Good morning!
We have another beautiful autumn day with the clear sky and the bright sun. When we sit solid, we become like the sun shining forth in the cloudless clear sky. This is the Buddha’s state. He sat in nirvana, unconditioned peace, and the unsurpassed awakening, solving the problem that all humans or even all living beings face. That is, to stop our karmas and see the truth and peace.
The Siddhartha was predicted to become either the universal monarch or the Buddha – Awakened One. The universal monarch would have caused more problems and sufferings, but the Buddha solved all sufferings of all living beings: birth, death, sickness, aging, parting, losing, etc. – in short, the ravage of our five aggregates.
Our five aggregates of bodies, feelings, ideas, formations, and consciousnesses are composed of and coming from our karmas, actions and action results. Our actions are now causing the global problems, global warming, economic breakdown, nuclear disaster, mass extinction. So now we see the Occupy movements all through the world in thousands of cities.
People are taking to streets to protest economic, social, and ecological problems. This may become a global scale awakening movement from the old system and style of living. Whether this is going to succeed or fail depends on whether each of us becomes truly awakened or not. It is not occupying that is important, but returning to the ultimate truth and peace.
This is what the Buddha did. We see often the picture of human evolution – an erect ape standing, then walking. Now we are wandering into space, or unknown areas of nuclear power, environmental damage. The movement says that 99% of people are against the oppressive 1%, but we are all discriminating, exploiting and exterminating the rest of the world.
Our delusions, deceptions, and bondage have caused these problems. So, we need to sit down, still our karmas, stop all karmas, and see the ultimate truth, peace, and way to solve our problems. We are capable of doing this, even though it is very difficult. We must constantly and continuously cultivate ourselves, stilling all bad karmas and striving for all good karmas.
Our practice itself is witnessing ultimate truth and peace. So we must sit down solid and still, tasting immortality unmoved by ups and downs, birth and death, enjoying unconditioned peace and unsurpassed truth – the highest dharma – beyond indulgence in pleasures, mortification in pains, and escapism in drunkenness.
Anyone can achieve such a state together with all. This is the ultimate solution for all our problems. It is not despotism or majority rule. The Buddha lived the simplest life in the happiest state always becoming good friends with all – living the fourfold limitlessness of friendship, compassion, joy and sameness. Anyone and all can follow his example.
Dogen said that loving words revolutionize the heaven. The four embracing matters of giving, loving words, beneficial actions and equanimity (throwing away) are the concrete way to revolutionize the world in the original peace and truth. We have no time for building pyramids and destroying them repeatedly. We must live the awakened life with all.
10/16/11
