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Fuel the Enlightenment

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buddhism: Gary Gach

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BoxANT Avatar
BoxANT
Posts: 2
Posted: 08.11.09, 07:15 PM
interesting talk.

didn't like the jab at Milton though, hehe.
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garygach Avatar
garygach
Posts: 5
Posted: 08.13.09, 12:54 AM
Point well taken, BoxAnt. I'd meant Alan, not Milton, of course. My error. Jab? Not my area of core competency but as a layperson seems like US economy not growing for some time in any ways but, at best, crabwise, sideways, yet the head of the Fed keeps saying it's all ok, i'll fix it until one day, too late, he says whoops. He said he was surprised, as I recall, no? I'd fault media as well for positioning as lap dog too often, rather than watch dog. But then neither are a job at which I myself could surpass anyone else, so ¿who am I to criticize? To sum up, given how much I tried to shoehorn in 45 minutes, unrehearsed, the comment probably dangled without sufficient context. Glad to hear the talk itself of interest to you: important for me to know I have an audience.

So thanks for listening, and noting. Comment, criticism, and question always welcome.
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karunafae Avatar
karunafae
Posts: 2
Posted: 08.13.09, 07:52 PM
Excellent talk, I really enjoyed it. I'm a young person just discovering the complexities of social relationships and economical upheaval and religious chaos: And here is Buddhism in the midst of all this, saying, "Free your mind; cultivate compassion; try and test your beliefs." You don't even have to believe in anything supernatural or primitive or just plain stupid, it's all about what you personally can gain from Buddhism.

Be well, I hope you continue your talks.
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garygach Avatar
garygach
Posts: 5
Posted: 08.14.09, 09:38 AM
Thank you for feedback ... and your life!

As to the complexities of social relationships .... and economical upheaval ... and religious chaos ... well, hey! even one crazy mouth as mine ain't big enough to encompass all that signifies. So much to say. But am grateful for the Way of the Buddha as providing space as well as some traveller's of map in which to find my own way through all such. And to find in such spaciousness the possibilities of creative response, rather than prescribed reactions ("the way it 'spozed to be"). As you too are already on a path of discovery you may likewise appreciate that potential: for allowing the unknown to enter in, to enable a deeper way of being in the world. Being intimate with one's life, to lead a genuine life, fully. Each moment. Nothing more, nothing less. Yes, that can be really enjoyable.

You mention belief. One of the foundational texts of Buddhism is the Kalamas Sutra, which is a cornerstone of free inquiry. But I won't kid you and say you won't find supernatural elements anywhere. There are as many forms as there are people, and as you know belief is valuable for many. But you can also find schools such as Vipassana and Zen ... taking nothing on belief without first seeing for one's self. For this reason, Noah Levine calls Buddhism's essential empiricism first-person and present tense.

One thing, 'tho. Just 'cos — in such realm or activity we become sensitive to the words themselves. I'd comment on the tail of what you just said. It's all about you personally can gain from Buddhism. Well, there's nothing to gain here, nothing to be gotten out of it. You might not have meant it that way, but it's a common mis-take, starting out, which can trip up the feet of even the most dedicated searcher.

The goal is the path itself. As A J Muste said, "there is no path to peace, peace is the path."
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karunafae Avatar
karunafae
Posts: 2
Posted: 08.14.09, 10:00 AM
But do you not agree that you can gain inner peace from Buddhism? Or gain the skill of mindfulness. Or even just gain comfort?
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orge Avatar
orge
Posts: 22
Posted: 08.14.09, 11:43 AM
Could one describe Buddhism as a religion? It seems to me more like a hint guide to a videogame. By that I mean you can use the hints if you want but as long as you work towards the end, you can get it. I mean if you do not follow any of the tenets, is it not completely possible to find "Nirvana"?

Or am I way off track?
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garygach Avatar
garygach
Posts: 5
Posted: 08.14.09, 11:09 PM
i hear you, karunafae. and you're right. i'm just still coming down on that word "gain" — since words are all i have with which to speak here, and i don't want to see this trip you up, along the Path. so consider this not at all a judgment or perjorative at all, just a reality check, as to gaining anything, or getting anything out of buddhism: don't even try. ( since we are all already enlightened, what's there to strive for? )

yes, the path of buddhism is peace. and the practice of mindfulness ——— now becoming more commonplace (along with "emotional intelligence") ——— is, so to speak, the energy of the heart of the Buddha. "comfort" is there too, in the sense of solid ground; coming home.

so your reasons are faultless, pure, superb, in and of themselves ; i'm just pointing to how one puts them into action, how one sets about approaching the Path, 'cos that has so much bearing on one's experience.

actually, reasons (possible benefits) to practice buddhism are numerous: to awaken, to practice noticing, to make a conscious choice, to take a friendly attitude towards one's mind, to be more generous, to open the heart, to love deeply, to risk being one's self, to be more intimate with live, to live a more authentic life, to live in peace ...

s0 how about meditating just to meditate, and seeing what happens ... maybe not even meditating at all but just being kind to one's self and, more generous to others and seeing if they're more generous back ... or letting go of more mere concepts and looking at life more in the moment direct, just as it is ... right now ...

"gaining mind" as it's called in the trade, is a trap in which many a tiger has been ensnared. the mind that seeks to gain something, anything, falls into the danger of the endless Rinse Repeat cycles of craving and dissatisfaction from which we seek liberation in the first place. like trying to cling to, hang on to, the ever-changing interconnected web and flow of life ... wch can be ... well, a hang-up.

in buddhism, this question of how to approach the Path is part of its wisdom tradition, but found elsewhere as well. ("we are the one's we've been seeking for.") hence my quote by AJ Muste, a Quaker, I believe. American poet Lew Welch, rephrased the Lankavatara Sutra's comment on all this, in very American fashion, like this:

Quote:

DIFFICULTY ALONG THE WAY

Seeking Perfect Total Enlightenment
is looking for a flashlight
when all you need the flashlight for
is to find your flashlight.




¿okeydokey?
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garygach Avatar
garygach
Posts: 5
Posted: 08.14.09, 11:30 PM
Is Buddhism a Religion?
i understand your first question, orge; the rest i'd need to understand better in order to reply. (i haven't played videogames, for one thing ... { are videogames a religion ? } )

& yr lead is a common question. gandhi once answered a similar one by answering with a question, "what religion is god?"

question: can it be a religion without a cosmogony, without any reference to god, or any immortal soul, or eternal afterlife? those are typically addressed and answered by religion, but not by buddha. (a religion with no creator deity?)

(you can practice the teachings of the buddha without giving up one's native religion; nothing to renounce, nothing to convert to. or you can be an atheist, or an agnostic ("without belief"), and still practice.)

you might also hear it called a philosophy (in that light, dogen and nagarjuna are so sweet!). some prefer calling it a science (empirical, first-person, real-time); a science of true happiness, if you will; a science of mind. others call it an educational system. others, a way of seeing and being.



¿?
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Ed Finnerty Avatar
Ed Finnerty
Posts: 3
Posted: 08.15.09, 05:14 AM
I enjoyed your lecture there very much. I have a couple of books in the pipeline right now so to say but I'll definetly import yours once I'm finished with my current ones. I'm very curious to find out more now.

Eventhough I have never really read anything about Buddhism -or religion in general- before, I found it quite surprising and in some way satisfying that my way of acting and thinking shows a lot of similarities to the way you have described in this lecture.
I find the thought of celebrating mono- or polytheism and reducing everything we see, feel, smell, experience, you name it, to some sort of creator quite irritating. We don't need logical -or in the sense of a god figure rather illogical- explanations for everything, we just simply need to learn to accept it as it is and try to live in peaceful coexistance with it.

If it is not considered a mockery, this is the first religion that makes sense to me and seems worthy to follow. Thanks a lot for your little insight in this truly great philosophy. I am very eager to learn more about it.
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garygach Avatar
garygach
Posts: 5
Posted: 08.15.09, 07:13 AM
sensing how people like yourself have heard my little talk on this great topic is indeed an honor. if it stirred a responsive chord, all the more so.


and i'm happy to think you already "get" that the Way is not in a book, but is, as you say, a way of acting and thinking. and is about what already is.

it's like Tao (pronounced dow). have you ever heard of the Tao? it's some times translated as the Way. this is what some chinese sages (around the time of the Buddha) felt to be what is the unchanging essence of life ... and it's simply whatever's happening right now in the place ...

if you do follow through on your intent, ed, when you finish (¿what?) your current reading, i'm always more than glad to hear and reply to any questions, comments, and criticism, during or after dipping into my humble tome. i hope it brings a smile ...
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