Food for thought

[silverthorne]

Recently, I ran across an LJ where a person, who had experienced some negative feedback from other people, was going on about being glad she was Buddist, and how most of the 'kind, stable' people she knew were Buddists as well. Although she had been under severe fire recently, I admit reading it rankled a bit--although I claim a sort of pseudo pagan-shamanistic outlook for my own life, I do study other religions and spiritual pathways, if only to get the gist of where other folks are coming from. And what little I understand of Buddism, it seemed off that a person claiming to have grown up in the lifestyle was not only arrogantly claiming 'her' religion as 'better' because of the people it drew (and the people it didn't were painted as wholly assholish types, at least in regards to the people who had been 'picking' on her), but I doubted that she followed the religion at all with all the vitriol and anger that was in the post.

(Yes, there is a lot more to it than that, but that is the base of what struck me odd and a bit offensive out of the whole thing.)

I'll admit to seriously considering leaving a scathing dissertation on 'real' Buddism in her journal.
That, of course, would have been stupid, for more than one reason.
1) I don't practice it myself.
2) It would start an unnecessary flame war, and who needs that?

Even if it was, in true ironic fashion, over Buddism.

I did think about it though, for quite a bit. I then went and did a little study myself. I didn't have access to Buddist material, but I do have access to Yoga material. And according to some sources, although Yoga itself is not a religion, it's practitioners take their cues from the Buddist paths.

So, a little exercise. A listing of those tenets, and what they may mean...by a person woefully under-equipped to explain them...


The tenets of Yoga:

The Yamas

1) Do No Harm (Ahimsa)
2) Tell No Lies (Satya)
3) Do Not Steal (Asteya)
4) Avoid Lust and Desire (Brahmacharya)
5) Avoid Greed (Aparigraha)

In all cases, this doesn't just include the Western ideas of hurting people, lying, stealing objects, having premarital sex or one night stands, or wanting money riches and fame. It's as much about how you treat yourself as well as others, and it covers everything from within to without. Harming can be as subtle as not getting enough sleep, to forgetting to help someone across the street when they most need it. Stealing is as much about claiming credit for something someone else did or created as your own as it is about taking money out of your parents wallet without permission. It's subtle, but it's all there. In the end, it comes down to 'Harm no one and nothing, including yourself'.

To compliment those five, there are the second five:

The Niyamas

1) Be Pure (Saucha)
2) Be Content (Santosha)
3) Be Disciplined (Tapas)
4) Be Studious (Svadhyaya)
5) Be Devoted (Ishvara-Pranidhana)

Again, there's more to this than the obvious. 'Pure' in this context means things like maintaining your body well and healthily. Being contented is understanding that although you can always improve, what you are right now is just as good, and in seeing negatives in positive light. The old 'If life gives you lemons, make lemonade' saying. Discipline applies to knowing how to keep your reactions to others under control and following the tenets of 'do no harm' as well as keeping yourself to a schedual or set tasks.

In all ways, the ten tenets mean to focus the practitioner to keep things in a positive, growing, non-violent, and non-judgmental light. The point is to grow while at the same time allowing that others are also growing, if not in a way you would agree. It says their growth is not your business, other than to encourage when you can, and forgive the rest of the time.

I will never be a Buddist--this much I know. Although I like being placid, enjoy a 'live and let live' attitude most of the time, there are things that still rankle, and that will still cause me to sit up and start yelling.

What perplexes me, are the people who claim such exalted pathways for themselves...and then wallow in the mud that lies beneath them.