I was recently talking to a dear friend who is active in the Science of Mind (a.k.a, Religious Science, Unity Movement, etc. - not Scientology) about the topic of prayer for others. This friend has trained for years to be a "practitioner" in his church, that is to say that he is officially licensed to act as a counselor, and he is bound by ethical considerations such as confidentiality, etc. He has actually been trained in what his church believes is an effective form of prayer - this training makes him interesting to talk to. He's not just making things up as he goes along.
The fascinating point which my friend made to me, is that in his church, it is not considered ethical to pray for any particular result for anyone else without first obtaining that person's consent. It's a question of boundaries and free will. For example, if you want to pray for someone to be healed, then you need that person's permission to pray for a healing. Otherwise, you just pray for that person's best and highest good (which might entail dying in their current body - you don't ever really know the course of someone else's life).
This has given me a great deal to think about in regard to the ethics of prayer. I Googled "Prayer Ethics" and "ethics of Prayer", but didn't come up with a lot that was helpful.
The reason I raise this issue is that my experience in the SGI is that we often receive guidance to chant in a particular way about other people, but don't always consult with those people about what it is that we're doing.
How much manipulating of others with prayer do you think is ethical? I wanted to write more on this today, but my time is short, so I will write more next week. I just threw this out for a discussion. Have a happy Memorial Day weekend, all -
Byrd in LA
For those of you who are SGI members, you might want to check out a new site which I heard about through another board. It is a great place to meet up with other members, share experiences, and so forth.
Have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend, everyone! Stay well and happy,
Byrd in LA
Wow, I must really be out of the loop - I just found out that Tina Turner, at age 68 (that's right, folks, sixty-eight!) is going to be touring North America again this fall!
How many people do you think this woman has introduced to the practice of chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo? I know we don't have any way of actually finding out the number, but it would be a cool contest, sort of like one of those things where you try to count the number of jelly beans inside a jar.
Everybody's probably seen this You Tube clip of Tina chanting on the Larry King show:
So, if you were going to hazard some kind of a guess as to how many "seeds" this woman has personally planted, what would you say? One million? Two million? Enquiring minds want to know...
Byrd in LA
One of these fine days, I shall compile the fabulous insights of my Mentrix, Mavis, and put them in a purple-colored volume, suitable for keeping by your altar, or if that is too irreverent for you, by your bedside. I shall call this volume the "Daily Mavis", or maybe the "Daily Mentrix". It will also include important dates, like the equinoxes and solstices, as well as the signs of the zodiac, a chakra chart, and a list of crystals and their powers. Also, dietary advice, like "eat your eggs and chocolate (but not in the same forkful)."
She came out with a good one this past Sunday, while we were chowing down at the local Indian lunch buffet (I love those things - excellent vegetable curries, and so reasonably priced, too!). We were discussing prayer and the universe's response to our needs. According to Mavis, the best attitude to take with prayer is:
"Expect it, but don't direct it."
In other words, have confidence that you are loved, protected, and cared for, but don't restrict the universe's helpful functions by trying to micro-manage how you want to see your blessings or benefts manifest. Expect it, but don't direct it. I like that one a lot.
Mavis also likes to address her prayers in a rather broad fashion. She generally sends out her requests to:
"God, or Goddess, or whoever's on duty."
I like that "whoever's on duty" thing. It allows for a response from any quandrant of the galaxy.
Anyway, Mavis was dressed to the nines for her big day out on Sunday. A large brimmed purple hat, flowing blue patterned skirt and blouse, a purple sort of cape-like thing, and half a dozen strands of stuff around her neck - the necklaces ranged from a real bear claw to a day-glo green rosary. And don't forget the carved walking stick. Eat your heart out, Elton John!
I had rented a car to drive Mavis out to San Dimas to visit my aunt, who is in a rehab facility there. Mavis wanted to visit with my aunt one last time before heading back to Colorado for the summer, so I decided to spurge. $45 for gas! Good gravy, I am so glad to be taking the bus at this point!
I think I will be taking my pupil Gilbert to meet Mavis next weekend - she has some stuff she wants to give to him to take to Mexico. Now, that will be an interesting match-up!
Back to Buddhism tomorrow.
Remember:
EXPECT IT, BUT DON'T DIRECT IT!
Byrd in LA
One of my favorite cases from my law school education was the case of Loving vs. Virginia. You can't forget the name of the case - it's just too darn fitting.
At any event, I just found out that Mildred Loving died earlier this month. Everyone in the U.S. who is in an inter-racial marriage or intimate relationship owes a debt of gratitude to her. You can read about the case here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_vs_virginia
In a nutshell, the aptly named Lovings were a young couple, born and raised in Virginia, who decided to get married. The only problem was that she was half black and half American Indian, he was white. Now, today, that wouldn't seem like much of a problem at all, but in the 1950s the State of Virginia had something called the Racial Integrity Act, a law which allowed for the forced sterilization of convicted criminals, the retarded and the handicapped, and also made interracial marriage a felony (not a misdemeanor, not a traffic ticket - a felony - real prison time). Just by getting married, Richard and Mildred Loving were turned into criminals. They were arrested, pled guilty, and were sentenced to a year in prison.
The trial judge said:
Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and He placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with His arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that He separated the races shows that He did not intend for the races to mix.
Jeez, how retro is that? That judge probably would have had a heart attack if he'd seen some of the happy interracial families in my SGI Area!
At any event, in order to avoid prison, the Lovings were sentenced to a sort of exile - they had to leave the state of Virginia and not return for 25 years. They moved across the Potomac to Washington, DC. But the problem was that all their family lived in Virginia, and so the Lovings couldn't go home for weddings and funerals and so forth. Can you imagine? This was in my lifetime! How oppressive!
Finally, Mrs. Loving wrote a letter to then-US Attorney General Robert Kennedy about her and her husband's situation. Kennedy referred them to the American Civil Liberties Union, which took on the Lovings' case. Finally, almost ten years after they were married, the US Supeme Court upheld their right to marry. Richard died in a car accident in 1978, but Mrs. Loving continued on raising their three children.
In a statement commemorating the 40th anniversary of this decision in 2007, Mrs. Loving said:
Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the “wrong kind of person” for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights.
I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight, seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.
Thank you, Mildred Loving, for being a champion of fairness and a champion of the right to love. Bon voyage, and I hope you have a wonderful eternity - you deserve it.
Your admiring friend in Los Angeles,
Byrd Ehlmann
Last night, I was watching a DVD of some videotaped lectures by Robert Thurman, the head of Tibet House in New York, and a professor Indo-Tibetan Studies and Buddhism at Columbia University in New York City:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Thurman
I got these DVDs (one of Dr. Thurman speaking on Buddhism, and another of him speaking on Tibet) a couple of years ago, because my mentor in life, Mavis, loves everything Tibetan and I thought it would be a fun treat for her to watch the lectures:
At any event, at one point, Professor Thurman was talking about the idea of Bodhicitta, or the Mind of Enlightenment (in Sanskrit,"Bodhi" means "Enlightened", and "Citta" means "Mind"). That is, the desire to become a Buddha for the sake of the happiness of all beings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta
Thurman described Bodhicitta as "falling in love with the universe", or falling in love with all beings. He used the example of being in love, and how, if you are in love, you want only the best for your beloved. The best school, the best food, the best home, the greatest happiness. And then, when we fall in love with all beings (or develop the "mind of enlightenment") we want the best for all of them. That is our motivation for Buddhist practice, for driving on the road to Buddhahood. The happiness and joy of all beings everywhere.
What a wonderful idea this was for me to think about this morning while I was chanting. I sent out a "love letter to the universe" through my daimoku, and it felt wonderful!
Hoping you all have a fabulous weekend. You, too, can fall in love with all beings!
Be enlightened, be happy, be cool.
Byrd in LA
The other day, I paid a visit to my good friend Michele, who lives in the Antelope Valley, just north of Los Angeles. You can recognize the Antelope Valley by the gazillions of Christian churches - I mean, on every corner! In English and in Spanish. Of course, down here in the San Fernando Valley, we can go them one better, because we have Christian churches in English, Spanish, Armenian, Thai and Korean, too! All the more reason for inter-denominational Nichiren Buddhist cooperation, in my opinion.
At any event, Michele officially joined the traditional Nichiren Shu last month, and so now she has a fabulous new mandala Gohonzon, which is a copy of the the Nichiren Shu "shutei" (or "authorized") mandala Gohonzon (warning: if you are superstitious about photographs of Nichiren's mandala Gohonzon, you may not want to go to this site):
http://www.nichirenscoffeehouse.net/ShuteiMandala/index.html
At any event, since I had never (to my knowledge) chanted to a mandala which was a copy of one actually inscribed by Nichiren, I was super-eager to see Michele's new set-up and chant at her new altar.
The set-up was truly beautiful. A lovely new dark wood Butsudan (altar), with a new incense burner to boot. It's a very peaceful place to chant, with a warm and homey feeling. Michele's black cat, Raleigh, sprawled on the floor and soaked up the good vibrations. Animals seem to love the practice, regardless of who inscribed the mandala in the altar. We could learn something from them, I think.
The mandala itself was sort of a surprise to me. I am accustomed to the much larger, "okatagi" gohonzon which I have in my home altar, and which is the mandala which the SGI bestows on members who have been chanting for over 15 years. The mandala which I have is much bigger, with a stark white background color. The calligraphy on my mandala is also quite large, and contrasts sharply with the white background.
Michele's Nichiren-inscribed mandala is smaller, and with a darker background. To me, it felt "older", somehow. The "Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo" which is written down the center is very large and bold, and most of the other characters are quite delicate, almost as if they had been written with a toothpick dipped in sumi ink!
I truly enjoyed this visit, and the opportunity to chant to a Nichiren-inscribed mandala.
More on Buddhism later!
Be flexible, be adventurous, be cool.
Byrd in LA
Remember that wonderful scene in "National Lampoon's Animal House" when John ("Bluto") Blutarsky, played by the late, great John Belushi, asks the existential question:
"What Am I?"
He then proceeds to fill his mouth with aerosol whipping cream and hammer both cheeks with his fists, spewing out the cream and triumphantly answering his own question:
"A ZIT!!!!!"
A brouhaha over ill manners in print has developed here at FWP, and somehow, it made me think of that scene. Sorry, I couldn't help it. There's more to discussing Buddhism than filling up your cheeks and spewing at people you don't like. Amazing but true. We Nichiren Buddhists have got to get past the level where we're acting mean to each other. Personally, I would like to see the nastiness stopped (and if that means getting rid of a blogger or two here, that's all right with me).
I Remember a couple of weeks ago when one of my SGI leaders asked me to think about what I wanted to accomplish with my blog. Well, believe it or not, I'd like to get some ideas on the table and have a forum where people can talk about those ideas freely. That's why I won't stand in the way of anybody with a mean streak getting the old heave-ho.
OK, so here are some things that I want to accomplish:
1. I want a forum to write and state my opinions and perspectives and get feedback on them. Although I know that some people will disagree with me about my perspectives, I have no intention of getting mean or vicious with people. I don't think that's productive, and I think it's contrary to the spirit of Bodhissatva Never Despise.
2. I want those people in the SGI who are in positions of influence to begin addressing these issues in the realm of policy. Ideally, I would like them to come online and discuss things openly, but if they can't or won't do that, at least I'd like to have the ideas on the table and hope they get discussed in private. Some examples of the ideas I'd like to see discussed are:
a) the conflict between the Western principle of religious freedom and the SGI's campaign to shut down our parent sect's houses of worship;
b) the rights of individual American Nichiren Buddhists to choose which denomination they wish to practice with, and a commitment from the SGI to respect those choices;
c) The SGI's insistence on parroting Nichiren Shoshu's inaccurate version of Nichiren Buddhist history, despite all modern research to the contrary;
d) Whatever else come up - I'm sure there will be plenty more.
3. The opportunity for general readers to participate in discussions of Nichiren Buddhism which are not ultimately content-controlled by Japan;
4. Open discussions about how Nichiren Buddhism can best adapt to a Western environment, and how Westerners can go about building sanghas which support their practice.
And a whole lot more!
The problem, of course, is that if people keep filling their cheeks and spewing, it tends to distract from the issues which I think are important.
Therefore, I would create this rule:
No gloating over other peoples' pain. No pointing at other peoples illnesses or tragedies and crowing. Its a nasty thing to do.
I know that Nichiren was not the world's best role model in this regard, but that was then and this is now. If you want to be personally nasty, you need to leave the blogsite. Allow those of us who care about the advancement of chanting Nam(u)-Myoho-Renge-Kyo in the West carry on here in peace.
My opinion.
Yours in a toga,
Byrd in LA
P.S. No calling people Nazis, either. That also goes for my private e-mail box.
Here's an interesting test from the BBC...Spot the fake smile:
Back to Buddhism tomorrow, team! Have a wonderful week,
Byrd in LA
P.S. I got 14 out of 20.
Everyday, I go to this site, and click to give food. I then click at all the other listed sites, as well:
I even buy a lot of Christmas and other gifts there.
This doesn't count for my daily practice of giving something away, though - it's just a habit I decided to get into when I sign on every day. I think it's a good habit.
I'll write something more substantive next week, when I'm done with this weekend's blast of busy-ness.
Bye for now, Byrd in LA
My good friend Kris discussed this Immeasurable in her comment to my last post, so I'll talk about it a bit today.
What is appreciative (or sympathetic) joy?
It is the wholesome attitude of rejoicing in the happiness and virtues of all sentient beings. It counters jealousy and makes people less self-centred.
In a nutshell, sympathetic joy involves feeling happy for other peoples' happiness. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? But think of some of the situations where you might not be so happy for someone else's happiness:
1. You're not quite over your ex-lover, but s/he is extremely happy with his or her new mate.
2. Someone else gets the promotion you wanted.
3. Somebody else gets into the college you wanted to get into, but you don't.
Instead of being consumed with jealousy or a sense of needing to "keep up with the Joneses", we can learn to calm our minds with a focus on happiness.
I will be very interested in hearing about how any of my readers here have cultivated this state of mind in their buddhist practice, and how it has impacted their lives. Has anyone else here used sympathetic joy as a meditation focus? If so, how did it work out for you?
Enquiring minds want to know,
Byrd in LA
No, it's not a new Disney animated feature. The Immeasurables are a basic set of principles to develop in Buddhist practice. There are four of them, so they are called (like a 50's doo-wop group) "The Four Immeasurables". These principles have become a key feature of my Buddhist practice over the past few years, and I would like to highly recommend them to anyone who is interested. As the SGI does not teach or endorse these specific directed meditations, you may need to do some of your own research.
The "Four Immeasurables" which help us cultivate wholesome attitudes toward ourselves and others are:
1. Loving Kindness;
2. Compassion;
3. Appreciative Joy; and
4. Equanimity.
You can Google the "Four Immeasurables" and read more about them for yourself, or you can go to this site which gives a simple outline:
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/bs-s15.htm
I honestly wish that I had known about these principles years ago when I struggled with some difficult emotions and did not have a clear remedy available to me within the SGI's teachings (at the time, we were very much focussed on cultivating hostility towards our parent sect, Nichiren Shoshu as a primary Buddhist practice). I have suffered a lot in this lifetime because I didn't know about using my practice to develop the Four Immeasurables. Since I can't go back and change my own history, all I can do is make these ideas and meditations available to those people who are interested in them now, and who happen to read my blog here.
The First Immeasurable is "Loving Kindness". This is simply the wish that we and (ultimately) all beings be happy.
It is not unusual in the SGI for people who are troubled by another person to receive guidance to "chant for that person's (the 'enemy's') happiness". That sounds wonderful and saintly, and usually produces a good result, but it can be very, very difficult to do in real time. If you have been badly injured by someone, it is hard to chant for that person's happiness. A lot of people have become discouraged and not continued as a result of getting this kind of direction without having a "how-to" guide for dealing with the tough emotions that pop up in the process.
I sometimes compare chanting for the happiness of someone who has hurt you to a sort of extreme emotional yoga pose. Yes, it's good for you, but you can also pull something getting into the pose. It's better to "warm up" first. That's what the Loving Kindness guided meditation allows you to do. Here are the steps:
1. We start with praying for our own happiness:
May I be be well, may I be happy. May I be free from the causes of suffering.
There may be situations in which an individual who is extremely unhappy, or has suffered greatly, or is weighed down by guilt may have to focus on this step for quite awhile --- days or weeks, or even months.
2. Then, when you feel like moving on, you expand the circle of lovingkindness to target a valued friend or loved one (preferably someone you don't have any romantic or sexual attraction to,as that tends to import selfish feelings).
3. You then expand the circle of loving kindness to include a "neutral person" - someone like the check-out clerk at the grocery store, or a man you might see on the bus. Someone you don' t know, but you can now wish them all happiness in your meditation.
4. Now, after you are all "warmed up", you can expand the circle of loving kindness to include someone with whom you are having problems, your "enemy". You can wish for that person, may he be well and happy, may he be free from the causes of suffering.
5. Finally, the circle of loving kindess can be extended to include all beings everywhere.
I really love that last step - radiating out goodwill while I chant Daimoku. It is a wonderful feeling, and I hope you can enjoy it, too!
May you be well and happy and free from any cause of suffering.
Byrd in LA
...Anyway, so the panel members each made their presentations. The student body president told us that student opinion on the school song controversy fell into three major groups, as follows:
1. Those who were mortified and embarassed by the whole thing, and felt Pomona had gone off the Politically Correct deep-end;
2. Those who felt deeply that the school song was now an offense to black people and should be retired;and
3. Those who couldn't care less one way or the other (the vast majority of students seem to fall into this category).
The alumni at the panel discussion had a variety of opinions, but mostly seemed to feel that the decision to summarily suspend the school song was a bad call on the part of the poor college president, who sat in his chair and took our arrows quite patiently, I thought.
"This committee just sounds like something the government would do," a Libertarian blogger grumbled darkly.
Another woman stood up, seized the microphone, and crusaded for several minutes on the indignities she felt that she suffered as an Asian American, then inexplicably lurched into a discussion of her family's real estate holdings.
One insightful codger noted that the first sound motion picture was"The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson as a blackface performer, but that we weren't doing away with talking pictures (I thought that was a good argument)..
I waved the marital flag, asking rhetorically how many happy marriages had begun as gropings in the back seats of Fords, and had grown from ignoble beginnings to mature and stable families?
The 1972-73 president of the fraternity I had been president of from 1977-78 (Zeta Chi Sigma), defiantly rebuked the college president and announced in ringing tones, "I promise you Mr. President, That song will be sung!" A mutinous murmur went up from the crowd. After the meeting, we all adjourned to the party tents on the school quad to collect our box lunches.
Overall, it was about as dramatic an incident as is possible at Pomona College.
I genuinely think the world would be a better place if everyone were a Pomona College graduate. Not only would we all be a hell of a lot better educated, but there wouldn't be any rioting or glass-breaking when people got upset. Pomona College alumni don't get violent. No, we stroke our chins at panel presentations, then explore the issues over chicken ciabatta sandwiches on the college quad.
As an aside, here's my question: how did ciabattas get popular, anyway? Is it only in California, or are these sandwich rolls big in other parts of the country, too? I'm kind of curious to know the answer to this one, as I don't care for ciabattas too much, and I am hoping they will go out of fashion.
Anyway, the rest of the day went quite well. I met a bunch of old buddies, whom I wasn't expecting to see. Amazingly, they all looked like they were 50-ish, middle-class folks with cars and homes and jobs and kids. There's a shocker.
I'll get back to Buddhism later on this week.
All Hail Pomona, Hail!
Bye for now, Byrd in LA
For those of you who don't know, I'm an alumna of Pomona College, a blue-ribbon liberal arts school in Claremont, California, where a degree currently goes for about a quarter of a million dollars. Yikes! Good thing I don't have any kids. For those of you interested in learning more (actually, it was a fabulous undergrad education), here is the website:
Yesterday was my 30th reunion, and the alumni picnic on the quad was fraught with controversy. I seem to get embroiled wherever I go - what was it Nichiren said about the body and its shadow?
Anyway, the Pomona College alumni were all a-twitter this weekend over the potential sacking of the school song. The college president has suspended the alma mater (which is over a century old) from being sung at commencement, convocation, and alumni day this year until a blue-ribbon committee has had a chance to meet and make a decision about where to go from here.
Here are the lyrics to the offending ditty:
"Hail, Pomona, Hail,
We thy sons and daughters sing
Praises to thy name,
Praises of thy fame,
'Til the Heavens above shall ring
To the name of Pomona
Alma Mater, Hail to thee
To the spirit true of the White and Blue
All Hail, Pomona, Hail!"
The tune is original to this song (i.e., only "Hail, Pomona, Hail" has this particular tune), but it has the usual lofty yet clunky college song sound to it. It is a favorite with the Pomona glee clubs and other a capella vocal music groups which flourish on campus (Pomona actually has an excellent music program). So, what's the problem, here? Why has this song been suspended? What offense has it committed? Well, it has been suspended because......
.....it was recently discovered that this school song had its debut over a century ago at...get this... a blackface minstrel show which was held on the campus. For those of you who don't know what that is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface
Some student printed up copies of a record album cover from this show, complete with the name of the song, and posted it around campus. One thing led to another, the song was suspended, and yesterday, there was a special "forum on the controversy" held in one of the college's small theatres.
The room began to fill with greybeards and blue-haired ladies (all Caucasian, as there was a competing - timewise - meeting of the Black Alumni Club in another building) around a half-hour before the panel began their presentations. A couple of hundred, at least, were ultimately squeezed into the room, and the air was abuzz with angry anticipation. In the front of the room was a table with the ever-present bottles of water, and four microphones.
The expert panel comprising the forum consisted of:
1. A professor of history in the Black Studies department;
2. A professor of musicology with a specialty in choral music;
3. The besieged college president who had made the decision to suspend the song and impanel the expert committee investigating the matter; and
4. The current student body president - a lovely young (blonde, Caucasian) woman named Elsbeth, who had to leave early to go play at an NCAA tennis championship.
The history professor led off with a 15-minute video presentation, narrated by the unmistakeable voice of Maya Angelou, which gave examples of minstrel show and "pickaninny" art. I thought it was a very interesting educational presentation, although I personally got more out of the movie Spike Lee made on this theme a few years ago:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboozled
After the video presentation, the history professor led off with a quote from the Reverend Jesse Jackson:
"A text out of context is a pretext." He repeated this piece of wisdom, just to be sure it sank in: "A text out of context is a pretext."
We all maintained a respectful demeanor while scratching our heads at this.
The professor then proceeded to discuss for another ten minutes or so, the shamefully racist history of blackface minstrel entertainment in the United States.
...(to be continued)...
Byrd in LA
P.S. Re-read the text of the song. I will personally pay $50 to any reader who can find a single racial implication. I guess now you know where I stand on this controversy. Anyway, I will finish this wacky tale tomorrow or Tuesday.
Well, I won't be posting again until Sunday (at least). Tomorrow, I have a court appearance on behalf of a family member, and then Saturday, I am going to my (fanfare, please) 30th college reunion at fabulous Pomona College in even more fabulous Claremont, California!!!!
Ay-yi-yi!!!
I'm kind of jittery about the whole thing. I've gained a few pounds since I graduated back in '78. Well.....several pounds. OK, I've gained a lot of weight. When I think of the clothes I used to (not) wear back then, it makes me a bit nervous. I wonder if they'll recognize me without my navel showing?
But look on the bright side - I can finally find out what Ada Rose Bitterbaum has been up to all these years.
Have any of you old folks been through this one already? Tell me something comforting, please.....
I'll get back to Buddhism next week after the acid hit wears off.....
Bye for now,
Byrdie in the Sky with Diamonds.