You never really get to see your own face

Recently, a colleague told me: "You never really get to see your own face."

I thought about this for a little bit - longer, I'm sure, than he expected me to.

We will never truly know what it's like to interact with and see us. We can only know the internal us and what we attempt to put out externally. It is something only others can share in, but only we can give.

Interesting.

Truth, Justice, and Humanity's Potential for Good

I want to talk about Superman.

Yep, you heard me right. Superman. I'm not talking Frederich Nietzche, but Clark Kent - THE Superman - blue suit, red cape, you know the guy.

Your first thought of course is, why Superman and what does he have to do with Eastern Philosophy? Many people consider him to be a bit of a weenie, or a boy scout, never one of the cool super heroes. I beg to differ.

What Superman represents is exactly what Buddhism teaches us - the potential for humanity to do good by its own actions. Not by divine intervention, but through ourselves.

Check this out - (you'll have to click to enlarge, but trust me, worth the few seconds):


This comic book page right here epitomizes what Superman is about - an iconic figure in pop culture not as a savior, but as an inspiration, to make those fictional characters of Metropolis, and possibly some real-life people stand up and show the world that the world can be a better place if we each choose to do our part and make it one.

Buddhism teaches us that we all possess the ability to control what we think, do and say, and to make our lives a representation of compassion and wisdom, rather than one of greed, fear, and selfishness.

The ability is within each and every one of us to refrain from acts (be they in body, speech, and mind) that can cause pain to ourselves or to others. With that said, we each also have the ability to perform acts this those same ways that promote happiness and peace.

How many times to we see people who are constantly negative about everything talking about how terrible the world and everything around them is? As we've said before, negative, brings forth negative. We have the potential to cleanse ourselves of that negativity and purify our minds - making each one of us another step towards a better world.

That is a huge part of what Buddhism is about - it's not about dogma or rules to follow. It's about the potential inside each of us.

Buddha said that looking at ourselves honestly, we'd find that the root of much of our pain is our own ignorance and the misconceptions we hold about the true nature of our existence.

The path to our own happiness lies in getting rid of our wrong ideas about why things are why they are, and create a mindset of generosity and morality.

Generosity not only helps take away our selfishness, but brings us a joy and good feeling that creates bonds of friendship and love with others around us. The less we grasp at possessing things and worrying about what we don't have, the more we can open up to the world around us and contribute positively to it.

In Buddhism, morality is looked at as refraining from using negative words and deeds. By not feeding the negative, we begin to free ourselves from falling into its grasp and start to live more positively, hopefully inspiring others to do the same.

So take a cure from Superman - stop looking for a savior to fix everything and start realizing we have the ability to do it ourselves. It starts with each and every one of us. Use your gifts to help others, and to inspire them to do the same.

Be the kind of person you want the world to be filled with. Over time, you might find that the world isn't so bad. :)

Our thoughts, our world

"All that we are arises from our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world."

I came across this quote on a little app on my fiance's IPod that presents you with a handful of Buddha Quotes each day. In fact, I believe it's called Handheld Buddha. This particular quote stuck out in my mind and has been swimming around in my brain ever since.

What we think shapes the world around us - how we act, how we speak, how we perceive. We've heard many a time that a negative mindset brings about a negative reaction from the universe right back to us. In turn, a positive mindset will return a positive reaction from the universe.

Let's take it one step further.

A few years ago, I was sitting in a coffee shop on a rainy Fall day and had one of the most memorable conversations with my friend and noted author, Larry Trivieri Jr., where we talked about the concept of manifestation.

I was reading a book called "An Unlikely Prophet" at the time, by an author we were both big fans of - Alvin Schwartz. The concepts in this book led Larry and I to discuss some bizarre instances in our own lives. On my end of things, we were discussing concepts, situations, and realities that I had written about in stories, scripts, and films, that later, whether you believe it or not, started becoming true.

At the time that they were written, they were merely visualizations of ideas, ideals, and desirable outcomes that I was writing out of my own subconscious mind and onto the page (and in some cases from mind to page to film). However, as years went by, I could look back and realize that life situations that had materialized had evolved and developed very much in the way I had created.

One of our mutually favorite writers, Grant Morrison, has talked about this for years. Morrison wrote a comic series called "The Invisibles," where he based one of the series' key characters - King Mob - after himself. Morrison notes that many of the trials and tribulations that he put the character of King Mob through throughout the series - whether it was meeting a particular type of woman, or having his lungs crushed - it, over time, began to happen to Morrison as well.

In these cases, whether my own, Morrison's, or Larry's, thoughts literally had created a world - a reality.

We do it every day, whether we realize it or not. You, yes, YOU, are creating the world around you, your life of tomorrow with your thoughts of today. You an disbelieve it, you can shun it, or you can embrace it, and start creating your world today!

Precept One - Epic Fail

I tried. I really tried.

I know I put out the challenge to anyone reading this blog to join along with me as we tried to live out a Buddhist precept each week. The first was to not say, act, or think in a harmful way toward any living being, no matter what it was.

I failed...and miserably at that.

I struggled. I tried keeping my mouth shut at work when someone would say something ignorant or harmful toward something or someone else at work...I tried to take in everything around me as a part of the living connection between the universe.

I made some progress, but I can't in any way say that I made it happen. I kept my mouth shut...but it didn't mean I wasn't thinking some harmful comment to someone. And you know what I ended up doing last weekend? Pulling out the weed-wacker and taking out every weed I could find in the yard.

Perhaps I'm just not there yet. There are certain aspects of Buddhism that perhaps I AM capable of handling, but there's still so many more that I'm just not at the level of yet.

Maybe with time. We'll see. A brief reprieve before we try another one.

I wonder if other people had been or could be any more successful at it than I. Would love to know and get any tips if anyone has them.

This challenge will prove interesting...

Okay...this first challenge is definitely going to prove to be tough.

How do you act in a capacity as a boss and have to question why things aren't done or done right, yet not say so in a way that would be considered "doing harm" by Buddhist standards?

Day One and already some interesting questions arise. If anything, this challenge will prove educational.

Buddhist precepts - A personal challenge - Week #1

No one owns our minds but us.

And Buddhist precepts are a means of realizing this. They are an opportunity to learn how to live that freedom as best as we can.

With that said, let's learn the Buddhist precepts and put them to practice through a personal challenge.

Do your best each week to try and follow one of the five Buddhist precepts. I'll do my best to do it and chronicle my progress and failings as they occur. But here's something for you, the reader - give it a try along with me, and let me know how you do.

This week, we're going to start with the first Buddhist Precept, and vow to bring no harm to any living creature through our words, deeds, or thought, including ourselves. Pay attention to all the living beings in the world that we might normally ignore - whether it be birds, bugs, or even the weeds coming up through the pavement - and believe, me, this time of year we've got plenty along the side of our house.

Let's cultivate a sense of care and reverence for all the living things in the world, and give thought to how they are all buddhas, just like us.

I look forward to the challenge. I hope you do too.

Fighting hate with hate only fuels more hate

This caught my eye today...

"Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love."

It's a quote from Buddha that makes me think about negativity.

There are countless times where something makes us so angry that it seems the only way we can react to it, and the easiest way to react to it, is to lash out back with just as hateful a thought or word as was thrown at us.

But let's stop for a minute and think about it. When I react to hate with more hate, what have I accomplished? Have I put out the fire and resolved the issue at hand?

Absolutely not.

More times than not, all I'll have ended up doing was feeding the fire, the fire of hate, making it larger, full of even more bad potential.

It's kind of like that saying - "two wrongs don't make a right." Just because someone hates me or hates something I do, is the situation then alleviated by my return of that hate? Nope. It just keeps that wheel turning.

I thought of a recent statement that a friend who's going through a very painful divorce said regarding the situation - "It's very sad when people become consumed by revenge." In this particular case, one person was so upset, and so hateful about the split, that they have become all-consumed by their need for revenge and their need to create as much hurt as they can.

They do so because THEY are hurt. But it certainly has not helped the process, nor the hurt inside of them. My friend understood this, and has been doing their best not to react the same way...not to meet that revenge with more anger, but with an understanding of the pain the other party is going through.

What Buddha tells us to do is to stop for a moment before we react in anger, before we return the hate, and calmly ask ourselves what the right thing to do in the situation is.

If we love, if we forgive, if we show compassion, instead of returning hate with hate, only then can we start to douse the fires of hate that come into our lives.

Media consumption

Much like the food that we take in several times a day, media too, gets ingested into our system on a daily basis, quickly becoming a part of our make-up. All that violence and cynical mindset that we view on the TV, read in the paper, see on the web...it all gets planted in our brains and in our psyche...seeds that can harm both us and the environment around us.

I say this, of course, being, a card-carrying member of the media. I fully admit that from the inside, as well as the outside viewer-standpoint, it does get into our system, shape us, and change us.

All of these things that we witness every day desensitize us to the world we inhabit. When I sit back and realize all the horrific scenes I've witnessed, wrote about, talked about in daily discussion...I once in a while pause...and ask myself 'how is this normal?' Discussing brutal crimes, or the corruption of political systems and the like...those things have a way of just becoming such a part of our normal lives and intake that we lose the sensitivity to all the life around us.

It's a scary slope to walk...and it doesn't surprise me that I've run into so many jaded journalists in my day.


Look at the figures - by the time an average American is 18 years old, they have seen 16,000 simulated murders, and another 200,000 other acts of violence. That's insane. No wonder it's so hard to find non-cynics in the world today - we just continue to breed that jaded cynism...and as a member of the media, I find myself just as guilty, if not moreso.

I've always tried to keep my optimism churning, even when it seems difficult. Even I will admit, however, that the more time I spend in the business, the harder it can become. I laugh when I think of my first year or so in journalism. I was sitting with a colleague and discussing some situation, and trying to look on the bright side of things . Her response to me was "I just want to take off those rose-colored glasses of yours and stomp on them!"

No, I was not actually wearing rose-colored sunglasses...but you get the point.

I've always looked at that moment as one of those that epitomized my conflict with the business I was in. Here I was, an eternal ball of optimism for most of my life, fairly new to the journalism game...running smack-dab against the wall that was a journalist...and the inherent cynicism that she the career had already started to fill her with.

Sometimes when I find myself becoming a bit too caught up in the doom and gloom of the news business, I try to remember that moment and remind myself of the wealth of optimism that used to surge through my system, and strike it again like a match against a matchbox.

In other words, I find those rose-colored glasses, dust them off, and throw them back on my face. They're not broken...they can never be broken...unless you let them.

I'm not talking about banning all the media we take in. I'm not lobbying for some massive shutdown.

While we hold the switch to turn on this cynicism and ingest the material that may be desensitizing us, we also have the same power to turn the switch it off.

To Tell the Truth...

"A person is born with an axe in his mouth. He whose speech is unwholesome cuts himself with an axe."

Those are the words of the Buddha when it comes to lying.

Now, what exactly does the Buddha mean about cutting ourselves? Think of it like this - what we decide to say about other people is often true of ourselves...often times the reason we noticed it in the first place.

When we stop criticizing others, as well as ourselves, we will find just how much energy we free up. Humanity wastes way too much time and energy into picking apart and putting down each other.

However, the reverse is true, as well. When we say we love something, and truly, sincerely mean it, we bring more love into the world.

Sure, Buddhism knows that mere words can't describe the truth that we are...but we can always find our Middle Way within silence and speech.

What does that mean?

It means knowing what TO say and what NOT to say.

So, the next time we find ourselves ready to talk about someone at work, or the guy down the block, or spread the most recent gossip we've learned, think about how much energy you're putting it into your criticism or ragging, and put it into spreading love instead, whether it be by saying something nice you truly sincerely mean, or knowing that it is best not to say anything at all.

Stay positive! :)

Hey, look who dropped by NBC's Today Show on Thursday.



When asked about problems affecting the world today, the Dalai Lama told Ann Curry something many of us already know, but lose perspective of quite frequently - these problems are temporary. It was nice to hear that he thought in the bigger picture, people of the 21st Century are becoming "much happier and compassionate" as compared to people of the 20th Century.

Expanding on this, the Dalai Lama said that many of the problems in the world are man-made ones, meaning that of course, people then have the ability to resolve them, too. (He did make note that natural disasters are different.)

Referring to the large response by people around the world to earthquakes in the world, including Haiti, and the Tsunami, the Dalai Lama said he believed that showed how much more compassionate and considerate people of the 21st Century are versus the 20th Century, calling them "positive signs."

It wasn't all rose petals. He recognized the violence in the world, saying that "some mischievous people" are always there and always have been for thousands of years. However, he said he believes those troublemakers are in a minority compared to the larger, more positive population of humanity.

And I think he's right. We as a species tend to narrow in on that negative event, person, etc, and take it as wider example of humanity or society as a whole, when in fact, it's not really the case. Think of ten people you know. Out of those ten, how many are people who at the heart of things, are good-natured, well-meaning people? I think most times we'll find the majority are. We just focus on the one that stands out negatively.

His recommendation to humanity was nothing earth-shattering to anyone who's already familiar with these concepts, whether it be via this blog or from reading any Eastern Philosophy material...it's all about adopting the right and more positive attitude. With that, we can all eliminated or reduce the negativity in the world.

And with that right attitude in mind, I'm going to go have a great day. I hope you do too! :)

Early morning alarms and zen don't always mix

I'm going to admit...it's hard to keep one's Zen when the CO alarm is going off multiple times throughout the night...by no fault of actual CO in this case.

So, in doing my best to not let the anger of waking up from that sound sleep to the ear-piercing noise of the alarm, and to get myself back into slumber, I tried an Buddhist trick passed on to me by my friend Larry:

Sit with your eyes closed and focus on your breathing. Breathe in through your nose while saying silently to yourself "this is my in breath," then exhale through your mouth while saying silently to yourself "this is my out breath."

Do it for about five minutes and you'll find yourself most likely getting back to your calm/zen state in no time.

Should I just give everything away?

When we talk about giving and generosity, especially in relation to Buddhism, there's a lot of people who get a mental picture of a monk who has nothing in the world but the clothes on his back. These people often are the ones who, when hearing of your Buddhist studies, say: "You gonna' give away all you have and shave your head now?"

Their close-mindedness brings up not just their own narrow view-point, but an important facet of generosity - one that I think the modern-day Buddhist could do well to remember in this society where so much is based on material.

It's not about giving up all we have.

If we gave up everything - all our food, all our clothing, etc - to the poor, then the poor would then have all the things everyone else no longer had, re-creating the cycle of poverty is never broken.

That's not the Middle Way (see how that Middle Way keeps popping back up again?)

We have to learn to not take more than we need; not take what's not ours, and to share with those who do not have, without going into want ourselves.

As always, there is a balance.

No giver, no taker...only the gift - The power of generosity

I read something very interesting today.

The Buddha said "If you knew what I know about the power of generosity, you would not let a single meal go by without sharing it."

This is not just about "okay, give things, donate things." It is about the cultivation of generosity, training yourself to be able to give from the heart and mind. In giving, we let go.

One other thing on giving that I found fascinating was the idea that "there is no separation between the giver and the taker."

I thought about this one for a little bit, and then it all made sense to me. Let me give you a small and somewhat quirky example.

At Halloween time, I always find it fun to give (to the really little kids anyway) comic books away with the candy.

Flashback in time with me for a moment to when someone - even if it was an uncle or a grandparent, etc - gave me a comic book. It doesn't matter if it was to keep me busy in the store, or as a gift, etc. The fact that they gave it to me as a little child and the incredibly wonderful and happy feeling it gave me. A sense of wonder and excitement of an adventure.

All these feelings...that I am now passing along.

I am somehow both myself back as a child receiving the gift, as well as the giver as the adult me, as well as the child receiving it now via our connection.

All because of this gift.

Pretty nifty. :)

Interbeing via the Pineapple Express

We are all connected.

It sounds so cliche' - as if we've heard it a million times before. The things with cliche's, in my opinion, though, is that if they're said so often, they must be true. Otherwise they would never have become cliches.

This sense of inter-connection between everything is what is referred to as "interbeing."

When you have some time...and if you don't think you have any...make some, to think about just how many steps it took for each thing you come across in your day and travels.

This morning I got up and before writing this decided to have a bowl of some fresh pineapple for breakfast. And as I finished up my pineapple pieces, I thought about just went into getting that pineapple into my plate. First, the pineapple had to grow, and be born. Then, someone had to come along and pick it.

Presumably, someone else then sold it to a grocery distributor, who then sent it out for delivery to stores. That pineapple was then packed by one person, and driven or flown - probably both - across states before it made it here. Then, that pineapple had to get delivered to the store where it was then put on display by one person, picked out by my fiance during a grocery trip, and processed and bagged at the store once bought. Then, my fiance, once home with the pineapple, skinned the pineapple and sliced it into a bunch of pieces and placed them in a Tupperware container in our fridge.

And from there was I then able to eat the bowl of pineapple slices that I had for breakfast this morning. And this simple act of eating breakfast has connected me to everything this pineapple has encountered along its way.

And that's not even mentioning the process that led to the pineapple tree and where that came from in the first place. Who decided to plant that tree? What were there reasons? Where did the other pineapples off that same tree go?

You see, in everything we do, there is a connection that ties us to the rest of the universe. It's an incredible feeling when you can realize and enjoy the intimacy you share with the rest of the universe just by being yourself.

Interbeing.

Crazy, huh? :)

Karma Chameleon

You've probably heard the word karma somewhere along the line.

Well, it's actually one of five key concepts of Buddha's teachings, and its very easy to understand.

It's cause and effect on a moral scale. Keep in mind that what you do today, will affect tomorrow. This is an idea that goes back way before Buddhism itself.

What Buddhism does, though, is say that we are the ones who forge our own destiny. We are responsible for what happens to us. There are things that will be out of our control, like conditions and cause, but what we choose to do is still up to us.

So, as you go through your day, as sharp tongued as you may want to be, keep this in mind.

Thoughts, feelings, and speech influence actions. Even if you don't act on your bad thoughts or intentions, a guilty conscience will influence your action. The same for others. And, of course, it works vice-versa for good intentions.

What you put out there, will come back to you in return.

And, as Paul McCartney sang: "the love you take is equal to the love you make."

Live in the moment

One of the images that always spring to mind for people when you say the word Buddhism is someone meditating, right? But what is meditation really? What is it supposed to accomplish?

It's a very focus, one-pointed concentration. Many will say concentration plus mindfulness.

So, what does that mean for those of us who can't meditate in the middle of our daily home and work life?

It's the old saying - "live in the moment."

Complete and utterly present-moment that we tend to rarely ever achieve because of the multi-tasking that has just become routine in our lives.

I will use an example from last night at my work in the newsroom:

If I'm at work handling a phone call, while planning ahead for what tomorrow's assignments for everyone will be, while at the same time putting the 6 o'clock news together because the regular producer was out sick, and also working on content to the stations internet site, I was not living for any moment, and of course, got stressed.

How many times have we rolled our eyes at someone who told us "don't worry about tomorrow, only today?" Well, I did too. But, you know what? They were right.

Attentiveness to what's happening in the moment can bring us back to a steady calm feeling and a sense of wellness. It's living the whole "stop and smell the roses."

One of the most calming things I ever learned that changed my once non-stop, fast-pace, high-functioning lifestyle, was to simply slow down.

I can not recommend that enough for anyone. Take a moment to stop, breath, feel the blood flowing through you and realize who you are. Look around you at the earth and the world - the tree, that lake, those birds. Take that moment and as you breath, remember that we're all one.

This simple matter of slowing down and paying attention to the now, living in the moment, can bring a brand new tranquility to your life. Go ahead, give it a shot. :)

Positive out brings positive in :)

When you hop on the path of Buddha, remember to check your mental baggage at the door. The Path is about letting go of things - letting go of the grasp and clinging we all do as human beings so that we don't get "hung up" on them.

I like to look at this as having a positive, optimistic attitude. (I won't lie - my optimism has, at times, put people off. I remember one acquaintance who once told me - "sometimes I just want to take of your rose-colored glasses and stomp on them!" But I still believe in it)

If you put the positive thought out there, the universe - which we are all connected to, mind you - will return that positivity. Likewise with negativity, so just get rid of it. Clear it out of your head. We've no place for it here.

I think Buddha would agree, having said:

"Mind is forerunner of action, foremost of deeds. Everything's made up of mind. If your mind is polluted, sorrow will follow, as a wagon wheel trails the hoof of an ox...If your mind is pure, happiness will ensue, the way your shadow trails along wherever you go."

It makes sense, doesn't it? If we are all one...then the positivity that we bring forth, will certainly be the same as which we receive.

Along these same notes of positivity, keep it no only in your thoughts, but in your actions:

*Act out of love, not causing suffering for any being

*Be mindful of what you say - it colors our thoughs, shapes our deeds, which influence or predispositions.

*Be rid of the lies, harsh words, slander, and frivolous speech. Stop putting people down, putting them off, or brushing them off. Stop gossiping.

*Keep in mind: what we say about others applies to us as well. :)

Question it

A little while ago I had learned about the Four Noble Truths. The book I'm currently reading suggests that an easier way to look at the Four Noble Truths might be to look at them as questions. Questions to ask yourself when you feel as though you are hurting

*Am I suffering? What's the situation that's causing the suffering?

*What keeps me from being happy? What am I attached to about my suffering? How do I identify myself with it? Is it real? Does it have a life of its own? Is it physically present here and now? Is it in my mind? Is it permanent?

*What if I let go of my attachment to all in the situation that's not immediately present, and the self-image I identify with that situation? Then would I be happy?

*How can I cultivate a better way of living that doesn't fall into the same patterns I fell into all over again?

I think the author really hit the nail on the head with these. The are a great way to allow yourself to step back and find the root of your problem, frustration, etc. And once you know that problem, it becomes much easier to deal with it, remove it, etc, and move onward with enjoying your life.

Keeping on the path...even at work

Everything that I've learned so far in this venture was put to the test yesterday. A test that I don't think I passed, at least not by all that much.

You see, i work in a very fast-paced news environment, and in the news they say it's feast or famine. Since returning back to work after a month or so extended leave, I've maintained a slowed-down, more calm approach, much like what I've applied to the rest of life as of late - and it's worked. I have found myself, simply by slowing down and not getting caught up in the rush of other people's problems, dramas, etc, that I can very much enjoy life and all around me, even when I'm at work.

Last night I felt I lost that a little, and I didn't like it. It was around 4:45, with the news about 15 minutes from going on the air, when we were dropped two very big news bombs - meaning everything had to be rearranged, both in the broadcasts, and online. So, that meant a last minute scramble. Now, what I did was end up getting flustered by trying to get both of these things written for both online and on the air, while fielding questions from a myriad of co-workers. And the end result was feeling like I had dropped all I had learned as of late.

What I should have done was, as the information was coming in, simply look at it, take the time to take it in and process it, and then simply type it. The questions flying at me could have been easily tuned out, but I didn't. I got CAUGHT UP in the frenzy, in the drama...exactly what Buddha has told us is part of the root of so many suffering.

On the bright side, after having felt like I hadn't managed to maintain the calm demeanor I had learned from Siddhartha's teachings thus far, it made me go home after work, relax, read a little more on the Dharma, take a deep breath, and appreciate what was all around me back home.

Breathe. Look around you. Cool. Now, grab a cup of tea and we'll talk a little more Dharma and learn that a few setbacks like yesterday don't mean you've fallen off the path. They just teach you how to stay on the path amid today's world. :)

The Four Noble Truths

There is needless suffering - (dukkha). It has a cause - (trishna). It can end - (nirvana). There is a way in which to end it - (maggha).

Needless suffering is the bumpy road of life. And the cause of that suffering is the clinging and grasping to those things that make us upset and suffer.

So, let it go. The more you try to hang on to those things that are making you suffer, the more you get hung up.

Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. Don't want to suffer? Forget it, let it go. This too, shall pass. The fires of whatever is causing you to suffer will burn out once you let it go, and the peace that comes when the fire's out are refreshing.

What are some of those fires that are the cause of our suffering?

Delusion, feat, anger, greed) Those fires can't burn if you don't feed them.

It takes two to tango...

For anger to get fueled, it takes two people.

Fighting anger with anger only generates it more.

If one person refrains from getting angry, then it's possible the other person might as well.

So the next time somebody comes at you in the office the minute you or they walk in the door, sounding off about something in an angry rage, try not to do the same. Step back. Let them say what they're going to say, and respond calmly, with your emotions in check.

See if it makes a difference.

"We're not so different, you and I..."

That quote has absolutely no religious or philosophical root. It's from the movie "Austin Powers" when Dr. Evil tells Austin that they are really quite the same (the joke in the film being that both roles are played by Mike Myers). But, this was the first quote to pop into my head when I started learning about the Buddhism as being Interfaith.

It's kind of like all religions began as a family - born from the same place. Then, your brothers and sisters go off and they become their own people, moving away, starting their lives, and having children who do the same. Each of them had their own way of doing things, traditions and customs, but they all came from the same place. And it's really quite true of religion. Which, I think, is why you can be a follower of Buddhist principles either on their own, or even as a supplement to your own religion, whatever that may be.

When I look in my bathroom, I don't have just medicines. I have some vitamins and supplements too. I don't have to have one or the other. I can have some Tylenol Cold and Flu AND some Vitamin C tablets. I can have Ibufrofen AND Fish Oil tablets. Mix it up - just like mixing up traditions from the various aspects of religions to what works for you.

Sure,t here's going to be people who are going to say that when you do that mixing you end up with a salad of sorts (i love that metaphor), but you know what? I love salad. So, nothing wrong with that from where I stand.

This is a great time for one of Buddha's most quoted sayings:

"Don't believe a teaching just because you've heard it from a man who's supposed to be holy, or because it's contained in a book supposed to be holy, or because all your friends and neighbors believe it. but whatever you've observed and analyzed for yourself and found to be reasonable and good, then accept that and put it into practice."

So much of what we argue about theologically all began the same way, just taking detours over the years that changed or altered it. But so many times we are too egocentric to see otherwise.

It's this ego, this sense of self ("It's all about me - I'm right!" mentality) that is getting in the way of seeing how we are all coming from the same place. Buddha said we all one with the universe, and religion itself is no exception. When I realized this, in all its simplicity, it nearly blew my mind. Here I was, having grown up Roman Catholic that my attraction and interest to Eastern beliefs meant a complete avoidance and dropping of any previous beliefs I had been taught.

Not true.

It's finding the commonality for what you, personally, feel to be right - be it from what you've known, or in my case, what I'm growing to know, and realizing it's all coming from the same place.

So, lose the sense of self. Lose the ego. Don't get caught up in the drama surrounding ourselves. Forget it. Move on and see the bigger picture.

You'll be happier for it.

Buddhism on the go!

Reading about where Buddhism spread to after Siddhartha's death.

It's gone to India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and following the Silk and Spice Routes - Russia, and China, just to name a few. It would also go on to other areas, such as Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Tibet, and more.

Okay, but, what have I gotten out of Buddhism's adventures across the East - and of course, much later, the West?

*It adapted. Wherever Buddhism went, whatever culture it made its way into, it adapted to those different cultures, the teachings being made to suit the people and lives of that culture.

No matter where Buddhism makes its home, it works WITH that culture, but no matter what form it takes on, the basis of Buddhism is still there - freedom.


*It's often called "The Gentle Religion" for a reason. Just think of how many wars have been fought in the name of Buddhism? None.

This "gentle religion" as it is nicknamed teaches tolerance. How much better off would we be if we stopped letting ourselves get worked up at that person who annoys us every day at work? Or by letting someone get under our skin with their difference of opinion? Tolerance can mean the difference between fighting and peace. Next time someone's annoying you with something trivial, just take a breath and remember - the reason they're saying it or doing it is because it means something to them. Let them go, don't let it anger you, they continue on, and you, in your now not-stressed state because you have tolerated them even though you may not agree or see it - can feel free.

Lessons from the story of Buddha's life

Some lessons from the story of Buddha's life:

*In his early attempts at self-denial, Buddha tried an ascetic path - sitting on a bed of nails, reducing his diet to nothing but a grain of rice per day. This path was no road to self-denial, but more self-destruction. It was when he was almost unconscious in the woods and found by a girl who fed him that he came to the great realization that a healthy body is key to our happiness.

Buddha says eat!! Too many religions project the body as something evil. But you can't reach a goal of happiness and enlightenment if your body is too weak to keep going! Just like the connections of everything around us, there is a great connection between our mind and our body. When one is unhealthy, the other follows in tandem. One must be healthy if one is to find happiness.

*Forget about dualism. We spend too much of our lives on an extreme that is unnecessary. Examine both sides, and discover the median. Hear out both sides and find the road in between. This is what Buddha refers to as "The Middle Way"

Just think of how much stress, aggravation, and sometimes even hatred we put ourselves through because we are so pig-headed as to only see one side. We can find so much more peace - by simply finding the middle ground and leaving our extremes behind.

*Step back and see the larger picture. A woman, whose in-laws were growing cold to her because she couldn't give their son an heir, finally had a child, but it died during birth. She took the child to Buddha and asked him to resurrect the child. (She did not seem to understand he never claimed such abilities). Buddha told her that before he could do anything, she had to go into the village and get him some mustard seeds from a home. But, the seeds had to come from a home that had not been touched by death. The first home she went to, sure enough, they'd give her seeds, but the family noted they had just lost a father. She went to the next house, the next, and the next, all with the same result. She returned to Buddha understanding, and buried her child.

It becomes so easy for us to take a look at our need, what it is that we are looking for. We all have goals, and can often times be blinded by those goals. The woman came to Buddha because she wanted her child brought back to life. But as she went from house to house, she quickly realized that death was not picking on her - it is universal - and none of us are free from it. He never told her "forget about it" or "move on" or "it'll get better someday." He gave her a way to see that her loss is part of something bigger.

*Those who try to ask why the universe is created is like a man who's been shot by a gun. Before going to see a doctor, he wants to know exactly who shot him, from where, with what type of gun, what type of bullet, and how the bullet was made.

We can spend eons debating the wheres and the whys, wasting our lives away instead of enjoying what is now. These theoretical questions take away from what it is Buddha is trying to teach us, which is the nature of suffering and the freedom from it.

Buddha's Life

Just finished the story of Buddha's life. It is important to know this before trying to understand his teachings. Buddha, by the way just means "awakened one" in sanskrit (Budh) and is not a real name.

I will do my best to be succinct.

Buddha was born "Siddhartha" - a prince to a wealthy, affluent family whose father shielded him from the realities of life. Even when he took trips, the people were practically staged like a movie set to show only the good.

When Siddhartha started seeing the holes in this (a man who had gotten old, a funeral service, someone who was ill) in his travels, he couldn't believe what he was seeing and how he had not been exposed to these things for so long.

His father continued to throw money, jewels, luxuries, women, etc, at Siddhartha to shield him from these things, but it did no good. One day, as the most sensual of women danced around for Siddhartha (who was married to a beautiful woman and had a kid of his own), he became tired and fell asleep. The girls, seeing no point in performing, decided to nap as well. When Siddhartha awoke, he saw the women who just a little while ago seemed nothing but sensuality and beauty, now sprawled out in awkward positions, sweaty, and asleep.

Siddhartha then took this moment to leave everything behind him and get the answers he sought. He went into the woods and studied with numerous teachers, whom he soon surpassed. He tried almost starving himself, which would not work, and only after realizing that he had to eat and be healthy to have a mind capable of happiness and enligthenment, did he go out and sit under a fig tree where he came to the realization that everything is interconnected.

He saw that our mortality automatically brings with it cravings that will not be fulfilled, thus starting us off on the wrong foot, and denying us happiness if we so choose to let it. We lock ourselves into these prisons and traps of the mind, and saw that true happiness comes from deconstructing that prison, which can lead us to true freedom.

Buddha met his end after eating some bad alms. And while his followers all worried that they could not carry on without him, he re-assured them that he was not necessary - that his teachings could be practiced without him.

Life is a gift and Buddha knew this. He told his followers that every meeting implies a departure. We are all born with the capacity to live a good life - one with love, joy, energy, harmony, etc. All you have to do is be it to enjoy it.

A lot to be learned, even from this.

So it begins...

My name is Dave, and I am looking for enlightenment.

While recently out of work on an extended leave for some surgery, I found myself with lots of time spent in books and in front of the television. As I lay their in bed trying to keep my mind occupied, I read the book "A Gathering of Selves" by Alvin Schwartz. I had read his first book "An Unlikely Prophet" a few years ago. The recent read into the multiple identities and realities we all live every second in time had rekindled an interest for me in Eastern Religions (Religions, Philosophies, Educations, whatever you choose to call it.)

Born into a Roman Catholic family and a regular church goer as a youth, I, like so many others, began questioning my faith during adolescence, and it wasn't until a college course in Eastern Religions that I started to find something that actually seemed to make a little more sense to me.

With this newly rediscovered interest, I have set out to re-familiarize myself with Buddhism. In doing so, I will charter what pieces and bits I have learned as I learn them and details my attempts to assimilate them into my everyday life as best I can.