"Trick or Treat"

                                                           I will leave the explanation of Right Livelihood in its unfinished form, at least for now .   I want to turn to "Right Practice" because "IT" is considered our everyday 'presentation' of our {not-so-True} Selves, HOW we express our Selves to Others, WHAT we [seek to] 'Project' .

                         Initially is is necessary to use this admonition ;  "PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH"  .   Here it is where hypocrisy is condemned should one NOT adhere to this Social "Absolute" .   I mean, it's OK but certainly not enough to hold as as Primary Standard for Living .   What, exactly, does one, IS one suppose to Preach ?   Technically, we DO "Preach" in that we Preach that >WE EXIST< that, we should be Recognized as Preachers of Self-Existence .  That shit is not only awkward it is undeniably unwieldy .   There is a Better and we find it in "Doctors have a Practice" .   A Doctor's PRACTICE involves (get this)  The TREATMENT of Others .  SOOOOOOO much BETTER !!!  We can use This EASILY  .

                       Right Practice can now be correctly Viewed as HOW We "TREAT" Others .   The Teaching of the not-yet-Risen Christ has >IT< this way :  "Love thy neighbor as thy Self".   Here's yet An-Other that "looks fucking GREAT on paper but DIms in Practice .   It ain't exactly that I hate my self, but I have confessed elsewhere that >Internally<  I am at War with my Ignorance ---I mean shit---I'm NOT gonna wage WAR against my neighbor and HIS Ignorance despite strong feelings that serve only to aggravate my "Condition" and how IT relates to my ignorant trump-loving neighbor .   

                       We live in a Civilization . And THAT is the Key .   Simply stated, We MUST-BE >>>CIVIL<<< to one An-Other .   This means acknowledging them with the "Pleasantries" of the day, and NEVER IGNORING THEM SHOULD THEY REQURE ASSISTANCE .   To be Civilized is to be HUMAN in "ITS" most Noble Form .

                         I gotta leave this here .

                                                         Tare Forward and Keep the Faith 

"Onerous"

                                                           I must reiterate ;   I am attempting to Modernize Buddha's 8-Fold Nobel Path so as to make it more 'palatable' for us Moderns .   Palatable refers to 'taste' , however I DON'T want you to "eat my words" and I surely don't want to "eat' my own words either .  Thing is, my words ARE "for consumption", indeed, Zen Master Seung Sahn used "Mind Meal" as "Food for Thought" and I will steal this THIS from Him .   My words then become "Food for Thought"--- I can live with That .

                              The Fifth of the Buddhist Rights is "Right Life" better translated as Right Livelihood .   Livelihood refers to one's Job, one's Career, one's "what I do for a living" .   Many of Us find ourselves at a job we fucking HATE ,  especially  in the Early Years of paycheck acquisition .   I mean, to awaken each morning HATING to go to work, how can ANYBODY live with that ??  And yet many Americans and workers around the Planet do so ;   worse, they do nothing to alter their self-impose Predicament .   They remain in a Prison of their own Creation .   Folks describe themselves as "Wasting Away", being "Stuck" in a Job they HATE, but WHY don't the even TRY to "get out" and seek work more suitable to their psychological disposition ?    I don't get "IT" ---never have .   

                               The Best explanation I have read about "Right Livelihood" is quite simple ;   Find and keep (a) the  job that that helps reveal Who you are and of What you are made .   Right Livelihood is a Condition in which you continually "find out" about your --->Self .  

                              Recall what appears to be a "Cosmic Absolute" :   YOU ARE WHAT YOU DO .   Do not shirk from this searing Iron, do not flatter yourself by expressing "This is just a job, it ain't me or who I am . "             >>>>>>>>>>>>>    YOU ARE WHAT YOU DO <<<<<<<<<<<< . 

                              One's Job DEFINES One's Existence .   "Own It" .

Abraham-berg

                                                           Before I submit my interpretation of the remaining 4 "Rights" of the Nobel 8-Fold Path, which I now tag as "The Buddhist Rights" ,  something arrived yesterday that needs Attention .   I received a text message form some guy who wanted my opinion on the War in Iran,  he seemed 'legit' so there was a discussion between us .   He was convinced that trump and netanyahu's WAR was completely JUSTIFIED because Iran would not stop unless and until Israel was made Extinct .  He used every point of trump's Rhetoric and I knew there would be no REAL 'open-ness' on his behalf .   It didn't matter --I gave him my "two cents" anyway ;   but when I put the cell down some relevant stuff arrived that I need to offer you, my Gentle Readers .

                                As long as the IRGC exists there will be no Peace .   Recall that Iran has declared that Israel MUST DIE, that Israel must CEASE TO EXIST, and that Iran WILL NOT REST UNTIL ISRAEL IS >GONE< .    Harsh words that predicted October 7th .    These words were not uttered by ANY True Muslim but ARE the words of Zealotry and Fanaticism .    We KNOW the Muslim Commoners DO NOT WANT WAR OF ANY KIND, in this they are exactly like the MAJORITY of American who LOATHE trump and his War Machine .    American Pop Culture Icons, the Allman Brothers, resign; that for us to be at Peace,    ALL the  WAR FREAKS must "die off" and THEN We, the People can be "left alone" .    Problem with that is TIME , We don't have the TIME for "Nature" to "Take its course" .   

                               Here is MY consideration :   The MENTALITY of Iran must be TRANSFORMED, meaning, unless and until the Extremism of WAR Fanatics is Confronted and NEUTRALIZED, War remains INEVITABLE .   The Religious Sanhedrin of Iran MUST Confront the Military Sanhedrin and some how FORCE It to Recant and in so doing OPT for Peace among ALL the Nations of Islam as well as Other Nations who hold Abraham as Patriarch .    

The Fort in Effort

                                                           The Commitment to Change must manifest as RESOLUTION, to be Resolute means to brings one's Volition into Prominence where Volition is COSMIC --> Will .    We must align with COSMIC Forces to effect the Change that results in True >>> Transformation .   How is This done ?   We MUST Commit to ourselves, where Commitment is INVESTMENT .   If we view ourselves as COSMIC Entities the alignment to COSMIC Forces becomes almost "Self-Evident" .   EFFORT produces Results, no Effort no Results .    Cosmic Effort, Cosmic Results .

                              In AA the First of the 12 Steps is the acknowledgement that there is  "Higher Power" .   AA addicts consider this the Utmost and Supreme .   MANY Folks are reluctant to "Believe in God", and this First Step is fucking HUGE .  Know this :   as soon as one acknowledges a Higher Power Loneliness is extinguished .   One is NOT ALONE .  Folks drink because they FEEL ---> Alone .   So it is that many Folks do  NOT believe in Karma but still 'want' to Change .   To WANT-TO-CHANGE  IS  "Changing one's Karma ".    What remains is the Necessity, the ABJECT Necessity of Actualization, the performance and/or execution of those methods and means that will effectuate Results .   

                              In one of the Books I have yet to write is this line :  

                                                   "Enlightenment said, 'Hold on I'm comin' ' " .

                               AA Dogma submits this :   "Be careful what you wish for, [because once you wish for something] it's already on its way ."

                                After almost forty years of Sobriety I have found this Dogma to be absolutely TRUE .

                                                      Tare Forward and Keep the Faith

Bobby Chacon

                                                           It is relatively 'safe to say' that Evolution is "A Law of Nature", is it then safe to say that Karma is also "A Law of Nature" ?   I will argue that Karma is a Law of Spirituality that manifests as ( a) "Law of HUMAN Nature" .    Elsewhere I have contended that the Spirit of the Universe manifests as >Life< itself .  Spirituality, then, is the AWARENESS of Life as "IT" is connected to ALL LIFE, in the Universe .   Where Religion is Earthly, Spirituality is COSMIC .   So now we have this ;   where Evolution is Earthly, Karma is COSMIC .  Once again I must leave this where it is that we may "Play it as it lays" . 

                             Once upon a time I could argue that Evolution can NOT be altered, modified or manipulated, obviously THAT is not accurate .   Our Genes CAN-BE altered, modified and manipulated to produce results that enhance the organism [so] that it may Continue with greater strength and health .   One's Karma CAN BE CHANGED  to better suit the Health of the Individual both Spiritually and Physically .   When we are weak and desire to  become strong we undergo the addition of Exercise so that we CAN become Stronger and Healthier, which then results in a BETTER Life ,  "IT" is the same with Karma.  We may have shitty Karma but by MENTAL EXERCISES we can rid ourselves of those weakness that cause our Suffering .   Here's the deal with THAT :   YA GOTTA WANNA !!!!!    Recall the words of Pugilist Champion Bobby Chacon :   "You gotta do what you gotta do and you gotta TRAIN for what you gotta do ."   I LOVE THAT .

                                        This is me.  I am that .

Law of Lore

                                                           In Zen Buddhism Karma is regarded as a "Theory" .   I would LOVE for there to be an acceptance of "The LAW of Karma" but the only place THAT exists is in my own head .   Still, I have been forced to reckon Karma, to address what "IT" IS in such a way that at least a modicum of Satisfaction can be experienced, some form of address that results in Understanding, even if that Understanding is shallow .  Toward that End I have devised an explanation that suits the prevailing condition of >WTF< ,  and here it is where "WTF" is the Modern Version of "Don't Know Mind" .

                          I liken Karma, {The Law (and the LORE) of Karma} to Evolution .   We know Evolution to be a LAW of Nature .   We must Trust Science to be accurate here ,  and {of course} I do .   We know that the Law of Evolution causes Changes that manifest as Modifications [Up-grades] that enhance what exists presently so that continued Propagation of the Species is Guaranteed .   We say, "Only the Strong Survive" meaning the Species that adapts to External Conditions THE BEST, will be granted Continuation, while those that cannot Adapt are summarily rejected from this {so-called] Continuation .   Karma is slightly different in that NO Entity is Rejected, "Dis-Continued" .  Instead, Karma just keeps coming, relentlessly, until "IT" is addressed, and Change results .  The Goal of Karma is Enlightenment , the Removal of the Individual from the Wheel of Life, Death and Rebirth, otherwise known as Samsara .

                       

Karma

                                                           Of all things I must do, defining "Karma" is E-Z while explaining Karma has some daunt to "IT" .    Folks misunderstand the Nature of Karma, and figure it to be  >Punitive< .  It is not .   Simply put, Karma is "Cause and Effect" .   Specifically a "Primary Cause" combines with "Dependent Origination" which then produces a "Result" .   There are more specifics :   "Bodhisattva Karma is complete Compassion ;  Good Karma is Happiness ;  Bad Karma is Suffering ;  Accumulated Karma is Predispositions ;  and Same Karma is Same Action" .

                         "IT" continues :   "Everything appears and disappears through Karma .   Mind appears, then Dharma appears ;   Dharma appears then Form appears ;  Mind disappears, then Dharma disappears ;  Dharma disappears, the Form disappears ;  Form disappears, then Suffering disappears ."

                         And then there's the BIG One :   "All things are created by the Mind."

                         Don't forget :   "We CREATE our Perceptual Reality".  Can it be said that we CREATE our Karma ?  Yes because of the definition above, and NO because of the True Nature of Karma .   Oddly these two are  NOT in opposition although to think otherwise is counter-intuitive .   For now, we must let this be, as it is .