The Ochocos

Published
by
Paul
on June 29, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Camp seen from north

Robin and I spent three nights last week the Ochoco National Forest. We like to do a little camping when we can get away - it’s been three years since our last excursion. Arriving at about 5:00 Wednesday evening, we set up camp on what appeared to be a long-abandoned logging road that spurred off a navigable dirt track. Although we brought a tent, we didn’t set it up because the sky was clear and expected to be so for the rest of the week.

Camp seen from south

As I unloaded the car, Robin set to work pulling up a circle of grass about eight feet in diameter, then we gathered rocks to build a fire ring within the clearing. I wasn’t too surprised the tall grass was still green. It seems the whole state had a late start on summer. In the clearings were holdovers from an earlier wildflower bloom: purple lupin, orange Indian paintbrush, and yellow wyethia.

Our road

Robin laid the kindling while I cooked dinner on the camp stove. For the rest of our stay, her routine was fire-tending and mine the evening meal preparation and clean up. For other meals we snacked on fruit, bread, cheese, and crackers.

We spent our late evenings around the fire, sipping tea and talking into the night under the prominent Milky Way. During the day, we spent much of our time following the shade with our camp chairs. After a while, we didn’t notice much the carpenter ants as they crawled up and down our ankles.

Cleaning up

One of Robin’s favorite things to do while camping is read aloud from a well-chosen book. This time it was “Siddhartha,” by Herman Hesse. I had read this book back in the ’70s, when I knew nothing of Buddhism, then again about 10 years ago, when I knew but a little. Robin hadn’t read it before and picked it up at the last minute. It’s not a long story, and we were through it in two days. The Buddhist aspects of the story gave us much to talk about.

Campfire girl

When we weren’t reading, we took time to explore our surroundings. The Ochocos are in central Oregon, northeast of Prineville. Everything east of the Cascade range is cowboy country, and we were right there in the midst of it, in one of several favorite spots for deer and elk hunters during their respective seasons. At the end of the road that ran by our summer home was a vacant horse camp. Come October, there will be a good deal more activity.

Twin snags

Our site was on a rocky prominence bordered by deep draws that ran down from either side of us. Our abandoned road - made impassable by a series of berms, deadfall, and young pines - took us to the end of the prominence and gave us a grand view to the south. One of the hallmarks of our prominence were a pair of snags that appeared to dance in the sky.

Talking together

Saturday morning, it was already hot by 7:30 when I started the coffee. After breakfast, we slowly broke things down and packed the car. Our last activity was a sponge bath. We dumped the water over the fire ring and covered it with rocks. By noon we were on our way home and to our mundane routines.

View to the south

Suppose They Gave a Book Signing…

Published
by
Paul
on June 18, 2008
in Buddhism, Dharma and Mapping the Dharma
. 1 Comment

…and nobody came.

I don’t travel much, preferring to stay close to home. In my life I think I’ve flown there and back again maybe just a dozen times. I don’t have much use for frequent flyer miles. Until last Saturday I’d never flown anywhere on business. Early that day I flew out of Portland International Airport bound for Oakland. I was guest for the day of Jeffrey Kimoto, manager of the Buddhist Churches of America Bookstore at the Jodo Shinshu Center in Berkeley.

Jeffrey had invited me to the bookstore to sign a stack of my books, Mapping the Dharma, and to give a little talk to those who would come. The bookstore has been one of my best customers. I was delighted to go. After fetching me from the airport, Jeffrey treated me to breakfast and a busy cafe where we talked about Theravada Buddhism (what I am most familiar with) and Jodo Shinshu.

Jodo Shinshu is the branch of Mahayana Buddhism known as Pureland, the most widely practiced branch in Japan. The center, which was extensively remodeled about a year and a half ago, also is home to the Center for Buddhist Education and the Institute of Buddhist Studies.

Jeffrey tells me that several area BCA temples are using Mapping the Dharma in various study courses. Little wonder he thought my coming to the bookstore would cause a buzz. Although the event was widely promoted, what occurred was more a whisper, and my talk was more a conversation.

The event wasn’t to occur until 1:00, so I took the opportunity to walk the neighborhood. Back at the bookstore, things were pretty slow. Jeffrey was beginning to worry that no one would show. It does happen, I told him, that book signings sometimes can be non-events. Shortly before 1:00, a familiar face - to Jeffery, anyway - walked through the doors. Jeffrey greeted him as “Sensei,” and introduced me to Reverend LaVerne Sasaki. “Retired,” Rev. Sasaki added before running through the list of area temples he had been associated with over the years.

Retired or not, I found this man to be filled with wisdom expressed through an expansive heart. At the appointed time, the two of us went upstairs to the room in which I was to give my talk. Instead of standing at the podium, we drew two chairs together and talked for an hour and a half, until it was time for me to go back to the airport.

In spite of the differences among the various branches of schools and streams of thought within the greater Buddhist community, there remains an unwavering dedication to the Four Noble Truths - the core of the Buddha’s teaching. At the very root of it all are the unhappy results of the desire to have things a certain way. This impossible demand is the source of all suffering and strife in the world. From a business standpoint, the day was a bust, both for the bookstore and myself. Yet I had no sense of loss. I returned home with the satisfaction of having met some very fine and gracious people.

The Householder, “Family Guy,” and Desire

Published
by
Paul
on June 6, 2008
in Buddhism, Delusion, Desire, Dhamma and Dharma
. 2 Comments

I don’t watch television. Neither does Robin. We have one in the house, though, and with three teenage girls it’s on much of the time. And if it’s not television programming they are watching, there is a DVD playing. So much of what I see and hear in the background is, to me anyway, just plain inappropriate.

Objectionable programming comes from every direction, often unexpectedly and sometimes camouflaged as something worthwhile or innocuous.

One of the programs I find distasteful is called “Family Guy.” It’s a cartoon - that is, an animated situation comedy - that covers every adult-oriented situation imaginable (except, perhaps, those you’d find on the Flintstones). I complained to Robin once about its raunchiness. She told me how a co-worker raved about it.

The co-worker here happens to be the psychologist at a middle school. His job - at least part of it - is to deal with some fairly disturbed kids. There is a profound paradox here. On the one hand you have a man who deals daily with an increasing array of psychological and behavioral problems. On the other hand, you have a man who finds programs like “Family Guy” fine entertainment. His tacit approval makes it OK for general family viewing. It also implies a subtle denial of the connection between what the average kid is exposed to and some of the the problems of the kids he works with.

“Family Guy” is possible because of it’s popularity with adults - at least enough of them to allow it to happen. I know there is and will always be a generational divide, and there is a difference between what kids like and what adults like. I’m not talking about how one program is popular with two demographics.

What I’m talking about here is desire. An adult’s desire for entertainment is just as strong - if not stronger - than a child’s. For most of us, when the desire for something is strong enough, we will do just about anything to get it. And we will create all manner of justifications in the meantime. If I, as an adult, enjoy the the kind of humor presented by “Family Guy” I will watch it, regardless of who else may see it. Besides, it’s not that bad. You should see and hear the stuff I’m exposed to at work!

Our economy - and the entertainment industry is just a part of it - is based solely on desire. It’s what makes everything possible for us.

What’s missing from the equation is discernment, the ability to know what’s wholesome and what’s not. If I desire to quench my thirst, I can do so with a glass of water or a glass of beer. I choose water. So who’s going to be the first to stand up and demand, “What do you have against beer?” Good question. What do you have against water?

Desire, says the Buddha, is at the root of suffering. The only cause of suffering deeper than desire is ignorance, because ignorance makes desire possible. Ignorance of what? In this case, it’s the ignorance of the damage done to a mind exposed constantly to unwholesome things. Who would defend Family Guy as a wholesome program? If it can’t be considered wholesome, then what is it?

Oil Quake

Published
by
Paul
on May 25, 2008
in Anatta, Belief, Buddhism, Change, Delusion, Impermanence and Suffering
. 4 Comments

Disasters, such as those that happened recently in China and Myanmar, cause an immediate change in how those affected live their lives. In these two cases, the effects were far-ranging and directly touched millions. Some disasters - and there are millions of them a day, I suppose - are on a much smaller scale. A traffic accident that kills a family member or house fire that claims an entire family’s possessions are examples.

Above all else, disasters place their survivors in a state of absolute uncertainty, stripping away any illusions we may have of stability and permanence.

A profound disaster occurred in the US on September 11, 2001. The primary effect of that disaster was great human and material loss and destruction that directly touched many people. Tremendous as that was, though, the secondary damage done to our national psyche was much greater in it’s own way. It was as an attack from outside for which we were ill prepared. We were shocked, stunned, and angry for a long time. We were faced with the fact that we are exposed and vulnerable. But there was - and continues to be - a tertiary effect of 9/11. It began when unscrupulous politicians exploited the event, playing on the fears and insecurity of the nation to further an agenda that had been in the making for years. Out of a need for certainty and security, we allowed these people to wreak havoc around the world and within the homeland.

The primary damage of September 11 was immediate. We knew exactly what hit us and when, just as they knew in China and Myanmar. The tertiary damage, however, is slow and inexorable, and it’s source and design is not so clear as unstable weather or shifting tectonic plates. Most of us have no real idea of the inner workings of world politics and economics. Yet what is happening politically and economically around the world - especially when it comes to crude oil these days - has the potential for disaster.

I don’t know if it’s possible for those smarter and more informed than I to draw a direct line from our collective reaction to an event that happened nearly seven years ago and to the price I pay for a gallon of gas today. And it really doesn’t matter.

But it does seem to me that the price of fuel will sooner than later begin to have an effect on how I and most of the rest of us live our lives. I am considering giving up one of my several jobs - teaching a class, specifically - because of the distance I must drive to get there. It simply is not cost effective. That is just one small thing, an example of making necessary adjustments in my life and lifestyle to accommodate significant changes in the way things are.

I can’t help but wonder how long before gasoline is $5, $8, $10 per gallon. What will we do? What will I do? What changes will I and my family have to make? What will happen when the average citizen cannot afford to go to work? I haven’t noticed that wages are rising along with the price of gas. I have noticed that profits for Chevron and Exxon/Mobile continue to rise along with the price of crude oil.

Much of the blame for the high price of fuel is being placed on demand from India and China. I wonder how much of that is true. People the world over have always been lied to and mislead by their governments (or whoever holds real power). We hapless citizens of the USA are no exception. Remember how Enron manipulated the price and flow of electricity - and destroyed many lives in the process? Once again, the why of it doesn’t matter. There is no real stability to anything, no matter how much we want to believe it.

What matters is something is happening. Something big and life-changing. The question on my mind is how I will respond to it.

Savior-faire

Published
by
Paul
on May 17, 2008
in Buddhism, Eightfold Path and Practice
. 0 Comments

I was hanging out with my friend Mike one day after school. I have no recollection of what we were talking about. I do remember, though, what he said in response to something I had said or done. After 40 years - maybe 40 years to the day, because it was in the spring of 1968 - I can still remember those words because in so many respects they ring as true now as they did then.

“Gerhards,” he said, “you know what your problem is? Your problem is you’ve go no savior-faire.” I didn’t dare ask what he meant, not wanting to show my ignorance. Yet even though I’d never heard the phrase before, I’d had enough French to eventually figure out the idiom. It means know-how. But it’s more than that. To have savior-faire means to know the right things to say and do in any social situation. I accepted Mike’s assessment without argument. I didn’t know what to say.

Some people have a knack of knowing just what to do in a situation. The converse is not neutrality. It is saying or doing the wrong things, the things that make a situation worse. Socially, then, there is a right way and a wrong way to behave. Those of us with social grace seem to have a much easier time with things than those who don’t. As an introvert I can only imagine what it’s like to be socially graceful.

I discovered that Buddhism is all about savior-faire. I don’t mean to imply that it’s about how to say and do the things that bring prestigious positions and sizable salaries. Rather, it’s about saying and doing the right things. Period. Two of the factors of the noble Eightfold Path are Right Speech and Right Action. Saying and doing. By saying and doing the right things, good things come one’s way. I’ll concede here and now those “good things” may not be money or power or anything else one uses to measure success in the material world. I will also concede that whatever good things one can expect may not be realized anytime soon. In fact, they may be so far in the future that there may be no discernible connection at all.

Does it matter?

Taking Refuge

Published
by
Paul
on May 9, 2008
in Buddhism, Dhamma, Dharma, Fear, Four Noble Truths, Refuge and Safety
. 0 Comments

In the lane next to me at a stop light, the hooded, sneering kid banged his hand on the steering wheel as the bass line rocked the car and rattled the windows. I wondered what kinds of thoughts coursed through his mind.

I asked my son what this fascination with pounding music was about. He told me he likes being in his car with the music up because it pushes from his mind all the thoughts he’d rather not have there. Music, to him, is a refuge from the harshness of the mind.

I think people are driven to find refuge in any way, in any place they can. In other words, we are driven to survive. Some of us are more civil in our pursuit of maintaining existence than others, but the drive and desire are the same.

A few weeks ago, Barack Obama claimed that when people are taken advantage of and have lost much of what they have they become bitter. Their bitterness drives them to - dare I say it? - take refuge in guns and religion. He was right, of course, because many, many disaffected people do turn to guns and religion. He took a big hit for that remark. Hillary Clinton proudly proclaimed, “The people of faith I know aren’t bitter.” An intelligent woman like her couldn’t have missed Obama’s point, but it was a perfect opportunity to pander to her constituents, who cheered and cheered.

Of course, one doesn’t need to be bitter to turn to guns, religion, or anything else for safety and security. One simply needs to be human. That’s because it’s our nature to want to be safe and secure. We need refuge, we need protectors. Each one of us needs someone to say, “There, there, everything is going to be all right. There is nothing to be afraid of.”

Nothing except ceasing to exist.

The desire for existence, of course, is nowhere but in the mind. The mind is a powerful and creative force. We can create whole worlds for ourselves, and we can - and do - give any meaning we want to the universe as it truly exists. What I mean here is that we really don’t see things as they are, but as we want them to be. Maybe that’s why we choose politicians who pander to us and reject those who will dare to tell us the truth. It gives us the illusion of safety and security.

So we take refuge with politicians and preachers, ideas and ideologies, dogmas and doctrines, all for the purpose of keeping us safe and secure within our own minds.