I was wandering the web looking through green sites, peak oil sites and other things and I came across a couple of quotes which I like:

“Of all the qualities in your being, that which is most god-like is creativity” - Pir Ilayat Vilayat Khan

I too think that our creativity is our greatest asset, it’s what makes us both the most brilliant and the most dangerous of animals.

While looking into the story of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan situation, I noticed an interesting piece on Salon.com by Christopher Hitchens linked to from the Wikipedia entry.

This piece is quite critical of the Dalai Lama, having read it and few other pieces by Christopher I’m becoming convinced that he’s performing us all a great service. I find that he is critical of media and public figures, I think that given the way we tend to build up and idolise public figures we need someone playing Devils Advocate to drag them back down off the pedestal.

The problem with building up a person (public figure or not) to huge adoration is that when the things about them that we didn’t previously know become known the adoration swings the other way and people start to feel just as strongly, but negatively.

It’s as if we forget that they are simply human beings with the same imperfections and flaws and foibles as us. I know there’s a sentiment that seems to think that because they’re in the public eye they should somehow be perfect; well sorry, get real, these people are humans too. Why are we so surprised when we find that out?

The problem I have with the adulation these people receive, is that people would be much better off focussing on their own problems and spiritual practices; mainly because, while the opinions of spiritual leaders and many celebrities and politicians are useful and helpful, ultimately we have to settle on our own answers.  If you’re slavishly following the opinions of another person over your own, who controls your development and ultimately your destiny? Not you, that’s for sure.

Or as the Buddha put it before his death:

“Be a light unto yourself; betake yourselves to no external refuge. Hold fast to the Truth. Look not for refuge to anyone besides yourselves.”

It seems that the Olympic flame’s journey has been hindered by protesters, see the BBC coverage for more details.

I’m of the opinion that these protests are needed in order to send a message to China about it’s Human Rights record and it’s position with regard to Tibet.  However I don’t agree with the scuffles and people trying to grab the torch, it’s important that we recognise that violence has no place in this protest.

It’s interesting to see that people are more willing to speak out and I think that there is a tendency when faced with situations and places that are not agreeable to us, that we forget that we do have the ability to protest and take appropriate action ourselves, not just rely on the government to do it.  This emphasis on the ability of the individual to take action for themselves is a fundamental part of Buddhism, more on that another time.

I’ve been very interested by a story on the BBC which details the findings of scientists who are studying meditation. You can find the article here. It seems that the days of waiting for hard scientific evidence for the positive effects of meditation may well be over!

As a person who considers meditation to be an absolutely valuable practice this is music to my ears, I notice that they suggest it may help people struggling with substance abuse, and promotes happiness and enthusiasm.

I can certainly relate to that, I know how I feel when I miss my practice for a few days, I feel that my creativity and ability to engage properly with the world declines without meditation.

How do you feel your meditation practice benefits you? Drop me a comment.

I’ve talked about my views on the finger pointing at the moon before, but this was a nice surprise.  I’ve been reading “The Religion of The Samurai”, a treatise on Zen written in 1913 by by Kaiten Nukariya.
There is a section on why scripture is no more than waste paper, which echoes my sentiments, though I personally feel that this sentiment extends far beyond the Buddhist scriptures to all religious scriptures regardless of creed or canon:  They’re a nice place to start, but you wouldn’t want to live there.

This quote is from the beginning of Chapter 3:

“Zen is based on the highest spiritual plane attained by Shakya Muni himself. It can only be realized by one who has attained the same plane. To describe it in full by means of words is beyond the power even of Gotama himself. It is for this reason that the author of Lankavatara-sutra insists that Shakya Muni spoke no word through his long career of forty-nine years as a religious teacher, and that of Mahaprajñaparamita-sutra also express the same opinion. The Scripture is no more nor less than the finger pointing to the moon of Buddhahood. When we recognize the moon and enjoy its benign beauty, the finger is of no use. As the finger has no brightness whatever, so the Scripture has no holiness whatever. The Scripture is religious currency representing spiritual wealth. It does not matter whether money be gold, or sea-shells, or cows. It is a mere substitute. What it stands for is of paramount importance. Away with your stone-knife! Do not watch the stake against which a running hare once struck its head and died. Do not wait for another hare. Another may not come for ever. Do not cut the side of the boat out of which you dropped your sword to mark where it sunk. The boat is ever moving on. The Canon is the window through which we observe the grand scenery of spiritual nature. To hold communion directly with it we must get out of the window. It is a mere stray fly that is always buzzing within it, struggling to get out. Those who spend most of their lives in the study of the Scriptures, arguing and explaining with hair-splitting reasonings, and attain no higher plane in spirituality, are religious flies good for nothing but their buzzing about the nonsensical technicalities. It is on this account that Rin-zai declared:  ‘The twelve divisions of the Buddhist Canon are nothing better than waste paper.’”

This sentiment is why I have little time for religious debates or the technicalities of scripture, stop arguing over trifles in books of dubious authorship, we know we need to progress spiritually … so get on with it!

The Religion of The Samurai is available for download here.

Well, it’s not Friday, but I feel like doing something a little more amusing and my blog seems to have been quite dark of late. So here’s a little quiz for everyone to have a go at. Here’s my result, let me know how you rate.

Your Dominant Thinking Style: Exploring

You thrive on the unknown and unpredictable. Novelty is your middle name.You are a challenger. You tend to challenge common assumptions and beliefs.An expert inventor and problem solver, you approach everything from new angles.You show people how to question their models of the world.

What’s Your Thinking Style?

I noticed today that the subject of religion in UK schools has hit the news again, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) as suggested that religious figures could visit schools and that schools could have prayer rooms.

From the Times:

“Imams, rabbis, priests and preachers from other faiths could be invited into state schools to provide religious instruction to pupils who want it, under controversial reforms to faith education.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) is also recommending that schools provide “private prayer space” for pupils of all faiths, recognise the holy days of world religions, allow school uniforms and food to reflect “religious requirements” and turn the daily act of a worship in schools into “inclusive school assemblies”.”

I have to say I don’t agree, my own view is that the trappings of religion have no place whatsoever in state schools.  The education and environment in state schools should be entirely secular and practical in nature, in addition I feel that if children are to be taught about their religion then it should be put in context with other faiths and religious themes should be taught from a wholly neutral standpoint.

Or maybe the real reason that UK religious leaders have been pushing this line with the NUT is that when you do teach religions side by side, objectively, the result might be secularism or a person finding (as I have) that an individual, personalised, approach is more satisfying that precooked dogma.

I’ve been a little snowed under technically of late, but now I’ve got Debian Testing installed and rocking, I’m back and I’d like to muse on a post that Lewis made over on A Barefootman about Shadow.

It’s important to see the parts of ourselves we keep in the shadows, the problem is we can sometimes fall into the trap of over emphasising these parts. To use Lewis’s examples, the hedonist. I don’t generally do clubs, but I’ve let that part of myself out of the shadows a few times. Usually I woke up poorer and nursing a bad head and stomach. It can actually ruin a weekend, and they call this “having fun”?

I feel that it’s important to allow these things to settle into a balance, by all means let the intellectual out, but in the proper forum. Let the hedonist play, but don’t get silly.

My own focus on the shadows has pointed at far darker aspects of ourselves, anger, violence, jealousy and others. I feel it is a great loss to a person to deny that these things exist in each and every one of us. These aspects of ourselves can serve to remind us to be mindful, to cleave to the middle path, almost like a form of mental Judo, though of course you have to catch yourself in time.

As part of my ongoing wandering on the Buddhist path, I’ve been considering things and trying to see through the hype. I’m going to go out on a limb here. Recently I wrote about my complete opposition to Capital Punishment, I’d like to return to a quote from that article.

I’ve been reading some of the letters written to newspapers calling for Capital Punishment to be reintroduced, the language is normally very much aimed at the readers emotions, the murderers are always “heinous” and “inhuman” or “monstrous”, I’ll leave my views on the “inhuman” part till another day.

I feel that this is the right time to clarify that quote. Let’s think about animals. Every day in the animal kingdom, there are examples of killing and other acts that would quite rightly arouse the wrath of the law in Human society. The major difference between Humanity and the rest of the animal kingdom (note the words “rest of”, it’s a very important point) is our capacity.

We are possessed of a greater capacity than other animals, we can reach so much higher. In fact our abilities have grown to the point that Humanity could be reasonably be considered a force of nature, which is why I feel we need to pay more attention to spirituality in the moment in a practical sense. My focus here is going to be more on an individual level, our intelligence gives us the capability for reaching much higher altruism, compassion and spirituality are three examples. But capacity goes both ways, we can also sink lower.

So when someone says a particular murderer (for example) is “inhuman”, my response to that is the thought “I really can’t think of any other animal that would commit that act for that reason”. We have acts of murder, cannibalism and infanticide every day in the natural world, but that comes from evolutionary pressure. For example, a lion that takes over a pride generally kills any young he can find, this is to better secure his genetic legacy, not for kicks.

A Human will however, that’s the difference, we can be the best of animals, but also the worst. I feel that for those of us who aspire to the middle path it’s imperative we acknowledge that honestly.

I try not to make a habit of commenting on politics and world events, I’m starting to feel that my policy may not hold.

I’ve been watching the reports from Tibet with a growing sense of horror, things like this go on in the world and it feels like most of us’ll probably only care if it interrupts 24 or Prison Break.

I can only admire the Dalai Lama’s position that the Olympics in China should go ahead, however I do think a message does need to be sent to the Chinese government. Maybe his holiness can’t call for a boycott of the Chinese Olympics, I think maybe it would mean more if it came from a grassroots level rather than someone in a position of authority.

I know the problem goes deeper and wider than just Tibet, but I suppose at least if our voices are heard on this then they know the world is watching them.

So, I went looking for an e-petition about the Olympics, if I hadn’t found what I wanted I had a mind to start one. I’m going to link to 2 e-petitions on the Number 10 website. These are only any good for UK citizens and ex-pats, but it’s a start.

Petition to boycott the Olympic games of China.

Petition to for Gordon Brown to officially meet with the Dalai Lama in May 2008.

After the recent Suffolk murders, there have been a lot of angry letters written to newspaper letters pages demanding the Death Penalty be reinstated in the UK, anyone who’s been reading me for any length of time can probably guess where I stand on this.

However, I felt that it was time that I put my own opposition to this into more definite terms by writing something up in a bit more detail.  This has turned into something more resembling a short essay than a blog post, so, I’ve popped it onto my essays page rather than taking up the blog with it.

You can find my thoughts on it here: Why I oppose Capital Punishment.