A View on Buddhism

[matt]

I would like to invite all of you to participate in a practise experiment. What do you think is terrible? For the next week or two, every time I think of something as being terrible or awful, I am going to note to my self whether or not this directly impacts me, then, whatever it is, dedicate it to the 21 Taras, all the causes, conditions and effects, all it takes is a thought to let them influence these.

If you are unfamiliar with the 21 Taras, you could simply dedicate this to Tara.

Post here any benefits or lack of you notice. I am interested in dedicating not only the causes, conditions and effects, but the sense of outrage that often accompanies them. I believe this is energy that Tara can make beneficial use of.
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I want to be more compassionate, humbel and loving.

[JeffC]

Matt, I would do this, maybe.

Can you give a specific example of what you are doing exactly?

Thanks,
Jeff

[matt]

I have felt frustrated for years about my career as a college art professor. My major professor while I was a graduate student has actually gone out of his way to prevent my having opportunities to teach any class or workshop or even a demo in our field of sculpture and three dimensional design. At the same time he has given countless opportunities to women who are much younger and less experienced than myself. No one wants to talk about this kind of discrimination, and I can not trust him for even a letter of recommendation.

Part of my disappointment is I love to teach. The chair of the department has let me teach classes outside my field, and the students loved the classes, worked really hard, and obviously progressed. But he will do nothing to dissuade my former professor. I really believe that this professor's fear is not that I would do poorly, but rather that I would do well.

At times I have felt profoundly angry, and obsessed about this dilemma for months at a time. Gradually, through practise I over came the anger, and felt a tremendous relief. I am talking to the department again, so it is important that I stay positive, though firm in my resolve to be given opportunities to teach in my field. This probably will not happen, It is impossible to change an other's mind. So I find myself thinking of him as my greatest teacher, and every time I think how awful or terrible this is, I imagine that all the karma I have created that caused this situation, and all the negative energy I have generated thinking and feeling about it, I am now offering to Tara as a feast and transformable experience to use for the benefit of all of us.

There is outrage, anger, fear, jealousy and other subtle, negative emotions at work here, all of which are transmutable. All of which Tara can use for good, rather than ill.

But it could also be the experience of watching people like governments or businesses do something really stupid and unnecessarily destructive, and feeling outrage. Basically the same process, all the karma, the confusion about who is responsible (in non duality, I am responsible) and the bad feelings can be transformed by the Buddha of enlightened action, within our hearts and minds.

This kind of dedication can follow the format of the seven limb prayer, or just be acknowledged with a thought. I am dedicating these situations and this energy to one who is infinitely wiser and less deluded than myself. Since I have created the conditions where I could easily dwell in a negative way on things I want to determine are undesirable, I am on guard and ready with a practise to engage when my mind turns to how terrible this or that is.

I would love it if you could join me in this practice for a week or two, Jeff. I would consider it a kind of support.

Incidently, I only said the next week or two, so people would not flake off the need to start. I need to do this now, but any practise takes time and gets better with practise.

Key words: "terrible, awful, horrible"
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I want to be more compassionate, humbel and loving.

[Tamara]

Matt wrote:

```But it could also be the experience of watching people like governments or businesses do something really stupid and unnecessarily destructive, and feeling outrage.```

Oh yes, that`s it. My daily practice and experience.

I dedicate all my negative feelings which arise due to the above samsaric mess to Vajrasattva, each morning since 2006.

Keeps me on the positive side.

Yesterday I was looking out for `terrible things` which I could easily post here on the internet but, sorry.... most of it could cost me my visa here, so I have to deal with it alone.

Still, if something terrible comes up which is not related to politics, then I`ll post it.



Tamara

[beginners mind]

Matt

I am interested in this as an experiment although I am not sure how this works and do not know what the 21 Taras are or what to do with them?

Something "terrible" happened to me yesterday - can I post about this or am I supposed to keep it to myself?

Well, I can't keep quiet so yesterday I had my first one to one tutorial with my counselling course tutor (a counsellor) and she was talking about throwing me off the course because she thought I was getting too upset in empathy "lessons". What she fails to understand is that getting upset is helping me learn to handle my own emotions and helping me grow etc. etc. and I can cope with it but she thinks I may be harmed and cannot look after myself. For goodness sake!!!!!

I am so angry about this and have never been thrown off anything in my life! It is so humiliating. This is not exactly "terrible" but I am outraged and upset.

I could transform this into positive thoughts as I usually do but for some reason I just feel like being unjustly angry and misunderstood. I just think why should I always let everyone else off the hook and cut them all slack when I never get any!???

There are some really stupid people around who think they know everything but can't tell their own backside from their elbow!!!!!

So how do I dedicate these feelings and do something constructive with them?

This sounds interesting........

Look forward to your reply and lovely to speak to you again.

Lisa
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“When you realise how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky”

Buddha

[matt]

Right on!

Those are exactly the kind of experiences I am talking about, the ones that really get to us.

Lisa, for me there is a few elements to this. First of all, remember that ultimatley you are Tara. Then there is a kind of letting go, left to my own devices I will simply reinforce the negative and somehow propigate that in this collective dream of ours. At the same time, I am letting Tara have this, acknolwegding (confessing) my own karma, even though I don't know what I did or how it is ripening in this situation, and trusting that there are hidden opportunities for a being of unlimited insight and wisdom within the actions, thoughts and feelings of my self and others around this situation.

The White Tara is fine. The twenty one Taras are the embodiment of all the aspects of Tara, the Buddha of enlightened action. But just thinking of Tara will get her attention.

Keep up the good work, Tamara, Buddha is Buddha, whatever we call him or her.
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I want to be more compassionate, humbel and loving.

[JeffC]

[beginners mind]

[matt]

Yes, I think it is really hard, and I am glad we are able to support eachother in our efforts. Thanks, everyone.
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I want to be more compassionate, humbel and loving.

[Mitch White]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/06/mexico.stolen.babies/index.html?eref=rss_world
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"Investigate Right Where You're Standing"
Master Chu-hung

[beginners mind]

That link is unreal.

I cannot believe one person could do this let alone a group of people who have agreed to this.

I don't know what to think because telling someone their baby is dead when you have sold it is just devastatingly cruel.

I feel completely outraged and feel totally justified in condemning these people. I have no desire to hear their story or find compassion for them........right now.................

This is really hard because this evening in the counselling lessons we are discussing having unconditional positive regard for people who harm others, such as mothers that have battered their children.

This compassion thing is all very well in theory but in practice quite another matter.

Nevertheless, I dedicate all my negative feelings in the hope that it will transmute some suffering somewhere..............I would much rather shake those sick people into next week if the truth be told.
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“When you realise how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky”

Buddha

[matt]

Sometimes bad is just bad, sick is sick, and cruel is cruel. People have done worse things. Consider the torturer who enjoys his work; the rape camps in Bosnia; not too long ago, 140 years, soldiers were practising genocide on Native Americans in this area. Some of the survivor accounts of mass murder are truly terrible. Not surprisingly, people still do not want to talk about this.

No one can tell you how to feel about these things. There is no "supposed to feel this way or that..." But I can tell you I can see myself in these perpetrators, not their actions, but their motives. Once I work through the outrage, I feel fear, grief, sadness for the victims, and eventually even compassion for the perpetrators. Outrage can be a way to avoid feeling painful things that seem overwhelming to us at first. Unfortunately, if left unprocessed, it can perpetuate the kinds of cycles that allow terrible acts.

I am glad you are remembering to dedicate your thoughts and feelings, Lisa. Our thoughts and feelings are impermanent, and far more interdependent than most people realise.
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I want to be more compassionate, humbel and loving.

[chrish]

Matt, I tried your experiment for some time, but now will only do it intermittently because the Tara who came to me in response to the "terrible'" things was a wrathful Tara. She became fierce and crushed the skulls of the perpetrators under her stamping foot. Her face was black.

The example of the stolen baby, posted by mitch
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/06/mexico.stolen.babies/index.html?eref=rss_world for instance awoke memories of an anencephalic baby that my loved one gave birth to many years ago. In those days it was thought that the mother should not touch the child because it would cause her distress. The doctor said, 'It's no good." Allowed her to see it's face and then took it away. We think it was incinerated, but don't know. She still has regrets and feels pain when the memory is awoken.

Now I have dealt with my anger at their ignorance in other ways and I see it as an example of the misguided attitudes of the day. (It was 1960) I was in the fortunate position to change the way obstetrics treated mothers, but the Tara that I visualized was not that kind.

Maybe Tara is reflecting the wrathfull side of me.
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If you are not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room.

[matt]

Well Chrish, Thank you for trying, and I hope this somehow brings you a little more peace, even if you just practise it occasionally.

I found your vision of wrathful Tara fascinating, and I think there are a lot of ways to understand her wrathful side, but we all struggle to do so. I can assure you, you did not harm anyone, though you may have seen karma ripening.

For me, the wrathful versions of Buddhist Dieties can only bring peace, how they do this is very complicated, and it is thought best to have a qualified teacher guide the practise, usually.

I am sorry to hear about the Baby, its a long time ago, but apparently the doctors were only guilty of ignorance for not letting the mother hold it untill it died. A very sad story. But I am glad I heard it, because it makes me feel compasion for everyone.
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I want to be more compassionate, humbel and loving.

[chrish]

Matt,

A long time since the last post but I thought that you will be interested in the progress.

Since starting to meditate on Tara I find that she only manifests visually in the black form. It is very clear and is when I am thinking about something terrible that has been done to others, rather than myself.

I have been looking at the 21 Taras and found that 2 are black, both wrathful.:
SHEN JOM-MA - She Who Conquers Others, who averts the magic mantras of others, her body colored black, holding the black flask that averts magic mantras.
TRONYEN CHEN - She Who Is Frowning Wrathfully, who destroys hindering demons, her body colored black, holding the dark blue flask that pierces hindering demons, her brows slightly frowning.

I think it is Troyen Chen that I see.

On the other hand, since I started the practice my life has turned in magical circles, not all of the events can be called 'good', but none have been uninteresting and on balance I am spiritually and materially enriched. I do not do it every day because, frankly I find the practice too powerful and there is only so much change I can manage.

Cheers, Chris
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If you are not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room.