“Not My Buddha!”

January 27, 2021

Inspired by a conversation with my dear brother-in-law who is a practicing Buddhist.

“Buddha does not always appear as a Buddha. Sometimes He appears as an incarnation of evil, sometimes as a woman, a god, a king, or a statesman; sometimes He appears in a brothel or a gambling house…for those who are entangled in the web of worldly pleasures, He reveals the misery of the world.” (The Teachings of Buddha p. 34)

Buddha appeared in the world;

Disguised His Buddha nature

So only those who understood

His teachings–

Recognized Him as their own Self.

But those who shouted, “Not my Buddha! Not one of us!”

Failed to see the truth; revealed to the world–

Their own ignorance.

“People grasp at things for their own imagined convenience and comfort; they grasp at wealth and treasure and honors; they cling desperately to mortal life. They make arbitrary distinctions between existence and non-existence, good and bad, right and wrong…because of this, they must assume the illusions of pain and suffering.” (p. 53)

Enlightenment.

Waking up is simple.

Nothing special.

Anyone can

Accept life (and death)

As it is.

Joy and sorrow

Suffering and elation.

You and I are here now.

This is reality. Like

A passing dream.

Easy.

Waking up and looking into one’s own dark heart is the real challenge.

Maybe (if you are

Like me) you

Realize how your past

Actions and choices have

Caused more suffering for

Yourself and others. Your

Desires got the best of you and now

You wake up to the realization

Your life is filled

With shame.

Devastating.

Even more devastating perhaps,

The realization that within all the people

You don’t particularly like is this same

Buddha-nature…

Maybe

You forget compassion.

You felt anger

Jealousy or even

Hatred towards

Them and

Now

You are awake (just enough) to see that in the darkness of ignorance

God’s light shines through the cracks of your own broken-hearted

Buddha-nature. It’s enough to make you recoil in horror. It’s ok.

“Buddha-nature exists in everyone no matter how deeply it may be covered up over by greed, anger, and foolishness, or buried by his own deeds and retribution. Buddha-nature can not be lost or destroyed, and when all defilements are removed, sooner or later it will appear.” (p. 78)

See?

–NZain💓

The Teachings Buddha

Copyright © 1966 Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, Tokyo. Quoted with permission.

https://www.bdk.or.jp/english/

Author: NZain

@ukiezhinka

17 thoughts on ““Not My Buddha!””

  1. So, I’d ordered a pizza for our dinner; needing a reason to leave the house and get away from a pattern at home (the one I take with me no matter where I go…which became part of my “Ah hah!” Today).

    I was pissed! Feeling crotchety! Feeling quite put upon by being disturbed by life when all I wanted was a freakin’ break from 12 hour days of COVID testing while my retired husband won’t shut up about our moving chores.

    So’s I’m waiting and grudging in the pizza place’s parking lot…waiting for my “eating my feelings” fix…which I will share with my husband so as not to appear to grudge more than I am grudging. I’m sitting there as I think through the last several weeks and how glad I am not to be working (shut down today due to bad weather…no drive through Covid testing in a damn storm thank God)….no more work politicking and crazy company mandates that make no sense…no more paranoia about Covid testing dropping while the vaccination line hits a triple length of ours…and a break from nepotistic poison thrice removed through staffing agencies but constantly up in face
    And all this while letting the denial wash over me to make the buck because I have bills and a driving spouse with his own agenda.

    In a moment, I realized all this…and I scoffed at myself…bitterly. “Ah…THERE is the illusion.”

    I texted my best friend two states away…

    “Im having a wake up moment after having delved into a world of pure fantasy…an unreal world where everyone is afraid of…something (including me…I am afraid, and people are also afraid of me).

    In that world, I dont blame a soul.

    And I’ve roused! Im groggy, grumpy and perturbed.

    I will be hitting snooze…I suppose.

    Grrrr.”

    Then came the e-Mail announcing your recent article.

    And just as a bonus…just so’s you know…

    …I was self soothing with Caroline Myss’ new audio presentation “The power of Holy Language To Change Your Life.”

    “I see God Everywhere (she says). Heaven doesn’t speak to me through visions, God Forbid! It’s like Teresa Of Avila says…God is in the little details…the synchronicities, the little events.”

    Just thought I’d share.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. 🥰🤗🥰🙃🥰🤗🥰
      Amen!
      Has anyone thanked you today for doing your job? Thank you.

      God is I am. Infinity. “Tat Vam Asi” “That Thou Art”. Where is God not? Even the little details. I’ll check out Caroline Myss’ audio.

      So how good was that pizza? And did you share with your husband? Did you thank him?

      Big virtual hugs to you, M’dear soul. Thank you always for sharing. 💓🙏🏻🤗

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      1. I hit the snooze! Alarm keeps going off (groan).
        The pizza was delicious!

        Need to thank my husband, yes…still.

        Need to find a center (any center) to land my human-ness…and let the mood pass (Cancerian men – the most powerful whine in the Universe that can kill a pod of whales 100 miles out at sea…WORD)

        And need to be grateful that McDonalds served me delicious coffee this morning (and I DID thank her because she DOES touch hundreds if hands and credit cards and coin and cash every day…and COVID is as much a touch/contact contagion as it is a respiratory contagion (wash your hands in public if you are worried about touching after anyone: at a grocery store, gas pump…opening a store’s door or picking up any store item to read a label…and if you believe covid is serious then WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN.)

        Everyone, really is At equal risk…if any is brave enough to courage being out in the actual world…then thank yourselves, too.

        I just swab noses and see buggers and put them a vial). (Faint…NOT). No better or worse than touching cash thats been through hundreds if hands or picked up milk that many hands have touched in order to bypass for the last bottle with the longer expiration date).

        We are all one!

        Thank you, TOO (bow).

        Word!

        Blessing to you from a small corner of heaven on Earth…”on Earth…as it is in Heaven.”

        Take it how you will. Your guess is as good as mine!

        Peace

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Your words bring a giggle and a smile to me. 😀 yes, I wash my hands often and I also think about my mother in law’s advice “a bit of dirt is good for you—builds a stronger immune system”. Pretty sure I already had Covid last February…crazy symptoms—Acute not being able to breath my lungs were on fire feeling. Steam inhalation with eucalyptus oil to make it through the night.

        Just finished listening to Caroline Myss. I so enjoyed what she has to say! Going to go back and listen some more. Thank you for that inspiration. Just what I needed to hear.

        And from my little corner of the world…hell’s half acre. The Raven just flew onto his perch for a snack—loves Friskies cat food. Doesn’t seem to mind the rain. Neither do I.

        We are blessed. Thank you for the visit. Look forward to seeing you again. Hello to your husband.

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      2. 😊 I’m glad this spoke to you, ma. Regardless of the form or appearance (of course this is argued) God is still God. Right? Haha…I start to write a thought but then my mind goes quiet. What else can I say? I am awed into silence. Now I am watching like everyone else…what’s going to happen next? How will our human story unfold? Sooner or later the Buddha nature appears.

        And thank you for the kind compliment. It’s a practice smiling for the camera. Doesn’t come easily for me…I appreciate your kindness. I’ll keep practicing. 🤪💓

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  4. Not normally a form I derive enjoyment from. One of many shortcomings I deal with on a daily basis. So. I read this aloud to myself. It’s been my experience when dealing with all but limericks (in the way of poemetrics) reading out loud forces me to not skip a word, to hear and feel the word, then re-assemble the words often (I feel, but I’ve disqualified my expertise here already) arbitrarily sliced into pieces back into cohesive thought. This is a nice work, and despite myself, I rather enjoyed it and appreicate what it says. Thank you. And good day to you. Evening chores now await.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. SP, your comment is not only brutally honest, but also brutally vulnerable. This I appreciate and I am all smiles for it. You are welcome. And thank you. It is an honor to be read aloud—especially to oneself. I’m glad you appreciate the message and you enjoyed the form. Despite yourself. What does that mean?🤔
      A good day and evening to you as well!

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