Buddhist Belief Blog

We need more connectedness and grounding in the fundamental universal values in order to feel more balanced, secure, comfortable, and at ease. There’s a tremendous power in nonviolence. Look at how Gandhi freed India through non-violence. It has great power. The power of non-violence, coupled with the power of truth can help us dance with life, not just be overwhelmed by it. If we are overwhelmed by it, that means we are not processing it in a healthy way. We learn through the teachings in Buddhist Belief how often our enemy or our adversary can be our greatest teacher.

The Bhagavad Gita tells us not to be attached to our actions. You do what has to be done, and the less attached you are to the outcome, the better off you are. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care, but it does mean we know we can’t control everything. We do the best we can, and then we let go. When we have such trust in the workings of the universe we experience a kind of joyous certainty in our lives.

In the process of cultivating non-violence in ourselves it’s important to remember, again and again, that violence and war doesn’t come from guns, or from outside ourselves. Violence and war comes from the hearts and minds of humans beings. Why is this the truth?

Think about it for a moment. I don’t know about you but I know how over the past years my life has become more stressful and frazzled. I suspect the same is true for many of the folks reading this blog. We have the erosion of family and community life. The pace of our living has increased and the interruptions are more common. We have technology beeping and buzzing constantly with information coming at us at hyper-speeds. We have much less privacy. There’s an ever-increasing gap between rich and poor. Materialism is running rampant in our corporate-led society. Depression is common – hyperactivity in our youth is a real problem – and we have children and adults running around with automatic weapons in their neighborhoods and at schools.

These are issues which need our attention. Once we begin to look at the anger within ourselves and become more clear about it, then we can find ways to address these personal and societal problems. We need to acknowledge there’s a lot of violence in the world today and become part of the solution – not just giving it lip-service – but by becoming peace. Back in my hippie days in the Sixties, I was fighting for peace and kicking ass for peace. What a contradiction in terms, isn’t it? Fighting and waging war for peace? I didn’t know any better back then – but I do know I don’t want to do those battles any longer. We need to become peace. As Thich Nhat Hanh said in the quote I used above, “Be the changes we want to see in the world.”

“When people get angry,” says the Dalai Lama, “they lose all sight of peace and happiness. Even if they are good-looking when normally peaceful, in anger their faces turn livid and ugly.” (And, I’ll add, they also get wrinkles.) So you don’t want to get angry, it will make you get older faster! I read somewhere that when you get angry, your face shrivels up like a dried prune!

It says in the Buddha’s loving-kindness teachings that if you practice loving-kindness, you’ll be less angry, your face will shine, you’ll be more cheerful, you’ll have fewer wrinkles, and so on. The Buddha said 2500 years ago that loving-kindness can help protect us from the destructive aspects of anger, that in fact loving-kindness is the greatest protection.

In practice, first we must be aware of our anger as it arises, and not suppress it. Second, we must experience it, really experience how it is to feel anger. Third, we must cradle it, embrace it, accept it, even love it, the same way we accept, embrace, love, and have patience towards someone with whom we’re close. And fourth, we must learn what we can from it. We must grok it, make it ours again, rather than disowning that part of ourselves. See what the pain is, or the fear.

This is the time to look deeply — is it this person’s actions that are making you mad — really? Are there no other causes? If there was no anger or fear or egotism and pride in you yourself, would you still be angry? If whoever it was did that same thing to someone other than you, would you still be angry? If they criticized or made fun of somebody you don’t know, would you still be angry? So, you look into what’s your part in it. That’s why, again, the Buddha said that the purified sage or liberated one has rooted out the seeds of anger, of delusion, and fear from his or her mind. Then it’s as if sparks were thrown into a cool mountain pool, where they just sputter and hiss out, rather than turn into a flammable lake of gasoline. Buddha said: “If there are no seeds of anger in our hearts, no one can make us angry.”

We spiritual activists today try to be “Engaged” Buddhists rather than “enraged” Buddhists. Karmically speaking, we understand that like produces like, and what goes around comes around. Therefore, we work to cultivate compassion, empathy, and a peaceful heart, and work to act from that state of mind. Only skillful means motivated by compassion can be the truly Buddhist intention driving forceful actions.

In the Metta Sutra (Lovingkindness writings), Buddha said that lovingkindness is the greatest protection. At a private meeting a few years ago, the Dalai Lama advised President Clinton: “You are the most powerful man in the world. Every decision you make should be motivated by compassion.” I think we too can learn to live in this sacred way, with our hearts as wide as the universe.

Here’s a great way to start ….

Metta ….May all beings be well and happy. May all beings live in safety. May all beings be healthy and strong. May all beings live with ease.

Namaste — Be in Peace.

Ron Rink

=====================================================

Just click the links that are sort of Grey in color to take you to where you can learn more about each book and how you can purchase a copy for your own library.

Anam Thubten — No Self – No Problem

No Self – No Problem
shows how to realize the ultimate meaning of life in each moment by dissolving all notions of ego-identity. It asks that spiritual seekers wake up to their true nature, which is already enlightened. Based on Buddhist wisdom traditions, this easy-to-read book discusses in simple, but profound and inspiring language, how we can live a life full of love, satisfaction, and happiness. No Self – No Problem

Sharon Salzberg — The Kindness Handbook

“It takes boldness, even audacity, to step out of our habitual patterns and experiment with a quality like kindness–to work with it and see just how it might shift and open up our lives. This book is an invitation to do just that. — From The Kindness Handbook