Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
The Three Teachings Plus One
I posted the following a short while ago on my personal blog. It was a mistake to do so as it really belongs here. The Three Teachings Plus One form the basis of my own moral code. It is they that inform my tag 'Whispering Grass.'
The above painting depicts Confucious holding the baby Buddha whilst passing him to Lao Zi. This symbolises how the two old masters welcome the new accepting him as their equal. Lao Zi, Confucious and Buddha. Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. The three teachings are almost symbiotic in their relationship, harmonious in how they compliment each other.
In order of when they approximately began we first have Confucianism followed shortly after by Taoism and then, two thousand five hundred years ago, Buddhism. The Chinese claim the Three Teachings but in truth Buddhism is Indian by creation - Siddhartha Gautama or Lord Buddha was Indian by birth.
Each one for me has a core philosophy that speaks a great deal of sense. Confucianism with its code of moral conduct rather than that of acts of moral character. Confucianism is not a religion.
Taoism has become a religion over the years although Lao Zi, if indeed there was such a man, stated in the Tao Te Ching "The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao, The name that can be named is not the eternal name." In other words, Tao cannot be completely explained or expressed in words for a word is not the same thing as the constant, unchanging Tao as it is nameless. It is the mother of all things. It is the path or way.
I have great affection for Buddhism, Zen Buddhism especially. It is a compassionate, caring but also fun-loving philosophy. The Dalai Lama is a wonderful man with a terrific sense of humour. He is unlike any leader of a faith that I know of. Zen is where Tao meets Buddhism. Zen is the Japanese word translated from the Chinese, Chan. Like Buddhism, Zen is far too ritualistic for my liking yet still I feel it makes so much sense.
The three philosophies, intertwined as they are, each present wisdom that is hard to refute. Confucianism is now a religion yet the Analects are not a religious work, they are a source of collected sayings which have been attributed to Kong Zi or possibly Kong Qui as the man we call Confucious had two surnames. The Analects are not solely the work of Confucious but also of his contemporaries and they champion strong family loyalty, respect of elders, veneration of ancestors but also hold firm to the family as the ideal basis for government. They contain the well-known principle "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others." This, of course, is a variant of the Golden Rule which forms the basic tenet of my personal code. There is nothing within the Analects like the Bible. It is not a work of moral acts but rather one of moral conduct. It is rather conservative in its outlook. Oddly, Confucious is held as a deity by Taoism.
Tao is not Taoism although the former lends its name to the religion. There are no deities in Tao for Tao is the unknowable, the path, the way. Tao is the flow of the universe, of all creation therein. Yet still, humankind has taken the principles and formed them into a philosophical creed. Yet the Tao persists.
I suppose it would be fair to say that Taoism is the study of Tao by acolytes who have broadened the truth so as to encompass their belief. There is no God in Tao for Tao is the beginning of all things yet Taoists hold firm to their deities.
In order of when they approximately began we first have Confucianism followed shortly after by Taoism and then, two thousand five hundred years ago, Buddhism. The Chinese claim the Three Teachings but in truth Buddhism is Indian by creation - Siddhartha Gautama or Lord Buddha was Indian by birth.
Each one for me has a core philosophy that speaks a great deal of sense. Confucianism with its code of moral conduct rather than that of acts of moral character. Confucianism is not a religion.
Taoism has become a religion over the years although Lao Zi, if indeed there was such a man, stated in the Tao Te Ching "The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao, The name that can be named is not the eternal name." In other words, Tao cannot be completely explained or expressed in words for a word is not the same thing as the constant, unchanging Tao as it is nameless. It is the mother of all things. It is the path or way.
I have great affection for Buddhism, Zen Buddhism especially. It is a compassionate, caring but also fun-loving philosophy. The Dalai Lama is a wonderful man with a terrific sense of humour. He is unlike any leader of a faith that I know of. Zen is where Tao meets Buddhism. Zen is the Japanese word translated from the Chinese, Chan. Like Buddhism, Zen is far too ritualistic for my liking yet still I feel it makes so much sense.
The three philosophies, intertwined as they are, each present wisdom that is hard to refute. Confucianism is now a religion yet the Analects are not a religious work, they are a source of collected sayings which have been attributed to Kong Zi or possibly Kong Qui as the man we call Confucious had two surnames. The Analects are not solely the work of Confucious but also of his contemporaries and they champion strong family loyalty, respect of elders, veneration of ancestors but also hold firm to the family as the ideal basis for government. They contain the well-known principle "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others." This, of course, is a variant of the Golden Rule which forms the basic tenet of my personal code. There is nothing within the Analects like the Bible. It is not a work of moral acts but rather one of moral conduct. It is rather conservative in its outlook. Oddly, Confucious is held as a deity by Taoism.
Tao is not Taoism although the former lends its name to the religion. There are no deities in Tao for Tao is the unknowable, the path, the way. Tao is the flow of the universe, of all creation therein. Yet still, humankind has taken the principles and formed them into a philosophical creed. Yet the Tao persists.
"The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named is not the eternal name
The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth
The named is the mother of myriad things
Thus, constantly without desire, one observes its essence
Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations
These two emerge together but differ in name
The unity is said to be the mystery
Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders."
I suppose it would be fair to say that Taoism is the study of Tao by acolytes who have broadened the truth so as to encompass their belief. There is no God in Tao for Tao is the beginning of all things yet Taoists hold firm to their deities.
To follow Tao one has to appreciate nature and accept that nature makes no mistakes, no judgements. Only humankind do that. Nature holds pre-eminence in the minds of those who follow Tao for like water it replenishes its self endlessly, it is soft, quiet yet supremely powerful. This alignment with the natural world is such an obvious choice for we are, no matter how we pretend otherwise, a part of nature.
When Tao met Buddhism something special happened. Already the two had their similarities along with their differences then Tao begat Chan which in turn begat Zen and bingo! Zen Buddhism was born from the coming together of the two paths.
Unlike the monotheist faiths, the Far Eastern ones hold firm to their individual principles but not at the cost of love, peace or compassion. There is no discord among them even though there are distinct differences. Their differences only define their paths as being ones that lead to the self-same summit. Three paths - one destination.
The three teachings form a fabulous trilogy of philosophical thought. Each practise meditation, each sees the resolution of the problems humankind face lie within the individual. There is nothing supernatural in anything they do simply logic. We are in charge of our bodies and so we are in charge of our minds. We are of one kind not many.
The plus One, as mentioned in the title of this piece comes in the shape of Jiddu Krishnamurti. K, as he was affectionally known, has often been compared Siddhārtha Gautama with some suggesting he was either the reincarnation of Lord Buddha or that of one of his monks in two previous lives. K would simply brush aside such suggestions saying he didn't believe in reincarnation just incarnation.
He never spoke of his teaching as his but always referred to them as the teachings. He said he was no one special just a mirror by which we all could see ourselves. He disavowed the self, saying the self is nothing but a series of projections. He spoke out against, guru's, lama's, Sri's, Pope's, priest's, mullahs, anyone who didn't see that the follower is the followed, that having someone else project their belief's onto another leaves the other without the ability to help themselves. K completes the circle.
Out of this mishmash as some may see it, of philosophies, are truths that have helped me. The meditation, the self-enquiry, the living in the now. All these and much, much more, and all without the need for the supernatural. Just pure, unadulterated logic.
Of course, there are other wisdom's as practised by Jain's, Hindu's, Shinto's, Sikh's and monotheist's but for my purposes there are but four that strike the right chord for me.
When Tao met Buddhism something special happened. Already the two had their similarities along with their differences then Tao begat Chan which in turn begat Zen and bingo! Zen Buddhism was born from the coming together of the two paths.
Unlike the monotheist faiths, the Far Eastern ones hold firm to their individual principles but not at the cost of love, peace or compassion. There is no discord among them even though there are distinct differences. Their differences only define their paths as being ones that lead to the self-same summit. Three paths - one destination.
The three teachings form a fabulous trilogy of philosophical thought. Each practise meditation, each sees the resolution of the problems humankind face lie within the individual. There is nothing supernatural in anything they do simply logic. We are in charge of our bodies and so we are in charge of our minds. We are of one kind not many.
The plus One, as mentioned in the title of this piece comes in the shape of Jiddu Krishnamurti. K, as he was affectionally known, has often been compared Siddhārtha Gautama with some suggesting he was either the reincarnation of Lord Buddha or that of one of his monks in two previous lives. K would simply brush aside such suggestions saying he didn't believe in reincarnation just incarnation.
He never spoke of his teaching as his but always referred to them as the teachings. He said he was no one special just a mirror by which we all could see ourselves. He disavowed the self, saying the self is nothing but a series of projections. He spoke out against, guru's, lama's, Sri's, Pope's, priest's, mullahs, anyone who didn't see that the follower is the followed, that having someone else project their belief's onto another leaves the other without the ability to help themselves. K completes the circle.
Out of this mishmash as some may see it, of philosophies, are truths that have helped me. The meditation, the self-enquiry, the living in the now. All these and much, much more, and all without the need for the supernatural. Just pure, unadulterated logic.
Of course, there are other wisdom's as practised by Jain's, Hindu's, Shinto's, Sikh's and monotheist's but for my purposes there are but four that strike the right chord for me.
- Bless Kong Zi.
- Bless Tao.
- Bless Buddhism and Zen Buddhism.
- Bless K.
What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Sadder
Image purchased from 123rf.com
The thing I find off-putting about sayings like "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is that sometimes what doesn't kill you on the outside kills something inside you that you can never get back. A lot of the stuff that I've gone through has caused me to have chronic PTSD. Not the sort where I'm jumping at shadows, but the sort where I'm always expecting something else terrible to happen. I don't dare imagine that anything will ever change for the better because then I'm setting myself up for disappointment. I'm always on the defensive, always ready for a fight.
I wasn't always like this. I was the sweetest kid you could ever have met. I talk about how much I hate the person I was when I was younger, but I don't hate myself as a young child. She was kind and compassionate and saw the good in everyone. I feel sad for her that she had to turn into me. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, really, the things that I went through to make me into what I am now.
~Cie~
Monday, June 5, 2017
The Whispering of Grass
The sacred and the profane.
The heavenly and the mundane.
All things are one and the same.
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Charge
Image by Dora Wednesday
If it gives me a charge
To escape this miserable world with its forced marches to an early grave
And run away to a realm extraterrestrial, extradimensional
To find a small portion of imaginary happiness
I care not if you believe
For I need to retreat to this realm which is often more real than the real to survive
~Cie~
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