Our reading for Hardcore Dharma this week (Spectrum of Ecstasy by Ngakpa Chogyam and Khandro Dechen) included a phrase I quite liked- "pure appropriateness". It is described as follows:
We neither give too little, nor do we give too much; because we are not governed by our fears and anxieties. There is a distinct difference between the real compassion of pure appropriateness and the 'idiot compassion' that helps people to vegetate in long-term self-indulgence. It is 'idiot compassion' to assist others in remaining incapable - purely because that is what they wish to do.
co-written by Nuala Clarke and Patrick Groneman (aka namenorg)
Nuala: I was walking down the Bowery and a
friend told me that the next show at The New Museum was called Younger
than Jesus.
Got it...younger than Jesus when he died at 33 years old. Then, before
going to see the show I had a dream... 3 women art professionals, in
black, are sitting behind a
desk and there's a crowd gathered. They tell us that in fact Jesus did
not
die at 33, he died at age 66. I
woke up thoroughly amused at my subconscious. (Nuala admits to being 38 years old at the time of publishing.)
Namenorg: Does this mean the curators are making a direct comparison between these artists and Jesus? Woah. Didn't Buddha live till like 80? (Namenorg confesses to being 24 years old and very excited about this show.)
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. He had an overbearing dad, expectations for what he was
supposed to do
with his life, drinks were flowing, lutes were playing, and the
ladiezzz were all about him. Some called him L.L. Cool S. I imagine
close friends just referred to him as Sid.
Many people look to Siddhartha as an example of someone who attained nirvana, a buddha. But here we look at a younger Sid
as a confused guy struggling with his daily life. What would he do as a
young person trying to find love, cheap drinks, and fun in a city like
New York? We all make mistakes on our spiritual journey; here is where
they're discussed.
Each week I'll take on a new question and
give some advice based on what I think Sid, a confused guy working on
his spiritual life in a world of major distraction, would do. Because
let's face it, you and I are Sid.
Have a question for this weekly column? E-mail it here and I'll probably get to it!
DISCLAIMER #1: I do not claim to be in touch with the Buddha. In fact, I don't think I even know anyone named Sid. DISCLAIMER #2: While healthy debate about how to handle these situations is welcome in the comments section I would like to kindly ask that individuals refrain from posting negative remarks about the person asking the question itself. These are real people working to bring spirituality to real scenarios. Let's please respect them.
Q: I cheated on my husband. It was a one-time thing, a mistake,
not any kind of relationship.... I'm willing to chalk it up to, ok, I
slipped/made a mistake, and I tell myself I shouldn't beat myself up. Nobody is
perfect. But then I wonder If I'm copping out in terms of Right Speech etc. and
that I should tell him. Help. - S.P.
Make that hundreds of thousands. The Global Humanitarian Forum released a comprehensive study saying that annually, 300,000 people die from global-warming-induced catastrophes. Climate Change also already direcly affects the lives of 325 million people (seems a low number to me) and causes over $125 billion annually in economic losses (that might be the biggest statistic from a political vantage point).
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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.
Ethan Nichtern
Author, founding director of the Interdependence Project, and the host of the I.D. Project’s popular weekly podcast » Posts by Ethan Nichtern
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