Suffering in Samsara Leads to Enlightenment in Nirvana

At the age of 29, the Buddha stopped praying to the gods to end his suffering and the suffering of others. He left his family and friends, went to the edge of the forest, took off all his clothes and jewelry, covered his naked body with rags of cloth, cut off his hair and started to meditate.

He became a mendicant, and it took him six years of hard work and much suffering, but in the end he was able to stop his suffering forever (Nirvana) and help others stop their suffering as well.

Kusala Bhikshu in Do Buddhists Believe in God?

What took the Buddha six years to achieve is still beyond me, even though I am now 49 years of age. Even so, it is easier to meditate than it used to be prior to July 13, 2004 when I suffered a concussion during an assault at work.

But this wasn't the case prior to October 2006.

While it took until about March 2006,to achieve stability, a year previous to that I had lost lots of sleep and was slowly breaking down.

Much of the rest of 2005 I felt anxious outside and nervous.

After April things started to progress, but my best friend died in May 2006. By June I needed help. So I had my current roommates move much of my stuff into storage.

As well, other friends moved out the heavier drawers and furniture.

Between July and August 2006 I improved rapidly, but the greatest changes occurred when my roomies and I moved to a new place in August. The greatest changes came when I first bought a camera this year around June 2007.

It's so easy to remain calm, and to meditate!

For I owe it all to the guy who assaulted me, thus making him, in a sense, my Buddha.

Does God Exist?

The short answer is, "only for the monotheists and their apologists."

The long answer is: within the dualist paradigm of Deists and Christians, God exists but the existence of Satan only proves the duality of good-and-evil as practised by monotheists, be they Christian, Jew or Muslim (or even monotheistic practises outside the Judeo-Christian/Muslim practice).

Clearly, any religion that uses the symbol for evil, Satan/Shatain, for controlling its masses has fallen into the dualist delusion called "good-and-evil", and thus perpetuates the very suffering which its only savior (or salvatory method) is supposed to save its believers from, be it the Christ, God or Allah. However, religious leaders have said that works alone is not enough, and that worship consists of more than faith (such as belief in the dogmas and doctrines of a particular sect, which is expressed as "faith in God/Jesus/Allah/Guru Granth Sahib").

Yet it is by faith alone that one is closer to the state called "being saved" than if one dedicates one's life purely to works alone. "Works" in this case is used in its religious sense, i.e. actions which help one become closer to a Higher Power.

Because of the duality employed here, probably monotheists are wholely deluded, and thus prone to ego distortions that mimick "demon possession" which may require methods of social control. For religion, like politics, is a form of social control - and often the two are in bed together. This is the way it has been since time immemorial.

Yes, God exists, but not in the sense that humanity exists.

As well, math can prove the existence of God. If "1" is used to denote "existence" and "0" to denote "non-existence", and if God == 1 and Satan == -1, then if the absolute value of God is 1 and the absolute value of Satan is 1, then God has the same value as Satan and Satan, God i.e. they are of equal worth and existence. Therefore both God and Satan exist, but only within the same paradigm.

Ergo there is no God or Satan outside monotheism. Within Buddhism such hair splitting distracts from the pursuit of spiritual awareness, that all people are one, and that all things are impermanent, even God. Furthermore, Buddhism states that good-and-evil depends more on the situation than on some dogma or doctrine. However, contrary to what monotheists state, Buddhism is not anathema to God. Rather, it points at a method to uncover truth without expecting one to suspend disbelief or examine how many angels are dancing on a head of a pin!

For the methods employed in Buddhism can be applied to monotheism to prove if God exists.

If by faith alone we judge a person of faith to be right, then all believers are right. However, the existence of God and the proofs used to defend that existence is neither right nor wrong. Most of them are just opinion only, and opinion based on a shallow concept of the Bible and on other opinions of other men, all of whom are fallible and prone to err.

God may exist, but debating his existence is moot and extremely boring. However, only man truly exists, for warfare proves his existence. For it is said "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they are sons of God."

Since the existence of God is debateable, discussion about God's existence is rendered moot.

Crypto-leftists: The Most Dangerous Leftists

The more dangerous leftists, that is, those who are most power-hungry, are often characterized by arrogance or by a dogmatic approach to ideology. However, the most dangerous leftists of all may be certain oversocialized types who avoid irritating displays of aggressiveness and refrain from advertising their leftism, but work quietly and unobtrusively to promote collectivist values, "enlightened" psychological techniques for socializing children, dependence of the individual on the system, and so forth. These crypto-leftists (as we may call them) approximate certain bourgeois types as far as practical action is concerned, but differ from them in psychology, ideology and motivation. The ordinary bourgeois tries to bring people under control of the system in order to protect his way of life, or he does so simply because his attitudes are conventional. The crypto-leftist tries to bring people under control of the system because he is a True Believer in a collectivistic ideology. The crypto-leftist is differentiated from the average leftist of the oversocialized type by the fact that his rebellious impulse is weaker and he is more securely socialized. He is differentiated from the ordinary well-socialized bourgeois by the fact that there is some deep lack within him that makes it necessary for him to devote himself to a cause and immerse himself in a collectivity. And maybe his (well-sublimated) drive for power is stronger than that of the average bourgeois. - words attributed to T. Kaczynski, in Industrial Society and Its Future:230

Note: However, Kaczynski had help, and the truth about it is out there.

99 Names of God

The 99 Names of Allah according to the tradition of Islam are:

1. Ar-Rahman: The Most Compassionate, Most Kind
2. Ar-Rahim: The Most Merciful
3. Al-Malik: The Master, The King, The Monarch
4. Al-Quddus: The Pure, The Holy One
5. As-Salaam: The Peace, The Tranquility, The Author of Safety
6. Al-Mu'min: The Faithful, The Trusted, The Giver of Peace
7. Al-Muhaymin: The Protector, The Vigilant, The Controller
8. Al-'Aziz: The Almighty, The Powerful
9. Al-Jabbar: The Oppressor, The All Compelling, Who compensates lacks of others
10. Al-Mutakabbir: The Haughty, The Majestic, The Lord
11. Al-Khaliq: The Creator, The Maker
12. Al-Baari': The Inventor, The Maker
13. Al-Musawwir: The Fashioner, The Organiser, The Designer
14. Al-Ghaffar: The Forgiving, The Forgiver
15. Al-Qahhar: The Almighty, The Dominant
16. Al-Wahhab: The Donor, The Bestower
17. Ar-Razzaq: The Provider, The Sustainer
18. Al-Fattah: The Opener, The Revealer, The Judge
19. Al-'Alim: The All Knowing, The Omniscient
20. Al-Qabid: The Contractor, The Restrainer, The Recipient
21. Al-Basit: The Expander, The Increaser
22. Al-Khafid: The Abaser, The Humbler, The Pleaser
23. Ar-Rafi': The Raiser, The Exalter
24. Al-Mu'iz: The Honourer, The Exalter
25. Al-Muzil: The Abaser, The Subduer
26. As-Sami': The All Hearing, The All Knowing
27. Al-Basir: The All Seeing, The Insightful
28. Al-Hakam: The Arbitrator, The Judge
29. Al-'Adl: The Justice, The Equitable
30. Al-Latif: The Most Gentle, The Gracious, The One Who is Kind, The Subtle
31. Al-Khabir: The Aware, The Sagacious
32. Al-Halim: The Gentle, The Most Patient, The Benevolent
33. Al-'Azim: The Great, The Mighty
34. Al-Ghafoor: The Forgiving, The Pardoner
35. Ash-Shakur: The Grateful, The Thankful
36. Al-'Aliy: The Most High, The Exalted
37. Al-Kabir: The Greatest, The Biggest
38. Al-Hafiz: The Guardian, The Preserver
39. Al-Muqit: The Maintainer, The Nourisher
40. Al-Hasib: The Noble, The Reckoner
41. Al-Ja'lil: The Majestic, The Honorable, The Exalted, The Beneficent
42. Al-Karim: The Most Generous, The Bountiful
43. Ar-Raqib: The Guardian, The Watcher
44. Al-Mujib: The Answerer
45. Al-Wasi': The Enricher, The Omnipresent, The Knowledgeable
46. Al-Hakim Al-Mutlaq: The Most Wise, The Judicious
47. Al-Wadud: The Affectionate, The Loving
48. Al-Majid: The Glorious, The Exalted
49. Al-Ba'ith: The Resurrector, The Raiser from death, The True
50. Ash-Shahid: The Witness
51. Al-Haqq: The Truth, The Just
52. Al-Wakil: The Guardian, the Trustee
53. Al-Qawee: The Powerful, The Almighty, The Strong
54. Al-Matin: The Strong, The Firm
55. Al-Walee: The Supporter, The Friend, The Defender
56. Al-Hamid: The Praiseworthy, The Commendable
57. Al-Muhsi: The Counter
58. Al-Mubdi': The Beginner, The Creator, The Originator
59. Al-Mu'eed: The Restorer, The Resurrector
60. Al-Muhyee: The Bestower, The Life Giver
61. Al-Mumeet: The Bringer of Death, The Death Giver
62. Al-Hay'y: The Ever-Living
63. Al-Qayyum: The Self-Subsistent, The Eternal, The Self-Sustaining
64. Al-Wajid: The All Perceiving, The Bountiful, The Finder
65. Al-Majid: The Noble, The Illustrious
66. Al-Wahid: The One, The Unique
67. Al-Ahad: The Only, The Unique
68. As-Samad: The Perfect, The Eternal
69. Al-Qadir: The Able, The Capable, The Omnipotent
70. Al-Muqtadir: The Capable, The All Powerful
71. Al-Muqaddim: The Presenter, The Advancer, The Expediter
72. Al-Mu'akhkhir: The Fulfiller, The Deferrer
73. Al-'Awwal: The First
74. Al-'Akhir: The Last
75. Az-Zahir: The Apparent, The Exterior, The Manifest
76. Al-Batin: The Hidden, The Interior, The Veiled
77. Al-Waali: The Governor, The Ruler, The Master
78. Al-Muta'ali: The Exalted, The Most High, The One above reproach
79. Al-Barr: The Benefactor, The Beneficient, The Pious
80. At-Tawwab: The Acceptor of Repentance, The Forgiver, The Relenting
81. Al-Muntaqim: The Avenger
82. Al-'Afuww: The Forgiver, The Pardoner
83. Ar-Ra'uf: The Merciful, The Ever Indulgent
84. Malik Al-Mulk: The Ruler of The Kingdom, The King of The Universe
85. Zul-Jalali wal-Ikram: Lord of Majesty and Generosity
86. Al-Muqsit: The Just, The Equitable
87. Aj-Jami': The Collector, The Comprehensive, The Gatherer
88. Al-Ghanee: The Richest, The All Sufficing, The Self-Sufficient
89. Al-Mughnee: The Enricher, The Sufficer, The Bestower
90. Al-Maani': The Supporter
91. Ad-Daarr: The Distresser, The Afflictor, The Bringer of Adversity
92. An-Nafi': The Beneficial, The Benefactor
93. An-Nur: The Light
94. Al-Hadi': The Guide
95. Al-Badi': The Wonderful, The Maker, The Incomparable
96. Al-Baqi: The Enduring, The Everlasting, The Eternal
97. Al-Warith: The Inheritor, The Heir
98. Ar-Rashid: The Rightly Guided, The Conscious, The Guide
99. As-Sabur: The Most Patient, The Enduring

Being at One with God

Being at one with God is the state of mind where one is at one with God.

Thus, this state of mind is recursive.

In this state of mind, one is happy and feels lovingkindness towards others, everyone, friend or foe. One is always at peace and uses non-violent confrontation in all social relationships.

One also feels that God is working through him or her. Forgiveness and thanksgiving is also on his or her mind.

Thus, an anti-abortion assassin of doctors is not at one with God, nor is a deranged person who claims to be moved by God, but displays behavior and actions which are unpeaceable and violent.

As well, this state of mind may be the closest a person comes to being sane, so much so that were he to reveal it to another person who is not at one with God, that person would think him a harmless nut.

Whatever method a person seeks to be at one with God, when it involves asceticism, intoxicants, or sex, the old adage "Less is more" should be the guide. Lost is she who, becoming intoxicated, loses that Oneness.

Thus, if a drug or ritual does not induce happiness, peace and lovingkindness in moderate amounts, then it will not help the seeker become at one with God.

Furthermore, moderation is always the key to achievement of that state of mind.

Short Meditation on Alternative Medicine And Its Spiritual Roots

In the post-modern era, anti-psychiatry is in vogue. Medications usually induce the very symptoms they are supposed to suppress. Benzodiazepines are notorious for causing suppressed anxiety, sedation and other effects which leads to more anxiety, insomnia and even seizures.

I can think of better medication using rhodiola, 5HTP, valerian, skullcap, and hearty Indian food.

If you combine this with meditation techniques and positive thinking, then stress can be handled, nervousness will reduce, anxiety will fade, and smile will always be quickly found.

All it takes is dedication and practise.

As a Buddhist I know this. The earlier one realizes that one's role in the world is to awaken others to their spiritual destiny, the better.

For such an awakening is the key to becoming better people, even if one does not become famous or successful or even a rich person.

Indeed, true wealth is found in being humble and not being attention to one's self.

At the root of this wealth is unconditional love.

Dreamtime Is Awakening Me to A Rich Spiritual World

November 18, 2007: This evening I had a couple dreams that seemed so insignificant that I had to record them here. Although the raw dream experience usually is best not over-analyzed, I thought that it is best that they are written down before they are forgotten, just to see where this leads me.

Dream #1:
In the first one, just a I was about to fall asleep, it felt like my head hit something and was shaken wake by a sleep convulsion. This occurs as one is about to sleep, when the consciousness lets go of control over the body.

Dream #2:
Later on, I visited a certain place in Dreamtime I had been to before, which is like an refuge for dreamers. The analog in "real time" is asylum. It feels like a real place but I know it is part of Dreamtime because I've never been there in real time.

This particular place appears to be related to a restaurant, as well as to my hometown. I'd like to think of it as the Hometown.

Dream #3:
Lastly I sunk down to some lower place and then slowly arose out of it, only to awaken.

I cannot think of anything that happened in real time which affecting me in such a way as to enter Dreamtime, so I am posting it here to refer to over the next few weeks.

Since I cannot add anymore to the above descriptions, I will stop as to prevent too much overanalyzing from happening.

To All Challenges, Love is The Answer (poem)

Fear no one but the Higher Power.
This is the most sage of advice.
Although the ancients have said
"Love your neighbour",
the Higher Power has said
"Love your enemies."
In this way do you conquer yourself.

Cops Lied When Robert Dziekanski Died

The video shows the cops shock Robert Dziekanski three times but supposedly one Taser was used twice. As well, both cops use their Tasers.

The video shows that four officers were present, while the cops contend that there were three.

This is proof that they lied to save their asses and that their real motive in keeping the video was to continue to lie and offer only their version of events.

As well, the officers agreed to use Tasers only, despite the fact that the man was no threat to anyone and that an interpreter could have been called at any time because the airport knew he was from Poland and so did Customs.


This death did not have to happen, but was carefully planned and orchestrated. As well, it was a knee-jerk response with a conspiracy to use a Taser when the situation never called for it.

In essence, Robert Dziekanski was murdered by the Canadian government and all the events leading to his death were due to the bungling of both the airport (for not getting an interpreter) and the RCMP (who never considered any other method other than use of Tasers).

Suddenly I do not feel safe around the RCMP anymore.

Despina Vandi Rocks, Sort of!

In researching the Greek for "mistress" - despoinas - I came upon Despina Vandi (Despoinas Bandi) who is a young pop star in Greece.

Her major forte is doing covers of famous Mediterranean medleys by artists around the Mediterranean basin.

Though, I am still waiting for European Mediterraneans to embrace their Berber brothers and sisters.

So here's a cover of a Spanish medley by Bandi...

Female Masturbation: Vulva Worship

The vulva is holy, and the period the most holy of times for a woman.

This is what native americans taught their daughters, but it was Christianity that dissed the vulva.

For female masturbation is the most holy of worship.

Buddhist Nature Prayer (after Yengishiki) - Poem

I declare in the great presence of Amida Nyorai:
Because Kwannon bestows on humanity the countries of the four quarters over which her glance extends,
As far as the limit where Heaven stands up like a wall,
As far as the bounds where the country stands up distant,
As far as the limit where the blue clouds spread flat,
As far as the bounds where the white clouds lie away fallen-
The blue sea plain upon which travel
The ships which continuously crowd on the great sea plain,
And the roads which men travel by land, and standing up continuously in a long path without a break-
Making the narrow countries wide and the hilly countries plain,
And as it were drawing together the distant countries by throwing many tens of ropes over them
We will pile up the first-fruits like a range of hills in the great presence of Kwannon, and will peacefully enjoy the remainder.

Of Buddhist Retreats and Psychiatric Wards

With respect to Buddhist retreats and psychiatric wards, a few people who attend such retreats might consider them to be similar to psychiatric wards in jest. For humor is the best way to get over the fact that we are born mad and that a Buddhist retreat will cure such madness.

For such madness cannot be cured by medication or by incarceration in a psychiatric ward, but by learning meditation.

In essence, such madness is considered normal in Western society. I think they call it consumerism, and in its extreme, people end up not only packing on the pounds but also stuffing their homes full of knick-knacks only useful in making a homey maze.

However, Buddhism is a toolkit for escaping into reality from the madness called Monkey Mind which all people develop in response to the distractions of their ignorant experience with reality, of which consumerism is a symptom.

What you and I think is reality is merely a consensual pseudo-hallucination.

We can never experience true reality directly because it has been known to leave some people mad, ready to do violence to themselves and others out of fear of the consensual madness we confuse for reality.

Yet the trauma of a child's life adds to this reality's misery leading to mental disorder and other issues. That we deprive a child of useful coping mechanisms is atrocious. Buddhism could provide a very effective coping mechanism, yet the anti-religion police have deemed Buddhism a religion and have borrowed meditation to be used by the willing without the religious trappings.

Sometimes they appears that they teach a form of meditation to the people in the psychiatric wards with medication enhancing the meditative part immensely. All any patient actually needs is a sound therapeutic instructions to help with recovery.

Thus is a psychiatric ward considered a psychiatric retreat for people who have been scarred by their childhood traumas. All we need is to provide a text on psychology to help people recovering from their childhood traumas understand how their mind works.

I've yet to see this happen in a psychiatric ward. Rather than therapy, a psychiatric ward depends on order and the medically expedient way to maintain that order is through sedation. For it seems as though the majority pf patients find a psychology text to be useless in preventing their madness from returning.

I disagree: the majority of patients tend to develop insomnia due to anxiety arising from fear. Insomnia leads to hypomania, which is useful in its overall productivity but once it morphs into mania, it's of no use at all. Once a person enters the psychotic state, there's no use in waking him up to reality, because his psychotic state of mind has built a useful substitute called "psychosis".

In no way does a text on psychology describe this path to madness. Instead, we're told that adequate rest is important to maintain healthy sleep. Yet the chain from fear to psychosis can be easily broken by administering a sedative to promote sleep. However, a few psychotic people fear sedatives because of the manic delusion that they are sane and an underlying fear that adequate rest would ruin their substitute for reality.

Yet few sane people are able to tolerate being awake for 24 hours because of the auditory and rarely the visual hallucinations attendant to sleep deprivations.

Meditation helps in this case, because it provides a way of using the hallucinations to benefit the psychotic. In Vajrayana Buddhism, there are divinities known as wrathful deities. They may represent a person's negative emotions such as anger, desire, fear, lust, and passion. Whatever their description is, it implies that a person who hears of it choose the harmless way of managing it as described in the Buddhist text.

I propose that the visions and voices a psychotic sees are actually his negative emotions, and are quite harmless. Indeed, the most expedient method of handling these hallucinations is to satisfy them by neutralizing them with their opposites while the mindful practice of loving-kindness.

In the rare case where psychosis is comorbid with psychopathic violence, strong sedatives may be recommended because of risk of harm.

Overall, the use of Buddhist psychology in Buddhist retreats would benefit its participants. However, meditation would only be of limited use in out-patient clinic since Western psychology mistakes certain behavioral aspects of Buddhist meditation to be abnormal due to the limits that Western psychology places on the mind i.e. the incomplete bio-chemical model of the human mind.

For the current Western medical model of the mind is inadequate to help Buddhists with their underlying psychological conditions which is more easily explained by Buddhist psychology.

Indeed, when the social model of the human mind is combined with the bio-chemical, this complete model of the mind is best explored with the tool of Buddhist psychology, meditation.

---

Originally published: November 1, 2007 1525H
Update posted: February 26, 2013 0943H

Reference:
Welcome to the Vipassana Sanitarium: http://welldoneprocrastinator.blogspot.ca/p/welcome-to-vipassana-sanitarium.html

Black Cat of Hallowe'en 2007

This black cat came out of the forest near my place on Hallowe'en 2007. It is female as most black cats are. It had no star on the throat, meaning it is a true black cat. This is an auspicious sign as black cats are said to be messengers for one's dead relatives!