Isn’t that a fun title,
it sounds like I’m promoting a wrestling match, doesn’t it?
Samsara versus Nirvana – in a steel cage, grudge match
call you cable provider now!
O.K. kids let’s have a pop quiz.
Question: What is “Samsara?”
Answer: The Tyranny of Suffering.
Notice that we did NOT make the common mistake of asserting that
it is the mere presence of suffering.
That would have been a “bone-head play.”
And yet so many people sincerely believe that
once they’re enlightened they’ll never suffer again.
That’s NOT the product of study, but
that of wishful thinking.
One could spend, but
little time, reading the tales of Buddha’s life before
noticing that even after he accomplished enlightenment he
was still subject to suffering.
He was still subject to:
• heat,
• cold,
• hunger,
• fatigue,
• illness,
• foolish companions,
• betrayal,
• injury,
• the manipulative ploys of others,
• assault and
• even assassination.
“Well then,” you could ask,
“what was it that made Buddha’s enlightenment so worthy of
notice, admiration and imitation?”
Good question!
And I’ll answer it, right after the next pop quiz.
Question: What is “Nirvana?”
Answer: Liberation from the Tyranny of Suffering!
Sufferings, be they
very subtle or down right vulgar, be they
circumstantial, social, physical, emotional or mental…
do NOT happen in a vacuum.
Remember their are two pillars to Buddha’s wisdom teachings:
#1 impermanence and
#2 interdependence.
Today, we’re focusing on the later of these two.
Everything effects everything, if
not overtly then indirectly, if
not profoundly then at least subtlety.
Is this dogma that is to be believed?
Nope, it is a consistently occurring phenomena that
could be readily observed.
Everything effects everything.
Blessings effect everything and
Sufferings effect everything.
Sufferings can influence our:
• choices,
• body language,
• utterances and
• actions.
If you’ve been attending one of my series of
weekly webinars or have been reading my
essays for a while then you could be familiar with
“The Three B’s.”
What are the three B’s?
Buddhas, Bodhisattva’s and Boobs!
Most of us are utter slaves to our impulses.
What’s a great example of this?
Homer Simpson!
Can Homer pass up a doughnut?
And when he’s angry at Bart does he even
hesitate before throttling him?
What’s the difference between
a Boob and a Bodhisattva?
The second is quite subversive.
A Bodhisattva rebels against the tyranny of
sufferings and their causes.
But how do they do that?
By implementing Buddha’s mental yogas of:
• devotion,
• awareness,
• love and
• letting-go.
What’s the difference between a Bodhisattva and a Buddha?
Easy! Think of it as a spectrum.
We start off as Boobs, then
we CHOOSE to rebel against the tyranny of sufferings and their causes by
applying our teachers instructions, and
that makes us Bodhisattvas.
Once we have so mastered the mental yogas that
we are able to practice them:
• spontaneously,
• habitually,
• easily and
• effectively…
then we are Buddhas.
Buddha’s path of spiritual mastery need not be
long and arduous, in fact is could be quick and easy.
May you and yours be
happy and healthy!
Om Mani Padme Hum,
NON-sectarian Buddhist: Monk, Teacher, Healer and Tantrika
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