Tags
Black Friday, Christ, Christmas, Jesus, Nagarjuna, Namo Jidu Fo, Nirvana, pure land, Samsara
For many, the Christmas holiday is something to dread. Beginning on Black Friday our world approaches a near lethal bustle. The spirit of giving is manifested by pepper spraying competing shoppers. You see it on the roads, the street, and at work.
It’s not difficult to loathe the circumstances that nurture the frenzy of the season. December is a great storming ocean of stimuli, emotion, and tension.
Escaping the Madness
What most people identify as the practice of Buddhism, sitting quietly in a serene setting, is really just the first step. Our discoveries on the inward journey bring us full circle to living life in the fullest possible way.
At first, we’re drawn to the practice by a feeling that something is missing. That there is more to life. That happiness is waiting just around the corner. If we are fortunate enough to encounter the Buddha’s path, right view and truth of non-self resonate with us in our quest for wholeness.
It’s not difficult to recognize that our search for happiness is impaired by our tightly bound sense of self. The cocoons that we build to protect ourselves from reliving the injuries of our past separate us from the source of pleasure and contentment that we are seeking.
The path to Nirvana is the careful deconstruction of this cocoon of attachments and aversions. Samsara is made of judgements, preconceptions, and patterns of behavior. When we recognize these as mental constructions, we begin to perceive the world unfiltered. We discover that the shedding of ego uncovers a fresh and wholesome world. This world is Nirvana.
Our True Home
The second century Buddhist Saint Nagarjuna offered an important summary of the Buddhist way.
There is nothing whatsoever of Samsara distinguishing it from Nirvana
There is nothing whatsoever of Nirvana distinguishing it from Samsara
Nirvana differs from the frenzied life only in the absence of our patterns and prejudices. When we cross over to the Pure Land, we discover we’ve gone no where. We’ve changed nothing. We’ve escaped nothing.
Raging sea, Great peace
As Buddhists, we take refuge in the Buddha, or reality. We are willing to open our eyes and feel without anticipating a positive or negative experience. The great ocean of anxiety can become a great ocean of possibility.
It’s not easy to be open. It’s a choice we have to make everyday.
There have been many years that I’ve missed out on the holiday spirit. But just this week, in a moment of pause, it hit me. I grinned a little, tentatively let it in and then allowed myself a full fledged whimsical smile. The light is there.
Christmas is a time when we can take refuge in Christ, the savior. Make the choice. Let him save you. Let it hit you. Let it lift you. Happy Christmas.
NAMO JIDU FO
NAMO JIDU FO
NAMO JIDU FO
(I bow before Jesus the Buddha)
