http://jooto.com/zenblog Zen blog by Alex Bunardzic Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:22:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Often times we hear people denouncing Eastern religions and spiritual teachings as being world-denying. Buddhism, being of Eastern origins, gets bundled into the same category of world-denying practices. I should like to add that these accusations often seem to originate from the Christian-based thinkers. Obviously, Christianity itself could just as easily ... http://jooto.com/zenblog/index.php/2008/08/16/is-buddhism-a-world-denying-teaching/ The above message was created by Anne Harwell and I am using it here to illustrate the typical malaise that is characteristic of our culture and our civilization. So what’s wrong with the above banner? It triumphantly states that “it is better to be kind than right”. By claiming that, the ... http://jooto.com/zenblog/index.php/2008/02/18/is-it-better-to-be-kind-than-right/ The defining characteristic that separates humans from animals is that humans tend to be very self-congratulatory. We humans think of ourselves as being the ‘bees knees’ in the grand scheme of things. We are at the top of the food chain, we have no natural predators, we control our environment, ... http://jooto.com/zenblog/index.php/2008/02/08/delusion-and-arrogance/ Shunyata (often translated as emptiness) is at the heart of experiencing reality as it is. Anyone who’s been in the position to taste the unsurpassed flavor of freedom had actually been in intimate touch with shunyata at that moment. And that moment is, of course, timeless. From the phenomenological perspective, that ... http://jooto.com/zenblog/index.php/2008/02/06/shunyata-and-love/ My mother died ten days ago. When I heard the news, my first reaction was a friendly welcome. A feeling of welcoming a very dear friend. Now, that reaction may strike you as being completely odd, even inappropriate. You may be now wondering: “Alex, where is the sadness and the sorrow ... http://jooto.com/zenblog/index.php/2008/02/05/its-not-about-you/ To live a human life is to be engrossed in the ocean of theories. For example, right now you are engaged in this theory of reading someone’s blog post. Later on, you may be dealing with another theory, the one that states that you are drinking a cup of ... http://jooto.com/zenblog/index.php/2006/10/19/theory-about-theories/ Human beings are born into the world of duality. Is/isn’t, up/down, left/right, before/after. Also, agreeable/disagreeable. And so on. Because of that, the events that arise in our lives get to be treated in the same dualistic way. Meaning, each event gets evaluated according to some set of criteria. Thus, this event ... http://jooto.com/zenblog/index.php/2006/07/25/all-events-are-created-equal/ “I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” -John Cage Fear is the first cousin of ignorance. In Buddhism, ignorance (avidya) is the Primus Movens of all human suffering. To abandon suffering one must abandon ignorance. And to abandon ignorance, one must go ... http://jooto.com/zenblog/index.php/2006/07/14/fear-of-the-known/ Buddhist practice is solely concerned with human condition. And the most prevalent characteristic of human condition is that we tend to take events that happen to us very personally. This is the cause for many a suffering. Being extremely sensitive personally is not a fun way to go through life. So what ... http://jooto.com/zenblog/index.php/2006/07/13/to-take-it-or-not-to-take-it-personally/ It would be ludicrous to expect any person to voluntarily sign his or her own death warrant. And yet, that’s what true Buddhist practice expects from us. Of course, no one is ever going to do such a thing, and consequently we have this Buddhist practice that is put in place ... http://jooto.com/zenblog/index.php/2006/03/08/spiritual-pharmacology/