Now she just can’t get enough Loud music, fast cars and good times
Delbert McClinton, Kentucky Headhunters, Junior Brown, Commander Cody, many more. You may not know some, maybe none, of the artists of this electric honky tonk music.
Here are some of my favorite tracks. (Some may be troubled by 16 and Single, suggesting it’s okay for a 21-year-old guy to be admiring a 16-year-old-girl who “just can’t get enough loud music, fast cars and good times. Hm-mm.)
Note: If you’re wondering what Junior Brown is playing on his album cover, it is an instrument he helped invent, the guit-steel guitar.
“We are in the era when even the teachings of religion are perverted so that famine, disease and war are rife.”
When all the world is filled with evils, Place all setbacks on the path of liberation.
If we have instructions on how to carry obstacles onto the path, then no matter how many difficulties and conflicting situations come upon us, they will simply clarify our practice and have no power to hinder us on the path. If, however, we do not have such instructions, then difficulties will be experienced as hindrances.
In these degenerate times*, as far as the outer universe is concerned, the rains and snows do not come when they should, harvests are poor, the cattle are unhealthy and people and animals are riddled with disease. Because people spend their time in evil activities, because they are jealous and constantly wish misfortune on one another, many countries are at variance and in desperate circumstances. We are in the era when even the teachings of religion are perverted so that famine, disease and war are rife. But, when a forest is on fire, a gale will only make it bigger, it certainly will not blow it out. Likewise, for a Bodhisattva who has received instruction, all such catastrophic situations may be profitably taken onto the path.
*The five degenerations are as follows: in degenerate times, 1) beings die early, tormented by famine, disease, weapons and war; 2) they have evil dispositions, they are without inclination to virtue and are thoroughly opposed to the supreme Doctrine; 3) the lives of such beings are brief; 4) depraved emotions are powerful; 5) ideas and views are coarse and mistaken.
What’s wrong with the world, Mama? People livin’ like they ain’t got no mamas I think the whole world’s addicted to the drama Only attracted to things that’ll bring you trauma Overseas, yeah, we tryna stop terrorism But we still got terrorists here livin’ In the USA, the big CIA The Bloods and the Crips and the KKK But if you only have love for your own race Then you only leave space to discriminate And to discriminate only generates hate And when you hate, then you’re bound to get irate, yeah Madness is what you demonstrate And that’s exactly how anger works and operates Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight Take control of your mind and meditate Let your soul gravitate to the love, y’all, y’all
People killin’, people dyin’ Children hurt, and you hear them cryin’ Can you practice what you preach? And would you turn the other cheek? Father, father, father, help us Send some guidance from above ‘Cause people got me, got me questioning Where is the love?
Where is the love? Where is the love? Where is the love, the love, the love?
It just ain’t the same, old ways have changed New days are strange, is the world insane? If love and peace is so strong Why are there pieces of love that don’t belong? Nations droppin’ bombs Chemical gases filling lungs of little ones With ongoing sufferin’ as the youth die young So ask yourself, is the lovin’ really gone? So I can ask myself, really, what is going wrong With this world that we livin’ in? People keep on givin’ in Makin’ wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends Not respectin’ each other, deny thy brother A war is goin’ on, but the reason’s undercover The truth is kept secret, and swept under the rug If you never know truth, then you never know love Where’s the love, y’all? And where’s the truth, y’all? And where’s the love, y’all?
People killin’, people dyin’ Children hurt, and you hear them cryin’ Can you practice what you preach? And would you turn the other cheek? Father, father, father, help us Send some guidance from above ‘Cause people got me, got me questioning Where is the love?
I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder As I’m gettin’ older, y’all people gets colder Most of us only care about money-makin’ Selfishness got us followin’ the wrong direction Wrong information always shown by the media Negative images is the main criteria Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema Yo, whatever happened to the values of humanity? Whatever happened to the fairness and equality? Instead of spreading love, we spreading animosity Lack of understanding leading us away from unity That’s the reason why sometimes I’m feelin’ under That’s the reason why sometimes I’m feelin’ down It’s no wonder why sometimes I’m feelin’ under Gotta keep my faith alive ’til love is found Now ask yourself Where is the love?
Father, father, father, help us Send some guidance from above ‘Cause people got me, got me questioning Where is the love?
Now sing with me, y’all (One world, one world) We only got (One world, one world) That’s all we got (One world, one world) And something’s wrong with it Something’s wrong with Something’s wrong with the world We only got (One world, one world) That’s all we got (One world, one world)
Those who have been touched and influenced by the teachings of Ramana Maharshi (1979-1950) are changed.
He is not nearly as well-known as others among modern spiritual sages. He was not a founder of a movement or part of one. He was just someone who lived a simple life of wisdom and conveyed teachings to listeners and later to readers.
Wherever we have gone, whatever more particular traditions we have pursued, what we learned from him has been irreplaceable and unforgettable. If you are a part of any particular tradition, even if you find that tradition more than enough and prudently don’t want to overload your learning, he is worth exploring.
There are two kinds of exploration, two kinds of explorers.
One has a mission, an objective, something specific to find.
One explores to find not an objective, but whatever is discovered.
Both of these share something essential.
When they have arrived somewhere, anywhere, whatever the details, whatever their arrival seems to mean, they can say one thing:
Here I am. Here this is.
It is maybe coincidence that this is one of the shortest and most famous sayings in the Bible, a response when God calls to Abraham, Jacob, Moses and others. Hineni. Here I am.
In these stories, we can assume that God already knows where these people are, and that they know that God knows. Maybe they are saying it as a lesson to us.
Maybe they are teaching, whether authors of the Bible intended it or not, that whatever the story that has gone before or is yet to come, whatever exploration led to the moment and will lead on, there is nothing else but this. No yesterday or tomorrow. Nothing but this.
Like other religions, Buddhism describes a time of degeneration. The farther we are removed from original teachings—in Buddhism from the time of the Buddha—the worse the circumstances. Different religions deal with such worsening times with different scenarios for recovery, some of them dramatic and apocalyptic.
In Buddhism there is a less dramatic and more personal scheme for this period of degeneration. If all is a matter of mind, then training and taming the mind is the way.
Following is commentary on the conclusion of the Seven Points of Mind Training. It details the five kinds of degeneration and repeats the benefits of adversity: “The trainings are like fire, and adverse conditions are like firewood.”
The Excellent Conclusion
“This quintessential elixir of heart advice, which transforms the five kinds of rampant degeneration into the path of enlightenment, is a transmission from Serlingpa.”
In today’s world we need the elixir of mind training. We’re living in what’s referred to in dharma teachings as “a period of degeneration,” an era when sentient beings experience great adversity. There are five different kinds of degeneration, and each one affects our quality of life.
The degeneration of life span refers to the many beings whose lives are cut short because of violence and poor living conditions.
The degeneration of afflictive mental states refers to an increase in negative thoughts and emotions.
The degeneration of the quality of beings refers to the selfish inclination of beings and their willingness to harm others, as well as society’s devaluing of positive qualities such as honesty, consideration, and kindness.
The degeneration of views refers to the radical views that dominate people’s minds, which are not in harmony with the way things are.
The degeneration of time period refers to environmental pollution, natural disasters, and the rampant deterioration of the world, which greatly reduce the quality of life for all of the planet’s inhabitants.
But there’s good news. These degenerating times provide unlimited opportunities for us to apply the methods of mind training. In fact, the more adversity, the more mind training. The trainings are like fire, and adverse conditions are like firewood. The more firewood you pile on, the stronger the fire burns. That’s why this is the perfect teaching for right now. As adversity fuels our practice, we become better practitioners and better people.
There are many profound and effective methods for taming the mind within the dharma, but some of them take a long time to cultivate. The methods of mind training explained in this book, however, can bring immediate results when applied properly. They can be used by any practitioner to transform adverse conditions into the path of awakening. Whether you are old or young, experienced or inexperienced, have a highly evolved practice or are just beginning, it makes no difference. These methods work.
If there’s a remedy when trouble strikes, What reason is there for dejection? And if there is no help for it, What use is there in being glum? Shantideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva
Patience
10. If there’s a remedy when trouble strikes, What reason is there for dejection? And if there is no help for it, What use is there in being glum? Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group
10. If something can be fixed, what need Is there to be displeased? If something can’t be fixed, what good Is it to be displeased? Translated by David Karma Choephel
10. If something can be remedied Why be unhappy about it? And if there is no remedy for it, There is still no point in being unhappy. Translated by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche
His Holiness the Dalai Lama comments:
“We should try never to let our happy frame of mind be disturbed. Whether we are suffering at present or have suffered in the past, there is no reason to be unhappy. If we can remedy it, why be unhappy? And if we cannot, what use is there in being depressed about it? That just adds more unhappiness and does no good at all.”
Shantideva (695–743). Indian Buddhist scholar and author of the The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara).
The Way of the Bodhisattva is a guide to cultivating the mind of enlightenment and generating the qualities of love, compassion, generosity, and patience. The text has been studied, practiced, and expounded upon in an unbroken tradition for centuries, first in India, and later in Tibet. It outlines the path of the Bodhisattvas—those who renounce the peace of individual enlightenment and vow to work for the liberation of all beings and to attain buddhahood for their sake.
Randomness is one of the most helpful and illuminating elements of life. Gregory Bateson commented that within the holy of holies is a random number table.
The I Ching is one example. It is a book that offers thoughts based on numbers generated in various ways, and additional thoughts on those numbers changing their character. The system is viewed different ways. It may be that the numbers are reflections of the moment and the situation. It may be that the numbers are random, and it is that randomness that makes the thoughts most valuable, given that whatever path is taken, it is changing as we plan and step. Those plans and steps are good but temporary. As physics finds with quanta, or as Shunryu Suzuki said, “It is so, but it is not always so.”
Randomness can be used with any text, not just the I Ching. A cousin of random numbers is bibliomancy, in which a page and passage on that page in a book are randomly selected for advice.
I have used random numbers to explore texts from many traditions; the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible contains 929 chapters, for example. Today I applied it to the Dhammapada, considered the most accessible and most widely-read summary of the Buddha’s teachings. It contains 423 verses. The number generated was 3:
“He abused me, attacked me, Defeated me, robbed me!” For those carrying on like this, Hatred does not end.
“She abused me, attacked me, Defeated me, robbed me!” For those not carrying on like this, Hatred ends.
Dhammapada, Chapter 1 – Dichotomies, translated by Gil Fronsdal
As the following traditional verse makes clear, an intelligent form of patience is required if we’re to avoid being hurt and destabilized by the vicissitudes of life:
Even if you are prosperous like the gods, Pray do not be conceited. Even if you become as destitute as a hungry ghost, Pray do not be disheartened. Nāgārjuna, Precious Garland
Life’s trials often reduce us to damaged, bruised, and battered emotional wrecks. If we can bring a modicum of intelligence to our patience, we won’t become so exhilarated by our highs or self-defeated by our lows, as if we were suffering from bipolar disorder. Whichever of the two occurs, we’ll be able to maintain a sense of stability and groundedness. Patience is not a form of passivity, where we have no power over what life might throw at us. Even when life’s trials are unpleasant or upsetting, patience allows us to face them in a creative and beneficial way, with courage and dignity.
If things always went our way, we wouldn’t be able to develop high ideals and live a meaningful life. Instead of responding to difficulty the way we normally do, with frustration or impotent rage, we learn to approach life’s contingencies with patience and intelligence. The skillful exercise of patience will make us less flaky and predictable, and we’ll be able to utilize situations to our advantage.
Bob Schwartz 