Daily Buddhism

Hi guys!

I’ve been getting complaints that I have “sold my email list to spammers.”  This is, of course, not true.  I’ve spent years building this list up, and I’m not going to jeopardize my credibility for a few pennies per name.  That would be totally against everything I’ve said here, and I just wouldn’t do it. I hate SPAM as much as anyone else.  It just will not happen.

That being said, I’ve gotten enough of these messages, that I am taking the complaints seriously and working with my mail listing host provider (Aweber) to track down what is going on.  No one has sold or “hacked” anything on my end, but I admit there may be a problem somewhere down the line.

I’ll keep you posted!

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Podcast Episode 60: Buddhism Once Again

Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number Sixty. My name is Brian Schell, and I am the your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com.

Announcements:

Do we have anything to talk about in this episode? How about my nearly three-month absence from the world of podcasting? I’m sure I mentioned back in April or May that I had gotten a new job teaching, and it seriously takes up most of my time now. That being said, it’s been six months since I started doing that, and I can’t let it take over every minute of my time, no matter how much I enjoy it. I need to get back into doing some of the things I used to do for fun, so here I am. I’m not going to promise to do this every single week, but I am going to put out an episode every chance I get.

As always, the Daily Buddhism Email Newsletter goes out with one topic at a time, and I save them up to do the podcast. Since it’s been ages since I did the last podcast, I have a lot of newsletter material set back to podcast. The questions and articles that you are about to hear are from early July’s newsletters, and the next few podcasts we’ll be playing catch-up. That’s OK, most of this stuff isn’t going to go obsolete in our lifetime.

If you aren’t signed up for the email newsletter, just go to www.dailybuddhism.com and fix that oversight right now. It’s free and easier than ever to sign up.

And now let’s get on with this week’s show!

Koan: The Thief Who Became a Disciple
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1377

Koan: Zen in a Beggar’s Life
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1375

Buddhist Tattoos and Books
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1372
Book Article: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1186

Learning Non-Materialism
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1371

Don’t Fear the Karma
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1367

Koan: The Dead Man’s Answer
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1365

Free Newsletter: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/sign
Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com
Donate: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/donate

Question:

I appreciate all the hard work that you spend in spiritually enriching the lives of myself and, I’m sure, countless others.  It is a matter of life and death for me, as I am on a path of recovery from addiction.  I am unable to embrace a “higher power” via the christian concept because of issues in the past, having felt that god was not there for me during a most dire time of need; so an alternative is a serious need for me..

This is turning into a different communication than I had intended, but regarding recovery in the 12 steps, where your “higher power” takes an active role in your life, for example:

• “restoring us to sanity”
• “turning or will and lives over to the care of god as we understand him.”
• “admitting our character defects to him and asking him to remove them”
• (we)Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Does Buddhism have the notion of a higher power that personally intervenes in ones life, or lend guidance on a personal level, one that will actively be on the receiving end of “turning your will and lives over and guide us?  Is there a god one can achieve “conscious contact” with or indeed even has a “will” for our lives and can bestow “power to carry it out”?  If these concepts do not apply, What might be a counterpart in Buddhism.  How might one apply such concepts within the framework of Buddhism?

Or, more broadly how may Buddhism assist one in achieving the same goals, and aid in recovery within or even totally removed from the 12-step concept?

Answer:

We covered this topic once before in a guest post, which I will link to here: ”Buddhism and the 12-Step Process” I would definitely suggest reading that before continuing.

Although there are groups of Buddhists who have something that could be called a “higher power,” most do not. Buddhism, more than any other “religion” emphasizes personal responsibility. You got yourself into this trouble, and you are the only one that can get you out. Regarding the quotes in your question, I’d say there is nothing there that couldn’t be dealt with in Buddhism.

“Restoring us to sanity” That’s pretty much why we’re all Buddhists in the first place, isn’t it?

“Admitting our character defects and asking him to remove them” Meditation and reflection is all about learning about ourselves and seeking to change things that need changing.  The only difference is that you must take on the responsibility of change yourself, which if you are coming from the “there is no higher power” point of view, you realize already.

“Praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out” Again, this is meditation and reflection upon our own Enlightenment.

“turning or will and lives over to the care of god as we understand him.” This is the big one. If you want to follow the steps perfectly, then you need to substitute something for God.  For Buddhists, this could be your own inner self, the universe as a whole, nothingness, or even the concept of Buddha himself as a wise teacher. And yet the wording of that line is problematic: the whole point of Buddhism is to gain control over your will and life, not to give it to some abstraction. You need to work this one out for yourself.

I read many other social media sites, including Digg and Reddit, both of which have a very vocal group of Atheists. Every time the topic of Alcoholics Anonymous or another group that uses the 12-step program comes up, they are attacked for being “religious indoctrination centers” or something equally hostile. It’s not just the Buddhists who have trouble with the whole idea of higher powers.  More and more, people are scrutinizing the 12-step approach and picking it apart. Yet for millions of people it has worked.  It’s just a matter of adapting yourself and adapting the program to fit YOUR needs.

Previous article http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/890

Question:

How do I let go of the constant striving for a higher paying job with more power and a title? The whole idea of making more money in order to buy more things is a way of thinking that is hard to break free from. I am a fifth grade teacher and I love teaching. I am  happiest when I am in the classroom. I recently finished a degree in leadership that would make me qualified to become a principal. I did not do this out of desire for the job but rather as a way to compete with other teachers that talked about wanting to be a principal. It was also a convenient way to attract attention to myself. I did not enjoy one moment of the degree or the internship hours. Yet even though I am aware of all of this I feel a sense of duty to continue to seek that powerful, higher paying job. This whole situation is causing a great deal of stress that I cannot seem to meditate myself out of.

Answer:

I can relate. I’ll probably run into the same thing myself within a few years, maybe sooner. I’ve always been far too competitive.

You state several things that might be the cause of this, but I think you should be able to narrow it down to just one. It’s important to think on this and see if you can narrow down your reasons for this behavior. Are you simply competitive? Are you greedy, wanting more and more money (teaching probably isn’t the best career for you if that’s the case)?  Or are you doing this out of a need for self-promotion, attracting attention to yourself?

None of these ideas make you either unique or a bad person; we’re all raised with the idea of becoming a wealthy, successful person in a position of power. It’s not that hard to do it if you apply yourself and work hard. The problem comes when you get to that place by doing something you don’t enjoy doing, or cause yourself suffering by grasping too hard for more and more.

Buddhists can have ambitions.  Buddhists need money too.  Buddhists like recognition as much as the next guy.  The problem arises when these things become goals, not tools.

You need to think/meditate on this and figure out why you are doing it. If you love the classroom, you’ll probably be miserable in an administrative position.  It’s a whole different world. If you can find a good reason to become a Principal, then go for it. If you simply do it because of ambition, greed, or a need for attention, you are going to resent giving up the job you love.

Your instincts already tell you that there’s something wrong with your desire for this promotion. You already know that it’s not going to be what you want. You just need to figure out what the root cause is and work on that problem before your ambition or greed drives you to something you don’t like.

Question:

Brian, I was asked to join Facebook by a friend. I really did not want to do it but I did. I now wish I never had. I have found lost friends but at a huge price. The first was a big strapping Marine who was one of the first kick boxers in the USA. He is now relegated to a wheel chair with Parkinson disease. The second was my sparring partner. He now has Lou Gehrig’s disease. The third was one of my martial arts instructors who now has cancer. The fourth is our main instructor who has grown old and feeble.

I understand impermanence and I understand attachment. But this just plain scares the hell out of me. As a Buddhist I know what I am supposed to think, but in reality it is not working.

Answer:

We all age and we all die, and most importantly, we all know it’s coming. But when we are confronted with too much of it all at once, as you were, it really leaves an impact.

Everything in life changes. Everything. The bit of poetry last week by Li Bai exemplified the concept.  In the comment section below that post, a reader mentioned that given enough time, even the mountain itself would be gone, and that’s an excellent point. If even the mountains wear down and “die” (ask any geologist, they really do), then why should even the strongest of humanity, such as your kick-boxer friend, be any different?

Buddha himself said that change leads to suffering, and in the case of your friends, that’s clearly true.  Of course, as you say, you already know all of this. It’s applying these ideas to your life that is the hard part.

The only words of advice that I have that might help is to repeat again that all things do change; the same thing that terrifies you and causes your suffering right now can also be the solution to the problem. Your friends’ suffering is temporary as well.  Yes, I mean death. In your case, your friends aren’t suddenly dying, they are suffering lingering, debilitating diseases; the worst of the worst. Most people don’t really fear death itself, but I think most of us fear a long, drawn-out process of dying.  Even giving up your own attachments would not mean giving up compassion for those suffering.

None of us, not even Buddha himself, really knows what comes after death. Yet if you think about it, one thing we do know is that the suffering resulting from aging will stop. The survivors, such as yourself, will move on and continue with life for as long as it lasts, while your friends will move on to whatever comes after, if anything. Does this solve your problem? No, of course not.  There is no solution. But keeping all this in mind may help a bit, and that’s all we can do.