Announcements, Daily Buddhism

Book: The Five-Minute Buddhist by Brian Schell

Book:

The Five-Minute Buddhist
by Brian Schell

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A jargon-free, plain language introduction to the foundational ideas of Buddhism and real-world tips for practicing Buddhism while balancing life in the real, modern world. This book goes easy on the mystical mumbo-jumbo and simply introduces the ideas that will help you live in the present and feel different about the world and your place in it.

Geared towards people who were raised outside of Asia and people with a secular or Christian background who want to learn more of the philosophy that can change your life. This toolkit gives short lessons in what Buddhism is, and more importantly, how to apply it in situations with which you are already very familiar.

Section I: The Basics

What is Buddhism?
Who was Buddha?
What Buddhists Don’t Believe
The Four Noble Truths
The Eightfold Path
Five Precepts
Five Faultless Gifts
Three Poisons
Theravada & Mahayana
Pure Land
Tantric Buddhism / Vajrayana
Tibetan Buddhism
Zen Buddhism
Buddhist Symbology
Lotus
Conch
Parasol
Golden Fish
Treasure Vase
Victory Banner
Endless Knot
Dharma Wheel
Buddha Jokes

Section II: Q&A And Special Topics

Vegetarianism
Beginner’s Advice
Global Suffering
Souls, Karma and Moving On
Disappointment
Buddhist Movies
Zen Enough?
The Three Jewels include the Sangha
Self-Help Buddhism
Koan: A Diamond In The Road
Suicide?
What are Stupas?
Yama & Naraka: Death and Hell
Mara The Tempter
Bodhisattvas
Book Review: The Universe in a Single Atom by the Dalai Lama
Koan: Is That So?
Creation and Evolution
The Other Precepts
Koan: Obedience
Mandalas
Namaste!
No-Self
Dependent Origination
So You Want To Be A Buddhist?
Buddhist Weddings
Dealing with the Family
Book Review: The Accidental Buddhist
Faith or Not?
The Pesky Fifth Precept
Koan: Great Waves
Do Christians Have Karma?
Buddhist Jargon and Terminology
Buddhist Pet Food
The Karma of Performance Reviews
Controlling Karma
Book Review: Buddhist Scriptures, by Edward Conze, Ed.
Buddhist Service Obligations?
Koan: A Buddha
Koan: The Muddy Road
Meditation
Breath Watching & Insight Meditation
Empty Mind Meditation
Walking Meditation and Kinhin
Mindfulness Meditation
Mantra Meditation
Conceptual Meditation
Other Forms of Meditation
The Forty Meditation Themes
Buddhist Rosary Beads
Book Review: Footprints in the Snow
Prayer in Buddhism
Fat Buddha, Skinny Buddha, Laughing Buddha
Zen Gardens
Maya
Pajapati / Mahapajapati
Kwan Yin
Koan: Not Far from Buddhahood
If You Meet the Buddha on The Road, Kill Him
Buddhism and Homosexuality
Book Review: The Method of No-Method: The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination
To Meat or Not to Meat?
The Four Seals
The Four Immeasurables
Koan: The Strawberry
Koan: The Sound of One Hand
A Sensitive Topic: Masturbation
Buddhist Parenting and Discipline
I, Cannibal: Horror and Buddhism
Buddhist Temples
Why Do Buddhists Pray To Idols?
Just Sitting or Just Goofing Off?
Rebirth, Death, Heaven and Nirvana
Am I Buddhist Enough?
War and Peace
Rebirth and Karma
Why Do Buddhists Fall In Love?
Koan: The Voice of Happiness
Hinduism and Buddhism
Does Nirvana Mean Death to Everything?
Compassion and Pity
How Can I Desire Enlightenment?
Stringing Us Along
Reincarnation, God, and Other Things You Don’t Believe
Creation and the Origin of the Universe
Closet Buddhism
Being In the Present
Koan: The Dead Man’s Answer
Learning Non-Materialism
Wishing Your Life Away
Attachment To Buddhism
Depression and Drugs
Koan: The Stingy Artist

 

Paperback Details

  • Paperback: 152 pages
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1481950975
  • ISBN-13: 978-1481950978
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches

Kindle Product Details

      • File Size: 848 KB
      • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
      • Language: English
      • ASIN: B00B0G1QH4
      • Text-to-Speech: Enabled

 

 

 

Daily Buddhism

12 Steps, Higher Powers, and Buddhism

26 Comments

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

Daily Buddhism

Ambition

11 Comments

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.

Daily Buddhism

Aging and Suffering

9 Comments

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.

Daily Buddhism, Meditation

Help With Mindfulness and Meditation

13 Comments

Question:

Can you share some tips for being mindful for new practitioners? Also, do you have any tips for being motivated to meditate for new practitioners? I read the post about being mindful at work the other day and this is something I would LIKE to do but it is a daunting task because my job involves being responsible for up to 160 rowdy teenagers. I also wear a lot of hats at my job so my mind is always bouncing around and it is hard to meditate, I don’t think I have yet managed to do it. I was thinking some sort of item, or items, around the house or on my person might serve as reminders to do both of these things. I saw a Buddha candle holder the other day that made me think of this and I was also considering a small pendant or bracelet. However, I tend to side with you on the issue of idolatry and shrines, etc. Your perspectives on these issues are most appreciated.

Answer:

As you mentioned, we have discussed idols and shrines in the past. I believe that they aren’t necessary and tend to cause unnecessary attachment. That being said, the main point of having a statue or shrine is that they DO help with mindfulness. If you have a Buddha statue where you see him often, that will help with mindfulness, at least in theory; you can probably learn to tune him out if you ignore him too much. Other forms of Buddhist artwork and objects will have a similar benefit. You don’t need these objects for religious reasons, but they certainly won’t hurt in building your mindfulness. “Out of sight, out of mind” works in the opposite direction too.

I have only one tip to help new practitioners to meditate more often, and it’s a bit obvious. Set a specific time and do it every day. Force yourself to do it if you have to, but get in the habit of doing it regularly, just like any other physical exercise. Once it becomes a regular habit, you can start getting flexible with your timing, but you have to get to the place where you want to do it and look forward to it. It’s not meant to be unpleasant or something you put off or with which you procrastinate.

Everyone has their own ideas about what is or isn’t a good tip for mindfulness. I turned the question loose on Twitter and got the following responses:

@sacredmusick Take one minute every hour to sit and breathe. It will have amazing effects on overall focus and mindfulness.

@izablessing Hi Brian, I actually did a workshop with the Healing From the Core foundation. It was entitled Developing Therapeutic Presence! Excellent!

@cacwgirl Listen to the office staff!

@pamdodd Work tip: If busy, tell interrupters you’ll get back to them and set a time.

@Annie_Fox To be more mindful at work (or anywhere) begin 2 notice when UR annoyance levels kick in, then… http://bit.ly/gvkXi

@BruceDinwiddie Tips for mindfulness at work? Give up multi-tasking and focus on single tasks intently.


Daily Buddhism

Poetic Impermanence

9 Comments

Just a short post for today, but just a few words can hold a deep meaning. This is a short poem attributed to Li Bai, an 8th century Chinese poet, and expresses the Buddhist idea of impermanence perfectly. Just a reminder, zazen is a form of meditation where one just sits silently.

“Zazen on Ching-t’ing Mountain”:

The birds have vanished down the sky.
Now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains.

Daily Buddhism, Koans

Koan: The Stingy Artist

12 Comments

Koan: The Stingy Artist

Gessen was an artist monk. Before he would start a drawing or painting he always insisted upon being paid in advance, and his fees were high. He was known as the “Stingy Artist.”

A geisha once gave him a commission for a painting. “How much can you pay?” inquired Gessen.

“Whatever you charge,” replied the girl, “but I want you to do the work in front of me.”

So on a certain day Gessen was called by the geisha. She was holding a feast for her patron.

Gessen with fine brush work did the painting. When it was completed he asked the highest sum of his time.

He received his pay. Then the geisha turned to her patron, saying: “All this artist wants is money. His paintings are fine but his mind is dirty; money has caused it to become muddy. Drawn by such a filthy mind, his work is not fit to exhibit. It is just about good enough for one of my petticoats.”

Removing her skirt, she then asked Gessen to do another picture on the back of her petticoat.

“How much will you pay?” asked Gessen.

“Oh, any amount,” answered the girl.

Gessen named a fancy price, painted the picture in the manner requested, and went away.

It was learned later that Gessen had these reasons for desiring money:

A ravaging famine often visited his province. The rich would not help the poor, so Gessen had a secret warehouse, unknown to anyone, which he kept filled with grain, prepared for those emergencies.

From his village to the National Shrine the road was in very poor condition and many travellers suffered while traversing it. He desired to build a better road.

His teacher had passed away without realizing his wish to build a temple, and Gessen wished to complete this temple for him.

After Gessen had accomplished his three wishes he threw away his brushes and artist’s materials and, retiring to the mountains, never painted again.

Daily Buddhism

Wishing Your Life Away

9 Comments

Question:

I am particularly concerned about a friend who always seems unhappy at work, complains about how some colleagues are making her life difficult, and how little she earns. She believes that marrying and giving up her job would bring her happiness. She reads books that teach her “10 Ways of Dealing with People Who Make Your Life Miserable”, which is not a very useful category of writings, in my humble opinion. She also believes that an ideal job is one in which she could look forward to going into office every morning.

I think she is suffering because her expectations aren’t realistic. Particularly, I find the state of “always looking forward to” something very dubious. I have only ever looked forward to work probably for the first few months in a job. To me, “looking forward to” something is an extreme emotion that can only last for a short period of time. If I look forward to the weekend, I am probably expecting that I would enjoy every minute of it. There is some amount of indulgence involved in it. If I look forward to lunchtime everyday, it would probably make the rest of my day very tiresome in comparison. Hence constantly “looking forward to” some event is not only impossible to achieve, it also causes more suffering if that event is not what one would expect.

Well, that is my layman’s opinion. I would like to hear about the buddhist view of this. Is “looking forward to” something a realistic feeling that can be sustained in the real world, or even when one is enlightened? Or is it an extreme emotion, not unlike intense passion and attachment, which a Buddhist should avoid?

Many thanks for your response. I hope my question is not too vague to you, as I have not learnt proper buddhist terms to explain it in.

Answer:

Proper Buddhist Terms? Here? Not necessary at all, and I try to steer away from all the jargon anyway.

I don’t think having hopes and dreams are unrealistic at all. I have them, and I sincerely hope you do too. The problem, from the Buddhist standpoint, is when we get too attached to the dreams and start to avoid reality. If your friend is neglecting the here and now in favor of these hopes for something better in the future, then yes, she’s probably going to regret it someday. We’ve talked before on whether or not it’s OK for Buddhists to make long-term plans and expectations for the future (it is OK, by the way), and this is a related problem.

Buddhists are realists. The simple facts are that the past is gone. Dwelling on the past is unproductive. The future may or may not happen the way we envision it, and there’s no use in getting attached to hopeful outcomes. You are in the present, here and now. NOW is the only time you really have any control over, so make the most of it. NOW is all you really have, so enjoy it, learn from it, do some good with it.

Wasting the Now, thinking about what might be (or could be, or should be, or whatever) is robbing reality to spend on dreams. Work harder to make the reality of the Now a better place.

Announcements, Daily Buddhism

What Happens, Happens.

11 Comments

Question:

After having studied Buddhism for a while, I have come to some ideas about the philosophy and in particular its’ relation to morality. For westerners especially, Buddhism seems to be paradoxical and difficult to really categorize. I can accept that some things cannot be controlled, that man cannot directly choose his circumstances all the time. However, Buddhism, in particular Zen, which is influenced by Taoism has, throughout its’ teachings a kind of ‘whatever happens, happens’ kind of ideal. It seems to me that this could be fatalistic. If life is out of our control, then what about morality. If bad things just ‘ happen’ and chaos to order, order to chaos is inevitable, doesn’t that destroy our notion of choice? This can also create a kind of unclarity in one’s mind about what is right, what is wrong and can be used as an excuse for surrender to responsibility for one’s own life.

Answer:

My own chief complaint with Taoism is that it is seems passive in the extreme. Buddhism isn’t quite so passive, however. Yes, it teaches us to accept what comes by not grasping at expectations, but that’s not the same is being helpless to control ones own fate.

Bad things do sometimes just happen. So do good things. We need to learn to roll with the punches and deal with things as they happen. A great deal of suffering and unhappiness results from broken expectations and unpleasant surprises. Learn to see past all that.

This all relates to bad things that come from outside sources, not our own choice to do good or bad. If a truck runs off the road and drives through your house, is there anything you can do about that? No. Yet, if you continually hang around negative, discouraging, “toxic” people, is it likely that you will grow to take that point of view? Yes. You do have control over that sort of thing. You have control over who you call a friend. You have control over the food you eat. You have control over the words you speak and the choice of entertainment you enjoy. Most importantly, you have the choice and the control over your own actions, and this is where the Buddhist ideas of morality come into play. You do in fact have control over your thoughts and actions, and that’s really the only thing you do have control over.

We all need to learn the difference between the things you have control over and the things you do not, and focus your energies on changing the thngs we can. There’s an old prayer (not Buddhist) that goes like this:

“Lord, grant me patience to bear the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Daily Buddhism

Rebirth Revisited

13 Comments

Question:

I know that Buddhist belief is based greatly on experiencing teachings for yourself, and not taking what anyone says (even the Buddha himself) as truth without first examining it ourselves. However, I am confused as to where the belief in rebirth and karma comes from in Buddhism. I agree with this Buddhist belief that we should not blindly follow anything anyone says, and must figure things out for ourselves and experience them, but the belief in reincarnation seems to go against this. How can we possibly know that rebirth occurs if we cannot see it for ourselves? Thanks for the wonderful podcast.

Answer:

We’ve talked about this in the past (several times), but I think this may be the number one point of Buddhism to which Westerners cannot relate. Most non-Buddhists recognize reincarnation as the butt of uncountable jokes, scams, and is generally taken seriously only by some very strange celebrities. The fact that a huge portion of the world’s population do believe in rebirth is irrelevant if all you know are Shirley Maclaine jokes.

No one really knows the origins of the rebirth idea, it goes way back beyond Buddhism, into Hinduism, and is likely far older than that. I’m only guessing here, but I’d bet that the idea of rebirth is probably older than the concepts of heaven or hell; ancient people understood the cycle of life very well. You are born, you age, you die; it’s no great leap to see that cycle as a wheel that repeats. The idea is so old, however, that no one can say absolutely where it came from, but the idea has been refined and elaborated over the years, first by Hinduism, then by Buddhism.

As you said, it’s not a requirement that you believe anything blindly, and Buddhism encourages questioning. While it is true, that many of the writings on Buddhism concern themselves with reincarnation, it’s not really absolutely necessary to believe in it. The majority of Buddhist ideas relate to your life here on Earth, right now. “Promotion” or “demotion” in the next life is not something to be strived for (more attachment and grasping); the goal is to live a good life now. Whatever happens next time around, just happens. If the Buddhist concept of rebirth is correct, it will happen to you whether you believe in it or not, so don’t worry about it. If it causes you doubt and “suffering,” then throw it out.

Keep an open mind, do some research into different ways people explain rebirth, and maybe someday you will come to believe it. Or maybe not.

Here are links to two previous articles on the topic. Be sure to read the comments below each.

Reincarnation, God, and Things You Don’t Believe: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1323

Rebirth and Karma: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1182

Plain English Guide to Buddhism