Welcome to my irreverent post of the week.
I didn’t dodge the bullet. The Buddhas winged me.
Does the epithet “Buddha” make you want to read this post, or push you to click away?
That word carries many connotations to many people; it simply designates an “Awakened One”, an Enlightened Being.
It’s also convenient. I’m a Southerner, I’m a little lazy, and “Buddha” is a nice short word with a funky sound – I like it.
Different cultures have different karma, different inclinations. As the net-infused world becomes more and more of a melting-pot, we’re given opportunities to learn more about others’ points of view. We see the inclinations and situations of others and come to understand that there are many answers for many people.
Even with Buddhism there are so many categories of inclination – I won’t call them levels, because that implies hierarchy.
I admire His Holiness the Dalai Lama (HHDL in short-hand), because he took on the job of keeping many very different groups together under the banner of Buddhism.
I enjoy the luxury of blogging/writing/practicing without adhering or answering to anyone but my conscience. I know I’m in my element when I can share what I understand about the “esoteric” stuff in simple words. I know clearly that’s my role. I can indulge myself, and focus.
HHDL has to speak to a multitude of inclinations in order to keep “Buddhists” from rioting. And he has to govern. And he has to explain Buddhism to all the Westerners fascinated with this… is it a realigion (sic), or a philosophy?
Meanwhile, I can call myself a Buddhist and still comment on God.
God appears more lovingly than Heruka (one of my personal Buddhas).
Heruka is the bullet I didn’t dodge. He can be a mean SOB when I’m self-indulgent (just ask my friends who’ve seen us together). But when I’m willing to laugh at myself, he has a raucous sense of humor. That’s healthy for me when I’m under stress. So Heruka works for me, and with me. He loosens me up and makes me look around – and inside.
God is very patient. God takes care of his followers.
Heruka does too, but He tends to wait until the very last moment, just to see how I handle it. For instance, I just got a job offer. My unemployment benefits run out – for good – in just a few weeks. For two years He has taunted me, until I finally “got it” – I must have faith in myself. I finally “get it”, and within two weeks, the heavens have opened and it’s raining opportunity. He says that soon it will be raining men, too, but I’m not holding my breath. I’ve learned that “soon” can mean “a lifetime”.
Heruka also makes a lot of cross-gender jokes, most of which I don’t get… But most of his riddles, I do get:
“What do you get when you cross a Buddhist and a Christian? Disagreement.” (did you hear that snare drum? Vaudeville… sigh. It’s Heruka’s joke, not mine.)
Sometimes I wonder who is more enlightened: my “Buddha”, or Job’s “God”.
Because all my friends come from a range of background, faiths, and philosophies, I say with some confidence that each of us hosts a pantheon of Enlightened Beings by any name. Fortunately, for us, we get guidance, no matter what. And this is my IMHO: I think we agree more than we realize, most of the time.
I just wish my Guide would do the typing, when he decides it’s time for a post at 12:30 am…
I don’t usually give advice, but since I’ve already waded into murky waters: Watch out for Whoever’s attention you grab – you might be in for that bumpy ride!
ALL ABOUT ENLIGHTENMENT 