The Mormon Buddhist

This week I started reading "Everyday Suchness" by Rev. Gyomay M. Kubose . Gyomay Kubose is the founder of Bright Dawn, the organization I'm taking my ministry course through. His goal was to help create a distinctly American Buddhism. He wanted Americans to hear Buddhism in a way that resonates with us. This goal is very much accomplished from what I've read so far. I know several classic Buddhist analogies, and can see how he's taken those concepts and modernized them. Its a breath of fresh air but still retains a classic Buddhist feel, which is something I feel Stephen Bachelor failed to do. The concept of happiness being highlighted by sadness is something I've loved for years. I first encountered it when reading the Book of Mormon. In 2nd Nephi 2:11 it says: For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor m...

This week we read all of Gyomay Kubose's " American Buddhism: A New Direction ". It was touched on that it is essential for Buddhism to adapt to the culture that it is in. People have different perspectives, and instead of forcing them to change to their perspective, Buddhism morphs to fit theirs. Its almost like the jar and golf ball story . Buddhism fills in the empty spaces. Another thing that really struck me was the idea that Buddhism can help with mental health. Buddhism offers a way to learn how to deal with the harsh realities of life instead of ignore them. The 4 Noble Truths are commonly referred to a medical diagnosis. They looks at symptoms (there is suffering), find the causes (craving), proscribe a remedy, and give the medicine (8-Fold Path). This is something that has helped me enormously. I suffer from depression, and when I finally decided to start getting help, I felt like there were an infinite number of problems in my life, and I decided to list th...

The CTR shield is a symbol for most Mormons growing up. I definitely agree with it's message to "Choose The Right". The 8-fold Path suggests what we should choose the right in. Many Mormons jokingly take it in a more literal sense when they need to randomly choose something, and pick whichever one is at the most right. I thought it would be fun to change it up a bit and make a "CTM" shield, with CTM standing for "Choose The Middle". Buddha's life is a good example of avoiding extremes. he was born in a life of extreme luxury, and then lived a life of extreme asceticism. He eventually came to realize that enlightenment is found in the middle between these 2 great extremes. He would go on to often call his teachings "The Middle Way".

The first sutra that was mentioned in this week's reading was the Prajna Paramita, Hannya, or as we English speakers call it: the Heart Sutra. I have done some research and I found that Tich Nhat Hanh has created a translation of sorts this sutra. It is entitled The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra . The way Tich Nhat Hanh phrases everything just resonates very well with me. After this week's chapter I read a bit of it, and was very impressed by it. He gave 2 analogies that explainemptiness in a great way. The first being a piece of paper, and the second being a cup. These are in the first 2 chapters, which are known as "interbeing" and "Empty of What?". They're relatively short, and I was particularly impressed with how these chapters relate to each other, so I'd like to repeat them in their entirety: Interbeing If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper....

Koans are something I haven't looked too much into until I read about them in thi week's chapter. I decided to to a bit of reading about what they are. In short, koans are public and non-mystic stories, questions, or statements that make someone contemplative. The purpose of a koan is to meditate on them and come up with an answer to the question. It is meant to make you think about things, even if its in a way you wouldn't have thought to. You break down previous concepts and see things in new lights. They are not to be seen as rational, logical, and complex. They're meant to be seen as experiential, practical, and simple while often being symbolic. Koans are often used to test your progress in the Zen tradition. However, its not a right/wrong test because there's no one set meaning for a koan. There are hundreds of contradictory commentaries for each Koan (of which there are thousands). They were invented in China and then moved to Japan where many more were a...

EDIT:  After I posted this to my Bright Dawn peers and after our weekly call, I was given some feedback I wanted to include in this post. The original version of the post has been archived here  if you want to read it. Being a bodhisattva is a puzzling thing to me. There are 2 main concerns I have about the concept: The goal The vows/perfections I was raised LDS. From the time that we are able to read we are taught that "every member is a missionary". You were to preach to anyone and everyone who would listen to you in hopes of saving them and leading them towards Godhood. Because of this social pressure, I put myself in some very uncomfortable positions over the years. I almost certainly unknowingly strained friendships, and sometimes I knowingly did so. I could give dozens of examples, but I distinctly remember me telling a friend about how the Book of Mormon is far superior to the Bible because the Book of Mormon was supposed to have gone through less translatio...

There are special sunglasses that allows some colorblind people  the ability to see color . They get to understand something that to them was previously ineffable (extremely hard to express and definitively define). People describe it as breathtaking and life-changing. One video even  featured an artist  reading a book for toddlers that showed all the colors that he had never seen, and him crying from overwhelming happiness. However, for some colorblind people,  the glasses don't work  and colors will continue to be ineffable to them. In the same way, enlightenment is ineffable. Some people are able to come to understand it and its breathtaking and life-changing, and others simply aren't. There is a lot of attachment to the words "enlightenment" and "nirvana/nibbana". These are just words used to convey something that is ineffable, and not something that is ethereal or unobtainable. The two concepts are very often confused, even among Buddhists. In additio...

Imagine you were walking through a barn and you see something coiled and its right near your foot. Your first instinct is that it is a snake, and that you should run. However, when you stop and look at it more closely, you find out that its just some rope. From this scenario, we learn there are 2 types of truths: relative and absolute. Once I discover that the snake was actually a rope, I had a choice: I could cling to my wrong understanding and keep beleiving it was a snake, or I could face the music and admit I was wrong and that it was a rope. This, I think leads right into "suchness" very easily. By no longer clinging to my wrong view, I am able to enjoy things as they are. However, letting things be as they are can be difficult. You may see a flower, but you start to see everything that makes the flower, like water, fertilizer, sunshine, and proper cultivation. You start to see that everything has a reason why its there. In this way, nothing has a definitive self, a...

I have always had a difficult time falling asleep, especially when I was younger. My mind races and its hard to shut it off. As I'm writing this its 4:30 AM, and I still might be up for a while! When I was about 8 and fed up with laying in bed for hours, just waiting for exhaust to overcome me and allow me to sleep, I developed a simple technique to help me fall asleep easier. I would breathe slowly and focus on my heart rate. It would often be difficult to focus on my heart rate without feeling an artery, or I'd get fed up with not falling asleep yet. However, if I laid still and was intent on focusing on my heart rate, it would always eventually slow, and eventually I would drift off into sleep. Over a decade later I realized I had, at a very young age, taught myself how to meditate. I still use the technique on nights where sleep is difficult, but I learned how to improve it. Noah Rasheta of SecularBuddhism.com , who has been a key influence in my Buddhist practice, ...

I am a big fan of saying things as simply and directly as possible. Because of this, I am on a mission to convey the core concepts of the intricate, complex, and 2,500 year old ideology of Buddhism effectively in  one  graphic. This graphic will include the 4 Noble Truths, the 8-Fold Path, The Law of Dependent Origin, my favorite meditation techniques, and eventually all the terms you might want to know. More stuff will be added as I feel they are necessary. This post will be updated every time I update the graphic, and you will no longer need to cross reference posts to get a more complete understanding. Direct link (large image file) Direct link (small image file) Updated 2/9/18

Its no secret that I am a fan of Noah Rasheta's podcast " Secular Buddhism ", but the details of why are for a different time. In Noah's 32nd episode, " How to Meditate ", he gives a wonderful technique for meditating he calls "3-Fold Mindfulness Meditation". Noah talks about it in depth in his podcast episode, and I highly recommend watching it. However, if you're like me and have heard it before, you might just want a cliff notes version of how this technique works. I have made this graphic for that exact reason. I hope you enjoy it! HD imgur link