All Problems are Impermanent and Empty

 

Just as our problems come to life like this flower, yet not as beautiful, they will also disappear.

These past seven days have been interesting and more stressful than I had expected. It started with getting a collection agency letter addressed to me: my name and address, but not my debt. I went to my bank, which is affiliated with the company that issued this “supposed” loan and have been working at the matter to clear this up. I’ve had to talk to a bank manager that suspected fraud, had to fax my story to the creditor, and speak to the collection agency. To make a long story short, it looks like it is a debt for someone with the same name as me. It raises many questions on how this bank institution gets the right to pick my name essentially out of a phone book, put my phone number and address on someone else’s file and then send creditors after me. The more I think about it, it upsets me.

Then I thought of the Dharma; impermanence and emptiness.

These cherry blossoms first bud, then come into fruition, then will disappear come winter. Even problems have seasons, and will come and go.

This banking/creditor situation is definitely a problem to me. As frustrating it is to try to prove that it’s not me, I have to think that this problem will not last forever. This proves the impermanence of the situation. It will be resolved and life will return to the way it was before it happened. As much as I think of the problem itself, I can’t pinpoint the problem in itself. There are many factors that arose to cause this situation and when I think about those causes, I find causes to those causes, and so on. No singular thing or cause is the cause of this problem since there are many factors. This proves to me the emptiness of the situation.

When this situation arose first last week, we began to think it was identity theft. The loan was taken out in 2009 on a car. But that raised more questions. The year is 2012 now. If it were identity theft, would I have not heard from the bank sooner for non-payments or such? Then when I learned from the collection agency that they may have my address and phone number by mistake, I began to feel like I was personally targeted and had to now prove my identity. Then I asked myself, “What is my self?” How can I feel attacked when there is no self to be attacked? Identity theft is a serious crime, and ruins credit and sometimes reputation – don’t get me wrong about that. But at the mere thought of it, once you remove the idea of self from the situation, what is left?

So once I applied the ideas of impermanence, emptiness and lack of inherent self to my situation, my suffering and anxiety about the situation decreased. I was able to think clearly and remove the “emotional” aspect of the situation. I can now speak calmly with the collection agency (after all they are just trying to do their job and earn a living) and the bank manager who is the go-between for me and the lending institution that issued the loan, in which those people are also trying to do their jobs.

It still frustrates me when I try to think about it logically, which sometimes there is no logic. Sometimes what we think is logical, actually is nothing more than ignorance based on what we think we know and how we perceive reality. Applying the Dharma to this situation has helped me become less emotionally involved which had cause me to suffer (and yes, I shed a few tears of frustration).

My situation isn’t over yet, since I’m waiting to hear back from the bank and have to call the collection agency to get more clarification. But the wheels are in motion. As long as I stay calm, kind, understanding and work with them to solve this problem, the better it will be for me and for the people working on this matter.

The next time you have a problem causing you lots of strife, just think about impermanence and emptiness to put it into perspective. Kindness can go very far and understanding even farther. Smile through adversity, or in the very least when it’s over, remember to smile again. In fact, you may find humour in it afterwards. In my situation, what are the odds that someone with the same name as me, getting a loan from the same group of banks as me, and they pick my address and phone number to collect? When I’m not upset, it’s funny! When you can laugh at it, that’s buddha nature when you see through the delusion, and ignorance, and understand that it’s impermanent and empty. Then you can smile, because you have the glimpse of enlightenment. Just a glimpse, but it’s a start to a life long journey.

Laughing Buddha – we all have buddha nature – we mustn’t forget our buddha laughter!

Don’t forget to smile and laugh every day. Problems will come and go everyday. Don’t overwhelm yourself with problems, they will always be there. Smile and enjoy the ride with the dharma wheel to support you. Namaste.

Meat-Free BBQ!

BBQ Mixed Vegetables & Potatoes

This is how much vegetables I used, it was enough as one main vegetarian dish and a portion as a side dish. Feel free to use as much as you feel is needed.

Mixed Vegetables:

1 half red bell pepper (cubed)
1 half yellow bell pepper (cubed)
1 half red onion (sliced)
Green beans (tips cut off and cut in half)
1 half Zucchini (sliced)
2 handfuls of baby carrots (sliced in half lengthwise)
Handful of snow peas (ends cut)

Potatoes:

About half pound of mini yellow/gold potatoes. Smaller white potatoes can be used and also sliced into chips (or medallions).

Other:

Vegetable oil (as needed)
Vegetable Seasoning (other seasoning as desired)
Aluminium BBQ pans (sprayed with a non-sticking cooking spray)

In a mixing bowl, coat potatoes with vegetable oil and seasoning. I use Club House Vegetable seasoning and Club House Roasted Garlic and Peppers. Be creative! Mix oil and seasoning on potato slices. Place onto an aluminium pan (designed for BBQ).

 

Sliced seasoned potatoes in an aluminium BBQ pan, ready for grilling!

In another mixing bowl (or the same one just rinsed and cleaned!), add mixed vegetables, oil and seasoning. Add to another aluminium BBQ pan.

 

Mixed vegetables seasoned and ready!

Now it’s time to grill!

With the BBQ heated up to medium-low heat, BBQ for about 10-15 minutes. A trick is to layer the pans on top of each other, with an extra pan on top of the second pan to steam them. Check and stir the potatoes and veggies if necessary to ensure thorough cooking. When the onions have started to caramelize, you’re on your way and just about done!

Remove from heat and serve. Even great for kids and ketchup with the potatoes isn’t a bad idea also!

The end result all on one pan – after eating some, of course!

If you don’t have BBQ aluminium pans where you are, a wok designed for BBQ’s can do the job also. I’d recommend cooking the potatoes and veggies separate, because cooking times can vary.

Since becoming vegetarian, my choices for BBQ have been limited in my mind. But eating tofu/veggie dogs, meatless chicken breasts (products made from soy and grain formed into chicken breasts) and veggie burgers (which, however, are my favourite soy processed food) on the BBQ, can be limiting after a while.

As vegetarians, we can feel like we’re neglected when it comes to BBQ season, but with creativity we can make it just as good and even better being meat-free! Guaranteed if you make the mixed vegetables and potatoes, you’ll have meat-eaters coming around to have some, so you might want to make extra!

Summer’s just around the corner, so let’s enjoy meat-free BBQ too!

To Not Suffer Is Happiness In Itself

English: Guanyin is the bodhisattva associated with compassion. Español: Guanyin, también llamado Guanshiyin, es Bodhisattva principal en el budismo chino. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When we are suffering or in pain, we think how wonderful it would be if it wasn’t like that. We wait until we are hurting in order to appreciate when we are not in pain. The pain in my back disappeared for almost two weeks, and was very minimal these past few weeks, and I thought it was finally gone as long as I was careful and did not over exert myself. However, the pain has come back and I continue to try to find over the counter pain relievers that will work. I try not to complain about it as much, because it is the same story and doesn’t change much.

These past four days have been hard to deal with due to my back, and some hours are worse than others. After a long day at work today, I was happy to go home by taking the bus. I enjoy sitting on the bus to go home, I don’t have to worry about concentrating on driving and can relax. It felt good to sit after walking to the bus stop from work and was happy to get a bus quickly. The simplest things in life can be so sweet.

As I sat on the bus listening to music on my iPod, I noticed a girl about my age and then realised she had a cane because she was blind. It put into perspective the suffering that I endure is impermanent, like all suffering, (in the least we hope it will go away sooner than later), but that the suffering of others is greater than my own. The girl on the bus may not feel that her blindness is suffering, because she may have become accustomed to it, perhaps even more enduring with her struggles than I deal with mine. It makes us realise that no matter what our suffering is, others suffer in different ways, but it’s how we deal with it that matters most.

My pain is more of a frustration, because the cause and solution is not known. But, there are others whose suffering is greater; the cause may be known, yet the solution not known. When you’re not hurting emotionally or physically, smile. Recognise it. It feels good to not hurt, so don’t wait until you hurt to wish that you weren’t. When pain goes away, be relieved and happy, because we don’t know when it will happen again for certain, so be happy in the moment of being pain-free.

When we have the suffering of change, the temporary cessation of suffering in our lives, no matter how small or short it may be, we need to recognise it and be grateful for it. It should make us want to attain it permanently in this impermanent world, that being nirvana. If we don’t seek it, we will only be living for the temporary cessations in samsara, which never lasts as long as we want to.

I added the image of Guanyin, which a statue I just bought of her for my home. Guanyin is the female form of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, associated with compassion. As Guanyin/Avalokiteshvara has compassion for our suffering, we need to turn our compassion to the suffering of others. If we become so consumed by our own suffering, we neglect the suffering of others when we focus on ourselves which in any case lack of any inherent existance. If we think of others, when we are in the midst of suffering, it can lessen our burden because we’re not focused on our own problems. Guanyin will hear our cries and help us, but we must in turn help others.  Together, we all help each other.

Namaste.

Happiness is a State of Mind

These past few days have made me realise how dependent we are on technology. Not only dependent, but more that they are a distraction. It distracts us from ourselves. A few days ago, I came home to find that my Internet, TV cable and home phone were disconnected. I called the cable/phone/internet provider and they said my account was in order and that the problem was on my end. No one could come fix it until Friday afternoon. I didn’t want to take time off work to sit at home waiting for someone to arrive, and my husband and I had plans to go away camping on the weekend. So, for Thursday and Friday night, we found other ways to “entertain” ourselves. I went for walks with the pug, meditated and read books. Mostly after work, my time is caught up with what’s on TV. It’s a distraction. But, when the phone, Internet and TV are disconnected, you realise how much more quiet things can be. You then realise it’s not as necessary as you thought they were. I became thankful that I still had electricity and that my cell phone was working in case of an emergency.

With the TV, Internet connection and home phone not working, it was nice to know we were going away to go camping that weekend. Camping for us is a break from routine, and for living in the present moment. You don’t have to be anywhere else, and the day-to-day problems of work and city life don’t mean anything. As long as you have shelter, water, fire and food, what else is needed? Anything else is just luxury.

To conclude about the cable “mystery”, it turns out someone in our apartment building was stealing our cable connection and it looks like there are a few apartments stealing cable too. It’s upsetting to think that someone was stealing our service that we are paying for, which brings attention to the first precept, “do not steal.” It frustrates me when I think of it, but my anger won’t do any good. It won’t change what has happened. The situation has been fixed, so is there really anything to be mad about anymore?

I had some good times while I didn’t have cable, Internet or a home phone, which allowed me to “disconnect” from the noise and unnecessary distractions. When you don’t have distractions, you can turn your attention inside. Many of us try to escape from what’s going on inside us, and seek distractions from friends, TV, Internet, etc. Sometimes the distractions are just that… distractions, and as much as we intend to get things done, we get distracted and lose track of time in doing things that are unnecessary.

Distractions take away from our goal. The meaning of our existence is to be happy, and distractions achieve that but they are only temporary. That’s why we need many, many distractions day after day to keep us happy.

We need to turn off our distractions, and return to ourselves.

 

Happiness is a state of mind, unaffected by good or bad, more or less. We should be happy when our needs are met, and content with our necessities. Anything else is just luxury, and as nice as they are, is not true happiness. If you don’t have any distractions, would you still be happy with nothing?

Becoming Attached To Samsara is Not Our Purpose

 

As beautiful as this cherry blossom is, it is impermanent and so are we.

 

Have you become “comfortably numb”? Are you happy with just how the way things are? Maybe you would like things to be different or better? No matter what, things will change. That is impermanence. But, no matter how good things are now, that is not the purpose of life. I will admit that I am attached to the good things in my life and if I do not change that mentality, I will remain attached and suffer when they change.The good things in life take our minds off the bad things in life. Friends, family, a good job, a nice car, a nice house, good food, pets, music, movies, these all make life enjoyable – no argument there. Without them, life would be pretty boring if we didn’t have things to look forward to in order to take our minds off the things that create suffering. But, no matter how distracting these things are, suffering remains. Friends move away, your nice car breaks down, food is eaten and gone, movies end and then you are back where you were at the beginning. So you look for the next distraction and there always is another.

Coming to this realisation doesn’t mean that you must neglect the finer things in life, but realise that they are not true sources of happiness – just part of the suffering of change. If you become too attached to these things, you will never want to leave samsara. That in itself is a scary thought to admit, because up to this point that is all we have ever known. But, as good as things may be in this life, there is no guarantee that they will remain that good in this life or the next. Now that we have the opportunity to practise, isn’t now a good time to start?

 

“A little statue of Buddha.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We may or may not attain full enlightenment in this life, although all of us are able to, because as laypersons, daily life takes up a majority of our energy and time just to survive and provide for our families. But, in a bodhisattva kind of way that is important to; to be a contributing member of society and to take care of other people. We may not want to leave this world in this life or the next, but we can try to prepare ourselves for the next by leaving kindness in this life. Love makes the world go round. Kindness is remembered just as much as unkindness, but can make a much more lasting impression.

 

In everything, we have a choice. Whether we like the choices or not, whether we agree with the choices or not, or whether we want to choose or not. We can chose to stay in samsara in ignorance, we can chose to leave samsara and devote to attaining enlightenment, or we can chose to remain in samsara – mindfully on a bodhisattva path and use every opportunity in samsara to make life more enjoyable, peaceful, kind, loving and free of suffering for everyone. In any case, we should remain happy despite everything.

 We mustn’t become too attached to what we already have or what we want. The purpose of life is to be happy, but the goal is enlightenment and nirvana. Never lose sight of the moon.