Random Ramblings

Three characteristics of existence
This chapter talks about the three truths of our existence: impermanence, suffering, and egolessness. Even though they accurately described the rock bottom qualities of our existence, these words sound threatening. It's easy to get the idea that there is something wrong with impermanence, suffering, and egolessness, which is like thinking that there is something wrong with our fundamental situation. But there's nothing wrong with impermanence, suffering, and egolessness; they can be celebrated. Our fundamental situation is joyful.

“Impermanence is the goodness of reality. Just as The Four Seasons are in continual flux, winter changing to spring to summer to autumn; Just as day becomes night, light becoming dark becoming light again- in the same way, everything is constantly evolving. In permanence is the essence of everything. It is babies becoming children, then teenagers, then adults, then old people, and somewhere along the way dropping dead. Impermanence is meeting and parting. It's falling in love and falling out of love. Impermanence is a bittersweet, like buying a new shirt and years later finding it as part of a patchwork quilt.

“People have respect for impermanence. We take no delight in it; In fact we despair of it. We regard it as pain. We tried to resist it by making things that will last- forever we say- things that we don't have to wash, things that we don't have to iron. Somehow in the process of trying to deny that things are always changing, we lose our sense of the sacredness of life. We tend to forget that we are part of the natural scheme of things....

“But what about suffering? Why would we celebrate suffering? Doesn't that sound masochistic? Our suffering is based so much on our fear of impermanence. Our pain is so rooted in our one sided, lopsided view of reality. Whoever got the idea that we could have pleasure without pain? It's promoted rather widely in this world, and we buy it. But pain and pleasure go together; They are inseparable. They can be celebrated. They are ordinary. Birth is painful and delightful. Death is painful and delightful. Everything that ends is also the beginning of something else. Pain is not a punishment; Pleasure is not a reward.”

It turns out that the rest of The Miracle of Mindfulness is just excerpts from Buddhist sutras, so I went back to Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart.

This chapter is on the 8 worldly dharmas, 4 pairs of opposites: pleasure and pain, praise and blame, fame and disgrace, gain and loss. It is becoming entrapped in these 4 pairs of opposites that keeps us stuck in samsara. She points out, though, that our emotional reactions to certain things are all subjective; if someone says you are old, we might feel good if we are in a space where we want it to feel old, or we might feel bad if we've recently noticed wrinkles and Gray hair. “If we look closely at our mood swings, we'll notice that something always sets them off. We carry around a subjective reality that is continually triggering our emotional reactions.... the irony is that we make up the 8 worldly dharmas. We make them up in reaction to what happens to us in this world. They are nothing concrete in themselves.... we might feel that somehow we should try to eradicate these feelings of pleasure and pain, loss and gain, praise and blame, fame and disgrace. A more practical approach would be to get to know them, see how they hook us, see how they aren't all that solid. Then the 8 worldly dharmas become the means for growing wiser as well as kinder and more content.”

She talks about paying attention to our emotions when we get caught up in drama and when we feel that energy, “to do our best to let thoughts dissolve and give ourselves a break. Beyond all that fuss and bother is a Big Sky. Right there in the middle of The Tempest, we can drop it and relax... Instead of automatically falling into habitual patterns, we can begin to notice how we react when someone praises us. When someone blames us how do we react? When we've lost something how do we react? When we feel we've gained something how do we react?... When we become inquisitive about these things, look into them, see who we are and what we do, with the curiosity of a young child, what might seem like a problem becomes a source of wisdom. Oddly enough, this curiosity begins to undercut what we call ego pain or self-centeredness, and we see more clearly. Usually we're just swept along by the pleasant or painful feelings. We’re swept away by them in both directions; We spin off in our habitual style, and we don't even notice what's happening. Before we know it, we've composed a novel on why someone is so wrong, or why we are so right, or why we must get such and such. When we begin to understand the whole process, it begins to lighten up considerably....
“This letting things go is sometimes called non attachment, but not with the cool, remote quality often associated with that word. This nonattachment has more kindness and more intimacy than that. It's actually a desire to know, like the questions of a three-year old. We want to know our pain so we can stop endlessly running. We want to know our pleasure so we can stop endlessly grasping. Then somehow our questions get bigger and our inquisitiveness more vast. We want to know about loss so we might understand other people when their lives are falling apart. We want to know about games so we might understand other people when they are delighted or when they get arrogant and puffed up and carried away.

“When we become more insightful and compassionate about how we ourselves get hooked, we spontaneously feel more tenderness for the human race. Knowing our own confusion, we're more willing and able to get our hands dirty and try to alleviate the confusion of others. If we don't look into hope and fear, seeing the thought arise, seeing the chain reaction that follows- if we don't train in sitting with that energy without getting snared by the drama, then we're always going to be afraid.”

Yesterday, I spent the morning at a funeral for a friend from my book club who died last month, and the evening in a rare meeting of the book club- rare because the two folks who were the main organizers have moved out of state, but they were of course in town for the funeral. One of the things we did at book club was divide some of the books our friend had left behind, and I hadn't realized she had quite an interest in Buddhism.

So this morning I'm reading one of those books: Robin Wright’s Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. I think this is going to be my weekend reading for a few weeks. I read the first few chapters this morning, and the first thing is that he is a really good writer. He mentions The Matrix as an example of how Buddhism is true, and it turns out that the producers had made Keanu Reeves read one of his books, The Moral Animal: Evolutionary psychology in everyday life. Now I want to read that book, because apparently what it talks about is how evolutionary psychology has wired the brain in ways that hurt us in modern life. That sounds like a really refreshing perspective on evolutionary psychology. Usually when I read about evolutionary psychology, it's from people who think it's great that we're hardwired in our genes to rape people or whatever it is they think we have evolved to do. Apparently Write’s perspective on this is that evolutionary psychology was “designed”--and he puts designed in quotation marks because he's aware that it's not actually designing it's just a mechanism-- basically that it has designed our brains in ways to get us to perpetuate our genes.

So he goes through some examples of this, using a powdered doughnut, which seems to be his weakness. We know the donut is bad for us but we crave it anyway. He says basically that evolution wants us to pass on our genes, so it selects for traits that do that, and one of the traits is to get us to eat a lot and have sex a lot so we reproduce ourselves. So it sets up our brains so we are pleasure seeking, but those pleasures necessarily have to be transitory, because otherwise we would not perpetuate the behavior that it wants us to have, to perpetuate our genes. This is a really interesting perspective on evolutionary psychology and it makes me want to read more of his stuff.

So he does start out the book by making some caveats: he says when he said calls the book Why Buddhism is true, he is specifically referring to a type of western Buddhism where the focus is on meditation and techniques of mindfulness;he's not talking about traditional Asian Buddhism with its belief in supernatural beings and reincarnation. He's much more interested in techniques of the mind. He acknowledges the variety in Buddhism the problem with saying that anything is true etc. So he's really just focusing on I think the the Buddhist diagnosis of the problems of human condition, and the techniques of meditation.

And I do think it's a really interesting approach to suggest that the problems of the human condition are a response to evolutionary psychology. The way he explains it makes a lot of sense to me. That our brains are a certain way, but we don't necessarily have to accept that seems like a really good approach to both evolutionary psychology and human existence. I've read through the second chapter where he talks about his own experiences of meditation, and why he is a quote bad meditator it in part because he can't focus his attention in part because of his own outbursts of rage. I really find myself identifying with a lot of what he has to say and he's a super engaging writer.

The part of this so far that has most resonated with me is that he identifies tribalism as the fundamental problem of our time. He was writing this eight years ago, and if anything I think tribalism has become even more the problem of our time. “Technologies of distraction have made attention deficits more common. And there's something about the modern environment-- something technological or cultural or political or all of the above-- that seems conducive to harsh judgment and ready rage. Just look at all the tribalism-- the discord and even open conflict among religious, ethnic, national, and ideological lines. More and more, it seems, groups of people define their identity in terms of sharp opposition to other groups of people. I consider this tribalism the biggest problem of our time period I think it could undo millennia of movement towards global integration, unravel the social web just when technology has brought the prospect of a cohesive planetary community within reach. Given the world is still loaded with nuclear weapons and that biotechnology is opening a Pandora's box of new weaponry, you can imagine our tribalistic impulses ushering in a truly dark age.”

Today's chapter told a Tolstoy story about an emperor seeking answers to the questions what is the best time to do things, who are the most important people to do things with, and what is the most important thing to do. After receiving all sorts of conflicting answers, he goes to visit an old hermit who doesn't answer him, but is digging in the dirt. He helps the hermit, encounters a wounded man whose life he saves, and learns that the man was his enemy who came to kill him but had a change of heart due to his kindness. From this the hermit says the lesson is the most important time is now, the most important person is the one with you, and the most important thing to do is to help the person you are with.

Today's chapter was more on the importance of meditating on the mind, specifically the five aggregates which are bodily and physical forms, feelings, perceptions, mental functionings, and consciousness. In meditating, you should become conscious of these five and observe them until “you see that each of them has an intimate connection with the world outside yourself: if the world did not exist then the assembly of the five aggregates could not exist either. Consider the example of a table, the table’s existence is possible to the existence of things we might call the non table world: the forest where the wood grew and was cut, the Carpenter, the iron ore which became the nails and screws, and countless other things which have relation to the table, the parents and the ancestors of the Carpenter, the sun and rain which made it possible for the trees to grow.”

“Attachment to the false view of wealth means belief in the presence of unchanging entities which exist on their own period to breakthrough this false view is to be liberated from every sort of fear, pain, and anxiety.... we have to strip away all the barriers in order to live as part of the universal life. A person isn't some private entity travelling unaffected through time and space as if sealed off from the rest of the world by a thick shell... In our lives our present a multitude of phenomena, just as we ourselves are present in many different phenomena. We are life, and life is limitless. Perhaps one can say that we are only alive when we live the life of the world, and so live the suffering and stories of others. The suffering of others is our own suffering, and the happiness of others is our own happiness. If our lives have no limits, the assembly of the five aggregates which make up ourself also has no limits. The impermanent character of the universe, the successes and failures of life can no longer manipulate us. Having seen the reality of interdependence and entered deeply into its reality, nothing can oppress any longer period you are liberated. Sit in the Lotus position, observe your breath, and ask one who has died for others.”

I ordered the Miracle of Mindfulness to see if I want to give it to a friend. I'm already thinking probably not, but I will continue reading through it so I can return it before it is due. It is a much more straightforward guide to techniques than the other Thich Nhat Hanh I've been reading. The chapter I read today was on creating a day of mindfulness weekly, so you try to practice mindfulness in waking, in bathing, in doing your chores, etc. throughout the whole day. It suggested mostly a silent day, though it would be ok to speak if you were focused on speaking, sing if you're focused on singing, etc.

The parallel to a sabbath is interesting, but I honestly feel that a full day of practice would be extremely challenging!

Here is my recipe for fake meat:
1 can drained chickpeas, save aquafaba
1 cup water with 1 tsp fakemeats chick boullion powder added, or use what you like.
4 tbsp nutrional yeast
2 tbsp aquafaba
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 c vital wheat gluten
Add everything to a food processor except the vital wheat gluten. Whizz until mostly liquid. No need to whizz until completely liquid. Add the vita wheat gluten and whizz for 2 minutes. It will be soft and warm. Shape into a log on heavy duty aluminum foil. Or if you don’t do aluminum shape on parchment, roll up and put into foil. Make sure it is wrapped around more than once with ends twisted shut and binded over. If it erupts out of the foil it will be fluffy and not so nice. Put into an instant pot (or steam basket if you don’t have an IP).
Let it go for 1 hour then natural release for 30 minutes. It will have a better texture after it cools completely in the fridge, but I never wait that long.

The last chapter of Living Buddha, Living Christ had three main themes: (1) the importance of embodying faith, because true faith is not a system of beliefs or concepts but something experiential; (2) even the tools of faith (like prayer, chanting, etc.) are practices for beginners, and may some day need to be abandoned; and (3) the ultimate level, of both Buddhism and Christianity, is beyond all concepts. Number 3 means that people who have been practicing for a while sometimes experience a dark night of the soul, but that's not because there is no truth; it's because they've been too caught up in the conceptual explanations of the ultimate (whether we're talking about nirvana or God or emptiness) and they need to return to the truth that is only captured in direct experience of mindfulness/experience of the Holy Spirit. This is part of the reason many mystics use apophatic theology; you can't really say anything directly about the divine nature, just what it is not.

I liked this passage: "I like the expression quote resting in God. Quote when you pray with all your heart, the Holy Spirit is in you, and as you continue to pray, the Holy Spirit continues in you. You do not need to do anything else. As long as the Holy Spirit was there, everything is fine. You are resting in God, and God will work in you. For transformation to take place, you only need to allow the Holy Spirit to stay in you. The Holy Spirit is the energy of God that shines forth and shows you the way. You can see things deeply, understand deeply, and love deeply.... mindfulness, the capacity to be here, to witness everything deeply that happens in the present moment, is the beginning of enlightenment. The same is true of the Holy Spirit. Buddhists say that every one has the seed of mindfulness in the deepest level of his or her consciousness, that the practice helps that seed to manifest. This seed of mindfulness is the presence of the Buddha in us, called Buddha nature, the nature of enlightenment. Christians say that God is in everyone's heart. The Holy Spirit can be described as being always present in our hearts in the form of a seed. Every time we pray or invoke the name of the Lord, that seed manifests itself as the energy of God. The Kingdom of God is in us as a seed, a mustard seed. If we cannot accept this, why do we say that God is within us.”

I read two chapters today because the first one was mainly a review of the 5 precepts. The second one was more about putting the teachings from both traditions into practice.

“In the Greek Orthodox Church, the idea of deification, that a person is a microcosm of God, is very inspiring. It is close to the Asian tradition that states that the body of a human being is a mini cosmos. God made humans so that humans can become God. A human being is a mini God, a micro-theos, who has been created in order to participate in the divinity of God. Deification is made not only of this spirit but of the body of a human also. According to the teachings of the Trinity in the Orthodox Church, the father is the source of divinity who engenders the son. With the word logos, he brings about the spirit that is alive in the sun. This is very much with the non dual nature of Buddha, Dharma, and sangha.

“Alphonse Daudet wrote about a shepherd on a mountain who made the sign of the cross when he saw a shooting star. The popular belief is at the moment you see a shooting star, one soul is entering heaven. Making the sign of the cross is a form of taking refuge in the father the son and the Holy Spirit. When you believe that something is the embodiment of evil, you hold out across to chase it away. In popular Buddhism, when people see something they think of as unwholesome. They invoke the name of the Buddha. These are all practices of devotion. When you shine the light, darkness disappears. We may understand this as a kind of fight between light and darkness, but in reality, it is an embrace. Mindfulness, if practice continuously, will be strong enough to embrace your fear or anger and transform it. We need not chase away evil. We can embrace and transform it in a nonviolent, non dualistic way.

“When we invoke the Buddha's name, we evoke the same Buddha qualities in ourselves. We practice in order to make the Buddha come alive within us, so we can be released from afflictions and attachments.” And then there's the same story that he's told in other settings about this lady chanting the Buddha’s name for years who didn't transform her behavior and so one of her neighbors who noticed she was always angry started calling her name over and over and over again and when she yelled at him he was like well how do you think the Buddha yells what you've been calling his name for a bazillion years. And he says the same thing can be true with Christians who call the name of Jesus but don't transform their practice.

“Finally, he talks about the dual practice he was raised in in Vietnam where in addition to Zen, they also practiced pure land Buddhism. Quote a pure land is a land, perhaps in space and time, perhaps in our consciousness, where violence, hatred, craving, and discrimination have been reduced to a minimum because many people are practicing understanding and loving kindness under the guidance of a Buddha and several so this offers. Every practitioner of Buddha's way is, sooner or later, motivated by the desire to set up a pure land where he or she can share his or her joy, happiness and practice with others. I myself have several times tried to set up a small pure land and share the practice of joy and peace with friends and students... in France it is our Plum village practice center.... A pure land is an ideal place for you to go and practice until you get fully enlightened.... but pure lands are in permanent.... in Buddhism, the pure land is a kind of university where you practice with a teacher for a while, graduate, and then come back here to continue. Eventually, you discover that the pure land is in your own heart, that you do not need to go to a faraway place."

It is Monday of Holy Week, so I’m still reading Living Buddha, Living Christ. Today's chapter was on communities of practice, comparing sometimes the monastic traditions of Christianity and Buddhism, and sometimes the sangha and the church. It covered a bunch of themes. For example it talked about how in both communities creating the monastery as a space of peace and reflection where lay people could come to be inspired for their life was important. It also talked about how in both cases, the gathering of people served as a body for the community. Jesus said, “wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am.” In Buddhism it takes at least four persons practicing to be called a sangha. It also talked about the need for both the church and the sangha to embody the spirit of their religion, to take Buddha and Jesus as the model of practice and to practice the true teachings. Basically, the overarching point was that churches need to embody the spirit of Jesus and the sangha needs to embody the spirit of Buddha.