Dogen Zenji


There you go. As always, do with it as you will.

The S.O. is actually starting to read more into the Buddhist philosophy. I don’t know what inspired this kick, but I’m all for it. One of my beefs with her is that she has always had a negative attitude towards things. Always sees the downside. That being directly opposite of what Buddhism is about, this is a good thing. I’ve off and on researched about Buddhism, in particular the Dalai Lama. He amazes me with his peace of mind and nature. I have mentioned it in passing to her, hoping she’d read something either about him or by him, but it had never worked. Sunday she starts asking me whether I thought that a person’s outlook on life could affect things that happen to him. Whether having good thoughts brought good luck. I told her the things I read and suggested she look up Buddhism and Zen and things like that on the internet. So she has been for the past few days. And she told me she was going to make an effort to be more positive in life. I hope she sticks with it. I think this would be a good time for me to start reading more and learning more. I could definitely use some peace of mind.

I’m amazed at people like the Dalai Lama who can have such strife in their life and brush it off with a peaceful mind. I’m sure the years of study and meditation he has put in has brought him to that place, but I also believe that there is something inside such people that makes them special. I’m not going to go into the process in which a Dalai Lama is named, but suffice it to say, it’s pretty amazing. It’s not a choice an individual makes. There are no politics involved like a pope. Do yourself a favor, look into it.

Seeing as how sarcasm is my main form of life defense and the major component in anything funny I ever say, transforming my way of thought into a more gentle and peaceful mindset is difficult. When your whole life you’ve reacted with a remark, mentally or out loud, it’s an ordeal to change that response. It’s hard not to judge. To make fun of or criticize. But those things do get you very little in life. Who wants to be the world’s movie critic? No one likes movie critics. Every movie they hate, the public tends to like and every movie they like, no one goes to see. There’s incongruence there.

I’ve said before, I’m a big believer in Karma. I’m usually on the bad side of it, but I do believe you reap what you sow. Even Catholicism has its version. The old “Do unto others,” stuff.
Now if I could only find a way to implement it in my life, I’d be set.