Buddhism = Science

—————————————————————- ( Buddha 2009 )

While giving a thought to the well known established notions in the Buddhism, after

Lord Buddha’s teachings, such as “See the things in Clear eyes” “Detachment”

even “Selfless mind” then “Don’t believe, but Think yourself” and the fact that

Lord Buddha did ignore the question which was beyond our scope (unknowable),

such as what about the after-life or what is the structure of the universe.

(Stark contrast to other so-called Guru who pretend to know by telling the made-up stories.

—– Who does ever know about the next life or heaven or hell, not mention perpetual soul.)

= I realized, isn’t this, What the Science is ?    Or the attitude to be a Scientist.

When Enlightened man told the truth, he dare to tell groundless story.

[]

“Right thinking” meant to be nothing other than a Rational thinking.

See the things with Clear Eyes meant to be “See the FACT”, and “Think

YOURSELF” meant, it shouldn’t be any enigmatic special belief but the

Truth which can be comprehensible in anyone’s rational thinking.

As all the factual phenomenon follows the rationalism, anybody knows,

Nothing appeared from nothing.   Nothing happens without cause.

—– Based on the facts, and with the way to observe and analyse it in

strictly objective and rational way, then deduce the truth, is THE Science.

In this process, there shouldn’t be ANY bias of personal thinking, judgement,

preference or special belief = it got to be absolutely Detached from the SELF.

[]

Truth is independent from any person, let alone anyone’s Fantasy. =

Whether you believe or not, it’s there. —– This is the Science and what

Lord Buddha taught.   (Yet still he was aware of notoriously unreliable our

perception, he spent great deal of his teachings to deal with this matter and

found a technique to eliminates the cause by way of the practice which lead

a person’s mind to a state of  Mushin.) =(This is the core of the Buddhism)

Therefore, if there is so-called Buddhist’s teaching which say anything other than a fact

and beyond the rational comprehension, it is not his original teaching. (Only a problem was,

in this world (in the Dharma) there still be the Unknowable exists.  There is a sect called

Tantra has been trying to deal with it without any tangible answer —– If they could give

any reliable result, they could have been employed by the Pentagon or Russian KGB though,

on the history, deeply spiritual noble “Third eye” which said to be in contact with the Dharma,

still not able to predict such as Earthquake even a single occasion. = If science can’t handle nor

Buddhism can.)  So that, any fancy stories were later invention only to glorify Buddhism.

Buddhism is to Enlighten a person, beyond the personal Life and one’s Mind is out of scope.

What Lord Buddha taught was, how to get clear eyes to see the truth in the life

by get rid of the dubious belief and the delusion, by emptying the mind

(get Mushin), not to trap into yet another dogma.    Dogma is not a Science.

Truth is like a dry skeleton, it has no decoration. —– and needn’t to be. 😀

(This is why my Buddha 2009 is bare minimal skeleton and the head is a clear

void which reflects the Wheel of the Life.  And the heat keep moves its pattern

continuously = never stay the same = This shows what the Dharma is.)

___/\___

[]

Selfless—-What ?

”  Misunderstanding of  Selfless  in the Western  Buddhism “

My career in the Buddhist’s talking is only 10 months long.  I’ve lived my life just as my life and

I just happen to be a Zen Buddhist.——- I didn’t find any needs to talk about other than make a joke.

One of the reason why I didn’t talk about is (any how nobody likes religious talk ) I didn’t know

the existence of this kind of talking forum.

So that I was not familiar with the Technical term  / Jargon of the Buddhists  in English.   Nor, what is

the Western style Buddhism.———- (all of my Zen books and Mantras are in Japanese )

Then what I discovered is, especially from  the criticism against Buddhism  which says

” Killing (or sacrifice ) the Self is no good for the human nature.”

The cause of this misunderstanding seemed to came from the choice of the translation, the word  SELFLESS.

In the East, this Buddhist’s term has been understood as  No Mind  (Wu shin in Chinese,  Mu shin in Japanese)

since, Mind often causes too much thinking (hence indecisive, and too slow) or wrong thinking under Ego,

so that,  get lid of altogether and leave the matter to the Subconscious wisdom.  (In the concept of  Tsu-nyen

in Chinese or  Ji-nen  in Japanese ——Exist as itself / Bore out from itself / Nature.

Which originated from  Taoism,  this Wisdom  is the deepest original nature of the oneself,  and the wide nature)

And this ” Subconscious wisdom is not from the Self ” is a Buddhist’s concept.  Where else its came from.  Obvious.

Though, from the truth of  Dharma, by which we are a Part of it, This Subconscious wisdom belongs to the Dharma.

(—- So What. It’s a tiring  rhetoric. Spread your hands wide,  embrace the  world.  This is the Dharma. )

——————–

Equivalent of Selfless in Japanese is  Mu shi.  This SHI mean private, or self (antonym of Public)

One of the most well known author in Japan,  Soseki Natsume wrote in his book ” The Gate ”

using the words to describe this state of Mind as Non-Emotion,  away from the matter of the

ownership of the Mind.  ( Though, I haven’t found Who taught Zen to him yet ).

( Just for the sake of convenience I’ve been using  this word  Selfless from the beginning though,

as I repeatedly writing  ” Selfless is not sacrificing a self, far from it, it release the one from

the bondage of the emotional Ego, therefore it liberate and empower the life.”

——————–

As I wrote somewhere,   “—– otherwise  Gynecologist can’t do their business ”    The Buddhist’s Selfless

( in its true form ) is almost same to a  Medical Doctor’s ” Clinical Detachment ” or  Sociologist’s

” Value Free ” —– but its having more universal applications to all aspects of the  life. ——that is why it is

directly connected to the ” Clear Eyes “.  ( Does anybody ever heard a complaint from Doctors or

Sociologists of their occupational hazard, Loss of the Self ?  —– far from it, they are getting the

benefit of it by achieving much higher efficiency in their life.)

The allegation against the Buddhism has been emanated from the misunderstanding of so-called  Selfless,

both by the Buddhists and ignorant Critics. ——- As a matter of fact,  even earliest Buddhists had this

confusion,  as they didn’t have the knowledge of the Subconsciousness.   Thus struggle to define elusive

Mind and the Self,  which was taught by Buddha in metaphor.  Considering the followers and the audiences

of Buddha,  they were not  the scholar or epistemologist, far from it, they are the ordinary people on

the street who never read a book nor familiar with philosophical term (the people who was educated was

the Vedic  Brahman—-antagonist to the Buddha’s teachings) so that the complicated terminology such as in

the Abidhama Cosa Mantra couldn’t be in the Buddha’s words,  therefore  they are all later addition

and the guess-work done by professional monk hundreds of years later.

———- Since we have new insight to the structure of the human mind, we need to have correct

understanding of the so-called  Self,  which Buddha himself had observed then.

——————–

I also wrote somewhere ” To do the practice with absolute obedience ”  is not only the matter

for the Buddhists, it is what the life is.

No one can do  Rock climbing  half-heartedly or no  Surgeon can operates  without concentration.

It needs to have 100 % unconditional commitment.

It will kill the Ego certainly,  but if anyone still cringing to Ego, just leave Buddhism or Operating Theater.

Buddhism is to give the most efficient state of the Mind for the life. Thats all.

Who need to ask more ?

.

Season’s Greeting / BUDDHA Figure

Buddha-2009

with the  Buddha 2009‘s  image and the Wheel of Life.

Christmas is, for me it is much of a havoc as all the shops

close and the transports stops etc, than  to celebrate.

Though, to a lots of my friends, it is the occasion to have a

good time and get drunk, which I don’t do. ———-

no drug, no alcohol, no gamble, no woman ( how nice  😀  )

still eat anything but not processed food or fizzy drinks.

——- so, I’m making a sheer joke, I’m a holy man    Ha Ha Ha   😀

———————

To see the details of the figure, please click on the photo to enlarge.

Don’t miss the internal reflection, the image of  Wheel of the Life

in his glass  head  ( In the Selfless state, the fundamental rule of Dharma would  revealed  itself).

(This reflection is an optical false image, it will change with a direction to see. It is there as not there )

——– This glass head was made by a technician  who has made the glass housing of

the Hubble Space Telescope’s Image sensor which brought us unprecedented clearest images

of the Universe.  ( To meet this technician happened by the series of sheer coincidences, which I would

call, Karmic encounter. ——- Buddha’s figure may wanted to have his head connected to the Universe )

——————–

Why he was depicted in such a poor looking figure ?   you might say.

Buddha himself chosen to be a Bikku (beggar), and from where, the teaching of the Buddhism

was started.  If he had stayed as the richly ornated Royal Prince, the great teachings of the Buddhism

couldn’t have born.  We have to follow this origin, without additives or glorious decoration.

Without  weapon he was the strongest teacher.  Without any ornament he was the most precious figure.

So, I made him by using recycled materials except the head (and a Hi-power LED inside) though,

some may say, I wasn’t rich enough to buy gold leaf to gritter.  ( So, your donation of a piece

of cloth to wrap his body would be much appreciated   🙂 )

——————–

It is difficult to see from the photo though, a  skull head was held on his hand.

One eye of the skull reflects the twisted, distorted image, and the another shows straight image,

its meant, that is what we have to see the world.

( The rest of the concepts were explained in the post  ” Odd news “)

***

* * *  Hope all of you have a soul fulfilling  and peaceful  New Year  2010  * * *

———- As the Sun is coming back, its would be brighter any way  😀

***

Koan ? ? ?

Quite awhile, I was haunted by the Ontology and the Epistemology in the Buddhism.

On the surface, its definition is different in a Mantra to Mantra, and even worse in the

Mahayana Mantra, the description such as “Exist as not exist” kind appeared so often.

——–? ? ? Then oneday, I suddenly realized, the matter is not on the superficial words,

BUT in the intention behind of such expression.

At the teaching, Buddha wanted to show how uncertain the existences are, let alone

unreliability of our own perception, which supposed to observe and sense the objects.

Especially in the bottom line of the idea “Karma”, everything, include our 5 senses

are the relative phenomenon. Both observer and the observed.

Nothing can be certain.

——- In order to make Disciples to contemplate this, by themselves,

the Buddha must have used quite mind boggling, puzzling analogy.

YET, the understanding of the uncertainty itself, even the Self is exist or not was

not the main issue.

(Then I realized, this is the very situation which 1000 years old cliche has mocked

about while describing  ” See the finger, but not the moon “.

And, mocking the novice who is trapped into arguing the shape of the finger

such as ” Who is watching ” or ” Where they are ” kind, as ” Trying to catch Namazu

(slippery, slimy Cat-fish) by Hyotan (equivalent of smooth glass bottle).

——This is the very reason why all the famous answer to the  Koan  is, in fact,

mocking back to the question. )

What Buddha wanted to teach was, to brake the attitude of the people who

tend to cling or obsessed with the things or ideas.

Buddha wanted the people to have clear eyes to see the truth of the life.

Imposing self or distorting vision of the ego is the main obstacle to see

the truth.