Buddhism Today - Brian Vaugh

Don't Believe a Word of It

Retreat February 6th

Our TAO group will be having a retreat on February 6th. It will be held at Bill and Carol's home in Plymouth.

The retreat will be mostly in silence. We will have a simple vegatarian lunch around noon. We will start at 9 AM and end at 5 PM. Eat breakfast before you come. If you have any special food considerations bring your own. We still have room for a few more people.

Any questions or to register call me at 203 558 3641.

Talking with Troy about Becoming a Buddhist

The Other Side-A Dream...

I have been hearing a lot about Michael Jackson lately. He has gone over to the Other Side. I guess I wonder every now and then about the Other Side. Last nite I had a dream about the Other Side.

In the dream I was on the boat going over to the other side. In this boat on the second floor there was a bar.

The boat was a Mississippi river boat. And a Buddha was the captain. It was the fat Buddha one sees in Chinese restaurants- HoToi.,He was dressed like Mark Twain in a white suit, white shoes, white bow tie and he talked with a southern accent. And he was definitely in charge. There is a quote from Mark Twain that goes something like this. "I do very much believe in a Creator God. And I believe I was made in His image. But not so much so that anyone would every get one confused with the other."

Jesus was there- he was sitting down and playing the piano. And with a cigarette in his mouth and a drink in his hand, resembling a young Frank Sinatra he was singing 'My Way'.

Michael Jackson was doing the Moon Walk on the bar. Back and forth he went. Non stop. Playful and at peace he was the center of attention.

Elvis was there-he was waiting tables. He wore a shirt that said "Michael Jackson died for our sins."

I think this dream came from a koan or question I have been pondering - What is the Other Side like ???

I do hope the other side is like this dream. I would like to meet these guys and chill with them for a while after their job here is finished and before they start their next one - if there is a next one.

THE FACTS OF LIFE: EGOLESSNESS

Egolessness means that the fixed idea that we had about ourselves as solid and separate from each other is painfully limiting. That we take ourselves so seriously, that we are so absurdly important in our own minds, is a problem. Self-importance is like a prison for us, limiting us to the world of our likes and dislikes. We end up bored to death with ourselves and our world. We end up very dissatisfied.

We have two alternatives: either we take everything to be sure and real, or we don't. Either we accept our fixed versions of reality or we begin to challenge them. In Buddha's opinion, to train in stain open and curious--to train in dissolving the barriers that we erect between ourselves and the world--is the best use of our human lives. (From Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron)

JOURNEY OF THE WARRIOR-BODHISATTVA

On the journey of the warrior-bodhisattva, the path goes down, not up, as if the mountain pointed toward the earth instead of the sky. Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move toward turbulence and doubt however we can. We explore the reality and unpredictability of insecurity and pain, and we try not to push it away. If it takes years, if it takes lifetimes, we let it be as it is. At our own pace, without speed or aggression, we move down and down and down. With us move millions of others, our companions in awakening from fear. At the bottom, we discover water, the healing water of bodhichitta. Bodhichitta is our heart--our wounded, softened heart. Right down there in the thick of things, we discover the love that will not die. This love is bodhichitta. It is gentle and warm, it is clear and sharp, it is open and spacious. The awakened heart of bodhichitta is the basic goodness of all beings. (From Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron)