Mindfulness is just one word of many that points to a greater reality. We can describe it as attention, or we can describe in a negative way such as to say "A state without obscuration from mental distractions." If someone uses the word improperly it falls on Buddhists to help clear their misunderstanding as we see it, without aggression, so that they may better understand the world and find peace in it.

If I'm not mistaken, didn't Mahayana Buddhism spring from the idea of giving Buddhism back to the people, of practicing for the sake of everyone? I think this is the greatest concept we can take away from the school of thought as I know it, and it seems to be a very good way to speak to your concern that Buddhism needs to be social in order to have new life breathed into for both current practitioners and those yet to come to the path.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate seeing a strong Buddhist voice in the news sections of this site. It provides me with much comfort to know that Buddhism has a presence here.

great article - all established things need to be challenged, just as punk cleared the way for new musical thinking - interesting to note that shakyamuni buddha said that his teachings would be unrecognisable within 500 yrs of his death, so he was well aware of the deadening effect of doctrine - he also said don't accept anything b/c i say it, only if you verify it for yrself - i like dharma talks but try and keep in mind suzuki-roshi's warning that they are just encouragement to practice, they are not practice - suzuki-roshi is such a hero of mine - such down to earth ordinary language and good humour in zen mind beginners mind and not always so - he very much emphasised that we much each find our own way - there is no way which can be 'guarded' by the establishment really

Eh,
Thats the way I feel about most 'thinkings' that are supposed to really make you question the world and life. It starts out great, lots of great unique thinking that really opens doors and makes you question your reality.
And then eventually you wake up one day and realize its just another fad. You're in the same robes, or leather jacket, or wearing the same black make-up, as every fucktard around you, and you haven't actually come up with an original thought for the last year. You haven't come upon any enlightenment, just wasted a few extra bucks on some new clothes.

Nantenbo had, I think, similar negative opinions about the prevalence of hollowness and Cliche in Buddhism in Japan a hundred years ago. He took up the Keisaku in protest.

Werd...

Well, isn't it supposed to be the case that once you've crossed over to the other shore, you're supposed to be unattached to everything, including the raft that got you there?

That's how I always feel at the beginning of a retreat. The mind wants to be anywhere but in a place where the only thing it has to look at is itself. You have to push through it, and actually do the retreat. If you do, somewhere around day three or four your mind won't be in the record store anymore.

Maybe you should do solitary retreats instead of group retreats, though. Sometimes having all those people around can be a brutal distraction.

On the whole Dharma talk/mindfulness/skillful thing, word. The idea of calling something skillful or not skillful is stupid (that is, not skillful) anyway - you're putting a judgment on a thing for which you have no basis to judge.

BTW, Nolan, Mahayana Buddhism isn't about bringing Buddhism to the people. Mayahana Buddhism is about using the people as the vehicle to reach enlightenment, instead of just using yourself.

That is, rather than just taking responsibility for your own escape from suffering (reaching Nirvana), you also take responsibility for everyone else's escape from suffering.

The reason for doing this is twofold: first, if you do not, they will never escape suffering (for reasons too crazy to explain here) and second, when you do your practice with every living being as its beneficiary, this amps up the karmic power of your practice by a huge (they say immeasurable) factor. So you get the result more quickly, and it's of more benefit.

Seems I remember reading that people were beginning to view Buddhism as for the monks, since it seemed that they were practicing only for themselves. Thus the concept of the Bodhisattva who practices for the benefit of everyone developed.

The other stuff sounds to self-centered, like a karma contest or something, which seems kind of contrary to the whole "no-self" thing that is pretty much at the base of Buddhist doctrine. Also, isn't it sort of pointless to take responsibility for other people's suffering?

Didn't the Buddha teach that his finger only points the way, and that we have to take the responsibility to walk the path for ourselves?

Wake up! Northern California is on fire! That will get the socialites to get up and run.

I was gonna leave a comment but there is no "I" so I decided not to.

Ok, that was a dumb opening but I really don't give a shit.

I grew up in a Buddhist household but I was never taught anything about it until much later. I went through a number of pagan religions including Wicca and eventually came to a point where i wanted to know more about Buddhism. I have talked with my father about it quite a bit and though I have taken refuge I have spent very little time in any group practice. Even though I have taken refuge I practice some Buddhism, but there are many other things that are a part of my spirituality as well and I prefer to practice my spirituality in solitude. Buddhism seems to fit the way I want to think the best, but the only thing I can put a finger on and say this is something important I have learned from Buddhism is to try to love everyone and show kindness, regardless of their actions.

In the end though the bullshit I learned from being among Goths as much as I have always seeps back into my mind. I am bipolar, usually on very long down swings and having been that way for a great deal of my life I listen to the dark music that I have discovered I can identify with. I have no illusions of enlightenment in this life and by my embrace of Samsara, I would guess not for many thousands of lives to come. I considered myself Buddhist for a few years but I have realized by my continued thoughts and actions that help me cling to and embrace my own pain and suffering, I am not Buddhist so I now just call myself spiritual.

Ok, that's my useless input.

It's not useless at all. I went through the same cycle of paganism to Buddhism, so I feel like I can relate a little. I think you have the right idea and don't even fully realize it. You say you embrace Samsara, but why should this mean that that you won't reach enlightenment in this lifetime? If Samsara is ever-changing, and change is the only way to transform suffering to enlightenment, then it seems like you're on the right track. You have to accept that there is suffering before you can transmute it to gold.

Like I said, it seems to me that you already know a lot. Now there's just to know that you know.

Nolan, "no self" is why it makes sense to work for the benefit of others. Read the Diamond Cutter Sutra sometime. It's not a competition. It's just that even if you have found a path that's working for you, the world's pain has not stopped, has it? If you can use that fact to generate a new motivation that gets you to the point where you can actually help others, is that a bad thing?

It's true that ultimately only you can get rid of your bad karma, but somehow we still have and value people who can teach us wisdom.

But we cannot get to every living being and we also cannot expect ourselves to be able to shoulder the burden of the world. Perhaps it can be a noble motivation, but if we act within the realm of our daily lives in a way that is enough, as the very notion of our "good karma" will carry on to the people in our small area of the world, and lessen the burden of those people who may go out and create more good karma, or simply suffer less because of us. That is enough, I think. Of course, if you WANT to go out and try to change the whole world, then that is fine as well, as long as you do so without attachment to the outcome of your actions.

And as a friend, please stop telling me to "read this" or "read that." I know you don't mean it this way, because I'm sure your intentions are good, but it comes across as really condescending to me.

What the fuck are your retreating from?