Life has well and truly bitten me in the bum tonight. Yes, big red teeth marks are certainly decorating my cute cheeks alright. Aside of giving you the gory details, suffice it to say I passed out in a stress and wine induced fug mid-evening. I have awoken from the haze to post, almost missing the midnight bell.
I just wanted to say something short and sweet about 4 little words. They're old Japanese, which I know I've pointed out before,and represent the meaning of it all for chanting purposes. It's quite a clever trick really. The saying of them out loud is the way to bring yourself in line. In one quick and simple swoop.
It would be more than rude of me to hold these precious words back much longer. They are so fundemental to being a Buddhist - like the car bit in driving or the cooker bit in cooking. The car metaphor is actually very apt, what with being a vehicle to travel somewhere, but I won't dwell on that right now.
The chant is "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo". To give an idiot's guide to the meaning you could say it is the name of the Mystic Law of life everywhere, as found in the most important of all the verses or Sutras. To borrow some lines from the big Amercican boys agin "when we chant this Mystic Law, we attune our lives to the perfect rhythm of the universe. The result is increased vital life force, wisdom, compassion and good fortune to face the challenges in front of us."
I'm too tired to see what part my chanting has played in my current work fiasco. But I am more than sure it will be directing me in some positive way. It may only become apparent with the passing of time, or it may slap ne round the face like the hugest of wet kippers tomorrow. I have an inkling I am being given a big lesson in something. And it's crucial I have the sense to learn from this.
Having said this, I am far to over-tired and rambling to write any more now. Nam myoho renge kyo to us all, and sweet dreams.
Thursday, 31 May 2007
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
Staying connected
It's been another horribly tough day at the coalface of work deadlines. I and a small band of hardy labourers have all become gruesomely stuck in some rather unending problems. Our sunless days are draining away with very little real sign of any productivity.
How completely symbolic of all human endeavour this seems. Well probably only to me now in my ant-like fashion as I seach for the way out. As ever, the bigger picture remains outside, as our amazing world continues to hurtle by. I did glimpse an inspiring dusk with vibrant pinks to purples behind a silhoetted tree line, and even a striking full moon gleaming against a starless sky.
I just need to stay connected, and I don't mean broadband. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy youtube and myspace as much as the next gal. But I want to remind myself of the things that take our breath away. Without getting out more, drinking vats of premium alcohol and dancing like no one is watching that is. Practising buddhism always seems a fast track back to a special place.
In the midst of my mind-numbing and soul-crushing schedule, it's good to read things like "all living beings have the potential to attain enlightenment or Buddhahood". It's so easy to lose the link. Slogging though a particulary grimy and damp rush hour earlier, I became as downtrodden as all the other commuters around me. Then I focussed on all those delicious fat, happy and smiling buddha statues I'd seen, and whispered some chants. It was enough to crack my steely face.
Maybe what is called "enlightenment" in Buddhist circles can indeed be found on my 176 bus back from town. I'm pretty sure the chanting is helping with my personal connection to what really matters. Even if the grotty slog of modern life has dulled my senses. A chant and a deep breath and I instantly feel back in touch.
The big Buddha boys in the US have probably put it well. A daily spiritual regime hooks us into " the true nature of life, including the profound realization of the interconnectedness of all things — the inseparable relationship between the individual and the environment and the ability of each human being to powerfully influence both." I want to hold this thought while travelling on public transport...
How completely symbolic of all human endeavour this seems. Well probably only to me now in my ant-like fashion as I seach for the way out. As ever, the bigger picture remains outside, as our amazing world continues to hurtle by. I did glimpse an inspiring dusk with vibrant pinks to purples behind a silhoetted tree line, and even a striking full moon gleaming against a starless sky.
I just need to stay connected, and I don't mean broadband. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy youtube and myspace as much as the next gal. But I want to remind myself of the things that take our breath away. Without getting out more, drinking vats of premium alcohol and dancing like no one is watching that is. Practising buddhism always seems a fast track back to a special place.
In the midst of my mind-numbing and soul-crushing schedule, it's good to read things like "all living beings have the potential to attain enlightenment or Buddhahood". It's so easy to lose the link. Slogging though a particulary grimy and damp rush hour earlier, I became as downtrodden as all the other commuters around me. Then I focussed on all those delicious fat, happy and smiling buddha statues I'd seen, and whispered some chants. It was enough to crack my steely face.
Maybe what is called "enlightenment" in Buddhist circles can indeed be found on my 176 bus back from town. I'm pretty sure the chanting is helping with my personal connection to what really matters. Even if the grotty slog of modern life has dulled my senses. A chant and a deep breath and I instantly feel back in touch.
The big Buddha boys in the US have probably put it well. A daily spiritual regime hooks us into " the true nature of life, including the profound realization of the interconnectedness of all things — the inseparable relationship between the individual and the environment and the ability of each human being to powerfully influence both." I want to hold this thought while travelling on public transport...
Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Work, West and Pray
I'm sitting alone exhausted from multiple and punishing work deadlines, soothing my throbbing head and glared-burnt eyes in the soft darkness of night. There's just the neon glow of my computer screen for company, as I contemplate the largely incomprehensible...
I have every intention of keeping it simple tonight - excuse me. It's no bad thing in reality, as I'm so brazenly starting from scratch with my budding Buddhism. Here am I, a 21st-century quasi-agnostic European of Celtic origins, fumbling around in the dark to comprehend the great mysteries and vast truths of a mostly medieval Oriental life philospohy. Hmmmm. A truly tough, baked walnut of a thing to crack.Positively implement braking in fact.
What exactly would it have felt like to chant the extracts of the second and sixteenth verses (or Sutras) in something approaching your own mother tongue, I wonder? To today's common-or-garden Anglophone, such as you and I gentle reader, it's a bizzare but compelling excurison into pure lyricism. There's a distinctly rhythmic quality to the unusal sounding words.They soothe and lull with their exotic patterns.
I must confess to sneaking regular peaks at the English translations, and none of the poetic majestic is lost in translation. Their rippling stream of lines celebrate the profoundly simple nature of Bhuddist thought. What a revelation that it can all be so simple in essence. Understanding the old Japanese is merely an added, lottery dream ball bonus. A high prize winning one I grant you.
Bu it really is all about keeping it real. Modern Buddhists who just happen to be in Japan are apparently getting on with spiritually infused lives in large numbers. It's a popular and widely accepted slice of everyday stuff. Like being a tennis club member, or supporting England in the 6 nations tournament. I guess. Not the big, funny or clever excursion into the unknown we make it out to be. Just a basic, buy-it-in-bulk, off-the-shelf way of life. How refreshing.
Even in my present punch-drunk tiredness of deadlines, this seems like a thing much to be desired. Living a life more ordinary. But with Buddhism. And more sleep between one's bouts of work.
I have every intention of keeping it simple tonight - excuse me. It's no bad thing in reality, as I'm so brazenly starting from scratch with my budding Buddhism. Here am I, a 21st-century quasi-agnostic European of Celtic origins, fumbling around in the dark to comprehend the great mysteries and vast truths of a mostly medieval Oriental life philospohy. Hmmmm. A truly tough, baked walnut of a thing to crack.Positively implement braking in fact.
What exactly would it have felt like to chant the extracts of the second and sixteenth verses (or Sutras) in something approaching your own mother tongue, I wonder? To today's common-or-garden Anglophone, such as you and I gentle reader, it's a bizzare but compelling excurison into pure lyricism. There's a distinctly rhythmic quality to the unusal sounding words.They soothe and lull with their exotic patterns.
I must confess to sneaking regular peaks at the English translations, and none of the poetic majestic is lost in translation. Their rippling stream of lines celebrate the profoundly simple nature of Bhuddist thought. What a revelation that it can all be so simple in essence. Understanding the old Japanese is merely an added, lottery dream ball bonus. A high prize winning one I grant you.
Bu it really is all about keeping it real. Modern Buddhists who just happen to be in Japan are apparently getting on with spiritually infused lives in large numbers. It's a popular and widely accepted slice of everyday stuff. Like being a tennis club member, or supporting England in the 6 nations tournament. I guess. Not the big, funny or clever excursion into the unknown we make it out to be. Just a basic, buy-it-in-bulk, off-the-shelf way of life. How refreshing.
Even in my present punch-drunk tiredness of deadlines, this seems like a thing much to be desired. Living a life more ordinary. But with Buddhism. And more sleep between one's bouts of work.
Monday, 28 May 2007
Practising to make perfect
I have decided I should follow the discipline of writing a new post every night. To a novice like me, this seems a fairly hefty challenge to give oneself, equivalent to perhaps becoming a concert painist or a Michelin-starred chef without any of the useful years of training beforehand.
Consequently, I have been quietly muttering out loud along the lines of "how I can possibly produce anything remotely wise and worthwhile quite so often?"
But that's not the point I guess. Starting to practice Buddhism properly, I'm going to have to get to grips with the daily basics. This means grappling personfully with the routine of accepting the concepts, doing the chanting, and swotting up on the theory. That's a tall order too - especially when it comes to finding that all-important time and energy to chant every single morning and every single evening.
So I'm hoping the two practises will work neatly together. In theory anyway. I'm relying on my gym bunny experiences to lead the way. Yes there is method in my madness, as I've trained up to being a tight-buttocked, calf-honed little pounder. I've assiduously been going to my local gym every other day to trot on the treadmill(I can't quite seem to work out every day for some bizzare reason though. Well I do roughly know why, and it's all to do with working and free time).
I'm proud to boast I've gone from being a non-runner 2 years ago, to being a very competent 10k runner, clocking up a jolly hour or so on the treadmill. And I can happily spout on about pb's (personal bests), stretching, sore nipples and carbo-loading if required. It's been an easy progression up the running Ks, with surprisingly little fall-out beyond a pesky hip flexor injury and a period of losing toe nails. Apparently this is only to be expected.
Each bi-daily stint on the treadmill has been a different experience for the mind and body. Some days I've itched to sprint and hit the endorphin zone; others I've had to force heavy legs to get beyond a short slog. But I've always finished feeling undeniably healthier and happier. This will be exactly my mindset for practising Buddhism and for posting. I am forcing a new routine of chanting and writing onto my life, knowing it should slowly and surely move me forward.
Luckily training to be a Buddhist can be performed outside of the gym. The daily routine of accepting, practising and studying has been neatly summed up for me to share with you. It is "the recipe for developing our innate enlightened condition, or Buddhahood. All three are essential. The recipe is universal. These basics are the same in every country where this Buddhism is practiced."
Wish me luck. I fear it might be tough at first. What with all the spiritual huffing and buffing to get used to...
Consequently, I have been quietly muttering out loud along the lines of "how I can possibly produce anything remotely wise and worthwhile quite so often?"
But that's not the point I guess. Starting to practice Buddhism properly, I'm going to have to get to grips with the daily basics. This means grappling personfully with the routine of accepting the concepts, doing the chanting, and swotting up on the theory. That's a tall order too - especially when it comes to finding that all-important time and energy to chant every single morning and every single evening.
So I'm hoping the two practises will work neatly together. In theory anyway. I'm relying on my gym bunny experiences to lead the way. Yes there is method in my madness, as I've trained up to being a tight-buttocked, calf-honed little pounder. I've assiduously been going to my local gym every other day to trot on the treadmill(I can't quite seem to work out every day for some bizzare reason though. Well I do roughly know why, and it's all to do with working and free time).
I'm proud to boast I've gone from being a non-runner 2 years ago, to being a very competent 10k runner, clocking up a jolly hour or so on the treadmill. And I can happily spout on about pb's (personal bests), stretching, sore nipples and carbo-loading if required. It's been an easy progression up the running Ks, with surprisingly little fall-out beyond a pesky hip flexor injury and a period of losing toe nails. Apparently this is only to be expected.
Each bi-daily stint on the treadmill has been a different experience for the mind and body. Some days I've itched to sprint and hit the endorphin zone; others I've had to force heavy legs to get beyond a short slog. But I've always finished feeling undeniably healthier and happier. This will be exactly my mindset for practising Buddhism and for posting. I am forcing a new routine of chanting and writing onto my life, knowing it should slowly and surely move me forward.
Luckily training to be a Buddhist can be performed outside of the gym. The daily routine of accepting, practising and studying has been neatly summed up for me to share with you. It is "the recipe for developing our innate enlightened condition, or Buddhahood. All three are essential. The recipe is universal. These basics are the same in every country where this Buddhism is practiced."
Wish me luck. I fear it might be tough at first. What with all the spiritual huffing and buffing to get used to...
Sunday, 27 May 2007
The first steps
So almost by chance, I have become an accidental blogger about Buddhism. How strange and yet how wonderful! As all newbie bloggers will tell you, it's really quiet thrilling to be at the very start of a such a journey.
I've somehow clicked all the right buttons and actually make a fresh new blog. Now I'm keen to chart my fresh new life as a practising Buddhist (Nichiren Daischonin flavoured from Japan, if you must know!). This daily practice of chanting, praying and learning promises to be as complete a life shift as anyone could possibly imagine.
My life to date has been fairly agnostic, with only the vaguest smattering of anything spiritual along the way. Sure there was a hard stint at Catholic convent school, when I really did have my fingers in my ears to block the religious fervour. There have been periods of enthusiastic yoga and meditation, some sublime but fleeting moments of rapture (yes of course, the usual bodily ones), as well as the exhilaration of adrenalin sports, especially skiing on snowy mountains.
But at a point of great hardship in my life, I was blessed by meeting a truly wonderful practicising Buddhist. She has opened doors for me when I have needed it most. A knowledgeable Buddhist would probably recognise this good fortune as a part of the mystery of the practice
So I'm all set for what should be a colourful adventure. I simply haven't a clue how it will all unfold, but it should be wonderful. So welcome. I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with you. Now I'm off for some chanting and living.
I've somehow clicked all the right buttons and actually make a fresh new blog. Now I'm keen to chart my fresh new life as a practising Buddhist (Nichiren Daischonin flavoured from Japan, if you must know!). This daily practice of chanting, praying and learning promises to be as complete a life shift as anyone could possibly imagine.
My life to date has been fairly agnostic, with only the vaguest smattering of anything spiritual along the way. Sure there was a hard stint at Catholic convent school, when I really did have my fingers in my ears to block the religious fervour. There have been periods of enthusiastic yoga and meditation, some sublime but fleeting moments of rapture (yes of course, the usual bodily ones), as well as the exhilaration of adrenalin sports, especially skiing on snowy mountains.
But at a point of great hardship in my life, I was blessed by meeting a truly wonderful practicising Buddhist. She has opened doors for me when I have needed it most. A knowledgeable Buddhist would probably recognise this good fortune as a part of the mystery of the practice
So I'm all set for what should be a colourful adventure. I simply haven't a clue how it will all unfold, but it should be wonderful. So welcome. I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with you. Now I'm off for some chanting and living.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)