La Liberté dans Solitude / The Freedom in Solitude (poem)

Je suis seul et heureux avec elle!
Ce n'est pas un problème pour moi.
C'est la liberté que j'aimez
tres beaucoup, d'autant
plus que je ne croyais possible,
Car je suis reconnaissant à
amis, famille et quelquefois inconnus!

[Translation:English]

I am single and happy with it!
This isn't a problem for me.
It's the freedom that I enjoy
very much, especially
more than I thought possible,
because I am grateful to
friends, family and sometimes strangers!

The Five Wisdom Buddhas

Symbolically, the Five Wisdom Buddhas represent the five aspects of spiritual wisdom of the Buddha.

Commonly found in Vajrayana mandalas, the Five Wisdom Buddhas are also the main objects of worship in Shingon Buddhism, a variety of esoteric Japanese Buddhism that arose in Japanese before Vajrayana Buddhism became known.

Vairocana is considered the Adi-Buddha of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, with the other four Buddhas assigned to cardinal directions.

Based on the Yogācāra elaboration of concepts concerning the jñāna (spiritual knowledge) of the Buddhas of the Trikaya, the Five Wisdom Buddhas are a later development used to symbolize the aspects of the Dharmakaya (truth-body), which embodies the principle of enlightenment.

First, two Buddhas appeared in Yogacara sutras which represented wisdom and compassion - they were, respectively, Akṣobhya and Amitābha. To embody the aspects of power, or activity, and the aspect of beauty, or spiritual riches, two more Buddhas were added, Amoghasiddhi, and Ratnasaṃbhava. Finally, the central figure became Vairocana.

Thus power represents spiritual activity, while beauty represents spiritual riches.

Traditionally, Aksobhya is the eastern Buddha of consciousness as an aspect of reality, working for the joy of all beings, while Amitabha is the western Buddha of comprehensive love, working for the enlightenment of all sentient beings.

Amoghasiddhi is the northern Buddha of the conceptual mind that conquers all evils, while Ratnasambhava is the southern Buddha of the mind developing equanimity and equality to destroy greed and pride.

Meanwhile, Vairocana is the celestial Buddha (Adi Buddha) who is the embodiment of Emptiness.

---

Five Wisdom Buddhas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Wisdom_Buddhas

My Spiritual Hierarchy of Jesus, God and the Buddha

Introduction

In this article I begin with the declaration that the ego is a social fabrication, introduce the patriarchal sexist myth of the male ego, and contrast the ego to its Christian counterpart, self-will.

Then the Buddhist view of the ego will be discussed, followed by a short discussion of the healthy ego with respect to individual needs and continuing on with the view of personal spirituality as self-actualization.

Next, I will illustrate how my spiritual hierarchy of God, Jesus and the Buddha cuts through the fallacy of false dilemma.

Following that thought is the discussion of how beliefs outside the spiritual life affect myself and others.

Finally in the conclusion, I will try to show how the spiritual life has a common ground in all faiths.

Ego as a Social Fabrication

Ego is a social fabrication; the proof of this is in the media. The term "ego" is used to describe the whole psychic apparatus defined in Freud's structural model of the psyche, which he divided into three parts as id, ego and super-ego.

Examples of the ego in action in popular culture occur regularly in the media regarding not just politicians, religious icons, scientists, and sports idols, but also local celebrities and famous pop icons.

Although it isn't commonly talked about, the Western social consensus is that the ego exists.

Because ego is a social fabrication, it requires daily exercise through self-expression. The ideal of a wholesome life implies that the healthy ego needs expression in the community in socially acceptable ways.

In contrast, the unwholesome life leads to social isolation and its impact on the ego. Without self-expression in socially acceptable ways, the individual is susceptible to depression and anxiety. As a result, the ego may become the focus of one's life. Thus he becomes ego-centered, and much of his misery in life is due to his egocentricity.

The Patriarchal Sexist Myth of the Male Ego

In the minds of many people, a patriarchal sexist myth about the ego may be commonplace. In this myth, the male ego is the only thing that exists.

This does not mean that the female ego is non-existent; it just is not talked about.

This is not the true picture of the ego at all but a false view of it, which is defined by how the male ego is vilified whilst pretending women do not have one.

Yet this myth about the ego arises in the male-dominated patriarchal society for many reasons which are political and social.

While the male ego is sometimes associated with God, the female ego kept hidden, to be discussed behind closed doors between women.

However, this sexist myth about the ego is counterproductive to inner change.

Ego and Its Christian Counterpart, Self-Will

In reality, the ego exists from birth to death for everyone, young and old, male and female.

It is also known in Western religious circles as self-will, which consists of resolute adherence to your own ideas or desires and the trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior.

Self-will has the negative qualities of stubbornness, bullheadedness, obstinacy, obstinance, and pigheadedness, and the positive qualities of self-control, self-possession, possession, willpower, will power, and self-command.

Buddhist View of Ego

According to Buddhism, all people have an ego which arises from the moment of birth. The Buddhist concept of dependent arising explains in detail how the ego arises from birth until death. Indeed, the ego arises after ignorance as one of the many fabrications of the mind.

In the Four Noble Truths,

1. human suffering is first identified in fine detail as misery, pain and unhappiness.
   
2. The origin of suffering is revealed to be unwholesome desire or craving.
   
3. Relief from suffering consists of ending suffering by allowing craving to fade away and stop, by giving up and letting go of the unwholesome desire, being free of sensual pleasures, and not relying on such existence. In this way is the ego appeased.
   
4. Finally, the means to appease the ego by promoting equanimity is given as the Noble Eightfold Path:
   
   1. right view,
      
   2. right intention,
      
   3. right speech,
      
   4. right action,
      
   5. right livelihood,
      
   6. right effort,
      
   7. right mindfulness, and
      
   8. right concentration

Divided into three parts, the Eightfold Path consists of:

• wisdom (right view, right intention),
  
• ethical conduct (right speech, right action, right livelihood), and
  
• mental discipline, concentration and meditation (right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration).

As a result of following the Eightfold Path, specifically breath and insight meditation, the Buddhist practitioner acquires right knowledge (seeing things as they really are) which results in right liberation.

Ego with Respect to the Individual Needs

For the average person, the healthy ego requires the basic needs consisting of Maslow's hierarchy of needs:

• the physiological needs (breathing, food, sex, water, sleep, metabolic equilibrium, and excretion),
  
• safety needs (personal security, financial security, health and well-being, and a safety net against accidents and illness, and their adverse impacts),
  
• love and belonging(social needs which involve feelings of belongingness, and especially emotionally based relationships such as friendship, intimacy and family),
  
• esteem need (which consist of two parts:
  
  • 1) respect for others, the need for status, recognition, fame, prestige, and attention, and
    
  • 2) self-respect, the need for strength, competence, mastery, self-confidence, independence and freedom),
  and
• self-actualization (self-mastery).

Personal Spirituality as Self-Actualization

Once these needs are satisfied, self-actualization also consists of meeting my spiritual needs, which is satisfied by maintaining a spiritual life. Within the context of spirituality, the ego refers to a "sense of doership" or sense of individual existence. The ego-centered life is the life where the illusion of such existence prevails. As a result of that illusion, I may believe myself to be a human being and that I must fight for my rights to make it in this world. Yet, throughout it all, I remain unaware and unconscious of my true nature until a series of spiritual experiences show me that the God-centered life is essential to my spiritual well-being Within context of a God-centered life, it is a fallacy to believe that the social conventions of pronouns (I, me, my, mine) reflect the ego-centered life. Rather, by focusing on God from the start of every day to its very end, the use of pronouns just make the God-centered life more personal.

My Spiritual Hierarchy Cuts Through Fallacy of False Dilemma

To a person who sees the world through the fallacy of either as God-centered or Buddha-centered, the following statements would seem complicated and unwieldy. Such a false dilemma overlooks the fact that both God and Buddha are manifestations of the Higher Power, which is God as each of us knows Him to be. Does the God-centered life conflict with my belief in Buddhism? No, since both God and the Buddha are different aspect of the Higher Power, and since God, being Creator, made the historical Buddha to realize His mysterious works, I do not see any conflict between my faith in God and my belief in the Buddha. For God is at the core of my hierarchy of the spiritual life, with my belief that Jesus died on the cross for us as coming second, and then the Buddhist principles defined by the Eightfold Path. Outside of these three core beliefs are the multitude of beliefs we hold about life and ourselves.

Beliefs and Its Relationship to Self and Other

These other beliefs which lie outside the spiritual life are still a vital part of it, because they subtly influence how I view my hierarchy of core beliefs about God, Jesus and the Buddha. Yet how I view God, Jesus and the Buddha reflect my spiritual views, which influence how I see life and its effect in my daily existence, and how other people see me. With my heart focused on God as the center of my spiritual life, my faith in Him is validated by my belief that Jesus died for our sins, and is tempered by the underlying Buddhist principles of dependent arising, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. By making God the core of my spiritual beliefs, the ego becomes healthy because my growing reliance on God depends on fellowship with like-minded people. By relying on God, I develop a need for Him which deflates my ego, leading me to practice humility. With prayer and meditation, it is possible for me to moderate my life, encouraged by the fact that salvation is the free gift of God, the belief that Jesus died for our sins, and a growing faith in God inculcated by reading the Bible.

Conclusion: The Spiritual Life as Common Ground Between All Faiths

Thus I see the common ground between Buddhism and Christianity since each faith help to enrich a person's spiritual life. Indeed, both faiths continue to enrich my life through my willingness to practice a form of spiritual plurality. Rather than water down Buddhism and Christianity, spiritual plurality helps me to maintain a balanced view of both faiths. Using what I know of Buddhist meditation to moderate my behavior (thought, speech and action), I am able to apply its use to seek God through careful prayer and meditation. As well, the spiritual insights gained by reading the Bible can also help me see Buddhism in a refreshing new light. As an example of such insight, both Christianity and Buddhism emphasize loving-kindness but use it differently. In Christianity, a loving God sacrificed His Son, Jesus Christ, so that all Christians are saved by faith in Him, with salvation freely given by God's grace. Salvation in Buddhism starts with a mytho-poetic Buddha named Amida of a Buddhist "heaven" (the Pure Land of Bliss) who is reborn from an angelic Bodhisattva (Dharmakāra) who was once the king of a mythical land. Inspired by a Buddha of a previous age, this former king made a series of vows of which the most important vow allows all Buddhists who revere that Buddha to be reborn in that Pure Land as "angels" so that they may listen to the Buddha preach before being reborn in the earthly realm to help other people come to know the Buddha. In this way Buddhism enriches my spiritual life as much as Christianity does, and my faith in God is complemented by my belief that Jesus died for my sins and my belief in what the Buddha taught! For the spiritual life is the common ground that all faiths share.

---

Reference:

Id, ego and super-ego: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id,_ego,_and_super-ego
Ego as doer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_%28spirituality%29
Higher Power: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Power
Maslow's hierarchy of needs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
Buddhism and Christianity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Christianity

Buddhist Faith

Since faith is not realized by reasoning, their emotional basis may lead to the cognitive distortion caused by rationalization of feeling and emotions.

For example: if I feel strong emotions about an event (my birthday), a thing (taking pictures), or a state of mind (happiness), then I act happy, experience anticipation, or feel happy.

Each of these effects may become problematic if the cognitive distortion leads to a gross change in mood. For happiness could lead to future suffering if it isn't allowed to end on its own.

Yet faith in Amida Buddha's Primal Vow is sure to aid the Pure Land practitioner in practice of Buddha Recitation at least ten times when done with sincerity and thanksgiving.

Faith based on emotional reasoning is unsound because if one's feelings about enlightenment changes, then so will one's faith in enlightenment, which requires spiritual awakening through both meditation and mindful practice consisting of being of service and helpful to others.

However, faith in the Buddha as a Higher Power is dependent on a deeper concept of the Buddha as having three forms (bodies), consisting essentially of the three kayas, which are aspects of enlightened being, the reflections of the historical Gautama Buddha in three distinct ways to help all sentient beings.

The word Buddha itself means "awakened one" and "fully realized", for it implies serenity arising in the calm state of mind so that clear insight about enlightenment is possible.

With such a clarity of mind, one is able to see the original nature of mind perfectly as it is, unchanged and pristine. Such clear insight is the reflection of the pure heart of the Buddha and specifically of Buddha Nature itself.

As a result of Buddha Nature's effect on the heart-mind, one is able to maintain the open mind while freeing oneself from the fetters of life.

Indeed, that which fetters us in life are our desires, which lead to ignorant craving to satisfy desires, clinging to name and form, and becoming dependent on satisfying desires.

Once free, we awaken to the understanding about the true nature about relative and absolute levels of consciousness and relative and absolute truth.

Thus, the Buddha is the truly awakened one, and has realized the complete transcendence of mental and behavioral negativities which obscure the mind, and lead one to become fettered by delusions about life, lost in the darkness of ignorance clouded over by all kinds of cognitive distortions.

Having realized such a transcendence, the practitioner is able to remain positive, bright and cheerful as though the cloud of ignorance has disappeared in the sunshine of the Buddha's radiance.

All realized sentient beings are Buddhas. They who realized their true nature yesterday were Buddhas, they who realize their true nature today may be considered Buddhas, and they who are about to realize their true nature will become Buddhas tomorrow. Thus, "Buddha" is the general term which does not refer to a specific realized being but to every realized being.

Once Buddhas have realized their true nature, they strive to be of service to others, and thus benefit other sentient beings, from the microscope quanta to the macroscopic multiverse. Thus they diligently work to keep their bodies healthy so that they are able to free their minds of the fetters of human existence through meditation and mindful practice.

In order to benefit others, Buddhas appear in many different forms or bodies. Specifically, the main bodies consist of the three kayas: Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya.

Additionally, there are also four and five kayas in Tibetan Buddhism, which qualify other expressions of enlightened being, yet ultimately all are one Buddha.

'Kaya' is a Sanskrit word which means "body in the sense of many qualities gathered together, joined and united as one". In this context, "kaya" specifically refers to the body of spiritual experience and knowledge arising from such experience, manifested as "the embodiments of loving-kindness, compassion, wisdom and skillful means which appear in the world to help sentient beings."

Dharma is Sanskrit for external and internal phenomenon, both inside and outside. Dharmakaya refers to the primordial nature of phenomena which truly transcends all conception of dualistic thought while remaining impartial without discrimination.

For Dharmakaya is Great Equanimity, the steadiness of mind under stress which is calm and serene.

Clear and devoid of all worldly passion, the mind is open to the clear insight inculcated by years of earnest and devoted mindful practice and meditation with eyes open and the heart-mind free of the cognitive distortions arising from ego delusion, having realized by direct experience the true meaning of wisdom.

Thus is this embodiment of wisdom known as Dharmakaya.

Each of us is aware of many kinds of phenomenon, which include what we know and feel, and are categorized in two types: 1) subjective phenomena and 2) objective phenomena. Both develop through interaction with the elements, which are composed of sub-units called quanta, and may have shape and form.

On careful examination of the elements, each of them are composed of individual atoms, and each atom is composed of quanta such as electrons, protons and even neutrons which form a cohesive whole.

None of these particles exist alone, for each is dependent on others for their existence. On careful examination of a particular element, thorough investigation in terms of subject and object soon disappears by the intuition of Great Emptiness. This spiritual intuition is derived from meditation and mindful practice, which results in the calm mind necessary to develop clear insight into the nature of being.

One cannot go beyond this examination of a single element, for it is beyond our dualistic conception. Thus is the true nature of being realized as Great Emptiness.

When we view subjective phenomena, we see that it is not unlike the elements. While it is possible to divide the mind into eight categories of consciousness as in the Yogacara school of Buddhism, the mind still functions as one unit.

When we try to find from where our current thoughts come, nowhere are we able to discover from where they arise. When we seek each thought's destination, each of their paths is undetermined.

Indeed, each thought rises and falls in waves, sometimes with a flurry of mental activity and often without rhyme or reason — no one knows where our thoughts will go, nor where they will lead us.

Thus, we see that the subject of our self discovery, the mind, is arising in
Great Emptiness which defies expression and our ability to describe accurately its nature of being, both the source of thought and its destination.

Based in one primordial nature, both the internal and external are indistinct and indistinguishable from each other, for all are Emptiness and beyond dualistic thought, beyond the nature of existence and non-existence, being both existence and non-existence and neither of them, extending far beyond the common sense idea of being the state of containing nothing. Rather, Emptiness is expressible as a description within context of the concepts of impermanence and no-self, for it describes both the true nature of being and the original nature of mind, yet is incomprehensible to ordinary sentient beings.

Being devoid of shape or form, Emptiness is not a 'thing' nor does it have any quality of 'thingness'. It is truly omnipresent, yet is not God existing apart from the multiverse but transcends our limited human conception of God.

Indeed, the primordial nature of being is both great and small yet is neither great nor small, for it defies all definition and is thus beyond any articulate expression about itself.

While our circumstances cannot change the primordial nature of being, it is possible to perfectly realize this nature as the realization of Dharmakaya.

With Great Emptiness being our primordial nature, this Emptiness is neither like a black hole nor is it nothingness itself. For Emptiness is full of thingness yet is not a thing nor is it thingness itself. By means of the primordial nature of being, all things in this multiverse arise without effort and thought to spontaneously appear with clarity of mind.

Indeed, the calm mind — which arises due to meditation, is inculcated through dedicated mindful practice of being of service to others, and helps every sentient being to realize Emptiness as it is — is one of the signs of Emptiness made real.

When no concept of Emptiness exists, all things are blocked, nothing moves, nothing develops, and nothing appears &mdash as though frozen in time. When the spontaneous radiance of unceasing clarity illumines the mind, the resulting clear insight is known as Sambhogakaya.

Sambhogakaya is the perfect enjoyment of the body of spiritual experience and knowledge. This perfect enjoyment is possible due to the effect of meditation and practice which helps develop the clear insight into our primordial nature as its radiant wisdom aspect.

Displayed as the Five Wisdoms, Sambhogakaya consist of:

1) Dharmadhatu Wisdom,

2) Mirror-like wisdom,

3) Wisdom of Equality,

4) Discriminating Awareness Wisdom, and

5) All-Accomplishing Wisdom.

All Five Wisdoms reflect the clarity aspect of our true nature, that clearness of mind which inspires us to see clearly our primordial nature as it is.

While we exist in the world of samsara — this life of suffering birth, life, old age and death — ignorant of Emptiness, of enlightenment, and of our true primordial nature, these Wisdoms are seen as the eight consciousnesses.

When the obscuration of dependent arising are purified and removed by meditation and mindful practice, our understanding of the eight consciousnesses are transformed by applying the Five Wisdoms through meditation. Consequently deep understanding of the primordial nature of our present consciousness is based on these Five Wisdoms.

Here are the eight consciousnesses: first are the five sense consciousnesses of

1. eye consciousness,
   
2. ear consciousness,
   
3. tongue consciousness,
   
4. nose consciousness, and
   
5. body consciousness.

— these first five consciousness operate via the sense organs to perceive the external objects of sense. By themselves, they are limited with the eye consciousness seeing only form within the limited range of visible light, which cannot taste or hear sounds or smell. Likewise, the ear is only able to hear a limited range of sounds, but cannot see, taste and so on. So, how may the five consciousnesses work together as one? That function belongs to the sixth sense because it is like a judge who makes decisions, and is able to receive input from the five external consciousnesses and to organize that input so that we are able to make sense of our experience. As a result, the sixth consciousness makes as one the five sense consciousnesses, creating mental fabrications, and thus is known as the mind consciousness. Being very immediate, the first five consciousnesses have no continuity and only refer to the present, having no sense of the past or the future, and only communicates directly in the present moment. Thus they are rather exclusive and single-minded. Not only does the sixth consciousness unite these five, it is able to refer to events and activities of the past and the future. Indeed, the mind actually makes sense of time itself. On closer examination, the mind has two aspects to it:

1. the sixth consciousness, which handles the business of past, present and future; makes decisions based on information received from the first five consciousnesses; and is very neutral and rational;
   
2. the seventh consciousness, which is very subtle, giving rise to ego-clinging, the vain grasping of the ego.

Due to the action of ego-clinging, ignorance, anger, attachment, jealousy, pride and doubt develop, arising and falling according to the complex interplay between karma and samsara. All this happens in the mind. All of these aspects of the mind are based on the eight consciousness, the ground of mind or storehouse (Ayala) consciousness. Being neutral, the nature of the eighth consciousness is such that it retains every basic habit pattern of sentient beings. Everything being stored there — be it good, bad or neutral karma — all kinds of habits and any kind of actions we do in our lifetimes are stored there. This is why it is called a "storehouse". For Alaya is an even more subtle consciousness than the defiled mind of the seventh consciousness. When these eight consciousnesses are transmuted or transformed, they turn into the Five Wisdoms, and are symbolized by the five Dhyani Buddhas, which are the radiant spectrum of clarity qualifying the Dharmakaya.

1. The main Buddha of Dharmadhatu Wisdom is Vairocana;
   
2. the eastern Buddha of Mirror-like Wisdom is Akshoba;
   
3. the Wisdom of Equality is represented by the Buddha of the southern direction, Ratnasambhava;
   
4. the western Buddha of Discriminating Awareness is Amitabha; and
   
5. the northern Buddha of All Accomplishing Wisdom is Amogha Siddhi.

These are Sambhogakaya's five principle Buddhas. All Buddhas are highlighted reflections of one Buddha. Different levels, aspects or kayas of Buddha exist solely to benefit sentient beings with each Buddha being able to appear in any of these three kayas. Dharmakaya Buddhas like Samantabhadra show themselves only to highly realized beings i.e. tenth bhumi Bodhisattvas who may also receive teachings from the five Dhyani Buddhas. Novice Buddhists, or those with dualistic thoughts and conceptions, may find it hard to to perceive and receive teachings from Sambhogakaya and Dharmakaya Buddhas. Thus, the third Buddha, the Nirmanakaya ("manifest in form") Buddha, is manifested, not just in one style or form but in almost every way possible, so as to benefit all sentient beings, regardless of their high realization, their novice status or their inability to transcend the calm mind and apply it to clear insight. Indeed, the Nirmanakaya Buddha suits all sentient beings. Nirmanakaya Buddhas may be divided into four groups:

1. Supreme emanations
   
2. Birth emanations
   
3. Artisan emanations, and
   
4. Emanations of various things.

Born into the world as a unique person is the Supreme emanation, e.g. Buddha Shakyamuni (Gautama) or Guru Padmasambhava. Each of them consists of special forms of body, speech and mind. The mind of realization has three qualities:

love,

compassion, and

wisdom, and also the ten powers and four kinds of fearlessness.

A Buddha has no obstruction to seeing the past, present or future. Indeed, everything is clear to the eye of wisdom, for a Buddha's speech and body qualities are apparently more obvious yet people have strong doubts about such wisdom. Consequently they pretend it cannot be done exactly as it says in the sutras.

Even during Gautama Buddha's time, they investigated this and "closely examined whether Buddha was totally enlightened and perfectly clear in relation to object or not."

The second Nirmanakaya or birth emanation appears in the animal and non-visible realms, using different names and forms, male or female as they are needed.

For example, the Jataka tales about Buddha taking birth as animals such as a fish, a bird, a monkey, a bear, a lion, and also humans. These are all avatars of the Buddha which may or may not traditionally appear wearing robes. Such incarnated avatars may not immediately be recognized as Buddhas. In each case, they are born to remove obstacles and dualistic conceptions, so as to free sentient beings from ignorance and bring about the perfection of each believer's understanding of primordial wisdom.

Called the artisan emanation, the third Nirmanakaya appears as objects of art and the artists who make them for the benefit of sentient beings. Some of the forms these emanations take include thangkas (Tibetan Buddhist iconography), statues and even music. Thus, artisan emanations in the form of beautiful works of art inspired by Buddhist meditation may result from the mindful practice of disciples, which serve the purpose of bringing clarity and peace of mind. Indeed, joy and a marvelous sense of something special also touches the heart-mind to its central core for each and every practitioner who creates such works of art.

Through each of the kayas the isciple is able to continuously renew his or her faith in the Buddha, and remain on the long journey called enlightenment, which may have begun in our primordial past, continues today, and shall eventually happen one day soon for each and every one of us.

For, even though there may be people living vicariously within the realm of dualistic notions of being either for good or for evil, in due time, even they too will realize love, compassion and even the clarity of mind associated with a spiritual awakening.

Whether one is animist, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or pagan, monotheistic or polytheistic or even some form of pan(en)theism, all religious paths do lead to each faith's version of enlightenment through sudden spiritual experiences which transform their lives.

How does this happen?

In the past, Buddha Nature was sown in the storehouse consciousness, in the present that primordial nature is sown in each moment, and in the future, Buddha Nature shall ripen, only for the cycle of samsara to rise and fall until Nirvana, when the mind of realization achieves Buddhahood.

Thus I place my faith in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.


Reference:

The Three Kayas: http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/A%20-%20Tibetan%20Buddhism/Authors/Kenpo%20Palden%20Sherab%20Rinpoche/The%20Three%20Kayas/The%20Three%20Kayas.htm


Thji

The Buddhist Definition of Happiness

BILL MOYERS: By happiness, what do you mean by happiness?

PEMA CHÖDRÖN: Contentment. At home with yourself in your world. Not separating yourself from others. Not hardening your heart, or your mind to others, or to the world. That profound wellbeing which is not based on facts, so to speak. You know, like changing circumstances. It's not based on changing circumstances.

Contentment consists of happiness with one's situation in life while living in the present moment. Through meditation, one is sure to appease the ego easily by letting one's thoughts rise and fall, yet just watching it all happening.

Being at home with yourself in your world implies equanimity, that calm temper and firmness of mind which remains steady and solid under stress yet is gentle and compassionate.

Not separating yourself from others consists of staying in touch with dear friends and family.

"Not hardening your heart, or your mind to others, or to the world" implies being open to yourself, to others, and to the world.

In this way is true and real happiness an ongoing process in one's life.

Reference:

BILL MOYERS ON FAITH & REASON; Bill Moyers and Pema Chödrön . August 4, 2006
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/faithandreason/print/faithandreason107_print.html

Pema Chödrön: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pema_Ch%C3%B6dr%C3%B6n

Breath meditation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breath_Meditation

Insight meditation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insight_Meditation

Smile (poem)

Sadness inspires one to find

Memories that bring

Imagination's magic to transform

Loneliness into

Equanimity.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is not just a word or a discourse by the Buddha, but a meaningful state of mind. It means we have to be here now, in this very moment, and we have to know what is happening internally and externally. It means being alert to our motives and learning to change unwholesome thoughts and emotions into wholesome ones. Mindfulness is a mental activity that in due course eliminates all suffering.

-Ayya Khema, "Be an Island"

For this old fool, mindfulness is a state of mind experienced in the present moment, aware of what is on his mind, in his heart, and happening around him.

As a result, he becomes aware of his motives, and changes harmful thoughts and emotions into beneficial ones.

How so? By meditating on eliminating harmful thoughts as they arise and creating beneficial thoughts.

For harmful thoughts lead to suffering, and beneficial ones lead to happiness.

Eventually, mindfulness eliminates suffering.

Unwholesome thoughts and emotions refers to the unwholesome actions known by the Buddhist term, klesha.

Also included are the five hindrances of desire, anger, sloth-torpor, restlessness-craving and doubt.

Then there is lust and craving.

This is followed by the ten defilements and unwholesome roots; greed, hate, delusion, conceit, wrong views,doubt, torpor, restlessness, shamelessness, and recklessness.

Then comes the round of defilements: ignorance, craving and clinging.

Finally there are the three poisons: ignorance, attachment, and aversion.

According to what the Buddha said, doing these unwholesome actions cause suffering. To change these unwholesome action into wholesome action is to NOT DO THEM.

In their place, the devotee practices virtues such as the Four Immeasurables: loving-kindness or benevolence, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity (compassionate evenmindedness).

With regard to equanimity, it is described as mental stability in the face of changes of a person's circumstances. Regardless of whether she is rich or poor, the devotee displays evenness of mind, an enduring freedom of mind, For equanimity complements the other three virtues.

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Klesha: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleshas_%28Buddhism%29
Four Immeasurables: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmavihara
Equanimity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upekkha

Pure Mind is True Mind / True Mind is Pure Mind (poem)

the true mind is the pure mind,
from which bliss arises naturally
after decades of active meditation.

with harmlessness and spontaneity
its fruits, flavored by diligent mindfulness,
the devotee might briefly savor such purity
during meditation before returning to face the world
filled with equanimity and compassion,
having pierced the delusions of mindlessness,
ready to spread the joy of the well-examined life.

as these fruits arise out of mindful contemplation,
the one-pointed mind awakens to this subtle truth:
the pure mind is the true mind.

Hyperbole in Vasistha's Yoga

One may revolve on the wheel of birth and death for a thousand lifetimes: this will not cease till one has fully mastered the mind and till that mind has come to a state of supreme peace and equanimity. - The Story of Prahlada, Vasistha's Yoga, V:43

This quote is from the last two paragraphs of Verse 43 of Chapter 5 in Vasistha's Yoga, which is the metaphorical Story of Prahlada.

The literal meaning of the above sentence implies the concept of reincarnation. Yet it is hyperbole because it does not mean that a person is fated to "revolve on the wheel of birth and death (Samsara) for a thousand lifetimes".

Rather, it implies that a person may feel like as though she is repeating the same pattern of behavior, and that "this will not cease" until she "has fully mastered the mind" through "contemplating the changeless consciousness which is infinite", ibid.

This mastery of the mind where "the mind has come to a state of supreme peace and equanimity" is achieved by abandoning one's illusions about objective phenomena as clearly stated in the rest of the quote:

...Abandon all illusory appearances of objective phenomena, whether they appear within you or outside you. Contemplate the sole reality of consciousness for the cessation of repeated birth, Taste the pure consciousness (which is, in truth, the essence of all that exists) by resolutely renouncing objectivity of consciousness, (all the concepts and percepts) and contemplating the changeless consciousness which is infinite. You will surely cross this river of world-appearance and rebirth. - ibid.

Hence, the purpose of hyperbole here is to inspire and thus motivate the disciple to apply the physical exercises in yoga to achieve "a state of supreme peace and equanimity".

Compassion: Letting the Head Rule Over the Heart

Once touched by compassion, a person has difficulty reverting to his previous life when passion ruled.

He knows that reason tempers emotions.

Thus, this is the essence of the concept of "mind over matter."

In matters of love, it is prudent to let the head rule the heart.

Otherwise, we end up falling in love, not with the object of our desire, but with a false love, the pale reflection of unconditional love itself.

In doing so, we see life as though "through a mirror darkly."

By letting reason rule over passion, a person who truly knows compassion, having risen above his passions, is truly able to love all people equally, unconditionally. This called equanimity

Let this be the measure of the depth of your compassion, to allow the embrace of unconditional love to touch your heart.

All it takes is love...

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Originally posted: May 18, 2005 1715H
Updated: February 8, 2013 2051H

1 Corinthians 13: Paul Describes Unconditional Love

"...love is patient. Love is kind. It's not jealous. It does not brag, and it's not arrogant. It does not act rudely or unbecomingly. It does not seek it's own. It's not provoked. It does not take into account a wrong suffered. It does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but it rejoices with the truth.

..love bears all things. It believes all things. It hopes all things. It endures all things. Love never fails."

So Paul says, "Pursue love."

And I amplify:

When you pursue your dream or a love, you pursue love. Whether it captures your heart, or you capture theirs, let love capture yours!