Buddhism Revisited

We've been taught that the Buddha's first tenant was “life is suffering”. So all this lengthy reasoning and heavy emotional stuff has been built up to support the weighty notion of suffering. I think this is an exaggeration of his intended message. You may feel differently, but I don't experience all that much actual suffering in my life. I would surmise that, were he here today, he would say something more like, “Life is stressful” or “Life is arduous”. Perhaps it's just me, but I think that feels so much more down to earth, accurate and approachable.

He then posited, “Suffering is caused by our attachments and aversions.” and “Cessation of suffering is possible” New translations: “We create our own stress by what we focus on and how we interpret it.” And “We can reduce our stress by changing the ways we look and think.”

It's really basic psychology. Reordering the way we see our selves and adjusting how we relate with the various aspects of our totality and with the world around us. Many think that Buddhism belongs in the same category as religions, but not all. I belong to the latter camp. It's really just about seeing from a non-personalized perspective, accepting what is, and acting in harmony with the greater unfolding.

Actions, attitudes, ambitions, work, lifestyles, and such need to be brought into alignment with the new or desired inner order. This was the purpose of the Buddha's presenting the 8 fold path. To give guidelines in what we need to monitor and manage as we work to maintain balance or stay the middle way.

It may seem like it deals with other worldly affairs, but that's only when one refuses to see the thinking mind in a holistic perspective. The Buddha never spoke of God, claimed to be no one extraordinary, and professed no ultimate universal understanding. That people have deified him and made his story and messages so overly fantastical has only served to make his teachings less accessible.

The Buddha didn't create Buddhism, the disciples left after his passing and their students did. He was very clear in affirming his own common humanity and indicating that it would be an error to deify him. His teaching was that everyone else is just as capable of awakening. The same was true with Jesus a few centuries later. And, just like with Jesus, many have disregarded his teachings and made him an object of worship, anyway.

Does Buddhism fit the same template as the worlds other religions? Well, Buddhists typically refer to themselves as practitioners, not followers, believers, devotes or worshipers. And the tenants aren't based on belief of the intangible, but on honest, systematic investigation. Unlike with the other primary religions of our times, there are no deities *, no imposed moralities, no segregating charter, no threats of cosmic punishment, no claims of being the one and only true way, no obligation to believe, no need to look to an outside authority for truth and no inherent conflicts with others who hold differing beliefs.

At one point I had formulated a concept of god that seemed to mesh with the words I'd heard about it and didn't clash with my own sensibilities and discoveries. But it really wasn't the same god as the majority's notion of a supreme creator and governor of all that is. So, although I do use the term on rare occasion, I no longer try to see eye to eye with those who's beliefs are built on fairy tales and archaic dogma. Similarly, I don't feel obligated to make Buddhism fit nicely into the same category as other religions, just because it's fashionable.

I'd love to be able to bring the Buddha's teachings back down to earth, somehow. Well, I actually do; but, I'd like people to understand that his teachings were as accessible as mine – presumably more so. I see how/why it all got so blown out of proportion, but that's a topic worthy of its own article. (Look for The Problem with Pedestals)

* Buddhism does have “deities”, but this, too, is a poor translation. They aren't other worldly beings with power and influence over our lowly mortal existence. They're teaching tools meant to represent various aspects or qualities of an awakened mind.

Hug a Yogi

Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Taoism, Judaism and Christianity have all tried to stake claim to lands, long inhabited by yogis. They've harvested the yogis perspectives, insights and wisdom, and claimed them to be of their own making. Their practitioners have been given labels like Sufis or Mystics, implying that the yogic ways were off shoots of their religions, rather than the initial inspiration for their very creation.

Looking at a calendar is all that's required to refute such notions.

Once their understandings were confined to texts and churches, they were converted from the ethereal eternal wonder, that inspires grand quests and noble questions, to hollow hypothetical promises and mundane man-made regulations, that demand adherence to rules and motivate through fear. So the treasures of the yogis have largely been buried under mountains of rites, rituals, fairy tales, tenants, laws and an implied sense of separation from others who see contrasting interpretations, use unfamiliar words and follow different customs.

No longer do we find teachers guiding folks to find their way; but, preachers telling flocks what to believe, and how to think and act. Fostering the notion that adhering to religiously sanctioned actions is more important than purifying core intentions and acting in harmony with one's higher truth. Sacrificing a personal relationship with the unknowable for a scheduled appointment to listen to someone else talk about such a relationship. Trading moral sensibilities for a list of rules.

The trappings are traps. Communities of spiritual seekers are good, but the constructs that define such groups often become distractions that obscure the deeper meanings that manifested the group, in the first place. There are, of course, many exceptions of churches and religious leaders who emphasize nurturing a personal relationship with a greater awareness. And the trend toward losing the bigger picture for the details is pervasively reflected in many facets of thought, action and culture.

Nonetheless, it's unfortunate that the worth of the yogis, both past and present, has been systematically swept under the rug. And I think that they deserve a long belated standing ovation for their contributions to the maturation of humanity.

Or better yet, just as a thank you, give a yogi
a big lovey hug.

Musical Flares

A yogi who only practices
to perfect the postures
is like a musician who only
practices scales

The main objective is to be
ever more so
aware of
engaged with and
caring toward
our bodies

We can allow the prescribed alignments
to help refine our sense of orientation
without swearing fidelity to them
We can bend the notes, sweet and sour
improvise our own chords and
sing our own songs

Let your postures come to life
Let there be music

Scary Monsters

People fear their gods
because of the way that they themselves
treat insects.

Yoga Evolution

I stepped into a "yoga" class
and found my self standing
in a small circular room.

Pointing, the instructor said
“There's a hallway.
Stand straight and walk to the end of it
See what you find there
If it's comfortable
you can lean into the wall that you encounter
Over time, as you learn to push with finesse
you'll find that it's not as rigid or affixed
as it may initially seem.”
After a few breaths
I was summoned back to the room.
“There, another hallway.
Go. Push.”
For a few breaths.
And so on ...

I explored many hallways
and learn when and how to push
and when not to.

But it became evident
that the hallways were really
just fabrications
nothing more than lines
taped on the floor.

I saw that I was actually in the middle of a vast room
encircled within a wavy, wiggly, wandering wall.
As I moved one part of the boarder
it made neighboring sections easier to reorient.
As I explored the “in-betweens”
I began to feel the interconnections
of all movements
of all being

So much is left unexplored
when excursions are confined to the spokes
of designated hallways

I left most of the tape lines down
and still investigate their halls
here and there
I adjusted a few
Added some new
And stick them down for others, too

As well thought out as they may be
the prescribed postures are still
essentially arbitrary

No longer, am I bound
to adhere to others' instructions
No longer, do I feel obligated
to follow the pathways
defined by illusory walls

My body knows
My mind receives
My being fills
My spirit soars

Immersed in Yoga


Disclaimer:

I invite others into this full exploration, as well.
But it requires a very different attitude, than the norm
in order to develop the necessary receptivity
and to insure a safe, healthy practice
Patience, acceptance and compassion
must be prioritized above ambition
Curiosity and playfulness
over aggression

Words Apart

There is asana practice
as exercise.

And

There is asana practice
as a means of enhancing the communion
of body, breath and being.

We all know:

Words are a poor substitute
for what they represent.

In the same way:

Practicing prescribed postures, alone
fails to bestow
the vitality and depth
that is present
while in the full embrace
of Yoga.

The Greatest Talent

The greatest talent one can aspire to, is to sooth, teach, inspire and empower simply through one's very presence.

To be at peace with one's self, the current course of worldly affairs and whatever condition, or state of development, others are in. To hold the largest point of view in mind while feeling compassion for the smallest of things. To maintain the curiosity of a child and the patience of a scholar. To embrace the habits of listening with full attention, reflecting others in their best light (especially when that's not how they feel), and speaking and acting for the benefit of a greater good. To have the capacity to empathize deeply while not becoming infected by unwanted emotional energies. To be eagerly engaged in a constantly fluid state of personal growth and evolution. To joyfully embody the spirit of the infinite through individual expression.

To actually be present, for the world.