tariki

Picking up where I left off...........I've been reading "Crime and Punishment" by Doestoevsky (for the second time) and it was near the end when my rambling brains and memory were jogged by the episode where the convicted murderer Raskolikov (may have spelt that wrong, even after two readings - I tend to "blip" over these long Russian names as I read) finally falls and embraces his "saviour", the ex-prostitute Sonia, and all his theories are replaced by life itself, and love, and he begins the long path to redemption. This - at least for me - is the meaning and significance of seeking to by-pass "viewpoints", and deeper, of the reality of Buddhist "non-duality" which seeks to replace living in a world of distinctions, with a lived reality that does not so much eradicate them as transcend them, or as Merton once said, speaking of the Middle Way, that such a "way" is not so much a "third position lying between two extremes, but a no-position that supersedes them both." Maybe this all seems mumbo jumbo, of no particular relevance, yet as I see it, it is the distinctions we make, and the ardent viewpoints we hold, that divide us from others.......this when they are taken and grasped as definitive, and used to justify ourselves, rather than living in grace, "justified" only by the mercy/freedom/grace/love/spontaneity of the Divine/Reality-as-is. So, though reality is beyond words and ineffable, and "the Non-dual is that before which words recoil", nevertheless..... ..to leave the senses is to be attached to the senses, and to leave names and letters is to be attached to names and letters. And.......Speech is blasphemy, silence a lie. Above speech and silence there is a way out. And.......Tao is beyond names and namelessness. All because "what is inexpressible is inexhaustible in its use."

two warrior-kings (eternalism and nihilism) The text speaks of "slaying" the two views of eternalism and nihilism ( or annihilationism ). Eternalism is the belief in a permanent substance or entity, either as substance or individual souls, created or not..............while annihilationism asserts the temporary existence of separate selves which are entirely destroyed/dissolved at death. As I understand it, all such dualities are rejected by Buddhism. This, not in favour of "the one" or a simple "non-duality", but for a lived experience that in a certain sense embraces the dualities. The Dharma would see the holding to "views" as being antithetical to any true "progress" towards the "deliverance of mind" that the path seeks. Any such grasping leaves one more with "philosophy" and divisive "viewpoints", rather than the opening to reality as it is. Anyway, I will seek out a few relevant quotes and post them another time.

Miscellaneous If by renouncing a lesser happiness one may realize a greater happiness, let the wise man renounce the lesser, having regard for the greater. Entangled by the bonds of hate, he who seeks his own happiness by inflicting pain on others, is never delivered from hatred. The cankers only increase for those who are arrogant and heedless, who leave undone what should be done and do what should not be done. The cankers cease for those mindful and clearly comprehending ones who always earnestly practice mindfulness of the body, who do not resort to what should not be done, and steadfastly pursue what should be done. Having slain mother (craving), father (self-conceit), two warrior-kings (eternalism and nihilism), and destroyed a country (sense organs and sense objects) together with its treasurer (attachment and lust), ungrieving goes the holy man. Having slain mother, father, two brahman kings (two extreme views), and a tiger as the fifth (the five mental hindrances), ungrieving goes the holy man. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice the Recollection of the Qualities of the Buddha. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice the Recollection of the Qualities of the Dhamma. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice the Recollection of the Qualities of the Sangha. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice Mindfulness of the Body. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily whose minds by day and night delight in the practice of non-violence. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily whose minds by day and night delight in the practice of meditation. Difficult is life as a monk; difficult is it to delight therein. Also difficult and sorrowful is the household life. Suffering comes from association with unequals; suffering comes from wandering in samsara. Therefore, be not an aimless wanderer, be not a pursuer of suffering. He who is full of faith and virtue, and possesses good repute and wealth — he is respected everywhere, in whatever land he travels. The good shine from afar, like the Himalaya mountains. But the wicked are unseen, like arrows shot in the night. He who sits alone, sleeps alone, and walks alone, who is strenuous and subdues himself alone, will find delight in the solitude of the forest.

Yes, I was pondering the whole idea of what is "ours" and of "uncarved blocks" and hit upon a few words somewhere that spoke of carving/sculpting/chipping, that would have seemed at first to be an opposite. Yet the idea was (it was speaking of a sculptor of elephants) that the sculptor themselves would sit for hours - even days - with the uncarved block before them, then eventually they would precede to begin chipping away - yet not so much to create the elephant, but more to reveal/unveil the elephant that was actually already there. Really, this is the "path" of Pure Land, yet instead of a chisel there is the light of Infinite Compassion that allows the seeing of that which must needs be taken away - and the seeing is the taking away. So my own part of the bargain is to see the tricks of the self, its petty spites - and much else - yet not with revolted condemnation, nor anger, nor shame..........but to just to acknowledge the seeing in the light of a non-judgemental compassion that seeks to unveil that which is "true". A truth that can never be "mine" and therefore can never be a source of division between myself and others. Which brings to mind the words of Thomas Merton, spoken not long before his untimely death.... True communication on the deepest level is more than a simple sharing of ideas, conceptual knowledge, or formulated truth...............And the deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless, it is beyond words, and it is beyond speech, and it is beyond concept. Not that we discover a new unity. We discover an older unity. My dear brothers and sisters, we are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.

The Shakers remain as witnesses to the fact that only humility keeps man in communion with truth, and first of all with his own inner truth. This one must know without knowing it, as they did. For as soon as a man becomes aware of "his truth" he lets go of it and embraces an illusion. The above quote is from a letter of Thomas Merton and for me opens the way to some degree of understanding of exactly what is being pointed to by such words/doctrines as "not-self" and "anatta". Selflessness. "Anatta" as I see it (or not........ ) is not a "Buddhist" teaching/doctrine, but seeks to speak of that which is the heart of any faith. A Ch'an master spoke of the self same thing when he said that each of us carries a light within themselves, "but when it is looked at it is turned into darkness." This seems to be so because it speaks of our true reality, "which cannot be carved and needs no polishing." Recently there was a thread on another forum where someone seemed eager to speak of their "good works" and another reminded them of Christ's words about hiding such "works".... 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. (King James Bible, Matthew) It would seem, at least to me, that "our" works should be hidden even from ourselves! I have been reading a short book on the early Ch'an masters and much of what they say (leaving aside such things as cutting cats in half and speaking of cypress trees in the garden..... ) relates to all this.......the world of not-self, no striving and letting God be God, allowing God to play in us rather than us seeking to play God. "Wherever goodness flows unexpectedly from us, uncontaminated by the ideas of duty or sanction, there is Zen".....or, Christ. "There is nothing that you can claim, nothing that you can demand, nothing that you can take. And as soon as you try to take something as if it were your own - you lose your Eden." "What is inexpressible is inexhaustible in its use." "It is because they were selfless that their selves were realized." Anyway, perhaps enough for now.

Regarding the words that "you yourself must strive", Cleary makes the point that the relationship between anyone who teaches and the one who learns is "not one of emotional, intellectual, or institutional dependency" and that no amount of help can do for us what we need to do for ourselves. Cleary also makes the point that the Dhammapada speaks here not of the "selflessness" (not-self, Pali anatta) of persons but of the selflessness of "things". This is in accord with the Mahayana view that the selflessness of persons is realized as a positive fact of unlimited potential based on the selflessness of phenomena/things. Another insight offered in Cleary's commentary is - regarding the Dhammapada words that we should conduct ourselves so that wisdom increases............."the problems we often experience in the process of self-renewal is to imagine that we need to remove or replace what we only need to rearrange, and that we only need to rearrange what we must remove or replace!" As a new Grandad, the words of the final three verses can appear to be set against family relationships and the love/attachment they involve. But Cleary says..... Such aphorisms do not mean that we should abandon our children and dessert our families and homes, but that we should abandon our own subjective obsessions about them and deal with people and things objectively, above all not expecting their love and affection to absolve us of our own responsibilities, and realizing our own love and affection for them does not remove the responsibility of their own consciousness and their own journey from the shoulders of their own experience.

The Path Of all the paths the Eightfold Path is the best; of all the truths the Four Noble Truths are the best; of all things passionlessness is the best: of men the Seeing One (the Buddha) is the best. This is the only path; there is none other for the purification of insight. Tread this path, and you will bewilder Mara. Walking upon this path you will make an end of suffering. Having discovered how to pull out the thorn of lust, I make known the path. You yourselves must strive; the Buddhas only point the way. Those meditative ones who tread the path are released from the bonds of Mara. "All conditioned things are impermanent" — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification. "All conditioned things are unsatisfactory" — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification. "All things are not-self" — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification. The idler who does not exert himself when he should, who though young and strong is full of sloth, with a mind full of vain thoughts — such an indolent man does not find the path to wisdom. Let a man be watchful of speech, well controlled in mind, and not commit evil in bodily action. Let him purify these three courses of action, and win the path made known by the Great Sage. Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes. Having known these two paths of progress and decline, let a man so conduct himself that his wisdom may increase. Cut down the forest (lust), but not the tree; from the forest springs fear. Having cut down the forest and the underbrush (desire), be passionless, O monks! For so long as the underbrush of desire, even the most subtle, of a man towards a woman is not cut down, his mind is in bondage, like the sucking calf to its mother. Cut off your affection in the manner of a man plucks with his hand an autumn lotus. Cultivate only the path to peace, Nibbana, as made known by the Exalted One. "Here shall I live during the rains, here in winter and summer" — thus thinks the fool. He does not realize the danger (that death might intervene). As a great flood carries away a sleeping village, so death seizes and carries away the man with a clinging mind, doting on his children and cattle. For him who is assailed by death there is no protection by kinsmen. None there are to save him — no sons, nor father, nor relatives. Realizing this fact, let the wise man, restrained by morality, hasten to clear the path leading to Nibbana.

Regarding the final words of the last Chapter quoted, that peace is not achieved unless "inflowing thoughts" are eliminated............... The Pali word used for "inflowing thoughts" and their elimination is asavakkhayam. "Asava" is - according to the Buddhist Dictionary of Nyantiloka, "Taints, corruptions, intoxicants, biases" as well as "cankers".....which themselves are of four kinds - sense-desire, wrong views, ignorance and the desire for "eternal existence" . So quite a lot to extinguish before peace is achieved! As I understand it, even in Theravada - which often speaks to those of the monastic tradition - any "extinguishing" is more a by-product of wisdom/insight than a deliberate attempt to reject thought etc etc. (Such wisdom gained by the various methods of meditation detailed in the Pali Texts.) For those wishing to "extinguish" such cankers while living in the world, then one needs to explore the world of Mahayana/zen/Ch'an and the advice of their various "masters". And for those living in the world who find them impossible to extinguish, then I would advise looking at the Pure Land path......

The Righteous One is not righteous if one decides a case without due consideration, but the wise man who takes into account both for and against, and comes to his decision about others with due consideration -- such a man of discrimination who keeps to the truth, he is to be called righteous. One is not a learned man by virtue of much speaking. He who is patient, without anger and fearless, he is to be called learned. One is not a bearer of the teaching by virtue of much speaking, but he who, even if he has only studied a little, has experienced the truth in person, he is indeed a bearer of the teaching, who has not forgotten the teaching. One is not an elder by virtue of having white hair. One is just advanced in years, and called "grown old in vain". He in whom there is truthfulness, non violence, restraint and self control, however -- that wise and faultless sage is to be called an elder. It is not just by fine speech or by flower-like beauty that one is admirable, if one is envious, mean and deceitful, but when that sort of behaviour has been eliminated, rooted out and destroyed, that faultless sage is said to be admirable. A shaven head does not make one a man of religion, if one is irreligious and untruthful. How could a man full of desires and greed be a man of religion? But when a man has put aside all evil deeds, both great and small, by that putting away of evil deeds he is indeed called a man of religion. One is not a bhikkhu by virtue of taking alms from others. By taking up any old teaching, one is not a bhikkhu on that account. But he who has here and now ejected both good and evil, and in leading the holy life lives in accordance with reason -- he is indeed called a bhikkhu. Silence does not make a sage if he is stupid and ignorant, but when a man avoids evil as if he were choosing something of value on the scales -- he is a sage. That indeed makes him a sage. He who discriminates in both worlds is for that reason called a sage. One is not noble if one harms other living creatures. It is by non violence to all forms of life that one is called noble. It is not just by means of morality and religious observances, not by great learning nor by attainments in meditation, nor by living alone, nor by thinking,"I am enjoying a spiritual happiness which ordinary people do not know" that a bhikkhu achieves peace if he has not achieved the elimination of inflowing thoughts.

Just gathering together a few thoughts on "striving". Like most words and thoughts, each has it sphere of meaning, outside of which they can cause confusion and appear to create contradiction. For me it mostly relates to the distinction between enlightenment understood as "sudden", as opposed to being seen as a gradual advancement. When the latter, it seems inevitable that we relate to ourselves as a "self" in need of "polishing" (or, in Christian terms, as a self in need of being made presentable to God, a way of "works") Yet there is nothing to polish, just as in Christianity the way of works is blind to the pure gift of grace, the gift of the Divines very own freedom and spontaneity to us, a given - to be realised, not earned or attained. When we strive to "earn" or seek to attain gradually to a state of enlightenment, then "truth", "goodness", "wisdom" - or whatever - all become objects outside of ourselves that we think we must come to be, or to "have". And this in effect makes them unattainable. As I understand it, all such words point rather to realities - A reality - that is more a fount of wisdom that is a flowing stream that can never be "ours", but is the ineffable Tao itself. How do we "strive" to realise such? For me, by a negative way of seeing the fultility of any form of striving! Of seeking to be open at all times, mindful, and catching the self when it plays its games of self justification, of comparisons with others who do not measure up to our own esteemed "spirituality"! Maybe an excuse for more of Merton.....The spiritual life is something that people worry about when they are so busy with something else they think they ought to be spiritual. Spiritual life is guilt. Up here in the woods is seen the New Testament: that is to say, the wind comes through the trees and you breathe it. from "Day of a Stranger" And while I indulge, another............. Our real journey in life is interior: it is a matter of growth, deepening, and of an ever greater surrender to the creative action of love and grace in our hearts. from "The Road to Joy", sub-titled "Letters to New and Old Friends" To finish, I am becoming reaquainted with a old friend myself, the Bodhicaryavatara of Shantideva, an 8th century Mahayana text, the title translated into English as "A Guide to the Bodhisttva's Way of Life", where the Spirit of Awakening is seen to be that which seeks to awaken for the sake of All, and not for oneself. Just a reminder, which I need from time to time.

Well Joseph, in a way you speak to the converted! As I mentioned in the OP to this thread........ I would also say that though I still choose to identify as a Buddhist, it is the Pure Land way that most appeals to me, which is the way of faith/grace - the so called "easy way". Theravada (and therefore the Dhammapada) represents the "way of the sages, where one developes wisdom and gains enlightenment". In the Pure Land we "return to the foolish self to be saved by Amida" I've quoted nbfore the words of a Theravada bhikkhu, speaking of the moment of emancipation (or "enlightenment"), that "effort falls away, having reached the end of its scope." It seems to me that the real questions revolve around the actual scope of "effort", and this is where our actual paths - as we experience them in our own trek - diverge. Obviously, there will always be those individuals - and those faiths - that insist that only a certain "trek" leads to "salvation", a way defined by a particular book and mode of interpreting it. Even Buddhism, which is often noted for its openess, has the claim within the Theravada Canon of Scripture, that it represents the "only way", and that true "emancipation/deliverance" can only be found within its own particular walls. Theravada has evolved within various cultures beyond its heartlands, and within such has found multiple expressions, these known as the Mahayana (the great vehicle) of salvation, and these have left the "one way" in favour of such texts as the Lotus Sutra, in the Parable of the Dharma Rain.... I bring fullness and satisfaction to the world, like rain that spreads its moisture everywhere. Eminent and lowly, superior and inferior, observers of precepts, violators of precepts, those fully endowed with proper demeanor, those not fully endowed, those of correct views, of erroneous views, of keen capacity, of dull capacity - I cause the Dharma rain to rain on all equally, never lax or neglectful. When all the various living beings hear my Law, they receive it according to their power, dwelling in their different environments..... ..The Law of the Buddhas is constantly of a single flavour, causing the many worlds to attain full satisfaction everywhere; by practicing gradually and stage by stage, all beings can gain the fruits of the way. Such is "apaya" - or "skilful means" - the way in which Reality-as-is "works" untiringly for the salvation of all, in infinite ways. And all this brings to mind the words of the Christian mystic Meister Eckhart, words which take of deeper and deeper significance - at least for me, as I've pondered them and reflected upon them over the years......"They do HIm wrong who take God in just one particular way; they have the way rather than God." So for me the "one way" is Grace. And we strive until we "know it".

Just to mention that Cleary, in his commentray, makes the point that much said here represents that which is offered for contemplative exercises and is NOT "philosophical dogma". Regarding v243, Buddhism considers ignorance - in all its guises - as being the root of all evil, and thus as the supreme impurity. The final verses explain why the way of the dharma is "trackless" and cannot be reduced to fixed dogma and ritual performance. Or as the Catholic monk Thomas Merton has said, creed and dogma and doctrines are not so much definitions of truth, but more parameters set against total error................and furher, echoing the Christian mystic St John of the Cross, eventually we must enter upon the kind of way where you leave all ways and, in some sense, get lost. This all said in many ways by many faiths.

Impurity 235. You are now like a withered leaf; even the messengers of Yama (death) have drawn near you. You stand at the threshold of departure, with no provision for your journey. 236. Make of yourself a light; strive hard, without delay, and be wise; purged of moral impurities and being thus stainless, you will then enter the celestial realm of the Noble Ones. 237. Your life has now come to a close; you have come into the presence of death. There is no halting-place for you on the way, and no provision have you made for your journey. 238. Make of yourself a light; strive hard, without delay, and be wise; purged of moral impurities and being thus stainless, you will not then come again into birth and old age. 239. Little by little, ever and anon, the wise man should remove his moral impurities as a smith blows away the dross of silver. 240. As rust arising from iron straightway corrodes the very iron from which it arose, even so the evil deeds of the transgressor lead him to the state of woe. 241. Non-recitation is the rust of the scriptures; non-exertion is the rust of households; sloth is the rust of beauty; negligence is the rust of a watchman. 242. An unchaste life is the blemish of woman; niggardliness is the taint of a benefactor; impurities are indeed evils in this world and in the next. 243. But there is an impurity greater than all impurities — this is ignorance. Rid yourselves of this greatest impurity, O monks, be you free from all impurities. 244. Life is easy for him who is shameless, impudent as a crow-hero (rascal) and a slanderer, a braggart, arrogant and impure in living. 245. But life is difficult for him who is unassuming, constantly seeking that which is pure, disinterested in worldly things, not boastful, who lives in purity and is endowed with insight. 246, 247. He who destroys life here, who utters untruth, who takes what is not given to him, who goes to the wife of another, who indulges in intoxicating liquors, such a man, while in this world, destroys the root of his being. 248. Know this, O man, evil-natured ones are unrestrained; let not greed and wrongdoing lead you to untold misery for a long time. 249. People give alms according to their faith and inclination. But he who frets about the drink and food given to others does not attain peace of mind by day or by night. 250. He in whom that feeling is totally uprooted and destroyed, that person attains peace of mind by day and by night. 251. There is no fire like passion; there is no stranglehold like hatred; there is no snare like delusion; there is no torrent like craving. 252. The faults of others are easily seen, but one's own faults are perceived with difficulty. One winnows the faults of others like chaff, but conceals his own faults as a fowler covers his body with twigs and leaves. 253. If a man sees only the faults of others, and is ever taking offense, his appetite for sense pleasures increases and he is far from the eradication of his desires. 254. There is no footprint in the sky (akasa); there is no ascetic outwardly. Mankind delights in the illusory world; the Tathagatas (Buddhas) find no delight therein. 255. There is no footprint in the sky; there is no ascetic outwardly; no composite things are eternal; there is no instability in the Buddhas.

Thomas Merton, the Catholic Trappist monk, conversed with people of all faiths, and sometimes with people of none. He wrote....... "The more I am able to affirm others, to say 'yes' to them in myself, by discovering them in myself and myself in them, the more real I am. I am fully real if my own heart says yes to everyone. I will be a better Catholic, not if I can refute every shade of Protestantism, but if I can affirm the truth in it and still go further. So, too, with the Muslims, the Hindu's, the Buddhists, etc. This does not mean syncretism, indifferentism, the vapid and careless friendliness that accepts everything by thinking of nothing. There is much that one cannot 'affirm' and 'accept,' but first one must say 'yes' where one really can." (From "Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander") So he sought to say "yes", this without compromising his reliance upon the mercy of God or his own fidelity to Christ. For me there is a beauty in difference. As Merton himself has said, while we all live within the same "silence", yet there is a diversity of voice. Much of this post is "cut and paste", and here is more that is relevant.......relevant in the sense that though perhaps in theory each faith is complete in and of itself, nevertheless there can be a little room for maneuver as each moves forward through time. The forms of Buddhism must change so that the essence of Buddhism remains unchanged. This essence consists of living principles that cannot bear any specific formulation. (Thich Nhat Hanh) There is a story from one of the Tibetan traditions, that speaks of a guy doing a stint walking around a monastery. He was addressed as follows.."All well and good, but should you not really be practicing the Dharma?" The man thought about this, and began to read the scriptures. Again he was addressed...."All well and good, but should you not really be practicing the Dharma?" Again the man got to thinking, then began to meditate. Again he was addressed...."All well and good, but should you not really be practicing the Dharma?" The man became totally confused and asked, "What should I then do?" And was told....."To practise means that there should be no distinction between the Dharma and your own mind." Maybe when we each realise and live the truth of our own faith, there can be a meeting with all others beyond any of our current capacity to comprehend.

The wise who are restrained in body, speech and mind -- such are the well and truly restrained. A little bit of commentary on the last line, drawn from the writings of Ajahn Chah of the Thai Forest Monastic tradition. Ajahn Chah was very strong on the discipline of the Vinaya, the ancient monastic rules laid down for the monks/bhikkhu's in the Theravada Scriptures. Following the Vinaya means we are contained in our speech and action, and accordingly the mind is contained - it is collected. If we are skilled in disciplining speech and action, then the faculty of knowing - mindfulness - is sharp. The mind is as skilled as speech and action, and speech and action are as skilled as the mind. This is religious practice - training of body, speech, and mind. Do everything with a mind that lets go. Don't accept praise or gain or anything else. If you let go a little you will have a little peace; if you let go a lot you will have a lot of peace; if you let go completely you will have complete peace. The Buddha is to be found right in the most simple things in front of you, if you're willing to look. And the essence of this is finding the balance which doesn't hold and which doesn't push away. Speak simply, work simply - simplify everything you do so you will be able to see clearly. If you arrive at wisdom, it will be because you've learned to understand your own body and mind. To know the world means to understand the body/mind processes and vice versa......If you don't know yourself, you don't know the world........if you don't understand the nature of the world, then you do not understand yourself.

Speaking of "names and forms", Cleary states that they mean ideas and objects in general. He goes on to say......clinging to ideas and objects as real or sacred in themselves, rather than as functional or dysfunctional in their place, is a form of idolatry "Overcome evil with good." Cleary comments that Buddhist non-violence is not limited to passive resistance, but also includes active transmutation. There is also much in this chapter that relates to "peer pressure".......we cannot please everyone! So watch yourself, and seek the truth yourself!

ANGER Abandon anger, give up pride, and overcome all fetters. Suffering does nor befall him who is without attachment to names and forms, and possesses nothing of his own. When a man governs his rising anger like a chariot going out of control, that is what I call a charioteer. The rest are just holding the reins. Overcome anger with freedom from anger. Overcome evil with good. Overcome meanness with generosity, and overcome a liar with truthfulness. Speak the truth, don't get angry, and always give, even if only a little, when you are asked. By these three principles you can come into the company of the devas. Those sages who do harm to no-one, and who are always physically restrained, go to the everlasting abode, reaching which they will face no more suffering. Inflowing thoughts come to an end in those who are ever alert of mind, training themselves night and day, and ever intent on nirvana. It was so of old, Atula. It is not just so today. They criticise him who sits in silence, they criticise him who talks a lot. They even criticise him who speaks in moderation. There is not a man in the world who is not criticised. There never has been, there never will be, and there is not now any man exclusively criticised or exclusively praised. If a wise man of unblemished behaviour and endowed with wisdom, morality and stillness of mind, is praised by the discriminating after day in day out acquaintance with him, like a pure gold coin, then who is fit to find fault with him? Even the King of the devas praises him. Guard against physical unruliness. Be restrained in body. Abandoning physical wrong doing, lead a life of physical well doing. Guard against mental unruliness. Be restrained in mind. Abandoning mental wrong doing, lead a life of mental well doing. Guard against verbal unruliness. Be restrained in speech. Abandoning verbal wrong doing, lead a life of verbal well doing. The wise who are restrained in body, speech and mind -- such are the well and truly restrained.

Cleary states that this Chapter "focuses on the simple fact that obsessive pursuit of pleasure causes pain." And a necessary step to inner peace is "understanding the nature and consequences of bondage to compulsive acquisitiveness." such a man is called "One Bound Upstream." Cleary says that to swim against the stream (one bound upstream) means to be immune to the forces of opinion and outmoded habit that ordinarily prevent us from examining our own nature and fate from any new vantage point. There are a few words to be found in "A Study of Chuang Tzu" (Merton) relevant to much of this, where Merton paraphrases Chuang Tzu regarding his understanding of "happiness"..... My greatest happiness consists precisely in doing nothing whatever calculated to obtain happiness........Perfect joy is to be without joy.........if you ask "what ought to be done" and "what ought not to be done" on earth to produce happiness, I answer that these questions do not have a fixed and predetermined answer to suit every case. If one is in harmony with the Tao the answer will make itself clear when the time comes to act, for then one will act not according to the human and self-conscious mode of deliberation, but according to the divine and spontaneous mode of wu wei, which is the mode of action of Tao itself, and is therefore the source of all good. And goes on to point out that the alternative, the way of conscious striving, is in essence a way of self-aggrandizement.

Affection Giving himself to things to be shunned and not exerting where exertion is needed, a seeker after pleasures, having given up his true welfare, envies those intent upon theirs. Seek no intimacy with the beloved and also not with the unloved, for not to see the beloved and to see the unloved, both are painful. Therefore hold nothing dear, for separation from the dear is painful. There are no bonds for those who have nothing beloved or unloved. From endearment springs grief, from endearment springs fear. From him who is wholly free from endearment there is no grief, whence then fear? From affection springs grief, from affection springs fear. From him who is wholly free from affection there is no grief, whence then fear? From attachment springs grief, from attachment springs fear. From him who is wholly free from attachment there is no grief, whence then fear? From lust springs grief, from lust springs fear. From him who is wholly free from craving there is no grief; whence then fear? From craving springs grief, from craving springs fear. From him who is wholly free from craving there is no grief; whence then fear? People hold dear him who embodies virtue and insight, who is principled, has realized the truth, and who himself does what he ought to be doing. One who is intent upon the Ineffable (Nibbana), dwells with mind inspired (by supramundane wisdom), and is no more bound by sense pleasures — such a man is called "One Bound Upstream." When, after a long absence, a man safely returns from afar, his relatives, friends and well-wishers welcome him home on arrival. As kinsmen welcome a dear one on arrival, even so his own good deeds will welcome the doer of good who has gone from this world to the next.

Cleary comments that the first three verses underscore the message that inner peace is not won by trying to reject the world, but by living in its midst without being the slave of greed, hatred and folly. Of verse 201, he quotes the Tao Te Ching, "extreme fondness means great expense, and abundant possessions mean much loss. If you know when you have had enough, you will not be disgraced. If you know when to stop, you will not be endangered." Or, as the Bible says......the jaws of hell are never filled! Of verse 203, "contentment is described as a garment that never wears out."

Happiness 197. Let us live happily then, not hating those who hate us! among men who hate us let us dwell free from hatred! 198. Let us live happily then, free from ailments among the ailing! among men who are ailing let us dwell free from ailments! 199. Let us live happily then, free from greed among the greedy! among men who are greedy let us dwell free from greed! 200. Let us live happily then, though we call nothing our own! We shall be like the bright gods, feeding on happiness! 201. Victory breeds hatred, for the conquered is unhappy. He who has given up both victory and defeat, he, the contented, is happy. 202. There is no fire like passion; there is no losing throw like hatred; there is no pain like this body; there is no happiness higher than rest. 203. Hunger is the worst of diseases, the body the greatest of pains; if one knows this truly, that is Nirvana, the highest happiness. 204. Health is the greatest of gifts, contentedness the best riches; trust is the best of relationships, Nirvana the highest happiness. 205. He who has tasted the sweetness of solitude and tranquillity, is free from fear and free from sin, while he tastes the sweetness of drinking in the law. 206. The sight of the elect (Arya) is good, to live with them is always happiness; if a man does not see fools, he will be truly happy. 207. He who walks in the company of fools suffers a long way; company with fools, as with an enemy, is always painful; company with the wise is pleasure, like meeting with kinsfolk. 208. Therefore, one ought to follow the wise, the intelligent, the learned, the much enduring, the dutiful, the elect; one ought to follow a good and wise man, as the moon follows the path of the stars.

Well, yes. Really why the thread on Buddhism was one of various "images" rather than a summary of Doctrines. While I have found that a knowledge of the bare bones of Theravada gives me a few pegs on which to hang my own clothes (as it were), there is nothing like a true existential engagement with a faith. Proverbs....He (and I suppose, she.... ) who answers a thing before he heareth it, it is a shame and a folly unto him. Its all in the "heareth".

Well, as I said - not rudely or curtly..... - quick googles can reveal the answers.......or perhaps a link.... http://www.thebigvie...htfoldpath.html For me, the essential "guidelines" were found very quickly within the Theravada texts... 1. Not to indulge in metaphysical speculation....i.e. Where do I come from, do we survive death, etc etc. But to concentrate upon "pulling the arrow of suffering out" rather than speculating how it might gave got there. 2. Having regard for the words of the Buddha found in the Kalama Sutta.....Do not be satisfied with hearsay or with tradition or with legendary lore or with what has come down in scriptures or with conjecture or with logical inference or with weighing the evidence or with liking for a view after pondering over it or with someone else's ability or with the thought "The monk is our teacher." When you know in yourselves: "These things are wholesome, blameless, commended by the wise, and being adopted and put into effect they lead to welfare and happiness," then you should practice and abide in them.... 3. To treat all the teachings as a raft, for crossing over, not for grasping. For me, these three have been "companions" on the way. And any true explication of the Eightfold Path will necessarily be "auto-biographical", unique to each individual. As I see it, there are the texts, and we find words worthy of reflection...........for insyance, here is the Buddha speaking of "right speech"..... [1] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial (or: not connected with the goal), unendearing & disagreeable to others, he does not say them. [2] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial, unendearing & disagreeable to others, he does not say them. [3] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, but unendearing & disagreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them. [4] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial, but endearing & agreeable to others, he does not say them. [5] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial, but endearing & agreeable to others, he does not say them. [6] In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, and endearing & agreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them. Why is that? Because the Tathagata has sympathy for living beings." So, read them reflect upon them, yet.... Me? Often my mouth opens and speaks before all such is considered, and even if I attempt to consider such, how would I know, more often than not? So there is life, and there are texts.

Well, I think anyone can google the 8 fold path and see the eight things involved. Wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā, Pāli: paññā) 1. Right view 2. Right intention Ethical conduct (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli: sīla) 3. Right speech 4. Right action 5. Right livelihood Concentration (Sanskrit and Pāli: samādhi) 6. Right effort 7. Right mindfulness 8. Right concentration Myself, I think it can easily be misunderstood if each division is seen as some sort of step onwards and upwards, with the walker constantly thinking about exactly where they may or may not be! The texts say that the path is to be "cultivated", which for me means to make it ones own, and this - for me - is within the "training ground" (dojo) of a simple secular life. P.S. Sorry, my opening line seems rather curt and rude, I only meant that I sought to answer from my own experience and understanding rather than just offering a list.

According to the Canonical texts, the First Noble Truth - of suffering (Pali -dukkha) - is to be understood. My own understanding is that suffering is not one side of a coin, the other side being joy and happiness, but that suffering is the total context of our lives. In others words, it IS US, ourselves, not merely a part of us. (I suppose, seeking to link this to the Christian Faith, we "sin because we are sinners", we are not sinners because we sin.) So "overcoming it" involves not the elimination of certain things, but a transformation of understanding, of "who we are". My own Pure Land way is one of dual perspective, dual in the sense of seeing clearly our own finitude and failure, yet with such seeing known to be purely by the light of Inifinite Compassion. So the more I see my own "suffering", that it is in fact my total being, the more the light. A Pure Lander has sought to describe such a perspective by speaking of knowing the strength of the light by the depth of his own shadow. In Pure Land Buddhism (Shin) a distinction is drawn between the path of the Sages where one "perfects wisdom and achieves enlightenment", and the path of Pure Land where one "returns to the foolish self to be saved by Amida". Whereas the path of the Sages is more often associated with the monastery, some priviledged space, or the meditation cushion, the "training ground" for Pure Landers is all of life, as lived and experienced each day. Yet the goal is the same, to awaken to the true self as a manifestation of dharma or "reality-as-is". Such a realization comes via the power of compassion. Illuminated by such a light we are made to see our essential finitude, imperfection and mortality - affirming ones basic reality is the crucial factor in the transformative process. Such a transformation is based on the Mahayana teaching of the non-duality of samsara (this world of birth-and-death) and nirvana; i.e. delusion and enlightenment. This is not a simple identity, for it involves a dialectical tension between the two poles, between limited karmic beings and unbounded compassion. As we walk on, hopefully the "tension" eases, the rubble turns to gold! (This all drawn from Unno, one of my favorite Pure Land writers) Just to finish, here are some words written by a carer. It is such honesty in the face of suffering that truly speaks to me. I can identify completely. With righteous fervour I tended to her needs Day and night, as she lay hostage To the crippling disease. Then she asked for a measure more, And I balked. She made me see me for what I am. Namu-Amida-Butsu! (Namu-Amida-Butsu........loosely translated, "my foolish self is embraced by Infinite Compassion, grasped, never to be abandoned" It is the Nembutsu, the heart of the Pure Land way)