Harmlessness

Am I better than others? Of course almost everyone says no to this, but do our actions match? To try to bring someone to your side, to condemn another, to take offence, to subjigate, to preach, there are many ways we can place ourselves above another through our actions despite what we think of ourselves. I often am tempted to take offense at others beliefs thinking they are being forced on me as I work to fit in with a system I don't completely agree with anymore.

Am I harmless? To others? To Myself? I am in constant practice. Practicing accepting others opinions and experiences as valid even though they may differ from mine. Have I been successful? Well, uh, no. I AM making progress though. Why do I often feel threatened by others with different viewpoints which may be extremely fulfilling to them, though I may have had a different experience? What makes me so darn special that I should know what is best for everyone else by a perspective generated through my own personal lense? Nothing. 

So knowing this, why is it so hard? I don't think I am alone in this, the world is full of it I think, to the point of people killing each other in the most extreme extents. Is freedom of religion the freedom for everyone to be different, or is it the freedom for everyone to eventually come to the light of my unrestricted belief? I think this is the core. The understanding that what works for me may not work for you and that is fine. With this ingrained, perhaps taking offense would be easier to avoid. Perhaps I would feel less threatened by other's opinions. Perhaps I could peacefully coexist and still be different. Afterall, there is no gun to my head, there is no inquisition, there is goodwill, there is good intent even though I may at times consider it misguided. Would it be different if everyone was aware of my beliefs other than a few? I would hope not. Eventually we will see I suppose as nothing lasts forever, perhaps even time. 

Of course what others think, should not cause me anguish unless they are inflicting real harm on myself or another. Most things have exceptions after all, even if they might be extremely rare. Harmlessness is coexistence in peace with our fellow beings and ourselves. When I stop desiring others to be like me, perhaps I will be killing two birds with one stone (pardon the expression), exhibiting harmlessness to others, and in turn myself.

Rocky Rob and the Ride of Desire

 Does a person who believes in letting go have dreams?  Should they?  Do dreams qualify as desires?   To a person with OCD a dream might easily become an obsession and I find this more often than not is my case.
 Over the last few days I have relaxed my focus on letting go and sure enough I got pulled in by a challenge on a fitness site I frequent.  A day or two later I wondered why my stress level and anxiety had increased.  I find this quite interesting.   Of course, one must do some planning ahead for things.  You can't just run off on a world trip without some arrangements.  A simple 2 hour activity should not be so consuming though.  It should not leave one with a lower mental stability than what was there before.  It should help in the long run before and after and not hinder.   This is where the dream/desire becomes a negative sum for me.
 What do I do?  The challenge itself is a good thing,  it's completely doable easily with little planning in actuality, and it turns out even when I complete it I can't afford the pricey swag I am then allowed to buy to show for it..  It boils down to how I see it.  Some challenges truly are beyond my scope and would derail me if I tried to get back in the running on them,  but this one is pretty simple.  I must see it for what it is.  A simple adventure and not an opportunity to wallow in my self grandiosity, dreaming of the ultimate ride to make all others envious, and in all likelyhood overextend myself and create feelings of inadequacy comparing myself to others and my inability to train properly due to life as I know it.
 Adventure,  yeah I called it an adventure.  I thrive on exploration and adventure.  I think the problem is when the adventure takes on expedition proportions.  When my desires start to steer my life away from the things I need to do to maintain emotional stability.  This is the challenge.  When time starts slipping and old habits return and meditation gets pushed back until it has to be abandoned for sleep.  Life needs spaces of simplicity,  meditation is one of those things,  just sit , feel, and observe.
 It is often surprising how often we know what works for us and we choose something else in the moment.   Moments become days, and days become months, time slips by.  In the end it will pass and we will move on to other states, sentient or not.  Choosing the best for each moment we are given is almost impossible if we don't pay attention to it. So, I have prepared for something pretty near to the original, but toned down a bit, however, I will not have any issue changing plans if it doesn't work out.  This is not a world premier but merely a passing street musician, isn't it the constant flow of simple things that continually sustain us in the end day in and day out?  The big things are so quickly dropped into the past and we are left again as before.       

Right Action, Right Effort?

      Well, the topic this week was missionary work again and I think I've already gone into that.  They DID however talk about justserve.org in Sunday School.  It's a website dedicated to hooking volunteers and service opportunities up.  Hmmm.  The church is only mentioned in small letters on the bottom of the page without yellow name-tags or self promotion.  This might be something good.         Jesus was big on doing good deeds not to be known of man for them, but just because they were good in God's eyes.  I'm pretty much on board with this except I would add one should do good because we are all in this together no matter who's religion is really the right one or if they are all wrong.  I believe this is the ultimate definition of morality.
      Love and Fear are two motivator's for doing good.  Love and fear of God,  love and fear of our fellow man,  love and fear of nature, love and fear of ourselves?  What is the right motivation?  The end result of good actions are of course good but I suppose the motivation will determine if we grow or change as an individual.  Fear as a motivator I think would only help us become more deeply entrenched in our ways.  Love, depending on who it was directed at, I think is a net positive effect.  We grow personally because we see the benefit of our actions on other people because of positive feelings and not for the sole reason we were told to do it or we would burn in hell.  Karma, Hell, Buddhists and Christians both lean on the concept.  Secular Buddhists on the other hand, try to make this life as good as possible and the motivations are to seek to make the most good by means of loving kindness and a practice of helping others with hands on methods devoid of supernatural interference.
      In essence, our actions and efforts define what we physically are.  In many ways we each find our own way to the target.  There are lots of good people in the world and I would argue, done with loving kindness,   good actions and good effort are pretty universal.  One can see in most religions the pharisee type believer who only does good to be seen and not for true benefit to others and ultimately self.  This would not be right action or right effort.  They would accomplish little for the person or others, doing such practices other than to give them their own fleeting moment of fame perhaps.  Right action and right effort would be the path that would not necessarily puff one up but would develop their world around them for the benefit of all,  not just the self,  which of course,  from the Buddhist perspective,  does not exist.  :)

Non-Judgement, Harmlessness

       A good person is a good person.  A bad person could have been a good one yesterday, or could be a good one tomorrow.   Why are they bad?  Are they causing suffering to others?  To us?  Are they different?  Why would different be bad if they weren't doing the other things?
       I don't think Christ was completely anti-judgement but I do think he was as far as mortals among themselves go.   How does one judge the enemy they are supposed to love?  I think true Christianity and original Buddhism overlap here.
       Charity, loving kindness, empathy, forgiving, these are virtues both schools of thought encourage.  The earnest Christian through love of Christ and his children (or brothers and sisters for Mormons)  practices these things.  The Buddhist upon realizing we are all connected, practices these things to relieve suffering which theoretically we all share in some way.
       It is the actions that make the person.  Good acts are good acts no matter the source.  One can get their morality through fear or love of a being, or one can develop morality for the point of doing good for the benefit of all that surrounds us.  If done in earnestness and respect, the end result is the same as far as the external results, and to a point, the inner as well depending on our tendencies.
      On the universal scale, who is qualified to judge?  For Christians this is ultimately Christ, who they believe created and runs the Universe.  Yes, I think his qualifications are good according to that standard.   On the side of the philosophy of "is" or the strictly observable, who indeed is qualified to ultimately judge?  I suppose dischord, and suffering will judge those who desire that which is not good.   These things also visit the mindful,  but the well practiced, theoretically will know how to let it pass and observe it as it goes or transforms into something we understand.
       People judge.  It's a natural tendency fueled quite often by desire.  A desire to build oneself up or put another down or dominate.  The judged and judge, both will return to atoms ultimately.  A little more harmony or peace in the universe spread by a good person who didn't get consumed in judging will leave behind something longer lasting I think.