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 .  

Humans speak, chickens cluck .

                                                           I must reserve comment on the purport of "Right Speech" for a future date .   I am reluctant to speak about ANYTHING "in Public' because when I get excited I st-st-st-stutter .   In fact, when I was a kid I ENRAGED my Mother because I talked so fast .  She would scold ; 

                                     "Speak  s---l---o---w---l---y and e--n--u--n--c--i--a--t--e your words !!"   

                        My Mom had barely a sixth grade education, her use of >enunciate< was a mind-fuck .

                             I will use Confucius for a kwik summation of the First Three of the 8-Fold Nobel Path .

        "There are three things a gentleman, in following The Way, places above all the rest :   from every attitude, every gesture that he employs he must remove all trace of violence or arrogance ;   every look that he composes in his face must betoken good faith ;  from every word that he utters, from every intonation he must remove all trace of coarseness and impropriety..."  [ 8:4   The Analects] .  

                                         This is me .   I am this .

                                                      Tare Forward and Keep the Faith

Sky-Mind

                                                           "Right Thoughts" can also be "Right Thinking" .   The late Zen Master Seung Sahn Taught ;  "Thoughts are like clouds, they appear and disappear ."   'Right Thinking' is something different .   I am "of the Mind" to consider that >Thinking< should be regarded as "Questioning" as in, "Right Questioning" ---but be aware that this 'Notion' is specific to MY "Perceptual Reality" .   I have been harangued for Thinking as opposed to being praised for "NOT" Thinking .  Indeed the GOAL of Sword Training is to literally "CUT" Thinking by disabling the so-called {by me} Thought Mechanism, THAT  which is responsible for Thought production .   Elsewhere I have likened Thinking to BREATHING, just as it is completely normal not to think about Breathing, I suggest it is completely normal to think without thinking of thinking .   One of my AA buddies, stymied this :  "I stay awake thinking about  NOT thinking ."   I LOVE THAT  .  TOOO funny .

                           Zen Master Seung Sahn Taught "Don't Know Mind" as >an< Essence of Zen .   Enlightenment, He Taught, could be expressed by manifesting this "Don't Know Mind" .  We ask a Question because we "Don't Know" and as a result we find an answer that results in >DO< >Know< .   The SPACE between the Question and Answer is "Don't Know" ----> SPACE .   This SPACE MUST-BE Considered EQUAL to "Emptiness" which is the Goal for the Adept that seeks Enlightenment .  

                          Right THINKING means to Think without ATTACHMENT to Thinking, as clouds come and go so it must be with the Thoughts produced by Thinking .   Simply let them arise and dissipate without clinging to them .  We must TRY and keep our Sky (Mind) Clear .   

Miss Interpret

                                                           Know this about >Right View< :  "We ACT according to the WAY we SEE  things" and "We create our own Perceptual Reality" .    Some of us want to believe that it is external conditions that are responsible for our Mood and Temperament :  Right View somewhat attenuates that 'perspective' .    External Conditions are >>>Interpreted<<<  all of us do NOT "SEE" the same things despite even the OBVIOUS or what should be obvious .    We say that we want to "Be on the same page" but even the OBVIOUS meaning of a sentence can be >>>mis Interpreted<<< by those that have a different "Perceptual Reality" .    Right View acknowledges the different Perceptual Realities of Others and their Interpretations .   Buddhists hold to TRUTH, the Truth that SCIENCE can either verify or corroborate .   In this Sense, Buddhism {{{As far as "I" go}}} is a SCIENCE OF MIND but is specific to Mind as It relates to Suffering .  

                       Check this out :   Conscience    Con = With  Science = Science   WITH SCIENCE .