Listful*

                                                          What follows are some "items" that are Essential to Buddhism .  

 After Gautama got Enlightenment he had 4 Realizations that became better known as "The Four Noble Truths" .   They are :   All Existence entails Suffering ;   Suffering is caused by DESIRE  ;   There is an End to Suffering  ;   To End suffering one should follow the 8-Fold Path .

                             The 8-Fold Noble Path is 

                                                                         Right Views

                                                                         Right Thoughts

                                                                         Right Speech

                                                                         Right Karma

                                                                          Right Life

                                                                          Right Practice

                                                                          Right Mindfulness

                                                                          Right Meditation .

                             The 10 SUPER-POWERS of a Bodhisattva 

           Devotion to the Buddha's Teaching , and no attachment to anything

            The Super-Power to increase that Devotion

            The intrinsic ability to instruct all Beings and alter their conduct .

             Knowing what people think.

            Giving people what they want

            Unrelenting Exertion

            Employing all vehicles but never abandoning the Mahayana

            The mysterious aptitude to see the Buddha in every cell and on every World

             Making people turn toward the Buddha's Teaching and Guiding then to Perfection

             Satisfying all people with even a single phrase

       

"Mission IMPOSSIBLE" ????

                                                           My focus on presenting Buddhism to you, my Gentle Readers is 'site specific' {site = Sight}.  A formal Introduction to Zen can be irritating, in every sense of the word .  I once gave THE DEFINITIVE TEXT on  Buddhism to a cherished Ally, and when I returned a month later to check on his progress he was exasperated >>>  "It's like it's written in a foreign language" .   I chimed back,  Some of it IS written in a foreign language , it's fucking Sanskrit .   He shook his head, "I DON'T want to learn a foreign language".   This time I shook MY head, =  You don't have to, you just need to be familiar with some of the terms of Buddhism so that you can get a "working vocabulary" --- the concepts are clear unto themselves .   {I mean they AREN'T but I felt I had to lie in order to assuage his doubt and discomfort.}   I learned a valuable Lesson .   Sanskrit ain't for everybody .

                          The  Buddhism  I need to Introduce is  ZEN  Buddhism and specifically this one Definition :   Looking inside one's self and the attainment Buddhahood {Enlightenment} .   Some of my OLDER American Readers will recognize what follows from Steve Winwood's "Back in the High Life" album/CD =  "Look inside your heart, I'll look inside mine" .   "Looking inside" is code for penetrating to one's Core, that is, one's Inmost Being .   Here it is where the Buddha can be found, that Buddha is the Buddha ALL of have "Inside".   "We are, each and every one of us,  Buddha" .   Christians are slightly no different ;   "The Spirit of God resides in ALL of Us" .   

                         OBVIOUSLY one doesn't need to be a Buddhist in order to "Look Inside" .   As mentioned above, my DUTY is to "Make people turn toward the Buddha's Teaching"  ----  this THIS IS my "Mission" .   

Piece of Mind

                                                           During trump's WAR we have been asked to RESIST trump and his 'Politics of Cruelty' by 'standing uP' and 'being Brave' , but nowhere have we been presented the Mechanics of  HOW to be Brave, HOW to "summon Courage" .   It is as if we are expected to have within our Psyche some innate  Knowledge of Resistance, Revolution, and Reform .   I argue that "IT" is to BIG of an "Ask", It's too much to assume that we have inherited the Minds of the Beer-Swilling Constitution Creators , that THEIR Political Intellect can be transmitted over generations to reside within OUR Minds and Hearts .   Nope----- I ain't fucking buyin' it .  

                           I'm CERTAIN complaints, challenges, and  questions will arise among my Gentle Readers ~~~   this THIS is as it should be .  It is meet and fit .   I BELIEVE it is IMPERATIVE to QUESTION EVERYTHING , until such time when Satisfaction can be obtained [Attained]  because only then will the Mind find Peace .   

                           

Old McDonald had a Harm, A-I A-I OH

                                                           Last night while sitting in "Cheery-Chair",  I was listening to the first song off the Allman Brothers' "Eat A Peach" CD .   It is titled, "Ain't Wastin' Time No More" .  "IT" hit me upon "IT" 's arrival .   I can't waste anymore Time, I'm in my 75th Orbit and Time has become ---> Precious .   [My] Readership is now at an All-Time HIGH, some 897  Viewers  across and around the Planet .   I Thank my Gentle Readers for their Interest .   NEVER did I think I would be received by so many .  

                             I heard an Inner Voice say, "This is your chance, don't blow it."   Hmmm.    Chance for what---to do What ?????  Then, I knew .

                             Even before Anything, if folks truly desire to Change, they must know the Nature of this Change, What it LOOKS like, and HOW it acts .   Fair enough .    The NINTH Super-Power of a Bodhisattva {Enlightenment Being} is this :   "Making people turn toward the Buddha's Teaching, and [then] Guiding them to Perfection" {Enlightenment}.     So ~~~~~~~~~~~~~here we go .

                             There are four aspects or components to becoming familiar with Buddhism .   First you must "Encounter the Dharma" :   Second you must TRY and Accept the Teaching as Real and Valid :  Third, you must "Encounter a Clear-Eyed Master" :  and Fourth you must Practice .   We are at, "Encountering the Dharma", this is my case, to Introduce you to the Dharma, the Teaching .  

                           It is my CONVICTION that Buddhism, through Its Dharma, will be able to assist Folks in the Recognition of "AI" 'injections' into the Reality of General, [Collective] Consciousness .   Since AI is ALREADY being deployed to SCAM, and Delude , it is Necessary for Us to become AWARE to the extent that once AI is recognized as FALSITY, it can then be Neutralized BEFORE any Harm is 'done' .

Duty

                                                            The so-called "Devotion to the Truth" begins with Devotion to one's Self which manifests as Commitment to one's Self >>>>>>>FIRST<<<<<<< !   I know it sounds and LOOKS like unregulated Egoism, "IT" 's nothing of the sort .   When traveling by jet air-liner we are given a Safety Imperative :  In the event that oxygen masks are deployed "MASK YOURSELF FIRST"!!  You ain't-gonna help ANYBODY if you, yourself, is unconscious .   In the same way,  you ain't gonna help others if you, yourself, is under-developed .   So it is we MUST Develop ourselves in order to develop Others,  we MUST "Practice what we Preach", code for "Being a Model to the Empire" .   What we develop in ourselves can be seen by Others, and if that Development  manifests as Strong, Kind and Generous, then the entire Planet is "served" .   Commitment to one's Self will then manifest as Duty to and for Others .    Believe it .

Mind / Body

                                                           A     l--------o--------n-------g      way back, during "Some time ago" I wrote that the Ancient Chinese Believed that it was the "Individual" that was the Foundation of the Empire, that IF the Individual was Strong and a Being of >Character< then the Empire would also be "Strong" and have "Character" .   I stand by that Writing and the Sentiment of the Ancient Chinese .  Indeed, "IT" is my disclosed Agenda to ignite a Curiosity that can {and WILL} explore the Inmost Workings of [one's] Mind and Psyche so as to develop a Clear Mind, a "Cosmic Consciousness" that will Protect the Individual and ADVANCE Socio-Psychological BENEFIT to Others even those that reside in Foreign Lands .   This isn't "the sum of the parts equal the whole'  "IT" is the QUALITY of parts that GUARANTEE the QUALITY of the Whole .   If the Individual develops a Strong Will to "Defend Truth" then the Empire itself will Develop to establish and maintain Truth .   I cited the Prime Essence of Ancient Kung Fu which is "To Defend the Truth" .   This "IT" requires {nay DEMANDS} the Individual to train and educate oneself by ascribing to those Practices that actually BUILD the Mental  Mechanisms required to Identify Truth and Falsity , as well as the Physicality to Protect one's Self AND OTHERS should they be pestered or bullied by brain-primitive hostiles .   I offer this THIS once again :   "The Study of Martial Arts is for Spiritual Reinforcement, but this Reinforcement manifests as 'Self Defense' " .  

                                It's about  Mind and Body, indeed, it's ALWAYS "been about" Mind and Body .

"Primal Scream"

                                                            My Writing yesterday resulted in a Personal Record , some 554 Gentle Readers in over 30+ Countries, Nations, Lands and Territories .   I humbly Thank my Readers for their Interest .

                           It is NOT "Enough" to be the Voice of the People if that Voice is restricted to venting Outrage, Fury, Grievance, Anger and Bitterness .  I mean, "IT" feels Good, but that Goodness isn't lasting, "IT" evaporates leaving behind scant residual Effect .   There must-be More .

                            Years and YEARS Ago, 1970 to be specific, one Arthur Janov wrote a Book titled, PRIMAL SCREAM which was defined as, "symbolic release of suppressed feelings" and further, "[an] unrestrained , spontaneous scream [to be] used as a form of emotional release or catharsis" .   

                             I VALUE this "Scream" but there is another just as Valuable ---> Sorrow-filled Weeping .   I have heard this a few times :  "All I needed [to continue] was a Good Cry" .   {{ 2 days after Sandy Hook, I 'broke down' and sobbed, tears running from eyes, down my cheeks and onto the keyboard .}}  I don't know that I felt >better< but the Release cleared my Vision and re-opened my Mind .

                           Venting, exposing inner-most feelings, IS "Catharsis" =  "Providing Release [Relief] from strong or repressed emotions" .    Thing is, once you experience Catharsis ---  then what ???