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Comparative Religion, Metaphysics, Modern Living, Uncategorized

More ‘Bubbameises'(Grandmothers’ tales) from the Buddhists

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Despite all the controversy around it ,I like the term “fake news”. However,there is not only political fake news.There is also medical and spiritual fake news as well.This article addresses the latter type.We may well address the other types and many more in future articles.

Since Buddhism, especially the Mindfulness type, has become the lingua franca of  “progressive” spiritual seekers -many of whom refuse to entertain the notion of a Creator-I think it is especially important to underline the mythology that accompanies it-what we are referring to here as “bubbameises’-the tales of grandmothers- in our title.

Now,the first myth promulgated by the Buddhists in the last century was that Buddhism is not a religion.One of the primary culprits in this marketing scheme was the Dalai Lama himself. The Buddhists being”clever ones’ no doubt,understand that much of the West has turned against its religious authorities and institutions and therefore are adverse to any notion of religion.There is an interesting precedent for this kind of salesmanship in the history of religion and that is the approach of Paul of Tarsus.He understood that the Romans and Greeks all around them would never accept Mosaic law ,which was the religion being practiced by Jesus and his apostles.So he declared that it was enough to accept Jesus Christ as saviour and thereby threw overboard the entire Judaic legal tradition.I will allow the reader to draw the appropriate conclusions as to what that might mean for Christianity and its relationship to the tradition of Judaism from which it sprang.

So the Dalai Lama and many other Buddhists tell us that Buddhism is not a religion and the progressive liberals, liking the sound of this atheistic statement, swallow it “hook,line and sinker’. But is it true?!

Even without a degree in theology or Comparative Religion it is easy to understand that religion is not only a belief in God.Religion has institutions,beliefs,a hierarchy, a set of practices,moral teachings,people who self-identify as Buddhists. etc.,etc.So Buddhism,in fact,has ALL the characteristics of a religion-its particular theology aside.Even at the level of concepts there are several that come very close to the idea of God.Enlightenment itself-‘nibbana’ as the Buddhists call it can be translated as God-consciousness as can Boddhicitta(Buddha-Consciousness).So they do frequently refer to an Ultimate Reality but do not like calling it God. With a little reflection, there should be little doubt in peoples’ minds that Buddhism is a religion by any sensible definition of the term and has always been considered as such.

The second mythology is that Buddhists are universally gentle people who do not harm anyone.I think the current situation in Burma and the treatment of the Rohingya Muslims should disabuse anyone of that notion quickly.It always seemed to me impossible that one group of people,religious or otherwise,could remain consistently non-violent.It doesn’t correspond to any historical evidence about humanity anywhere.In fact,the violence and murders perpetrated in the Sri Lankan civil war were mostly done by the Singhalese who are also uniformly Buddhists.But somehow that passed under the radar and the Tamil tigers got most of the blame.Another good marketing job!

This being said,my real purpose and the trigger that provoked this article was a conference I attended this week given by a monk in the Kadampa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism entitled “Meditation and Anxiety”. The ‘hal’ (spiritual state) in the conference room was pleasant and peaceful.The people involved appeared sincere and had a certain luminosity about them.And I generally enjoyed the presentation.The only thing I felt called upon  to pursue with the presenters was the translation of the word ‘mind’ in English to ‘esprit’ in French =-a translation I thought somehow inadequate.So I talked about it with one of the organizers-an intelligent fellow with a good command of both languages.The discussion was civil but not really clarifying.In any case,this is a point of semantics and not that relevant.

However,as the week drew on, I began thinking.”One minute,here”. There was almost nothing in the presentation about anxiety.Yes they talked a lot about inner peace and the importance of the inner state for happiness but the question of anxiety was never raised directly.I happen to know that there are specific teachings about this by Buddhist teachers like Jack Kornfield and Jon Kabat-Zinn but nothing was said about that.(These were Tibetan teachings and the other mentioned authors are more in the Vipassana lineage so perhaps there is a sectarian divide-even within the Buddhist tradition itself.)

So one moment,here.If the talk is entitled “Meditation and Anxiety” but there is no mention of anxiety ,what is going on?There is only one possible answer I believe to that question.More marketing! Many,many people are struggling with anxiety in modern times so anything suggesting a possible solution would be attractive.In fact one of my motivations to attend the conference was to help out a neighbour’s boyfriend who was struggling with anxiety but there was no material in the conference which would have been of help to him unless he wanted to become a Buddhist monk-highly unlikely I figured!

There was another bit of bit of “fake spiritual news”in the conference that was working on my Truth detector.They repeated on several occasions the idea that”happiness can only come from a peaceful mind”. That sounded very obvious and unobjectionable until I thought about it some more.One minute here! That’s not true either!Happiness is one thing and ‘peace of mind’ is another.I think for the moment of those tennis players whether Federer or Djokovic or Serena Williams and how absolutely tense and anxious they look during the game and then how happy they are if they win.No correlation between peace and happiness.I,myself,when I examine my own experience, have been happy at times while feeling agitated and I have been peaceful but bored at other times .Happiness is one thing and peace is another.

So why are they making this statement? Because they know that Westerners are obsessed with “being happy.”There are even              University departments like at Harvard devoted totally to studying happiness( The Happiness Project).The marketers are hot on our trail once again!

But there is an even deeper problem in Buddhism and that involves the relationship between the inner and the outer.The theme repeated over and over again in the conference was that what really counts is the inner state.There is an irreconcilable cleavage between the two in Buddhist philosophy-an absolute dichotomy.This involves an incomplete conception of reality which does not acknowledge the interaction between the two and therefore the need to act in both dimensions not just one.Interestingly ,we can see a connection here between the lack of a Creator-God and this disconnect.If there is no Creator-God,then there is no Creation or created things per se.In fact the Buddhists claim there IS no reality to this world .It is only sets of aggregates like sensory perception and physical sensation and thoughts.For them ,the reality of this world is an illusion of the mind.In this way, there is no interaction,no dialectic between the outer and the inner.A truly bad place to begin if we want to manage our lives properly!

So the Buddhists who are so proud to claim The Middle Way,the Way of Balance, are actually in a state of serious imbalance.And you can see the manifestation of this all the way back to the beginning of the tradition when the Buddha left his family, never to return, to do intense meditative practices.Is that a balanced example for all of us?! If we think it’s all about the internal,we might accept that.But if we are truly aiming for balance in our lives,this cannot be the way, Think about it in your contemplations. Not in your meditations- where thought is dismissed lol.Salaams,Sufi Ibrahim

Modern Living, Psychology, Spiritual Practice, Uncategorized

Husn al-Dhann(Having a Good Opinion)

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This article is actually an extension of a previous article I wrote for this blog entitled Refining the notion of Ghiba’(back-biting).It is part of my own spiritual work on jihad-a-nafs and particularly the jihad against excessive and negative speech.I feel deeply that one needs to be realistic about what speech is actually haram and what is both necessary and permissible to manage in the world in which we live.Giving oneself unrealizable goals- like never saying anything negative about anyone- is a sure-fire way to feeling discouraged and defeated in one’s search.As an interesting side-note Sheikh Nuh who gives an exercise to his murids on avoiding backbiting entirely for two consecutive weeks said that the only murid ever to be able to do that on the first try was a prisoner in solitary confinement! That indicates what we are up against in this battle.

On this subject,we are taught by our Islamic scholars to “have a good opinion of our Lord and of our fellow men”.Some of them go on to say that this is from the command of our Lord.However if we look at the ayats involved,which we will do shortly, this is not an accurate portrayal of their contents.As often happens unfortunately in the field of Quranic interpretation,things are taken out of context and elaborations and extensions of the actual texts are made without consideration of the totality of the revelation. In this case,the particular danger is to produce namby-pamby, pie-in -the-sky, “seeing the world through rose-colored glasses” Muslims who are unable to navigate in the modern world and as well are off-putting in their artificially positive attitude.

Now,some shuyukh are aware of this problem.Sheikh Hamza Yusuf,for example,a careful scholar not prone to wayward opinions usually, warns people that in the modern world,there are so many scammers and defrauders and shysters (he should know ,being from California the #2 state in rates of psychopathy in the U.S.!) that one should be wary immediately of what the other may have up his sleeve.Sounds like good advice! But he is rare amongst the ulema in being aware of this problem.

So let’s see where this teaching comes from.The ayat most referred to on this question is from 49:12.It says the following””O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much as possible;for suspicion In some cases is a sin:And spy not on each other,nor speak ill of each other behind their backs”It then goes on to compare back-biting to eating the flesh of a dead brother(powerful analogy no doubt).

The problem in interpreting such a text is manifested quickly in the translation.Most of the translators translate the Arabic word ‘dhann” as suspicion but none of the dictionnaries agree.The best dictionnaries prefer “opinion” or “doubt “.So already the translators are slanting the meaning to their own beliefs.So, essentially,we are being told to avoid unnecessary doubting of the people we are dealing with.Fair enough.Actually this goes even deeper as doubt itself can be a big problem spiritually.In fact it is the basis of one of the epidemics  of modern times- atheism!In the Buddhist model,it is one of the five ‘klesas'(obstacles to obtaining Enlightenment) so it goes far and deep in its negative effects-even beyond it’s effect on our human relationships.

Notice that nowhere here does our Lord tell us to have a good opinion of our fellow man.It just suggests we avoid excessive doubt. Most of the relevant hadith about this issue reaffirm Allah’s interdiction of excessive doubt and hostility and malice towards fellow-Muslims.There is one hadith in Abu Dawood that says that to have a good opinion(husn al-dhann) is from the attributes of good worship.Since we do not worship man,I would assume this involves a good opinion of our Lord which should pose no problem for a believer.

Now,in an effort to be more comprehensive, let’s look at the other side of the coin- the debit column of the human CV.And it is far from brilliant! Very early in the Quran 2:30 the angels are bringing up the fact that man will make mischief and create bloodshed on Earth! Allah does not deny it as the angels are clairvoyant and can see clearly what is coming.Then there is one denunciation of man after another.Various groups are described as being blind and deaf and dumb”,as having their hearts hardened, as spreading mischief,as being hypocrites and unbelievers, etc.etc. In one ayat man is denounced for being in most affairs disputatious/contentious(Surat 18:54).As well,whole civilizations are denounced for their sinful ways.

Allah mentions the people of Nuh who were sent the flood,the people of Thamud who refused to follow their Prophet Salih a.s. and were swallowed up by an earthquake;the people of Ad who were strong and tall and given fertile lands but refused the advice of their Prophrt Hud and continued worshiping idols for which they were buried under sand driven by the winds;and the people of Lut of whom we all know the story of Sodom and Gomorrha it being detailed in the Bible itself,etc. etc.

Then we have the sahih hadith of our Prophet saws in al -Bukhari telling us that 99/100 or 999/1000 people will be in the hellfires.He saws also told us that”If you knew what I know, you would be weeping much and laughing little”. All in all not a glorious picture of mankind!

So what are we to make of all this- to act as best we can and not be living in some kind of delusional mind-set? We do not want to live in la-la land but nor do we want to become cynical and bitter either.So here are a few suggestions that may be helpful;

1)Approach every situation with an open mind.Ask questions if you need to (See “The Fabulous Fours” on the blog)

2) Do not become a compulsive doubter ,something our modern society pushes us towards in many ways,including the scientific model of the null hypothesis.

3) Do not become a chronic,reflexive fault-finder( Watch the CNN journalists if you want to see what not to do lol.They are not alone,however, in that attitude amongst journalists.The BBC for example gives them some worthy competition!)

4) Give people, generally, the benefit of the doubt and try as best you can to find excuses for their apparently bad behaviour.

5) Be aware of the good behaviour and positive  qualities of people. Affirm these qualities to them and compliment them on them when appropriate.We all need encouragement, at times.Towards the end of my work as a psychiatrist I used to repeat to my clients often:”Give me the good news also” lol We can easily get too focused on the negative.

6)Once confronted with the repeated evidence of the bad character or unethical behaviour of an individual or group,do not deny it.Take note of it, factor it into your decisions and warn others who may be affected by it.Defend yourself in appropriate ways against the ill effects of this behaviour.This may involve seeking counsel,leaving an abusive relationship,changing jobs-the list is endless but your inner state and your relationship with your Creator have to be the top priorities.

7) Remember what Allah said to the angels after they objected to the creation of man”I know what you know not”.So remember that behind the evil and hidden within it is the plan of our Lord.So even  ‘evil’ has a hidden positive purpose.According to the highest Sufis,the shaytan, himself, is a servant of Allah.But a  servant that you should not take lightly because he is a serious opponent (“adoo mubin” in the Quran- a clear-cut enemy) .

8) And deepest of all –Do spiritual practice to develop ‘basirat’(inner vision/discernment).(Sheikh Hamza says that this is a reward for piety.) Then act according to what you are shown.And share your vision sparingly- only with those who can benefit from it. Allah be with you!

 

Modern Living, Politics, Psychology

Why we are so scr—d!

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The trigger for this piece was a video interviewing an expert on electricity,Dave Stetzer,explaining how both wind and solar energy are generating toxic,”dirty” electricity!Wow! The emperor has no clothes.In fact he’s a stripper!Spiritual and moral reasons aside for the meantime,the following is what I see happening on the ground.

We have some very creative and clever inventors generating all kinds of interesting products and processes to make our lives better.For example there were discoverers of chemical pesticides and herbicides designed to solve one of the fundamental problems in agriculture-pests that destroy the crops.There were other inventors who discovered alternate forms of energy to help us with the problem of greenhouse effects from burning hydrocarbons and there are the inventors of new construction materials like particle board and laminate floors to help us with the limited supplies of lumber available in our forests. All of these inventions, at first glance, look interesting and promising.And they all have potential positive  economic and even political effects.

But they all have potential harmful effects as well.So they need to be assessed and evaluated.Given the considerable economic effects of these products,the evaluation process tends to get rushed and pushed aside by the politicians involved in the process who are most often asleep at the wheel.But,even worse the evaluations,when done, are put into the hands of obsessive,plodding,pedantic scientists with lots of data but little insight and judgment and perspective.Instead of choosing really smart people who can use not only the data but also their instincts and insight and even common sense to be able to predict the consequences,we hire statisticians and robotic scientists to do the work.Is it any wonder that it took decades to prove the health effects of cigarettes and DDT insecticides?!By the time DDT was banned(at least in Western countries ,there were hundreds of new pesticides developed some of them probably just as noxious as DDT if not more so.And now that cigarettes are universally denounced,even by their users, no one is seriously evaluating the pulmonary effects of long-term cannabis use as the “legalize pot” campaign is in full swing.

Think about it for a moment.Does it really take a genius to figure out that a substance that kills insects made of much the same biological substrate as us,is going to be harmful to humans.Does it take a rocket-scientist to figure out that if you put known carcinogens like formaldehyde into our construction materials ,it is not going to be good for human health.Unfortunately the minds of the decision-makers are so polluted by complexity and self-interest that they are blind to the reality.

So ,bottom line,we have clever,fast-paced inventors supported by avaricious businessmen and their political allies against plodding scientists often with minimal resources and even less insight competing with each other! Who do you think is going to win?! And who are the losers lol? All of us! This is the end-game,I believe!Thank God I know there is another world.Because this one is scr—d!

Modern Living, Politics

The Real Enemy!

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13 mins

( In response to a posting claiming other countries are less stressful at work than America- something that is only marginally true .”Fake news” Trump would say lol) We need a whole new vocabulary-like “humanly-paced work” or “minimally stressful work” or”artisan-paced work” .But then we would have to assume the cost.But since democracy/capitalism is unknowingly using an old Maoist slogan”Put the Economy in the Post of Command” ( interesting irony no?) then none of that is possible.

Our real enemies are not the Russians or the Chinese! Not even Trump and his allies.Our real enemies are the MBAs and Economists who are providing the intellectual infrastructure for this stressful oppression of workers AND management alike in all industries.

Modern Living, Politics

The Wisdom of the Turkish tailor’s Wife

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My Turkish tailor’s wife was telling me about her 43-year old cousin who had just died of breast cancer.I was telling her about all the carcinogens in our food,our water and our air and the fact that cancer has become an epidemic.She understood immediately! She elaborated by telling me about her 93-year old mother who was fine except for some arthritis in her knee.”She was from an earlier time when things were more natural”.Exactly.How come she gets it but the scientists and government officials,certainly a lot more educated, don’t!?And please don’t respond with the “economic paranoid” theory that it’s all about money.That is only part of the answer.I prefer one of my earliest teachers Steven Gaskin’s answer”A University degree is more of a bar to enlightenment(and clear vision I would add) than a bad character”.Here I would agree with the Buddhists.”The deepest sin is not greed but ignorance” And there is plenty of that to go around.

Modern Living, Psychology

Mise Au Point/Taking Stock

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One of the great debates of our times-Steven Pinker(“The Better Angels of our Nature”-The world is getting better because of the beneficial effects of The Enlightenment ) vs. Chris Hedges (“A Farewell to America” We are heading headlong into catastrophe because America and ,by extension , the rest of the world, has experienced a corporate coup d’état). Which side are you on? I have little doubt about this one , myself!

Modern Living, Psychology

Attitude,man,Attitude!

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Most people in the modern world believe that the road to happiness is to get what you want and do what you want.And the society around encourages them in that belief. Wrong! The truth is that it is exactly the opposite that works and brings peace of mind.”Do what is wanted of you and accept what is given to you and be grateful”. That is the better advice.And, yes, no-one can tell you what that is -what is wanted of you.Because it appears subtly and deeply in your heart.That is why a good advisor is some-one who can listen to your heart and not talk from their minds.But they are rare,indeed! May God grant you that niamat(gift) of the competent advisor.It is one of the greatest gifts of all.Salaams,Ibrahim As-Sufi

Modern Living, Psychology

Modern Life-from my balcony

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8:30 am in a lower middle-class suburb of Montreal.Watching “normal” Canadian life unfolding from my balcony.Mothers driving their kids to school and walking them and one pushing a stroller probably taking her child to daycare before it is able to walk! No fathers to be seen.Are these couples divorced or do the men have earlier shifts(possible)?They do seem to appear from time to time.Children with their heavy back-packs looking stressed about what is going to confront them at school.Some waiting at the corner for their school-buses.No-one seems particularly happy or even present! Does it really have to be like this?Is this the “the greatest civilization” as the Trumpians and Pinkerites would have us believe? Or is this the real unidentified humanitarian disaster that few dare to identify let alone talk about?!You probably know where I stand on that one lol

Metaphysics, Modern Living

Truth and non-Truth

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Rudy Guliani says”Truth isn’t Truth” and everyone attacks him.But what he is saying is absolutetly true!- in modern society.Lawyers,politicians and marketers plus I must add overly cerebral intellectuals and determined atheists and fascistic scientists like those who work for Monsanto have totally undermined our sense of truth so that we no longer can tell the difference between truth and falsehood, unless we do some serious self-reflection and spiritual work.This is NOT the case for the vast majority of people.

Understood and applied, any one of the posts on this site could change your life-forever!