Humanistic Buddhism

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Hi Bloggers,

It's been a while since I last blogged, but don't think I haven't been practising or thinking about things. I think what's uppermost on my mind these days is how Buddhism might come to have a universal and global appeal. And I don't mean just for those people who believe in life after death, but also for complete materialists, who reckon it's a straight black out when you die, and who certainly don't believe in any sort of mystical universal justice through a notion as unprovable as karma.

What's my own position on these questions? Well. I used to be a firm believer in karma and rebirth. However, the more I studied science, both in terms of physics and biology, the more I have come to doubt the truth of these. I certainly hope my doubts are unfounded. I certainly hope consciousness isn't simply a bi-product of the biological process. I hope that consciousness exists independently and that the brain and nervous system are simply the mediums through which it functions in the material world. However, it is difficult to prove either way.

Regarding karma, I now consider that to be primarily an internal event. I think the permutations of the external world are simply too vast to be explained by karma. Clearly a lot of events, both fortunate and unfortunate are random. Not to mention the glaring injustices in our world, such as people being born into hopeless poverty traps or being struck by natural disasters, etc. To me karma works only inwardly, in that the shape of one's mind is truly karmic. Practice love and you will have a beautiful mind. Go around being nasty to people and you will be uptight and will never get that happy, relaxed, open mind that meditators seek.

As for rebirth, well, the problem is where do we get reborn. In the Buddha's day, they had a fixed view of the universe. Now we know it will almost certainly eventually self destruct, with no guarantee of another conveniently similar one popping up somewhere else. Could we be born on another dimension or what. Who knows?

Anyway, despite these perplexities, I still fully believe in the importance of practicing the Buddha's teachings, particularly doing meditation. Ironically, by removing the theological debate from the equation, Buddhism may gain a much wider appeal in that it will become the ultimate form of humanism, and could be approached as such. In fact, there would be two ways of practising Buddhism, firstly in the traditional religous way it has been for centuries and secondly in a completely modern humanistic way. Either way, the benefits would be vast.

I'm going to stop here for now. Will continue in my next blog.

Look forward to getting some comments from you!

Happy Meditation,
Robert

Financial Tsunami

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Hi Folks,

I've lost a fair bit on the markets, about $50,000 altogether over the year, and it's certainly having a detrimental effect on my retirement plans. In fact, I wonder if I'll be able to afford to retire!

But it's in times of financial crisis like this that one's development as a Buddhist is truly tested. Just how free from attachment to worldly things are we? We all know what the Buddha taught about impermanence and attachment, but how much progress have we made in these meditations? What a great opportunity to practice them !!

We understandably tend to seek security in the future based on an accumulation of wealth. But actually the future is of its nature always insecure, almost by definition. I think what this feeling of insecurity should do is bring our consciousnesses into the present, which is ultimately where Enlightenment is to be found. In my opinion, this is the true meaning of the Buddhist term "taking Refuge"

I must admit I'm personally quite pleased with the way I'm handling it. As yet, I've felt very little stress over the whole thing, even though the world economy looks like it's going to continue to nose dive this coming year!

How are you others coping? Let's hear from you.

Nirvana's the way!

Robert

First blog

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Hello fellow Buddhists and meditators!

I've started this blog primarily as a discussion forum for various issues in Buddhism as we move forward into the 21st century. I also hope to be able to share what little wisdom I myself have gained through my own practice and maybe hear about yours.

I think one of the issues of particular significance today is the need to separate Buddhism from some of the cultures it has developed in. As Westerners we bend over backwards to try to accomodate the host culture. But can it really work? Whether it be offering oneself body and mind to the lama or blindly following the regimented dogmas of Theravada, is this appropriate for those of us coming from Western culture? I always think the Buddha himself was such a fine example of independence of spirit, so why do we slavishly follow as soon as we affiliate with a particular group? Do we really have to become Tibetan, Japanese or Thai to get enlightened? Can we not keep our own culture where it's suitable?

Another important subject is the much taboo idea of an eclectic approach, i.e. drawing from several different traditions at the same time. Most of the main schools of Buddhism jealously guard their traditions and see mixing other practices in as the ultimate heresy. How does this affect Westerners? It usually leads to a feeling of being shackled and hence limitation and frustration. It is in our spirit to explore as many ways as possible, and this should be seen as something positive and creative.

Anyway, enough for my first blog. More to come in my future ones.

Happy meditation!
Robert