Better and better 2

The historical Buddha was very pessimistic about humanity when he lived in India some 2 500 years ago. Most humans would face a difficult and painful time after death, he saw. He told as many as he could how to avoid future hell, but Buddhism has remained a teaching for a minority.

We could ask if the general conditions on earth has made it easier to follow ethical rules.

That would be a spin-off effect, of course. 

The method for getting a good life is following the ethical rules of no killing, stealing or lying. These rules are more important than any other rules or impulses. The principle is that good gives good. Bad gives bad.

In normal social life we advance our ambitions as our means advance, so we always live in an atmosphere of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. We want more and better. 

Thanks to modernity, we have more and more of a choice between these ideals, more or better. More is not always better. More food and drink is bad for many, for example.

Not long ago we could blame unethical actions on hard necessities, but at least some of these arguments are losing in relevancy.

Mind as creator 2

In China the government is afraid of the Tibetan tradition and of the Falun Gong movement. Typical for both of these movements is mind training. The result of mind training is a state of freedom which can not be diminished by traditional power strategies. In order to subdue these traditions, the government has used extremely harsh methods.

However, mind training is a positive activity, and no culture can survive without the freedom of mind. For any government, free minds are the most valuable asset, as the mind is the creator of all - sangsara as well as nirvana.

Without mind training the result of the creative process of mind is sangsara - the relative existence dominated by suffering, leading to illness, aging and death. This mind is involved in a long term suicide as its main occupation.

With mind training the result is nirvana which in Tibetan is called nyang de, which means "state beyond sorrow".

In a traditional, sangsaric society, the principle for governing might well be the devious methods described by Machiavelli. But for nirvana, devious methods are of no use. 

Awareness 2

If our actions does not fit with reality, there are problems. In situations where humans are involved there are many problems.

For example, of all human activity called work, a lot is supposed to cause problems (military activities) a lot is supposed the lessen natural problems (of health, social problems, catastrophes, accidents, natural deterioration, climate, environment) and only little activity is outright positive. The number of teachers is small and food production is secured by two percent of the population.   

We normally live in our dream world rather than in a factual reality. There are many reasons. We stick to our own ideas even if they are faulty. There is no inherent way to see the difference between dream and reality. We like the dream world more than the factual situation.

One very common "dream" we have is that we live in an external, material world. The truth is that there are material things in reality, and reality is much bigger than our standard idea of who I am.

We are involved in a very subtle cooperation between our inner world and the outer world. If we feel that the outer world is the most real one, we are likely to get problems of violence and brutality.

If we feel that reality can be formed after our soft dreams, we are likely to be disappointed. The reality is formed by our visions, however. To realize visions is usually a harder task than to make a statue from a block of stone.

Omniscience 2

Modern western life style and culture makes mind training more easy than ever before. But some new obstacles and distractions create new difficulties. Nonetheless, the western life style is comparatively rational and positive towards learning and awareness, and technology gives an understanding and a language for phenomena which could only be hinted at in earlier ages. A simple (as we feel) thing as naming immense numbers like "billions of billions" used to be described as "the number of sand grains in Ganges" and the like.

So why is mind training not a self evident every day activity for all of us? Ten years from now, we will feel a little ashamed of this negligence. We thought we had more urgent things to do, like work and relations and watching television and sports...we might say.

This is of course rubbish. Mind is the basis for all, and if we want work and family we should start with the mind training, and not let the mind training be the secondary aspect. If we do, we might end up in loss of jobs, divorce and all kinds of problems.

Mind training gives unlikely effects, but it is not irrational. It is the rational of the rational. And we can start simply and naturally by broadening our perspective to include all. 

Shaded concepts 2

Mind organizes our knowledge as concept and content. Concept might be "movies" and content is everything we know about movies. A more specific concept might be "Matrix" and the content is all we know about this particular movie. Another concept might be "father" and the content is everything we know about father. There are millions of concepts.
The organisation of knowledge as concept - content is all right. Clear concept and clear content is very good.
But concepts can be shaded or unclear. Then there might be problems.
Prejudice is a big group of shaded concepts. There is prejudice against all citizens, be they young or old, women or men, rich or poor, white or black, Muslims or Jews.
So we know the phenomenon. We all have experienced the problem of trying to fight a shaded concept about ourself by referring to content. It is almost impossible.
In a mind analysis, however, the problem is not a big one. In this analysis we do not consider every concept as a fixed truth, but as a matter open to analysis and debate.
In such an analysis we will find that positive concepts are more true and usable than negative concepts. So "nice person" is much more true than "bad".

Dogs are different 2

In a mind analysis, the difference between thoughts and feelings is quite basic. Feelings are seen as ever present and often disturbing and negative. This is contrary to some spontaneous reactions, where feelings are respected very much. Even negative feelings are respected. Sometimes we consider our anger or uproar to be more justified when our feelings are strong. This is not the view of Buddhist psychology, however. Anger is not considered a good or justified reaction.
One way to see the difference between thoughts and feelings, and also see the possible falseness of feelings is to think about the reactions of a dog.
In certain groups the communication takes place with very few symbols, but if we want to make ourself understood we need to follow the rules of language.
Ordinary communication with words, gestures, intonation, eyes and so on can be interpreted in many ways. Misunderstanding can happen even in small long time communities as families and work places. Indeed, in some families the lack of understanding increases over the years till a divorce is a fact.
The risk of misunderstanding is bigger for all more external individuals and groups.
What can we learn from this? That communication should not be taken for granted. Even if we know what we mean, others might not get the message.
In adverts and popular music a positive emotional message is bundled with the eventual content of thought. The emotional aspect is quite important.

Mind training 2

The biggest problem in mind training is probably the start. The brain is usually happy remaining in its old habits, its comfort zone. The problems caused by this are easily overlooked, even when the problems are huge.
Another difficulty is that the advantages of mind training is not known until they are reached. If we are lucky, we can see the advantages in another person. But that is not very common.
In a material world, we can have material goals to strive for, like such a home, such an income, such a car and so on. In mind training the goals are not that concrete and easy to identify beforehand.
A third difficulty is the general dullness of the brain. In order to deal with brain difficulties, we need a certain energy level in the brain. As long as we have brain difficulties, we do not have the energy necessary to deal with the problems. It is a moment 22 situation.
The fourth difficulty is the delicate balance between right and wrong in brain functions concerning attitude, problem solving methods, feeling management and evaluation strategies.

Good 2

Dissolution of evil in mind is different from fighting evil in the material reality.
The basic rule for mind is positive. It is doing good and getting good. It is a principle of knowledge and relaxation. The good is in the idea, not in the power of the execution.
On the material level, good ideas which are not executed powerfully have no impact.
On the mind level, excess of power is a problem. If you use a PC or Mac, you just break the keyboard if you use too much force.
The strategy for dissolving evil on mind level is just doing good. The presence of evil is a rich source for doing good.
There might be problems if the brain is drugged or manipulated in other ways, if there is secrecy, lies, irrational behaviour and the like, but eventually these aspects are drawn into the light and dissolved also.

Projection 2

Violence and fighting is often about projections rather than realities. Vietnam and Afghanistan are two examples.
The Vietnam war was an effect of the projection of fear. The socialist North Vietnam was feared to defeat South Vietnam and start a domino process making the other countries in the region communist dictatorships.
The war was long, intense and meaningless. After the war, Vietnam has turned into an Asian liberal economy.
The situation in Afghanistan is much the same as it was in Vietnam. So there is hope.
The present war is caused by a projection of fear. It is a mirage, with many casualties. The real problem is to find a social order in Afghanistan and the whole region including Pakistan.
A war is likely to create new tensions, distrust and aversion between families and regions in Afghanistan.
At the same time, there is a profound will to have peace and order after decades of conflict.
The primary aim of any foreign "friendly" military campaign is to be able to leave the country. In Vietnam, the last foreign troops left rather hastily. In Afghanistan the withdrawal could be planned and conducted in a more systematic way.

Trust or distrust 2

We have a choice. We can build a society on trust or on distrust. There are many examples of distrust: Soviet Union, Argentina and Chile under military rule, Iraq and Afghanistan for example.
So the choice should be easy.
Instead of distrust we should have control. We have control in most normal activities, like large sectors of the economy. Every dollar must be accounted for. That is good and it is no problem. The accounting is not an expression of distrust, but a check that everything is in order.
If there is no control, someone will take advantage of the situation in a bad way.
So there should mutual control. Those who are controlled should control the controllers. It should not be a hierarchy of control over control, but this basic mutual control.

History 2

The dualism between us and them has a long history, and it is not quite over yet. But the progress made by dissolving the dualism is much more important than the effects of fighting out the dualism in the old way. It is better for all when Hungary, Poland and other East European countries join NATO, rather than risk war with NATO.
Even in Afghanistan, where NATO actually is waging war, the difficulties of making peace as an effect of the war is discussed.
Between nations, the idea of peaceful cooperation is the normal attitude, but between individuals and local groups the old dualism remains. Young people gather around different football teams and fight the supporters of the other teams. It is almost instinctive.
If we have a mind based world view we naturally include all individuals in our world, and we also include a total self-awareness of our self in our world. We see the good in others and the bad in our self, and not only the bad in others and the good in our self. The differences are seen with tolerance and appreciation.

Almost instant happiness 2

Whatever we do today is raw material for our future happiness or sadness, but only raw material. The big effect is not immediate. Independently of if we do bad things or good things, the main effect regarding happiness is not instant.
If we feel happy doing things today, it depends on actions we did earlier. The things we do today may trigger the experience of happiness, but the happenings today are not the experience itself.
Normally we have a potential for different experiences, ranging from happiness to sadness. If we have no potential for happiness, we can not experience happiness even if the good events taking place are drastic.
So happiness is an almost instant process. Our actions today will give happiness tomorrow and later, but not today.
This delay can give problems. If we do bad things today while feeling fine from earlier good actions, we will suffer tomorrow. The suffering will come as a surprise, as we felt so fine during the action.
The ideal is a continuous process of doing good, where we are happy because the good things we did yesterday and where we prepare for a new day of happiness by doing good now.

Exercise 2

In the relative reality everything is relative and interdependent. Social and individual values meet, mix and sometimes clash. Means and actions are tried and used and evaluated.
If we see ourselves with the eyes of others we are in the relative reality. The subjective side is certainly relative. What we love this week we might hate the next.
The objective side is also most relative. We can do many different things in many different combinations and still be in the sector of accepted normality.
The borders between sectors are relative, socially and individually. There are some strict rules, and also a lot of ambiguous ones.
In order to live in this complex environment we could use communication and openness.
If we do not we are at risk of causing damage. That is obviously happening even when the intentions are the best, as in health care, schools, police and social work and everywhere else.

Enthusiastic effort 2

All human activity is not effort, and all effort is not enthusiastic. So there is room for improvement.
The key to this improvement is mind. Mind is intention, means and also result.
Often we describe the goals as non mind, like making money, supporting a family with a home, food and everything else and having a family.
But this is really mind. The evaluation of these factors are mind, often strengthened by instinct.
Even negative incentives as punishment and social degradation are mind.
Mind can support these ideas or negate them totally or in different combinations. Sometimes money is preferred instead of family, sometimes family harmony is preferred to money.
In many social situations we have obvious material goals like a certain house, a car, a family, a job. But if we have the mind perspective nothing of these external factors are important.
It is convenient to have some material facilities, but the essential factor is the processes in mind, and they can reach heaven - literally - without having any obvious, material effects.
The results can be transferred and communicated, if there is a willingness to listen.

From light 2

We are from light but live in a material world. We can look in two different directions, towards matter or towards light. For survival we look to the material world. But life comes from light.
The mind capacity of human beings used to be very small. It had to be used for the most essential, survival and reproduction.
These days however, the mind capacity is much bigger. And society is more intelligent than it used to be. As individuals we do not have to solve all problems, as so many others have solved so many problems for us.
So we do not have to fixate on the immediate material factors all life. We can open up our awareness and see and learn more. We can even search for the light.

Walking meditation 2

The one contains the many, says Thich Nhat Hanh. If we are aware of the truth of one flower, we are aware of everything and the interconnectedness between everything.
Once we accept reality as mind based, fast progress is possible.
Ordinary mind is quite deluded, and to get rid of this deludedness is not an easy task. But it is easier than to change things with force. Mind reacts to information.
The more individuals who dissolve the deludedness in their mind, the more will follow. There is an attraction in truth and light.
There is also a sort of attraction for mind in the habitual and in things we learned long ago. So there is a conserving tendency. We should not accept everything just because it is new.
One obstacle is our own feelings. Spontaneously our feelings might relate to irrelevant factors, and thus react negatively to the positive.
Mind in the present stage of human development is a jungle, and we should avoid making it more impenetrable by communicating in a bad way.

Quality art 2

As the relative reality is nothing but an expression of the absolute level, we can have a relaxed attitude to it, as much as possible. If the attitude is not relaxed it is strained and stressed, and that is a problem.
However, there are many modern things which must work perfectly and powerfully, like nuclear plants, aeroplanes and train engines. In these machines there is no room for laxity or relaxation. But these machines are not human beings. The people in charge must be able to do their task in an atmosphere of relaxation.
Not long ago, a lot of industrial and other production took place under very strict forms. Recently we have seen pictures from factories in China with this strict discipline. So it exists.
But it does not mean that it is the ultimate form of human life. The best in this respect is probably a balance between relaxation and discipline.
From the philosophical point of view, the important is to express compassion. The most valuable is not to be compassionate, but to plant the seed of compassion in others.
There are people doing the opposite, planting and watering the seed of hostility, violence and enmity. This is a problem, in particular when those imposing violence does not see it as remarkable.

Distraction 2

The dialectic process is the serious way for mind to progress. It goes from thesis to antithesis to synthesis.
Distraction is the not so serious way of mind to play around. The original situation is invaded by distraction, and soon it is just one mess. We have forgotten the original idea and the distractions are meaningless.
The appearance of distraction is unavoidable. Mind is like that. It goes one step further. Normally this is good. We want to know all. But often it is just a nuisance.
The best way to deal with distraction is to have an open mind and see everything that appears. Thus distraction will be seen and dismissed.
To accept the content of distraction is to accept something with weak foundation. It will not hold. If we act on that, things will lead to problems rather than solutions.
We are making choices all the time. Good choices gives good. Bad choices gives bad effects. Distractions are nice and gives bad decisions. If we could avoid acting on distractions, all evil would be eliminated eventually.

Relativity 2

Compassion is not absolute, but the closest to the absolute we can come in the relative reality.
The relative factors are relevant to their particular context. For example, if we need a spare part to a car engine, we can only use the part that is specific for that kind of engine.
This principle, relativity related to a particular context, is very common and often very complex.
For example, in Soviet Union a great construct of economy, security and military was made in relation to the political context. When the Soviet Union was dissolved, the relativity of it was shown.
Sometimes the principle of relativity and context is used for drastic and negative decisions. In order to avoid such unnecessary effects, we can use compassion.
Compassion is a soft principle, which links the relative to the effects on human beings.

"Double delight", Red tipped white rose

"Double delight", Red tipped white rose
Originally uploaded by KurtQ

The flag of Indonesia is red and white.

Respectability 2

When USA and other countries invaded Iraq 2003, one idea was to make Iraq democratic. It should be a model or showcase and start a domino process in the Muslim world, making state after state more democratic.
This has not happened, but if a model or showcase of democratic Islam is sought, the answer is Indonesia. It is the worlds largest Muslim state with some 240 million inhabitants on some 17 500 islands.
Indonesia has not been without conflicts, but the situation is much more orderly than in the assumed showcase, Iraq.
In Indonesia we can see how violence has lost all respectability, and the few terrorist attacks are condemned by the population. The contrast to Iraq could not be more obvious.
In Indonesia is the sensitivity for foreign involvement and colonialist tendencies quite vivid.

Problem solving 2

These days we follow in the media the swine flu virus spreading over the planet. It is fantastic that we have the technical means to identify and follow the virus. It can not be seen with the eye, and if you saw it it would probably look much the same as all the other viruses.
The virus causes some problems, obviously. People get the flu and stay at home and rest for a few days. Some people even die. So it is a nuisance.
However, if we would compare this nuisance, to the constant nuisance and suffering made by human beings, the swine flue problems are very small.
So if we were rational, we would follow the spread of human evil over the globe with the same interest as we follow the swine flu virus. But we do no. One reason is that we can not see human evil.
But human evil has a physical reality, as it rests as bagchags in the minds of people. Bagchags are active memories and thus potential thoughts.
If we have difficult experiences - from torture, threat of death and destruction and the like - bagchags are formed. If they are not attended to they will mature into evil actions later. These evil actions - torture, threat of death and the like - will create new bagchags in new generations.
These bagchags can not be seen and measured by science, but they are all important. A few decades ago, science could not see and measure virus, but they were all important nevertheless.

Non violence 2

Why is it difficult to win the peace? It can be quite difficult, as we see in the Gaza, Iraq and Afghanistan.
It can also be easy, as we saw in southern Lebanon after the war between Hezbollah and Israel. As soon as the soldiers had left the area, the civilian population returned and the rebuilding started.
One reason for the difficulties in winning peace is the shamefulness of war. War is nowadays the same as organised unfairness. The strong beat the weak, and the weak use terror to kill anyone and in particular civilians who are not involved.
So the enemy is not the soldiers in the other kind of uniform, but we ourselves in our future role of modern, decent civilians. We fight for making difficulties for ourselves.
War is an old form of relating, and it might have been justified by lack. As the essential needs of food and housing could not be satisfied for all, conflict was used. These days the problem in food is abundance or surplus rather than lack, so war is obsolete by this reason also.

Control control 2

In a good society, control is a natural part of everything. Like in sports. The winner is the one who ran fastest. The control is very precise, and the same for all participants.
In many economical activities, the accountability of every coin is obligatory. And credit cards are preferred to cash, for better control.
Everything without control will be abused. It is human nature. We can easily avoid that by having control of everything and all.
Partial control is abuse of control. Hidden control might be a way to find out old mistakes, but it is no way to stop future mistakes. Future mistakes are stopped by open, honest and well known control.
New technical means makes it possible to collect extreme amounts of information about the inhabitants on this earth. The problem is to make any sense of this. The people who are responsible for this are in a difficult position. Whatever happens, the public can say: Why did you not stop this, all of it is in your records.
So control should be integrated rather than imposed afterwards in the form of hidden cameras or armed guards. The control should be controlled, not by new hidden agencies, but by awareness from the general public.

A piece of cake 2

The problem is deludedness. If anyone is unhappy, it depends on deludedness. That person is seeking happiness in a way that does not lead to happiness. Deludedness is the natural state. Non deludedness is rare and never spontaneous.
Attack can destroy a lot. We know that. But there is also a sector called "they can not take that away". How big is this sector?
Around the year 1195, the big Buddhist university at Nalanda in India was attacked and destroyed. The ruins remain to this day. Most books were destroyed. Many individuals were killed. But some survived by going to Tibet, and they brought some of the books.
So they could not take away the Buddhist philosophy, even if they destroyed the whole university.
The Buddhist institutions in Tibet have been under attack since around 1950, but the Buddhist ideas are distributed and accepted in more countries than before.

Mind meetings 2

For a meeting to be nice, we should know its structure and be open minded.
Structure is when we know why there is a meeting, and which functions the participants have.
Problems occur if we are opinionated.
Sometimes we have the right to stick to our function, even if others would like to start a meeting in another structure.
If there are problems, the remedy is more information and analysis. This needs time, however.
There is a difference between fake and being polite. Fake is outright falseness, but politeness is when we try to bend interests to fit with the interests of other persons.
Open meetings when people meet unexpectedly can be very complex and thus difficult.
The general principle could be respect and wishing well.

Rationality 2

Rationality can be transcended in two rational ways, by surprise or by remembering.
Surprise is the simple way, as when natural catastrophes or political revolutions turn the situation over. Remembering is when we feel a taste forgotten or hear a piece of music reminding of another reality.
To arrange for surprise is easy. Fashion is a systematic surprise business. Things should look new now and outdated tomorrow.
To transcend rationality and reach more subtle levels of reality is more difficult. But it is more rewarding. It is timeless, for ever. The music of Bach and Mozart is getting better and better over the years. Instead of surprise effect, it is the effect of deeper and deeper awareness of truth and compassion.

The principle 2

There are three obstacles to a better life in a mind based world view. They are own defilement, social obstacles and difficulties in understanding the principles of mind.
One of the principles of mind is that we get by giving. This is contrary to a materially based world view, where we lose what we give. But we get joy by giving joy, as we easily can test. The time lap between giving and getting is short in this case.
In other cases the time lap between cause and effect is long. This makes it difficult to understand the principles of mind.
In a mind based world view we can trust in that which is confirmed. The best confirmation is truth, which is pure mind. The second best confirmation is from other people or society. Others know more than we. But society is always biased. Social confirmation might be an obstacle.
Own defilement in mind are the primary obstacle. These defilement can be very difficult to get rid of. We often stick to our preconceptions and habits.

Full truth

Broadening the perspective and letting in more information is the way to solve problems, rather than try to work out a solution within a given framework.
Eventually there is no truth except the full truth.
The society is based on combination of truth and power, and the effects are sometimes strange with unlikely winners and losers. The ideal society is based only on truth.
One reason why the society is not already based on truth is that truth is difficult to see. There is a natural problem. This is traditionally increased by human secrecy, bad communication and will to deceive.
However, with the increasing interest in the workings of mind, the last obstacle to awareness is challenged.
Understanding the different functions of mind, including the extremely elusive but powerful long term effects, will clear the way to a just and free world.

Direction 2

Positive mind development is in the direction of higher frequencies. Higher frequencies gives a more precise understanding and a wider outlook. It supports non violence, compassion and harmony.
We can make ourselves open for these higher frequencies by systematic practice. Meditation is normally a part of such exercises.
In our ordinary life, we use mind to deal with the issues at hand. While we do so, we get experiences and knowledge. When new situations appear, we use the old experiences and knowledge.
This is good, but it also has a conserving tendency. We solve the old problems in the old way, rather than seek for better ways of acting.
Solving everyday problems and practice for positive mind development is normally different things. Very different. In order to solve everyday problems we might use means like degradation, humiliation and violence. These means are contrary to positive mind development.
The lower the frequency level is in our mind, the more we feel stuck in our situation. The more inclined we might be to use bad means as violence and humiliations. In these cases, mind makes it more difficult for mind to start a positive development.

In mind 2

Compassion is the bottom line in Buddhist philosophy, and the other bottom line is awareness. Is there no conflict between truth and compassion? The answer is no.
Reality can be described in many ways, and all are good except the bad ones. The good ones are about compassion, which means a general, positive attitude towards others.
Compassion is an unusual attitude, as we see from history. History has been driven by egoism and strange ideas about superiority and the right to hurt and kill others.
In mind we can spontaneously have different ideas and experiences, but compassion is not spontaneous. It is something we have to learn. If we do that, we can see all issues in the light of compassion.
In Buddhist philosophy we find the connection between relative truth and absolute truth. The relative is an expression of the absolute, but not in a random or arbitrary way.
The relative truth can be understood in so many ways on the coarser levels of mind. We are normally deceived.
If we can not reach the deepest levels - which we can not do normally - we have to rely on rules of thumb - and the basic rule of thumb is that compassion is right.