The Third Noble Truth

For the aspiring Buddhist:

What is the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering? It is the remainder-less fading and cessation of that same craving: the rejecting, relinquishing, leaving and renouncing of it. But whereon is this craving abandoned and made to cease? Wherever there is what seems lovable and gratifying, thereon it is abandoned and made to cease.

There is this Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering: such was the vision, insight, wisdom, knowing and light that arose in me about things not heard before. This Noble Truth must be penetrated to by realizing the Cessation of Suffering...This Noble Truth has been penetrated to by realizing the Cessation of Suffering: such was the vision, insight, wisdom, knowing and light that arose in me about things not heard before.
(Samyutta Nikaya LVI, 11)

The Third Noble Truth with it's three aspects is: 'There is the cessation of suffering, or dukkha. The cessation of dukkha should be realized. The cessation of dukkha has been realized.'
The whole aim of Buddhist teachings is to develop the reflective mind in order to let go of delusions. The 'Four Noble Truths' is a teaching about letting go by investigating or looking into - contemplating: 'Why is it like this? Why is it this way?'

When I was young (a work in constant progress)

When I was young...just a kid, I dug in the dirt. Now, I need to keep my children out of the dirt because it contains Radon gas and landfill waste. When I was young...just a kid, I played football in the street. Now, I need to keep my children off the street because danger is ever present. When I was young...just a kid, I drank water from the garden hose. Now, I buy bottled water because tap water is a health risk. When I was young...just a kid, I delivered newspapers after school. Now, I need to pry my children away from video games after school. When I was young...just a kid, I played army, because that was how the Government groomed kids for war. Now, I stand against everything army, and everything war, and realize that it is just another business. When I was young...just a kid, I watched a green car pull up to my neighbor's house and deliver the news. Now, when a car pulls up I peek out the window with paranoia as to who could it be. When I was young...just a kid, there were not many strangers. Now, everyone is a stranger, and you had better run. When I was young, I answered the phone with a 'hello'. Now, when the phone rings, I check caller-ID first. When I was young, a call placed from a phone booth cost a nickle, and was seldom needed. Now, everyone carries a cell phone and is on 'a plan'. When I was young...just a kid...music had meaning. Now, music is just a pounding, metronomic rhythym played loud enough to blow a speaker cone...or an eardrum. When I was young...just a kid...

The Second Noble Truth

For the aspiring Buddhist:

What is the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering? It is craving, which renews being and is accompanied by relish and lust. Relishing this and that; in other words, craving for sensual desires, craving for being, craving for non-being. But whereupon does this craving arise and flourish? Wherever there is what seems loveable and gratifying, thereon it arises and flourishes.

There is this Noble Truth of the origin of suffering: such was the vision, insight, knowing and light which arose in me about things not heard before. This Noble Truth must be penetrated to by abandoning the origin of suffering...This Noble Truth has been penetrated to by abandoning the origin of suffering: such was the vision, insight, wisdom, knowing and light which arose in me hearing about things not known before [Samyutta Nikaya LVI, 11].

The 'Second Noble Truth' with its three aspects is: 'there is the origin of suffering, which is the attachment to desire. Desire should be let go of. Desire has been let go of. The Second Noble Truth states that there is an origin of suffering and that the suffering is attachment to the three kinds of desire: desire of sense pleasure (kama tanha), desire to become (bhava tanha) and the desire to get rid of (vibhava tanha). This statement of the 'Second Noble Truth', the thesis, the pariyatti, this is what you contemplate: the origin of suffering is attachment to desire.

Scared Straight

oh young ones, you dare lurk in my shadow?
let me break it all down so I can scare your asses straight,
because I don’t want you to be…like me
you think you are the coolest cool and the baddest bad...I did too
you roll one, smoke one, toss back your vodka and bull, snort that line of pure…
all you young dudes, you who think you are invincible,
you think you are so sure
you don’t even consider the meaning…
chicks and bad cool, the next buzz your main goal...
hell man, even at some point the chicks don't matter any longer,
only the high
yeah, this old man knows the play and how it plays out...
far more than I want you to ever know
see man, I was a young dude too, long, way long before you were you…
keep on this track and you will be me long after I was you…
see young one, I was the coolest of cool, and baddest of bad...
I capped the reefer buzz with a couple Kool's and a beer, or three
and then more; Mescal chasers to boot
wasted more than straight, and straight only when times were dry...
and it never really did run all that dry
Angels and Outlaws I knew them both well...
whores smoking fags, and junkies all around…but I thought I was beyond it all…
I was called the G-man ‘cause I had the good grass;
then Thunderbird was my name as the crystal T fried my ass…
yeah, there was mesc and shrooms, pyramid and barrel…
pane and 25…more than anyone could handle
horse, crank, scag and mud, all that I knew
and I did them all…and I did them all too well too…
I was a walking pharmacy young dude, and knew every pill and every thrill…
I ran fast and I walked slow; walked on snakes and saw Satan glow…
Saw Jesus on a blanket hanging in a mushroom mine,
and George Harrison playing sitar too...
Hell young dude, I even crawled into a crypt of the dead to prove I was true…
yeah young dude, I heard the color and I saw the sound
~ medical science, they call it synethesia, I called it far out…
that was then man, and this is now ~ those days are gone...
you're better off to put them behind...
you walk a long walk going dead…and so now am I…
see young dude, I stuck a needle in my arm and now I am sick
the doctors say the have done what they can…
there is no cure for me now, there is no fix
the chemo has failed…my liver has paid the price
for the two-bit thrills...yeah, I rolled the dice
with a wife and three children I fight to stay alive…
stay on this track young dude and you will see it too
hard young man…all you young dudes
hard young man…all you young dudes
and yeah, I’m running scared, the dude that ran with Angels…
yeah man, I’m just a burned out Outlaw and life is closing in...
and I’m running scared…
See young one, I’m not the coolest of cool or the baddest of bad...
and neither are you...you are just a young one, young dude
I run scared now like a white rabbit…the cool has long since gone…
my life hangs in the balance waiting for time...hoping for a miracle
if you are smart young dude, you will run scared like that rabbit
before you see it too...
run young dudes, run scared straight like a white rabbit

The First Noble Truth

For the aspiring Buddhist:

What is the Noble Truth of Suffering? Birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, and death is suffering. Disassociation from the loved is suffering, not to get what one wants is suffering: in short the five categories affected by clinging are suffering.

There is this Noble Truth of Suffering: such was the visions, insight, wisdom, knowing and light that arose in me about things not heard before.
This Noble Truth must be penetrated by fully understanding suffering: such was the visions, insight, wisdom, knowing and light that arose in me about things not heard before.
This Noble Truth has been penetrated by full understanding and suffering: such was the vision, insight, wisdom, knowing and light that arose in me about things not heard before.
[Samyutta Nikaya LVI, 11]

The 'First Noble Truth' with its three aspects is: ‘there is suffering, dukkha. Dukkha should be understood. Dukkha has been understood.’
This is a very skillful teaching because it is expressed in a simple formula, which is easy to remember, and it also applies to everything that you can possibly experience or do or think concerning the past, the present, or future.

Suffering, or dukkha, is the common bond we all share. Everybody everywhere suffers.
To let go of suffering, we have to admit it into consciousness. But the admission in Buddhist meditation is not from a position of suffering, because we are not trying to identify with the problem but simply acknowledge that there is one. It is unskillful to think in terms of: 'I am an angry person; I get angry so easily; how do I get rid of it? - That triggers off all the underlying assumptions of a self and it is very hard to get any perspective on that. It becomes very confusing because the sense of my problems or my thoughts takes us very easily to suppression or to make judgments about it and criticizing ourselves, we tend to grasp and identify rather than to observe, witness and understand things as they are. When you are just admitting that there is this feeling of confusion, that there is the greed or anger, then there is an honest reflection on the way it is, and you have taken out all the underlying assumptions - or at least undermined them. So do not grasp these things as personal faults, but keep contemplating these conditions as impermanent, unsatisfactory and non-self. Keep reflecting on them as they are. The tendency is to view life from the sense that these are my problems, and that one is being very honest and forthright in admitting this. Then our life tends to reaffirm that because we keep operating from that wrong assumption. But that very viewpoint is impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self.
'There is suffering' is a very clear, precise acknowledgement that at this time, there is some feeling of unhappiness.
[quoted from 'The Four Noble Truths' as translated by Venerable Ajahn Sumedho]

When will they ever learn?

When will the age old axiom that 'you can't take it with you' be heeded as fact. 'God' did not design this material body to suffer stress...stress that has been linked to so many diseases and illnesses. We are here in order to improve our 'self' in order to get back homeward. In my humble opinion.

See previous post.

So very, very sad

A canon and purport from the Tao Te Ching as translated by James Legge:

"The text's emphasis on calmness, quietude and intuiton thus appeals to modern people constantly pushed for increase consumption, i.e., the urge to always have more. When the text says 'know when it is enough,' we understand that there is a level of material wealth and internal satisfaction that requires one to relax into the present moment and let go of advancement and progress. There is a point when an increase in consumption, a rise in a position, or a multiplication of wealth will add nothing further to one's community status or internal well-being but only create complications and difficulties that make one feel worse, not better."


David B. Kellermann committed suiced by hanging apparently due to the stress of his job as acting CFO of the troubled financial institution Freddi Mac. He was 41 years of age, and leaves behind a wife and 5 year-old daughter


(Photo and linked article from New York Times)

Random Thoughts of Lunar Grandeur

...or something equally meaningless like that...

‘That’s a good question’ really means ‘I have no clue how to answer you’

The Woodcock family of Appalachia – Lucky, Lottie, lil’ Lotta, Willa Mae, Ima Jean, Willy, Woody, Rooster, Cousin Peabody, Red, Uncle Henry, and Grandpa Younger

‘weapons of mass destruction’, ‘Islamic Fascism’, ‘Jihad’, ‘they hate us’, ‘they want to kill us’, ‘threat level elevated’, ‘threat level orange’, ‘terror alert’, ‘terror attack’, ‘war on terror’, ‘they hate our way of life’, ‘they want to kill us’, ‘sleeper cells’, ‘watch lists’, ‘IED’s’ – and box-cutters… words I hear every day

I feel like I am screaming for help, and no one can hear me

If I am not crazy, then the world must be insane

Nothing I do seems to make sense anymore

If I had lost my mind, how would I know?

What is the damage done by nothing?

From whence came the seed bearing plant?

When do you know if the mind’s eye is crying?

Let the perfect man instruct me on my flaws

That sense is common is perhaps the greatest paradox

If the self learns from past mistakes, then how is it that the self keeps coming back?

If one meditates on nothing, does one then attain nothing?

If one offers too much paradox to the mind, then the mind becomes riddled with paradox

Terse allusions - effectively concise indirect references

If the perception of what I perceive is to be altered so that my current perception is no longer what I perceive, then my current perception must be that of the past which is being perceived in the future

The paradox of choice

ah....this could go on for hours....I'll see ya' later

My PC - by A. Rant

Just a footnote: if my machine gets any slower, I'm going to rename it 'snail'.

Where are the police who police the freaks who propagate the worms that eat my memory full of holes like a cheese of Swiss? Man, this just perturbs me to no end in sight.

Currently Under Destruction

time to clean up the act to something more spiritual and uplifting...though I will still keep a journal, which will still keep the focus on daily thoughts and current topics, though likely some measure of energy will still be expended towards rage against the machine, the emphasis of this site will be placed upon the poetry. I am going to...

I'll Be Around

apologies for letting things go...working on a book of sorts, and it's chewing up my time...I'll be in and out .... good book title - 'a book of sorts'...hmm

Trimming the Budget

This morning as I was taking my son to school, in a 10MPH zone, I was passed into the oncoming by a van of 'good parents' (who were apparently dropping their son off) at and estimated speed of 25MPH....I watched as it drove off at even a higher rate of speed in the same 10MPH zone....all I could do was to shake my head and mutter some descriptive pleasantries under my breath.

So rhetorically, why have speed limit signs....anywhere...Interstates to residential zones..........nobody obeys them, and the police force is limited by budget cuts. Do away with them. I have no idea how much the savings would be, but 52 states x number of signs would, I think, be considerable...including maintenance and installation fees.

While I am at it, why not eliminate the yellow 'caution' light at traffic lights...again, nobody obeys. Just a muse.

Gabby

Well, Saturday was a bust. My daughter's dog ( a cute and very friendly fox terrier) had to be put down. Long story short - she was in a fight with my shepherd/collie mix and a 95 lb. dog vs. a 20 something lb. dog - so the outcome was fairly obvious. The damage (brain) was done when my daughter pulled back on Gabby's collar (too hard....so bear this in mind people)...and it shifted her brain.

Anyway, my beliefs teach me not to grieve, but then I am only human.....and your pet is part of the family....it's a sad day.

TURN AND FACE THE STRANGER

IT'S TIME TO BE A BETTER MAN

Hoping to leech away the past vile bitterness that has pulsed through my veins for what has been nearly a lifetime now. Time to let go of my demons...time to fight those that I have wrought.
The Seeker 2/09

A fragment of true sorrow

Hey look, as harsh as I might have been to you, I truly feel sorry for you and your family. The heart ache shows. But what I wonder, and what set me off then, and now, when you live you life of corrupt opulence, did you once think of the jobless, of those who where doing without, of those who were suffering. Did you do so on a Friday night Cocktail Party, or a Saturday Night Ball? Did you think about the kids on the South Side - the homeless - Christmas for the kids - the kids in the hospitals. No, I figure not. I figure Champagne, Brie, Caviar, and Mignon took precedent. That's what pisses me off Rob. That's what turns my sorrow and pity for you and yours to pure spite and a feeling of 'you got what was coming to you pal'.

(New York Times Photo)

Blagojevich - Fresh White Meat

Rather than spend tax payers (my) money to appeal this jack-off's case in court, America, why nor for once let's get it done right. Let's apply good 'old-fashioned' democracy and put this to a vote among the people. If he wins, he stays, if he loses, he goes....and, with some of the money saved for court costs we could surely afford a haircut to knock down those silly-ass'ed, pre-Bee Gee dated, disco date-rape stalker looking bangs he sports.....the ones that the guy always wearing the cod-piece, or rolled up ball of socks wore. The dude is one strange agent for certain.

I Pledge Allegiance

You know, I swear I need to get this page of my blog back to the original intent of tracking my daily thoughts, activities, etc., as my life unwinds...but maybe this particular post is doing just that. After all, this is on my mind today, and comes and goes in my mind, so out of my mind it comes today:

I pledge allegiance to the flag
(now this is a concept that I don't quite grasp, and honestly it has always spooked me - I find it quite bizarre to ally myself with a flag. While I am happy that I live in America, I have allegiance only to my family)
of the United States of America
(I am a frequent flyer of C-Span - Senate Proceedings, etc.,and the news in general - I surely don't see much 'unity' in America)
and to the Republic for which it stands
(ah, Republic as in Peoples Republic of China? - I thought we were a Democracy)
one nation under God
(the same God that is banned from public school, by chance? the same God that said not to ally oneself to an inanimate thing, image, article?)
indivisible
(you've got to be joking! we are the most divided country going now other than Iraq)
with liberty
(and wire-tapping)
and justice
(and water-boarding)
for all
(except Wall Street, the Big Three, and Big Oil)

and for the real in-depth thought agent, if you are thinking ahead to a Checkmate! 'got 'cha' ...Beware! Not all is what it seems, and not all you see is what it is...if there is nothing, then there is nothing to attach to...think it over.

Stimulate This!!!

$1000.00 'Stimulus Package'...to ah, jump-start the economy. Yeah, well let's just do the mathematics on this dandy, okay boys and girls.
Now, if you are fortunate enough to be unlike me (I am in the rears on taxes because of illness and the likes, so I don't see a damned dime of my 'stimulus'....never even get a whiff of it...it goes from one office in Washington, across the hall to another office in Washington, and so the beauty of it is that it never leaves Washington)...but my problem, so I digress...

So, if you are 'similar' to me, are have a family of 4 ~ 5 mouths to feed and house...well, let's just break this fucker down, okay?

$400.00/month grocery bill
$80.00/gasoline (+/- depending on whatever excuse is in the pipeline for the given month)
$Electric Bill
$Water Bill
$Garbage Bill
$Tax (which caused me not to get my 'stimulator' in the first place)
$Beau coupe medical bills and high prescription drug costs
and on and on and on......and there goes your fuckin' $1000.00 'Stimulus Package'

Jump-start the economy! Yeah, Washington....Stimulate This! You bunch of fucking jokers!!

Have You Seen This Man?

In a move to help bolster the failing economy, brought about by a fucked up corrupt administration who thank-god is on it's way out, a fucked up and bogus war, a corrupt and criminal bail-out of Wall Street and 'Big Banking', followed by yet another bail-out of 'Big-Banking', followed by a bail-out of 'Big-Oil', today released this composite drawing of D.B. Cooper. Cooper, as you may remember, was the name given the man who hijacked a Boeing 727 on Nov. 24, 1971. He parachuted from the plane with a $200,000 dollar ransom. It is believed that if this money could be recovered that 200 families could receive a stimulus package of $1000.00 each (or 1000 families could receive $200 each) to help 'jump-start' the economy.

Here Is What They Don't Want You To See

Haven't you ever wondered why? Can't say they didn't learn from past 'mistakes'