The inscrutability of the mind comes from the fact that it manufactures the counterfeit reality it then gladly accepts as authentic. Or to put it in the excerpted words of poet Wallace Stevens in "The Man with the Blue Guitar,"
 

They said, "You have a blue guitar,
You do not play things as they are."

The man replied, "Things as they are
Are changed upon the blue guitar."

The classical Buddhist community was a group of monks who practiced and taught Buddhism separate from lay practitioners. In many traditions, this group is still held to be the sangha; lay practioners are relegated to listeners so that by means of generosity and moral conduct, they can eventually become monks and achieve liberation. In many traditions, it is a basic assumption that laity cannot achieve sufficient realization to avoid rebirth.

You who have Christian backgrounds will recognize in that phrase as part the Christian beatitude,

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God."

Without dealing much with the Christian terminology, that verse expresses something very germane to Buddhist teaching. When we come to see in very real terms that we do not own anything, we  become poor in spirit whether or not we still manage things useful to us in the flux of life.

Gratitude is the focus of this final week's practice. One question people sometimes raise is "Gratitude to whom?" And they look for a criteria that will help them differentiate those worthy of gratitude from those who are not. And of course, our culture is filled with those who routinely ask or demand gratitude, usually for themselves.

Rather than bogging down in endless discussion about those unimportant issues, just be grateful, taking time each day this next week (at least 2 to 3 minutes) to be grateful FOR something, whether it is another being, a circumstance, a teaching, etc. The idea of this practice is to deliberately step away from the deeply held belief that you are self subsistent rather than a set of conditions, a particular sequence of formations that has arisen and will pass away. The intent is to see clearly by means of gratitude that "This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self" to use the Buddha's words. Gratitude is an extension of the mind to recognize all the circumstances, beings, and material form that make up our life, sustain it, and sometimes make it pleasurable in contrast to the most demonstrably false assumption that I am in control, that I have created this, that I can exist independent of this. It is that set of assumptions and arrogance you are challenging with gratitude which has the wholesome element of helping us seeing our dependence and transience.

This particular author paused on the US Memorial Day in gratitude for all those who had the courage to sacrifice their lives and well being in an attempt to secure happiness for others. However one might wish to judge the motivations of those who fought, the justness of the efforts they participated in,  their character, or the success of their effort, there is a solemn respect for them as human beings, caught in the confusion samsara, who nevertheless transcended their selfish fear of death in an unselfish endeavor. My conditions of life today, my existence in its form and place, the ability to hear the Truth of Dharma, and to follow a path to Nirvana are not due to my efforts at birth, but to many of these who preceded me to set in motion the chain of events that have given me this opportunity. It is not difficult to be grateful to those who struggled to death on both sides of the question.

The topic for the fourth week of in-place retreat is the deliberate extension of compassion toward someone whom you dislike or who elicits envy or jealousy. Examine in some detail the source of feeling. Perhaps it's a fear of injustice, a perceived threat to your ego or existence ... whatever. Don't judge it; just examine it. And then meditate briefly specifically dedicating the merit of that meditation for the well being of the one you are finding difficult. Do this daily, specifically, at least for 5 minutes.

A short note from a participant in last week's focus.

On a couple of different occasions when I wanted to be a bit snarky with some cleverness, I found myself trying to convince myself by means of  rationalization that I wasn't really trying to be snarky, that somehow what I wanted to do was "helpful." This is not quite what I expected as a lying related thing, and yet in a way I was trying to deceive myself about the character of something that I wanted to do, so I could proceed. Interesting to see my mind at work that way.

This weeks focus is on a simple thing most Americans have difficulty with -- telling the truth. The goal is simple, no lying of any sort for this next week. No white, black, yellow, pink, or green ones. None to make people feel better or worse. Simple truth without any malice whatever. If you can't tell the truth, simply be quiet. If you want to tell a truth with malice, be quiet.

And don't lie to yourself either. Don't try to convince yourself that you feel like you should when you don't, that you love someone you don't, that don't feel hate when you do. Understanding your mind is not about jumping in with affirmations about what you'd like to think or feel. It is about seeing what actually flows through your mind -- garbage and sewage as well as clusters of lotus blossoms -- without being afraid of any of it. Of course, it also means not dwelling on any of it. But just don't lie about whatever happens to float by.

Don't let your mind lie to you by exaggerating either your purity or your impurity. The delusions the mind creates are often a way of falsifying a reality so that it fits what we'd like to think, or so that it distorts some unwarranted denigration of our dignity as a human being struggling for truth. Don't participate in this self-lying. See and accept what is.

A short note from one participant in last weeks focus.

Trying to do something that I decided was wholesome to do when I didn't want to do it turned out to be more difficult than giving something up. I had to face my strategy of procrastination, and endless variations of reasons why I shouldn't act. Acting also required the expenditure of considerable energy, something I found in short supply at the end of long hard day. In the end, except for one failure, I pretty much muddled through, but it wasn't pretty, and it wasn't pleasant.

Today marks the beginning of the second week of our in-place retreat. While the first week focused on letting go of something we normally cling to or crave as a means of examining our mind, the second week is intended to pay attention to those things that we want to avoid for some reason or other. Our practice for the second week will focus on doing something that is wholesome to do, but that we resist doing because we don't yet like it. Pick something that you think is healthy or wholesome for you to do, something that you can benefit by doing each day, and then do it each day for a week.

Examine where the resistance to doing it comes from. Don't analyze it in terms of psychology. Just notice if the resistance is fatigue, boredom, laziness, fear, criticism, etc. Tackle something that is realistic, e.g., spending 10 minutes a day exercising or doing yoga, if you normally don't do and don't like to do those things. Or read to your child once a day, or ... be creative ... but do the same thing everyday for a week. Notice how the mind will help you forget to do it, will help you create "reasons" why you shouldn't do it, and will complain when it starts. Notice how the resistance changes when you act, when you finally start doing it.

The basic idea is to see and understand the sequence of events that hinders you from changing your life, even when supposedly you want to.

Comments of one participant from last weeks emphasis:

My attempt at forgoing something was to completely give up snacking or eating between meals for a week. I was mostly successful, but failed several times at least momentarily. I didn't have as much difficulty with willful snacking as with finding myself with a "bite" in my mouth and then remembering that this was snacking. Sometimes I spit it out the bite. Other times I did not. But two things surprised me. One was the lack of conscious awareness at the beginning of the event, and the second was that I was genuinely irritated a few times by the intrusion of awareness that disrupted the bite (and its enjoyment) that I found myself in the middle of. So for me it came down to mindfulness and choice -- willingness to be aware of my normal habits -- and willingness to consistently choose to interrupt the habit once I was aware. I didn't like making this choice when I was hungry, and when I "agreed" with my rationalization that I "needed" the food and that it wouldn't hurt me.
 

After a while I could see this pattern again and again. And just that seeing helped. I knew the routine. And I knew that urgency of moment would pass if I made the right choice.

May 1 marks the beginning of the May in-place retreat for those who wish to participate along with us. Those who wish to join us should commit during May to follow the precepts with great diligence,  to meditate daily, and to follow us in our weekly emphasis.

The first weeks emphasis is a temporary one-week denial of something found genuinely pleasurable. It can be related to food, sex, drink, money, ambition, etc. -- something that is challenging, but not critical to life nor harshly restrictive on others. The idea is to simply encounter and challenge the mind's preoccupation with something it likes, to understand the strength of the attachment and the temporary panic of being deprived of it, particularly under the circumstance that the condition is one of one's choosing, rather than something imposed externally. So choose something you know will be a bit of a struggle.

Feel the sensations, watch the thoughts that arise, and examine the patterns of thought and behavior behind them. That's all. Just understand in as much detail as you can how the process works, where it starts, how it escalates in increasing intensity and importance, and how finally it dissipates when it is not given control and when the attention is simply turned elsewhere.

If you have questions or wish to discuss what you find use the contact form on the home page to leave us a note with your email address.

We are surprised at the number of people who come to Buddhism with depression. Perhaps the First Noble Truth that "life is suffering" is already clanging overwhelmingly in their lives and minds, and their misery is seeking company. The "suffering" word is a bit of an overstatement for these people. "Unsatisfactory" is probably a better term. Buddhism does not teach that human life is a pile of shit; in fact human life is viewed as an extraordinary opportunity to seek and realize Truth.

Some Buddhist teachers have viewed the role of faith in the same manner as Christianity. Doubt in their teaching was a "sin" of sorts, though Buddhists wouldn't use the word sin. Faith in a master, faith in a teaching, faith in anything without actually seeing isn't fundamental Buddhist teaching Faith as an exhortation to overcome doubt is ineffective and pretty much inconsistent with what the Buddha taught. From all indications, those teachers feared doubt of their master and deviation from whatever nuances he/she taught as much as Christians fear doubting Christian doctrine.