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CLASSIC COUNTRY & WESTERN SONGS ARE BUDDHIST

4/30/2018

I’ve always liked classic country & western music as it reflects the lives of ordinary people working hard to make sense of life’s changes and challenges. So many country and western songs resonate with Buddhist teachings. Here are some examples:

1. There’s a tear in my beer. - Buddhist teaching: life is suffering.
2. She got the gold mine; I got the shaft. - Buddhist teaching: impermanence.
3. All my exes live in Texas. - Buddhist teaching – third precept to abstain from sexual misconduct.
4. Sixteen tons and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt – Buddhist teaching: right livelihood

5. Looking for love in all the wrong places – Buddhist teaching: right view

6. Chains, chains, shackles and chains – Buddhist teaching – the causes of suffering can be known and overcome
7. Folsom prison blues – Buddhist teaching: right conduct
8. I believe in you – Buddhist teaching: every being has Buddha nature and is a Buddhist in progress
9. Back in the saddle again – Buddhist teaching: when you fall, rise up and try again
10. I will always love you – Buddhist teaching: love is a path to enlightenment
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

4/30/2018

Buddhism is a path of supreme optimism, for one of its basic tenets is that no human life or experience is to be wasted, abandoned, or forgotten, but all should be transformed into a source of vibrant life, deep wisdom and compassionate living. - Taitetsu Uno

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

4/29/2018

Failure should not be an occasion for self-shame but an opportunity for self-growth.
- Victor M. Parachin

"NIGHTSTAND BUDDHISTS" - HOW MANY BUDDHISTS ARE THERE REALLY IN AMERICA

4/29/2018

Officially, the figure for the number of Buddhists in the USA is 3 million or approximately one percent of the population. That figure however is highly suspect. Here's why.

Beyond the 3 million are a significant number of women and men (teens and children as well) who are classified as "sympathizers" or "nightstand" Buddhists. They are likely not members of traditional Buddhist Temples but practice meditation, meet with meditation groups, read and study Buddhist writings (hence the label "nightstand" Buddhists). The figure for this group is not easily available but could be anywhere between 2 and 10 million. We'll us 5 million as mid point figure.

Along with the sympathizers there are those who say that Buddhism is important in shaping them in ways spiritual but not religious. A recent survey discovered that 12 percent of respondents made this connection. This spiritual but not religious category is growing and is estimated to be 30 million or more.

Taking all of these factors and figures into account, a more realistic statistic for the number of people who practice Buddhism in the USA is closer to 40 million.

WHY MOUNTAINS ARE IMPORTANT IN BUDDHISM

4/28/2018

(public domain image from www.pixabay.com)

Mountains are very important in Buddhism. Physically, a mountain resembles an individual in a cross legged seated meditation posture. An ancient Vedic text, Chandogya Upanishad, includes the mountain as nature description of meditation: “The earth meditates...the waters meditate…. ….mountains meditate.” Buddhist art prominently features mountains both for their beauty and their powerful stillness. Historically Buddhist monasteries are located high up in the mountains far away from dense city populations for two reasons. First, is nature. Monasteries on mountains provide intimate contact with the natural world. On mountains in the countryside, monks could sit in quiet meditation unencumbered by the sounds and commotions of urban life. Secondly, Buddhists have favored mountains as a way of distancing themselves from political power and social pressures. Being away from political authorities gave monks wide freedom to live and teach without surrendering to preferences which come from being too close to centers of power. The distancing also allowed monks to maintain greater objectivity about political dramas and preserve an important critical eye concerning the manipulations and manifestations of worldly power.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

4/28/2018

The Buddha is found within one’s own nature, do not look outside for it. When intrinsic nature is deluded, one is a sentient being. When intrinsic nature is awakened, one is a Buddha. - Hui-neng

INSIGHT INTO KARMA FROM A DEATH ROW INMATE

4/27/2018

Damien Echols was one of the West Memphis Three, a group of teens who were convicted of murdering three young boys in 1993. Through DNA evidence and a deal with prosecutors, Echols was released from prison in 2011 and started a new life in New York City. During the last ten years of his wrongful imprisonment Echols was in solitary confinement. He used that time to meditate seven or eight hours daily. The practice saved his life. Interviewed for Tricycle magazine, he offers this insight into karma:

When it comes to karma, the number one thing I would like to say is that you can go through life being a victor or a victim. You’re going to have to face your karma. You can go through life with a “poor me” attitude—“Why me? Why this?”—or you can go through it saying: “I’m going to honor my life. I’m going to honor my karma. I’m going to come through this. I’m going to be stronger, I’m going to be wiser, I’m going to help spread what I learned from this situation to other people.

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Victor M. Parachin ...is a

Vedic educator, yoga instructor, meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore.

Victor M. Parachin ...is a

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