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shinnenParticipantWhat am I grateful for? The short answer is … pretty much everything. Years ago, I came across a very simple way of living called ‘Gassho’.
It is practiced, or more correctly ‘lived by’, most Jodo Shinshu followers; who live in a state gratefulness for what they have. The beauty of it
is that, over time one becomes less and less obsessed with ‘getting more’; a mentality that most of us having been born into an affluent materialist society accept as normal. For me, it was a revelation; but in order to live by it, I had to find a way of engraining it into my way of living. This wasn’t as difficult as it might seem, as a few minutes of reflection clearly reminded me of the many blessing that have been bestowed on me over my life time: the many friends and familty that support me, the benefits of living in a free country with all kinds of social benefits, the opportunities I have had throughout my life, good health, good food, the list is pretty much endless. But, the key to living by this realization lies in constantly reminding oneself (a few mintes each day) of them. Without that practice, it’s simply another good idea, a revelation, which will eventually fade from memory, lost in time; as so many revelations have.
…. johnshinnenParticipantHi all,
For me, the short answer is ‘everything’. One of the practices I’ve found helpful over the years is something call ‘Gassho’.
The premise of the practice is that, as humans, we constantly desire: something more, somewhere else, to be with someone else, to be thinking something else, to be someone else, to be feeling something else, to be doing something else. It seems to be our nature, as humans, to be discontent. All of this wishing causes us to forget what we already have, and to be thankful for that. It is recommended to start each day by taking a couple of minutes in recalling as many things as one think of, for which they have to be thankful. For those who suffer from depression or other inflictions, this might be quite a challenge; but for many, it can serve to remind us of the blessings we already have.
…… john
shinnenParticipantWell, that being the case, I will quote Kierkegaard, “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”
and … the signature of woman who frequented a forum I was on years ago …….
‘Life is NOT about seeking shelter from the storms; life is about learning to dance in the rain.”
…. john
shinnenParticipantHi Brian,
It sounds counter intuitive, but I think that positive is, for the most part, ‘not negative’; and by that I mean not
harmful to you. Your mind will at times tell you things that are not conducive to your
well being. Some of these thoughts make perfect sense, but will not contribute to a positive outlook.
Years ago, I got caught up in the somewhat common belief that, ‘we’re all going to die in the end; so why do anything; it will all end in death. What’s the point?’ On the surface this seems pretty accurate, but embracing this belief is not good, and may even lead to depression, as it did to me. The point is that our thoughts aren’t always our friend.
Think about installing a little man (or woman) at the door to your mind, who examines thoughts as they come along, and bars entry to the harmful ones, ‘Nope you can’t come in here.’ It takes some practice, but will eventually become second nature. It’s not exactly positive thinking, but I think it helps.
…. john
shinnenParticipantHi Helcat,
Are you only looking for inspirations that have already been added on the forum?
… john
shinnenParticipantHi anita,
Thanks for your thoughts. I haven’t replied, because I really don’t have anything meaningful to add.
…. john
shinnenParticipantHi Helcat,
Stories about the monks? Well, they taught me the value of observing my thoughts and life, dispassionately and uncritically, without regard to whether I liked or disliked what I thought or saw. That was thirty years ago; but the monk who had the most influence on me was bhante Kovida, a very wise, insightful man. (If you Google his name you’ll find him on the net.) I can hardly express my thankfulness to him. He taught me things I have never forgotten. He was fond of saying that much of humanities suffering results from expecting more from life, and others, than they are willing or able to provide. He used to tell us stories about how the monks in many of the countries he frequented were treated like gods, which did not have a good effect. Occasionally I would go to where he was staying (when not traveling). After talking with him, I once offered money (to help with expenses), which he would not touch, instructing me to put it on the table, where someone else would collect it. He was/is a very humble man who strictly observed his vow of poverty, since he saw the corrupting influence it had on other monks. He believed that understanding the four noble truths is the path to enlightenment (awakening). My personal belief is that penetrating the wisdom of the three marks of existence, especially anicca, will do the same. (Time will tell ;-). After my time with him, I spent many years attending group discussions and meditations at the Jodo Shinshu temple in Toronto, learning to meditate (which, after practicing for years, I am unable point to any tangible benefits from doing) and again, being exposed to very good teachers, which are hard to come by. One can only hope that some of what they taught me sunk in.
So, you have learned not to worry about unnecessary things, not an insignificant achievement; and not an easy hurtle get over. Nice going!!
Was there a particular event, etc. that helped you to come to this realization?
…. johnshinnenParticipantHi,
Hi all,
For what it’s worth; my initial training in Buddhism was from Theravadin monks, who warned against formulating ideas about what enlightenment is. Their reasoning was that when one decides what they’re seeking, they limit the scope of their search to certain directions, which may lead them to a dead end. Much of the literature suggests that enlightenment is not something to be found outside of oneself, but something lying within, dormant, or buried under our misunderstandings; that we must reveal in order to see through our illusions. How that is done is the subject of much discussion; but it is up to us to find a suitable path. To me, this highlights one of the strengths and difficulties of the Buddhist way; it does not prescribe a pre-ordained way of doing this, as many religions do; there’s no formuala set out for the seeker to follow. This is the difficult part, one must figure it out for oneself. I suspect that there are many paths to enlightenment depending on the individual, and that many ways/religions/philosophies will take one there; but I don’t really know.
…. johnshinnenParticipantHi Anita,
Thanks for taking the time to reply to my concerns. It’s always interesting to see how someone interprets one’s message.
It’s very difficult to convey the complexity of one beliefs and understanding, in particular how they were arrived at,
without a face to face back and forth; and even then we tend to interpret what others say, based on our own assumptions.
However, I will try.
I base most of my understanding on two sources, reason (as you observed) and insight/inspiration, of which I
have had many. These things come right out of the blue at times, completely unconnected to what I’m thinking about. The most
all consuming one though, was my discovery that I am, and have always been, a Buddhist. (I was a Catholic at the time.)
I know it sounds ridiculous; but that’s what overcame me, 33 years ago, as I was walking down the street.
I have had many many of these moments over the years, about all sorts of subjects. None, however, was as all consuming as that one.
Some seem childishly simple, like the realization that …… The only truth is ‘What is.’ I came to this conclusion after many years
struggling with the question ‘What is truth?’ Others have had more to do with Buddhism:
What is the Buddha saying with the mudra signifying Wisdom and Compassion, or what is the koan of finger pointing at moon telling us.
The list is long. Yes, I like to be able to justify to myself what I believe, with reason;
but every so often understanding comes from …. who knows where. Let’s face it, if we didn’t believe many many thing, we wouldn’t be
able to function at all, we’d be nervous wrecks. Would I drive my car if I didn’t believe I would arrive at my destination …… probably not.
You raise many points of view, which I don’t presently embrace; but maybe, some day I’ll see the light and say, “You know what Anita, you
were right about that.”
… johnshinnenParticipantHi Chris. Thanks for your thoughts …… john
shinnenParticipantHi Helcat
I have to apologize for not answering your request about sharing my experiences in discovering buddhism. I have only ever shared this with one other person, who is very close to me; and to explore my deep person feeling on an open forum, would be very uncomfortable. Please forgive me; it has nothing to do with you or anyone else here.
…… johnshinnenParticipantHi Helcat,
Oh yes, I’m very aware of the pitfalls of language. It’s especially imperfect at defining emotions,
which people all too often attempt. I see language as, for the most part, an intellectual tool and is very poor at accurately
conveying feelings. Every statement/question has a premise, whether or not the speaker is aware of what it is.
I love to watch the manipulators: politicians, advertisers, etc., to see how they craft their message; although, unfortunately
these days the message is mostly contained in visuals, intended to appeal to one’s self image.
But I’m sure that you’re aware of all this, have been an English teacher.
…… john
shinnenParticipantHi Helcat,
I discovered Buddhism 33 years ago. It was a life altering experience. I don’t believe or disbelieve in a soul. The same goes for God. They, along with most concept, belong to the myriad of things I have no reason to believe, or not believe. Having said that, I am ‘very’ suspicious of my ego, which I suspect has a vested interest in telling me how unique, different, special, etc. I am. As humans, the primary way we evaluate the world, what we find threatening, good, bad, right, wrong, evil, true, fearful, the list is endless, is by comparison. It’s a survival mechanism, and as such is always skewed toward our self interest …. ego, as you say. I see no reason to believe that I’m special or unique; different …. sure, but, so is everything else.
…… john
shinnenParticipantHi again,
Yes, it took me some time to find a ‘free’ version.
I’m familiar with the zen ‘slap’, as you call it. When I first became interested in buddhism I went
to a zen temple, where the sensei would randomly slap us with a stick. You never knew when you were
going to get it. For a beginning westerner zen was a little hard to digest. However, since then I’ve come to see it differently.
…… john
shinnenParticipantHi Peter,
I found this book, Hara, the Vital Centre of Man, on the net. It’s here https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Hara.pdf
if anyone is interested. I’ve read a few books, that touch on the subject: Zen and the Ways, Zen Training, the Hagakura, A Second Zen Reader, but they’re all either vague, or difficult to follow. Hopefully I’ll be able to follow this one.
THANKS for this. ….. john
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