Before the Buddha became all Bodhi, he did Shamatha and sustained Samadhi. But much like Einstein took Newtonian physics one step further or the Beatles improved on Elvis, the Buddha saw that something good could be made better. The problem with the Jhanas, or Samadhi, or the concentration realms as ultimate practice, thought pre-Buddha Buddha, is that when they end they are over and the world still exists and most of the time it's an irksome schlep.
So the reason we're indebted to Shakyamuni Buddha, is that he developed insight practice as an accompaniment to concentration, and in doing so sorted out the problem with living. And while he said it lots of ways, many would argue that the firmament of Buddhist insight re: life problems is the Three Characteristics (also known as Three Doors, Three Dharma Seals, etc.), which point to our fundamental confusion. The three characteristics are no-self, impermanence and suffering. All phenomena, everything that arises in our experience is non-referential, unstable and unsatisfying. As a result, we, comprised of that un-localized and shifting phenomena, do not exist. That idea YOU had for a screenplay? - Made up of every book you ever read, every movie you ever saw and the 1987 Thanksgiving at Aunt Edna's. YOUR love for asiago? Comprised of DNA and taste buds and current food trends and your upbringing. That dream in which you are a child-doll-elephant ruler in a world of subjects made of matchsticks? Probably the asiago.
One City: A Buddhist Blog for Everyone
Thursday July 9, 2009
Categories: Hardcore Dharma
Hardcore Dharma does not exist.
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Add to StumbleUponWednesday July 8, 2009
Categories: Right Lifestyle
Massachusetts Attorney General Coakley Sues US Over Same Sex Marriage
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley just sued the US Federal Government challenging the euphemistically named Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), claiming that it is unconstitutional because it denies insurance, health care, and other rights to gay and lesbian couples in same sex marriages. She is correct. It is unconstitutional, and beyond unconstitutional it is an abhorrent stain of injustice, inequality, and hatred born of fear and ignorance. This isn't a Democratic or Republican issue (though if it was up to most Republican politicians, blacks still wouldn't be able to marry whites or vote, but THAT was okay for it's time too). It's a human issue, and as the AG of the first state to legalize same sex marriage, Coakley is absolutely correct in suing the federal government.
Filed Under: Same Sex Marriage Massachusetts Attorney General
Wednesday July 8, 2009
Categories: Interdependent Activism & Politics, Right Lifestyle
I would rather laugh than cry to get through this crisis
Global warming is a serious thing. There is much that needs to be done - so much, that it is hard to even know where to start. Everyday I learn about something new that needs to be fixed. Another crisis has erupted. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are being destroyed. And it is only just beginning. With the alarm bells blaring, it is easy to become immobilized by feelings of fear and powerlessness. Another response is to become desensitized, denying the importance or truth of information that is presented. I have and continue to use these coping mechanisms when I feel overwhelmed. But one of the few things that always works to cut through these moments of paralysis is humor. When something or someone makes me laugh, it breaks through the walls that have built up and it allows me to see things from new perspectives. Which is why I really appreciated seeing the trailer about YERT (Your Environmental Road Trip):
It really inspired me and made me able to laugh at all the crazy things we need to do to create change. It is good to find the humor in experimentation and the failures we may have on the way to figuring out the right path to take forward.
It really inspired me and made me able to laugh at all the crazy things we need to do to create change. It is good to find the humor in experimentation and the failures we may have on the way to figuring out the right path to take forward.
Tuesday July 7, 2009
Contemplating the uncontemplatable?
Recently the New York Times "Happy Days" blog ran a piece by Tim Kreider, who was stabbed in the throat fourteen years ago. He writes:
After my unsuccessful murder I wasn't unhappy for an entire year. . . . I'm not claiming I was continuously euphoric the whole time; it's just that, during that grace period, nothing much could bother me or get me down. . . . It's one of the maddening perversities of human psychology that we only notice we're alive when we're reminded we're going to die.
Tuesday July 7, 2009
Categories: Interdependent Activism & Politics
Obama vs. Palin 2012? Roger Stone Thinks Maybe. Eugene Robinson and Sane People, Not So Much
According to Republican Strategist Roger Stone, Palin did the right thing on Friday if she wants to run for President in 2012. Meanwhile, on Fox News, Palin got hammered. Yes, I said Fox News slammed her. A Republican running for national office without the support of Fox News is...well...impossible. Good luck Sarah Palin (Check out what Pulitzer Prizewinner Eugene Robinson thinks)!You are every wolf's and every progressive guy interested in Interdependence's worst nightmare. But if you run against Obama, you are a dream come true. Please do it. Please. Maybe you can make Donald Rumsfeld your running mate. Or Oscar the Grouch.
(image from Top News)
Tuesday July 7, 2009
Categories: Right Lifestyle
Setting the Stage
I'm in the midst of searching for a new apartment in New York City, a task I do not look forward to. In the back of my mind is the dream that one day I could make a separate space...
Filed Under: brandeis, clutter, meditation room, meditation space, new york city, noise, peace room, self care, zafu
Monday July 6, 2009
Categories: Arts and Media
Buddha of the Month
From more than 700 images of buddha contributed to the Lens Culture site, this is labeledEllen's Buddha © Seth Laderman 2007I've never met or heard of Seth, but I clicked on the image because it looked like it had a...
Saturday July 4, 2009
Categories: Arts and Media, Talking Dharma
Podcast: "Space is Grace" with Jessica Rasp
Inspired by reading the life story of Yogi Ransuratkumar and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's "Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior", Jessica Rasp takes us on a journey into an insight from a recent solitary retreat, encapsulated in the phrase "Space is...
Friday July 3, 2009
Categories: Buddhism, Right Lifestyle
Would Sid ever bartend? Buddhism, bars, and depression
Not only would Sid bartend but he would also play in fountains with umbrellasWhat would Sid do?Before Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment at age 35 he was a confused twenty and thirty-something looking to learn how to live a spiritual life....
Filed Under: bars, bartending, Bodhisattva, buddhism, butchers, depression, eightfold path, fountain, friends, intoxicant, meat, poison, prostitution, right livelihood, slavery, umbrellas, weapons, what would sid do
Friday July 3, 2009
Categories: Talking Dharma
Dharma Discourse: Plato
Teacher: What's on your mind?Student: Well, many things.T: What would you like to talk about?S: The view. I would like to talk about the view. T: Okay.S: You see, I studied a lot of Western philosophy in college, so whenever...
Filed Under: Beauty, Choygam Trungpa Rinpoche, Circularity, ngedon, Plato, platonic forms, reason, sambhogakaya, the view, trangdon
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About One City: A Buddhist Blog for Everyone
Welcome to One City. You've lived here your whole life, whether you know it or not. One City blog is an outgrowth of The Interdependence Project, a Buddhist-inspired nonprofit organization led by Ethan Nichtern, dedicated to teaching the insights of Buddhism, meditation, mindfulness, and interconnectedness in the 21st century world.
If you're interested in how your mind works, are interested in meditation (but don't want to pretend you live in ancient Asia), care about the world, are into media, love contemporary culture, and above all, really dig the truth of interdependence-that nothing happens in a vacuum--then this blog is for you.
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Denise M. AbatemarcoCurrently pursuing a second master’s in mental health counseling from Brooklyn College
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Ethan NichternAuthor, founding director of the Interdependence Project, and the host of the I.D. Project’s popular weekly podcast
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Ellen ScordatoA business owner, editor, teacher, and board member of the Interdependence Project
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Lodro RinzlerLodro Rinzler is a second-generation Shambhala Buddhist practitioner and teacher.
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