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July 2007
Monday, July 9, 2007
The fall or the gradual corruption of any nation begins from within. But foremost, it begins in the hearts of those who have access to the reigns of power. For example, a city like NYC begins its decline from within. Nobody from San Francisco causes crime or terrorism to arise in NYC.
The hearts of NYC leaders are suffering from an extreme case of the three poisons which are: delusion, greed and hatred. In a nutshell, these are the main constituents of passion, passion meaning 'suffering' which is always personal. And because it is personal, we want to escape it.
Naturally, anyone beset with the three poisons wishes to overcome them. But as long as they cling to the carnal body, in the belief that it is the alpha and omega of being, they remain prisoners of the poisons.
Such belief in the body is delusion. It is not knowing or directly seeing our true fundamental nature which is free of the carnal body. As a consequence, we begin to cling to the body. We become greedy. We believe we subsist upon the body. Because we subsist upon it, the carnal body needs all we can give it to satisfy it. It needs as much money has we can make or as much land as we can acquire. And because we possess so many things that we believe are necessary for the well-being of our body, which we believe to be our true being, we come to hate those whom we imagine might steal our hoard or threaten our body.
Thus, it follows that our mind suffers greatly. Soon, the person suffering from the three poisons sees deviants everywhere around him who seem to be a threat to his security. He believes these deviants are dark skinned people or poor people who are too lazy to work; who need to be controlled. We see this poisoned mindset going as far back as February 13, 1948. In the New York Sun we read:
"The idea that poverty-stricken, inefficient people have some innate right to be fed, clothed, housed, and supported in idleness from the public purse is a menace to democracy...."
The mind that perceives the world this way can never heal itself as long as it clings to its various delusions about being. It can't see that all sentient beings are part of a universal spiritual democracy insofar as they are animated by the same spiritual light the Buddha manifested sitting under the Bodhi-tree.
Because of the inability of our leaders to shed or at least control the three poisons, for each generation, life becomes more and more difficult to endure. Everywhere new deviants spring up. They can be the mentally ill or terrorists. Their numbers never seem to decline as more and more people drink the three poisons.
Now in NYC, surveillance cameras are popping up everywhere to look for terrorists and deviants. It will be like London's so-called Ring of Steel which hasn't succeeded in preventing terrorism. The only thing this shows is that Britain's leaders are delirious from drinking the three poisons. They are becoming paranoiac; losing self-control.
The problem is that the whole Western world is corrupt from top to bottom; being run by deluded, hateful, and greedy people. These people don't want to hear the Buddha's message, that the light which animates the carnal body is who we really are. Unlike Narcissus, we don't have to cling to our reflected body; rather this body depends upon us, the light. And we might realize this if we learn to decouple from the various deluded ideas which make the body seem necessary insofar as it is believed that the mind is generated by the body. But this is not the way things are. Mind is only in sympathy with the carnal body being, actually, detached. It is like a grand illusion which we must learn to let go.
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The poison from within
The fall or the gradual corruption of any nation begins from within. But foremost, it begins in the hearts of those who have access to the reigns of power. For example, a city like NYC begins its decline from within. Nobody from San Francisco causes crime or terrorism to arise in NYC.
The hearts of NYC leaders are suffering from an extreme case of the three poisons which are: delusion, greed and hatred. In a nutshell, these are the main constituents of passion, passion meaning 'suffering' which is always personal. And because it is personal, we want to escape it.
Naturally, anyone beset with the three poisons wishes to overcome them. But as long as they cling to the carnal body, in the belief that it is the alpha and omega of being, they remain prisoners of the poisons.
Such belief in the body is delusion. It is not knowing or directly seeing our true fundamental nature which is free of the carnal body. As a consequence, we begin to cling to the body. We become greedy. We believe we subsist upon the body. Because we subsist upon it, the carnal body needs all we can give it to satisfy it. It needs as much money has we can make or as much land as we can acquire. And because we possess so many things that we believe are necessary for the well-being of our body, which we believe to be our true being, we come to hate those whom we imagine might steal our hoard or threaten our body.
Thus, it follows that our mind suffers greatly. Soon, the person suffering from the three poisons sees deviants everywhere around him who seem to be a threat to his security. He believes these deviants are dark skinned people or poor people who are too lazy to work; who need to be controlled. We see this poisoned mindset going as far back as February 13, 1948. In the New York Sun we read:
"The idea that poverty-stricken, inefficient people have some innate right to be fed, clothed, housed, and supported in idleness from the public purse is a menace to democracy...."
The mind that perceives the world this way can never heal itself as long as it clings to its various delusions about being. It can't see that all sentient beings are part of a universal spiritual democracy insofar as they are animated by the same spiritual light the Buddha manifested sitting under the Bodhi-tree.
Because of the inability of our leaders to shed or at least control the three poisons, for each generation, life becomes more and more difficult to endure. Everywhere new deviants spring up. They can be the mentally ill or terrorists. Their numbers never seem to decline as more and more people drink the three poisons.
Now in NYC, surveillance cameras are popping up everywhere to look for terrorists and deviants. It will be like London's so-called Ring of Steel which hasn't succeeded in preventing terrorism. The only thing this shows is that Britain's leaders are delirious from drinking the three poisons. They are becoming paranoiac; losing self-control.
The problem is that the whole Western world is corrupt from top to bottom; being run by deluded, hateful, and greedy people. These people don't want to hear the Buddha's message, that the light which animates the carnal body is who we really are. Unlike Narcissus, we don't have to cling to our reflected body; rather this body depends upon us, the light. And we might realize this if we learn to decouple from the various deluded ideas which make the body seem necessary insofar as it is believed that the mind is generated by the body. But this is not the way things are. Mind is only in sympathy with the carnal body being, actually, detached. It is like a grand illusion which we must learn to let go.
thezennist at 11:43:00 AM EDT Blog about this entry |
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9/27/07 8:56 PM
Our bodies are the temple of our earthly existence, not the enemy of our practice. And so we need to be mindful of what our true needs are.