shaun
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Post by shaun on Jul 15, 2013 9:52:19 GMT 1
Today I made one of my all too infrequent visits to the local Thai temple. As per usual my wife spent most of the visit in the kitchen, preparing Dana & chatting with the women. While it was still fairly quiet I took the kids into the main temple area to look at the statues. Funnily enough Liam's favourite was a fierce looking warrior type, he'd have to be my least favourite & Kathleen's favourite was a skeleton kept in a glass case, again not one of my favourite images/artefacts. It made me wonder, with all of the different teachings in Buddhism how many of us can honestly say they cherish them all & how many are like me when they will favour one over another. I suppose it's a lesson in aversion & attachment.
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Post by Rudy on Jul 15, 2013 18:42:49 GMT 1
Lovely example Shaun!
Tibetan teachers often mention that the Buddhadharma consists of 84,000 teachings. That's not because there are 84,000 different truths, but there are many different people, who all need different explanations and inspirations to proceed along their paths.
Some teachings may even appear contradictory (especially when taken out of context), but it all depends on our own views and situations. On crossroads in Holland you sometimes see such kind of 'contradictions', where cyclists are told to turn right to a village, and cars are directed straight on. It does not mean that there is something wrong with the signs, it just means that bicycles can drive on different roads then cars.
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brian
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Posts: 83
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Post by brian on Jul 16, 2013 4:16:32 GMT 1
I've felt similarly to various statues and iconic symbols in the temple I visit infrequently. There are Warrior Protectors of the Dharma with swords in hand and grotesque faces. They never seem to fit in the peaceful environment. I thought they were kind of "uninspiring" and unimportant. There is also another statue of a monk with very intense eyes who could be perceived as mad or high, which always grabs attention but likewise seems somewhat inappropriate in the setting of a place where we meditate.
These kinds of violent images also exist in the Catholic Church which likewise disturb me. Albeit in a different form, the image of a man being publicly executed on a cross was always kind of messed up. I didn't see love or compassion in that image, only fear, punishment, sacrifice and hatred from a male dominated past.
The various images and gods of Buddhism and Hinduism do confuse and avert many outsiders I believe. Yet only the fearless will come to it. The fearful will retreat from it. Perhaps the fearful aren't worthy of Buddha's touch. That's why lions and dragons and fire protect Asian lands. They don't want cowardly outsiders corrupting their traditions.
I could understand that because we see it happening today. It is an utter tragedy to see Asians becoming Christian and Muslim.
I think these hostile statues represent the fierce intention to protect and spread the Buddha's profound realization of life. They are the "bodyguards " of Buddha. They strike down the opposition with effortless force and draw blood if necessary. Call it ugly or unjust, but it is a reality of living.
And Death of course is always a shadow of any man or woman.
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Post by Rudy on Jul 16, 2013 15:39:07 GMT 1
Hi Brian,
The fearful images you mention are also called the Dharma-protectors. They are basically all Buddhas or high Bodhisattvas, but instead of showing a peaceful appearance, they seem wrathful.
The function is actually simple: very often we can be helped and assisted by kind words and friendly help, but sometimes we simply need a kick-in-the-bum so to speak.
Similarly, when we deal with our afflicted emotions (including fear), and try to get them under control, it is not always enough to observe them nicely and sweet... Of course, getting angry at others or our own negative emotions is like trying to put out fire with oil. So these protectors show us how we can manifest being wrathful, but still keep a peaceful, calm mind to take powerful action when necessary.
Actually, I found this an excellent example of how we can learn getting our own anger under control; instead of acting like a raving madman, it is also possible to consciously act wrathful and keep a very controlled mind. If you do that, you will actually be a lot more scary and convincing to people then when you lose control over yourself. Martial artists are sometimes quite good at this when they stare down opponents etc.
In order to gain self-confidence and become less fearful, and to take control over our own lives, we can visualize interacting with these wrathful images - knowing they are enlightened beings - and learn to control our fear of any kind of monster.
Basically, these images can be important in tantric practice, where we can learn to interact in different ways with the world by using imagination/visualization during meditation. Still, one should be careful messing around with this, as can influence subtle levels of our mind, with big consequences.
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brian
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Posts: 83
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Post by brian on Jul 18, 2013 0:33:00 GMT 1
Thanks Rudy, I understand.
I'd like to get my own "unfriendly" emotions under control for sure. They have great power to push others away and create isolation. Then the ego grows bigger and wants to dominate.
I hate the idea of being a push-over or a spiritual "wuss". As a Christian I felt that only self pity and sorrow was the way to God b/c that's how all the saints looked like and that's what all the teachings implied. That remnant still exists in me and the spiritual rhetoric I hear in AA meetings. I don't want to roll my eyes at most of their words but after hearing the same stories over and over again, it gets kind of old and trite.
I'm really not worthy to call myself a Buddhist. My compassion for others is so buried and suppressed that it's hypocritical to even call myself spiritual in any sense. Everything seems like a joke to me, even the death of innocent people. All b/c in the big picture, nobody cares and it doesn't matter. But I'd rather laugh about it than fret.
I find too many things irritating....I find my own family irritating. I just don't want to hear them speak or ask me questions. I respond with suppressed anger and manifests in ugly ways.
I don't want to disturb anyone's practice or create a bad situation. I'm just speaking freestyle. I love Buddhism but I am horrible at practicing it. I believe in it but I don't want to sacrifice desire and clinging. I don't know how to embrace irritating people that love me like my mother.
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Post by Rudy on Jul 19, 2013 17:02:35 GMT 1
Well Brian, join the club of imperfect 'Buddhists'. Better honest then believing you are already enlightened. Perhaps one thing to consider, and this probably only really works in prolonged meditations (repetition over and over again), is that there are no irritating people in the world, just people who are judged to be irritating by others. Such judgements may be valid to some extent, but are never absolutely true. Without your mother, you would not only not be born, but you would have certainly died and/or gotten seriously ill or wounded many times over without her help. It is a lot easier to judge people negatively then to have the intelligence and wisdom to be respectful... (This is not just a judgement towards you, it is very valid for myself also...)
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dan
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Posts: 89
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Post by dan on Jul 21, 2013 22:32:48 GMT 1
Hey Brian, Your post makes me think of the lojong slogan to "drive all blames into one." When we have fewer preferences, things don't have to be "just so," outside of which irritation ensues. Such is the result that the desire and clinging that you don't feel you can "sacrifice" may bring. This last post of yours is so self-referential, perhaps "definitional," that it seems a clear illustration--for yourself--of what "drive all blames into one" addresses. For myself, a good word for "self" is "attitude." It can refer to all the karma and preferences we have in our lives which are ripening within the current moment--the current attitude--whether as pride or envy, helplessness or anger, greed or generosity. It also points to the illusion of a static self. Attitude can also refer, in a nautical sense, to the Dharma boat. When our bodhichitta aim is true and active, it follows that our attitude is level and, fueled by the nature of bodhichitta, moving us forward toward the far shore. When our emotions are in service of our thoughts, based on an attached view, we are heavy on one side or the other, listing to one side as it were...perhaps doing circles. Perhaps dead in the water. If it's difficult to recognize self-cherishing attitudes in the moment, which bring more suffering than not, it can be helpful to do something like memorizing the 8 Verses of Mind Training, say a verse every few days. Then, mentally recite and think about the meaning of one verse throughout one's day. Filling the mundane stream of thought with eloquent verses of Dharma meaningful to us is a useful means of siphoning off the energy we feed into our own ideas of what's "right and wrong" about the world (though these ideas can be useful energy when aimed toward renunciation of our self-attached view, as in "drive all blames into one"). www.dalailama.com/teachings/training-the-mind/verse-1
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tamara
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Posts: 178
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Post by tamara on Jul 22, 2013 2:21:27 GMT 1
Brian, perhaps this was talked about already and I overlooked it, but what are you actually doing as Buddhist practice ? Any practice will do. It`s all about merit merit merit. Means what ever you do (and me...) in the right direction will bring the `right` result. Does NOT matter what, there are tons of practices. Prostrations, mantras, sweeping the room with the wish to get rid of delusion, grabbing a book in a more clear moment and reading a few random lines which might hit with an `epiphany`. Everything is o.k., there is tons of possibilities. The point is that we never get started Tamara Dan, I just finished Dzongsar Kh. R.`s book `Not for Happiness`. Excellent reading for people who try to renew their preliminary practices again and again, see it from different angles, refresh it,make it a fascinating part of life.
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shaun
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Posts: 21
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Post by shaun on Jul 22, 2013 7:21:53 GMT 1
Brian, perhaps this was talked about already and I overlooked it, but what are you actually doing as Buddhist practice ? Any practice will do. It`s all about merit merit merit. Means what ever you do (and me...) in the right direction will bring the `right` result. Does NOT matter what, there are tons of practices. Prostrations, mantras, sweeping the room with the wish to get rid of delusion, grabbing a book in a more clear moment and reading a few random lines which might hit with an `epiphany`. Everything is o.k., there is tons of possibilities. The point is that we never get started Tamara Dan, I just finished Dzongsar Kh. R.`s book `Not for Happiness`. Excellent reading for people who try to renew their preliminary practices again and again, see it from different angles, refresh it,make it a fascinating part of life. This is good advice Brian. There's many things we can do in Buddhism, but like cooking or any other DIY book, to produce something worthwhile, sooner or later you have to get past the theory & instruction & get your hands dirty. It's a middle path, practising without study or studying without practise won't get you very far. Just study the basics & put them into practise, the5 precepts & noble 8fold path, a bit of meditation & you're good to go.
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brian
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Posts: 83
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Post by brian on Jul 22, 2013 22:00:19 GMT 1
Thanks a lot everyone. I have been falling away from practice. I will use your advice.
Peace to you all.
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