Buddhism is not the title!

new dawn

Over the next few blogs I will be reflecting on the writings of Stephen Bachelor, an ex tibetan and zen buddhist monk, who now practices in Northumberland. He stresses, and I agree with him, that Buddhism is not a religion (in fact the term Buddhism is a  Western term) and that all can practice 'Dharma'( the action of practice no matter what faith or belief system.) In this short article I simply set the scene and ask questions in the hope you may also reflect and think deeply about your purpose, meaning and contribution to life.

One of the key elements in Dharma practice is letting go of anguish and I share with you my deepest experience in coming to terms with that and arriving at who we are and what we should do with our time?

'I am avoiding a thought and it troubles me.  I skirt around it and look at as if looking down a dark pit, unearthly sounds rise up from this place. It is not a place for the human soul but it needs investigating....
Much of our lives are spent avoiding the deepest of troubling thought and that is the thought of our death, the final breath, the act of passing and of course decay.'

the mind of a child

This thought was in me for a long time, but I learnt to embrace this and allow it to penetrate my core.  I needed to make sense of this to move forward. Stop breathing and you die, you could die anytime, anywhere, any place.  Amazingly I argue that this thought is required for a transformative experience.

Stephen Bachelor in his book 'Buddhism without religion' asks this question and focuses on 'death meditation'.  From this angle it would appear deeply troubling as we might end up with the outcome that all is meaningless and there is nothing at all to pursue.

through the gate

In my view this is incorrect and the main thrust of the argument is that by focusing on death we come to the point of 'now, here and present'  This is where I am and I need to focus and be mindful on everything I do here.  Emptying our lives of much excess, materialistic greed, quick fixes and ego, is in my view the key to developing a deeper sense of purpose and view on our place in the world.

Simple practice, can put much anguish to rest; learning simple things and taking time to learn is not easy. Real learning is not only a competence experience but an emotional one. Chi Running, meditation, yoga and other 'arts' point to this and thus allow a more balanced and deep perspective of our relationships, work and overall purpose.

In practising yoga and chi running one learns the benefits of 'gongfu', which in Western parlance is 'deep learning'.  Surface learning is akin to ploughing a field very quickly and having narrow, shallow furrows, plants and crops take hold look good for a few months but then die off. The farmer may have a quick harvest but no more.  Deep furrows takes time, planning for personal growth requires patience and an awareness that we are not in complete control of all things. We can then harvest plentiful crops from our mind field and share with others.

 None of this is easy, I am as guilty as others for the quick fix, the new shoe, the running kit, answering the email but not really answering anything!  The quick meeting with no real outcome......BUT bringing your awareness to these issues helps immensely. Running can help develop this as a pointed out in my previous blogs;  to be honest solo running is my joy not the big races or events I like the benefits of mindful practice and focus in a quiet natural environment.  So next BLOG what is Dharma practice?