Are you "Seriously Buddhist, Seriously Geeky"?

I wanted to let everyone know about Buddhist Geeks.  As I've been seeking to learn more about Buddhism lately, I found Buddhist Geeks web site and podcast and they've both been a great resource for me. 

I started by downloading just the latest podcast to see if it was cool. Podcasts can sometimes be pretty lacking in polish, which can detract from the information even if it's great information.  I was very pleased by the quality.  I then went back and started with everything from 2010 forward.  When I finished that, I started at the beginning and I'm working my way to the middle…way.

Anyhow, I've been extremely pleased with the content, the production and most of all the openness of the whole thing.  They really tackle all manner of Buddhist related material and don't seem to bring any slant to the table.

Anyhow, perhaps my favorite thing is how they've evolved from where they started (their motto was "Seriously Buddhist, Seriously Geeky") to where their identity really surfaced through their work as "Discover The Emerging Face of Buddhism".  Now they are even taking a bold step and hosting a conference in California on this very topic that clearly is of interest to a lot of Buddhists and Buddhish people in America.

They've recently added a digital magazine aspect to the web site and also are hosting some coursework on Buddhism directly through the site from what it looks like.  The site, and all of it's podcasts and articles are 100% free.  They gladly accept donations and support if you are interested.  After consuming untold hours of FREE educational audio from them, I finally decided it was well worth it, and signed up as a Micro-Patron.  It's a VERY small price to pay for a vast collection of quality Buddhist audio.

I really encourage you to check Buddhist Geeks out and see if you find any value in what they have to offer.  It's TOTALLY free and you do not *have* to donate, but if you enjoy it, you might want to consider a donation to help keep it coming.  From my research it is some of the best material out there for free.  It's also worth pointing out that a big part of the reason I was willing to donate to them is precisely because of them not requiring it, but consistently and gently reminding me about it.  They managed to walk a thin line between annoying people by asking for money, and not asking enough.  They basically have each podcast tagged with a message about "If you like what Buddhist Geeks has provided" then please feel free to donate.  If I hadn't heard that message each time, I may not have done it.  If I had heard it MORE than I did, I certainly wouldn't have.  Good work on their part!

MS

Hi-Tech Helping Hand For Japan

I've been following the mind-boggling tragic string of events unfolding in Japan with great sadness, and yet have been very impressed by the people of Japan and how well they are handling these various challenges.

I posted a link to the Google page that has a lot of humanitarian helpful links and information resources a few days ago.  I've been amazed by the people wanting to help, and disappointed by the seemingly equal number of people wanting to capitalize on the suffering in Japan.

One thing I keep seeing is a lot of people who WANT to help, but are (rightfully) very afraid that their money isn't going to a good cause.  There are PLENTY of scams out there, so DO be very careful.  One of the best things I have seen is through iTunes.  If you are an iTunes user, you can donate through their web site using your iTunes account.  100% of the funds go to the Red Cross to help out in Japan, and you are anonymous through iTunes while donating through an account you already have set up most likely.  It doesn't get much easier!

I gave this way, and I recommend it for any iTunes user.  You can give as little as $5, and every bit helps!

Here's the link if you would like to check it out. 

A Lotus for Japan,
MS

Perception? Judgement? That's a load of rubbish!

We've all probably heard some variation of the story of the "snake on the road" wherein the man leaves his house at night and sees a snake in the road.  He runs back inside and does not leave his house because he's scared of the snake.  The next morning when he comes out, cautiously, he finds that the snake was really just a piece of rope. 

This one comes up often in various Buddhist books, and is used to great effect when talking about fear, illusion, perception and such. The story stuck with me from the first time I read it because it really is such a great example of two things that I try to keep in mind always: 

~ Perception is nine tenths of the flaw
~ Most people judge you based on their perception of you.

Having been one of the "long hair freaky people" most of my life, I'm accustomed to being judged on my appearance.  It doesn't happen nearly as often as it did many years ago when I wore my leather jacket and my hair flew free and crazy looking, but it still happens regularly.  I've never liked it, but I've grown to understand it and even have compassion for those who do it.  Because I'm as guilty as the next guy of this I have, as I mentioned above, always tried hard not to do the same to others.  Being human, I often fail.

Recently, while out of the country on business, I had a real life example of this story happen to me.  It was a great reminder, as well as a great opportunity, for me to utilize the lesson that this story had to teach.

I had been in Bermuda for a few days, and had seen and encountered a few homeless guys who by most anyones standards would seem a little scary.  These guys were the kind that even a big and tall scary looking guy like myself would cross the street to avoid.  Most of them sported waist length dreadlocks (or just plain matted) hair, which in itself could scare average folks.  And I say that as a guy who knows…I've got 3 foot long hair myself, and I've unintentionally frightened more than my share of people based simply on my appearance.

Anyhow, I was walking down the sidewalk, late at night and in the "rough" part of town (Bermuda's rough part of town is nicer than most American neighborhoods).  I saw, a couple of blocks ahead of me on the sidewalk, what appeared to be a large homeless man sitting on the sidewalk slumped over against a trash can.  When I passed by earlier, he was sleeping in the doorway near there.  Having seen the guy before, and seeing this ominous shape now in the same area, I fairly safely surmised that this was the same guy and I mentally prepped myself for the inevitable encounter.

Now, in the past, my typical way of dealing with beggars is to ask them if I can have a dollar before they get the chance to ask me.  This usually throws them off so much that they never get the chance to ask me.  This works extraordinarily well.  In recent days, I've been struggling with how I should deal with this in light of my recent path.  This is a LONG involved topic for another post.  So, for now, suffice it to say that I prepped myself for the encounter and kept walking toward him.

As I got closer, and was reviewing what I would say in my head, my newfound-mindful-Buddhish-metta nature started kicking in, and I started reviewing alternate ways of more skillfully dealing with him.

When I finally got close enough to make him out, I saw that "he" wasn't a "he" at all.  "He" was a load of rubbish.  An amalgam of garbage bags, debris and trash that had been thrown out on the curb by the trash can.  The fact that this wasn't even a person and that I had fallen for the self-imposed "Snake in the road" mental illusion aside, there's the additional irony here of the symbolism.  It did not escape me that I not only saw a piece of rope in the road and mistook it for a snake, but it REALLY hit home to me that I mistook a giant pile of trash for a homeless HUMAN.  What does THAT say about my unskillful perception and judgmental mindset??

Anyhow, the whole deal made me very keenly aware of my own shortcomings and illustrated how much of my path lies ahead of me, and how little falls behind me.

A couple of blocks later, I did encounter the very man I thought I was seeing.  He did hit me up for money, and I did not give him any (but because I sincerely didn't have any at the moment).  What I DID do, however, was take the time to stop and talk to him like a human being and apologize with great sincerity (whether he knew that or not) that I wasn't able to help him.

So the moral of the story is two-fold.  First, don't assume that your perception is reality.  It very often is not.  Second, when you do perceive something, take the time to consider your reactions to that thing.  You may not be able to prevent (at least at first) your lifelong habit of drawing conclusions based on your visual input, but take a few seconds to consider your reactions and ask yourself if they are founded on reality or perception.  It's normal human nature to jump to these conclusions, but it's not always reality!

Hopefully, I will do better next time!

Regards,
MS



 

WANT: Thich Nhat Hanh's new book "Peace Is Every Breath"

I'm very excited today, because I just bought the book - released today - "Peace Is Every Breath" by Thich Nhat Hanh!

It was just released and is the followup book to "Peace Is Every Step" which is one of my very favorites by the good master!

I just wanted to let you know it was out, give you some links to get your copy and let you know that I'll have a review of it in due time!

Breathing In, I can't wait to read it!
Breathing Out, I will start it tonight! ;-)

MondoSamu

BOOK REVIEW: Buddha or Bust by Perry Garfinkel

I've been on a bit of a reading-rampage lately.  I read a couple of good Buddhist related books and got really in to the topic.  Next thing I knew, I've read a dozen or so.  All of them have been good, but "Buddha or Bust" by Perry Garfinkel has been one of the most enjoyable, entertaining and well rounded that I've laid eyes on.

I tend to gravitate toward the slightly off-beat books about Buddhism, and prefer a very "real-life" (for lack of a better way to say it) style of writing about Buddhism.  The books that have a little comedy, or at least the ones that try a little less to convince me that they hold the key to everlasting peace are the ones that catch my eye the most (though I have read plenty of both!).

So, while perusing the shelves after a mindful walk to the bookstore recently, I found the intriguingly titled "Buddha or Bust: In Search Of Truth, Meaning, Happiness and The Man Who Found Them All" by Perry Garfinkel and between the title and the cover art, I was immediately hooked.

I snagged the book, and read it all the way through in record time for me.  I tend to get through books slowly because I have very little time to read, but I simply couldn't put this one down!  I read it every single moment I could, and was glad I had some travel time while reading it, which allowed me more time than normal to devote to it.

What made this book such a great read for me (besides Garfinkel's excellent style which is sort of a more tame version of Bill Bryson's humor mixed with some solid journalism and a down to earth sprinkle of the "everyman") was the overall birds' eye view he gives of Buddhism.  It's very easy, when you are new to all of this stuff (as I am) to be confused by all the variations of Buddhism and even easier to find an author you like and find yourself following them down whatever path they themselves follow.  There's nothing wrong with any of that, it's just that you don't necessarily get a "big-picture" view of Buddhism, what it's about and how it got that way.

Perry Garfinkel takes you with him on his journey to trace Buddhism from it's beginnings up to today's Socially Engaged Buddhism ethics, and he does so in a very entertaining, yet educational way.  When you finish off this book, you'll find yourself a little tired from your travels, but all the wiser for it!  The best thing I took from this book is the overall sense that Buddhism has evolved in an organic way that has allowed it to survive and thrive, and that regardless of what tradition you follow, it's all really the same thing adapted to suit the needs of the people practicing it.  He does a great job of driving home the fact that the core messages of Buddhism are the same, whether you are following a strict Japanese Zen path or a western Socially Engaged Buddhism path or anywhere in between.

In a great example of his fun and relatable style, he is talking about a view of Buddhism he received from someone, and his understanding of what they told him and he says:

"Clinging to anything - hopes and dreams as well as a craving for a mocha frappuccino - causes suffering." ~ Perry Garfinkel from "Buddha or Bust"

As someone who drank 1-2 Venti Mocha Fraps per day for YEARS, up until I started this blog, I can definitely agree and empathize with this point!

Another of my favorite quotes was when he had a profound realization that all of the external things such as where he performed his meditations, the setting, his clothing, etc...none of these matter and that just doing it is all that matters!

"What came up for me was this slowly growing sense that by sitting in this manner with any group, anywhere, of any origin, there was my Sangha." ~ Perry Garfinkel from "Buddha or Bust"

This last bit, about the practice being more important than anything else, is a common theme I am running in to in my learning.  It's advice that I think is perhaps the most important to beginners.  There is a tendency to either feel you don't have the right *Insert whatever it is you don't have here* to "DO Buddhism" or meditation practice, or to feel that it's some mystical thing you can't be a part of because you don't live on another continent.  Neither of these things matters at all.  When I first started sitting in meditation, I did so for 10 minutes, and in my LaZBoy!  I increased the time but was still using the LaZBoy until a couple of months ago.  When I travel for work, I either do walking meditation only, or I meditate in a chair or sometimes I even just choose to do lying meditation in my hotel room bed!  Guess what?  It works JUST as well in all these situations!  As Perry says..."Any group, anywhere, of any origin, THERE was my Sangha!"

I truly loved "Buddha or Bust", and if you are new to Buddhism, or just exploring it's concepts, or if you're already a Buddhist and you want a fun overview of it's history, this book will not let you down.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
MondoSamu