Category Archives: Daily Buddhism

Daily Buddhism, Koans

Koan: The Dead Man’s Answer

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The Dead Man’s Answer

When Mamiya, who later became a well-known preacher, went to a teacher for personal guidance, he was asked to explain the sound of one hand.

Mamiya concentrated upon what the sound of one hand might be. “You are not working hard enough,” his teacher told him. “You are too attached to food, wealth, things, and that sound. It would be better if you died. That would solve the problem.”

The next time Mamiya appeared before his teacher he was again asked what he had to show regarding the sound of one hand. Mamiya at once fell over as if he were dead.

“You are dead all right,” observed the teacher, “But how about that sound?”

“I haven’t solved that yet,” replied Mamiya, looking up.

“Dead men do not speak,” said the teacher. “Get out!”

Daily Buddhism

Don’t Fear the Karma

3 Comments

FearImageQuestion:

I have only recently started listening to your podcast. Listening to it has been part of my seeking of a belief system. I have found it extra-ordinarily difficult to find something to believe in be it spirituality, ideas, people and even myself. Though I know this issue has to do more with my own psychology then a faith structure, I have found the notion of Buddhism to be most in line to what I think is true of my reality.

My question has to do with the concept of karma. I understand that it is a central part of Buddhism, but I find that I fear it the most. I know it is perhaps an irrational fear, but could you explain to me the causal affects of karma? There have been things which I have done in my life that I am not particularly proud of, and I have done my best to make amends to those that I have hurt (emotionally). But, I do not believe that I have ever been forgiven, I don’t know what this means for me in terms of karma. If I am destined to this feeling of sadness or not being able to understand that was my past and now I live in my present.

Answer:

There are a few things to consider with karma. First, karma is simply the way the universe works, it’s like gravity. There’s no “mind” controlling it, nor does it seek “revenge” on people.

You say you have done bad things, and since I don’t know you, I won’t argue that point. On the other hand, you say you have made amends to those you have hurt. If you have truly made amends, then it seems likely that karma will balance out. You say that you have not been forgiven… by whom? The person you wronged or by some idea of “God?” If the person forgave you, then that’s all that matters. If you have truly atoned for whatever it is that you did, then karma will take care of itself.

There are some things that you might not be able to truly atone for having done. Some things, you cannot simply just “undo.” So, yes, your actions do have consequences in the next life (lives). You cannot know the ultimate effect on your karma or what your next life will be, so there is no point in getting “attached” to the outcome. If you want to influence your future life, then work hard to live a good life NOW. Maybe you’ve messed up in the past, but you still have a future to make up for it.

The important thing is not to suffer needlessly over the worry. Whatever happens will happen whether you fear it or not. Learn to act in a “good” way simply because that is the best way to act, not because you want some future reward.

Good luck!

Daily Buddhism

Learning Non-Materialism

15 Comments

Question:

I am fairly new to Buddhism, though I have been interested in the Buddhist system of beliefs for many years. I am wondering if you can suggest any practices to help develop non-attachment, particularly in regards to food and material things. Perhaps you have covered this in a previous episode, I have not listened to all the back podcasts yet. Thank you for your time and for the work you put into the website and podcasts. It is very helpful to a novice Buddhist like myself.

Answer:

No, I don’t think we’ve covered this before, at least not from the “how-to” perspective, and yes, it’s a difficult thing to master.

In the Four Noble Truths, Buddha himself explained that one of the primary causes of suffering is attachment. He meant more than just attachment to material things; he meant attachment to ideas, people, emotions, beliefs, and much more. But let’s focus on just worldly material possessions for today.

In the East, historically, it has been tradition for householders to support wandering monks, mendicants, ascetics, and other traveling “holy men.” It was completely possible for these men to survive owning nothing but the clothes on their backs, and in some regions, even clothing was an option. With modern society in the East, and even moreso in Western countries, this lifestyle just doesn’t work well anymore. Generally speaking, we don’t look at “homeless people” as holy men; often it’s quite the opposite. Clearly, for most of us, we need to find some kind of middle way between being totally homeless and propertyless and blatant greedy materialism.

There’s nothing wrong with having a job, driving a car, wearing decent clothes, and owning a few “toys.” The trick is not to get too attached to them. How would you react if somehow you lost it all tomorrow?

In my own life, I never really learned this lesson until I went to Japan. Basically, all I took with me was the contents of two suitcases, and had to make do with those items for the duration of my stay (finding clothing in my size over there was not something I ever managed to do). It was tough, but it was also easy to visualize how it could have been worse; I wasn’t broke and I did have options if there was something I really needed. Still, I had a house full of possessions back in the States that I was giving up, and it turns out after a couple of weeks, I didn’t miss those possessions at all. Upon my return, I have been slowly working at getting rid of many of those things. It’s just “stuff” now, and I see now that “stuff” is just another ball & chain.

So I’ll open up the question to all of you: How do you manage your attachment to material things? Is it a problem for you, and if it’s not, then why not?

Daily Buddhism

Buddhist Tattoos and Books

17 Comments

Question:

Hello Brian, Which podcast discusses books that you and others have read? Best of luck with the new job! I miss getting semi daily tweets.

PS- what is a Buddhist opinion on tattoos? Are tattoos considered desecrating to the human body and isn’t the body considered a temple?

Art-Tat-01Answer:

Thank you, the new job is going well, and I’ve finally managed to shuffle things around to hopefully make time for everything. I may not be Tweeting as much anymore, but at least the blogs and emails are going out regularly again.

The post about books was called “Beginner’s Buddhism Books,” and you can find it here: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1186 , or listen to the podcast version here: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1191

If you or anyone else has recently found a book that you recommend, feel free to add it to the post in a comment.

Tattoos? Hmmm. I don’t know of anything Buddha himself said about tattoos. I think that the whole idea of “Your body is a temple” is more of a Christian idea than Buddhist. Remember, Buddhists believe that the body is just a temporary shell, to be discarded when we are doe with it.

Tattoos and how they are looked upon is more related to culture than religion in my experience. In Japan, for example, no “civilized person” shows tattoos publicly. Americans who have tattoos and visit Japan are advised to cover them up, as only the “Japanese Mafia” wear tattoos openly. I’m not going to say there aren’t exceptions to that, but it seemed pretty accurate as far as I could see. I don’t have a tattoo, but my roommate did, and he absolutely got a negative reaction out of it. On the other hand, it’s not that unusual for children to have tattoos in America; they’re simply everywhere.

In countries where tattooing is socially acceptable, there is a huge variety of very beautiful tattoos of Buddhist imagery. A quick Google of “Buddhist Tattoos” will show many examples.

Daily Buddhism

Paradoxes

6 Comments

Question:

I was listening to one of the many comments that you were reading on your podcast regarding attachment to enlightenment, and I had a delightful series of thoughts that I felt compelled to share with the Daily Buddhism sangha. I was listening to your commentary on the issue and realized that it may not be a question of determining the meaning of desire and attachment, as is so often discussed. At the present moment I consider this dilemma of attachment to enlightenment to be a paradox. The less attached you become to enlightenment (and all other things, of course), the closer you get to it. I have in my mind a picture of a person who has attained enlightenment, who, when asked about it, simply laughs and talks about the mosquito on his arm, and how much of a good mother she is.

It always delights me when I find paradox in this world because it inevitably breeds more paradox. For example, once I had the thought to share this insight on enlightenment, my desire to share it with you actually pushed me farther away from enlightenment, because I had been spending so much energy “grasping” this thought until I could write it down to share it. Even the desire to share this thought in this current moment is, in itself, a paradox that brings me farther from the message I am trying to convey because it is simply a thought that, if I were being truly mindful, I would notice and move on. I’m sure by now I have you and your listeners’ heads spinning with this idea, and usually when I find myself crawling deeper into this particular rabbit hole (which is so tempting to do), I like to smile and say to myself, “ah, Paradox.” And move on with the rest of my day.

Of course, what I actually did was proofread the message to make sure it’s clear enough. Yet another paradox!

And now I’ve seen the Buddha on the road, so I must kill him.

Your comments are always appreciated, and thank you for the wisdom that you’ve shared with me through the podcast and your emails.

Answer:

Yes, those mosquito stings hurt.

Oh, you want more?

It’s not unusual for me to get a message that I shouldn’t have explained the topic about such-and-such, as some things are beyond words. Some topics cannot be explained in words, and I do realize this, but I have the “teacher mentality” coupled with the responsibility of “informing” my readers, so I feel a need to put some of the complex ideas of Buddhism into words. Sometimes it works out very well, sometimes it doesn’t, but in many cases, I just cannot leave the topic unmentioned or the question unanswered. I probably should leave some topics alone, but if I don’t bring them up, they might not be considered at all.

I guess that’s the same thing you describe; I often explain terminology and ideas here, simply because that’s my job. Yet by doing these things, I run the risk of getting bogged down in labels and terminology. A good example of this was the “Am I Buddhist Enough” post a few months back. I tried to explain what a Buddhist is and does, but there were several reader comments that correctly pointed out that “Buddhist” is just a label and doesn’t matter anyway. Yet, there does seem to be a need to define and understand what it means to be one. It’s another contradiction or paradox.

I suspect that paradox is much more common in our lives than we tend to believe. You know things should be done one way, yet you do them in just the opposite way. Why is this? Comment with your own examples!

Daily Buddhism

Update

2 Comments

Hello all,

As I mentioned a while back in the podcast, my real-life job has grown to insane proportions in the past couple of weeks. I had planned to keep the site going on an every-other day basis, but obviously, I haven’t been doing that. I do apologize for the interruption. That being said, the site is not closed and I haven’t “quit.” I love what I’m doing here, and have no plans to ever stop.

I’ll be returning full-time on the 6th, and I still hope to make some posts between now and the 6th. In the meantime, send in your questions or topic suggestions to give me something to work with. If you are subscribed to the newsletter, podcast, or RSS feed, don’t change anything, and we’ll just continue from where we left off then.

I’ve got some big plans for the site, and one of them involves automating things to where I can send out scheduled posts. This will let me send out a daily post even on the days when I’m not actually “here.” That will eliminate this problem returning in the future.

Daily Buddhism

Dealing With Hatred

13 Comments

Question:

Hi Brian, I’ve been tumbling this in my head. One of the strongest tenents in Buddhism I agree with is ending suffering, both for the self and others. It’s been a core part of my spiritual path as I’ve started transitioning from female-to-male. I’ve been lucky that many are supportive, even if they do not understand or necessarily agree with my decision. They do realize that the person inside this shell is still the same person in the old shell and this is something that I felt I had to do (it took me a good 3 years of debating whether transitioning was my path or not). But I have started to face more and more discrimination and hate (a lot less than many transwomen face like Angie Zapata).

I totally respect those that feel this isn’t their path but often have a hard time coming to terms with the violence and hate that is thrown at myself and others who find this as their only salvation from suffering (certainly one could have a debate that the body is nothing more than property and an attachment but it does, IMO, go deeper than that).

I try to view in my head that perhaps some experience in their past has them being angry and hateful towards others they do not understand, respect or otherwise. But there are times when I cannot come to terms as to how much pain they emit. How does one come to terms with this and help the other person relieve their own suffering from hate and anger? I know I cannot force them to realize that this is a personal path that has no direct effect on their life but often their hate has a direct effect on mine. Some might say that not transitioning would stop their pain (this is not family, friends or colleagues but rather strangers and society at large) but that, in turn, creates more suffering for me. I’m at a loss and can only turn my cheek so many times before I give up. How can I deal with this in Buddhism?

Answer:

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” — The Buddha

This is one of those things that I just don’t understand. How someone else’s sexual orientation(not precisely the right term here) matters to anyone else is just beyond me. I can understand someone reacting with either acceptance or revulsion; either could be valid responses. But I don’t get anger and violence.

Almost every reference I could find about hate and violence for situations as you describe are concerned with the Buddhists’ own internal hatred and how to deal with it, not necessarily hatred by others. Here’s one story that does apply:

On one occasion, the Buddha was invited by the Brahmin Bharadvaja for alms to his house. As invited, the Buddha visited the house of the Brahmin. Instead of entertaining Him, the Brahmin poured forth a torrent of abuse with the filthiest of words. The Buddha politely inquired:

“Do visitors come to your house, good Brahmin?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“What do yu do when they come?”
“Oh, we prepare a sumptuous feast.”
“What do you if they refuse to receive the meal?”
“Why, we gladly partake of them ourselves.”
“Well, good Brahmin, you have invited me for alms and entertained me with abuse which I decline to accept. So now it belongs to you.”
From the Akkosa Sutta

The Buddha did not retaliate but politely gave back what the Brahmin had given Him. Retaliate not, the Buddha advised. “Hatred does not cease through hatred but through love alone they cease.”

Essentially, this is another way of saying “turn the other cheek.” I’m sure you already know that this is the best policy, but unfortunately, it doesn’t really help much when you are the target of hatred.

[note] I was going to end my answer with the above, but it bothered me all weekend as being woefully inadequate for the problem described. This person is hated for what she IS, not anything she’s done. I felt there had to be a better answer. Not able to think of any better advice on my own, I asked the following question on Twitter to see what came up:

“How do you deal with hatred directed at you from others when “turning the other cheek” seems inadequate?

And the following answers came in. Some may be of help, but I still don’t feel any of them are going to solve the problem.

@StFrancisPlace “Pray that your enemy may be the recipient of an Enlightenment.” From the teachings of Buddha and Jesus.

@AliceSikora Understand where the hate is coming from – usually from some issue in hater (hopefully). Forgive, maintaining a safe distance.

@pcundell You can’t change what others feel or think, & if you’ve done nothing wrong you can only try and understand their point of view.

@thubtenyeshe When my teachers tell me it’s a reflection of mind I am like ‘WHAT!’ so it’s a hard one. Breathe and walk away helps a lot!

@iurbia Turn the other cheek is Christian. No Self – what is hate? I don’t know buddy, look forward to your answer.

@justuhgrrl Usually I show them no fear or pain and move along. Take the high road, then you haven’t lost your dignity or their respect.

@dongilmore FYI, I thought about the phrase “turn the other cheek.” Do you agree it could seem arrogant, passive-aggressive and baiting?

@jesolomon When ill will is directed at you, remember that the cause generally lies with the hater not the recipient.

@JulieCovey People who hate are miserable. Love, forgive. & let go of what you cannot change. You can choose your response but not others actions.

@FreedomFreedom Be the person who “writes on water”. http://bit.ly/ihAew

@dongilmore Reflect back or let pass-thru; in either case, compassion for their ignorance, without arrogance, without turning other cheek

@FreedomFreedom “How do you deal with hatred directed at you from others?” Those are THEIR emotions. Reject the emotions with a warm ‚ÄúNo thanks.‚Äù

@Robyn_Artemis In turn you don’t tolerate hate and wouldn’t treat people as such. You don’t want to be treated that way either. Walk away.

@Robyn_Artemis Treat others the way you want to be treated. Respect the other person because you want to be treated in the same way.

@Carl For help with hatred directed towards you, look into Byron Katie’s http://www.thework.com

@andraew Try not to give them the satisfaction of biting on fighting bait. (Don’t participate or encourage hateful language/arguments)

@girlscientist Depends on if it’s personal and specific or just based on impersonal things. But always compassion is required.

@SightlineCoach Let go, move on, draw a shield around self… OR… use a judo move: sidestep and let weight of hatred pull the bearer away.

@omgal A quandary. The Dalai Lama addressed this last week in Boston. At times we must stand up to hatred so others don’t suffer too.

@pantherapardus What I think I _should_ do: examine my behavior and see if I contributed to the issue in any way; repair problem if possible.

@pantherapardus How _do_ I deal with it or how do I think I _should_ deal with it? What I do: get defensive and assume the problem is on them

@rjeskow Possible advice: Examine the feelings this brings up in you. Don’t try to change it yet. Just observe.

@cataractmoon The Dalai Lama speaks much about understanding the other person, so he takes a Rogerian argument

@barbchamberlain How about “Recognize their hate is about them, not about you”?

@Kymsart I find it difficult. And often don’t succeed, but try to remove myself, be kind and practice unconditional love. It is HARD

@Kymsart I’ve experienced this. I really try to practice being kind regardless. I know they have an unresolved issue.

And as always, feel free to add your advice and suggestions in the comment section below this article on the website.

If you want to learn more about dealing with your own internal anger, the Dalai Lama covered the topic pretty thoroughly in “Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective,” (Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1559390735/?tag=askdrarca-20)

Daily Buddhism, Koans, Meditation

Koan: Sleeping in the Daytime

2 Comments

Sleeping in the Daytime

The master Soyen Shaku passed from this world when he was sixty-one years of age. Fulfilling his life’s work, he left a great teaching, far richer than that of most Zen masters. His pupils used to sleep in the daytime during midsummer, and while he overlooked this he himself never wasted a minute.

When he was but twelve years old he was already studying Tendai philosophical speculation. One summer day the air had been so sultry that little Soyen stretched his legs and went to sleep while his teacher was away.

Three hours passed when, suddenly waking, he heard his master enter, but it was too late. There he lay, sprawled across the doorway.

“I beg your pardon, I beg your pardon,” his teacher whispered, stepping carefully over Soyen’s body as if it were that of some distinguished guest. After this, Soyen never slept again in the afternoon.

Daily Buddhism

Is Buddhism A Lonely Path?

31 Comments

Question:

For those of us who come from a spiritual tradition, where there is a concept of a “personal God,” divas, saints, etc., Buddhism can seem very cold and lonely. It’s just our mind and this thing called “karma,” no beginning; no end. Austere, to say the least.

Sometimes, when life is not going well, it’s “comforting” to think that there is a spiritual presence somewhere–a “higher power, if you will, to whom we can turn, to unburden our hearts or to ask for “help,” whatever that means.

I’m sure to some Buddhist practitioners, this seems a shortcoming on the part of those of use who “can’t cut it” as Buddhists. We still want the “warm and fuzzies” of a personal God. Well, why not?

Is there a valid expression of this personal higher power in traditional Buddhism, without resorting to folk religion and superstition?

Answer:

I know what you mean; this was originally one of my own issues back when I first started looking into Buddhism. There was even a period of nearly a year when I gave up Buddhism and went back to Christianity, and this was probably the biggest reason at the time. When you are used to “walking with God” and knowing that “you’ll never walk alone” and similar ideas, it’s hard to give that up and take complete responsibility for yourself.After all, you’re just one person, how can that compare to having God on your side?

All I can say is that after time, it gets easier. In my own case, I found that meditation helped quite a lot. In a way, becoming one with everything does indeed offset not having a personal god; you are the god in one sense. In another sense, you’re nothing at all. With enough meditation, your outlook on many things will change. Still, that’s probably not the perfect solution for everyone.

I’m very interested to hear what our readers have to say about this, especially those who converted into Buddhism rather than being born into it. Did you have issues of this nature, and if so, how did you deal with them? Post your comment below or send me an email.

Daily Buddhism

Closet Buddhism

12 Comments

Question:

I am very new to the podcast and am currently downloading as many past shows as my computer will allow! I am also a new Zen Buddhist after researching the different secs. While I have yet to sit formally with a sangha as I am not near a Zen centre. I am moving to Calgary, Alberta for college this fall and have found Zen(!) there and plan to make myself known to the sangha there and absorb as much information and gain much experience to continue and further my training.

My situation is very common; I’m currently living with my parents in the lead up to starting school in a different city and have found myself missing my privacy (though my parents are not intrusive) but I find I practise in private and have not really ‘come out’ as a Buddhist. I’m finding it hard to practise behind closed doors and hide my alter. After watching my sister convert to Judaism from Christianity, I do not wish to cause emotional pain or suffering to my parents. I read the Buddha would not accept students without their parents’ permission, while I’ve taken a long time to ask, I’m wondering if Zen teachers uphold this and also should I just bite the bullet and talk to my family?

Answer:

Buddha had cultural reasons for asking for the parents’ permission (often the child was needed to support the family); you don’t have that restriction.

I can’t answer your question directly, as I don’t know your family. You stated that your sister’s conversion to Judaism caused some friction within the family, so I must assume that your conversion to Buddhism would too, and you are hoping to avoid the inevitable battle. I also assume that your parents are reasonably devout Christians, although it’s not really a requirement for them to be super-religious to have this argument.

Unlike god-based religions, there’s no judgmental God to strike you down if you deny him, so there is no mortal “danger” in keeping it from your parents if you choose to continue doing so. That being said, keeping secrets could damage your karma in the long term, and hiding the truth is going to cause you a certain amount of guilt and mental suffering. It’s almost certainly better to just be open with it, but the trick is in minimizing the impact the revelation will have.

If you simply walk in the front door and announce “Guess what? I’m converting to Buddhism!” they’re going to freak out. If it were me, I’d ease them into the idea slowly. Let them see you reading a book on Buddhism; maybe use it as an excuse to explain some things to them about what Buddhism is all about: “Hey, did you know that Buddhists believe ______?” Get them to the point where they are comfortable talking about the subject and subtly teach them a few of the basics. Lay the groundwork. Eventually, when the time is right, tell them you consider yourself a Buddhist.