Hi everybody,
When there is so much violence in the news, so much talk of war and death and destruction and revenge, when we are most likely to feel pretty impotent about what we personally can do, that's a great time I would argue to concentrate on what we can do to create value and goodwill in our own little sphere of life, among our family or friends or our colleagues at work. All the environements we move in. It doesn't have to be big stuff. Anything big or small. An expression of gratitude. An offer of support. Or encouragement. Just ordinary everyday warm and generous human interaction. We feel better. The person offered the support feels better. And so does everyone else in earshot. And do the same again tomorrow. And the next day.
Anyway, here we are back with the practice and we've been talking about the primary practice of chanting,
So what do we think about when we chant? Well the short answer I think is not a lot. The intention if you like is to become one with the rhythm of the chanting. Listen to the sound, feel the vibration, enjoy the moment for its own sake. It's a kind of relaxation. The time for focused thought is before you start, what is it you want to chant about, and after you have finished, when the mind is very clear, and you are deciding what action you might want to take if any. What do we chant for? We are chanting essentially to tap into this potential within our own lives that will enable us to achieve a higher life state. Remember, as both Buddhism and modern psychology teach us, it's our life state that governs how we think and how we feel and therefore, to a large extent, how we act. So tha tthe higher our life state, the more fully and creatively we can live the day, and that is the underlying thought.
But the fact is that you can chant for any goal you wish to achieve, either in the short or long term of your life, and the lives of those around you. In my experience people don't often start chanting because they want to ' save the planet' so to speak, or rarely. They are much more likely to start chanting for reasons that are much closer and more personal, and for material as well as spiritual concerns. Buddhism is daily life remember, and those are elements of all our days. So it might be for a more bouyant spiritfor example, or more self-confidence in relationships. But it might also be for a better house, or a better job, better health, or just a happy and successful day. Many people chant for these and other utterly normal worldly desires every day of the week. They are very much part of our ordinary humanity.
But there are two key points to bear in mind. One is that we are of course chanting for the courage and the wisdom and the compassion to emerge in our lives so that we ourselves can take the action we need, to achieve these goals in our life, in a value-creating way. And the second is that as we go on chanting on a daily basis, so the practice steadily deepens and broadens our view of what it is that we really want to achieve, to enhance our lives and the lives of those around us, and how we might set about achieving those broader goals. So you might say, the inmitial desires serve as the seed, or the primary cause, that drives us towards a greater self-knowledge. It is in that sense that earthly desires may be said to lead to self-enlightenment.
That's it for today. I'll be back next week.
Hope to see you then.
Meanwhile hope you feel that you are creating value in and around your life.
Best wishes,
William
The Case for Buddhism is available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle as a download
Friday, 27 November 2015
Friday, 20 November 2015
my buddhist blog number 111
Hi Everybody,
It's been a sad week. Paris. It touches all of us. Enough words have been said and written about this explosion of meaningless violence against ordinary people going about their ordinary daily lives. I just offer this blog about Buddhist practice as a tiny token of shared sadness.
OK so were diving into a bit more detail about the practice and we look at three key dimensions starting with chanting. The basic practice is chanting. Chanting the phrase or the mantra nam myoho renge kyo, which we'll explain in greater detail in a later episode. The chanting is out loud, rather than repeating a mantra in our heads as in meditation. The key point is that it is clearly a physical action and it has clear physiological effects.For one thing it involves moving considerable volumes of air in and out of the lungs for example, and it raises body temperature and makes the skin tingle. It's been said to be very good for the complexion!
But above all it is a wonderfully joyful and uplifting sound, and it is absolutely central to this practice. As Daisaku Ikeda explains,
'It would be no exaggeration to say that the practice of chanting daimoku in Nichiren Buddhism is what gave rise to a ' Buddhism of the people.' This practice of chanting is indeed the supreme practice Buddhist practice, making it possible for us to fundamentally transform our lives.'
Thus it is seen as the driving force, the engine that powers the process of change, because it is an essential part of the process of refreshing and energising the spirit, and raising the life force. We simply feel better after a period of chanting. Normally the chanting is carried out twice a day. In the morning to launch you into the day with a wholly positive, up-beat frame of mind. In the evening basically in the spirit of gratitude for the day that we've had, good, bad or indifferent. If it's been good there's lots to be grateful for. If it's been bad then you may need to regain the energy and the determination to tackle the challenges that have arisen. Both morning and evening the chantingis accompanied by the recitation of two brief passages from the Lotus Sutra that are concerned with the universality of Buddhahood and the eternity of life.
There's no set time to chant, nor any set period of chanting. As with most of the elements of Buddhist practice, that's entirely up to the individual. It's your life. You can chant for as little time as you can spare before you have to catch the 8.10 commuter train to the office, or for as long as you feel the need. The practice is above all flexible, shaped to fit in with the demands of modern life. Buddhism remember is daily life. As with so many other activities, the key thing is regularity. Better ten minutes twice a day, than an hour every Friday. Just as we need to refuel our bodies with something to eat two or three times a day, so Buddhism argues, we need this regular, daily refreshment of our spiritual resources.
OK enough for today.
Back on Sunday with another episode.
Best wishes,
William
PS The Case for Buddhism is available from Amazon or on Kindle. And many thanks to all those people whom have said such generous things about it.
It's been a sad week. Paris. It touches all of us. Enough words have been said and written about this explosion of meaningless violence against ordinary people going about their ordinary daily lives. I just offer this blog about Buddhist practice as a tiny token of shared sadness.
OK so were diving into a bit more detail about the practice and we look at three key dimensions starting with chanting. The basic practice is chanting. Chanting the phrase or the mantra nam myoho renge kyo, which we'll explain in greater detail in a later episode. The chanting is out loud, rather than repeating a mantra in our heads as in meditation. The key point is that it is clearly a physical action and it has clear physiological effects.For one thing it involves moving considerable volumes of air in and out of the lungs for example, and it raises body temperature and makes the skin tingle. It's been said to be very good for the complexion!
But above all it is a wonderfully joyful and uplifting sound, and it is absolutely central to this practice. As Daisaku Ikeda explains,
'It would be no exaggeration to say that the practice of chanting daimoku in Nichiren Buddhism is what gave rise to a ' Buddhism of the people.' This practice of chanting is indeed the supreme practice Buddhist practice, making it possible for us to fundamentally transform our lives.'
Thus it is seen as the driving force, the engine that powers the process of change, because it is an essential part of the process of refreshing and energising the spirit, and raising the life force. We simply feel better after a period of chanting. Normally the chanting is carried out twice a day. In the morning to launch you into the day with a wholly positive, up-beat frame of mind. In the evening basically in the spirit of gratitude for the day that we've had, good, bad or indifferent. If it's been good there's lots to be grateful for. If it's been bad then you may need to regain the energy and the determination to tackle the challenges that have arisen. Both morning and evening the chantingis accompanied by the recitation of two brief passages from the Lotus Sutra that are concerned with the universality of Buddhahood and the eternity of life.
There's no set time to chant, nor any set period of chanting. As with most of the elements of Buddhist practice, that's entirely up to the individual. It's your life. You can chant for as little time as you can spare before you have to catch the 8.10 commuter train to the office, or for as long as you feel the need. The practice is above all flexible, shaped to fit in with the demands of modern life. Buddhism remember is daily life. As with so many other activities, the key thing is regularity. Better ten minutes twice a day, than an hour every Friday. Just as we need to refuel our bodies with something to eat two or three times a day, so Buddhism argues, we need this regular, daily refreshment of our spiritual resources.
OK enough for today.
Back on Sunday with another episode.
Best wishes,
William
PS The Case for Buddhism is available from Amazon or on Kindle. And many thanks to all those people whom have said such generous things about it.
Saturday, 14 November 2015
my buddhist blog number 110
Hi Everybody,
Great day for blogging. Grey cold wet and windy! We're into the final chapter of this book. Quite an inportant one I think as chapters go, on approaching the practice. Episode 2 of this chapter.
' Buddhism is daily life It's very easy to over-complicate Buddhism, and in many ways that simple sounding phrase is at the very heart of the Buddhist message. Trying to learn how to see the problems and the challenges that come ceaselessly from all directions into our lives, as opportunities to grow our lives. And if you think about it even momentarily, that means developing the wisdom to spot these opportunities, and the courage to grab onto them, because trying to see problems from this new persepective inevitably means change and change takes courage
The Buddhist argument essentially is that they are not going to stop coming these challenges. It's a bit like saying something as patently obvious as water is always wet. That's just the way things are. It is the very nature of human life. So Buddhism argues, the only part of the equation over which we have control is our approach to these problems. And the key stage in the process of change we have to go through is coming to understand that this is not a purely intellectual process. The intellect is crucially important of course, but it can only take us so far. Buddhism teaches that we can't simply think our way into a radically different approach to life's ups and downs. We have to work at it, we have to train to acquire that persistently more hopeful perspective.
That training is precisely what the daily practice is about. It is if you like, a daily, life-long training programme for the mind.
Admittedly that is not an easy truth either to believe in or to understand. It's not something we are accustomed to doing. If we get a problem the immediate, instinctive, conditioned response is to go to brain. That's what we've always done. That we believe is where the powerhouse is. We are accustomed in the West, trained even, to live our lives driven by three primary engines; our intellect and our emotions, how we think and how we feel, and by our persona, or how we look and present ourselves. We place huge store, as indeed we should, on our intellectual ability to think our way through life's problems. We attach immense value to emotional expression. And perhaps far too much to externals, to physical appearance.
All Buddhism is saying is,' ...hang on a bit, there's more...there is a much neglected spiritual resource within you that is capable of lifting your life performance to a new level...your Buddha nazture. In learning how you draw it out into you daily life...it could change your whole life!
As the late great philospher and historian Arnold Toynbee has commented,
' Westerners have much to learn in this field from Indian and East Asian experience. In books and articles that I have published I have repeatedly drawn my western readers' attention to this historical fact, as part of my lifelong attempt to jolt modern western man out of his ludicrously mistaken belief that modern western civilisation has made itself superior to all others by outstripping them. '
Thats a great comment I would argue, from Arnold Toynbee. A kind of wake-up call to the west.
Anyway, enough for today. Hope it made sense. See you on Wednesday next.
Best wishes to everone,
William
Great day for blogging. Grey cold wet and windy! We're into the final chapter of this book. Quite an inportant one I think as chapters go, on approaching the practice. Episode 2 of this chapter.
' Buddhism is daily life It's very easy to over-complicate Buddhism, and in many ways that simple sounding phrase is at the very heart of the Buddhist message. Trying to learn how to see the problems and the challenges that come ceaselessly from all directions into our lives, as opportunities to grow our lives. And if you think about it even momentarily, that means developing the wisdom to spot these opportunities, and the courage to grab onto them, because trying to see problems from this new persepective inevitably means change and change takes courage
The Buddhist argument essentially is that they are not going to stop coming these challenges. It's a bit like saying something as patently obvious as water is always wet. That's just the way things are. It is the very nature of human life. So Buddhism argues, the only part of the equation over which we have control is our approach to these problems. And the key stage in the process of change we have to go through is coming to understand that this is not a purely intellectual process. The intellect is crucially important of course, but it can only take us so far. Buddhism teaches that we can't simply think our way into a radically different approach to life's ups and downs. We have to work at it, we have to train to acquire that persistently more hopeful perspective.
That training is precisely what the daily practice is about. It is if you like, a daily, life-long training programme for the mind.
Admittedly that is not an easy truth either to believe in or to understand. It's not something we are accustomed to doing. If we get a problem the immediate, instinctive, conditioned response is to go to brain. That's what we've always done. That we believe is where the powerhouse is. We are accustomed in the West, trained even, to live our lives driven by three primary engines; our intellect and our emotions, how we think and how we feel, and by our persona, or how we look and present ourselves. We place huge store, as indeed we should, on our intellectual ability to think our way through life's problems. We attach immense value to emotional expression. And perhaps far too much to externals, to physical appearance.
All Buddhism is saying is,' ...hang on a bit, there's more...there is a much neglected spiritual resource within you that is capable of lifting your life performance to a new level...your Buddha nazture. In learning how you draw it out into you daily life...it could change your whole life!
As the late great philospher and historian Arnold Toynbee has commented,
' Westerners have much to learn in this field from Indian and East Asian experience. In books and articles that I have published I have repeatedly drawn my western readers' attention to this historical fact, as part of my lifelong attempt to jolt modern western man out of his ludicrously mistaken belief that modern western civilisation has made itself superior to all others by outstripping them. '
Thats a great comment I would argue, from Arnold Toynbee. A kind of wake-up call to the west.
Anyway, enough for today. Hope it made sense. See you on Wednesday next.
Best wishes to everone,
William
Thursday, 12 November 2015
my buddhist blog number 109
Hi Everybody,
Apologies for the longish break. I'm deep into the new book and when I'm struggling with a difficult chapter as I have been, grappling with the concept of spirituality, it's hard to tear myself away. Anyway here I am and ready to launch into the final chapter of this book called Approaching the Practice, which is about the daily practice of Nichiren Buddhism. So here goes.
' It's important to de-mystify this word practice. The fact is that it is used in very much the same way as one might use it in talking about any other field of human endeavour. The basic objective of any practice is to get better at something. Any sportman or musician, any artist knows that unless they train, unless they practice, they cannot possibly attain their full potential. Moreover, having more innate potential doesn't mean less practice. The bigger the talent the more, rather than the less, those sportsmen and those musicians have to practice, because they have a greater potential to fulfil. Few people for example, train as hard as olympic sportsmen and women, or concert musicians.
By the same token, however inherent the Buddha nature may be, drawing it out into the light of our daily lives requires a real personal commitment to sustained practice. It is very common to hear Nichiren Buddhists say that the more they practice, the more they feel themselves to be fortunate, in harmony with themselves, and in some way, however difficult it may be to define, in rhythm with the world around them. Unexpected opportunities appear for example, at the most opportune moment, seemingly insoluble problems reach a resolution, relationships improve, anxieties diminish. That may sound just too good to be true. Maybe. That doesn't alter the fact that the experience is a common one, and that these occurences continue to occur, as a result of greater awareness perhaps, or a greater openness to whatis going on in the environment, or a sharper sense of the possibilities in any particualr situation.
Similarly, when Buddhists are aware that they are approaching a time of extra stress or difficulty in their lives, a set of important exams coming up, or stress in a close realtionship, or illness, or a change of job, they go into training so to speak. They deliberately step up their practice, to give themselves the greater resilience and self-confidence and judgment, to help to drive them through a challenging time.
It is as deliberate and as practical a process as that.
Thus people use the practice as an additional asset available to them. Buddhism is daily life.
Right that's it.
Back on Saturday for the next episode.
Thanks for reading to here.
Best wishes,
William
Apologies for the longish break. I'm deep into the new book and when I'm struggling with a difficult chapter as I have been, grappling with the concept of spirituality, it's hard to tear myself away. Anyway here I am and ready to launch into the final chapter of this book called Approaching the Practice, which is about the daily practice of Nichiren Buddhism. So here goes.
' It's important to de-mystify this word practice. The fact is that it is used in very much the same way as one might use it in talking about any other field of human endeavour. The basic objective of any practice is to get better at something. Any sportman or musician, any artist knows that unless they train, unless they practice, they cannot possibly attain their full potential. Moreover, having more innate potential doesn't mean less practice. The bigger the talent the more, rather than the less, those sportsmen and those musicians have to practice, because they have a greater potential to fulfil. Few people for example, train as hard as olympic sportsmen and women, or concert musicians.
By the same token, however inherent the Buddha nature may be, drawing it out into the light of our daily lives requires a real personal commitment to sustained practice. It is very common to hear Nichiren Buddhists say that the more they practice, the more they feel themselves to be fortunate, in harmony with themselves, and in some way, however difficult it may be to define, in rhythm with the world around them. Unexpected opportunities appear for example, at the most opportune moment, seemingly insoluble problems reach a resolution, relationships improve, anxieties diminish. That may sound just too good to be true. Maybe. That doesn't alter the fact that the experience is a common one, and that these occurences continue to occur, as a result of greater awareness perhaps, or a greater openness to whatis going on in the environment, or a sharper sense of the possibilities in any particualr situation.
Similarly, when Buddhists are aware that they are approaching a time of extra stress or difficulty in their lives, a set of important exams coming up, or stress in a close realtionship, or illness, or a change of job, they go into training so to speak. They deliberately step up their practice, to give themselves the greater resilience and self-confidence and judgment, to help to drive them through a challenging time.
It is as deliberate and as practical a process as that.
Thus people use the practice as an additional asset available to them. Buddhism is daily life.
Right that's it.
Back on Saturday for the next episode.
Thanks for reading to here.
Best wishes,
William
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