I close my eyes, start some deep breathing, & mutter, “Please help.”
Why’s Patience a Virtue? Here’s a possible answer.
Month: November 2020
St. Buddha Isn’t Possible, not Catholic
I just love the saint’s quote and The Buddha’s story.
The saintly quote “Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that have received–only what you have given.”
Now the Buddha’s story is long but an explanation does follow, which gets at the similarities:
“In one of the Agama Sutras, the Buddha’s early sermons, there is a very interesting story:
Once there was a man who had four wives. According to the social system and circumstances of ancient India, it was possible for a man to have several wives. Also, during the Heian period in Japan, about a thousand years ago, it was not unusual for a woman to have several husbands. The Indian had become ill and was about to die. At the end of his life, he felt very lonely and so asked the first wife to accompany him to the other world.
‘My dear wife,’ he said, ‘I loved you day and night, I took care of you throughout my whole life. Now I am about to die, will you please go with me wherever I go after my death?’
He expected her to answer yes. But she answered, ‘My dear husband, I know you always loved me. And you are going to die. Now it is time to separate from you. Goodbye, my dear.’
He called his second wife to his sickbed and begged her to follow him in death. He said, ‘My dear second wife, you know how I loved you. Sometimes I was afraid you might leave me, but I held on to you strongly. My dear, please come with me.’
The second wife expressed herself rather coldly. ‘Dear husband, your first wife refused to accompany you after your death. How can I follow you? You loved me only for your own selfish sake.’
Lying in his deathbed, he called his third wife, and asked her to follow him. The third wife replied, with tears in her eyes, ‘My dear, I pity you and I feel sad for myself. Therefore I shall accompany you to the graveyard. This is my last duty to you.’ The third wife thus also refused to follow him to death.
Three wives had refused to follow him after his death. Now he recalled that there was another wife, his fourth wife, for whom he didn’t care very much. He had treated her like a slave and had always showed much displeasure with her. He now thought that if he asked her to follow him to death, she certainly would say no.
But his loneliness and fear were so severe that he made the effort to ask her to accompany him to the other world. The fourth wife gladly accepted her husband’s request.
‘My dear husband,’ she said, ‘I will go with you. Whatever happens, I am determined to be with you forever. I cannot be separated from you.”
This is the story of ‘A Man and His Four Wives.’
Gautama Buddha concluded the story as follows:
‘Every man and woman has four wives or husbands. What do these wives signify?’
THE FIRST WIFE
The first ‘wife’ is our body. We love our body day and night. In the morning, we wash our face, put on clothing and shoes. We give food to our body. We take care of our body like the first wife in this story. But unfortunately, at the end of our life, the body, the first ‘wife’ cannot follow us to the next world. As it is stated in a commentary, ‘When the last breath leaves our body, the healthy color of the face is transformed, and we lose the appearance of radiant life. Our loved ones may gather around and lament, but to no avail. When such an event occurs, the body is sent into an open field and cremated, leaving only the white ashes.’ This is the destination of our body.
THE SECOND WIFE
What is the meaning of the second wife? The second ‘wife’ stands for our fortune, our material things, money, property, fame, position, and job that we worked hard to attain. We are attached to these material possessions. We are afraid to lose these material things and wish to possess much more. There is no limit. At the end of our life these things cannot follow us to death. Whatever fortune we have piled up, we must leave it. We came into this world with empty hands. During our life in this world, we have the illusion that we obtained a fortune. At death, our hands are empty. We can’t hold our fortune after our death, just as the second wife told her husband: ‘You hold me with your ego-centered selfishness. Now it is time to say goodbye.’
THE THIRD WIFE
What is meant by the third wife? Everyone has a third ‘wife’. This is the relationship of our parents, sister and brother, all relatives, friends, and society. They will go as far as the graveyard, with tears in their eyes. They are sympathetic and saddened…
Thus, we cannot depend on our physical body, our fortune, and our society. We are born alone and we die alone. No one will accompany us after our death.
THE FOURTH WIFE
Sakyamuni Buddha mentioned the fourth wife, who would accompany her husband after his death. What does that mean? The fourth ‘wife’ is our mind [or Alaya consciousness]. When we deeply observe and recognize that our minds are filled with anger, greed, and dissatisfaction, we are having a good look at our lives. The anger, greed, and dissatisfaction are karma, the law of causation. We cannot be separated from our own karma. As the fourth wife told her dying husband, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.”
I stole this story on an Dailypedia. It can be found at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gautama.buddha.android
Why I Give Free Stuff Away & New Ones
A simple “Thank you” has resonated in my mind for a lifetime.
Why I make and give things away:
I attended a Catholic high school and almost all of us went to a Teens Encounter Christ high school retreat. We were divided into groups and one part of the retreat was to write on a poster board what our goals were. I didn’t have a goal. The only thing that I imagined wanting to achieve is to become super rich and then eventually become the U.S. President.
Please note: this was decades before Donald Trump came along. I concocted this idea without knowing who he was.
Then I looked at the religious folks and lay people, and easily envisioned the following question being asked:
“If you fulfill your goal do you think you’ll go to heaven?”
I chuckled to myself because while drawing a picture of a grave with a soul headed to heaven. Underneath it, I wrote, “Go to heaven. Just do whatever God wants.”
‘Gonna beat you to yer game,’ I thought to myself. I felt like a real smart ass.
Well, I was wrong. They were just interested in what our plans were after high school. However, my blurb seemed to make a difference.
A nun, a NUN, who I had not spoken to me, and seemed quite intimidating, came up to me at the close of the retreat, and said grinningly, “Thank you for your goal.”
Realize this: nuns can knock ya down without a word. Just a mean grimacing sneer can knock ya off your feet. No words or actions are needed for their force.
O.k. maybe she was playing my own questionable head game with me. However, those five words of gratitude left an enduring impression on me.
Since then, “going to heaven”, has been either my primary goal or burning my conscience when it was on the back burner. Sure, few if any people want to go to hell, but how many folks under the age of 70 will say, “Access to Heaven” is what they truly want out of life. Hey, I’m 53, and anytime God is ready to take me, I’m ready to go.
Of course what would you do to gain, “Access to Heaven”? My answer: whatever the hell God wants me to do.
No, I’m no saint. I’ve been with more women than a volleyball gets bounced between a bunch of high school girls, and I also don’t brag. (Unless that was one.) I also guzzled down barrels of vodka too. (Ma, it confused me. It looks like water…. In my past, some friends compared me to Charlie Sheen.) I’ve also done some good things too. However I’m not gonna blatantly launch that stuff off.
On March 12, 2020, Pew Forum reported that overall, six-in-ten people reported that people who think Christianity’s influence is waning say that growth in the number of people in the U.S. who are not religious is a “major cause” of the change, and a similar share (58%) blame misconduct by Christian leaders. However, it is easily recognizable that the Spiritual state of the U.S.A. is deteriorating, too.
Once I stopped drinking, my mental health came under control, and I stopped dating any woman, who just wanted a good time, then my spiritual aspirations were able to be fully pursued.
I’ve always remembered, the words that I said at the retreat as my lifetime goal, my goal is simple. Today, my specific goal with this blog is to encourage people to pray more. My woodworking reminds me to pray. Specifically my bracelets remind me the most. However if your a fathers’ yammaka, an Islamic son’s prayer mat, granny’s Rosary beads, or something you make would remind you to pray better then for by all means, use it and disregard my free offers.
Specifically, my goal is to encourage others to make prayer time in their daily lives. Daily praying helped my daily life. By praying for humility, I was able to accept my faults and defects. Then, I found peace with myself and then I became at peace with the world. This peace through prayer is how I’ve found happiness.
Bad Events Can Turn Out Well
Lord Buddha says: “One evening, Zen master Shichiri Kojun was reciting sutras when a thief entered his house with a sharp sword, demanding “money or life”.
Without any fear, Shichiri said, “Don’t disturb me! Help yourself with the money, it’s in that drawer”. And he resumed his recitation. The thief was startled by this unexpected reaction, but he proceeded with his business anyway. While he was helping himself with the money, the master stopped and called, “Don’t take all of it. Leave some for me to pay my taxes tomorrow”.
The thief left some money behind and prepared to leave. Just before he left, the master suddenly shouted at him, “You took my money and you didn’t even thank me?! That’s not polite!”. This time, the thief was really shocked at such fearlessness. He thanked the master and ran away. The thief later told his friends that he had never been so frightened in his life.
A few days later, the thief was caught and confessed, among many others, his theft at Shichiri’s house. When the master was called as a witness, he said, “No, this man did not steal anything from me. I gave him the money. He even thanked me for it.” The thief was so touched that he decided to repent. Upon his release from prison, he became a disciple of the master and many years later, he attained Enlightenment.”
Trying to always stay calm and not getting upset over negative events and consequences has helped me maintain a peaceful, happy disposition.
How to have a “Blessed Day”
Also, my personal definition:
My personal definition of “Have a blessed day,” is simply having: a day with nothing weighing down on your conscience. Keeping this line top in my mind, helps me have a better day.
Dealing With My Depression & A Silly Meme.
My note to myself wasn’t much but it made a difference.
Don’t kid yourself, later in the day, I talked to a friend and then a brother. I’ve dealt with my depression since grade school, and I know I have got to talk to someone I trust. (From what I’ve read, most if not all folks do, too.)
The next thing, I do is something I love, like making an idiotic meme. For example:
I get the issues out of my head, talk to someone, do something I love, and finally I find something that will make me laugh or at least put a smile on my face (which is why I put my stupid memes on my blog.).
I won?
Nobody wants my stuff = PLEASE RIP ME OFF!!!
Oh well. When you strike out, sometimes you gotta keep swinging. Mistakes can provide good lessons, especially when you have no idea what you’re doing. One day, it will work, or I’ll just keep trying.
One thing is for sure, I’m broadening my market. On average, two people compliment something I make. Those people are getting a home-made business card.
Close-ups follow and then last Sunday’s message when the first four bracelets were presented.
My goal is simple but bizarre. I’m going to post the bracelets I make once a week, probably on Wednesdays, and the first person to send an email to tcircled@mail.com regarding one particular set will receive the bracelet that’s being given away. All I’ll need is your address.
The only cost to you is a simple prayer. As already mentioned the prayer should be for your own inner peace. I don’t want any monetary rewards. Money in my wallet would be corrupting to my brain. I’d blow it on demonic women and rich spirits. If you want to make some sort of “payment”, than volunteer somewhere. I’ve helped out at Catholic Worker Houses and currently at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop. I’ve also written charitable checks. Helping others directly is much harder than writing a check and much more fulfilling to the donor and receiver. The poverty in the U.S. is one of love, spirituality, & community.
The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty — it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There’s a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.
Mother Teresa, A Simple Path: Mother Teresa.
This prayer can be Protestant, Catholic, Islamic, Jewish, some form of meditation from Hinduism or Buddhism. (Please excuse my ignorance of the Eastern Religions.) Essentially, I know I don’t know everything and God’s the judge. Therefore, I will not judge and love my enemies. You pick out your prayer. In fact, you can resell the bracelet. You can do whatever you want with it. You can rip me off. The reasons for all of this will be described in later posts. Short simple prayers have saved my life.
T Circled 