Pat's Occasional Blog

The Four Noble Truths

(from Gautama Buddha) approx. 2500 years ago

1) Life has/is Dukka (pain).

2) The origin of Dukka is craving/clinging to pleasure and aversion to what is not pleasurable.

3) The cessation of Dukka is possible.

4) The Noble Eightfold Path is the Path of Liberation from Dukka.

The Noble Eightfold Path

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Hinduism

Gautama Buddha was very ambiguous about the existence of a Creator Deity Brahman and Eternal Self Atman and rejected them both. Various sources from the Pali Cannon and others suggest that the Buddha taught that belief in a Creator deity was not essential to attaining liberation from suffering, and perhaps chose to ignore theological questions because they were "fascinating to discuss," and frequently brought about more conflict and anger than peace. The Buddha did not deny the existence of the popular gods of the Vedic pantheon, but rather argued that these devas, who may be in a more exalted state as humans, are still nevertheless trapped in the same samsaric cycle of suffering as other beings and are not necessarily worthy of veneration and worship. The focus of the Noble Eightfold Path, while inheriting many practices and ideologies from the previous Hindu yogic tradition, deviates from the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita and earlier works of the Dharmic Religions in that liberation (Nirvana or Moksha) is not attained via unity with Brahman (the Godhead), Self-realization or worship. Rather, the Buddha's teaching centers around what Eknath Easwaran described as a "psychology of desire," that is attaining liberation from suffering by extermination of self-will, selfish desire and passions. This is not to say however, that such teachings are absent from the previous Hindu tradition, rather they are singled out and separated from Vedic Theology.

From http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/8foldpath.htm

The Path

1. * Samma-Ditthi — Complete or Perfect Vision, also translated as right view or understanding. Vision of the nature of reality and the path of transformation.

2. Samma-Sankappa — Perfected Emotion or Aspiration, also translated as right thought or attitude. Liberating emotional intelligence in your life and acting from love and compassion. An informed heart and feeling mind that are free to practice letting go.

3. Samma-Vaca — Perfected or whole Speech. Also called right speech. Clear, truthful, uplifting and non-harmful communication.

4. Samma-Kammanta — Integral Action. Also called right action. An ethical foundation for life based on the principle of non-exploitation of oneself and others. The five precepts.

5. Samma-Ajiva — Proper Livelihood. Also called right livelihood. This is a livelihood based on correct action the ethical principal of non-exploitation. The basis of an Ideal society.

6. Samma-Vayama — Complete or Full Effort, Energy or Vitality. Also called right effort or diligence. Consciously directing our life energy to the transformative path of creative and healing action that fosters wholeness. Conscious evolution.

7. Samma-Sati — Complete or Thorough Awareness. Also called "right mindfulness". Developing awareness, "if you hold yourself dear watch yourself well". Levels of Awareness and mindfulness - of things, oneself, feelings, thought, people and Reality.

8. Samma-Samadhi — Full, Integral or Holistic Samadhi. This is often translated as concentration, meditation, absorption or one-pointedness of mind. None of these translations is adequate. Samadhi literally means to be fixed, absorbed in or established at one point, thus the first level of meaning is concentration when the mind is fixed on a single object. The second level of meaning goes further and represents the establishment, not just of the mind, but also of the whole being in various levels or modes of consciousness and awareness. This is Samadhi in the sense of enlightenment or Buddhahood.

* The word Samma means 'proper', 'whole', 'thorough', 'integral', 'complete', and 'perfect' - related to English 'summit' - It does not necessarily mean 'right', as opposed to 'wrong'. However it is often translated as "right" which can send a less than accurate message. For instance the opposite of 'Right Awareness' is not necessarily 'Wrong Awareness'. It may simply be incomplete. Use of the word 'right' may make for a neat or consistent list of qualities in translations. The down side is that it can give the impression that the Path is a narrow and moralistic approach to the spiritual life. I use variant interpretations so you consider the depth of meanings. What do these things mean in your life right now?

- John Allan

Hinduism vs. Buddhism

From http://www.patheos.com/blogs/whitehindu/2013/11/how-does-hinduism-differ-from-buddhism-google-questions-answered/

Hinduism and Buddhism are closely related. Buddha was a Hindu prince before founding his own path to enlightenment. The relationship between the two is like the relationship between Judaism and Christianity in some ways. Christianity was inspired by the life of a Jew and Buddhism was inspired by the life of a Hindu (though the Buddha rejected Hinduism and did not find it to be the right path for himself).

One of the really stark differences is between Everything or Nothing.

–> Hinduism sees the ultimate reality as being all things united as one glorious divinity. Buddhism sees the ultimate reality as nothingness. While Hindus gain Moksha and become one with everything in the universe; Buddhists gain Nirvana by detaching from everything until nothingness remains.

–> Another big difference related to this is that one of Buddha’s fundamental principles is that life is suffering. When we accept that, we want to escape from the world, and so we dedicate ourselves to meditation and breaking the cycle to achieve the nothingness of Nirvana.

Hinduism, on the other hand, believes that life is actually full of joy. Yes, as Buddhism says, suffering arises when we feel attachment to things and to people, but suffering is part of the physical body and the physical plane. There is a bigger reality into which we can step and in that True reality, the world is perfect and everything is bliss.

–> While Hindus turn to the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Gita, and the Ramayana to understand life, Buddhism does not accept any of the Hindu scriptures.

–> Buddhism does not worship or follow the Gods. Some don’t believe Gods exist and others believe they exist but are not beings worthy of worship, as they are also stuck in the illusion of the world and cannot guide anyone out. It could be said that Buddhism has no Gods while Hinduism has all the Gods!

–> In day to day practice the most noticeable difference is in ritual. Hinduism has a lot of ritual about it and proper ways to arrange an altar, proper offerings to make, proper compass directions to face. Buddhism’s original forms had none of that.

It gets more complicated, though, as both religions have continued to grow. There are sects of Buddhism now that differ dramatically from the original stark teachings.

The Golden Rule

Do unto others as others would have you do unto them. (Oh but I don't know what someone else wants....) Ok then. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

Do Be a Do Bee (approx. 50 years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtI1t_3wWLM

Scooby Dooby Do (approx. 30 years ago =)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_C2HJvtRDY

Tell it to the Scale Blog 3

So here's the thing about chubbiness. Zaftig-ness. Not thinness. It's just not in style these days. You may have noticed (cough). Back when food was scarce a fat person was considered beautiful. But now that food is plenty it's “in” to be skinny. I say, what the who? This is not logical IMHO.

If one considers the possibility (or probability given the research - google it) of reincarnation, then until this life, we've all probably been pretty hungry. Hunger moon in winter. Nazi concentration camps. Famines. Wars. Burning of crops in villages. Crop failures. We've each possibly lived many lives of poverty and want and here we are in a time of plenty - of excess even - and the rule is be thin. Is this not craziness?

My brother was given a bad shot at birth by a doctor and it killed him. It was an undiluted saline solution and he lived in a coma for ten years and then died. Unfortunate malpractice on the part of the poor resident who probably hadn't slept in a week. I was born when he was two. At my five year checkup the good doc (he was a good doc) looked at my chubby toddler tum and said, “We're gonna take a knife and cut that belly off.” Blink. At five years old if I had had the words they would have been “oh did you really just fucking say that to me?” I think even at that tender age the thought was something like “nuhuh you must not realize....”

When I was 10 years old a German family moved in across the street. I was good friends w/ the kids and one day the dad (Heinz was his name) grabbed my arm and said, “Now that is a healthy child.” One day around age 40 I realized, “holy shit he had been a German soldier in WW2 and apparently had seen some starving bodies.” At age 10 all I thought was, “am I fat?”

At age 12 my Gramps (who had lived thru WW1 soldiering, the depression, and WW2) said, “Don't worry when you can eat; worry when you can't.”

At age 13 visiting my other Grandpa in the hospital my skinny jeans and midrif baring shirt felt so right on my twiggy bod. In this last visit w/ him (he died unexpectedly before coming home) some of his last words to me were, “you're too thin.”

At around 40 at the gym the weight flew off but the injuries flew on. I looked great but felt awful. Hypoglycemic. Aches and pains.

Finally it hit me. When I weighed 115 in Jr high I was 10 lb overweight. When it was 130 in college it was 10 - 20 lb overweight. At work at 140 it was 10 - 20 lb overweight for my skirt and suit jacket. In preggers it was 10 - 30 lb overweight. As a mom I was overweight (10 + lb surprise!). It didn't really matter what I weighed, I was just always that one standard deviation or so overweight. Low fat was tried but that converted to high sugar - ack ack ack. Milk free worked well but lactaid helps digest yummy cheese so ok. Wheat belly is real but umm bread and butter yo.

At almost 60 I'm like whatevs. Just live. Eat what you eat and die when you die. And, it is possible the obesity epidemic in our country stems from low fat b/c people are never sated. They are hungry all the time. And and and, is it possible the autism epidemic stems from low fat b/c fetuses and babies need fat to make nerve coverings. Fat is an essential part of the body's structure and function. Fat creates hormones. Fat sequesters toxins. Fat insulates cell walls. I have seen a four year old toddler climb a bookshelf to get the stick of butter his mom hid on top and eat the whole thing with ravenous delight. Fat is essential.

Oh well. Chances are you'll reincarnate. Maybe the next time the supplies are sparser or poisonous (cough Monsanto cough) or whatever variation on not plenty nature can arrange. So now for me it's just enjoy plenty. Appreciate the heck outa it. I'm tryin' to go by Michael Pollen's advice: eat real food, mostly plants, not too much. Enough with the agonizing over weight already. Hshya tell it to the scale. I will try.

And there's this =): http://bodypositiveyoga.com/why-i-quit-dieting/

You are Beautiful Blog 2

You are so much more beautiful than you probably think. You look in the mirror and see something different each day and compare that to the world around you and what you think the world sees as beauty. You are probably wishing this or that would be different. Your weight, your strength, your hair, your skin. Your age.

Please know this: there are people in your life who smile inside every time you walk into the room. They see you as beautiful. They are gladdened by your presence. They are tender in the heart just like you and want community and sharing and understanding. They are lifted by your smile. They resonate with your life experience. They would be lonely without you.

Do you know you give a gift just by being present with someone? By listening to them? By laughing and crying and sitting and sighing with them? Your beauty is your being. You. Are. A. Cherished. Being.

You. Are. Beautiful. You are more beautiful than you think.

And there's this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s7G3s7vyAo Yeppers. Thanks KevBo!

Doing It Wrong - May 21, 2012 2:43:37 PM