Mayka, Remember we can talk about the relative, conceptual idea of happiness and the absolute truth of Happiness.
View all problems as challenges. Look upon negativities that arise as opportunities to learn and to grow. Don't run from them, condemn yourself, or bury your burden in saintly silence. You have a problem? Great. More grist for the mill. Rejoice, dive in, and investigate. Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English" In other words, even when there is unhappiness there is Happiness! Mike ________________________________ From: Maria Lopez <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, 28 April 2011, 18:11 Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: Sai Baba Bill Wrote: "Happiness' is a dualistic concept. If you create 'happiness' then you also create 'sadness' or suffering". Your statement reminds me a recent encounter with someone who is very angry and experiencing disappointment after going with her husband to PV Monastery with the object of being giving instructions, help and support in the pursue of creating a children school. Basically the disappointment is based in the discovery that the ideal iced population in the Monastery are very ordinary people with their strength and shortcomings. However, the way they received in themselves that reality is that the lady is accusing them of abuse and violence!. This very young couple have even created a group talking about the psychological violence people receive in sanghas. Wow, Their both minds are playing a nasty trick on them. But this is what brings about idealising and living in a created world of Walt Disney in which only "happiness, peace, serenity....and all what is pleasant" is welcome and all the rest discharged. And yet this was not the initial teaching I receive. The initial teaching was of non discrimination between the opposite pair. The massive expansion doesn't give the material time and resources to teach, correct and train appropriately people and the result is people creating anunreal Disney World. Steve: If you read me, please don't get upset. Don't mistake insight with me not respecting TNH tradition. I have profound gratitude and respect towards TNH. In fact I have always been amongst their honest and sincere supporters in many ways. And they do value my opinion very much. Mayka --- On Thu, 28/4/11, Bill! <[email protected]> wrote: >From: Bill! <[email protected]> >Subject: [Zen] Re: Sai Baba >To: [email protected] >Date: Thursday, 28 April, 2011, 2:25 > > > >ED, > >There is nothing 'wrong' with living with the illusion of self and having >attachments. Buddhism 101 teaches that attachments are the cause of >sufferring. 'Happiness' is a dualistic concept. If you create 'happiness' >then you also create 'sadness' or sufferring. > >If you're okay with that then you have no strong incentive to take up zen. >Zen (lower-case 'z') does not prosletize. Buddhism and Zen Buddhism might, >but zen does not. > >...Bill! > >--- In [email protected], "ED" <seacrofter001@...> wrote: >> >> >> >> Bill, >> >> Within limits, what's the problem with having attachments which make one >> happy. All non-human living entities and 99.9 percent of humans are >> under the illusion of self. >> >> So what? >> >> --ED >> >> >> >> --- In [email protected], "Bill!" <BillSmart@> wrote: >> > >> > ED, >> > >> > 'Gratifying the self' is another phrase for 'having attachments'. It >> also implies the person is still under the illusion of 'self'. >> > >> > ...Bill! >> > >
