The Dhammapada (My Thoughts): Chp. #6-10

So you know the deal after that last big post :) Let's continue.

Chp. VI: The Sagacious

    The Sagacious poem would be the... FOIL to the childish character portrayed in The Childish.  The opposite, which treasures wisdom, maturity, and disengagement from those activities and people which prove harmful to one's own character and life path.

The wise, or noble one, is here and again shown as the guardian of the 'ultimate treasure' so to speak: knowledge.  It is said in the poem, that because "lower" persons (i.e. those less mature, less knowing, etc. than oneself) may not serve to improve one's character or life in any way, but instead make it worse, one should look for companions who are equal to or better than oneself; in doing so, one may find true companionship, as well as teachers in a way, who can serve as a mirror of one's own actions, or a guide to bettering oneself.

Chp. VII: The Worthy

    I won't dwell much on this poem, for it is simply an homage to the "Noble Ones" who have attained enlightenment.  An...analysis or summary of their natures and status in the world and in Nirvana (as well as their reputation among the gods).  There is a distinct tone of reverence within this poem for disengagement from the bonds of the physical or earthly world.

From my experiences with disengagement however, I know that it is also a symptom of depression, and it becomes more about isolation and an attachment to that isolation.  What of attachments to the life one leads while attempting to 'find' Nirvana?  How does one guard against that kind of attachment?

Chp. VIII: The Thousands

     This one was a tad more confusing to me, but the gist of it seemed to be this: a small offering or gift to a noble one, a small act of kindness to such a noble one or one who is following the path of enlightenment, is worth more than thousands of gifts over even a hundred years time to those "ordinary, childish folk" who are trapped within the binds of samsara (the wheel of reincarnation).  I'm not quite sure how I feel about this poem, though I understand it's meaning I think.  Maybe...

I need to think about this one a bit more haha.  I had a problem with it though...because it makes it seem as though only those who are following this path are worthy of such gifts.   Though maybe it is saying that they alone are worthy of the praise given to people we call celebrities nowadays, simply because they do not crave it and will not take advantage of us to receive it?

I had a problem with it partially though...because a gift is something that can be given to anyone I think.  A gift is a token of kindness I think.  Of compassion...and often a symbol of friendship and the like.  In my humble opinion.

Chp. IX: The Wrong

    In this text, the reader is warned against bad deeds.  Wrong deeds are said to hurt the wrongdoer as poison does when spilled on the wound of a person.  It admits that negative things do happen as well to those that do good, often as a result of the wrongful deeds of others, but that when the good that..do-gooders..have done attains its full effect in the world...good things do happen in the life of the honest, good person.  

Switched for those that do wrong.

This poem makes a point of encouraging the formation of good habits, so that one is pressed by their own will and desire to do good things, as well as criticizing bad habits and encouraging the idea that one should give up bad habits, lest they cause suffering to the wrong-doer later in life or in the next life.

Makes sense to me. :)

Chp. X: The Rod

What I gathered from this poem, is that it seems to be a message especially for those that have chosen to follow in Buddha's footsteps so to speak.  His monks, his disciples.

     In this poem, it is stressed that those who "hold the rod", i.e. those who have the authority in some way to punish others, should restrain from using such power.  It is said that those who punish others, speak harshly towards others mainly as a means of acquiring the obedience of others I would assume, while themselves striving towards balance, Nirvana, good acts, and the like...would not find themselves eased from the Wheel of Reincarnation and suffering because they would be committing wrongful acts against others whom they have on true authority over.

Plus I think, were they to use the rod to try to bend others to their will, it would reveal an attachment to pride, to power, and to authority over others which are all certainly qualities that this text as a whole seems to be stressing the importance of doing away with.

My two cents :)

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The Dhammapada (My Thoughts): Chapters #1-5

Around the fifteenth of December I picked up the Theraveda translation of the Dhammapada, a sacred text of the Buddhist religion/philosophy, which I have heard is said to have been written by the Buddha, himself.  OR perhaps his bhikkus (monks) wrote down his words as he spoke, which I personally think is the most likely in any case.

So anyways, I've been reading this book and decided to take a day from reading after every ten chapters to write down some brief thoughts I had on each that I read during the last ten days.  For anyone interested in reading it, this is the version that I am reading:

Sacred Writings: The Dhammapada

Alright, so here goes...

Chp. I: The Pairs

     Right off the bat, it was obvious that every couple of stanzas would be a reflection of it's partner.  The pattern of the poem was that...for example, stanzas one and two:  They would both deal with the same thing in reality (here being how our mental states or mindsets, come about.  Through perception.) Stanza one shows the detrimental effects of a clouded perception, or one that doesn't see true reality because it is clouded by passions like anger or jealousy, and so on.  Stanza two shows the positive effects of having a clear perception.  I guess for me, a clear perception would be...I see that my neighbor has a new chandelier.  I find it beautiful, but I am not envious of it because I do not need it.  I am at peace with myself and my things as they are.

Or something like that.

Anyways, it was pretty interesting to read, and I really liked the down-to-earth feeling of the poem:  It had a clear message.  You can be as you choose, but in any given situation if you are in accord with dhamma (if you have a peaceful, clear mindset) then you will reap positive benefits from the situation.  If you are not, you will not.

Chp.II: Awareness

     In this poem, the great benefits of awareness are represented.  It is even said in the texts that the one who is diligently aware, is as one who guards treasure; awareness is shown as the greatest treasure one may possess, even greater than any earthly pleasure, trinkets, or belongings one may come to possess.

     The unaware are represented as similar to the dead (to me, the term 'sleeping' would have been more apt, but I think 'the dead' makes the same point as sleeping would, but more vehemently), for they are unaware of their surroundings and because they do not wholly see the effects of their deeds or misdeeds, but live only for temporary pleasures that the Buddha taught were at the heart of much of the suffering on earth.  The unaware are depicted as childish, regardless of their earthly status (i.e. a king may be within this group, just as a poor person could be).  The aware are the mature ones, the noblest ones, who see their faults through their awareness and in aiming to correct themselves, transcend suffering and it's causes.

Chp. III: The Mind

     This poem is fairly straightforward.  It is a commentary on the nature of the mind, calling it 'hard to tame', 'nimble', and 'quick'.  In the sense the poem tries to give, one might picture metaphorically the mind as a gazelle or a rabbit.  A quick, graceful, and rather skittish being, who at the smallest sound, scent or image may swiftly alight to another place.

A wild, untamed creature.

    And then, in coming back to those who would seek to tame the mind, it gives them praise.  It acknowledges the difficult undertaking it is to tame one's own mind and do away with attachment to desire and other earthly attachments which all eventually dissolve into suffering of some form.  Like a fletcher 'tames' wood to create from it a swift and straight arrow, it becomes an art form of sorts to the person that would tame their own mind.  Difficult yes, but definitely rewarding.

Chp. IV: Flowers

     This one was a bit more difficult for me to figure out, but I finally got it.  In this poem, flowers represent the many choices one may encounter while alive, whether they be in the form of ideas or life experiences, or even just items to pick at the store...a job...love...etc.  The poem says that the one who lives in accord with Dhamma, the one who is aware, who seeks to tame his mind and find spiritual peace and knowledge...is like an expert of flowers, who chooses only the best flowers while leaving those which are diseased, who have lost their petals, and those which have not yet matured.

The one who is not in accord with dhamma, who does not have the knowledge, experience, or awareness may choose all the flowers (choices) presented, for they lack in discernment and go about choosing what things they desire or think they desire.  I am not sure if that was such a good explanation, but I need to think on this particular poem a bit more than the others hehe. 

@_@

Chp. V: The Childish

     

This one was pretty simple to understand for me.  It basically said that the childish, the immature can be found everywhere: in royalty, in regular households, and even as Buddhist monks as well.  They are those that crave things they do not truly deserve (the example given was, a novice monk in a Buddhist monastery who desired power and authority over the entire monastery and those that gave offerings to the monastery, people who crave power they do not have the experience or maturity to properly wield...that kinda thing).  And I found myself agreeing for the most part with this take on childishness, not only because it paralleled to the nail the ways I've seen children behave (teehee) but also, because I have seen adults behave in this way, i.e. they do something thinking they may not get caught, and feel elated because of it, but later begin to feel guilt or anxiety at having done this or that, or suspicious that others may do the same as they have done (like with people who cheat on their spouses and the like) or of course...they get caught.


So far, I kind of like The Dhammapada.  It is straight forward and to the point, but not in a pedantic way, and though it is very...dense, it offers much insight to the reader. 

Gardening and the Big Bad Food Scare

Once upon a time there was a little group of garden gnomes named the "United States Department of Agriculture".  They always had very good intentions, but sometimes...well...a lot of times..they just ended up f***ing stuff up for people.

All of the big food producers came to them to make sure their food was good, and although they checked every part of the food, there was always something that slipped their sight.

Their most recent slip up involved a WHOLEEEE lot of cantaloupe, and ended in several deaths and many many sicknesses.  In a hurry, quicker than the US Congress in filibuster mode, the "United States Department of Agriculture", lets call them the USDA, called back millions of tainted cantaloupe!
...But..the damage had been done :(  The world would never be the same because of the deaths of those people who got sick because the USDA just..wasn't good at their job. D:

Nonetheless, people forgot about what happened within a week or so and went back to eating cantaloupe, and everyone lived happily ever after..until the next food scare.

Spinach Plant.  You remember E.Coli, don't you? DON'T YOU?!?!

..................................
I agree, it doesn't make a very good bedtime story, does it?

On the flipside, it unfortunately isn't a fairy tale either.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cdc-cantaloupe-listeria-outbreak-deadliest-decade/story?id=14622507#.TvivFdTOwyQ

In the US, moreso than many other first-world nations, there are a large number of food scares every year.  This year was just a bad year for cantaloupe, as a large portion of the crop released into the market was tainted with a bacteria called Listeria, dangerous not only because it causes sickness in humans, but because it thrives in cold climates such as the ones found in our refrigerator.  The illness caused, Listeriosis, killed thirteen people and seventy-two people had been infected according to CDC official reports.

At around the same time, the melons in my garden had been thriving.  We grew three full sized watermelons, and two cantaloupe (all organic of course) that were a bit smaller than those you'd find at a supermarket.  And as I was eating the fruit of my garden, I realized how fantastic and rewarding it was to grow one's own fruit and vegetables.  Because we had our own cantaloupe at home, what need was there to go out and buy any anywhere else?

And just like that, my family became 'immune' to that food scare.

Now, I'm not saying everyone needs to immediately start a garden in your backyard or run to the nearest target and purchase Topsy Turvy tomato and strawberry planters,  though I personally think they're adorable haha (never tried one myself, but I think I'm going to get to it eventually just for kicks).  What I AM saying though, is that if you can, you should.  Nothing was more rewarding to me this year than being able to make vegetable soup and ratatouille with our own tomatoes, beans, and zucchini, or slicing up watermelon in the summer and eating it after it cooled in the fridge.  As a result my sister loves gardening, and eats her vegetables diligently (her favorite at the moment seem to be sugar snap peas, and it ain't hard to see why.  THEY'RE DELICIOUS!)

I think one of the greatest rewards however, was realizing that in planting my own crops and the like during the summer, I took responsibility in part, for the food put on my plate and into my family and my stomach.

I was like...a gardening superhero, fighting back against the somewhat inept USDA and their repeated food scares with my shield of organic, homegrown crops.

Yeah.  I went there.

<3

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The Philosophical Diary: #1

An excerpt from a diary entry I just wrote...I kind of like it, and it isn't too revealing or anything haha ;)

so I figured, I'd share it with you :)

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"12-14-2011
I feel a familiar inner turmoil begin to stir inside me... A spiritual one, as though I'm straddling some fine line between two worlds.

I am pressed to question the world that I found myself enraptured by the last year or so.  My intuition tells me the world was false, as a dream.  And though my thoughts pull to that familiar question, "What is a dream?" I know that I know the answer now, though it is too complex and my vocabulary is too limited to put it into words...


I suppose it could be said like this.
A dream is to reality, what the moon is to the sun.  The sun is the true source of our celestial warmth and light; the moon acts as a mirror - Her light is a mere reflection of sunlight, and without its true warmth and traits.


But as She reflects a ghost of the sunlight down to Earth, She adds to the light her own personality, interpretation, and symbolism.  As though the moon could summarize the essence of the sun, and make Herself a vessel of that essence, that us living beings down here on Earth might have a glimpse of the light that is normally too bright to see.


I think this is the same way that our dreams work at a basic level.  In this way our mind becomes our guide, our friend and at times our worst enemy; they become a reflection of our true self.


But they, our dreams, are the mirror to the reality we witness... and as one begins to pay more attention to them, I think they begin to show this more and more.  And the more clearly one understands not only themselves but the world that is their mind, and the world outside of themselves, the environment they live in - the clearer the dreams sometimes can become.
     I think."