GET YOUR HAPPY ON! - a meliorist worldview

Lately, I’ve been getting questions such as “How did I get such bad karma?” or “Why is my karma so rotten?” This is the wrong way to look at karma, my friends. In Sanskrit, karma means “action.” We retain bad karma because of something that we have done or something we did not do. Only a handful of people in the world have no bad karma, but they do walk among us — not that I have met one, nor would I know if I had.

Karma is not the same as sin or luck. The more I think about it, I don’t think luck even exists, and I don’t subscribe to the concept of sin. I don’t believe in sin because sin has no utility as a rational descriptor in an objective test, and guilt is a fruitless emotion. (This is a good post to read if you are burdened by guilt.) Sin and bad karma are similar — just as good deeds and good karma are similar — but it really would be better if you completely discarded every previous misconception about karma.

One’s karma is the aggregate of all the past actions in which one has partaken, all the present actions in which one is partaking, and all future actions in which a person intends to partake. Karma is easily transferred too, so one could easily inherit good and bad karma from a loved one (just as easily as one could from a stranger on the street).

This is an extreme vulgarization, but I sometimes think of karma as a credit card that the Universe issued me when I was born. As soon as I started to exhibit free will, I began accumulating a debt of bad karma by acting selfishly toward others (as is the case with most young people). Eventually, as my conscience and sense of life purpose started evolving, I began behaving more selflessly toward others, and my karma started to improve.

Despite a supportive and loving family, I spent many years alone and unhappy because my debt to the Universe was substantial. Through the diligent employment of the Noble Eightfold Path, I became able to improve my life many times over. Today, I am a happily married man to a gorgeous, intelligent, and kind-hearted woman who reciprocates my devotion to her. I love the life that I am living today, and I have my good karma to thank for it.

Specifically, to improve your karma:

1) Replace all of your negative thoughts with good, non-violent thoughts, but don’t beat yourself up if a negative thought enters your mind (this takes practice, so go easy on yourself but keep at it);

2) Participate in more selfless activities and fewer selfish activities, and never partake in any kind of violence toward yourself or any other living being (this includes emotional and physical violence);

3) Speak well of others or don’t say anything, and always speak honestly but courteously; and

4) Make a living by benefiting other people — or at the very least, stop making a living by hurting others. (Note: this one is the hardest. It is so easy to make a good living by creating disharmony in the world, and often the jobs that help people don’t provide much fiscal revenue. I am sorry, but that is the price of a real happiness that will last you the rest of your life.)

The four steps mentioned above constitute the Ethical Conduct branch of the Noble Eightfold Path (i.e. Loving Thought, Loving Action, Loving Speech, and Loving Livelihood). Truly ethical conduct is the best and only way to improve one’s karma. The four other steps of the Noble Eightfold Path help Buddhists start and continue to maintain the Middle Way, or the path to true liberation.

Be good to yourselves, my friends. Life is too short. I hope you’re able to find happiness in whatever way works for you, as long as you don’t hurt yourself or anyone else in the process.

Gosh! I’m feeling so laaaaazy today, so I’m taking a page from folks who copy&paste gray noise straight out of National Review and other whiny conservative hate mags. I copied this straight off the Responsible Plan website:

The United States invaded Iraq in March 2003. Since then, nearly 4,000 American troops have lost their lives and nearly thirty thousand more have suffered serious injuries, while as many as a million Iraqis may be dead. The financial costs of the war to the U.S. economy will ultimately exceed $3 trillion. More than a year ago, the American public demanded a new direction in Iraq by electing a new Congress, and the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (the Baker-Hamilton Commission) presented a set of recommendations for just such a new direction. President Bush rejected the majority of those recommendations and proceeded - largely unchecked by Congress - on a course explicitly contrary to them.

Since that time, the current administration and its congressional allies have continued to use shifting rationales for extending our military involvement in Iraq with no end in sight. The American public has been presented with a set of false choices: a semi-permanent military occupation of Iraq versus a precipitous and destabilizing withdrawal. There is a deepening public desire for a new path forward and a cohesive military, diplomatic, and economic strategy that will end the war in Iraq while protecting American interests.

There are two strategic questions raised by our current dilemma:

1. How do we bring American military engagement in Iraq to a responsible end?There is no military solution to the problems faced in Iraq: the real progress that can be made requires diplomatic, political, and economic means. We must stop counter-productive military operations by U.S. occupation forces and end our military presence in Iraq.
2. How do we prevent a repeat of the mistakes we’ve made?The breakdown of checks and balances in our government led to bad decision-making which damaged America’s national security. Ending this war and preventing future situations like it requires that we restore these Constitutional checks and balances and fix the ways in which our governmental, military, and civil institutions have failed us.

Discussions of Iraq in the media have focused almost entirely on military operations and issues, but any real solution will require us to look at a broader set of problems. Beyond redeploying our troops, we must place equal importance on applying the full arsenal of non-military tools at our disposal. The American public must also re-engage in the discussions and decision-making about how to proceed.

What follows is a series of objectives that, taken together, refocus our current military involvement in the region while repairing damage to the U.S. to prevent a repeat of our mistakes. We have included some sample legislation currently in Congress to show that these objectives have been identified and can be addressed given sufficient political will. We have also included recommendations that the Baker-Hamilton Commission published in the Iraq Study Group Report. In some cases, no existing legislation or clear recommendations exist and new authorizing legislation plus careful planning would be required.

Supporters of this document have committed to these objectives. The American people do not need to wait for a new Congress and new administration to pursue this agenda: public pressure on our current elected officials to act can help us move in the right direction even before January 2009, when we hope a new presidential administration and a new Congress will avail themselves of the opportunity to address the great challenges we face as a nation. We are aware that facts on the ground will change moving forward, and the legislation is included just to show that a responsible end to the war is possible given the political will.

As circumstances on the ground change, what is required of our response may change as well; consequently, we will be updating information on this and other legislation at www.responsibleplan.com.

End U.S. military action in Iraq:

There is no military solution in Iraq. Our current course unacceptably holds U.S. strategic fortunes hostage to events in Iraq that are beyond our control; we must change course. Using diplomatic, political, and economic power, we can responsibly end the war and remove all of our troops from Iraq.

Using U.S. diplomatic power:

Much of the remaining work to be completed in Iraq requires the effective use of diplomatic power. Many of Iraq’s neighbors are currently contributing to instability and need to be persuaded to assist instead in stabilization.

Addressing humanitarian concerns:

The humanitarian crisis caused by Iraq’s situation is destabilizing to the region and damaging to America’s moral credibility. We must both take responsibility for the Iraqis who are now endangered because of their assistance to the U.S. and begin to address the regional problems of displaced Iraqis.

Restoring our Constitution:

Many mistakes were made in the course of this war, and our systems of checks and balances have failed us at critical moments. To prevent repeating those mistakes, we must repair the underlying Constitutional framework of our republic and provide checks to executive authority. Balance must be restored between the executive and the judicial branch (for instance through the restoration of habeas corpus), between the executive and the legislative branch (for instance through clarifying that the President does not have the Constitutional authority to unilaterally alter legislation through signing statements), and between the executive and the people of the United States (for instance by clarifying that the Fourth Amendment requires probable cause and a warrant for the government to spy on Americans).

Restoring our military:

Repairing the damage done to our military will require reforms in contracting procedures, restoring benefits for members of the military and veterans, and investment in repairing or replacing damaged military equipment.

The need for contracting reform is substantial. Private militias have direct incentives to prolong the conflict rather than resolve it; their use needs to be phased out. Contractors must be legally accountable for their actions. War profiteering must be stopped, and those who have engaged in it need to answer for their actions.

The safety of our men and women in uniform requires that we adhere to international standards with respect to treatment of prisoners. We must also make it clear that the United States does not torture, and that we do not send people to other places to be tortured, either.

The military is having substantial difficulty with recruiting and retention; we could begin to help by delivering on more of the promises the original Montgomery G.I. Bill made and by delivering on our promises regarding healthcare for veterans.

Restoring independence to the media:

The consolidation of our news media into the control of a relatively few corporate entities stifled a full and fair discussion and debate around Iraq. A more robust debate could be encouraged by expanding access to media.

Creating a new, U.S.-centered energy policy:

Finally, we are clearly tied to Iraq through our dependence on oil, which makes us vulnerable. Moving away from that dependence is necessary for strategic, economic, and environmental reasons.

I have noticed that some folks on other blogs have labeled me a spambot, and it has me rather confused. Isn’t a spambot an autonomous worm-like program that spammers use to leave advertising in e-mails and on comment billboards?

Am I a spambot simply because my liberal opinions rankle the embittered spirits of the anti-ACLU crowd? Sometimes, I get a spam filter thrown at my firewall, even when I visit friendly sites. Curiouser and curiouser.

Blogging has really been an interesting journey for me. When I have had the free time, I have gotten to share my opinions in a somewhat open forum. In semi-Kantian fashion, my thoughts will (in some imperceptibly small way) help shape others’ thoughts. I wonder if I’m doing enough though. As we leave behind the first failed American Presidency of the 21st Century, the U.S. needs to learn how to embrace a forward-thinking approach to problem solving; we need to embrace change and possibility — rather than cling to untenable safety.

Otherwise, I fear that so-called “conservatives” may find themselves rattling their burdensome chains like displaced Jacob Marleys, as they plead with future generations to learn from their socio-economic and geo-political indiscretions. (I’ve just been all over the map with the literary allusions in this post, folks. My ADD must have gotten the better of me today.)

Be good to yourselves, my friends. Forgive yourselves your pasts — you can’t change them — but don’t stand in the way of your children’s future. Why would you want to fix the problems of today with solutions that have never worked in the past? When I see the Children of Tomorrow in my mind’s eye, I don’t see them running around in a polluted world filled with casinos and guns. I see happy faces in a world of love, generosity, harmony, and peace. Be good!

Recently, I reached a convergence in my faith that bridges Buddhism and the Christian tradition (in which I was raised). Essentially, it is the convergence of my mind and my heart.

Oddly enough, it started with my renunciation of Christianity in 1994 and my exploration of other faith traditions. In 1998, I converted to Buddhism, which made more sense to me. Buddhism is a logic- and wisdom-based discipline, the goal of which is to bring peace and contentment to all living beings.

What I discovered in Buddhism is the concept of Dependent Origination, which explains how the separation between each of us is an illusion. There is no You. There is no Me. There is only the Oneness of all Things, the cyclical web of Cause and Effect that connects every action and object (organic or inorganic) to every other action and object in the Universe.

A few months ago, I saw how Dependent Origination could fit into a Christian belief system that would work for me.

Think of it like this:

God is everything. Everything is God.

The sun, the moon, the rock, the tree, the cat, the dog, and you and me.

Everything. Everything we can see, everything we can’t see. From stars and blackholes to quarks and bosons.

Every action is also a part of God. Every cause and every effect. Every time a ball bounces. Every time a word is written or read. Every time a prayer is spoken. Every time a thought occurs in one’s head, (regardless of how insignificant), that is the presence of God. God is present in every Nobel Prize for Chemistry and present in every child’s first stumbling attempts at addition and subtraction.

But God is also a part of all the ugly moments. The angry words, the acts of violence and stupidity. Every time a gun is shot in anger or a teenager smokes crack or meth, every time a baby cries because its mother hasn’t enough money to buy food, God is present in all of those moments too. It’s as though all the Evil in the world is a disease or a cancer that has infected the organism that joins all of us together.

Everything. Every thought, every word, every action, every object, every microscopic subatomic particle is a part of the hyper-conscious organism that is God.

So, if you are a part of God, and God is an organism, then that means we are all cells in the body of God. Then, and this is the glorious part, you/we have to decide for ourselves whether we are bad cells or good cells, cancers or cancer-fighting antibodies.

Here’s why: if you’re not actively fighting the cancer, then you’re already a part of it.

If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem.

What is the cancer? The cancer is easily understood, but broadly misinterpreted. War. Greed. Ignorance. Hatred. Abuse. Dishonesty.

A cancer cell divides into three new cancer cells, whereas a healthy organic cell divides into only two. They spread quickly as they infect and consume healthy cells — one of the reasons that cancers are so tough to fight.

The cancers of greed and ignorance are no different. They spread quickly because they are so infectiously tempting, and they consume the weaker, healthy cells that were just minding their own business.

It made me cry the first time I realized that God was infected with cancer and that God created me (and others like me) to help God fight the infernal cancer. All of what you are reading may sound ridiculous to you, but a few years ago, I was convinced that God didn’t exist.

Now, I not only know that God does exist, but I know how to best appreciate and worship God — community activism!

Praying, singing, dancing, chanting, meditating — they all have their place, but what good is serving your own soul if the world around you is decaying? God wants you to get out there and feed the homeless; to fight for the environment; to stop gun violence and domestic abuse. God doesn’t want you to turn a blind eye. God wants you to take a stand against every wrong.

You can’t sit idly by while greed and ignorance takes root in your community. You have to get involved, and you have to get involved right away. Now. Today. Don’t wait.

The cancers of greed and ignorance won’t wait, and neither should you. Volunteer at your church or synagogue or mosque or other place of worship or meditation. Get involved with a non-profit organization. Give of your time, and give of yourself.

I apologize for going off on a preachy rant, folks! I guess I do that often. Sorry. The Spirit moves me, you know?

Be kind to one another, my friends. And have a safe and fun weekend!

It always amuses me when so-called “conservatives” go spouting off about “liberals.” I grew up extremely conservative with liberal parents. Think Alex P. Keaton on a mean streak. This was during my rebellious period; I thought making Republican friends was the surest way to “the Top.” (In high school, I even started a Young Republicans Club chapter, but my friends all used it as an excuse to party; I was the only one who took it seriously.)

In college, I immediately sought out Republicans like myself. I wanted to surround myself with people just like me; people who loved only two things: money and power. I quickly realized that I didn’t like these boring, haughty people and definitely didn’t like what I had become. I went on an intellectual/spiritual journey that led me to the Green Party, Buddhism, and liberal causes.

I had realized that the benefits of compassion and generosity were far greater than those associated with fear and greed, (the emotions most commonly manipulated by conservatives and Republicans). And I found that the more I cared about other people, the richer I became — spiritually, emotionally richer — and I don’t stress out about money the way most of my peers do.

I know and love many people who just happen to be Republicans — and I certainly am not claiming that I am better than them — but I certainly do feel a lot better about myself since I abandoned the traditional Republican way of thinking.

Be kind to each other, my friends. It’s a lonely world. Why make it lonelier?

The other day, on my parents’ driveway, I observed a dead baby bird on that seemed to have fallen from an overhead tree branch nest. A few ants were insepecting the unfeathered chick. What should one do and think when one sees something like that?

I didn’t know what to do, but I didn’t want anyone to step on the dead bird. I picked the little chick with a piece of bark and placed its body beneath some leafy undergrowth near the tree. I don’t know if I took the most appropriate action, but I did what I thought was best at the time.

Karma is like that. In a lifetime full of split-second decisions, it is difficult to KNOW what is the best action to take at any specific moment; we are all geniuses in hindsight. The Eightfold Path is useful in this instance, because it suggests that you probably won’t make the wrong decision if you act with a heart full of loving-kindness toward every living being.

Many years ago (before I even became a Buddhist), I witnessed one of our cats crushing an ant as she stepped outdoors. She did not notice that she had stepped on the ant; she simply began her morning patrol of the yard.

The event was remarkable in my mind. Why had I witnessed the event? The cat is so nimble, so preternaturally aware of all around her, yet she took no notice of the ant she had crushed with her foot. It wasn’t as though the cat knew and didn’t care, nor did the cat notice the ant and play with it as was her wont. I never forgot about that moment. Maybe it was an insignificant event in the grand scheme of things, but for some reason, it met something to me.

After I had been studying Buddhism for a few years, I asked my dharma teacher, the abbott of a Theravedan monestary, about the event. He said, “Well, of course, the Law of Karma applies differently to animals.” Duh, right? Well, it really helped me have a fuller understanding of the integrated relationship of all things.

Because they lack cognition, animals are unable to conform fully to the Noble Eightfold Path, so they are trapped in the cycle of suffering — ironic, considering that one of the objectives toward achieving Enlightenment is maintaining the mind in a concentrated state without cognition.

To become Enlightened, one must have the mind of a loving animal, and an animal must be reincarnated as a human to escape the cycle of suffering (by reacquiring the loving mind of non-thought).

So, folks, I’m getting put through the ringer here by an anonymous commenter TFR. He/she is writing some thought provoking stuff too. Clearly, nothing I’ve been writing here is going to win me a Pulitzer. I’m just sharing my thoughts, which would otherwise rattle around inside my brain like a pinball. I write extemporaneously and from the heart (either before or after long work days and little sleep), but I really appreciate what the commenter has to say. And I hope TFR continues to be a loyal reader and commenter.

That having been noted, I don’t think the commenter has much of a sense of humor and probably has a habit of taking things out of context (typical of these armchair pundits), but I still appreciate what TheFirstRazzer is trying to tell me.

I need to step up my game. Considering that I’ve only been writing these blogs for a month now, I think I’ve been doing pretty well. Hemingway only wrote 500 words a day, and my blogs are only a small portion of what I diurnally commit to paper. Orwell wrote that he wouldn’t write if he knew of a better way to expell the demons that plagued him; that’s sort of how I feel. Still, I’m not Hemingway, and I’m definitely not Orwell. Nope, I’m just a shlub with literary logorrhea.

TheFirstReader is doing a great job of keeping me on my toes, because I really do need to be more serious about some of my blog entries here. I wrote a weekly column for my college newspaper, and I’ve been out of practice writing for the public. Yet, my readership is growing, and I appreciate all of your interest and curiosity. I have no intention of boring you (but I do want to waste your time).

One of the secrets to long-lasting happiness is learning how to let go of the past and appreciate the moment. Chögyam Trungpa , one of my favorite meditation teachers, said that the goal of meditation was to waste time. The path itself is the goal! Wrap your mind around that one, dear readers!

Blogging is a great experience, but it’s also dangerous. I have left myself and my ego exposed, and I actively court all comers to take their best shots at my thoughts. I would not be able to do this if I held onto and fed my ego. One must sublimate through meditation and prayer.

I wonder why TFR compares my even-tempered joyful approach to life (in the face of troubled economic times and vast global devastation) with the attitude of a “middle school girl.” I hate to sound reproachful, but don’t teenage women have enough problems without comparing them to me?

My happiness extends from an inner peace that I have found through years of soul searching, meditation, community activism, and repairing the years of bad karma I had accumulated earlier in my life. My goal is a permanent sense of self-contentment, but in truth, I can never be truly content as long as there is suffering in the world. Right now, I hope to find some solace in the fact that I have tried and that I will continue to offer my message.

This life is precious. Each moment is precious. My friends, don’t waste your few fleeting moments with anger and negative emotion. Don’t curse others for “wasting your time.” Thank them! Be good to yourselves and each other. I love all of you very much, especially you TheFirstReader… if that is your real name. [insert dramatic music]

I will be on vacation in rural Kentucky for a week. I will try to find access to a computer. Please wish me luck on locating a broadband connection.