After typing so much about my own life and about silly little things, I thought it will be a nice that once in a while I'll type a little bit about Buddhism (well, also... it's kind of difficult to justify having a blog named Buddhafied when all I type is about my dog and men with beard). So from here on, to keep the integrity of this blog, I'm dedicating each Tuesday to my Buddhist study and I'm starting a series regarding on my interpretation to the philosophy behind Buddhism. I have to warn all my readers, as everything is open to different point of view and perception, please don't take my concept or theory as the sole meaning of Buddhism. By all means it could be completely different than another Buddhist will tell you and I am not here to suggest my way is right or to defend myself. I am merely sharing my thoughts and the little piece of wisdom that I am lucky to endorse. That being said, please feel free to leave comments, as it is really what this section (and blogging as a matter of fact) is all about.
Once in a while I hear someone say the phrase "the universe is against me today". I am sure I've said similar phrases lots of times before, probably the most often one is "the world hates me today". Of course, most of the time when we say stuff like that, it was merely a vent or a gesture to "I am having a bad day", but the sentence itself opened up a very interesting and unique views about Buddhism or other religions: what is the universe?
Opposing to many mainstream religions, Buddhism do not mention about God. For the purpose of this blog, I will refer God using the definition in Merriam-Webster dictionary as "the being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe." This is not to confused with all the figures in stories of Buddhism. Buddha and many other spiritual forms described by Buddhist is really just an enlightened individual who understands the true meaning of the universe/life. He/she is not the creator nor the ruler of the human kind. This doesn't mean Buddhism resist the theory of God, it just doesn't acknowledge or deny it. Hence, this lead many, including myself, to believe that Buddhism is more like a philosophy than a religion. With no creator mentioned, who are we looking for guidance then? The answer is, the universe itself.
So, what is the universe according to Buddhism then? Interesting enough, there is no direct answer provided. Buddhism suggested a rather scientific way to explain the universe. It is like a logic, a law or a cycle, a way of how things form and how thing end. It's like math, where one plus one is equal to two, it's a logic, a concept and it applies to everything. It's like the Newton's Third Law of Motion, which for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, it's karma, a cause and effect. If you buy into this concept, you should also believe that this "logic" or universe is indifferent, as it's simply an algorithm, a law of how things work. This explain that many people interpretation of the word "karma" is wrong, because karma itself is simply a concept explaining the cause and effect, it doesn't explain the meaning of "good" and "bad".
Using this theory, it is raining today because it does, the earth (universe) has no concept of preference: things happen because it happens. This is not to confuse with the concept that everything is pre-determined, because having a logic does not mean the components can not be changed (ie: one apple plus one apple always equals to two apples, but there is no logic implying that you begin with just one apple). When we get upset the fact that it rains, it is really us that is resisting the natural path of the world (universe).
This might sound very pessimistic at times, as it suggested us to "take it as it is" and not let our feelings be bothered by any unfortunates. However, there is one important factor about this: our heart. If all along it has been ourselves who choose to believe that a rainy day is a bad one, it means that we also hold the true power of changing that believe. It is our freewill that allow us to choose how we interpret the rain when the rainy day comes, whether it's going to just be a day or it's going to be a bad day, a switch of the heart can make all of a different.
Because all along, it wasn't the rain that caused the emotion, it was the heart.
Awesome post. I think my ideals do often fall in line with Buddhist philosophy even though I've never actually studied it.
This post reminds me of a phrase my Aikido instructor would frequently say, "What is, is." To me it always meant that things would happen, it just matters how you deal with them. It also goes in line with my mantra - Live in the Present. Remember the Past. Hope for the Future.
Posted by: WildCuddler | January 13, 2009 at 05:22 PM
as enlightening as this probably is, i think i'll pass. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Chrisssss | January 13, 2009 at 10:33 PM
As I'm currently obsessed with thoughts of buying a laptop, I read "one apple plus one apple" and thought "that makes a network".
I'm really glad you're doing this - I think you're absolutely right to re-focus some of the blog back onto Buddhism, and I'm interested to hear about it. You can always fill your examples and metaphors with dogs and bearded men, if you prefer.
Posted by: Greg | January 14, 2009 at 04:21 AM
Wildcuddler: great mantra! And you are like many people I know, the philosophy of Buddhism just fits well, and to be honest, that is all that is enough.
Greg: I knew my example should be "one beard man plus one beard man equals gay marriage"! Darn it!
Posted by: Sorata | January 14, 2009 at 07:52 AM
Yay! Some queer dharma! Maybe this one wasn't so queer, but I'm thinking of that anthology of gay Buddhist writers.
Anyhow, I look forward to reading more of your Buddhist posts and some of your day to day ones. :)
Posted by: shindo | January 16, 2009 at 10:44 AM