Simplicity is the Key to Brilliance

I find it interesting in life how the good times and the bad are often so enmeshed, and yet separate from one another. Yesterday, as I was cleaning out from under my bed, I found a great deal of papers, letters, and other such items from the time I had spent in the monastery. That time seems like it was a life-time ago, and that I was a different person. Sometimes, I think I had perhaps been a better person than as well.

I had spent much of my teenage years practicing martial arts just for the sake of practicing it. I had no real intention of ever using it in a self-defense or combative form, and found myself more intrigued by the zen aspects of the practice. This is what eventually led me into a Buddhist practice to begin with.

Nowadays, with all the school I have to do, the working out and training; I wonder if I have strayed to far from that person, that man I was becoming. I am not a religious man by any means, and never truly considered myself a Buddhist even when I was ordained as a novice monk in a Buddhist tradition. However, I was, at one time, a diligent practitioner who saw some real progress and transformation. My biggest struggle (and perhaps my Zen Koan!) was the common ground between a Zen practice and a martial arts practice that deals with real-life combat scenarios.

I had a friend who would often tell me that he felt I didn't have it in me to kill someone. Although I would disagree with him, I think that now I would have to agree. Deep down I honestly care about people, and at times (too many) I may not show it but I have felt a great deal of empathy and compassion for people in my life. The problem is that I have feel I have lost the mindfulness and wisdom that should go along with that compassion.

When I left the monastery I was told that it is very difficult to practice without a sangha (community of practitioners), but I disagreed. Oh, did I discover how wrong I was! The set schedule made it much easier to come back to oneself, and the peacefulness of a monastery is only the beginning of the True Path!

Where does one begin again? Anew? Those are my questions, and the answers lie within the questions.

All The Good People

On certain days, and certain times, I have a few chances to reflect on the things in life. Often I spend time driving, from home to work, work to school, and any other combination of those three. As I get older I spend less time listening to loud music that does nothing for me or my intelligence. On occasion, then, when I am not listening to an audio-book, I think about life and the people who live it. Since I do not hold any real religious views, or any belief in a god, I often have to look at people with a realistic set of eyes. In looking, though, I see that all people -- according to my belief -- are naturally good.

A great deal of experiences occurs to an average human throughout their short life. The first twenty years is spent maturing into a full grown adult where we often have to learn what is necessary in order to survive after those twenty years have come and gone. Most of us are nurtured and cared for by parents who usually wish to see us do better than they did, accomplish more in life than they had the chance to. They love us, and no matter how they express that, we feel that love as a form of security in life. Now, there are some individuals who do not have access to such parental love, but this is how most individuals truly gain their basic moral ground. I think religious morals are a separate entity when it comes learning morality from one’s parents. It may have a particular religious spin to it, but it is not religion to a child; as children do not know the difference. Therefore, we gain a natural sense of goodness at a very early age that leads onto adulthood.

It is in my opinion that many animals in the Animal Kingdom have a greater improved sense of morality than many humans. It’s not that I think animals really can philosophize, but that because they have no need to end their species and would rather see it is propagated to future generations. The greater an animal tends to be towards its fellows so it survives. It many ways, we as humans are the same way in the sense that when we do not try to over-think the matter we allow ourselves to live in greater harmony with one another. Although animals really lack higher brain power and cognitive function, then learn by instinct much in the same way we can. However, we have our reasoning skills that allow us to find a better way as well.

Therefore, I think it is natural for us to want to be good people and not try to hurt one another to a great extent. I have learned in the recent years that we are not forced to do anything in life. There is no-thing that forces me to go to school, or work; to maintain friendships or commitments but myself through the choices I make. I make the choice to be a good person just as most people do because we do not live in society alone. If we thought we could do whatever it is we wanted, with no consequences, than we should. However, since we can only make choices with consequences than we must make the best ones for ourselves and those around us.