It Takes Us Many Times To "Get it"

 

A few years ago I was reading a review of a new book by Thich Nhat Hanh on Amazon. I was thinking of buying the book and thought I’d just check the first few reviews to get a better idea of what it was about.

The first reviewer wrote that the master repeats his ideas. A second, perhaps more experienced, reviewer commented that the master repeats ideas because we haven’t gotten them yet.

So repetition is necessary since it does take us many times to "get it."

Over the past eleven months, I have periodically happened to think of my mother’s last few days and of what she went through and said. Although she maintained her sense of humor amazingly well, there were a few times when her words caused me such intense sadness that I had to consciously put them away as I chanted "Amituofo."

We can accept, logically and emotionally, that our suffering is a part of our living. But watching someone we love suffer is different. It hurts. We want to end their suffering, but are helpless.

Last week I was preparing for a class by reading a book Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda’s book How to Live Without Fear & Worry. He was writing of suffering, something I often speak and write about. Suddenly, something shifted within me. And it was okay. The words I had read and spoken so often became an experience, and everything settled. I truly "got it."

So if you wonder why the masters keep repeating the same ideas, it’s okay. They know what they’re doing. They know that it takes us many times to "get it."

"Carbon Crisis"

These days, after I complete work on my blog, I reward myself by going to With Robe and Bowl in hopes of a new entry. Bhikkhu Abhipanya has created a blog that is as beautifully innovative as his writing is honest.

To help more people benefit from a recent entry, I would like to share it with you.

As I walk down a country road to the small village in which I go for alms each morning, I’m met with a sight which, for me, encapsulates nicely the mentality behind our relationship with our planet: garbaaaage (said like a chain smoking Frenchman) … and plenty of it. From little plastic bags (the bane of my almsrounds) to snack packets and juice cartons, all the way down to beer bottles (the smashed and splintered variety, of course) and the occasional electrical appliance (although these are usually quickly picked up and sold by scrap merchants) – it’s almost as if the lush and verdant edges of the road, covered in beautiful, leafy green weeds of every shape and size, gently try to hide this mess away from my prying eyes, with their myriad vines and delicate blossoms. It’s all about using and abusing here … and such a shame it is too …

 This month’s National Geographic includes a rather sobering and yet not entirely unhopeful article, ‘The Climate Crisis’ with a two page spread of ‘How to Cut Emissions’ – after reading it one comes to the rather frank conclusion that unless there is some kind of lightning bolt from the sky and people actually start to realise the depth and seriousness of the problem … we’re screwed… and so are our kids … and their kids … (well, ok, I know I don’t have any –  but you get the idea). We need drastic change – and it needs to come now. 

 The problem itself is so complex and so delicate that encapsulating it in a simple blog post like this would be impossible - but just to put things in perspective - the amount of crap we’re putting up into the atmosphere these days is reckoned at 8 billion metric tonnes per year (and that’s just the carbon!). Think of what one tonne of carbon looks like … a big, big black cube … ok … now times that by 8 billion and try to visualise what we’re doing to ourselves. The US belches out one quarter of the world’s carbon emissions (that’s one quarter, in case you missed that), although both China and India are catching up rather quickly, what with their huge populations and fast growing economies. And although there doesn’t seem to be any real shouting down of the fact that there really is a crisis, it seems that the only people actually taking any initiatives at the moment are the Europeans and Japanese (although certain individual cities and states within the US have also begun curbing emissions themselves), and even they aren’t reaching the modest quotas that they are setting for themselves.

 ”Everyone involved knows what the basic outlines of a deal that could avert catastrophe would look like: rapid, sustained, and dramatic cuts in emissions by the technologically advanced countries, coupled with large-scale technology transfer to China, India and the rest of the developing world so that they can power up their emerging economies without burning up their coal. Everyone knows the big questions, too: Are such rapid cuts even possible? Do we have the political will to make them and to extend them overseas?”

- “The Carbon Crisis” - National Geographic October 2007

 All in all the outlook is rather bleak – and while hope remains to at least slow and reduce the effects of the scarring of our little blue and green orb we’re already looking at serious changes taking place, which we now have no means of stopping - primarily that of warming, serious warming, which thus means serious melting. More or less every last glacial fortress in the world is beginning or already showing signs (in many cases, pretty large scale signs) of melting. More meltwater means higher sea levels – yada yada yada … you know the rest. It won’t be long before cities like London, New York, Shanghai and Bangkok will be pulling off very convincing impersonations of Venice. There’s a lot more to ice than simply rising sea levels but in any case, none of it is good.

 However, there areplans and the people we pay to think for us are doing their jobs well – not the case, unfortunately, with those we pay to act and pass resolutions for us. One of these rather ambitious yet realistic plans was thought up by some Princeton chaps (notably Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow) three years ago and is known as the ‘stabilization wedges’. It involves 15 ‘wedges’ in which each wedge is made up of cuts to emissions which can feasibly bring down our current levels further and further, in the hopes that we can at least hold where we are and stop it getting any worse. The three possible paths outlined in this plan are:

1. Either we carry on at our current rate and in the next 50 years bring our emissions up to 800 ppm (parts per million) – 16 billion tons per year –  warming the planet by another 9° F (it may not look like it, but that’s a huge amount).

2. We hold as we are at 8 billion tons per year (525 ppm), which itself would require the successful application of 8 of these wedges.

3. We reduce things down as far as we can go in 50 years (450ppm) and then wait for further technological advances to begin cutting even further back in the future. This would require the successful application of all 15 wedges plus implementation of new technology as and when it comes.

 Each of these wedges are going to require significant and global efforts and the effecting of initiatives such as: the stopping of all deforestation, reducing individual car mileage and improving fuel economy, investing in nuclear power and low carbon fuels, biofuels etc, subsidisation of solar panelling and increasing wind generated power to 25 times what it is now … to name but a few.

 Realistically, these changes are huge and need unilateral support from governments across all continents pulled along by strong and clear examples from the leading nations of the world. We’ll be needing to fight for it together, as a coherent (albeit rather dis-functional) human family, and that coherency needs to include you and I too …  

 Well, is there anything we can do, to reduce, as they say, our own personal carbon footprints? Why yes there is, and I’m glad you asked! And although we’re all going to need to start doing them as an international community, they can still make a change in where we’re going - needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway) it’s a much better plan than doing nothing at all …

Although this is a global crisis and will affect us all, whatever beliefs and opinions we hold, as Buddhists, as cultivators of wholesomeness, let’s be at the forefront of it all … remember, setting examples for others to follow often leads to change. I’m sure we can be confident that wise and peace-loving peoples from all faiths and philosophies will be thinking similarly.

How you can help  

The Alliance for Climate Protection

 … and if you ain’t an eco-friendly Buddhist yet … well … then ya should be, so get helping!

Hip, Hip, Hooray for Sir Ricardo! ’Virgin to test Biofuels on their Planes‘ 

Air travel is a significantly contributing factor leading to climate change and yet is something which would be almost impossible to do without in this day and age - as such, this kind of initiative is especially worthwhile.

Symbols in Buddhism

When we enter a Buddhist monastery or center for the first time, we may wonder why there are so many statues or pictures of different people or why there are so many flowers, and even fruit, on the table at the front of the room.

Actually, everything we see is a teaching aid.

Take the images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, for example. Buddhas represent the true nature, and bodhisattvas represent cultivation. In some monasteries, we might see a statue or picture of Sakyamuni Buddha flanked by two great arhats, Ananda and Mahakasyapa. Ananda, who was foremost in erudition, represents understanding and wisdom. Mahakasyapa, who was foremost in asceticism, represents practice.

In a Pure Land center we will see an image of Amitabha Buddha flanked by the greatly compassionate Avalokitesvara who represents practice, and Mahasthamaprapta, who was foremost in wisdom and represents understanding.

Even the offerings have educational significance. Why do we offer water? Water is symbolic. Water, which is clean and pure, symbolizes that our minds should be just as clean. It is calm, without a single ripple. This symbolizes that our minds should be just as calm and tranquil. Therefore, when we see the offered water, we should remember to maintain a mind as pure and impartial as the water.

Flowers symbolize “cause,” as the blossoming of flowers results in the bearing of fruit. Flowers represent the Six Paramitas and all practices. Fruit is not offered to Buddhas or bodhisattvas for consumption. Rather, they serve to remind us that if we want the “fruit,” we should first plant its cause.

Lamps symbolize wisdom and illumination. Incense symbolizes the true fragrance of discipline and meditative concentration. Everything is symbolic and educational. Thus, all the facilities and offerings in a Buddhist center serve to remind and educate us. Buddhas and bodhisattvas neither smell nor consume the offerings; they need none of these.

Chanting "Amituofo" in Pure Land Practice

Question: Is it possible to start the practice of Buddha Name Recitation from written instructions only, or does it require personal instruction for an ordained monk?

Response: There is no need to receive specific instructions from a Pure Land monk or nun to practice chanting "Amituofo". As you are chanting, the sound of “Amituofo” arises in your mind. And as you utter “Amituofo,” your mind should concentrate on and embrace that sound. While chanting, do so sincerely and continuously.

There are some other entries that address chanting on the blog. You can click on the  September 3rd and July 30th internals links for some additional thoughts on chanting.

Four Immeasurable Minds: Equanimity

The fourth mind is equanimity, which is letting go. It counters attachment and aversion. It is to stop clinging and to no longer judge or discriminate. It does not mean that we do not love. It means that we love equally and impartially, like a mother who loves all her children. Loving every one of her children, a mother’s love for one child is not lessened. Loving all her children with equanimity does not mean she is indifferent to what her children feel or do. She simply loves them all unconditionally and without expectations.

Equanimity in love is non-possessive. It is like the sun shining on all beings equally. The sun does not differentiate, deciding to shine more on this person and less on that person. Neither does the sun cling to those it shines on. It shines on all it sees with warmth and brightness—equally.

When we can view everyone with equanimity, we will understand that people are who they are. If we expect them to conform to our ideals, we will doom ourselves to disappointment. It would be much better to just accept people as they are, without any of our pre-conceived views and personal judgments. Our only wish should be for them to be free from suffering, and to be happy and filled with joy.