Cat Walk

Quick paws, a black cat
Crosses on the road early,
A morning walk home

Small Stone #1

At the intersection 
a sudden slanting rain 
comes down unevenly 
making this not the same old road.

Walking the boardwalk at Kensington Metropark. It was the last hot day before the even hotter stretch we're currently having in Michigan. The boardwalk crosses over a lagoon-like part of Kensington Lake with blankets of lily pads. I imagine the iconic lotus and these water lilies are closely related. The flower grows out of the muck through murky water and extends above the water on its stem. The pads grow taller too with stems supporting the leaf over the water. Of course the metaphor of something beautiful emerging from a not so beautiful substrate is there. But, that's just a snapshot. I think it's just amazing to witness the continuum of nature. The plant is not static. It changes and is not separate from the muddy water and muck at the bottom. Neither are we humans static. All of our mess and beauty are mixed together, not separate, not singular, not something independent.

The Four Noble Truths

Stuart D. Pierson

5/18/2013

The Four Noble Truths: Teaching of Gautama Buddha

The Buddha’s first teaching after awakening

After his awakening Siddhartha Gautama gave his first teaching as the Buddha. Before sitting in meditation with the commitment to reach enlightenment he had found wisdom in following a middle path. Choosing that path meant that he would reject the asceticism championed by the Sramana monks with whom he traveled and served as their teacher. The monks felt he had abandoned the path they whole heartedly followed and they subsequently abandoned him. Yet when the newly awakened Buddha encountered them again they sat with him and listened to what he had to say.

In that teaching, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, he introduced his Middle Way and the Four Noble Truths. The Middle Way teaches that the extremes of sensual indulgence and asceticism do not lead to awakening and wisdom. The Four Noble Truths first taught to those ascetic monks over two thousand five hundred years ago are a timeless explanation of the root problem of being human. The predicament of the human condition remains the same today. There still is dukkha, often interpreted as suffering or unsatisfaction. The cause of dukkha still is craving. By working to eliminate the cause, we see there can be an end to dukkha. Extinguishing suffering, the end of dukkha, can be realized through a system of practice.

The Buddha’s basic wisdom concerns everyday life and not exalted themes such as whether there is a creator of the universe and the like. This makes the Buddha’s teaching, Buddhadharma, immediate and applicable. Furthermore, the teaching contained in the Four Noble Truths is complete. We can gain much by probing deeper into the extensive literature and practices of Buddhadharma, but foremost is the effort put into the essential nature of the Four Noble Truths. 

The Four Noble Truths

There is dukkha (We find ourselves in unsatisfying conditions and circumstances)

Human beings want to be happy. Human beings want to be successful and to live free of problems. Human beings want acceptance, respect and love from other human beings. Human beings want what is pleasant and fulfilling to go on uninterrupted. We cling to things and people we love and hold dear. Even though these conditions are universally yearned for, human beings often find they are not happy, unsuccessful at times, beset by all sorts of problems, rejected by others, disrespected and possibly found to be of ill repute. Many of us experience being unloved and rejected by someone we thought to be our soul-mate. And at some point we will be separated from those we love and hold dear, either by our own death or by theirs, or just by one of us ending the relationship. Lastly, the things we value don’t persist or at least can’t travel with us past this life.

There is a cause of dukkha (Suffering, being dissatisfied doesn’t just happen)

So, there is a tension set up in our hearts. We find that in the midst of preferred conditions and pleasant experiences we feel satisfied with things and life in general. Then these circumstances end. We painfully learn early on that every morning can’t be Christmas morning. We encounter not getting what we desire and imagine how life would be better if our desires were fulfilled. In our minds we imagine that satisfaction, happiness, or at least being comfortable, can be permanent conditions and yet, perplexingly, they are fleeting. When we distill this idea of what causes human unhappiness, we find the cause to be in our clinging to what we desire and not being okay with not having what we desire.

There is an end to dukkha (Extinguishing craving and clinging ends suffering)

Here the Buddha shows us that though stress, dissatisfaction and suffering are seemingly inevitable, leaving craving and clinging behind ends dukkha. Any person enlightened or not, experiences difficulty. How we perceive and respond to difficult situations defines whether stress and suffering become part of the picture. Dukkha is defenseless against one who doesn’t crave or cling. Not clinging, conditions are conditions with only that in the picture.

Wishing for an end to our personal suffering can be the reason why we first seek out the Buddhadharma. It can seem selfish, rather than selfless, to want to end our own suffering. Yet we begin with ourselves only to find that selflessness emerges as dukkha diminishes. That alone brings out our ability to see the suffering in others.

There is a path leading to the end of dukkha (Practicing the Eightfold Path well can end suffering)

The Noble Eightfold Path is presented as a list of sorts detailing how we should practice as we lead our lives in light of the Noble Truths. It includes right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. This last of the Four Noble Truths is often seen as a stand-alone subject. But the truths are a whole teaching. The Buddha teaches that the fact that there is dukkha is to be comprehended, that the cause of dukkha is to be abandoned, that the cessation of dukkha is to be directly experienced, and that the Eightfold Path leading to the cessation of dukkha is to be developed. The path is to be practiced, not dabbled with. In a real sense, practicing the path is Buddhism.

Making the Four Noble Truths manifest

Many of us live with a feeling that things are not quite right, that conditions lack full satisfaction. If we are honest we sense an existential disconnection from family and others. Even if it seems that a true experience of being part of everyone should be possible, we can’t get past feeling isolated and confined to the limits of the physical body. An assertion that this problem can be seen as primal suffering, intrinsic to just being alive, can be made.

Aware or not, we butt up against dukkha. Expecting things to be a certain way invariably leads to dissatisfaction. What we are dissatisfied with is having tension in our hearts. It is greatly painful to know we are undefinable, indeed boundless, but seemingly destined to live within the definitions ascribed to us. Beginning the work of not resisting what life presents begins the tension reduction process. If we continue to work and remain willing to engage with the mind, a glimmering that there could be something beyond just putting up with what seems to be an incomplete life emerges. The teachings discussed here can make our aspirational work more than just a glimmer.

Walkin' John

Here's a first-music on the blog! It's my original tune, Walkin' John. I was just playing with recording directly into the computer using Audacity (see audacity.com). Using ReverbNation.com is an easy way to share home made tunes without listeners having to download it. Now this is a first try and little distorted here and there because the mic level was too high. But, eh, give it a listen anyway! I hope you like this unserious tune, almost reminiscent of early American novelty music. Here's the link http://www.reverbnation.com/sdpierson

Face a Wall

I've been meditating regularly since January, 2011 or so. This qualifies me as a decidedly novice meditator. Even so, I've learned a few things that have helped develop my practice. 

In my small house I have a small space dedicated to sitting practice. My altar is a wooden TV tray. On it are Shakyamuni Buddha and Avalokiteshvara statues, a candle, a flower vase, a water bowl and an incense burner. My meditation cushion is in front of that and for a long time I would sit with my back to the altar, similar, I thought, to how we would practice at Muddy Water Zen on Thursday nights. Then it occurred to me that we turn away from the altar so as to face a wall when meditating. A sort of Bodhidharma style of practice. So, I started to practice facing a wall. In my setting the wall is about 12 inches from my nose. Not having the distraction of something to look at helps with focus. 

(This pic is old. The altar has gone through a couple "altar-ations" since, but the point is well illustrated here I think.)

From reading on the topic and practice, I've found value in not giving in to the mind/body's urges to move about, scratch what itches, look around, or quit before the timer goes off. Being still, enduring the discomfort, or downright pain sometimes, of sitting demonstrates in a small but tangible way that suffering is impermanent. The same goes for paying no attention to your itchy nose. I've set a very doable goal of sitting 15 minutes a day. I usually will sit for longer than that, but setting the bar low is helpful to me. What ever bit of time you decide to meditate, don't get up until that time is up! A lot of thoughts flit through the mind while meditating and the seemingly rational thought that "This is boring, I've sat long enough" will probably be one. In a real sense, what you think, feel, and emotionally attach to are none of your business when meditating. Learning to not attach to thoughts comes with consistent practice.

But, one thing that has most helped me keep to a daily commitment to meditate is technology. If you have a smart phone find a meditation related app you like. I'm not going to promote one over another here, but I have found one that tracks how many days I've meditated consecutively. I would be loathe to break the chain, which is approaching 300 days at the time of this posting. I have to admit to some attachment to practicing daily. My main reason for being so strict about it in my young practice is to develop a habit and skill for meditation. It's not a burden, just a daily practice that I find benefits how I go about life away from the cushion.

How to meditate is beyond my scope of practice. Find a good teacher. Simple as that. Why to meditate and what the benefits are, I do have something to say about... and are also topics for later blog posts.

Be Well,

Geum Jeong

How I came to vegetarianism, or "If it tries to get away, maybe you shouldn't eat it"

Sonora Rose, or "Sunny" as we knew her, came from a pet store in Arizona. She was a Bichon Frise/Cocker Spaniel mix with a careful way of being. At one time she was quite curious and friendly to all. Then she was roughed up by a larger dog while we were walking her in a crowd during a summer street event. There was no evidence of injury, but it seems from that point she was cautious to a fault around other dogs. I remember one time her trying to get away from a small, playful Bichon puppy as though to say, "I don't know who you think I am but I'm certainly not a dog!" She was a cuddler and a lover of people-food. So, like many of us, maybe she was confused about who she was.

Sunny died February 12, 2011. She was a beautiful animal. Her white, curly coat was somehow perfected as she was laid on the vet's table. Her dark, Sunny-less eyes seemed to read like graffiti on a wall in my mind, "Sunny was here". Seeing her there through tears, a layer of confusion about who I am as a human animal was lifted. I suddenly had this odd thought, "How is she different from any other animal? If I wouldn't dare to think to eat her, why would I eat any animal?" While I had been considering the idea of not eating meat before, this image of her has served as reason enough to become serious about being a vegetarian.  She's one of my mental talismans. 

Maybe it's just me getting older, but I am more serious about clearing this confusion around who I am. And, for me in what I feel is a less confused state, lessening suffering by not eating other animals is the right thing to do.