The right attitude for studying the way is just complete spontaneous acquiescence. Who cares whether it takes twenty or thirty years; you'll be naturally at peace, without the slightest bit of doubt or confusion. How can there be any obstruction again after spontaneous acquiescence? How can anyone arrive by way of externals?
I was recently invited by the National Geographic Society publishing department to read the book, "In God's Name" and do a review of the work. I found the title intreaging and agreed. I was provided a copy of the book and just finished it. It is by Jules Naudet and Gedeon Naudet. The photos are taken by Stephan Crasneanscki and the interviews by Virginie Luc.
The design of the cover was obviously the first thing that I noticed. It has a nice gold colored cover with a complimenting black binding and lovely white script. The mixture of these three colors lends itself well to the noble topic within as gold, black and white are all colors associated with spirituality in many religions.
Then I opened the book and was rewarded with a stunning, brilliant and artistic photo of a trio of Buddhist monks wrapped up in their robes with one monk peering out from around his shroud at the camera. The pictures in this book live up to the standard of photography that the world has come to expect from National Geographic. There is also a wonderful picture of Buddhist nun peering over glasses while reading as well as young Tibetan Buddhist monks playing soccer. The wisdom in her face and eyes is endearing and captivating.
And so this book is worth buying for the pictures alone but the wisdom from diverse religions within is just as worthwhile. The various religions include: Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Shinto and Hinduism. I hope I named them all. So the wisdom is simple but like most simple messages of spirituality that are deeply profound. I will touch on a few of the quotes from other religions but being a Buddhist I will focus more on those.
The Dalai Lama was introduced in this book with him describing the balance between being seen by Tibetan Buddhists as Avalokiteshvara (Kwan Yin) and a sentient being like everyone else. He has such disarming honesty when he says, "I am also ridden with a bit of laziness. So, while talking to other people, I do not give airs to myself. I speak the real fact. That is why people love me. For me too, I have no uneasiness. It is troublesome if I think I am smart and higher." This kind of humility is exactly what makes him such an enlightened being. He is truly living and epitomizing the middle way.
Another spiritual leader in the book that I found fascinating is the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England. His answer to the question, "How do you feel the presence of God?" sounded very similar to Buddhism and reminded me how similar we are all despite our different spiritual beliefs. He says, "I am aware of the presence of God every time I'm aware of my own breathing, my own heartbeat. (James: That's very Buddhist to talk of finding peace in one's breath and heartbeat).
Then when asked, "What is the meaning of death" the Dalai Lama said, "If you think that a natural thing has come, tranquility shall prevail. For example, fruits fall down when ripened. There is no reason to be surprised. That is what it is. But if you think that something catastrophic has happened, then a lot of unhappiness shall follow.
When asked, "Can different religions coexist" the Dali Lama responded, "In early times, in each place, people lived in isolation from the rest. It was right for them to abide within a solitary religious milieu. In their isolated milieus, it was right for them to promote their particular religion. We can't decree that this or that particular religion is the most important. I can not say that Buddhism is the best for each one of us." This kind of acceptance is a big reason that I became a Buddhist.
All in all I was enthralled with this book and pleased to have had the chance to read and review it. I would highly recommend this piece of art and would be a great gift. It would be a great coffee table book.
1986 was a difficult year for the world. In January the United States saw the explosion of the space shuttle, Challenger during lift off. Then in April a man made disaster of epic proportions was triggered that rocked the then Soviet Union in Russia which affected the world as a result of the explosion of nuclear reactor #4 at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine.
I remember this accident vividly even though I was only 10 years old. The true reality of the extent of the damage wasn't fully known for some time due to the censorship of the Communist Party of the USSR but now 22 years later the true story is finally being told.
And just yesterday I discovered a stellar, brilliant documentary (viewable at the bottom of this post) that compiles all the information known up to the present regarding the Chernobyl nightmare. It is beyond sobering but a must view due to the current push to build more nuclear reactors in the face of global warming and the current oil crisis.
It is true that it emits the least amount of greenhouse gases of any currently known energy options. However the problem is that the energy is highly unstable, dangerous and is difficult to control. It only takes one slight error to cause long lasting, world wide disaster. In addition, there is still the problem of how to safely "store" the highly, dangerous, radioactive waste.
As a Buddhist I can't condone something with such a high risk for death and suffering. The probability of major accidents is small but another Chernobyl will eventually occur given the imperfect nature of human beings. I can not advocate for an energy where an accident can kill as many people if not more than a war. I am very committed to the precept of not killing or causing suffering and nuclear energy is like playing with a loaded gun, sooner or later it will cause an accident, kill someone and/or cause tremendous suffering. The difference, however, is that the nuclear loaded gun has the potential to kill all life on Earth.
Pushing nuclear energy is a short-sighted and a less skillful view being that it places greed and desire for instant gratification over long-term considerations of safety and other consequences. It is extreme selfishness to push for taking such stupid risks rather than live more modestly, conserve and invest in safer, more natural energy. It is gambling with the life and happiness of our children and grand-children.
It runs at an hour and 30 minutes and is one of the best documentaries that I have ever seen. I strongly urge you to watch it. It is truly a powerful and important documentary. The true story of Chernobyl must be known and seen to remind ourselves of the irreversible disasters that can easily occur when using nuclear power:
In order to learn the nature of the myriad things, you must know that although they may look round or square, the other features of oceans and mountains are infinite in variety; whole worlds are there. It is so not only around you, but also directly beneath your feet, or in a drop of water.
Myanmar's military government, which has a relief hub just 10 miles north in the town of Bogalay, has not delivered aid to scores of remote villages like this across some of the most devastated areas of the Irrawaddy River delta. For now, the villagers' only hope is goods that arrive from time to time in an underground supply chain operated by Buddhist monks in Bogalay, who are defying the ban on private relief operations in the delta.
James: The Burmese Sangha has shown such courage and compassion toward the people from the protests last year to helping victims of the recent cyclone. They clearly understand the importance of compassion to the point of risking their own lives and safety to help as many people as they can. All despite many monasteries being destroyed and severely damaged.
Their efforts are even more noble when you consider that the monks themselves don't have a lot and usually rely upon the laity for their food. Yet here they are giving and helping in any and all ways they can. However, I'm not surprised being how centered in oneness that these monks know and practice. They intimately know the interconnected between all beings and that helping others is not different and no less important than helping oneself.
It is not an exaggeration to say that monks are trained to help the people. Their vows are quite centered upon working for the betterment and liberation of the people from suffering and their response to the aftermath of this disaster is a powerful expression of those values.
They are a cherished example for me in how to deal with severe suffering in my own life and in the lives of other people. The monks have suffered as much as the people and yet they are being pro-active and not wallowing in their sorrow. They are a wonderful example that helping others can help ease our own suffering. Too often when I am in deep pain and suffering I retreat from others into a place where I feel self-pity as if I am the only person suffering in the world. The monks are a beautiful reminder of why I do my best to follow the Dharma.
In the confusion of the aftermath of cyclone nargis many believe that it was the result of the "bad karma" of the victims. That, however, is somewhat short-sighted says one Burmese monk, "If the government would have warned people, they would not have died. So this disaster is not karma; it is a natural case of cause and effect by humans."
As some of you know, my wife recently graduated with a degree in accounting all the while working full time. She ended up graduating within the top of her class and thus graduated with honors. She had been in the banking industry for years before and has been wanting to get a job in the green industry (renewable energy and other environmental jobs).
Well she applied to an up and coming solar company in the area awhile back and didn't hear anything back from them for a couple of weeks but then received a phone call from them awhile later to set up an interview. The interview went well and they were quite impressed with her and ended up giving her the job working in their accounting department. She is so excited to be working a green collar job as getting a job working in the green industry has been her dream job.
Part of why she wanted to work in this industry was because being Buddhist she has wanted to gain employment with a company that was involved in giving back to our environment and working to reduce our negative impact on our Earth.
She is also excited to be working for this company because they are just starting to hire for their accounting department so she will be able to start off getting experience in all areas of the field. This is the beginning of her career and she's in a great spot to launch it.
Well today is her first day and I'm anxious to hear how it's been going, she's going to try and call me at lunch. I'm so proud of her and all the hard work that she has put into gaining this higher education to help improve our lives. She is amazing and so incredibly smart that I just had to brag about her a bit here.
Wish her luck!!!
