What a situation, what BUDDHIST can do ?

Having more than 2,600 years history, Buddhism acquired very wide-spread of diversity and its facets.

From almost purely religious belief to the way to control one’s mind-set, on top of its local variations.

Like, Pure-land sect might be its extreme and the Zen is the other.

And the Tibetan Buddhism is one of the most uniquely evolved type in its land.

Some are adopted and fused with the fashion of popular belief then, such as the Tantrism.

Still all derived from the teachings of Buddha. Which is,

how peacefully live the life of impermanent life.

[ Don’t worry regardless how the situation in THIS life is dire, there is a heaven waiting for you.]

—– is a typical religious approach, such as the Pure-land sect.

[ See only the subject which IS on front of you ( its mean, Don’t be deflected by a matter which is

irrelevant )] —– is the Zen approach.

Non

Most of the Buddhist’s site says [Be grateful to have a joy of the life and have a peaceful life ] —– how sweet !

Yet seeing too many disturbing news, too gloomy aspects of the social, political, economical situations, and

seeing loads of destructive reports ( such as in a website < Extinction. Protocol > —– which is giving

an impression [ the world is end tomorrow ] ) —– how can I keep my peace ?

Non

Facing the devastation of the world such as happened in Japan [could we still stay calm ? ]

As a Zen Buddhist, I might have made an explanation “ As a Buddhist, I gave some donation to Japanese

Disaster Fund etc, which I thought my duty, though further than that, I can’t do much as it is too far away”

—– but, wasn’t it, bought small peace of mind, then buried the head in the sand with convenient excuse ?

And making excuse “ What I can do is, transmit nice stories to make a reader to feel a joy of the life —– and

put photos of flowers and blue sky “ ( though, i’m not necessary doing this  🙂  )

Other Buddhists might have thought “ This is what the Samsara meant, this is what the life is, so, I need

to chant the Mantra more ( to go to heaven) “

—– but in reality, the situations are not such benign, nor Buddhist’s thought is simple.

Non

There could be some thoughts, from quite meta-physical view such as, we human being is facing an

awful repercussion, as we have been odd with the Dharma too long ( so-called Punishment ) to

much talked about break down of ecosystem / global natural balance, devastation of environment

—– driven by the man’s greed (Capitalism) —-> hence we are having so many freak weather, climate

change and its chain reaction etc. etc, the list of implication is endless.

———- then, what can we do, and should do as a Buddhist ?

In fact, when I faced this question on the time of Japanese disaster, I was deeply affected, or simply

depressed. —– what AM I doing here.   just reading the news ?

Just an ordinary man who went there with bare hand and shifted the mud, would have done much more

good to help the situation.  Or, should I keep stay calm, as if nothing happened in the world, while stop

reading the news —– and making nice lemon tea ?

Was that a kind of peace what a Buddhist should enjoy ?

Nothing other than on front of me, exists in the world ? ? ?    Other than that, are all irrelevant to

the one’s life and they are the delusions ?

non

Where is the realm of one’s life — while everything are inter-connected to each other.

The air I have inhaled now could contain an oxygen atom which has been exhaled by a man in the other side

of the world a month ago, or from a plant leaf of Amazon jungle.

What actuary Dharma affecting one’s life ?

—– Or, was that only manifested as a flow of the occurrences ?

The answer seems to be, there is no fixed answer to what is right or wrong as a notion,

such as [go to disaster area and help clearing the mud] or [stay here].  They are just man’s Thinking.

As, there was no way to go there and I happened to stay here and worried about the situation

—–  happened as it was, it was right = the natural flow of the Dharma. ( if it was wrong, I shall

pick up the consequence soon or later = if it’s comes, it comes )  ( In this extent,  Buddhists are passive

= unless we were attacked, we don’t fight, we don’t attack —– ? ? ?  Does it mean, to research defence against

tsunami is wrong ?  No, the danger is already there, and soon or later it will come = preparation is a defence.

non

While after the Atomic Bomb, the ground of Hiroshima and Nagasaki started to have regrowth of

the plants, flora and fauna, and the People started to rebuilt the houses.

People couldn’t wait 25 years like Chernobyl.  (Incredible though, it’s just a historical fact )

People lived there might have shorter life and some baby might have died prematurely —– still, we haven’t

found any mutant man, or super cockroach from Hiroshima or Nagasaki —– simply defective GENE has been

died and disappeared —– and survived are just lived on as normal existence.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the same bustling Cities like all another Cities in Japan now, other

than their horrendous memories. —– Life continues and the cities and towns in Japan will be recovered with

wiser adaptations in their building design.

Living far away from Japan, I’ve shed a tear or two with the emotions of  powerlessness.

—– that was my deed,  this is what happened. That’s it.  Not my word or thinking but only the fact count.

( Regardless, what ever the theory, planning, talking, we don’t know what actually happen —— and when

it happened, we have to follow and find the measure —– only the reality, the fact and the deed count. )

There wouldn’t be any escape and in the same time, no use to dream any hypothetical

possibility or have an illusion to be a Superman.   ( Unless you were born to be a Superman  😀  )

Yes, this is what the Dharma is.  We have no way else but accept and follow.

___/\___

( PS :  By the way,  I like Bob Geldof —– He was a young man with passion as a young man is,  but

don’t like Bono —– he is just a bully, who found a mechanism to satisfy his ego)

—

SINSAI . INFO — A Website to Help Others

—

Only four hours after the Japanese Disaster, an information website called SINSAI.INFO started.

The site is giving the extracted information of what people tweeted or the report to tell what is the

situation there or needs of help in the Geological, Graphical framework.

On the beginning it was started by a small group of the IT engineers lead by Haruyuki Seki, though soon

many more volunteers joined through internet while communicating each other by the Skype Chat and

became a formidable volunteer work force.

And the persons who did similar work for Christ Church Earthquake Relief project, using

[Ushahidi Feed] open-source program which organizing and displays the information on the map

has joined, and the top expert of the web design, top expert to organize the information as the geomedia and

top expert for interfacing to other system by designing applications hence able to provide the information

through mobile-phone or to use with Android etc has all joined together.

It became a working group, almost a dream team, no commercial project can ever dreamt of, or

no commercial project can afford to employ them.

—

What was the key, How and Why, the activity like this started ?

Everybody wanted to do something to help, the sense of duty told them “Have to do something”

It was a spontaneous fundamental urge of the human psyche to help others, unconscious sense of duty,

when someone faced the situation which needs the help.

The situation  itself has driven the people —– not one’s intention or will, neither ideology.

This was a situation where the Dharma worked. And the people who is connected to the Dharma

spontaneously reacted. —– Since it was the Dharma, it was not an individual mind or intention.

This is the Selflessness of the Dharma.   And as the people having and following the Dharma,

every person worked selfless —– or it must be said, in their default state as a part of the Dharma.

—

( I doubt, if it was a commercial project, they would not have worked together in such selfless

manner.   In a commercial project, there are certain work convention exist, which limits what

the one should do —– what you ought to do must be compatible to what you were paid, and

within a reasonable working schedule —– it became a subject of relative assessment.

It mean, The Person is seeing the Work in distance / as an object = It is not in ICHIJO ( Oneness )

In contrast, free voluntary work has no limit —– free mean, no price =  priceless mean it can be

infinitum hence the quality has to be absolute and there wouldn’t be any limit of working time.

This is the condition of WHAT the MUSHIN meant and WHAT the MINDFULLNESS appeared.

The crucial point here is, they did this spontaneously / nobody asked them BUT they did

almost automatically —– How and Why ? —– Dharma inside of them, has DRIVEN them )

On top of it, the program system they have based on, Ushahidi ( Meaning “Testimony” in Swahili ) is

an open-source program. There is no monopoly or copyright control. Open-source is selfless.

And this program was best suited to organize the information in geological order.

—

The drive to start a voluntary work to set-up and run SINSAI. INFO Website was purely came from

its situation.   Dynamics was there in the Dharma and the Dharma has no self.

The situation, a phenomena of the Earth, cracked open.

As the drifting earth’s Tectonics plate collide and the stress increased, it had to be adjusted = then

the plates has moved causing big earthquake and its movement caused the huge movement of the

sea water as well, created huge Tsunami.

The movement of the plates followed the Dharma, in its Earth level action to regain the balance.

It was simply unfortunate to the human-being happened to be there.

—

Then, seeing the situation, the Dharma in Human level responded, since some of the people

were born to be good in their IT skill, for them to react in the aspect and the possibility in IT field was

their second nature.  They found the way to help the victims in their natural capabilities.

So that, their solution was the Information website [ SINSAI . INFO Ushahidi Feed ].

Since its starting point was the fundamental compassion, therefore Ego, Greed etc has no place

and the task and the requirement is Just Do the Best.

There was no place to accommodate useless thought.

In fact, they had barely enough time to set-up and made it functioning.

They frantically worked some time all through the night.

Yet still, their action has been following the Selfless Dharma, it was the right action, destined to succeed.

( Otherwise why the Dharma made them to start in the first place . And of cause,

the Dharma is the Universal force, it covers the Buddhists, and non Buddhists all alike).

This is really the Dharma at work.

___/\___

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