When I first encountered Buddhism it was the westernized new age California version based on South East Asian belief systems (India Nepal etc). Steeped in Karma for a next life and the one most of us are familiar with. Which deal mostly with the self rather than those around us.
I later met a friend who is a generational buddhist from a different country and was taught about what this lifestyle actually is. It is almost impossible to teach to those who didnt grow up with it. A completely different behavior. Primarily there to be compassionate and prevent and alleviate suffering. One's own as well as those of others. In parallel. It is much less about aiming for enlightenment or improving oneself for the next life. That is a very Indian approach or one reserved for monks.
Authentic Buddhism gives joy to others and reduces their pain. Giving food is one of the basic pillars. It alleviates suffering. As is giving shelter. And one must do so. It goes beyond that. Freedom from materialistic attachment doesn't mean not coveting nice things. It means the following:
Joy and I talk about anything from books to crafts to calligraphy to life. I always write down recommendations and she insisted that I read some of the books she had recommended. I asked for the author and she was evasive. Odd I thought. The next time I visited she gifted me the books. I am supposed to give you my copy; that is the buddhist way, she explained, but thought it's alright to buy them for you. Not accepting them would have been an insult.
A person is given something that they need or want, obviously within reason and not what someone else thinks one needs.
Of course it's more complex than that, but I remind myself to hold on to the values of compassion and giving in this crazy greedy world.
Today in the news I read that a wealthy trophy hunter was trampled by a herd of elephants. Then reminded myself that my reaction wasn't nice. I looked at some most enjoyable Gary larson cartoons and figured I probably need a few more lifetimes.
Work in progress.
My Maternal Grandfather in North Wales was Raised Buddhist and practiced all his Life. His Father Died in WWI and his Widowed Gypsy Mom had 11 Children to try to support, and back then most Gypsies didn't get Educated or go to School, so she had limits to what she could provide, thus she kept her 6 Oldest and gave her 5 Youngest to a Childless Chinese Couple she knew who Raised them all as their own, tho' they knew and kept in touch with their Biological Family as well. My Mom did keep many Buddhist Teachings of her Father even tho' she became a Christian and so a lot of what I learned about Spirituality is a mixture of both, and of Tribal Religion which my Indigenous Father had been Raised in. I do find that the Westernized Buddhism is quite different than what Gran-Gran practiced or taught us about. I wasn't opposed to any of the Teachings, they embody true Compassion and Loving-Kindness and exemplify how to project it outwards to make that Rainbow Appear for all you may be put in the Path of... truly a Beautiful Thing.
ReplyDeleteCodex the nice thing is that it's not a religion. Japan practices both at the same time Shinto Buddhism. My friend goes back many generations in Buddhism, so what westerners practice is influenced by their own and often misses the point.
DeleteYou certainly have an interesting mix.
Codex...by their own culture and religion. Maybe I can finish my sentences this lifetime?!
DeleteYeah, me too, definitely a work in progress. Definitely more lifetimes and I imagine the next one I'll be dealing with the entity that was my mother in this one. Lots of work to be done there. I read about that hunter too and yeah, had a moment of karmic satisfaction. I hope I'm better than I was, I hope I'm better than I think I am.
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ReplyDeleteYikes. Based on what you said that won't be pleasant.
Yeah. Laughed at the hunter story. A...hole.
The one I practice is Mayarana/Vajrayana which believes in achieving it in this lifetime. Very short version. It's less concerned with reincarnation and less concerned with enduring suffering.
Codex I'm on the fence about reincarnation. Also have a problem with the fact that women can't be reincarnated as the Dalai Lama.
ReplyDeleteA couple of things in my life, about my life, that resonate with reincarnation...an intense and immediate interest in ancient Egypt, particularly the bas relief carvings, when I was young which reappeared in this life (bas relief carving in glass), an unexplained and intense scrutiny of any boy or man named Marc (especially spelled with a c) which became explained when I laid eyes on the man that I would marry and make a life with later for the first time and had the most mental and visceral reaction to (heart pounding, short of breath, bells clanging in my head), a couple of prophetic dreams, meeting a few people for the first time that I recognised in some fashion and had an immediate attraction to, my own personality to the point that I think I've incarnated as a male more often than a female.
DeleteI don't think a woman can't be the Dalai Lama, the spirit/entity is sexless or rather whole, the descent into a human body imposes a biological sex. It's just that they won't look at women or accept a woman as the Dalai Lama. Buddhism's own patriarchy. By whatever criteria they chose a very young boy child as the next Dalai Lama, he is raised to be that.
My relationship with my mother is whole other thing. She was a piece of work and by my own admission I wasn't very compassionate towards her coupled with the fact that I was the one left that had to deal with her (both siblings had moved to other states and had the worst relationship with her) after out father died and before I shipped her off to my brother for the last five years or so of her life. Maybe, I hope, that I countered it by being a good mother to my children so I didn't pass that shit on.
Codex will respond mire later but I've always had a problem with that. Because it means that the selection process is human and not something "higher". I can understand that mixed monasteries would defeat the purpose and there are a few buddhist nuns. Then why not have both?
DeleteCodex remembered a quote buddhists can be sexist, but Buddhism is not. There is a lot of internal debate within the texts just like in any other belief system.
DeleteReincarnation is mostly Hindu influence. Basically: no one knows and maybe that's as it should be.
I think we're all a work in progress. And I admit that when a human is killed by an animal in whose territory he intruded, I'm on team animal.
ReplyDeleteWell the ultimate irony is many lose their wisdom as they age.
DeleteTrophy hunters are worse than that. A bit of poetic justice there?
Codex above
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