Linear or Cyclic?

In the East, people have largely thought of time as cyclic. We are born, we die, and we are reborn. What we think, say, and do will come back to us. A cause leads to a result that in turn becomes a new cause.

Viewing life as cyclic, the interconnectedness of everything becomes apparent. What I do here impacts what happens there. So before I say or do something, I need to first consider what I am about to do. To do this, I need to know what my intentions are. To know my intentions, I need to know my “self,” who I am. Such introspection lends itself to reflection, reflection to realization, realization to awakening, awakening to joy.

In the West however, we think of time as linear, a forward progression. People such as economists, politicians, scientists, and corporate executives have usually interpreted that to mean that our civilization will progress into a future that stretches endlessly before us. A future of more—more economic growth, more power to influence the lives of others, more scientific advancement and technology, and more unwitting customers.

We in the developed countries who enjoy some degree of good fortune also have our vision of more—more income and anticipated wealth, more living space to store more possessions, longer vacations to destinations farther away from home, new technologies to solve any problems we encounter, and medical advancements to cure diseases and the problems we bring upon ourselves by ill-chosen habits, to name just a few.

We have envisioned ourselves moving along an imaginary highway that stretches out into the future. We have seen ourselves as always advancing faster and higher. Any problems along the way would be handled by those economists, politicians, scientists, and corporate executives.

But with such forward-focused thinking, we have missed the interconnectedness. We have often distanced ourselves from our parents and grandparents, thinking them old-fashioned, so we cut off our past. We have used not only our fair share of what the Earth offers but our children’s share as well, so we have cut ourselves off from our children. We have seen ourselves as individuals apart from the world, so we have not realized that the suffering of others is also ours. We have immersed ourselves in self-indulgence, so we have suppressed our innate goodness that seeks awakening and perfection.

We have advanced more in the past one hundred years than at other such time in history. But we advanced in only one direction, and an unsustainable one at that. We haven't paid near enough attention to the inner advancement. And so it is hardly surprising that many are looking around and saying "This needs to change. We need to change. I need to change. Now."

Reaping What We Sow

Cause and effect is a natural, universal law; as natural as a leaf floating down from a tree, as universal as night following day. Since causality is a natural law, there is no judge or ruling body that determines our consequences. Neither is there blame or anger.

Simply put, we reap what we sow. The seeds we sowed with our past thoughts, speech, and actions determined our lives today. And just as our lives today were caused by those seeds, what we think, say, and do today will shape our future.

Understanding this, we can more wisely understand our world and those who inhabit it. Those who suffer misfortune as well those who enjoy good fortune are reaping the results of their past thoughts and actions. Lest we think we can dismiss the suffering of others as their own fault, we need to understand that each of us has planted similar seeds. It could just as well have been we who were trapped in poverty or consumed by illness. Just as easily we who watched home and means of livelihood washed out to sea.

Knowing we too have planted the seeds for hardship and suffering what can we do?

We can look around and decide what we want to continue and what we hope to never see again, and then determine the seeds for both. And we can understand that while we may not be able to change everything we wish; it is the right thing to do. We can then work to plant the good seeds as we create the conditions that enable those seeds to flourish and our bad to lie dormant.

By understanding that everything, even a careless word or unkind look, is subject to causality, we can ensure that all our thoughts and actions arise from the wish to behave virtuously and live compassionately.

Souls Separated by Phantoms

There are those who would quickly love each other

if once they were to speak to each other;

for when they spoke they would discover

that their souls were only separated by phantoms and delusions.

~ Ernest Hello, 19th century French philosopher

Student Raj Dhillon in conversation with a homeless woman in Toronto. Researching a project on transient housing, he wanted to know more about her circumstances.

Phot by James Scott

Poster by Yes! Magazine

Finding Our Perfect Puzzle

Recently in a discussion with some friends, the mention of coming from different religious backgrounds came up. One woman explained how she had been raised in a community of sincere, moral members of a certain religion. She went on to say that she had never quite felt as if that belief system was the one for her.  She hadn't quite fit.

Someone else replied that it wasn't "right." The young woman and I both responded that, no, it wasn't that the religion wasn't right. Rather it wasn't the appropriate belief system for the woman. With that an analogy came to me.

The religions and faith traditions and ethical teachings are like beautiful jigsaw puzzles. Like a missing piece from the puzzle, people come along and naturally walk up to the puzzle their parents belong to. These new people see their place in the puzzle and easily move into it. Previously, their parents had stood gazing at the same puzzle and had likewise immediately seen where their place in it was. Odds are it was a place close to their parents.

But sometimes, people come along and just don't fit into that puzzle. They try. They go to one place where a piece is missing and move around, trying some way to fit. But they don't. They try another empty spot and another and another. But nowhere do they find the empty place where they effortlessly slide into and fill their space perfectly. 

There is nothing wrong with the puzzle.

Neither is there anything wrong with the individual.

Both are perfect. They just don't fit together.

And so people can spend years trying first this puzzle and then that one, looking for that space they fit in. All the puzzles are beautiful. There is nothing wrong with them. The fit just isn't there. So it's on to another puzzle.

Then, imagine the person, now feeling very much like a lone puzzle piece walks up to yet another puzzle, sees yet another empty place, walks up to it thinking "Here I go again," sighs and tries to settle in and realises "Wow, I may fit here!" And gradually, not daring to hope, the realization slowly dawns that this time, finally, the fit is right.

In a world of perfect puzzles, another piece has found its place.

Our True Nature

In the world today there are many beliefs, religions and cultures, many different viewpoints of how to explain our world and our relationship to it. But although we seem to have so many differences, we really have so many similarities. Do not kill, do not steal, do not lie. Do all that is good and nothing that is bad. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Remember the kindness of others and repay the kindness with gratitude.

Whether we call it caring for and respecting others or loving-kindness or compassion, we believe in helping others, in giving of what we have or who we are, to those who need our help or our wisdom. Today, many people are searching for wisdom, for the understanding of why we are born, why we live, and why we die. We are compelled by conflicting emotions. We are compelled by logic. When we hear of other beliefs the feelings of many people range from fear to curiosity, from surprise to fascination, from suspicion to cooperation.

Everywhere we look, we see societies with greater diverse cultures, societies with more differences, societies that often emphasize these differences. Today many people look outside of themselves, to these differences, believing that they are the reason why so many are so unhappy. But the reason lies within us.

As human beings, we undergo the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, death, hardships, unfulfilled wishes, separation from our loved ones, and association with those we dislike. The failure of people to understand the real cause of their unhappiness—their suffering—is increasing this very suffering.

To overcome this suffering we need to achieve ultimate wisdom. Accomplishing this is the main objective of our learning and cultivation. Everyone has the potential to realize this state of ultimate wisdom, because it is already an intrinsic part of our nature. It is not something we can obtain externally.

But most of us have become confused through general misconceptions and therefore, are unable to realize this potential. However, if we can break through this confusion, we will realize this intrinsic part of our nature. Thus, the Buddhadharma is an educational system aimed at uncovering our own innate true nature.