Good morning!
After the winter solstice we have a brighter and colder day. After our sittings we have a calmer and clearer world. Before I came here I watched a Japanese TV program on a doctor working with PTSD problems in 58 countries, in war zones, hunger realms, tsunami areas, etc. He doesn’t think it good for people with PTSD to suppress memories of their disaster experiences. He thinks they need uninterrupted, coherent stories with emotional solutions – comprehensive countermeasures.
I think for wholly wholesome ways we must completely understand our world, in historical perspective, as we understand day-to-day changes due to changes in our planet’s orbit. The North Pole ice melting, water warmth, and the wind orbit changes are creating colder winters worldwide. We have worlds created by karmas – the six ways (rokudô: 六道) or destinies (rokushu: 六趣) of hell beings, hungry ghosts, animal beings, fighting devils, human beings, and celestial beings.
The PTSD doctor said that we need to share our stories and emotions, shedding tears together. Tears are like sweat – as our bodies adjust to our efforts, they decrease and eventually stop. After a certain time of shedding tears together we stop crying and come to smile together. Only by thoroughly understanding our stories and emotions can we let go of them and become freed from them. This is the wholly wholesome way and world to solve the problems and share the world without PTSD.
So, in the Mahayana tradition we have the six perfections of giving, morality, patience, striving, concentration, and prognosis to cope with and conquer the six realms. Our sufferings in the six realms come from our five aggregates. In short, it is said, rampage of our five aggregates are sufferings. We have the five aggregates of form, feeling, idea, formations, and consciousness. To prevent and put an end to them we have the five precepts of no killing, stealing, falsity, sexual misconduct, and intoxication.
For the four sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death resulting from the five aggregates we have the four Brahma-vihâra or limitlessness of friendship, compassion, joy, and equanimity (upekhâ: sha: 捨, literally throwing away of all eventually). They work with others as the four embracing matters of giving, loving words, beneficial actions, and sameness, being and doing the same with others. Friendship is full understanding and action of freedom. Full function is the true friendship and freedom.
Eventually and essentially our sufferings come from our triple poisons of craving, hatred, and delusion. If global warming causes more earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, of course tsunami and hurricane disasters are parts of our karmas. Our karmas are also the cosmic karmas and vice versa. In such a scale we can accept the situations as dependently originated upon our karmas in a greater scale and a truer state, the interdependence of all in time and space. In it we must share individual, social, and cosmic karmas.
In treating with and terminating the triple poisons which cause all problems and sufferings we have the triple learning of sîila, samâdhi, prajñâ – morality, concentration, and prognosis. When we sit, we can settle in this dharma world, see the truth directly, and solve all problems and sufferings. We do not need to escape from them, but must understand and activate everything together with all as the four seasons turn around the sun and stars go around the Pole star in the dharma world.
By understanding the dharma, truth of dependent origination, we can attain freedom from it in purity, peace, and prognosis. We can enjoy the wholly wholesome way and world in free full function in holy (wholly wholesome) harmony, health, and happiness with all beings always. With abundant antidotes we can attain the complete solution of sufferings, coming from karmas, in unconditioned peace and unsurpassed awakening. Let’s embrace, encourage all, and enjoy amrita, ambrosia of immortality.
12/23/12
