Friday 10 July 2015

The fox delusion

So at the end of spring coming into summer three fox cubs started making appearances around the hogweed covered banks of the white cart river that runs behind my house. As I’d go for my walk their grubby faces would greet me from the opposite side of the river. They seemed safe with the barrier of the river between them and me. I also presumed mother was watching under the cover.
Anyway a few weeks passed and I became quite fond of the little cubs. I’d even call out to them and there dirty little ears would pick up. But as soon as they had appeared they disappeared. Now logical rational thinking would tell me that momma fox had moved ‘em on down the river bank, or perhaps somewhere more inland. Instead I remembered every story and photo I had seen of the atrocities committed on foxes throughout the British isles. I fully engaged in the idea, with no rational or even a shred of evidence that the little cubs were anything but safe in their den. In my minds eye those poor little guys had met an awful fate. Let us look at the third of the bodhisattva vows, ‘delusions are inexhaustible. Got it?
This is not an isolated thought pattern unique to my nature ramblings and musings. Perhaps your boss said something to you recently that was a little short or rude. Did we presume it was nothing or even because he was tired or stressed? No the monkey mind let rip, delusions flooding. What did they say? What did they mean? The second part of the third vow reads  'I vow to transform them'.
So ‘Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to transform them’. It seems contradictory or impossible to attain, right? But that is the nature of any buddhist vows, unlike christian morality vows buddhist vows are more to be worked towards, we don’t become attached to them we just continue you to chip away or scale the mountain of delusion all the while aware of them.
So rather than becoming upset or too carried away by the disappearance of my fox buddies I should remember that these delusions are inexhaustible and I must continuously work to transform them or over come them and realise that they’re probably living in the woods downstream having  a great time of it having some magical fox adventures.

Creations are numberless, I vow to free them
Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to transform them
Reality is boundless, I vow to perceive it
The awakened way is unsurpassable, I vow to embody it
(Roshi Joan Halifax's Bodhisatva vows) 

Tomorrow morning, as with every Saturday, at 8am, I'll be hosting a meditation and discussion on google hangouts. Link here

Tuesday 7 July 2015

Dream Flag

This is the dream flag and was designed by the 16th Karmapa from an image he saw in a dream. The blue of the flag represents the insight we receive from our practice, the absolute truth, the noumenal world, things as they are in themselves while the yellow represents the phenomenal world where our cultivated compassion is enacted. The symmetry in the wave pattern shows their independence and inseparability. 

More information here

Saturday 4 July 2015

Oh Wednesday :)


Oh Wednesday! What a day. A theme that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is attachment, especially attachment to the practice and such things. Well my ego caught me for a doozy the past few weeks. Out of nowhere walking in the morning sunshine following my breath the scent of flowers, bees buzzing, children skipping, beatific bliss, the revelation hits me like a big black blue wall - wallop!

The walking meditation must of allowed my ego a slight reprise and I saw it all - the marathon of delusions and with it a nice southerly scattering of anxiety and depression. In a split second the delusion was revealed and with it the ego comes back with a ping-pong 30 round boxing match. The embarrassment. All those hours staring at a wall - I should be immune, right? How I’ve justified anger, attachment, ignorance, addiction, impatience and so on and for ever and ever.

Wednesday was the definition of an off day. Old buddy ego was drenched in its warrior paint intent on fucking my shit up. The point to all of this rambling is don’t let your guard down. The ego can manifest in many ways. You’re not safe on your zafu and there is literally nothing into which the ego can’t manifest. We must put our faith and everything into following breath as it is the only way to see things as they really are.

________

when the snake comes out
there's a brave soldier...
blossom viewers

Issa