I'm Sorry, Part One

When things do not go our way while interacting with others, we often end up in a bad mood and become angry. If we are being mindful and realize what is happening while there is still time to recoup, we can try something different.

When we have done something wrong, we can say “I’m sorry.” I realize that this sounds simplistic, but think about it. How often do we say we’re sorry? And mean it. Maybe we just say “Sorry.” Very noncommittal. Not to mention unclear. Does it mean we’re sorry or that the other person should be sorry? While “sorry” is better than nothing, it lacks the spoken ownership and our regret for our having done something wrong.

Hopefully, our realization of having behaved badly will lead to our wanting to improve what has just become an upsetting situation for all involved. An often difficult, but more useful alternative than justifying our actions, is available.

Look the other person in the eye, speak clearly, and say sincerely “I’m sorry.”

Every Word We Think is Important

Every word we think is important.

That may seem a touch strong, but what we think is what we will become. If our thoughts are in any way negative, we’re going in the wrong direction—figuratively and literally.

It’s been a delightfully quiet day. For me that means there has been much work to do but no emergencies hurtling at me through the Internet. The neighbors have been quiet. Other than an occasional car, all I’ve heard have been the sounds of the wrens chirping and the occasional flock of Canada geese discussing flight plans while flying overhead. It’s been a peaceful day, a good day to work.

With this much quiet all I’ve noticed, other than the soft chanting of my "Amituofo" CD, are my thoughts. Even on a peaceful, untroubled day, I’ve noticed they haven’t all been as admirable as they could.  Nothing serious. Just a touch of sarcasm when I was trying for wit or a fleeting thought of what was that? Self-satisfaction? A hint of anger?

Like I said—nothing serious. But if such thoughts arise on a peaceful day without deadlines or disturbances, it’s little wonder we think and say the things we do on bad days. But the problem then is, we don’t notice what we’re doing until the harm is done. Then it’s too late.

So now is a good time to practice, when life is peaceful and I can catch and immediately correct myself. And hopefully I'll get better at it when times are more "challenging."

What Price Progress

Progress is like a race without a finish line, a road without a destination. We are all frantically rushing, but we don’t know exactly where we are heading. In the end, pursuit of progress is a meaningless mission that wastes a precious life. It is another man-made illusion built on the larger illusion of personal or group ego. It means trying to run faster than what nature has prepared us for. In the process, we often stumble, hurting ourselves, or we trample others, hurting them. Often it is a combination of the two.

Most of the harm caused by human beings to our home, planet Earth, comes camouflaged as technological progress. No one would argue that technology has given us certain conveniences and provided benefits that were not available before the advent of modern technology. However, what price are we paying for the conveniences and benefits? Do the costs justify the good things? If we look clearly at what is happening around us on the planet, the answer seems to be a definite no. Another question to ask is: Are the conveniences and benefits essential for the well-being of ourselves and others? Again, the answer seems to be a clear no.

… Most of us are familiar with the contamination of vegetation and the environment through agrochemical products. Pesticides and other chemicals used in the name of agricultural efficiency and effectiveness harm all forms of life. They reach human beings directly through environmental pollution and indirectly through animal products. Other harm caused by agrochemical products includes destruction of beneficial bacteria, contamination of drinking water, and unwitting creation of strains of pests that become more resistant to chemical pesticides.

Those and other environmental crises make a number of things apparent to us. First, our actions have brought about a state of affairs that threatens the survival of life on planet Earth. Second, the major cause of this unfortunate situation is our unrestrained push for material progress backed by an equally unrestrained technology. Third, the root cause of it all is none other than the human ego. And fourth, urgent action is needed if we are to ensure that the earth continues on its journey through many more generations to come.

Let us recognize that there really is no need for the mad technological and industrial scramble in which we are involved. There is enough food and other essentials for all beings on earth if we decide to use these resources for the well-being of all and not to satisfy greed. Also, any technological initiative must be inspired by emulating Mother Earth’s respect for nature, not designed as a target for plundering. Undoubtedly, technology and industry have contributed to the well-being of people, but the amount of resources needed to obtain that benefit is a small proportion of the present enormous waste that has rebounding negative effects on all of us and our children.

~ Bhante Y. Wimala, Lessons of the Lotus: Practical Spiritual Teachings of a Traveling Buddhist Monk

All Beings Live Together in the Western Pure Land

 

The wondrousness of the Western Pure Land is inconceivable. Amitabha’s Pure Land is a land where saints and ordinary beings live together, but it includes all Four Lands. When we go there, of course we go to the Land of Common Residence of Ordinary Beings and Saints because we carry residual karmas.

In all other Buddha-lands of the ten directions, the Four Lands are separate. Sakyamuni Buddha’s Land of Real Reward is in the Dharma Realm of the One Reality, and his Land of Expedient Liberation is in the four enlightened worlds. The lands are separate.

It is like schools in this world. Elementary schools, middle schools, and universities are separate. The Western Pure Land is unique. The students of elementary school, the students of middle school, the students of university, and post-graduate students all share the same classroom. This is unique. This is why it is called a teaching hard to believe.

When we go to the Western Pure Land, we are like elementary school students. But there are also university students, post-graduate students, and Ph. D. students in the same classroom. When we face difficulty, they will help us. An inconceivable world!

Therefore, attaining rebirth in the Land of Common Residence of Ordinary Beings and Saints, the first of the four lands, is the same as attaining rebirth in the Land of Expedient Liberation because arhats are our fellow practitioners.

It is also the same as attaining rebirth in the Land of Real Reward, the third of the four lands, because bodhisattvas are there with us.

It is also the same as attaining rebirth in the Land of Eternally Quiescent Light, the highest of the four lands, because Buddhas are also there with us.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra

Nurturing Feelings of Worth

Feelings of worth can flourish

only in an atmosphere

where individual differences are appreciated,

mistakes are tolerated,

communication is open,

and rules are flexible

—the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.

~ Virginia Satir