What's Going On

What's going on?

Dallas on Friday night, Minnesota, Baton Rogue.

I recently share how I faced, accepted, and dealt with an issue of anger I experienced.

I experienced anger when I heard a Fundamentalist pastor in California say he wished more people had been killed in the Orlando massacre and another Fundamentalist pastor in Texas say he was praying for the death of the survivors who were now in the hospital.

How do you pray for some one's death?

We've just seen the videos of two men killed by police. And Friday in Dallas 12 police officers were shoot in what was essentially an ambush. 5 of the 12 died.

No matter what your political, social, economic, or religious views may be, one thing is certain; all the people who have been killed or injured are people.

They are people.

They are human beings.

They are living beings.

They all have family. They all have friends. They all have the right to life.

It doesn't matter if I agree or disagree with their profession, their views, their race. It doesn't matter if anyone agrees or disagrees with their life.

Everyone has a right to life.

We all have the right to life.

What's the First Precept?

"I undertake the way of training to avoid killing or harming living beings.”

Part of this precept is to avoid supporting or instigating, or even suggesting killing.

Part of this precept is not to find satisfaction in the death of another.

Even if I had to kill a serial killer I wouldn't rejoice. Or, I should say, I hope I wouldn't rejoice.

That person wasn't born a serial killer.

Everything has a cause.

The vast majority of lung cancer is caused by cigarette smoking. Cigarettes are the cause. Eliminate the cause, cigarettes, and the majority of lung cancer cases disappear.

What happened in Orlando, Baton Rogue, Minnesota, and Dallas all have causes.

We have an intellect. Let's use that intellect and find the causes. Once the causes are understood they can be addressed.

Once addressed civilization will return.

Buddhism is about ending suffering. We find the cause of suffering. We examine the cause of suffering. We deal with the cause of suffering. Suffering fades.

Buddhism is the Middle Way. We avoid the extremes of revenge or hiding our heads in the sand.

I don't know why there's so much violence in this country. I do know violence is the result of anger. And I know the Buddha taught, and modern psychology has confirmed, behind anger there's fear.

In the Dhammapada, in verses 231 to 234, we read the words of the Buddha:

“Beware of anger in your body.

Master your body and anger will subside.

Beware of anger in your speech.

Master your speech and angry words will subside.

Beware of anger in your mind.

Master your mind and angry thoughts will subside.

For the wise have overcome the anger of body, speech, and mind.

They are the true masters.”

How do we do this?

How do we master our body, speech, and mind.

Practice.

What's Practice?

The Noble Eightfold Path.

Know the Path. Examine the Path. To the best of your ability understand and practice the Path.

Allow the Path to be part of your decision making process.

Anger is crippling and not wise.

Anger can lead to wrong decisions; to awful, harmful decisions.

I know, I admit, if I see a harmful wrong I sometimes experience anger.

There's nothing wrong with experiencing anger.

But the Practice teaches me not to allow the anger I'm experiencing to make my decisions.

How do I do that?

Practice.

Awareness.

Mindfulness.

A clear thinking mind.

What's going on?

Anger.

Behind that anger—fear.

Some of our best teachers are people and events with which we strongly disagree.

Orlando, the Fundamentalist pastors, the police killing the civilian men, and the police killed in ambush.

What kind of teachings are these?

Life is sacred—all life, period.

Anger blinds and binds. Anger is cruel and unthinking and uncaring.

Anger has as its genesis, fear.

There's fear in this country.

I've also learned, I can only answer for me

What's going on?

I can only answer about me.

Again, in the Dhammapada, the Buddha says:

“To truly know oneself is the hardest of disciplines.

To straighten the crooked, one must first straighten oneself.

Only then can you be a light unto others.”

I can't advice others on their anger if I surrender to mine.

The Buddha said, “Though a person may conquer a thousand people, a thousand times, the one who conquers him or herself is the greatest warrior.”

The problem with Buddhism is no one is going to do it for you. You're responsible for your choices and actions and words.

I'm responsible for my choices and actions and words.

No god, no saint, no angel, or spirit is going to make our choices for us or speak our words. We make our choices. We choose our words.

In the Hsin Hsin Ming, the Third Patriarch says: “The arising of other gives rise to self; giving rise to self generates other.”

I've learned, when I follow anger and separate myself from others it becomes much easier to hate and to hurt.

What's going on?

Me and other.

That divide has to be healed.

We don't throw up our hands in despair.

We learn what we're able to learn.

We help where we're able to help.

We heal where we're able to heal.

Everything in life teaches.

How to help.

How to heal.

How to understand.

The healing can be found in the Compassion and the Wisdom of Buddhism.

The Noble Eightfold Path is Buddhism.

Buddhism isn't easy. But it's not hard either.

It takes a willingness to examine oneself and a willingness to learn to grow. It takes dedication and honesty.

I's all about Wisdom and Compassion.

What's going on?

We're learning.