http://wirednewyork.com/forum/blog.php?u=24299 Wired New York Forum en Fri, 24 May 2013 04:26:17 GMT vBulletin 60 http://wirednewyork.com/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg http://wirednewyork.com/forum/blog.php?u=24299 http://wirednewyork.com/forum/entry.php?b=462 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 05:29:07 GMT I am a practicing Buddhist. For many years I associated Buddhism in the West with New Agey phenomena, much of which sounds goofy and willfully facile and irrational to my ears.

But Buddhism is not like that. At its core it couldn't be any simpler. Most people know, or have heard, of the "Four Noble Truths" and "The Eight-fold Path." For me what it amounts to is this -- life will inevitably lead to suffering: I know that I shall age, grow old and die. What I do not know is the hour of my death, when it shall come, or what it will entail. How should I therefore behave?

The answer is relatively simple, although the practice is challenging: I should strive to live decently and do less harm than I might have done in my thoughtlessness. This is called cultivating mindfulness and practicing Buddhist ethics.

All Buddhist traditions that I am aware of stress ethics. There are five "precepts" most committed Buddhist strive to uphold. These are:

-- to refrain from killing
-- to refrain from lying
-- to refrain from stealing
-- to refrain from sexually abusing or exploiting others
-- to avoid intoxicants (fermented spirits in the Buddha's day, although like most Buddhists I now understand this to include mind-altering drugs)

Since we are not perfect -- not being buddhas or fully awakened ones -- it is not expected that our ethical behavior will be perfect. The point is to stay mindful -- thus the caution against mind-altering substances -- and do less harm than one might have done otherwise. Since frustrations are part of daily life I am bound to become angry, but I strive to cultivate patience -- to be less angry, less often, than I might have been and, when find myself to be in the midst of a storm of anger, to learn to take measures to mute or blunt its progress. It is not easy, but I am enjoying the challenge and I think my life is better for it.

Buddhism has no punishment god, and the historical Buddha, in his wisdom, was mute on the topic of a creator god. The injunction is to refrain from doing harm. I have not been a big drinker for many years, and have not smoked marijuana (legally quite out of reach for me anyway) for more than twenty-five years, but if the situation were right, I might have a glass of beer or wine at a social event, such as a wedding. I had my last hangover in 1994, and I don't need a Buddha to tell me I want to avoid that! The Path is a path of perfect freedom. I look to Buddhist ethics to guide my choices.

I know that I shall grow old, grow feeble, and die. I do not know the hour of my death. What shall I do?

Behind the five precepts, we find the "paramitas," literally, "the perfections." They are ideals of virtue only bodhisattvas -- awakened ones who have chosen to fore go full buddhahood in order to remain in the world -- are expected to obtain. Religious Buddhists view bodhisattvas as saintly beings at work in the world to aid in alleviating the suffering of others. Other Buddhist choose to think of them, and the perfections, as ideals toward which we all strive. Either way, the paramitas are there to guide us.

So what are the paramitas? I will list the six central to Theravada Buddhism, the oldest group of Buddhist traditions (surviving in places like Sri Lanka, Burma and other areas of SE Asia) . The Mahayana traditions (including Tibetan Buddhism and most East Asian) expand this to ten, but the additional perfections are really an elaboration on wisdom.

Here are the six:

-- dana (generosity)
-- sila (morality -- the perfection of ethical conduct)
-- kshanti (patience, forbearance)
-- virya (vigor, effort)
-- dhyana (concentration)
-- prajna (wisdom)

There is an entire school of Buddhism, the Paramitayana, given over to the study and practice of the perfections.

Although ethical conduct, embodied in the paramitas, is at the heart of Buddhist practice, it helps me to remember that these are ideals, that life is a messy business, and that I should never expect to be perfect, but only a better man, husband, friend, neighbor, colleague, and guest than I would have been otherwise.

I know I shall die. I do not know the hour of my death. What then shall I do, and how shall I behave? ]]> hbcat http://wirednewyork.com/forum/entry.php?b=462 http://wirednewyork.com/forum/entry.php?b=255 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:24:24 GMT I am taking a brief hiatus from WNY. I like this forum, the first of its kind I've ever been involved with, and love to discuss NY-related matters, but apparently I have been getting on the nerves of some forum vet(s).

Trust me, that was never my intention. I come here to relax, discuss NY related topics, and enjoy intelligent and the tolerant (I think) atmosphere. Instead I found myself stressed out yesterday, so I need to rethink my participation here.

Not storming off, but only wish to consider how to participate in a more skillful and productive manner. Geez, I don't need this. My cortisol levels don't need this. And apparently some (or one?) long-time WNY vets don't want this. So I am signing off for a while.

See you next month -- perhaps around the Lunar New Year. I am still keen on returning to NYC some time in the next couple of years after long absence from my native land.

A new member still learning the ropes --

hbcat

P.S. How does one use "tags" on blog entries?

This is my first-ever blog. I'd prefer to call it an occasional journal. "Blog" is internety jargon, and I try to avoid incorporating acronyms and neologism into my writing when there are perfectly intelligible common words and phrases in English. ]]> hbcat http://wirednewyork.com/forum/entry.php?b=255 http://wirednewyork.com/forum/entry.php?b=234 Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:25:29 GMT So here goes. I just posted to this forum for advice on possibly moving to the city for a year, 2011-2012. Grew up in NoWhere NJ in the 60s and 70s and have lived in various parts of the US, but have now spent most of my life as an academic working outside the country -- in Japan, Taiwan, and the... So here goes. I just posted to this forum for advice on possibly moving to the city for a year, 2011-2012. Grew up in NoWhere NJ in the 60s and 70s and have lived in various parts of the US, but have now spent most of my life as an academic working outside the country -- in Japan, Taiwan, and the UK -- since the mid-80s.

I tell most people I meet I am from NY, but that's a fib, or so it feels. Explaining growing up in a dozen industrial / rural / urban / suburban spots in NJ is just too complicated, and the TRUTH is my immigrant grand-parents were drawn to NY, not NJ, although it happened that the manufacturing jobs were on that side of the water in the early twentieth century.

Now I am looking forward to a chance to spend some time at "home." NY does feel like home when I visit, but I have never lived in the city.

I hope to post to this blog as my NY-year plans evolve over the next couple of years, and then continue after I am ensconced in Manhattan. Or at least that's the plan!

Peace --
Hbcat ]]> hbcat http://wirednewyork.com/forum/entry.php?b=234