THE FARMER

THE FARMER

Ozmo Piedmont, PH.D.

In the Tripitaka, the Pali Cannon, we find the Buddha using an effective metaphor to demonstrate our spiritual practice in daily life.  He says he is a farmer, plowing and sowing seeds in the field.  When another farmer questions him as to why he considers himself a farmer if he has neither plough nor seeds, the Buddha answers:

                My seed is faith, my rain control,

                My plough and yoke are understanding,

                My yoke is conscience, mind is my tie,

                And mindfulness my shoe and goad.

                Guarded in body as in speech

                And modest in the use of food,

                Truth is the reaping that I do,

                Forbearance my unharnessing;

                My harnessed ox is energy,

                Which draws on to surcease of bondage,

                Going to where no sorrow is

                And never turning back again.

                Such is the ploughing that I do;

                It has the Deathless for its fruit.

                Who does this ploughing will be freed

                From every kind of suffering.[1]

Our practice begins with the seed of faith, something that calls us from within, inviting us to search for a way of living based on peace and compassion, and we trust that call as being true and important.  When we begin to refrain from reacting in selfish ways, then we water ourselves with our aspirations, purifying our karma, and finding liberation from suffering.  Our tools are the yoke that is our spiritual practice, reconnecting us to the Divine, and the plough of correct understanding, cutting open the hard earth of our ignorance, preparing us to receive the seeds of Dharma.   That which keeps us on the road of practice is our conscience, that tiny voice with us, guiding and attuning us to the work at hand, and our mind, working in tandem with our Buddha Nature to find the best path.  With the mind and the conscience working together, we are able to develop the most indispensible tool of mindfulness, giving us the capacity to stay focused in the present, observing all that is arising without prejudice.  We use it as a goad, gently inspiring us to continue on our path.  If we are careful with our body, are moderate in our eating, then our work is made easier and more efficient, since we have a body that is healthy, with good energy, strong and resilient.  Our harvest is the discovery of the Truth, both within and without, in which we realize our most intimate connection to the Infinite.  By practicing patience in all that we do gives us the opportunity to purify the three poisons of the mind: desire, frustration, and delusion.  It requires the energy of dedication to free us from the negative influences of these poisons in our minds and in our lives.  In this way we attain Enlightenment, changing our karma and living healthier lives.  We commit ourselves to follow this spiritual path, in order to experience in our flesh and bones, a profound peace that leads to salvation, transcendence of death, and the liberation from suffering forever. 

---

1 Ñanamoli, Bhikkhu. The Life of the Buddha. (Tripitaka: Pali Canon) BPS Pariyatti Editions: Onalaska, WA. 1992. Ch.9: pp.120-121.

THE DRIVER

THE DRIVER

Ozmo Piedmont, PH.D.

When we are in our cars on the road of life, who is really driving, our karma or our Buddha Nature?  In the Dhammapada one reads that the Buddha once said: “He who holds back rising anger like a rolling chariot, him I call a real driver; other people are but holding the reins.”[1]  Anger is a form of aversion, one of the three mental poisons of the mind.   When life presents us with situations that provoke aversion, whether it is in the form of anger, rage, irritation, frustration, fury, disgust, bother, worry, or fear…all are opportunities for our spiritual practice.  These sensations in themselves are not the problem, but it is rather our attachment to them, that which reinforces old patterns and unconscious habits based on egocentrism. When this happens, we are out of control y our actions cause hurt, pain, and suffering.  In other words, we have lost the reigns of the chariot of our mind.  In stead of training our body and mind in the ways of guiding the chariot in order to resolve problems with insight, wisdom, and compassion, we are actually prisoners of negative tendencies, those which become repeated thousands of times in our lives due to our negative karma.  We are actually causing as much suffering for others as much as for ourselves.  On the other hand, when we are able to practice mindfulness, or attentiveness to the moment, as a good driver, we are in control of our reactions, restraining the tendencies that cause us to in the wrong direction, allowing us to steer the chariot in the most appropriate direction.  We neither go in the direction of inactivity, nor in the direction of uncontrolled emotions.  Upon seeing an obstacle in the road, the situation requires us to act in the moment; our sensations are telling us to pay attention and attend to what is happening.  For example, if there is a pothole in the road, the sensation of worry, irritation, anger, o fear tells us that there is a danger up ahead.  One must avoid the pothole.  But, how do we do that? If we are attached to our emotion of aversion, we could swear at the pothole, which would do us not good anyhow.  But by observing the arising sensation, we allow it to pass, and in stead of allowing the emotion to dictate our behavior, we look for a more efficient way to avoid the pothole.  This is the moment in our spiritual practice that we ask the Infinite, “What is it good to do now?” which gives us the opportunity to consider all the options, while we put our faith in a more profound wisdom, that which has a wider perspective, so that it can counsel us, that which pertains to our Buddha Nature.  Upon receiving this directive, we commit ourselves to action.  In this way, we avoid the pothole in the road, in the same way we avoid the interpersonal collisions with the world of our families, work, and society.  It is comforting to remember we are not alone on this road of life, since the counsel and the help from the Infinite is like having one of those global positioning systems, or GPS, in our cars.  Upon pressing a button, a computerized voice comes on telling us the best route to take in order to arrive most directly to our destination, telling us, “Turn right at the next corner.”  We can choose to ignore the voice if we like, but we trust that it is guiding us for in our best interest.  In the same way, we trust the Infinite as our interior GPS, guiding us in the most direct way to reach our destination.  Through meditation, practice and mindfulness, we are turning on this inner GPS guidance system, opening ourselves to the guidance available in this moment.  When we ask the Infinite, “What is it good to do now?” we are pressing the button that gives us the Eternal the opportunity to guide us in our daily lives, to help us purify our karma, to alleviate suffering, and to arrive to our divine destination in our lives by the most direct route possible, that which is the joy and peace of the Infinite manifesting itself as our Buddha Nature.

[1] Babbit, Irving. (Translator).  The Dhammapada.  New Directions Publishing Corporation: New York, N.Y. 1936.  Chapter XVII: verse 222.

---

ENLIGHTENMENT

ENLIGHTENMENT:

RELEASING THE SELF, ONE FINDS THE NO-SELF

Ozmo Piedmont, Ph.D.

Enlightenment is not the goal of Zen, but rather the by-product resulting from the work of solving the koan of our lives.  A koan is a spiritual riddle that is solved by way of meditation, spiritual practice, and contemplation.  The koan must be solved by intuition, not by intellect or reason.  The Buddha left his royal palace not to reach Enlightenment.  He left looking for a solution to the principle koan of his life: How to escape the suffering caused by old age, sickness, and death? Wandering about for several years in his spiritual search, he discovered that one cannot escape this suffering through either asceticism nor through the distractions of sensual indulgence.  First, one must confront life, accept it as it is, and then transcend it.  The Buddha found the answer to his koan upon discovering his intimate connection to the Eternal.  Sitting under a tree, he became very still, moving neither his mind nor his body. In this way, he discovered the true origin and end of suffering.  It became apparent that while he clung to the idea of a self, with its desires, insecurities, fears, and delusions, he suffered.  However, his liberation from suffering could be found in the no-self, that which is not based in desire.  In the same way, we are all entering into the spiritual path looking for a solution to the difficulties of life, which are all variations of this basic koan of the Buddha, in which we are all suffering while looking for unsatisfactory external solutions based on a permanent self and its desires.  When finally we have had enough of ourselves, when we have tried everything and nothing solves the problem, when we just give up the old outworn attempts at solution, that is when we are ready to release the self, with all its fears, its doubts, and it criticisms.  We leave all of it behind in order to find our true identity.  That is when we begin to now solve our koan.    So we sit down in meditation, calming our minds, in order to bring down the interior barriers, and we confront what we used to believe was who we are, a small self, and we begin to find that which we are, the no-self.  Thus we begin the spiritual work of purification or our karma in so to discover the fullness, the unity, of the no-self.  In the scripture The Most Excellent Mirror – Samadhi one reads: “You are not Him, He is all of you.”  This means that our true identity is found in the no-self, beyond the ego.  The self is lost in delusion while it believes itself to be separate, permanent, and the center of the universe.  But low and behold, it finds out that its just not true.  It was this belief all along that created so much suffering.  It is our responsibility, the real goal of all religions, to abandon the ego of our delusions based on separation, to reconnect ourselves with the no-self, the Eternal.  Upon solving the koan of life, the by-product is Enlightenment.  In other words, Enlightenment is our capacity to see the Eternal everywhere, including ourselves.  For this reason, one reads in The Most Excellent Mirror – Samadhi “In this superior activity of no-mind, See, the wooden figure sings – and the stone maiden dances.”  The no-mind is synonymous with the no-self, that which transcends the limits of the ego, which is our Buddha Nature, the Eternal, giving us a wider perspective, and allowing us to see that everything is the Eternal expressing itself in everything at every moment.  Everything is celebrating this connection because everything is literally the Eternal.  When we become quiet in the seated meditation of Zen, the mind ceases to be so agitated, allowing us to see beyond the distractions of thoughts and sensations, experiencing directly that which has no words, that which is not an object of thought, that which has no beginning or end.  It is that which we experience as a Presence, an interior peace, an unending joy, in spite of the seeming appearance, duration, and passing of all things.  Something in us reaffirms that all this change is exactly as it should be, and that nothing really dies, because all is an aspect of the Infinite.  All is Buddha, including the challenges, the thoughts, and the mistakes we make, because all is the universal Buddha teaching us of our connection and our basic unity with Him.  Our practice reveals this to us in every moment, since the Infinite is manifesting itself in our very lives, revealing itself constantly in the particularities of our actions.  Our ego, our little self, begins to release the reigns of control, allowing us to flow with in the eternal river of the no-self, which is perceived as change, being the second law of the universe, called “anicca”: All things flow because nothing is permanent.  Accepting this reality of how things really are, we are able to transcend them.  In this way the Buddha solved his koan, discovering the end of suffering that comes from our experience of old age, disease, and death.  In the Eternal, there is no birth nor death, no beginning nor end.  Everything just IS, here and now.  Everything expresses the reality of that which is always present.  This realization, when experienced directly, inspires us to dance and sing with the rocks, the plants, the animals, and all the being everywhere, because “all is One, and at the same time all is different.”  There is no need to suffer, escape, fear, or hate because we trust in the fact that all is actually the Eternal expressing itself in the temporal, experienced as peace and joy…Enlightenment.

Bibliography:

Jiyu-Kennett, R. M.  Roar of the Tigress, Vol. 1.  Shasta Abbey Press: Mount Shasta, California, 2000.

GRATITUDE

GRATITUDE

Ozmo Piedmont, PhD

It is one of the five laws of the universe that “The will to Enlightenment, the intuitive knowledge of the Buddha Nature, occurs to all people.” This means that everyone will eventually reach a point in their development when they begin to intuit that what they have been searching for throughout this and other lives is to be united with the Infinite.  The appearance of this most sacred of all aspirations is the product of experiencing the dissatisfaction of living one’s life based on craving, aversion, and delusion.  When one finally realizes that true joy springs from actively seeking the Divine, investigating its Truth in our lives, and practicing spiritually to deepen this connection, what begins to arise is a profound sense of gratitude.  In fact, the sense of gratitude is one of the signs of a Bodhisattva, one who puts the salvation of others before one’s own salvation.  In the scripture “Awakening to the Mind of the Bodhisattva” it states:

When one awakens to True Wisdom it means that one is willing to save all living things before one has actually saved oneself…Although our own merit for Buddhahood may be full ripe, it is our bounden duty to use all this merit for the purpose of enlightening every living thing.[1]

To save all beings means to help everyone awaken to his and her true nature within, the Buddha Nature, and to help each one find the path that leads to the freedom from suffering.  We are all Buddhas, yet the direct experience of this has been clouded by our own delusion, craving, and frustration.  Through our spiritual practice we accumulate good karma, or merit, which becomes a powerful force for transformation in the lives of others around us.  For the layperson, our most effective way of teaching others is through example.  As we put the teachings into practice by following the Eightfold Path and apply the Precepts, others begin to perceive there is a new and different way to be in the world, a way based on compassion, charity, tenderness, benevolence and sympathy, which are other characteristics themselves of a Bodhisattva.  It basically boils down to putting three principles in place: ceasing from evil, doing only good, and doing good for others.  The simplicity and perfection of these basic principles leads to a profound joy that completely transforms our lives and which is quite apparent to those around us.  Then they too begin to follow our example, and begin to awaken to this same aspiration to return to the Infinite. In so doing, they discover a depth of joy in living that naturally results in gratitude.  In the scripture “Putting the Teaching into Practice and Showing Gratitude” it states:

The Buddha Nature should be thus simply awakened in all living things within this world…we should think deeply upon this: how fortunate have we been to be born now when it is possible to see the Truth…What alternative have we but to be utterly grateful for the great compassion exhibited in this highest of all teachings which is the very eye and treasury of the Truth?[2]

 We can be grateful that there is a way to free ourselves from suffering, that there are Buddhas in all times and all places to show us this path of Awakening, that we have gained sufficient merit through countless lives that we are provided the opportunity to even hear the Dharma that we can be free and truly happy, that we are already one with the Infinite, and that we only need to open our hearts to this fact in order to begin to experience it directly.  We begin to value this life here and now for what it has brought us, and we see it as an opportunity to further practice in the application of the Precepts in the freeing of all beings from suffering.  This same scripture goes on to state:

…The life of this one day, today, is absolutely vital life: your body is deeply significant.  Both your life and your body deserve love and respect for it is by their agency that Truth is practiced and the Buddha’s power exhibited…This Buddha Nature is itself the Buddha and, should you awaken to a complete understanding thereof, your gratitude to the Buddhas will know no bounds.[3] 

We come to understand the wonder and perfection of this body and mind which serve to reflect our attachments and ignorance, showing us though suffering that there is another path.  Then we begin to appreciate that we have all the tools right here to overcome this suffering, and all that has gone before has served to bring us to this realization in time and space of That which is beyond time and space, our true Self, which is Buddha Nature.  Now we can truly let go of our resentments and pain realizing it has all served to bring us to the Truth of who we truly are.  In fact, true forgiveness of those that have hurt us in the past is an aspect of this very gratitude, since they have all given us the opportunity to grow spiritually, and to find what it means to love, to be compassionate, and to help others. We are no different then they. We have hurt others while seeking happiness.  We are all doing the best we can, based on the knowledge we have at that moment.   Therefore, all serves to further, all is for best, that being our realization of Truth.  And we can bow down to them and That which has brought us to this moment of Eternity, and say “Thank you! You have taught me well.  I am free to choose my life in how it will be lived. I have awakened.  And in appreciation, I will work for your salvation, too, that you too may know this joy.” And that is when the Bodhisattva in us begins to move, and play, in this world of appearances. This very playground is Nirvana.     

---

[1] Jiyu-Kennett, Rev. Master.  Roar of the Tigress, Shasta Abbey Press: Mt. Shasta, California. Vol. 1.  Ch. 4., pp. 151-152.

[2] Ibid. pp. 181-182

[3] Ibid. pp. 185-186.