the matters of fundamental importance for an individual living in society. The greatest obligation, to worship only God. The greatest injury to another person, murder. The greatest injury to family bonds, adultery. The greatest injury to law or commerce, to bear false witness. The greatest generational obligation, to honour your mother and father. And the greatest obligation to the community in which you live, to be truthful and not to covet or steal your neighbour's goods.
When Christianity broke away from its Jewish rootsit took the Ten Commandments with it. When Protestantism broke away from Catholic theology, it did the same. So little wonder that the yprovide the primary model that most of us brought up in a Judao-Christian culture carry around inside our heads for what religions have to say when it comes to morality. And of course something very similar occurs in other great religious traditions. They are that is, highly prescriptive. Islam sets very precise codes of behaviour that even includes details of everyday living, such as when you must pray, and what you can eat, and when. Hinduism, even in the modern world has a strict caste system, laying down the life-paths that people can or cannot follow.
We tend to take it for granted therefore that Buddhism will also come with its own clearly defined set of dogma or rules of behaviour. It doesn't. As we've seen, Edward Conze from Cambridge University takes great care to remind us in his scholarly history of Buddhism, ' The Buddha always stressed that he was a guide, not an authority, and that all religious propositions must be tested, including his own.'
Buddhism is not prescriptive. The implication of Edward Conze's comment is profound, and it could certainly be argued that the great social and ethical power of Buddhism..particularly in the modern world with its powerful drive towards liberalism and individual autonomy...lies in the fact that it isn't prescriptive. Instead it seeks to make us much more keenly aware of the effects of our actions, good, bad and indifferent, for ourselves and for others, always for ourselves and for others, the two are inextricably interlinked. We practice...for ourselves and others.
And then, it places the responsibility for those actions entirely on ourselves. You could say that personal responsibility is the very basis of Buddhist ethics. we and we alone, it teaches, are responsible for the causes that we make, and the effects that those causes plant in our lives.
It could certainly be argued that rarely has there been a greater need for such a principle in wester society. There is little doubt that if there were such an understanding, such a movement to cultivate and nurture a profound sense of personal responsibility for all one's actions, so that it became widespread in society, taught in schools, promoted in public policies, it would transform the quality of our lives, particularly in our ever more crowded towns and cities.
We all seek to live in communities and societies where we freely experience fairness and justice, and compassion and respect for others, as the context of our lives.And creating just such a context is the overwhelming thrust of the Buddhist approach to morality.'
That's it. Probably a bit too long today. But I hope not . It's an argument that's all of a piece and it would be difficult to stop half way. I'm inclined to think that if this were to be the single message that people take away from this book, it would have been worth it to write it. What do you think?
Hope you managed to stick with it to here.
See you next time.
William
We ended up last time with this key question which is a ctually a sub-title in the book...so what do we mean by morality?
This is a key question in our understanding of Buddhism. Why? Because we are so completely accustomed, conditioned even, to the idea that religions come complete with a clearly defined set of commandments, or dogma, or rules behaviour, that basically tell us the way that we should live, the rules we must observe if we are to live what that particular religion defines as the good life, both for ourselves and for the society we inhabit.
In the western world the ten Commandments might be said to provide the perfect example. So in Judaism and Christianity, they provide what has been described by religious historians as the universal and timeless standard of right and wrong. And so pervasive are they, so embedded are they in the western psyche, that they provide the model, the template so to speak, of what religions do. Even if we are not Jewish or Christian we can make a pretty good shot at listing them....well, most of them! For Jewish believers they cover all the matters of fundamental importance for an individual living in society. The greatest obligation, to worship only God. The greatest injury to another person, murder. The greatest injury to family bonds, adultery. The greatest injury to law or commerce, to bear false witness. The greatest generational obligation, to honour your mother and father. And the greatest obligation to the community in which you live, to be truthful and not to covet or steal your neighbour's goods.
When Christianity broke away from its Jewish rootsit took the Ten Commandments with it. When Protestantism broke away from Catholic theology, it did the same. So little wonder that the yprovide the primary model that most of us brought up in a Judao-Christian culture carry around inside our heads for what religions have to say when it comes to morality. And of course something very similar occurs in other great religious traditions. They are that is, highly prescriptive. Islam sets very precise codes of behaviour that even includes details of everyday living, such as when you must pray, and what you can eat, and when. Hinduism, even in the modern world has a strict caste system, laying down the life-paths that people can or cannot follow.
We tend to take it for granted therefore that Buddhism will also come with its own clearly defined set of dogma or rules of behaviour. It doesn't. As we've seen, Edward Conze from Cambridge University takes great care to remind us in his scholarly history of Buddhism, ' The Buddha always stressed that he was a guide, not an authority, and that all religious propositions must be tested, including his own.'
Buddhism is not prescriptive. The implication of Edward Conze's comment is profound, and it could certainly be argued that the great social and ethical power of Buddhism..particularly in the modern world with its powerful drive towards liberalism and individual autonomy...lies in the fact that it isn't prescriptive. Instead it seeks to make us much more keenly aware of the effects of our actions, good, bad and indifferent, for ourselves and for others, always for ourselves and for others, the two are inextricably interlinked. We practice...for ourselves and others.
And then, it places the responsibility for those actions entirely on ourselves. You could say that personal responsibility is the very basis of Buddhist ethics. we and we alone, it teaches, are responsible for the causes that we make, and the effects that those causes plant in our lives.
It could certainly be argued that rarely has there been a greater need for such a principle in wester society. There is little doubt that if there were such an understanding, such a movement to cultivate and nurture a profound sense of personal responsibility for all one's actions, so that it became widespread in society, taught in schools, promoted in public policies, it would transform the quality of our lives, particularly in our ever more crowded towns and cities.
We all seek to live in communities and societies where we freely experience fairness and justice, and compassion and respect for others, as the context of our lives.And creating just such a context is the overwhelming thrust of the Buddhist approach to morality.'
That's it. Probably a bit too long today. But I hope not . It's an argument that's all of a piece and it would be difficult to stop half way. I'm inclined to think that if this were to be the single message that people take away from this book, it would have been worth it to write it. What do you think?
Hope you managed to stick with it to here.
See you next time.
William
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