Buddhism, Booze and a Novice Practice

Hello again, Seekers (sorry, couldn’t resist an old Firesign Theatre reference). This little blog is still here and it’s about time we reawakened our interest in it. So, here we go down the rabbit hole…

An Anniversary of Sorts

I’m a late bloomer. Maybe it’s more accurate to say I’m a slow learner. Either way, it took my approaching my 50th birthday before I started to live my life. I don’t mean the previous 49 years were wasted, not at all. I grew up, went to a lot of schools, got married, had five kids, worked several different jobs, had my share of joys and sorrows. But, all during that time I felt unbalanced. Weakened by fear, fear of failing, fear of living.

I, like many people in my demographic, tried to placate my fears with various substances and quick fixes. I adopted unhealthy thought processes and set about, intentionally unintentinal, to destroy myself and everything I loved.

Waking Up The Blog

I’ve recently received some kind words from some folks out there in Cyberland encouraging me to update “Beginner’s Zen.”

OK. Let’s do it. New post in just a few minutes.

Neglected blog, neglected practice…

I realized today that I have been neglecting this blog. I also realized that is a direct reflection of the state of my practice. I am not living very ‘skillfully’ lately. Funny how these things coincide, isn’t it?

Now! Another opportunity to practice is made available.

Let’s Start Again

This blog is aimed at those, like me, who have an interest in Buddhism but really aren’t sure what it is or, more importantly, what it isn’t. Again, I caution the reader that I am not professing any special insight or knowledge. I don’t have The Diamond Sutra memorized. I’m a traveler looking for the Middle Path. So, let’s start at the beginning.

Who was/is Buddha?

In the West we are conditioned to think in terms of a G-d, or a Son, or a Prophet when we talk about spiritual beliefs. In Buddhism, not so much. “Buddha” is actually a title and it means “Awakened One”. There are lots of Buddhas, you’re a Buddha too. But when we refer to The Buddha, the historical man who first discovered and taught the philosophy/religion of Buddhism we are talking about a figure known as Siddhartha. Born a prince to King Suddhodana in what is now Nepal in or around the year 560 B.C.E.

The familiar story is of a prince sequestered from the harsh realities of life and death by his protective father. It was King Suddhodana’s hope that his son never have to set eyes on the unpleasant aspects of the world. Siddhartha, a brilliant young man, wanted to see what was beyond the palace walls. When the prince was allowed to travel through the countryside, his route was carefully orchestrated by his father to keep ugliness, pestulance and death out of Siddhartha’s sight. But, as any parent will tell you, its impossible to shield our children from reality, even if you’re a king.

Siddhartha had caught a glimpse of the real world and saw that there was illness as well as health, he saw death as well as life, he became aware of old age. In short, he learned of his, and everyone else’s, inescapable mortality.

So, the prince gave away his royal robes, shaved his head with his sword leaving just a top knot and went out into the forests to find out what IT is all about. He came across many other seekers and teachers on his journey and learned all he could from all of them. Usually, his understanding surpassed that of his teachers and many began to follow him.

He lived the life of an ascetic, he trid self-denial and inaction until he realized that such a path could only lead to self-destruction. Too extreme. He realized that to understand the true nature of life that one would need to walk The Middle Way. Not too extreme one way or another. He meditated, and meditated, and began to see things with clarity. Sitting under the Bodhi Tree in meditation, Enlightenment came to him. He became The Buddha, and rather than keep this new-found knowledge to himself he decided to spend the rest of his days bringing this enlightenment to all sentient beings. This made him the first Bodhisatva.

TO BE CONTINUED

Maybe You Love Me, Maybe You Don’t

“Maybe you love me, maybe you don’t / Either you will or you won’t.”-Jeff Tweedy, Wilco

One of the most liberating aspects of Buddhism for me is the implicit teaching of impermanence as not only a philosophical concept but accepting it as indisputable natural law.

Decay is inherent in all compounded things.

Work out your own salvation with diligence.

Digha-nikaya, Sutta 16[1]

Sounds like this notion that “all things must pass” should relieve us of our inherent desire to “own” or “control” lives that are, hopefully, beyond “owning” or “controlling”. It seems our experiences here on this earth are a series of events in a process we can’t bend to our will. We continue to change, to grow older and our bodies are on an unstoppable bus to death and decay whether we like it or not.

I don’t know about you, but I spend a good deal of my time fighting this simple truth. I want to change what has happened in the past and control what will happen in the future. I want my wife and kids to love me, I want my boss to think highly of me and I want the world to accept me. The truth of the matter is, my wife could run off with the milkman, my kids could despise me and actually prefer their new milkman step-dad and my boss could tell me to clean out my desk any minute. I really can’t control what they all say, think or do, no matter how hard I try or how badly I want that power. “C’est le vie,” as the old folks say.

Beginning at the start…

This humble little blog is here because of a handful of people were encouraging enough to suggest that they may find it useful. Most of these kind folks were readers of my now defunct and deceased blog, “Hitler’s Titties,” which contained some pages of my prattling on about Zen, Buddhism and a novice practitioner’s experience. Unfortunately, those pages evaporated into the ethernet. Another example of the transient nature of things and life’s impermanence.

I want to make the following very clear (a real Zen concept); I am NOT an expert, ordained priest, teacher, theologian or master of Zen, Buddhism or religion in general. I am a student of Zen teachings and try to apply its’ lessons in my everyday life. I try to sit (meditate) on a regular basis and I seek out information and teachers from various sources. My intention with this blog is to share my experience and MY understanding with fellow travelers who might be interested in such matters.