Another day in sunny but cloudy Queensland, and Ginger and Charlie, above, are doing what dogs know best - enjoying themselves ! It would be nice to be an animal for a day and experience the freedom and closeness to nature that they do, without the worries and responsibility that humans have !
The atmosphere here, climatically, is oppressive and smokey with many burn-off fires happening to the west of me. We usually have a nice breeze or even a good wind along the coast here, but the last two days have been exactly the same. I wonder sometimes if it is because of the trauma happening all across the world, like mother nature is having a gigantic sigh with sadness..........who knows? I have chosen to live a life of acceptance, so accept the weather as it comes...so it is !
It's the afternoon now after doing some chores and having a rest. Took the dogs out as the weather turned cooler and more comfortable, for me, to endure the rigors of the dogs excited pulling here and there, as dogs do ! There's a nursing home in the next street which I always walk past. It takes up about half of the street. Always take my time to say Hi! to any of the residents out for a stroll, or sometimes even the staff going to their cars who stop and give Ginger and Charlie a cuddle. Well, how could you pass these two beauties.......with their giant smiles and waggly tails that were made for socializing.
When I was having my rest, I read a bit of Thich Nhat Hanh's book ~ The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching.
The Four Immeasurable Minds was the topic of my interest today as I can relate to the written word/teachings of the Buddha as to how I perceive others and my own way of living. These Teachings are universal, which means any person of any faith can adopt them into their own religious beliefs. Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity make up the Four Immeasurable Minds. All it takes is to be conscious of one's actions and attitudes, not just to others, but to oneself as well.
An excerpt about cutting off from one's own beliefs: " But preserve your Jewish, Christian, or Muslim roots. That is the best way to realize the Buddha's spirit. If you are cut off from your roots, you cannot be happy."
Absolutely agree with this. But, being brought up a Roman Catholic in a strict Irish Catholic household, when I left home I was then free to spread my wings and do my own inner research. If the RC church had stuck to the teachings of Jesus and not pushed their own fear agenda, they would not have lost so many people to their Faith. I do not recall, ever, the mention of Jesus's love and his compassion for people who he healed and gave a second chance at life. And also how he lived the life of a sanyasi, one who had renounced the physical world in order to concentrate on the spiritual task he came for. Oh how the teachings would have sounded to the RC flock, but, it was not enough to keep them coming back with enough fear to finance the Church for many years to come.
Going back to the Four Immeasurable Minds, the first aspect is love, true love which is called maitri. It means the intention and capacity to offer joy and happiness. In order to do this, we need to be aware just HOW to offer this joy and happiness to others, and this means listening and looking deeply into the situation, and the people, to know and see what to do to make others happy. If you go ahead and try to make someone happy by doing or saying only what You think without proper understanding, you may just end up making them sad in the end. It takes a whole lot of deep thought and observation to know exactly the right action for the situation. Of course, one needs to practice love, compassion, joy and equanimity to know how to heal the illnesses that plague humans, which are - anger, sorrow, loneliness, hatred, insecurity and unhealthy attachments. Through living the four immeasurable minds with one's heart and soul will give great insight to assist those who are in need.
The second one, compassion, we need to develop compassion in ourselves by practicing deep listening and deep looking, and according to Hanh, mindful breathing. "The Lotus Sutra describes Avalokiteshvara as the bodhisattva who practices 'looking with the eyes of compassion and listening deeply to the cries of the world.' " Compassion means you are deeply concerned about another or others' suffering. It is viewing it from a place of deep love, in my opinion, for their suffering and wanting to do something about it. Doing something can mean for the ordinary folk to be a compassionate listener to a friend or colleague, or for a larger population, one could offer heartfelt prayers or mantras for a period of time. "One compassionate word, action, or thought can reduce another person's suffering and bring him or her joy. One word can give comfort and confidence, destroy doubt, help someone avoid a mistake, reconcile a conflict, or open the door to liberation. One action can save a person's life or help him take advantage of a rare opportunity. One thought can do the same, because thoughts always lead to words and actions. With compassion in our heart, every thought, word, and deed can bring about a miracle.
Hanh says that he could not understand why the Buddha, with so much suffering in the world, always has such a beautiful smile. Why isn't he disturbed by all of this suffering? Later he discovered that the Buddha had enough understanding, calmness and strength that suffering did not overwhelm him. He could smile to suffering because he knew how to take care of it and transform it. I would like to add here: wouldn't it be a different world if there were more Buddhas on Earth now? Perhaps there is...........all quietly going round their own areas transforming lives without even knowing who they are affecting.
Joy is true love. When you love another it should bring them joy, and visa versa. This is known as mudita. Joy is the result, also, of opening our eyes and taking in the beauty of a blue sky, a bird in flight and the chatter of the parrots when they are feeding off the trees. Joy also comes from watching children playing and many other small things in one's day. It comes from dwelling in mindfulness and when we touch on these wondrous things, our mind of joy arises naturally. Joy contains happiness and happiness contains joy.
Equanimity means non-attachment, non-discrimination, even-mindedness, or letting go. People who do not understand Buddha's teachings, think that equanimity means indifference, which is not correct. Upeksha, equanimity, has the mark called samatajnana, "the wisdom of equality," the ability to see everyone as equal, not discriminating between ourselves and others. In a conflict, even though we are deeply concerned, we remain impartial, able to love and understand both sides. We shed all discrimination and prejudice, and remove all boundaries between ourselves and others. We have to put ourselves "into the other person's skin" and become one with him/her if we want to understand and truly love them. When that happens, there is no "self" and no "other." Without equanimity, upeksha, your love may beocme possessive.
To finish up, for love to be true love, it must ocntain compassion, joy and equanimity. For compassion to be true compassion, it has to have love, joy, and equanimity in it. True joy has to contain love, compassion, and equanimity. And true equanimity has to have love, compassion, and joy in it. This is the interbeing nature of The Four Immeasurable Minds. In many sutras, the Buddha says that if you practice the Four Immeasurable Minds along with the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, you will never again descend into the realms of suffering.
Namaste and Love ~ Tara
[ excerpts taken from THE HEART OF THE BUDDHA'S TEACHING by Thich Nhat Hanh ]
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