Part of practice, like the role this blog plays in my life, is to know when to shift focus and priorities. You don't "shelve" anything, it just is readjusted along the timeline. That keeps it active in a portion of the mind while you focus on more pressing issues.
The past week has been - topsy-turvy. The boys are out of the cave. Musk called a diver a pedo because the diver dared to say Musk had no idea what was real. Hopefully, he sues Musk. Iran is suing the US. Trump announced he only believed Putin, and then backpedaled. I think the significant damage is done there. And, no surprise, there is still a significant issue with reuniting children with families. Oh, I almost forgot, they charged a Russian national who was involved with the NRA as a spy (sic find the articles from a month or so ago all about Russia and the NRA). Cops are still shooting people. Puerto Rico is still abandoned to the elements. What else? I know there is more, but that is enough to bring to the table right now.
So...where does that leave accountability? It is a favorite buzzword these days in just about all industries and aspects of life. Merriam-Webster defines it as "an obligation or willingness to take responsibility for one's actions." Fairly cut and dry. Defining what responsibility is we will leave for another day - it is one of those "trick" concepts these days that is prone to manipulation. Back to accountability, to simplify it, it is the willingness to say "what I have done (not done) has caused this." Now, those of you who are Christian may recognize that phrasing. It is slightly different in Islam, but same idea. What is done or not done is your responsibility.
In Ch'an it is complicated by karma. The 'bloodstream sermon" is very old, and very often has bits and pieces of it lifted out to justfy the odd, nihilistic and self-involved beliefs of today - but in its original form it is very clear - what happens today is due in part to what you have done or not done over countless lifetimes. In other words, to simplify it, you own what has just happened. Even if it is Trump and his shenanigans and you are a lefist-anarchist-socialist-isty-ist your actions have caused Trump to be. Maybe not your actions in this lifetime, but in one prior. You are accountable for what is right and wrong in the world because you have always been apart of the motion that allows events to become.
Mea Culpa. Maybe I live this life right this time but I wasn't so stellar in cylcles before. Yes, and no. The bloodstream sermon speaks of the fact that buddhas do not seek buddhas, and that being able to memorize all the sutras and follow all the precepts is not enough to change your true nature. Unless you know what your true nature is, unless you become accountable for it (take responsibility..and we will talk about what that looks like later) all your meritorious deeds shall blow across the sands and disappear. They do not stay. They cannot be transferred. They mean nothing, and back you come to try again.
Why is it so hard to find our true nature? Because all of our life is a delusion. We seek to name it - first mistake. There are no words. Some seek to be buddhas - well, that says volumes right there. What I know to be true, for as long as the world turns and we are born to recognize it - then we have not found our true nature nor done anything to transform it.
But that does not mean we abdicate accountability for what happens in each life. We strive, always strive - to what? To practice compassion, to relieve suffering, to recognize suffering, to cause no more suffering to any sentient creature. That is a beginning. It will take lifetimes to get it down pat, and for all of us to become able to do it to the extent that the hurt and harmful leaves the world. Even then, it is not done.
So fear not. Work hard. Strive. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, how one handles mistakes, disappointments, blessings and success are often the best mirror to reveal one's true nature. Strive, try and always return to the root to weigh your measure and be willing to be accountable for what you have done and not done.
The past week has been - topsy-turvy. The boys are out of the cave. Musk called a diver a pedo because the diver dared to say Musk had no idea what was real. Hopefully, he sues Musk. Iran is suing the US. Trump announced he only believed Putin, and then backpedaled. I think the significant damage is done there. And, no surprise, there is still a significant issue with reuniting children with families. Oh, I almost forgot, they charged a Russian national who was involved with the NRA as a spy (sic find the articles from a month or so ago all about Russia and the NRA). Cops are still shooting people. Puerto Rico is still abandoned to the elements. What else? I know there is more, but that is enough to bring to the table right now.
So...where does that leave accountability? It is a favorite buzzword these days in just about all industries and aspects of life. Merriam-Webster defines it as "an obligation or willingness to take responsibility for one's actions." Fairly cut and dry. Defining what responsibility is we will leave for another day - it is one of those "trick" concepts these days that is prone to manipulation. Back to accountability, to simplify it, it is the willingness to say "what I have done (not done) has caused this." Now, those of you who are Christian may recognize that phrasing. It is slightly different in Islam, but same idea. What is done or not done is your responsibility.
In Ch'an it is complicated by karma. The 'bloodstream sermon" is very old, and very often has bits and pieces of it lifted out to justfy the odd, nihilistic and self-involved beliefs of today - but in its original form it is very clear - what happens today is due in part to what you have done or not done over countless lifetimes. In other words, to simplify it, you own what has just happened. Even if it is Trump and his shenanigans and you are a lefist-anarchist-socialist-isty-ist your actions have caused Trump to be. Maybe not your actions in this lifetime, but in one prior. You are accountable for what is right and wrong in the world because you have always been apart of the motion that allows events to become.
Mea Culpa. Maybe I live this life right this time but I wasn't so stellar in cylcles before. Yes, and no. The bloodstream sermon speaks of the fact that buddhas do not seek buddhas, and that being able to memorize all the sutras and follow all the precepts is not enough to change your true nature. Unless you know what your true nature is, unless you become accountable for it (take responsibility..and we will talk about what that looks like later) all your meritorious deeds shall blow across the sands and disappear. They do not stay. They cannot be transferred. They mean nothing, and back you come to try again.
Why is it so hard to find our true nature? Because all of our life is a delusion. We seek to name it - first mistake. There are no words. Some seek to be buddhas - well, that says volumes right there. What I know to be true, for as long as the world turns and we are born to recognize it - then we have not found our true nature nor done anything to transform it.
But that does not mean we abdicate accountability for what happens in each life. We strive, always strive - to what? To practice compassion, to relieve suffering, to recognize suffering, to cause no more suffering to any sentient creature. That is a beginning. It will take lifetimes to get it down pat, and for all of us to become able to do it to the extent that the hurt and harmful leaves the world. Even then, it is not done.
So fear not. Work hard. Strive. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, how one handles mistakes, disappointments, blessings and success are often the best mirror to reveal one's true nature. Strive, try and always return to the root to weigh your measure and be willing to be accountable for what you have done and not done.
This post first appeared on 10 Worlds - Creating 100 Years Of Change In Self And Society, please read the originial post: here
