Tag: enlightened

Exploring the Householder Path in Buddhism

Exploring the Householder Path in Buddhism

Householder

For over 20 years I have been studying and practicing Buddhism as a householder. My interest in Buddhism began in my early forties, and now in my sixties I have a great appreciation for how this ancient philosophy has impacted my life for the better. One way to define a householder is to state what they are not. A householder is not a monk that has left their home for the monastic life. Conversely a householder as the name implies may live in a house or apartment, with or without other family members, and have a job at some point in their life. As I refer to the terms householder and layperson please consider them as the same thing for the purposes of this post. The other key difference between the layperson and the monastic is that the monastic has devoted their life to Buddhism, where the layperson has not. You probably know this already, but in pursuit of being complete I included this definition of the householder / layperson.

Challenges for the Householder

In my next few blog posts I will address the challenges of the layperson in greater detail, but for those of you that are already a Buddhist or those considering Buddhism becoming part of your life it is important to consider the challenges. It is important to know that you are not alone and there millions of people that consider themselves Buddhist’s that are not monastics. In fact householders would be the vast majority of Buddhists. I would never want to give the impression that any of these challenges are insurmountable. To me these are some of the challenges not to be confused with impediments. While not an exhaustive list, these are some of the challenges I have encountered:

  • Time to Practice – Unlike the monastic the householder must divide their time between their role in society, family, and work leaving much less time for their practice than a monastic.
  • Learning the Dharma – The householder may not have a teacher, where the monastic most certainly will. This brings out a another challenge of how does the layperson learn and interpret the dharma?
  • Meditation – In some ways this is both a time issue and an issue of not having a teacher. How do you learn to meditate without a teacher? This also is directly related to “Time to Practice”.
  • Enlightenment – What is your path to enlightenment? Is it reasonable goal for the householder? Do you think a layperson can become enlightened?
  • Community – The monastic has the Sangha. The Sangha is made up of Buddhist monks and nuns, or bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, who follow a strict code of discipline and teach the Dharma to other Buddhists. Typically as a householder you have no one but yourself to make you accountable for your practice. How does the householder acquire a community of like minded people all studying the dharma, meditating together, and seeking Nibbāna?

Householder Advantages

Being a householder myself, I would be remiss if I omitted the advantages that I see for this lifestyle over that of the monastic. You might think that the householder is at a big disadvantage in advancing their practice verses the monastic, but in some ways the opposite is true.

  • Access to the Dharma – Over the past few decades we have seen the dharma made available to the householder in books, websites, social media, blogs, and audio recordings about Buddhism. In fact you have access to materials that even the monastic is likely to never read or listen to.
  • Integration – Unlike the monastic you will need to integrate Buddhism into a life that might include a job, family, friends, owning or renting a home. In many ways this is an opportunity to gauge how well your practice is progressing as you deal with the everyday issues and challenges faced by the layperson.
  • Customizing your Practice – As a householder your exposure to the dharma (teachings) may include different Buddhist sects such as Mahayana, Zen, Vajrayana, Tibetan, or Theravada. It is likely that your discovery of the dharma will come from various sources and in my way of thinking this may be an advantage, allowing you to customize your practice based on different texts. As a householder you might view the tenants of Buddhism in a somewhat broader context than a monastic being taught say Zen Buddhism.

Conclusion

I’m going to keep this intentionally short because I would like to do followup posts for each of the challenges and advantages for the householder listed above. One should also consider that the vast majority of those that consider themselves Buddhist’s are householders. My guess is that if you are reading this post you are a householder that is practicing Buddhism or have an interest in it.

In future posts, I would like to make a case for the Buddhist practice for the householder. The idea of the householder becoming a Buddhist is more relevant today, than it was 2500 years ago when the Buddha walked this earth. The access we have to the Dharma and tools like social media help us overcome some of the impediments we face living the life of a householder vs. a monastic. In this world consumed by greed, lust, destruction, and violence we need a north star to guide us towards a more meaningful existence and some modicum of happiness. I sincerely believe Buddhism can provide this and more…..

Call to Action

I would love to hear what you think about the challenges or advantages you encounter as Buddhist householder or someone that is interested in Buddhism.

References and Notes:

Nibbāna is the goal of many Buddhist paths and leads to release from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. For reference Nibbāna is the Pali word for Nirvana (enlightenment).

In Buddhism, dharma is the doctrine, the universal truth common to all individuals at all times, proclaimed by the Buddha.

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Namaste

The End of Suffering #3 – Right Speech

In my previous posts on ending suffering it was discussed how Right Understanding and Right Thought are key components of the Noble Eightfold Path and lead to the cessation of suffering. I used some quotes from other websites to define Right Understanding and Right Thought, but in this post, I would rather quote the Buddha’s own words from the Pali Canon (SN 45:8, V 8-10):

“And what, monks, is right speech? Abstinence from false speech, abstinence from malicious speech, abstinence from harsh speech, abstinence from idle chatter: this is called right speech.”

As a follower of the path, you may ask how can “right speech” contribute to the end of suffering? I think with “right speech” the Buddha is not so much focused on your suffering from some lack of “right speech”, but more on how the wrong speech causes suffering to others. Although we may find that wrong speech can be damaging not just to others, but also for ourselves.

Let’s break it down a bit when you abstain from stating knowingly false speech you cease lying. This lying to others can be harmful in so many ways where you are spuing untruths, feeding others with misinformation, and with each lie, you chip away at your own integrity. Some common reasons for lying include making up things that bolster your ego, where you blatantly tell others about things you never did or you make them out to be more important than they really were. Another common lie would be to tell others about some tragedy that never occurred in an attempt to garner sympathy from the listener. We often see politicians or others in power make up lies to further their own interests. Lying about climate change to increase profits from drilling oil or burning coal are a couple examples, where the truth is ignored for generating profits.

Malicious speech can best be categorized as trying to do harm to others. One example of this might be spreading malicious gossip about an individual or group to harm their reputation. In any case, the use of malicious speech is always to hurt someone else. Note this malicious speech may even be true but it is the intent that is in question here. Those that spend their time spewing malicious speech are simply fools that want to hurt someone else. This is a pretty obvious cause and effect targeted at creating suffering.

So what is meant by harsh speech? We often use harsh speech when we are angry or upset in some way. Harsh speech that might include swearing, but is often a mixture of harsh speech with malicious intent or at best just a lack of control. I’m sure you can recall times when you did this recently, but for followers of the path, we must practice self-control. Often these little tirades of ours come across as not just rude, but can also be attacking in nature and cause suffering if not to yourself, certainly to those who had to listen to it.

Finally, why did the Buddha include abstaining from idle chatter as a component of right speech? I mean how much harm can this do? Have you ever spent time with people that just love to hear themselves talk? It can be a painful experience listening to someone go on and on often about nothing. While this is probably the least severe form of wrong speech, it at best is just a waste of time for you who must endure listening to it.

The Buddha knew about the power of words and clearly identified what is right speech and what is wrong speech. I hope this post sheds a little light on how practicing right speech can lead to ending suffering. In my next post, I will look at how right action contributes to the end of suffering. By now you are seeing the power of the Noble Eightfold Path and how interrelated each of the elements of the path is to the whole. Truly the enlightened one Master Gotama (Pali form of  Gautama) was a prophet.

I’ll leave you with a final quote from Manly Palmer Hall was a Canadian-born author, lecturer, astrologer and mystic.

Namaste

 

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Do you have Buddha nature?

The title of this blog post asks do you have Buddha nature? Well according to Buddhist philosophy we all have a Buddha nature somewhere inside us, but as you can see it took the Buddha Shakyamuni six years for it to be revealed to him. It was his revelation after six years upon becoming enlightened that all living beings are Buddha, meaning they are inherently enlightened. The Buddhist believe that through meditation or for Zen practitioners Zazen, one can strip away the layers of unconscious thinking and brainwashing that has covered up our true nature.

However my statement applied to human beings, homo sapiens if you will. The Buddha Shakyamuni stated “all living beings are Buddha”, not all human beings are Buddha. Often when one refers to the word Buddha they are referring to Siddhārtha Gautama who becomes the Buddha, but in this quote the term Buddha refers to meaning the enlightened one or a person who has attained Buddhahood. In my mind none of these definitions really fully explain what the Buddha Shakyamuni proclaimed upon enlightenment because they again bestow the term only to a human beings.

Maybe it is more precise to say that all living things are inherently enlightened or are Buddha. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines enlightened as:

“freed from ignorance and misinformation”

I like to think we all start out in life with a Buddha nature free from ignorance and misinformation, and then the brainwashing begins. As we are taught fictitious stories by our parents, society, and our formal education systems we begin to bury the Buddha nature beneath layers of thoughts about the world and most of them untrue. We are told stories that impart values such as:

  • Money is good, more money is better
  • Power is good and we should seek power over others
  • Sex is good and we should always want more
  • Success is the result of hard work and we need to work harder
  • Life is competitive and we need to grab all we can get before someone else does
  • Acquiring things is good and we should seek more
  • God is all powerful and we should worship him
  • Nationalism is important, we are better than they are
  • Praise is good, seek more, stoke the ego

Of course this goes on and on, and these stories only serve the purpose to make us subservient to a materialistic me oriented society, where the more you have the more successful your are as a person. We are always seeking more, craving for new experiences, and never knowing ourselves. It is not in our nature to live based on these stories we are told, but it becomes a matter of conditioning over time. The Buddha was not satisfied with these stories, and left the Royal Palace to seek the answers to life, ultimately finding enlightenment, then going on to teach the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to thousands of disciples.

Can we follow his example and gain enlightenment? I think the answer is a resounding YES! If in fact you believe that we all have Buddha nature buried deep inside us, then the possibility of gaining enlightenment truly exists. There is a catch here, and it is not a trivial thing. The Buddha himself spent six years meditating to gain enlightenment, which clearly points out his dedication and patience. Here is a quote I find applicable to helping you as you follow the path:

 

In a world of instant gratification, rampant materialism, and greed we are probably challenged like never before, but I take heart in seeing that many are disillusioned with the stories that have dominated society since the beginning of the Industrial Age. There seems to be a keen interest in Eastern philosophy and the practice of meditation. People are looking for meaning in their life that goes beyond the acquisition of material things. They are beginning to understand that craving begets more craving, and the cycle only leaves us more dissatisfied and disillusioned. Buddhism can show us the way out of this self imposed existence, ultimately ending the causes of suffering such as craving and ego. My advice would be start with understanding the Four Noble Truths, studying the Eightfold Path, and start meditating.

Let the process begin.

Namaste

 

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Sources:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enlightened

Conversation with the enlightened

Conversation with the enlightened

A couple days ago I was having a conversation with my wife, well it was more about me discussing how I would like a newer house, a vacation home, or to live somewhere else. The typical future oriented ranting that I do from time to time, mind you it was not negative, but it was relatively pointless in many ways. If you read this blog you know I try to study Buddhism, practice yoga, and meditate, all in an attempt to be more focused in the present and quiet my mind. Well back to the conversation with my wife. After I had went on for some time about things I might want in the future, she said to me “I choose to be happy” and then she said “It really doesn’t matter where I live or how much money I have”. Well there, and without any obligatory condemnation of my 10 minute diatribe about things I might want in the future. I don’t think she was trying to imply what I was saying was pointless or incorrect in anyway, instead she was just stating her own views.

This comes from someone who has never studied Buddhism, doesn’t meditate, and isn’t all that focused on self improvement from a philosophical perspective. It occurred to me that try as I may to enhance my state of mind, there must be a predisposition to happiness or what might be considered mindfulness. Why do some people with little or no training in mindfulness seem to effortlessly live in the moment, and do it with a high degree of happiness? This predisposition is not based on social status or wealth, as you see examples all around you of people that don’t have two nickles to rub together that are perfectly happy. Maybe it has to do with a persons background, but I’m beginning to think it has something to do with genetics.

Don’t get me wrong those of us who study what the Buddha taught, meditate, and practice yoga are probably those that need it the most. This may be why we were drawn to these things in the first place.

Look around you there are plenty of examples of those you can model yourself after, and they are real people that live among us. They enjoy life the way it is, and ask little of this world to be happy. Some might even consider these people enlightened, or at least a lot further down the road than I am.

In the meantime if you’re like me you need all the mindfulness philosophy, yoga, and meditation you can handle.

Namaste