The Wind - Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam

For another wonderful version click here. Bless you, Yusuf Islam.

The Buddhist Way of Life for Householders

The Buddha considered economic welfare as a requisite for human comfort, but moral and spiritual development for a happy, peaceful and contented life.

A man named Dighajanu once visited the Buddha and said, ‘Venerable Sir, we are ordinary laymen, leading a family life with wife and children. Would the Blessed One teach us some doctrines which will be conducive to our happiness in this world and hereafter?’

The Buddha told him that there are four things which are conducive to a human’s happiness in this world. (1) he should be skilled, efficient, earnest, and energetic in whatever profession he is engaged, and he should know it well; (2) he should protect his income, which he has thus earned righteously, with the sweat of his brow; (3) he should have good friends who are faithful, learned, virtuous, liberal and intelligent, who will help him along the right path away from evil; (4) he should spend reasonably, in proportion to his income, neither too much nor too little, i.e., he should not hoard wealth avariciously nor should he be extravagant—in other words he should live within his means.

Then the Buddha expounds the four virtues conducive to a layperson’s happiness hereafter: (1) he should have faith and confidence in moral, spiritual and intellectual values; (2) he should abstain from destroying and harming life, from stealing and cheating, from adultery, from falsehood, and from intoxicating drinks; (3) he should practice charity, generosity, without attachment and craving for his wealth; (4) he should develop wisdom which leads to the complete destruction of suffering, to the realization of Nirvana.

Many people think that to be a good Buddhist one must have absolutely nothing to do with the materialistic life. This is not correct. What the Buddha teaches is that while we can enjoy material comforts without going to extremes, we must also conscientiously develop the spiritual aspects of our lives. While we can enjoy sensual pleasures as lay people, we should never be unduly attached to them to the extent that they hinder our spiritual progress.

Riding the Rails

During the 1850's, the nation was expanding. California had just opened, and there was a need to unite the coasts. The railways were built, largely with federal funding.

Today, for this vast nation with large pockets of clogged highways, AMTRAK has been getting very little federal aid since its creation in 1971 as a public service corporation.

Japan and Western European countries have modern, fast rail services, with modern equipment and solid rail beds coursing throughout their territories with governmental assistance. They are a public service, not meant to make a profit, anymore than public libraries or public schools, although the rail passengers do pay for their tickets.

In our country, AMTRAK has aging equipment, has to use the freight railroad beds and has very little money for rolling stock and track capacity, especially at critical “chokepoints” where delays occur with freight trains.

With soaring gasoline and airfare prices, more Americans need mass transit and AMTRAK to get to their destinations.

The American people have to ask themselves how robust and convenient a modern passenger rail system they want. As good as the one in Canada? As good as the systems in France and Germany?

Given the distances we must travel, the high fuel costs, and the impact of fossil fuels on our environment, America can justify a first-class, high-speed passenger rail system that will save more than it costs.

Peace Train by Yusuf Islam

A wonderful message for hope and against prejudice, paranoia and intolerance.

Dependent Origination

The law of Dependent Origination is one of the most important teachings of the Buddha. It is a modern and scientific definition of cause and effect.

Dependent Origination's basis is that life and the world are built on a set of causes and conditions. It can be given in a short formula:

When this is, that is;
This arising, that arises;
When this is not, that is not;
This ceasing, that ceases.

This emphasizes an important principle that all life and processes in the universe are both the cause and effect of each other's existence. Nothing exists apart from the causes and conditions of its existence.

So what does this mean to you? Take a few seconds to reflect on all of the causes and conditions in your life that make you who you are and which have brought you to this point: your parents, their parents, your development and education, the cooperation and efforts of people in your community and country, the sun and moon and tides and the conditions for life on this planet. Remove any of these factors and you cease to exist. Cause and effect are the basis of your life.

(As notes, in a purely Buddhist sense, Dependent Origination is an introduction to the concept of Samsara (cyclic existence), but that is too complex for this overview. Also, I find it interesting that the Buddha taught this totally scientific and modern view over 2,500 years ago. This was roughly the time (539 - 334 BCE) that the Torah was being completed by Jewish scribes.)

For America's Sake

Our greatest presidents have had a common vision for the community we call America. Abraham Lincoln believed that government should be not just "of the people" and "by the people" but "for the people."

Today, what we have is an America fashioned into a second Gilded Age, for the comfort and luxury of the wealthy. The conservative movement has distributed wealth in our nation so that the top 1 percent of Americans are worth more than the bottom 90 percent. That is to say, that under the conservatives, government has ended up servicing the powerful by taking from everyone else.

There is a better vision for American as seen by Jefferson, Lincoln and the two Roosevelts. They each recognized that Aristocracy is not Democracy. They saw that Freedom is more than a private value, it is a social contract. We have obligations to each other, mutually and through our government, to assure that we all equally have a right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

America is more that the sum of our material appetites. Our country is more than an economic machine. Freedom is not a license but a responsibility -- the gift we have received and the legacy we must bequeath. We are the story of equal power -- of democracy and not aristocracy. We have and must provide the promise to leave no one out.

It's time to get back to these basics, and to reclaim Democracy.

Andy McKee - Drifting

I have three of Andy McKee's albums. Watching him is a lot more fun. Enjoy!