Midian

Where the Nightbreed revel unbridled.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Why Am I A Buddhist?: My First Buddhism Essay

Why am I a Buddhist?

Note to all Dharma friends reading this, if you find any discrepancies with the below article, please don't take me too harshly. I study from books by myself. What I present here is my own interpretation. I shall not quote anything from Buddhist texts as I intend this to be readable to laypeople and a light and thought-provoking read.

It might cause some degree of surprise to people whenever I confess to an allegiance with Buddhism, especially when I am the person who seem to be engrossed in the unconventional, violent-natured black metal music and one who seem to have a keen interest in depressing and destructive literature and philosophies. Please do not negate me as a deeply confused person or a blind follower of doctrines. In this essay, I shall try to explain, to my best abilities, how I think Buddhism is a largely revelant school of philosophy in the stress-laden world of today. I will try not to proselytize here; I do not wish to attract unnecessary comments from people who prefer to remain open-minded. With that said, just read this with a light heart, I just hope you will gather some alternative viewpoints from this. Here I go.

Firstly, I would like to touch on how an ancient faith that have spawned in the BC era, India, could have so much to do with our lives at this moment. Buddhism – unlike many other theistic religions in the world, namely Christianity or Islam, to name a few, professes no Higher Deity as the Ultimate Authority, this special faith rather uses the image of Sakyamuni Guatama Siddhartha Buddha to inspire Buddhists to embark on their very own paths of Enlightenment or nirvana. The word – Buddha, which means “Enlightened Being”, could have implied that enlightenment is not exclusive. In other words, there is not strict dogmas that followers, and there always have been a force to spur others to use logical reasoning to find their own answers regarding issues in life. Although there is a basic guideline for followers that own speed up the process of gaining truths, that set of guideline is called Dharma. What boils down from the Dharma is the essence that there are The Four Noble Truths, The Three Jewels, and the Eightfold Path. I shall not ramble on technicality of the above-mentioned aspects. In brevity, one could eventually reach Enlightenment by recognizing the Four Noble Truths – that the unbridled pursuit for sensual pleasures will not bring ultimate contentment, and by using and maintaining the right mindset in life.

Many of modern city dwellers like myself would have, at some point of time, realised and felt the irritation when you had difficulty in obtaining something you think you will be happy when equipped with; or you will be equally annoyed when you wanted to avoid the drudgeries of living but you simply can't. This does not happen rarely, I confidently assert. What humans fail to notice is, in long term, that such pursuits are endless and they will bring you more hardships then anything else. This is evident in many high-achievers of today, they have gathered millions in their bank accounts, yet they are not inherently satisfied. Buddhism works in a way that one's mind will be acquainted with the notion that happiness lies in the recognition that sensual pleasures are barren from quintessential importance, and by the process of sharpening of our mind faculties or meditation, we will see things clearly and make right decisions to draw nearer to Enlightenment. However, I will need to clear some misconceptions that might have arise from some of you reading here. You might rebuke me by saying that so if I were to deprive myself from any cravings of sorts, enlightenment will come rapidly. Hmm, if you deprive yourself from food – taste pleasures, you will be dead sooner than you think enlightenment is coming your way. Thus, Buddha once said either extremity or indulgence will work, moderation and personal self-discretion is the key. This is tremendously applicable to the modern people like us, who prefers to lead fulfilling lives without having to be burdened with strict dogmatic regulations.

The second reason why I am in great favour of Buddhism is the intense nature of introspection of answers by the practice of meditation. Buddhists are not encouraged at all to be fanatical about Buddha, instead, a constant albeit healthy questioning of the Dharma would be applauded. Shifting focus from the assurance of a close adherence of moral codes or the reinforcement of a sinner's image in everyone, this faith steadily gives inspiration to its fellowship that we will be liberated when we adopt the buddha mindset or bodhicitta or buddhanature and become exalted buddhas in the end of the cycle. This buddha mindset is cultivated by meditation – the quieting our cluttered minds, letting them enrich in generating a general compassion for all living things, and achieving a state of tranquility or gentle awareness of sensations and thoughts. That's the stepping stone for enlightenment. Yes, it is that straightforward. I am personally immensely inspired by this process, as it's practical-based and involves no other complex technicalities of rituals or prayers or heavenly hierarchy that many other beliefs involve. I am even more impressed by the great fact that anybody could have a taste of enlightenment, and the latter is well within the reach of anyone, regardless of one's heinous background, as it could be effortlessly overwhelmed by the goodness of the Buddhist teachings if he could acquaint himself with it and to practice introspective meditations.

I have anticipated that some of you would question me, “So Buddhism is about training our minds to reside in a state non-thinking and ourselves in docile behaviour?” I would like to add a few more points. Let's just visualise a situation where you are about to infuriate in a fit of anger when something unsatisfactory occurred without an a decent explanation. Buddhists will not fall into escapism by pretending nothing has happened and chose not to think anything about it, accepting whatever comes their directions. Instead, Buddhists will use complementary emotions to nullify the surging emotions they have, for example, love to counter with anger. When the anger has subsided, Buddhists will think logically on how to resolve the situation with grace. Buddhists feel that it's important to cultivate a sense of tranquility as it will aid in solving tough situations effectively as negative emotions are not meddling with our actions, speech and thoughts.

With the above few paragraphs, I have, to my best abilities, summarized the core essence of Buddhism. I hope I have done a decent job at that. I also hope you had an enjoyable and refreshing read, and I have not caused any incoherency in my writings.

In conclusion, Buddhism – a school of thought that is so opportunistic and optimistic for everyone, one that could bring much inner peace to its practitioner, one that is so rational and deeply applicable to humanity of all ages. I could only say one thing against Buddhism is that it should not be categorised under Religion, as it is, in essence, a philosophy science. Otherwise, Buddhism could easily be the answer to Life. And that is why I am a Buddhist.

I thank you profusely for reading.

Written by: Ng Ling Xuan “LingNemesis” December 2007.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra





Avalokiteshavra, the Holy Lord and Bodhisattva, was moving in the deep course of the Wisdom which has gone beyond.

He looked down from on high, He beheld but five heaps, and He saw that in their own-being they were empty.

Here, O Sariputra,

form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form ;

emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form,

the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness.

Here, O Sariputra,

all dharmas are marked with emptiness ;

they are not produced or stopped, not defiled or immaculate, not deficient or complete.

Therefore, O Sariputra,

in emptiness there is no form nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness ;

No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind ; No forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables or objects of mind ; No sight-organ element, and so forth, until we come to :

No mind-consciousness element ; There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and so forth, until we come to : There is no decay and death, no extinction of decay and death. There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path.

There is no cognition, no attainment and no non-attainment.

Therefore, O Sariputra,

it is because of his non-attainmentness that a Bodhisattva, through having relied on the Perfection of Wisdom, dwells without thought-coverings. In the absence of thought-coverings he has not been made to tremble,

he has overcome what can upset, and in the end he attains to Nirvana.

All those who appear as Buddhas in the three periods of time fully awake to the utmost, right and perfect Enlightenment because they have relied on the Perfection of Wisdom.

Therefore one should know the prajnaparamita as the great spell, the spell of great knowledge, the utmost spell, the unequalled spell, allayer of all suffering, in truth -- for what could go wrong ? By the prajnaparamita has this spell been delivered. It runs like this :

gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.

( Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, O what an awakening, all-hail ! -- )

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Singapore: A Modern "Democratic" Authoritarian Country .

Singapore: A Modern "Democratic" Authoritarian Country .

When one thinks of Singapore, he or she might get reminded of towering skyscrapers in the central business district area, a bustling shopping belt, many delicate and tempting food and a clean and safe island country in South East Asia. While it might be true that Singapore is doing relatively brilliant in terms of economic growth and her position of a developed country is certain, what one is masked from is how deceiving this whole situation appears. Singapore is formally known as a democratic nation, however, it is also an unsaid truth Singapore is modern authoritarian state.

As a Singaporean, I shall divulge on some more facts that lead to the above-mentioned description of the country. I just hope I won't get arrested by doing this!

Firstly, capital punishment, by hanging, is still frequently used in Singapore, usually for offenses like murder, possession of drugs (anything above 5 miligrams). An extremely barbaric form of penalty, many other countries will reply in utmost discontent. Still, Singapore remains unfaltered in her stance towards this issue. Once, a couple of years back, Singapore sentenced an Australian to death for carrying the illegal amount of drugs. This ignited an international uproar, especially in Australia. Singapore received massive condemnations. Putfile.com even blocked access from Singapore for this. Yet, Singapore remained firm on its ideals and did not even offered a decent explanation. Speaking of punishment, Singapore has another notorious penchant - caning. Brutal in the eyes of many, even inhumane. Prison canings often scar the offenders for life. Worse still, I am informed that if the offenders were to faint from extreme pain, they will be drowsed in cold water to wake them, let them rest for a day or two, and continue the flogging until it is completed. Michael Fay of USA, then 16, was sentenced to 24 strokes of the cane for various acts of vandalism, back in the 1980s. Much opposition from USA was aroused, Singapore, again, remaining firm, refused to budge an inch.

Secondly, something more subtle this paragraph, Singapore claims to be a Democratic country. Behind its shady veils, the heartlanders know a different version of the story. Although elections were held as per any country would, every 4 years, for each town constituencies. Locals do know, obviously, that Singapore is practically One-Party-Ruled. This famous party is belovedly known as People's Action Party (PAP), spearheaded by Prime Minister Lee Hisen Loong (son of the First Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew). Oppostion parties - Worker's Party and Singapore Democratic Party to name a few, lack manpower and support. After each election, PAP will expand their terrorities futhur and futhur. Leaving minimal space for the other parties to showcase their interest in the citizens. As of 2006, around 90% of Singapore is governed by PAP, leaving practically no say for other opinions. This has a more negative impact when we consider the process of policy-making in the Parliament. With the majority of power given to PAP, diversity and open expression are severely limited, thus, the usual rigid nature of Singapore laws, albeit the recent discussion of abolition of the Homosexuality Bill 377A. On this note, let me amplify this political blandness by giving an example that Singapore Democratic Party's leader - Mr. Chee Soon Juan was jailed 5 weeks for speaking in public without a valid permit in November 2006. There has been numerous instances which eluded my memory. One needs to apply for a permit to give public speeches, and a draft of your speech has to be submitted, making sure no one would say anything jeopardising to the nation or society.Another one is that there has been cases of bloggers getting jailed or sued for posting racially-unfriendly content in 2005 and 2006, although many believed their entries were relatively mild. Singapore podcast like mr.brown, which expresses the true Singaporean thought, received scrutinisation from the government initially, the content was diluted after which, in fear of repercussions of the laws. In the light of the post 9/11 attacks, Singapore has put in place The Internal Security Act which allows infinite detentions of any suspected terrorists without trial. Thus, Singaporeans have a conditioned mindset that their opinions are insignificant and the government will be beneficial for them ultimately. Liberal is a term that most Singaporeans are not familiar with, evidently.

By now, I have an feeling that most readers will feel repulsed by what I have just shared. There are enough facts to show that Singapore is not what it appears as, I believe, to bring out my point. Regardless of the sustained security Singaporeans has been enjoying since its independence in 1960, it is still not very justifiable when our say is restricted and that harsh corrective methods are there, to cause fear in others. Someone needs to arouse this latently-repressed country from its slumber.

- Nemesis, December 2007

Labels:

Friday, December 07, 2007

Courtesy of ANUS.com.

Metaphysical intelligence

When we typically speak of intelligence we think of it as raw biological machine power, but is it really just all that for us humans?

IQ testing is the most empirical and scientifically reasonable medium for concise analysis of human brain potential but it completely circumvents around the metaphysical and inexplicable. I've always pondered the validity of genetics being the sole decisive factor of all-around human potential, and I have realized there is more than meets the eye. To begin with, creativity and wisdom along with other unquantifiable factors of human potential require the possession of a very particular connection with reality. By 'reality' I mean something greater than what our five senses alone can perceive. To speak in indicatory riddles; reality is roughly existent and non-existent matter devoid of emotion, law, bounds, restrictions, morality, opinion, mortality, immortality and whatever anthropocentric terms may be attached to the world by us, but is a indefinable 'chaos'. A nihilism which we can alter in the freest, most creative and most resourceful ways conceivable to give our lives as high and fulfilling a purpose as we can (more fulfilling than the TV box and the neon lights).

What creates a human that transcends his material parts? One must strengthen the intangible connection with reality and become the very embodiment of it. From this connection develops the most special creativity and wisdom. One must furthermore let all (negative) emotions be expelled from their perception pattern through rigors, discipline, experience and the remove mental impurities through meditation and acute concentration. The results can be astonishing. Through proper cultivation one can achieve an indifference toward egoistic emotions and a calm objectivity in ones perception. The cool controlled mind can be at a distinct tactical advantage over the aggressive, underdeveloped, over-stimulated minds of the masses, transcending the miserable, fatalistic trappings of the obsessive, all-to-serious personalities common to this trifling age.

Reality therefore is potential. The conclusion is that everyone has the keys to unlock a higher connection with reality but few choose to use them. These great keys define the core of your existence and would grant you the knowledge of an infinite number of secrets. The unlocked mind can see reality in its many different forms, the uncultivated one can barely make sense of the material consequences it has right in front of them.

An example; the majority of children nowadays are not raised adequately enough to become metaphysical experts, they are being treated too softly, infatuated with an abundance of plastic toys, ill cartoons and excessive socialization, The most "evil and adult" things are kept from them until they reach a certain age that is morally acceptable to society for them to face "reality", but by then they'll be unable to cope properly with any amount of exposure to reality so retreat into fantasy and egoism. These kids are raised on fantasy and not on realism as it should be from the very beginning; therefore their connection with reality is minimal and so to their potential to explore existence creatively is also minimal. The children that are raised in strict discipline that consists of cold, hard and confrontation with reality can learn to mature much faster than the average child. Reality is healthy. Arrogant snobs with a high IQ are everywhere, but they lack the necessary connection with reality to make them worthy of the air of superiority they bestow upon themselves. They are simply pompous egoists wrapped in unrealism. The same can be said for "christian intellectuals". Moralistic and anti-animalistic religions that aren't a symbolic reflection of the natural order also suffer from negative distortion. Earth and nature constitute our physical existence and are therefore the very essence of reality. Denying them can in no way be considered a reflection of intelligence, yet the lack of a correlation between the statistical measure of intellect and the ability to connect with and to accept reality undermines the validity of the statistical measure. Such people are not necessarily inferior in comprehending reality because of their genes, but simply because of their unrealistic religion. This of course isn't to convey a message against genetics, but simply to express the idea of reality from the viewpoint of the nihilistic metaphysical, in which genetics are only one inherent component out of many in a larger whole.

IQ is calculating and scientific whereas humankind and the wider reality they are apart of are not always so predictable. Therefore IQ's can be misleading when it comes to the valuation of human beings mental capabilities. Science cannot explain it all, especially the contemporary sciences, which have adapted to a rigid and dogmatically unrealistic worldview such as is fitting in the modern age. It is to easily susceptible to subjectivity, political bias and irrelevant emotionality (all too human) thus is not connected to the aforementioned "chaos nihil". We must be careful when we tread the grounds of so called "objective and concrete" science that have become a sort of secular messiah capable of explaining literally everything. It operates almost like the structure of words, which are a system of conveyance through symbols and vague subjectivities. This isn't to say however that science should be completely disregarded, it is a fascinating discipline to undertake, but it's not the alpha and the omega. Wherever there is great spirituality, creativity and high goals found within you, do never lose grasp of them or you have lost grasp of reality, of life.

December 21, 2006

Labels: