Although I do not write here as often as I would like or probably should, I keep several journals and am constantly writing the tidbits of insight I receive or occur to me throughout the day and my experience. The following is an entry I wrote on the weekend of Wesak, a day celebrating Buddha's life, Enlightenment and teachings.
I figure now, with the amazing astrological event of the last week (lunar/solar eclipse, full moon, Venus transit) is probably a good time to post this, with particular emphasis put on the Venus transit. Maybe more on that to come... :)
AND as I look at my journal I JUST realized this Wesak/Buddha entry was actually written on the day of Venus! (Friday: see note)*
*The way I title many of my entries in my journals includes the content and subject matter, but puts emphasis on the actual date (i.e, 4/28/12), the time of day, and any correspondences I feel are significant, which always includes the planetary ruler of the day (for magickal/astrological/shamanic purposes). Venus rules Friday.
Thoughts on the teachings of Non Self...
Buddha's teaching of Nonself does not implicate that we lack self or are empty or void in any way. Rather, that all of life and all things in it flow together in a single river of self. No thing and no one is separate from anything or anyone else. All is connected in every possible way.
When we eat a vegetable or fruit (I'll use fruit as the example), we are not just eating the fruit, or something that has only been alive on this Earth for some days. We are eating the tree that bore the fruit, and the ground the tree grows in. We are putting into out bodies the rain and sun light that fed and nourished the tree to make that fruit.
Nonself shows us that self has no boundaries, and is not separate from itself ever in anyway. Not that life nor you nor me are empty of self, but that we share the same self.
That fruit is the tree, the ground, the light and the rain - and when we eat it (and even before!) we are that. Even before we taste it, we breathe (and therefore are part of) the air that made the clouds that made the rain that watered the ground that made the vegetables that fed our parents that made us. Nonself means everything (in its essence and it's physical seemingly separate form) is, always has been and always will be connected as parts of a whole, nothing ever being lost or wasted, as everything is transformed (and already a part of!) into something else!
We can use this understanding to bring peace, hope and strength to our lives. Let us speak of trees again as an example. Sadly, trees are extensively cut down (when other materials and processes are more efficient, ecological, economical and safer) and used for all sorts of things. But, they are also used to make paper to make get-well-soon cards that family and friends give to loved ones when they are sick to show that they care which makes them feel better and helps them heal. This does not change that harm is being done to our planet (and therefore ourselves), but this persepective changes our thinking and teaches us to see things in a new light positively with courage and can enable us to have some peace and also find new solutions and ways to transition into a sustainable and intelligent (yet efficient and thriving) global culture. Anyone can worry. Anyone can complain. Anyone can judge. It requires true character, wisdom and strength to remain rooted in peace, compassion and faith.
So we see, through the understanding of nonself, that there is no seperation between us, between how we treat others and how we feel about ourselves. Between the happiness we give and the happiness we feel in our own lives. Between how we live and what we eat and what we waste and the destruction of our planet. Between how we think and speak and the violence created and felt by others across the world.
And this is a good thing! For when we learn to see things in this way we are able to create the world we wish to live in. We will quickly realize that to know true joy in our own lives we must give kindness to others. To take care of ourselves we must take care of others. And to take care of our planet we must take care of ourselves, for we are all connected. The health, prosperity, and peace of one depends on all the others. We only have immediate control of ourselves; of our actions, our words, our lifestyle, thoughts, and habits. If we all remember these things constantly, our lives will quickly become rich with meaning and we will feel constantly satisfied, at peace and inspired.
