Trajectory

                                          The Ancient Chinese believed that "The Individual is the foundation of the Empire" and in keeping with this somewhat socio-political expression I wish to advance the so-called Doctrine of Altruism by gently INSISTING that the Ancients had the proper Trajectory for both an Individual's Development and concurrently, that of Society and Civilization in general .   I remind my Readers =  I consider myself a 'Militant Idealist' and because my Spiritual Career has as its foundation the Teachings of Taoism, specifically, that of Lao Tzu and his Tao Te Ching , I MUST offer what I know best, since it would be gruesomely RIDICULOUS to offer that of which I am only intellectually familiar .

                   I contend that Evolution has its own DEMANDS, and that regarding Human Development, a Consciousness that is INTIMATE with Instinctual Animality* is VASTLY inferior to a Consciousness of Modernity =   The one wherein LOGIC and REASON reside.  

                   

Avalokiteshvara

                                            Please forgive an old man .  It has taken me several hours to locate my dictionary on Buddhism--- old age both SUCKS and BLOWS . 

                   I present Avalokiteshvara perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT Bodhisattva {Saint} in the Mahayana .   The description of Him [or Her] in Shambhala's text does NOT adequately reveal His Inmost, so I present this as a supplement .   Avalokiteshvara is known for this Declaration of Compassion :  It is "All others before me" --- and His Commitment that He we NOT enter Nirvana UNTIL ALL OTHERS ATTAIN ENLIGHTENMENT BEFORE HE DOES .  

                I am DEVOTED to Avalokiteshvara and still use the repetition of His Name as a Mantra .   In many ways, too numerous to cite here,  He has SAVED my Life .  

                Altruism, I Believe, can 'use' a face, and since I am a Zen Buddhist I proffer that HIS and His Existence are PERFECTLY SUITED .

Altruism

                                              "The "Doctrine of Altruism" is an ethical framework stating that individuals have a moral duty to help or benefit others, even at a significant cost or sacrifice to themselves, viewing service to others as the highest moral value, sometimes summarized as "live for others" .   It contrasts with egpism, asserts that self-sacrifice is the only moral act, and emphasizes that toe moral worth of an action depends solely on its positive impact on others, not the actor, leading to debates about its demanding nature and potential conflict with self-interest , ... ."

     Google and AI 

Change to spare ... .

                                          The closest we can 'get' to an American (and British) quasi-understand of karma is "You made your bed, now you must lie in it" a "common proverb" of Victorian Times .   Roughly, {EXCEEDINGLY Roughly} --  One must be responsible for one's {thinking} and ACTIONS .   We now know, from the blogs above, that our Past Actions have resulted in our Present Conditions ---and that in order to Chang  the Present Conditions we must Change the Mentality that produced those Past Actions so that NEW {desirable} Actions can then manifest .   

                     America is in the throes of trump's thinking and actions -----  OBVIOUSLY if trump is >removed< so too will the results of his thinking and actions .   By LAW and Definition 'Things' WILL Change .   Simple right ???   Not really .....

From Tibet, with shove ... .

                                            If you are like me, you found the definitions I provided as somewhat inscrutable and at the very least, perplexing .   It took me YEARS to finally chance upon an UNDERSTANDABLE representation of Karma and I can't express what a fucking RELIEF it was .  Teaching the Concept of Karma was difficult because just the IDEA of Karma seems perfidious .   No matter, the Tibetans rescued me and to Them I bow 10,000 times .

                    I URGE my Readers to invest in their Interest by procuring Practicing The Path ---A commentary on the Lamrim Chenpo delivered by Yangsi Rinpoche .   He devotes an entire chapter on Karma, titled "The Law of Cause and Effect" .  I confess, when I finished this chapter I was inwardly EXULTANT such was his purity of expression, his precision and the resultant lucidity .   I mean, who figured the Tibetans could express the {seeming} UN-expressable .   Well THEY DID and our GRATITUDE should be AND IS --->  Infinite .

                    I offer one brief sentence as an example .   "When we say that karma is definite, we mean that everything we experience arises as a concordant result of past actions ."   (p. 158)

                    I insist :  Ain't nothin' easy and this BRILLIANT Text is unimaginably Precious .

Karma of Zen

                                          In his Compass of Zen Teaching the late {GREAT} Zen Master, Seung Sahn, stipulated >Karma< thusly :

                                                               Bodhisattva karma ---> complete compassion

                                                                Good karma --->  happiness

                                                                 Bad karma --->  suffering

                                                                 Accumulated karma ---> predispositionsn form 

                                                                Same karma ---> same action 

      He adds :   Everything appears through karma, and disappears through karma

                        Mind appears, the Dharma appears; Dharma appears then form appears; form appears, then suffering appears .

                        Mind disappears, then Dharma disappears;  Dharma disappears then form disappears; form disappears; then suffering disappears .

Then this BOMB =   ALL THINGS ARE CREATED BY THE MIND .

Karma (cont.)

                                 "The effect of an action, which can be of the nature of body, speech, or mind, is not primarily determined by the act itself but rather particularly by the INTENTION of the action .   It is intention of actions that cause a karmic effect to arise .   When a deed cannot be carried out but the INTENTION toward it exists, this alone produces an effect .   ONLY A DEED THAT IS FREE FROM DESIRE, HATE AND DELUSION IS WITHOUT KARMIC EFFECT .   In this connection it should be noted that also good deeds being "rewards", engended karma and thus renewed rebirth .   In order to liberate oneself from the cycle of rebirth, one must refrain from both "good" and "bad" deeds .

               The Teaching of Karma does not constitute determinism .   The deeds do indeed determine the MANNER of rebirth but not the ACTIONS of the reborn individual-----karma provides the situation, not the response to the situation .  "