The dictionary defines relationship as the connection one object has to another. It’s simply the connection. Yet, in our minds, relationships grow to be a huge embodiment of emotion, rules, assumptions, and expectations. Continue reading “Reality of Relationships” »
The second of the Four Noble Truths says that craving and attachment are the causes of suffering. This is easy to see when we look at hardcore addictions like smoking, alcoholism, and other drug addictions, as those substances tend to have an ill affects on the mind and the health. But it’s harder to see how craving creates suffering in the things that bring us pleasure and don’t interfere with walking a straight line. Continue reading “Curbing Cravings” »
I’ve read in many Buddhist books that we are not our thoughts. This was a difficult concept for me to grasp or accept. But the Buddha did not expect us to simply accept, but instead to see for ourselves, to investigate by watching our own minds. The tool to do this is through meditation. Continue reading “Thinking, Thinking, and Thinking” »
It doesn’t take much meditation practice to realize that it’s really a process of letting go. We sit, focus on the breath, and a myriad of thoughts, physical sensations, sounds, and emotions arise, all of which we let go to return to the breath. Continue reading “Letting Go and More Letting Go” »
In the years I’ve been pursuing Buddhism, I find the topic of not-self coming up frequently. This topic can be baffling and disturbing at first. We are advised to investigate inwardly for evidence of a solid, intrinsic self, and we smash into this voice that says, “This is me, myself, and I!” Yet, as I dig more deeply, pick apart the many parts and essentials that make up the human being, I am discovering a subtle understanding of the not-self concept. Continue reading “Just Who Am I Anyway?” »
If I have to be reborn again, I’ve decided I want to come back as a Second Life avatar. In SL there are no germs, no viruses, no body afflictions, and all sex is safe sex. Continue reading “Not the Body” »
This morning I listened to Lama Yeshe in a Intro to Tantra video, and he was talking about renunciation of Samsara. The problem, he pointed out, is simply our state of mind, a mind that wants to grasp the drama, the pleasures, and even the pain. Giving up that grasping means being easy going. Continue reading “Going with the Surge of Life” »
