But That's Not What I Said!

Question: I work in a small office and recently one of my co-workers told the others I had asked why something was done in a certain way. Saying this made me sound really dumb. What I had said was that I knew why something was done in a certain way but thought another way would be more helpful to our customers and then asked the person what she thought about changing.

This is not the first time something like this has happened and I feel like I should set the record straight and let the others know what I really said. I'm the only one she does this to and it's really bothering me.

Response: When something like this happens our first reaction is often to become angry and defensive. Largely because we're embarrassed. We know the person isn't reporting what happened correctly. If this is a singular instance, we can credit it to the other person's not remembering accurately. But when it happens a few times, we become more irritated because it feels like the person is acting intentionally.

To "set the record" straight, you might go to the other person and try to settle the situation amicably. To do this we first need to let go of our anger. This would be easier to do if it was just the first or second time something like this happened. The more this has happened and the more we tell ourselves how unfair and wrong this person is, the more difficult it will be for us to speak calmly and wisely. And the greater the risk of making a difficult situation worse!

Usually in such a situation it is our ego that is hurt. No one likes to appear "dumb." We worry about what our other co-workers will think of us. We tell ourselves it's not fair and wonder what we did to deserve this mistreatment. After all, we've always been nice to this person!

The situation mentioned is most likely karmic. We need to calm down and tell ourselves that we must have done something to deserve this. Basically, the person is not being a loyal co-worker. If we honestly believe we have never been disloyal to this person (and we need to be completely honest in examining our behavior here), we can ask whether we have been perfectly loyal to all our other co-workers. To all our family members? To all our friends? Did we ever exaggerate something about them or speak unkindly about them because we were irritated with something they did, or didn't do?

If we did—and most of us will have done so—then we're not the complete innocent we thought we were in the above scenario. Realizing this, it will be easier to let go of our sense that what happened is unjustified and unfair.

We also need to remind ourselves that our co-workers will not think less of us based on a few things someone says about us. Instead of trying to defend ourselves—and thus create more problems for the future—we can remain quiet. Out energy will be better spent on being a loyal co-worker and a competent, not dumb, employee.

Difference Between Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

Master Chin Kung tells us that in his early years of learning Buddhism, he asked Zhangjia Living Buddha about the difference between Buddhas and bodhisattvas. They were in Zhangjia Living Buddha’s living-room where there was a clock hanging on the wall.

In those days, clocks required winding for them to work. The part that required winding was a spring, a piece of flexible metal that was wound very tightly. The gradual unwinding of the spring made the clock tick. Even when the spring was unwound completely, it still curved and did not straighten out completely.

Zhangjia Living Buddha used this spring as a metaphor. Bodhisattvas are like that spring, which does not straighten out completely even when unwound. In the case of Buddhas, however, the spring has completely straightened out when unwound. Zhangjia Living Buddha meant that bodhisattvas have not turned their sentience to wisdom 100 percent.

Take Equal-enlightenment Bodhisattvas for example. They have turned 99 percent of their sentience to wisdom, but there is still 1 percent of sentience left, unlike Buddhas who have turned their sentience to wisdom 100 percent. Therefore, sentience and wisdom are one, not two. When we are awakened, it is called wisdom. When we are deluded, it is called sentience. Equal-enlightenment Bodhisattvas still have one last part of ignorance: the ignorance of Mark of Arising. This ignorance is sentience. If that part of ignorance is eradicated, their wisdom will be ultimate and perfect.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra

I'm Only a Child

This five-minute video was just emailed to me and, frankly, I didn't want to wait to share it with you. When someone asks good questions, they need to be heard. And thirteen year-old Severn Suzuki asks some some very good ones.

How will we—how will you—answer her?

Thoughts from a Patriarch

 

We hope you enjoy this new screensaver

from the Amitabha Gallery.

The words were written by Great Master Yinguang,

the 13th Patriarch of Pure Land Buddhism.

 

 

Calm Before the Storm

In this video, Richard Heinberg, author of “Peak Everything”, reviews the accelerating events since mid-2007, including the credit crunch and fossil fuel price volatility, noting that we’ve missed most of the best opportunities to manage collapse. He asks, “how far down the staircase of complexity will our global civilization have to go until we’re sustainable?”

His answer: when managed properly, with deliberate simplification, not as far as we might otherwise. In addition to long term efforts to relocalize our economies, he advocates developing community “resilience” to withstand short-term catastrophic events like food shortages or extreme weather.

Noting that healthy fear can move us into action, he encourages an attitude of clarity, concern and informed action in this “calm before the storm” that he feels is soon coming to an end. [www.richardheinberg.com]

~ Peak Moment TV