The Buddhist Newsletter Serving the Inmate and Ex-offender Sangha

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1 INSIDE DHARMA The Buddhist Newsletter Serving the Inmate and Ex-offender Sangha "If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your r liberation is tied up with mine, then let us work together." -- Lilla Watson, Aboriginal activist Volume IX, Issue VI V NOV - DEC 2011 Sincere Practice By Mathew R Laney Mineral Point, Mo. I like your newsletter; it s nice to know that there are other people in prison who reflect on the dharma and practice sincerely. I think sincere practice is essential to progress. Even though we may stumble at time with ethical discipline, it is imperative that we reflect on these slip ups in our meditation and that we realize why we made the mistake. If we understand why, we can act differently the next time the problem presents itself. There are three negative attitudes: ignorance, anger and attachment. An attitude is an outlook or viewpoint. Ignorance here generally means the wrong perception on reality. In other words, thinking things have an inherent existence, that is exist in and of themselves. If we understand the law of cause and effect we see that this can t be true. Every effect is from an alternate cause, everything comes from another influence; everything is in constant motion a state of change Life growth, maturity, decay, death, rebirth so on and so forth in cyclic existence. So by looking at the process we see our dilemma attachment. We are stuck in cyclic existence due to our attachment, our attachment to wrong attitude or viewpoint. We need to realize the emptiness of inherent existence. When this happens we will be able to let go of things, and not be attached. We no longer place the blame Oh you did this to me This all your fault. How could we? With the right attitude we can see that this person doesn t even exist of themselves. So how can something be completely their fault? How can I be attached to something or someone when they are constantly changing and don t exist of themselves. How can I be angry with another s behavior when they act out of ignorance, anger and attachment? The correct response is to attempt to enlighten, this is compassion and wisdom itself. The same is true with various lusts that disturb our ethical discipline. Our attachment to these lusts cause the pleasure we derive from them which we associate with happiness or fulfillment, when in fact it is our attachments to these things that cause our suffering. Without them we feel incomplete or inadequate, with them we get a deception of goodness or wholeness. If they made us whole there d be no more need; if they completed, there d be no more want; if they fulfilled there d be no more longing; if they were good there d be no deception. So lets try to remember that wisdom is deeper than the senses, so is evil; and everything is a result of influences. Please read this over and meditate for a better understanding. Your friend in Dharma Mathew Laney An unreflecting mind is a poor roof. Passion, like the rain, floods the house. But if the roof is strong, there is shelter. Whoever follows impure thoughts Suffers in this world and the next. In both worlds he suffers and how greatly. Buddha New to the Dharma By Daniel Harkins Mineral Point, Mo. I m about to make parole and after spending almost my entire life in and out of the system, my transition will not come easy. I can only compare my mind to that of a very young person with a bucket of soft clay and raw sewage. Over the years of lack of guidance and consistent pressure from outside sources I find my social skills as nil. Although I was out last year for 4 months (in which time I could barely function) I still find myself in the mist of karma. Forming a personal foundation isn t an easy task, especially if your childhood lacks substance. A young person who grows up in a situation where either

2 parent or both are in a state of unwillingness or not knowing how their actions will wreck havoc on a child s character traits. I came to realize this while being broken down and transformed many times. Instead of continuing to seek knowledge and insight, I left my troubled mind to the system and all of its many personalities. This leads to insanity if you are not strong and I have been face to face with a lot of bad things, including myself. Not who you are is a very bad thing, because it causes much unease and bad karma. With this said, I recommend reading the teachings of Lama Yeshe. No matter what your religious preference may be, you can t go wrong knowing yourself and what makes you tick. I can t quote the Lama s teachings or inspirational speeches, all I can do is point you in the direction of your true self by giving you the title of a great read: Becoming Your Own Therapist by Lama Yeshe. It s a small book of great knowledge which can and should inspire. Hopefully with my Native American Spiritualism and the Dharma of the Buddha I can find myself and peace with all my relatives. Soft clay and raw sewage doesn t sound that great of building materials, if you know what I mean. I m searching for balance, knowledge and a way to wash my hands of clay and sewage, and I m sure that I won t be the first or the last to walk out of the Missouri DOC with a changed state of mind. I hardly know anything about the Buddha or Dharma and from what I have read it is a bad idea to pursue without a teacher. Words can only do so much, I guess. So I hope that Karma will be on my side. Thank you for the newsletter. Let us work together. Daniel ( aka Wa Ki Ya ) I m searching for balance, knowledge and a way to wash my hands of clay and sewage, and I m sure that I won t be the first or the last to walk out of the Missouri DOC with a changed state of mind. Editor s Response Dear Daniel Thank you for your article. I just want to let you know that having a teacher is a great thing, but you don t need a teacher to further your understanding of the Buddha s teachings. One of the greatest things that any of us can do is meditation. Just sitting and quieting the mind can bring about clarity. As it was explained to me, imagine your mind as a glass bowl of muddy water. Walking around sloshes the water and keeps it muddy. But if you sit the bowl down and let it be still, the mud begins to settle and eventually becomes clear allowing us to see through it. Its call a practice for a reason. There is no end to it, just an ever grow understanding. With great compassion, Inside Dharma Way of Liberation By Noah Toler Fulton, Mo. Dear Dharma Fellows Do we call our Way of Liberation a practice because it comes easily, without effort? Dogen calls it the practice-realization of totally culminated enlightenment. That is, only in practice do we realize and verify the truth of suffering and liberation. And so, what do we do, how do we act, to discover every moment is practice opportunity? Can we do much more than smile at the moment and say, I see you. Thich Nhat Hanh, reminds us: My actions are my only true possessions. They are the ground upon which I stand. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. Knowing that action have consequences and accepting the consequences of my action are two different things. Here, I think, is the great difficulty for us prisoners. We may often think the whole world is yelling about consequences. How can we move from knowing to acceptance? Recently, I returned to prison on a technical parole violation. I had 32 months left on parole. I have also learned that I may be under investigation for further prosecution for a crime that carries 10 years. Actions have consequences. I have spent the last 14 of my 31 years incarcerated or under supervision. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. Does incarceration or non-incarceration impact my ability to realize, cultivate and verify the truth of suffering and liberation? Is it somehow easier or better to practice on the streets? Is the Dharma more manifest in the so-call freedom of non-incarceration? In the immortal words of Janis Joplin, Freedom just another word for nothing left to lose. Dogen reminds us whether sitting or lying, whether living or dying, we all traverse the path the same way. And so it is for us prisoners. Is acceptance merely resignation to the fate before us? Or, is acceptance to see reality, to be present in reality and to live fully and completely in each moment? In other words, is acceptance a reactive coping strategy for dealing with whatever life throws at us, or is it a proactive strategy living happy, healthy lives no matter what the circumstances? In my life, I know the potential exist for significantly more incarceration. Rather than be resigned to this fact, I choose to live in acceptance, vowing with all beings to work for the liberation of all beings, including myself. As Dogen tells us, we have the opportunity of human existence. And so, it is for us the living to be dedicated to the way of liberation. 2

3 To the Fellowship of the Way of Liberation, I bow in joy, peace, happiness and freedom. Smile. May our work contribute to the liberation of all. Your friend and Fellow, Noah Congratulations To Kalen Ode To A Teacher Deer Deer By Z.L. King - Galesburg, IL It is great and noble When the student becomes the teacher Passing through the unknown to the known Helping prisoners to overcome their fear As we learn and practice The noble Buddhist religion Kalen was always quick to offer encouragement To men and women in prison, like me Again and again she offers the hand of friendship To prisoners, like me, that were filled with fear Kalen pushed us to become Buddhas When most people felt we were worthless And rotten to the core It is good to know that Kalen Has went from the student to teacher Kalen is a dear and sweet teacher That showers tons of love To prisoners near and far away too She is a deer of a person That bounds with kindness and metta Each day love exudes from her Working to establish the Dharma Among prisoners filled with fear This noble woman is quick to give To prisoners all over the country A few lines for Kalen A noble Buddhist priest Yeah!!! others that is so strong that one literally cares more for the well-being of others than oneself. That compassion should be extended not only to the people you care for, but to those you are indifferent to, and, especially, to those you consider your enemies. The Buddha taught that every sentient being has a core of pure loving kindness which is obscured by kleshas, or delusions about the true nature of reality. Enlightenment is not only understanding the true nature of reality, it is also uncovering the basic human loving kindness completely. Treating others with kindness even before you are enlightened will speed you on the path, generate merit and benefit not only you and the people you interact with, but the whole universe. If a Buddhist follows the Eightfold Path he practices these interactions with his fellow humans: 1. Right Understanding - tries to understand people, not geyying angry with them 2. Right Thought - thinks kindly towards everyone 3. Right Speech - talks politly without anger or hatred 4. Right Action - treats people honestly and with courtesy 5. Right Livelihood - works to better society 6. Right Effort - doesn't waste time on pettiness 7. Right Mindfulness - on the positive Enlightenment is not only fosuses aspects of the world understanding the true He also practices: Equanimity: Holding all things in an ease filled balance and does not get angry or upset Lovingkindness: The spontaneous reaction to all beings Compassion: A reaction to the pain of others Sympathetic Joy: Shares delight of the good fortune of others when he becomes aware of it nature of reality, it is also uncovering the basic human loving kindness completely. What does Buddhists teach about how to treat other people? From WikiAnswers.com WikiAnswers.com The Buddha taught that it is very important to treat others with loving kindness. Compassion is a cornerstone of Buddhist epistemology. It is important to meditate and to analyze one's thinking about the nature of reality, and to practice the Dharma daily, but no one can achieve enlightenment without cultivating a compassion for Improving Our Relationship with Others The Inner Wealth of Compassion From Transform Your Lifeby Geshe Kelsang Gyatso If we are skillful, friends can be like treasure chests, from whom we can obtain the precious wealth of love, compassion, patience, and so forth. For our friends to function in this way, however, our love for them must be free from attachment. If our love for our friends is mixed with strong attachment it will be conditional upon their behaving in ways that please us, and, as soon as they do something we disapprove of, our liking for them may turn to anger. 3

4 In fact, the most common objects of our anger are often our friends, not our enemies or strangers! Improving Our Relationships By Rinban Nori Ito At West Covina Buddhist Temple's annual Eitaikyo (memorial) Service on January 18, 1998, Rinban Nori Ito spoke eloquently on the subject of "relationships." He commented on how the recent passing of longtime WCBT supporter Tsuneko Ikeda demonstrates the meaning of the Eitaikyo Service in particular. "It shows the responsibility of our leaders to maintain growth so that we don't waste the efforts of Tsuneko Ikeda," said Rinban. "The reason why we have these memorial services is central to Buddhism," Rinban continued. "It's about our relationships with people, including strangers." As an example, Rinban recalled recently how he was asked by a young couple he'd never met to act as a marriage counselor. They also had a young baby, so it would be especially hard to separate or divorce. Though not an official marriage counselor, Rinban offered to share with them "how Buddhism can help us with relationships," and they agreed. Did it work? "They came in with very stern faces and the wife in particular was very emotional, but they left more cordial and both were smiling. This was a good sign," he said. Rinban reminded us that "the Dharma is there...but most of the time we don't heed its advice. To better illustrate the Buddhist perspective on human relationships, Rinban Nori told the story of a young boy who had gotten caught shoplifting in a small town, embarrassing his family. When the father found out, he took his son off into the distant hills. The father carried a big stick with him. Of course, the son was fearful he was about to get hit. But interestingly, the father did not hit his son. Instead, he said to his son, "Hit me with the stick." The son resisted, but eventually, after the father repeatedly shouted "hit me, hit me," the son finally did. The father said, "That hurt...but it's nothing compared to the pain I felt when I heard you were caught for shoplifting." Rinban's comment on this story was that, at least from a Buddhist perspective, there may be something lacking. To illustrate what this might be Rinban told another story. In Japan, a father had also found out his son was caught shoplifting, and the father was asked to come down to the police station to pick his son up. During the drive there, the father asked himself, "How did this happen...what is my responsibility?" The father then realized that he hadn't exactly been a good father. He had been staying out late drinking and was frequently out golfing on weekends. The father realized he was responsible. At the police station, the father apologized to his son. "It's my fault," he said. Rinban pointed out that "The resolution of the second story is the same as the first in that the son did indeed decide to "change his ways for the better." However, the second story better illustrates the Buddhist perspective. "You teach by example," commented Rinban. When the father apologized and bowed to the son, it showed the son that his father really cared." "When we realize how we are all interdependent with all of life, it makes us realize our responsibility with all of life. It makes us realize we are responsible for what we do," said Rinban Nori. "We are who we are because of the people we honor at these kinds of memorial services...by reflecting on this, Buddhism can help us to improve all our relationships." Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha 4

5 FUKANZAZENGI A Universal Recommendation of Zazen By Dogen The Way is originally perfect and all-pervading. What need is there for practice and realization? The Dharma vehicle is rolling freely. Why should we exhaust our effort? There is no speck of dust in the whole universe. How could we ever try to brush it clean? Everything is manifest at this very place. Where are we supposed to direct the feet of our practice? Now, if you make the slightest discrimination, you will create a gap like that between heaven and earth. If you follow one thing while you resist the other, your mind will be shattered and lost. Suppose you are confident in your understanding and rich in enlightenment, gaining the wisdom that knows at a glance, attaining the way and clarifying the mind, arousing an aspiration to reach for the heavens. Now your head is stuck in the entranceway, while your body has no clue how to get out. Although Shakyamuni was wise at birth, can't you see the traces of his six years of upright sitting? Bodhidharma transmitted the mind-seal from India. Can't you hear the echo of the nine years he sat facing a wall? If even the ancient sages were like this, how can we today dispense with wholehearted practice? Therefore, put aside the intellectual practice of investigating words and chasing phrases, and learn to take the backward step that turns the light and shines it inward. Your body and mind will drop away of themselves, and your original face will manifest. If you want to get into touch with things as they are, you - right here and now - have to start being yourself, as you are. For practicing Zen, a quiet room is suitable. Eat and drink moderately. Put aside all involvements and suspend all affairs. Don't think about "good" or "bad". Don't judge true or false. Your mind, intellect, and consciousness are spinning around - let them have rest. Give up measuring with thoughts, ideas, and views. Have no designs on becoming a Buddha. How could that be limited to sitting or lying down? When you sit, spread a mat and put a cushion on it. Sit either in the full-lotus or half-lotus position. In the full-lotus position, first place your right foot on your left thigh, then your left foot on your right thigh. In the half-lotus position, simply place your left foot on your right thigh. Tie your robes loosely and arrange them neatly. Then place your right hand on your left leg and your left hand on your right palm, thumb-tips lightly touching. Straighten your body and sit upright, leaning neither left nor right, neither forward nor backward. Align your ears with your shoulders and your nose with your navel. Rest the tip of your tongue against the front of the roof of your mouth, with teeth and lips together both shut. Always keep your eyes open, and breathe softly through your nose. Once you have adjusted your posture, take a breath and exhale fully, rock your body right and left, and settle into steady, immovable sitting. Think of not thinking. Not thinking: What kind of thinking is that? Letting thoughts go (Nonthinking). This is the essential art of zazen. Zazen is not a meditation technique. It is simply the Dharma gate of joyful ease, it is practicing the realization of the boundless Dharma way. Here, the open mystery manifests, and there are no more traps and snares for you to get caught in. If you grasp the point, you are like a dragon gaining the water, like a tiger taking to the mountains. For you must know that the true Dharma appears of itself, so that from the start dullness and distraction are struck aside. When you arise from sitting, move slowly and quietly, calmly and deliberately. Don't do it head over heels. Understand that those who transcendenced the mundane and sacred, and died while either sitting or standing, have all committed themselves entirely to this power. In addition, turning the Dharma wheel with a finger, a banner, a needle, or a mallet, and realizing it with a whisk, a fist, a staff, or a shout - these cannot be understood by discriminative thinking. Much less can they be known through the practice of supernatural power. Your conduct must be beyond seeing forms and hearing sounds, it must be based on the order that is prior to knowledge and views. Don't worry about if you are more intelligent than the others, or not. Make no distinction between the dull and the sharpwitted. If you concentrate your effort single-mindedly, that in itself is wholeheartedly engaging the way. Practice-realization is naturally undefiled. Practicing the way means to live the present day. In our world and others, in both India and China, all equally hold the buddha-seal. The wind of truth is blowing unhindered, so just give yourself to the sitting, be totally blocked in resolute stability. Although they say that there are ten thousand distinctions and a thousand variations, just wholeheartedly engage the way in zazen. Why leave behind the seat in your own home to wander in vain through the dusty realms of other lands? If you make one misstep you stumble past what is directly in front of you. You have gained the pivotal opportunity of human form. Do not pass your days and nights in vain. You met the Buddha way in this life - how could you waste your time delighting in sparks from a flint stone? Form and substance are like the dew on the grass, the fortunes of life like a dart of lightning - emptied in an instant, vanished in a flash. Please, honored followers of Zen, long accustomed to groping for the elephant, do not doubt the true dragon. Devote your energies to the way that points directly to the real thing. Revere the one who has gone beyond learning and is free from effort. Share the wisdom of Buddhas with Buddhas, 5

6 transmit the samadhi of patriarchs to patriarchs. Continue to live in such a way, and you will be such a person. The treasure store will open of itself, it is up to you to use it freely. Monthly Buddhist Column Dear Dharma Friends: Below is a copy of my monthly Buddhist column. This column will appear in the Kansas City Star newspaper on Saturday, Lama Chuck Stanford (Lama Changchup Konchok Dorje) Rime Buddhist Center organizations to handle our pen pal requests. You can contact these organizations directly. Always With Compassion, Inside Dharma Prison Outreach Program San Francisco Zen Center 300 Page Street San Francisco, CA Prison Outreach Program Austin Zen Center 3014 Washington Square Austin, TX Question: "Should I give upon there ever being peace in the world?" Answer: Some experts report as many as 16 different wars going on the planet at this moment. With all of the incredible suffering going in the world today due to these conflicts I can understand why you ask this question. Nearly all wars are due to the clinging and grasping of either an ideology, the desire for resources or for power - or all three. But where do these causes originate? These causes originate first in our own mind. The well-known Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron, defines war as when we "harden our heart." And peace as "softening what is rigid in our heart." According to Chordon it is very easy to harden our hearts - sometimes over trivial things and at other times over larger issues. We talk about terrorist as fundamentalists, but what about our own fundamentalism? When we harden our hearts and shut down we become fundamentalists - which is to say we become very self-righteous about our attitude. I was present once when His Holiness the Dalai Lama was asked how he thought we could best achieve world peace. He said, "The best way to achieve world peace, is first, each of us must develop peace in our own hearts." His simple, yet profound answer means that each of us needs to learn how to soften what is rigid in our hearts. World peace is only possible when that occurs. Dear Readers, **ATTENTION ATTENTION** Due to condition beyond our control Inside Dharma is having to discontinue its pen pal program. In an effort to ensure this doesn t cause any undue hardship, we have contacted and made arrangement the following THERE IS NO ENEMY By Will Holcomb Shinzo Zen Meditation Center, St. Louis, MO One Saturday, after our mediation session, the idea of creating a Shinzo T-shirt came up. There was agreement that this was a good idea, but what should we put on the T-shirt? Carol, my wife and sangha member, had been reading something at a Buddhist website that contained the sentence, "There is no enemy." She couldn't remember exactly where she had seen it, but she proposed this for the T- shirt. I instantly liked the idea. I didn't know quite what it meant, but it had the quality of stopping you in your tracks--good for a T-shirt. It made you ask yourself, "What's that about?" The T-shirts were made. They look great--but what does "There is no enemy" mean anyway? Well, starting with the word, "enemy," it is derived from the latin inimicus, meaning hostile or unfriendly, and further derived from in (not) amicus (friend). Amicus is related to amare (to love). Enemy is defined by Merriam Webster as "one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent; a person who is actively opposed or hostile to 6

7 someone." I was in Chicago recently and had the opportunity to visit the Art Institute. There was an exhibit of posters produced by Russian artists during the Second World War. Shortly after the German invasion, the Tass News Agency helped organize this poster project to energize the war effort. The posters depicted Hitler and other Germans as ugly deformed little creatures, sometimes with horns. The posters were designed to arouse anger, defiance, and righteousness. Russian men and women in the posters were shown as strong, muscular, and pure. Some of the posters were quite imaginative and skillfully done. They were placed in shop windows all over Russia. It got me thinking about how we create "the enemy" --how in daily life (not even in times of war) we design our own posters depicting someone intent on harming us. We might distort the figures to make our enemy more ugly and menacing, ourselves more justified and pure. Creating the enemy in this way freezes a situation in time, just like the poster image, the characters fixed unchanging. They can't move. You can't move. No one can move. How does all this fit with the teaching that "all beings are Buddha" or with the bodhisattva vow to save (protect) all beings? Regardless of buddha nature, it seems that most, if not all, of us are subject to delusion and do, as a result, harm self and others, sometimes intentionally. So how do you respond when someone displays a recurring intention to harm you? One way to respond is the equivalent of making a poster, fixing your opposition to the other person in time, creating the enemy, defining the other as "not friend." Nationstates and tribes often behave in this way with feuds lasting for decades or even centuries. Another possibility is to remember that perfect jewel of a Buddhist phrase, skillful means. If someone is suffering from a delusion (for delusion and suffering keep close company) and, as a result, threatens harm, how can I minimize the damage? First of all, do I have the facts straight? Is some of my own deluded thinking or unskillful behavior contributing to the problem? Is it time to move closer and confront the situation or is it better to keep a distance for now? How can I protect myself from harm without aggravating the situation? Might there be an opening at some point to address the fear that often underlies anger and hostility in another? There may be times when it is necessary to apply physical force in order to minimize harm to self or other. This is basis of the martial arts in which force is used sparingly, never with the intention to harm the opponent, but instead with the intention to minimize harm to all. Master swordsman Yamaoka Tesshu says, "If there is no self, there is no enemy." Sometimes just remembering the phrase, skillful means, can arouse the compassion and creativity necessary to suggest a beneficial response. "There is no enemy" is also a phrase like that. It stops you in your tracks. I was curious to see what came up on a Google search for "there is no enemy." There were a couple of interesting items. A Buddhist motivational speaker had given a presentation with this title with this excerpt: "Obstacles in the path should not be regarded as obstacles. They are simply features of the landscape to be negotiated." Far and away the most numerous search results were for the seventh album entitled, "There is no enemy" by the indie rock band Built to Spill. I listened to a sample track. Very nice. Hey...built to spill sounds like another t-shirt. Editor s Notes Dear Friends; My first issue is under my belt and now it s time for my first correction. In the article about Dead Man Walking and Sister Helen Prejean, I made reference to a quote but it wasn t in the article. The quote was A person is more valuable than the worst thing that they have ever done. Now with that out of the way lets tallk about our next issue. I was thinking about forgiveness. A dear friend of mine had this quote at the end of one of his s To understand everything is to forgive everything -Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha. To forgive everything, what does that mean? What is forgiveness? What is the nature of forgiveness? Is there a difference in Buddhist forgiveness compared to other beliefs? Forgiveness, what is it for you and how does it fit into your practice? I m excited to see what your answers might be. If you would like your submission to make it into the JAN-FEB issue please have them turned in no later than Dec. 17 th Anything past this point will show up in future issues. Thanks to all Dom As always we encourage your question, comments and contributions SEND your letters to: Letters to the Editor Inside Dharma 7

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