Heart Sutra Mantra.

Om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha!! This is from the Heart Sutra mantra, which speaks of transcending thoughts and concepts to reside in the pure essence of being at peace and at one with all. Oneness that is beyond all dualities. In my understanding, to be able to reside in that place of balance between somethingness and nothingness, regardless of circumstances is tasting the enlightenment of Nirvana.

~Peace to all beings~

Buddhism Inc.

DISCLAIMER: This post is heavily laden with sacrasm and satire about the odd ways that people use Buddhist buzz words that are apparently "en vogue" with our pop culture to sell just about anything. In the end this subject doesn't have any real impact on my own practice but it is a bit annoying and silly in the absurd so I thought I'd write about it in a humorous way. I hope you enjoy!!

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Do you ever get tired of carrying your karma around all over samsara jumbled up in your mind? Do you wish that there was a better way to organize your karma as you travel along the middle lane of the Dharma Highway to Nirvanaville? Well, your worries. are. over!! The future has arrived!!

Introducing the Nirvana Organizer Bag from Zen Class Travel!!!! You say you've never heard of Zen Class but have heard of First Class and Business Class when traveling? No problem!! Zen Class is where Zen Buddhists meditate at their home on the desired day of travel. They meditate so deeply that they are magically transported through the air to their desired destination!! It's as easy as that--so why not become a Zen Buddhist today to take advantage of the Zen Class Travel!! But WAIT!!! Don't order yet--when you order now you'll also get the Nirvana Organizer Bag. You don't want to be caught in Nirvanaville without IT.

James: So there you have it--another odd yet humourous example of a product being sold using Buddhism. The Zen Class Travel isn't an actual class of travel on airlines but the name of the company who pumps out this "Nirvana Organizer Bag." I was just having fun with the name. :) Actually, I find the whole thing quite odd really but then again I've learned over and over not to be surprised by samsara. Now if I could just find one of those "Easy Buttons" advertized on t.v. Let me explain, the advertisement for my non-American t.v. viewing audience.

There is an office materials supply company here called, "Staples" and they have a new advert up that explains that shopping with them is like pushing an, "easy button" which easilly takes care of any office needs you might have. So all this has me wondering how long it will be before some scam/business man comes out with an, "easy button" to enable instant enlightenment--with one simple, easy, push of the button!! No, I clearly realize that it's not that easy--I was just playing with the concept of this cross-pollunation between Buddhism, business and advertising.

~Peace to all beings~

Diamond in the Ruff.

Meditation is many things to me. It is the ultimate medication--like garlic it's helps just about everything.

Today's meditation was like sitting under a water fall after a long day of marching through a steamy, exhausting jungle. As I sat there each breath washed away grime of delusions built up in my mind to once again reveal the Buddha nature within all things.

In keeping with the three jewels imagery I see Buddha-nature as a perfectly cut and brilliant diamond buried in the mud of the delusions, greed, anger within the hologram of the self. It gives me perspective to see the self as a suit coat that one wears to work. It can be put on but also taken off and that it only has form when I wrap myself in it.

It is not permanently strapped to me though at times I get so used to it and I forget that I'm wearing it and those are times of delusion thinking that the suit coat gives me comfort but it is a false sense of comfort. It might bring slight warmth (pay raise) for a time but sooner or later it will become constrictive (attachment to money and power) and cause great discomfort (suffering) and must be shed. The trick is for me to be mindful enough to realize that I don't need the suit (self) to realize retirement (Buddhahood) from the work place (samsara).

But let's get back to the diamond--even when all those layers of mud, dirt and silt cover that diamond of Buddha-nature its essence never dulls or changes. Buddha-nature is indestructible and never loses its luster and pure essence regardless of what covers or conceals it. A diamond can wait for eons locked inside a dark, dirty and hard chunk of rock but it's pure nature never changes. It waits locked inside our karma to be unveiled to bask in the vast openness and freedom of Buddhahood to reflect the glorious light of Nirvana.

PHOTO CREDIT: Click here.

~Peace to all beings~

Spring is Reborn.

Sometimes the concept of rebirth is hard to envision because it seems like a mystical, supernatural idea that is hard for our limited minds to understand. And to be honest, I don't know for a fact that we will be reborn. I have faith that rebirth is a reality but I don't dwell much on the concept and constantly worry how I will be reborn and what do I need to do to be reborn into a "good situation," whatever that means. I do not think that this kind of attention is helpful to us because it only brings us anxiety because we are attached to something that is impossible to figure out in this moment.

I have personally found it more skillful to focus on the present moment at hand where we have the best chance to liberate ourselves from the suffering that we bring upon ourselves by wasting that moment obsessing about what happens upon the death of the body. Each moment is a chance to be reborn anew giving us another precious moment to live mindfully which enables us to transform habit energy into something more positive and more helpful in our ultimate goal of achieving full liberation from samsara. It is ironic that we refer to it as liberation when it is more like remembering, remembering our essence which is nothing short of Buddhahood.

Being fully present in being aware of our surroundings we see the beauty of rebirth in a direct way all around us. We know and see the change of seasons in many areas of the world and with mindfulness we see that this process is a reflection of the reality of human life. In the spring we are born, we grow up in the summer into adulthood, in the winter we begin to age and in the winter we die but the process continues. On the coldest days of winter it seems that life is gone and so is the beauty of existence but there is joy to be found even in that season of death. The coldness is not unlike the cold feelings that we experience when a loved has died and is a reminder to us to make the most of each moment.

The snow in the world shuts down the known and conditioned brain's "preferred" beauty of blooming trees, plants, flowers and active animal life. To our blinding sensory desires we miss the artistic way that snow sculpts itself into delicate and stunning formations. We miss the creative way that icicles form and accent the sky. We often miss the beautiful contrast of green pine trees dusted with fine layers of white snow.

If winter in your part of the world means rain, we miss the beauty of the cleansing nature of water and how without water the rebirth of life sustaining plants would never be possible. The winter monsoons drive people indoors for days at a time and it is easy to resent the rain because it prevents us from doing the things that we love outside. However, seen in a more mindful way it should be seen as a blessing because it gives us time to be mindful, reflect on our lives and allows us ample time to meditate.

All is being reborn here in my part of the world, flowers are growing, trees and budding and birds are looking to usher in new life. This is another chance to enjoy the beauty of change. So often we only see suffering in change but like with all experiences there is beauty and joy to be found.

So do not worry over enlightenment, Nirvana and the Pure Land for they are all present in the here and now. The total liberation in the scriptural state will happen when we are ready and our karma has ripened. In the mean time, the bliss of Nirvana can be seen in the beauty of delicate flowers re-emerging right before our eyes and even in the dark cold days of winter. All is present to us if we but relax our minds and allow ourselves to just be. We are apart of Buddha's enlightenment and therefore Buddha's to be, what a wonderful thought!! What a wonderful heritage we are apart of!!

There is nothing that is not divine for all is as it can only be. We can not do anything else but go with the flow of the vast river of pure being. Resistance is the path of suffering.

May we all realize joy in the rebirth of each breath. Present moment, wonderful moment, only moment. I leave you with the words of my precious teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh:
~Peace to all beings~

Introducing, The Enlightenment Visa Card!!!

Because nothing says Buddhism like materialism and accruing debt.

I'm a little late on this but what great news!!! Here I was wasting hours and hours meditating to realize enlightenment and now I can just buy a piece of the Nirvana pie at a mere 15% APR!! Now I have an enlightened way to buy my Zen liqueur!!

The late fee for past due payments is $25 which is apparently this credit cards version of accruing less skillful karma. If you keep missing payments then you will be reborn as a "credit liability." Here's a question you might want to ask before signing up, would my credit card debt follow me into my next rebirth if I sign up for this card?

You know those Visa commercials, well here is a suggestion for one that they could do to promote their new "Enlightenment Visa" card.

Meditation cushion: $35

Buddha statue: $20

Buying your way toward enlightenment? Priceless.

Finally there is a way to become enlightened AND stay greedy!!

But seriously. Yes, at first glance this seems quite offensive but I think we should have a laugh over it as Buddhism will be just fine. Buddhism has been around for some 2,500 years and it has survived much more serious threats to its survival then a Visa "Enlightenment Card." It will shake this off like a bunch of annoying fleas. This Visa shtick is like throwing pebbles at a mountain as columnist Mark Morford says. It's annoying but not damaging to Buddhism.

~Peace to all beings~

Buddhism and Sin

The Buddhist challenge to conventional Western notions of spirituality illuminates the way we set flesh and spirit at war with each other. In Buddhism there is no original sin.

Although noticing how we express our sexuality can certainly lead to an awareness of right conduct, the flesh is not regarded as representing a corruption or punishment of any kind, nor as an obstacle to the attainment of enlightenment.

The root of human suffering is not sin, but our confusion about ego. We suffer because we believe in the existence of an individual self. This belief splits the world into "I" and "other."

- Stephen Butterfield, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Vol. I, #4

James: This is something that really rings true for me. There is no emphasis upon guilt in Buddhism as there is no one that is going to "punish" us for "sin." I like the idea that we are our own "saviors" and "judges" so to speak. In Buddhism, If we wish to engage in actions that are less skillful, (whether sexual or others wise) then that is absolutely our choice and no personal Supreme Being is going to condemn us for it.

Yet just like smoking usually shortens ones physical life, less skillful actions will most likely prolong our future lives within samsara. It just all depends on how much progress one wants to progress toward realizing Nirvana. So in that regard rebirth is compassionate as it gives us as many chances as we need. Some believe rebirth to be cruel, that we have to redo the suffering in life over and over but that is only because we choose to stay in that cycle of rebirth and death.

In addition, not everyone has the same karma and some lessons of samsara might be easy for one person and difficult for others and vice versa.

We are the masters of our own destiny and path and sometimes we need to take side-tracks in order to be convinced that the path we were on was more direct.

PHOTO: Yab-Yum (Tibetan for "mother-father"). It is a symbol showing a male deity in sexual union with his female consort. The image of male and female united as one in intimacy is a powerful (and sometimes overtly "shocking") symbol to depict the natural transcendental unity of all things. It is also meant to be symbolic of the important and strong union between wisdom/insight (consort) and compassion (deity).

~Peace to all beings~

Meditation with the Buddha Within

I have been having some awful nightmares of late and was talking with my therapist about it and she had a suggestion. She said that since meditation works so well for me that I should try and do a mini-meditation before bedtime--one that concentrated solely upon getting ready for sleep. So a big part of that for me has been breathing deeply and letting the days events bubble up into my head as I lie there on the bed and physically breath them out of my mind and body. So last night I was doing this and kept letting go of things and felt things really fall away from my True Nature of Oneness and soon I merged into a soft, deep sleep.

The next thing I realized I was sitting on the steps of a Grecian style pool floating out in the middle of the stars. It was Grecian in that it had a couple of steps all around the edges of the pool rather then a sharp wall like a traditional western style pool and the corners of the pool were squared a bit with little landings just above the water level. There were small Cyprus style tress on the outer edges of the four corners and on the very outer borders was a crystal clear, light sapphire colored water that flowed around the perimeter of the pool and cascaded down the steps into the pool at four locations along the sides of the large basin.

In a flash I was comfortably floating in the pool that had no bottom--just more stars twinkling down through the crystal cool sapphire-like water. I was surrounded by beings--all of whom I knew one way or another and they knew me. A few I recognized from this life and others I knew from previous lives but our meeting was like we had never left each other's sides. It was state of pure realization that emptiness is form and form is emptiness. Human bodies were only being presented as means to interact with these various frequencies of energies. It was a joyous reunion for everyone. I have never seen such beaming smiles, sparkling eyes and sincere embracing. It really was energy reuniting with other forms of energy--the various energies of ones karma--pure being reuniting with those of others to form the all-uniting enegry of pure love. The love was so powerful yet soft and comforting--it was the oxygen.

Soon everyone's attention came to these two beings of light that were sitting on chairs at the head of the pool where a second little jacuzzi style pool formed behind them. They took the form of humans but it was easy to tell that these beings were Buddhas. Interestingly enough, one was a barrel chested man with a long, wirery grey beard and tattoos down his arms and legs--my kind of Budda!! The other was a woman who looked very much like my mother in white flowing robes and hair of spun gold that danced like the stars in the background. It seemed from others' reactions, however, that they saw a different man or woman depending on their own experiences and then it dawned on me--the man or woman we were seeing was who we are as Buddhas!! We were looking at our True Natures!!! That realization made my body pulse and vibrate with love, compassion and thankfulness to the Universe and the power that is within all things that has always been and will always be in one form or another.

In the next moment we were all being given various clothing to wear--all the while floating in this water which has some kind of spiritual rejuvenating power within it. These clothes were to be taken symbolically rather then to be taken literal. I was given a lovely suit that had all kinds of sparkles and ruins on it that glowed when I put it on. The minute I laid my eyes upon it I recognized it as a past life--and a wonderful one at that. I can't remember all the details of this life but I do remember it was a powerful one that reminded me of my True Nature and potential.

There were other revelations and teachings during this "reunion" of sorts that I can not remember and I wish that I could. However, sometimes you do not need to know the specifics of something to remember the more important essence behind the teaching--and that is the feeling of understanding and peace that comes with it. From what I can remember however, these were direct one-on-one meditations sessions with your inner self--my inner Buddha. The old tattooed guy with a long, stringy grey bread. Hehe. I seem to recall that there was a joining of minds, a oneness that was achieved to where I could have clear vision, insight and awareness of my Buddha nature. Wisdom that I dearly needed to be reminded of at this time in my life.

Perhaps the reason that I can not describe it further is because there are really no words to describe enlightenment and that floating along the edges of Nirvana. I had no sense of time while I was in that intense union meditation with my inner Buddha so when I ended my session and rejoined the group I was sad to see it was time for everyone to depart company. Tears flowed like water but they were tears of joy--tears that we had had this precious moment--this wonderful, present moment to reunite in form to grow and learn in a "power session" and remember that we do not need form to reunite in the beautiful emptiness of Oneness that is in our nature at all times and places.

I awoke earlier then usual but feeling more rested then I would otherwise at this time in the morning. As I slowly returned to my awakened state I would feel tears of joy slightly leak from my eyes and I realized that my tears were of that same liquid that was in that pool. Our tears are precious liquid--powerful aids in our lives. Those drops of joy were joined by a soft yet resolved half-smile. I then closed my eyes for a time to try and remember as much as I could to write this all down. Then got up, made some coffee and typed this out. I hope that you will find something in this journey of mine that might spur you on or remind you of how precious and wonderful you are and that this moment is. How cherished a gift that this human state is from our Buddha within.

I am so thankful to my Buddha nature and to all those wonderful beings that I reunited with and to all things, beings, energies and Buddhas throughout space and time for giving me that wonderful moment. I had a rough couple of weeks with my illness and I really needed that healing, reminder and retreat to give me the energy to recommit to my practice.

May all beings and energies remember the True Nature of things and remember the beautiful power of Oneness. May we all remember and feel that Oneness so that we can awaken from our samsaric slumber and help each other awaken as well--and remain awake. In order that we realize our Buddha Nature that was always there and always will be. So that we might all merge brightly with the indescribable pure suchness of Mahaparinirvana. The unconstrained, True Self that is said by the Buddha in the Nirvana Sutra to be "indestructible as a diamond."

I bow to the Buddha within you all and within this body they call "James."

~Peace to all beings~

Is There Anything Lacking?

At this moment, is there anything lacking? Nirvana is right here now before our eyes. This place is the lotus land. This body now is the Buddha.

--Hakuin

~Peace to all beings~