Why persons may become Buddhists

[ahimsaman72]

reen12:

Hi, ahimsaman72,

Will you expand on this, please? It never occurred to me
that, if there is no soul, “what” transmigrates?
Was I confusing a Hindu doctrine [of which I know little]
with Buddhism?

Hello dear Maureen!

This is a good question, one I’ve asked myself. Nothing really transmigrates. For example, when this body I call “myself” dies, it will begin to change. If I am cremated, then the ashes created will be perhaps thrown to the wind and carried by it. The ashes will disperse and come to rest on the ground or perhaps on a tree leaf and so on. When conditions are right the “mind” which is bound up with past karma will again take shape in some form or another. If I reduced my evil karma of past lives then my “rebirth” would perhaps be in the deva realm (higher of course than the human realm). If perhaps I had instead created evil karma then perhaps I would be reborn into the animal realm or hell realms.

If perhaps I was simply laid on the ground (my dead body that is), then the body would decompose into the ground and the soil would integrate that decomposed material to be its own. Grasses and flowers would perhaps grow up. Then, in reality “I” become one with them and grow up with them and would manifest as them. The sun is in the flowers and trees, which are connected to the soil and minerals underneath. All depend on each other for survival. All contain each other. In Buddhism, all phenomena are essentially one. Phenomena simply manifests itself differently to us humans.

So, that was a long way to say this: the “mind” which is “imprinted” with past deeds becomes “reborn” into another form or realm which depends on the conditions being right for that said mind to come into another form.

The teaching is that all phenomena manifests due to cause and effect. My mother and father came together to bring “me” into this world. Their mother and father came together to bring them individually into the world. Causes and effects. It took certain events happening at certain times in a certain place in a certain way for this life I call “mine” to be here right now. The same is true not only in the human realm but also for the entire universe.

Hope that helps

Peace…

 

[reen12]

Dear Ahimsa,

Hmmm. I’m trying to picture the nature of a person who
would be enthusiastic about waging war.

Carpenter: Get this through your heads. War is desireable.
You soldiers, there, bet you can’t wait to be in the thick
of battle.

Soldiers: What’s he talking about? We hate war, but
we’re ready to go.

Actual words of Carpenter to soldiers: Be content with your
pay. [Not: “get out of the military”.]

and

Speaking of the Centurion: Jesus was amazed.
“I have not found faith like this in all Israel.”

Hypothetical scenario:

George Washington: Put up your muskets, men.
War is* totally* evil under any circumstances.
Cut to band playing “God save the Queen” [in 2005].

Yup, those willing to go to war cannot be in good faith,
right?

Best,
reen12

PS: While I am urged to “turn the other cheek” as an
individual, I am not required to “turn the other cheek”
when someone else is having a number done on them.
That’s called…acting justly, with mercy.

 

[reen12]

Thanks, ahimsaman,

quote: ahimsaman

The teaching is that all phenomena manifests due to cause and effect.

I must say, when rattled, thinking that all conditioned things
rise, endure and fall away, is most calming.
[Or is it said: rise, *manifest and fall away?]

The concept that all things are conditional, is a peaceful
reality. [Except when someone you love dearly passes
away, as I experienced this summer. [she was only 59.]
But, then, grief itself is conditional, and a wrenching
manifestation of loss.

What I’m having difficulty with is the nature of the “mind”,
in terms of

quote: ahimsaman72

the “mind” which is “imprinted” with past deeds becomes “reborn” into another form or realm which depends on the conditions being right for that said mind to come into another form.

Is the mind, then, considered an “entity.”
If “entity”, not a conditioned entity?

Best,
Maureen

 

[ahimsaman72]

reen12:

Thanks, ahimsaman,

quote: ahimsaman

I must say, when rattled, thinking that all conditioned things
rise, endure and fall away, is most calming.
[Or is it said: rise, *manifest

and fall away?]

The concept that all things are conditional, is a peaceful
reality. [Except when someone you love dearly passes
away, as I experienced this summer. [she was only 59.]
But, then, grief itself is conditional, and a wrenching
manifestation of loss.

What I’m having difficulty with is the nature of the “mind”,
in terms of

quote: ahimsaman72

Is the mind, then, considered an “entity.”
If “entity”, not a conditioned entity?

Best,
Maureen
It is comforting to know that feelings of sadness, anger, loneliness usually rise, peak and then fall away. Of course, that means that joy, gladness and a sense of security rise, peak and fall away also. If we contemplate these risings, peaks and fallings, we inevitably come to the conclusion that Siddhartha did - that nothing is permanent. All things change.

If we sense anger arising we should think “anger”. Then if we hold our emotions in check (a hard one for me) and simply observe what the mind is doing then we will notice it peak (very uncomfortable) and eventually fall away. This is called “mindfullness”. It’s what I try to do throughout the day - simply be mindful of thoughts and emotions.

The only explanation I have heard concerning the “mind” is what I have delivered here. It still leaves one to wonder I admit. The Buddha said in many writings, especially the Dhammapada, that “mind creates all things”. “All things are made by the mind”. So, I suppose if you want to nail down an essence of existence, it is simply the mind. The mind (as far as I can decipher) is truly the unruly, deep and fathomable existence that most Buddhists spend their whole lives trying to tame. It is through seeing through the delusions of permanence, eternality and self that one achieves nirvana.

Peace to you dear friend…

 

[ahimsaman72]

reen12:

Thanks, ahimsaman,

quote: ahimsaman

I must say, when rattled, thinking that all conditioned things
rise, endure and fall away, is most calming.
[Or is it said: rise, *manifest

and fall away?]

The concept that all things are conditional, is a peaceful
reality. [Except when someone you love dearly passes
away, as I experienced this summer. [she was only 59.]
But, then, grief itself is conditional, and a wrenching
manifestation of loss.

What I’m having difficulty with is the nature of the “mind”,
in terms of

quote: ahimsaman72

Is the mind, then, considered an “entity.”
If “entity”, not a conditioned entity?

Best,
Maureen

Hello Maureen,

I don’t know if this helps, but I have included the very first two lines to the writing called the Dhammapada spoken by the Buddha. It reflects what I spoke of earlier. Here it is:

1. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.

2. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow

Peace…

 

[reen12]

Hi, ahimsaman,

quote:ahimsaman72

If we sense anger arising we should think “anger”. Then if we hold our emotions in check (a hard one for me) and simply observe what the mind is doing then we will notice it peak (very uncomfortable) and eventually fall away. This is called “mindfullness”. It’s what I try to do throughout the day - simply be mindful of thoughts and emotions.

Yes, I practice mindfulness, too. Once, when I was really
angry, I sat back and “watched” the experience. I noted
that it was the physcial manifestations of anger that
somehow “fed” the continuation of same…clenched jaw,
tight muscles, tensed brow…and the feeling that my
blood pressure was shooting thru the top of my head.
Most unpleasant.

Then I employed a different approach. I “owned” the
tension, i.e.,
I am tensing my forehead,
I am tensing my jaw

not trying to change that reality, just noting that I
was doing the tensing.

And you know what? The “noting” that I was doing the
tensing * enabled those muscles
to begin to relax. It changed the whole experience of
“I am really angry.”

[BTW, I hold that anger is a response to
injury, real or perceived. As in: a loss can be
experienced as an injury…I realized this, with
great clarity, this summer.]

This “owning” would probably not be accepted in
Buddhism, which holds that there is no “I” who
is doing the tensing. Is that right?

Best,
reen*

 

[ahimsaman72]

reen12:

Hi, ahimsaman,

quote:ahimsaman72

Yes, I practice mindfulness, too. Once, when I was really
angry, I sat back and “watched” the experience. I noted
that it was the physcial manifestations of anger that
somehow “fed” the continuation of same…clenched jaw,
tight muscles, tensed brow…and the feeling that my
blood pressure was shooting thru the top of my head.
Most unpleasant.

Then I employed a different approach. I “owned” the
tension, i.e.,
I am tensing my forehead,
I am tensing my jaw

not trying to change that reality, just noting that I
was doing the tensing.

And you know what? The “noting” that I was doing the
tensing * enabled those muscles
to begin to relax. It changed the whole experience of
“I am really angry.”

[BTW, I hold that anger is a response to
injury, real or perceived. As in: a loss can be
experienced as an injury…I realized this, with
great clarity, this summer.]

This “owning” would probably not be accepted in
Buddhism, which holds that there is no “I” who
is doing the tensing. Is that right?

Best,
reen*
Actually, you might be a buddhist after all!

There’s nothing wrong with what you said. For practical purposes we have to speak of “I”, “me”, etc. So, you are absolutely right. Your mind “owns” the anger. The mind plays so many tricks on us. The writings I have studied describe exactly your experience above. Once we are mindful of the feeling or sensation and hold it “like a mother holding her child” then it begins to go away. Isn’t that strange?

The same can be said for pain or tension in the legs while meditating. You are encouraged to be mindful of the pain, hold it without moving and eventually you can sense the pain subside and you can sense other parts of the body. It’s really an amazing thing. The forms, feelings, perceptions we experience are truly “empty”. They are void. Our minds have to be released from this delusion. It certainly isn’t easy!

Peace…

 

[Ahimsa]

reen12:

Dear Ahimsa,

Hmmm. I’m trying to picture the nature of a person who
would be enthusiastic about waging war.

Hi Reen,

You’re right. I hereby retract my statement.

 

[reen12]

Dear ahimsaman,

quote: ahimsaman72

Once we are mindful of the feeling or sensation and hold it “like a mother holding her child” then it begins to go away. Isn’t that strange?

Ten years ago, I was in a severe, clinical depression.
The most dreadful experience of my life.

I realized, after a time, that the profound sadness was
coming from a very young “part” of me, that still
“existed”, in a sense. [it has to do with “dissociation”,
which is way too complex to explain, here.]

I literally spent that summer “cradling” that “little
person” in my arms, so to speak. Letting that
very young part express the deep sense of
emotional abandonment that was “hers.”

It was healing.

So, no, I don’t think it strange, at all.

I went over, late this afternoon, to visit my mother in
the nursing home. [she has advanced Altzheimer’s]
The deep sadness that rolls over me, when
I’m on my way home, is difficult to deal with. But
I thought of the exchange of posts, here, today, and
I just let that sadness be. And yes, it did decrease,
as I didn’t try to change it, distract from it.

Siddhartha didn’t have to work at it, to convince
me, 30 years ago, that “all life is suffering.”
You see, my father had schizophrenia and now
Mom has Altzheimer’s.

And, believe it or not, I still find many things in
life very funny. [based on an acute sense
of the absurd.] What life takes away, it often gives
back, in another form. humor.]

So, mindfulness sure has a place in my life.

Best,
reen12

 

[reen12]

Dear Ahimsa,

Oh, good. I felt wretched for having to oppose you on
a given issue, for I think of you as a “good egg”, as
my grandmother used to say.

And I’m not at all saying that a person can’t be opposed
to a given war, for good, honorable and moral reasons.

All the best to you, Ahimsa,

Maureen

 

[ahimsaman72]

reen12:

Dear ahimsaman,

quote: ahimsaman72

Ten years ago, I was in a severe, clinical depression.
The most dreadful experience of my life.

I realized, after a time, that the profound sadness was
coming from a very young “part” of me, that still
“existed”, in a sense. [it has to do with “dissociation”,
which is way too complex to explain, here.]

I literally spent that summer “cradling” that “little
person” in my arms, so to speak. Letting that
very young part express the deep sense of
emotional abandonment that was “hers.”

It was healing.

So, no, I don’t think it strange, at all.

I went over, late this afternoon, to visit my mother in
the nursing home. [she has advanced Altzheimer’s]
The deep sadness that rolls over me, when
I’m on my way home, is difficult to deal with. But
I thought of the exchange of posts, here, today, and
I just let that sadness be. And yes, it did decrease,
as I didn’t try to change it, distract from it.

Siddhartha didn’t have to work at it, to convince
me, 30 years ago, that “all life is suffering.”
You see, my father had schizophrenia and now
Mom has Altzheimer’s.

And, believe it or not, I still find many things in
life very funny. [based on an acute sense
of the absurd.] What life takes away, it often gives
back, in another form. humor.]

So, mindfulness sure has a place in my life.

Best,
reen12

Dear Maureen,

I’m sorry to hear about your mother. I wish sometimes that I could take the pain away from others. But I can’t. I can only follow the path of Siddhartha and hope that others will come to see his teachings as profitable for their lives too. I’m equally saddened to hear about your father. You are such a dear person and I wish you peace of mind as you are dealing with difficult times now. I am extremely glad you have found mindfulness of benefit to you as it seems to have helped relieve some suffering. May you be happy, may you be free, may you be free from suffering.

Peace be with you always…

 

[reen12]

Peace be with you always…

and with you, as well, good ahimsaman,

reen

 

[Ahimsa]

reen12:

Dear Ahimsa,

Oh, good. I felt wretched for having to oppose you on
a given issue, for I think of you as a “good egg”, as
my grandmother used to say.

And I’m not at all saying that a person can’t be opposed
to a given war, for good, honorable and moral reasons.

All the best to you, Ahimsa,

Maureen

Hi Reen,

No problem. I’m not against “Just Wars” by any means – one of my favorite scriptures, the Bhagavad Gita, is all about the “less unrighteous” going to war against “more unrighteous” forces. Krishna tried to prevent the outbreak of conflict, but when the other side proves too oppressive, prideful, and recalcitrant . . . well, what can you do?

Namas te.