BUT LIFE IS NOT EASY
EIGHT BLIND DHARMA ANSWERS TO WORLDLY SUFFERING
PUTTING THE BREAD ON THE TABLE WITHOUT TENSION AND STRESS
Well, one thing is certain: the wise just put bread on the table while fools serve a sumptuous feast that does no good to mind or body on plates of fine porcelain or bought in a Chinese bargain store. In any event, that means work.
Now that state of working is one of the two great problems where physical
tension and mental stress occur, so that becomes our first important topic,
which in terms of the Dharma is called RIGHT LIVELIHOOD.
But who wants to change one's life? Very few. Most want to be suffering
less and not to lose one iota of the happiness of folly that they have.
Alright, here we present client-centered Blind Dharma or Solutions for those
who feel that they can't or won't be a human creature.
DEALING WITH RELATIONSHIPS WITHOUT YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND
The second problem area is of course Relations and the most difficult of
those is between those who in theory are supposed to be living in harmony.
Well, in samsara when the Identities of Aversion, Greed and Confusion are
active... Few make the right choice in the beginning and when it appears
too late, what does one do?
Dharma has the natural answers to all human relation problems, so that
clearly becomes another necessary Dharma topic, which must be dealt with
in a serious way. It does no good at all to hide one's head in the sands of
time and hope there will be a solution.
But there are few who really want Blind Dharma answers, for they want to have at least one foot firmly planted where worldly happiness is possible.
So here we do not offer definitive Dharma answers, but ways to soothe the
troubled brow and get oneself out of the hole one has dug for oneself.
EDUCATION ISN'T WHAT YOU KNOW, IT'S WHAT YOU UNDERSTAND
Even more important to civilization is the problem of EDUCATION at all ages.
What do we want EDUCATION for, anyway? As Thoreau declared, education
makes a straight-cut ditch out of a quaint meandering stream.
Understanding then what correct and natural education is for the young, for
those who have caged themselves and for those who have been cast aside
as third class, is very important.
Unfortunately the trend seems to be falling away from a book culture and computers are the order of the day for education.
Where is EDUCATION leading us? Clearly to a globalized mind.
Yet floating in a cement canal, in which oil is continually spilled, parents still want their children to be out there in the middle of the contaminated water clinging to a sinking virtual image of a Playstation, while they make money and have a a dignified future life of suffering. Well done, mama! Well done, papa!
You may know that that's not the Dharma way, but still you are really not interested in the meandering stream. For your children you want a better life in that cement canal.
We will give you the answers here.
Perhaps we should have titled it, "How to be happy while destroying your children".
SEX IS NEVER THE ANSWER. SEX IS THE QUESTION. WHY?
Now it is an amazing thing that since men and women first began to use
language perhaps 14 thousand years ago they have not resolved the issue
of SEX.
Nor do they understand sexual differences between gender nor sexual preference. What the Dharma has to say might prove interesting. In biological terms, there are differences between men and women, and the structure of male and female brains differs as well.
But does this tell us anything about the Dharma and correct sexual comportment? We shall see.The great problem once more is that Dharma speaks of the human creature and his/her unstained nature, while what most want is Sex without Suffering.
That, my friend, is impossible, but we can teach you here how to be at least satisfied with your limited vision of natural sensuality.
WHO AM I? WHERE AM I GOING? WHERE HAVE I BEEN?
Modern psychology insists on developing a strong Identity and what they call self-esteem.
The inner "I" is supposed to be integrated into the collective "we". But the Dharma teaches us that there is no inner "I" and that "me" and "mine" are sources of unnatural suffering.
The problem is that society wants wants everyone to believe that they are "somebody" when really they are nothing at all. You are supposed to be happy looking up... and that is a long way up, where others are perched... and to look down... being happy therefore where you are.
You are supposed to be yourself, but no one can tell you who that really is.
However here we will help you build a picture of yourself that is a complete illusion, but allows you to look in the mirror and declare, "I know who I am," although there is no reflection at all.
Likewise, where you are going, and it is not really the Dharma way, we can color the right tint by providing you the means to build precious pink-colored glasses and you can be happy knowing that your future lies ahead. It is a foolish circle to believe such a thing, but does it matter if you know who you are... by knowing who you are not?
CONVERTING LONLINESS IN A CROWD INTO MARVELOUS SOLITUDE
The question really is, why would you want to be in a crowd, anyway? Well, it is because we are by nature a tribal animal, but we have forgotten what that means. It means being happy to share the only chair available.
You can share it alright, but you won't ever be happy. The only solution is to not share the chair. But the problem is that society and the church and education tell you that you must share... But there are rules... you must not share too much... or too little.
The secret then lies in being happy to be unhappy. That means that you need Blind Dharma.
Of course you can't find out after you are dead what will help you get back down to your possesions, because consciousness has just gone up in smoke, or perhaps some fat worm somewhere has it, though it's unsubstantial and will do it no good.
The Dharma itself says clearly that there are more important issues to be concerned about, for example the liberation of all sentient creatures, so why not occupy your time with that?
But while the "old" in times gone by were listened to for their "wisdom", now either the "old" have learned so little "wisdom" that no one wants to talk to them or the younger members of the human race are running away from wisdom because you can't sell it or do anything with it really in samsara.
So there you are, waiting to die ... If you are not afraid, worried or other similar thing then you are bored to death. You can't really start anything new because there's probably no way you can finish it and what is going to be done with whatever you do when you are gone anyway? So there is only the other side of the door to worry about.
Perhaps Blind Dharma has answers... Perhaps not.
BE HAPPY PERCHED ON THE TOP OF THE MAST IN THE SHIP OF FOOLS
or
STOP THE WORLD, I WANT TO GET OFF
It is difficult to see yourself on this ship of fools, but you are there in the tree tied to the mast. You act like a wise owl, sipping a little at your own cup of nectar, occasionally peeking down.
The tree used as a mast is a symbol of the tree of life, and you are up there clinging away without any idea where you really are. But you don't want to be down there.
You know that you are on a ship of fools. There is no doubt about that in your head, but the alternatives don't seem so attractive.
The pitcher on the left and stored barrels behind the monk symbolize the consumption of alcohol.
The figure reaching up to a roasted fowl tied to the tree represents the gluttony. What a mess. You don't really want the Dharma, you only want that part which will let you feel happy being in the tree.
Blind Dharma is the answer.