Bitter Waters

Coming Jan 2006

For anyone who reads this and is interested in being updated as my book publishing thing moves along, email bitterwatersthenovel@hotm ail.com. And don’t worry I’ll never give, sell, or otherwise abuse email addys given to me. You will only get junk mail about my book, and nothing else. Promise.

Albert Einstein

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism

In between my Christian upbringing and my choice to follow an Earth Based Faith I studied Buddhism. I took classes with an ex-monk and his wife, an ex-nun. That’s why they left. Isn’t that sweet?

Anyway, at first I was just interested to know more about Buddhism. But after learning about it, I became more and more interested and have a deep respect for the faith. It’s been on my mind a lot lately, for a few reasons. One, since Pastor Dave’s and my conversations about faith, I find myself leaning more towards the “it just is” mentality towards faith. Buddhism takes the “just is” mentality to heart. I’m not sure this constant discourse (yes I see the irony) is good for one’s faith.

Two, I’m reading “Creation” and Cyrus- the main character, is in India and is about to meet Buddha-the Buddha. And three, after being asked “where is God?” my answer to that is basically what the four noble truths say. So I decided to write about them, a little.

The first one: Life is suffering, or Life means suffering.

Humans aren’t perfect. Neither is the world we live it. We all have to live though and deal with the same suffering, pain, sickness, injury, old age, sadness, frustration, fear and sorrow.

And yet if we do not endure these sufferings we would never know and appreciate their opposites, Joy, happiness, pleasure, compassion, comfort.

Our world is subject to impermanence, everything changes and nothing lasts forever. Sorrows heal; joy follows tragedy. And sadness will follow joy. We can not hold on to any of what we strive for, our happiness will pass by, just as suffering does.

On a side note, I have an Angel on my back. She is reaching for her halo, she is imperfect and her halo is just beyond her reach. She is my reminder to keep striving. One day I will have that word added to her image.

The second one: The origin of suffering is attachment.

We all have things we are attached to, things such as ideas, thoughts, beliefs as well as physical objects. We suffer because we desire to keep them and obtain more. We can’t let go and fear the possibility of losing them. We fear being shown we could be wrong in our ideas. We suffer from desire, the pursuit of wealth, prestige. We crave, we want. And yet all of these things are as impermanent as suffering and joy. The loss of these things are inevitable and so we suffer at their loss; even their possible loss.

To add to this a major object of attachment is the idea of “self”. Self is a delusion because what we call “self” is imaginary. We are all merely a part of the perpetual transformation of the universe.

A hard one to swallow for sure, I defiantly don’t have a handle on it, I crave, I want and I on occasion feel it is my right to- Have.

Number three: The cessation of suffering is attainable.

The end of suffering can be accomplished though nirodha. This means the unmaking of sensual craving and conceptual attachment. This truth shows that through having dispassion suffering can end. Nirodha destroys all attachment, that suffering can be overcome though removing the cause of suffering. Having perfect dispassion is a process of many levels and always takes many life times, it ultimately results in the state of Nirvana. Nirvana is the freedom from all troubles, complexes, worries and ideas; an end to suffering in its entirety.

The disclaimer and almost always gets tacked on to this truth is: Nirvana is not comprehensible to those who have not reached it.

Although my Buddhism teacher was kind enough to say to me after class one day that he felt my incarnation right now is close to nirvana- based on my understanding of Buddhist ideas, the fact that I’m secretly really happy about this comment shows me I’m actually pretty far away from it.

I am not yet ready to let go of my earthly desires. Nor am I ready to let go of my attachment to the Goddess. Although I do believe that the act of nonattachment is the path to nirvana and I do believe that Buddhism is the natural course my soul will take through it’s lifetimes, I will- in this incarnation- remain Wiccan, maybe in my next life I’ll be Buddhist.

The last one is: The path to the cessation of suffering.

This path is commonly known as the Eight Fold Path. This is a path of self development. Often called the “middle way”, it balances the extremes of excessive self indulgence- hedonism and excessive self denial- asceticism; and it leads ultimately to the end of the birth and rebirth cycle. It is this second part that discerns it from other paths where humans “wander on the wheel of becoming” (a path with no end). By ending the birth and rebirth cycles the eight fold way differs from these other paths- it has an end- nirvana. This path can extend over many lifetimes and throughout these lives each individual rebirth is subject to karma. Craving, ignorance, delusion and all suffering gradually disappear as progress is made along the path.

The Eight Fold Path

As mentioned above the journey along this path can take many lifetimes. With each rebirth we take wisdom, or ignorance, gained in previous lives with us. Where we stand along the path depends not just on our actions, or inactions, of this life, but also all of the previous lives we have lived.

I don’t totally understand a lot of the ideas talked about in the Eight fold path which says to me, I’m not very far along.

The Eight Fold Path can be divided into three parts.

Wisdom:

1. Right View
2. Right Intention

3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood

6. Right Effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

Right view: Right view is the beginning and the end of the path, it means to understand things as they really are and to realize that the Four Noble Truths are the way. As such, right view is the intelligent aspect of wisdom. It means to grasp the impermanence and imperfect nature of the world and ideas. With the Right View one understands law of karma and karmic conditioning.

Right Intention: refers to the deliberate action aspect of wisdom. The right view gives us the intelligence to take action with the right intention. It is a commitment to ethical and mental self development. Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions:

1. The intention of renunciation; resistance to the pull of desire,
2. The intention of good will; resistance to feelings of anger and aversion, and
3. The intention of harmlessness; meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion.

Right Speech: is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path. Ethical conduct is a guideline to moral discipline, which supports the other principles of the path. Right Speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows:

1. To abstain from false speech; do not tell deliberate lies and do not to speak deceitfully,
2. To abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others,
3. To abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and
4. To abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth.

To say it nicely, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary.

Right Action: The second ethical principle, right action, involves the body as natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions. Unhealthy acts lead to unstable states of mind, while healthy actions lead to sound states of mind. Right action means:

1. To abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently,
2. To abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and
3. To abstain from sexual misconduct.

Said in a nice way, right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others. Further details regarding the concrete meaning of right action can be found in the Precepts (more on the precepts later).

Right Livelihood: means that one should earn one's living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for this reason:

1. Dealing in weapons,
2. Dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution),
3. Working in meat production and butchery, and
4. Selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided.

Right effort can is often prerequisite for the other principles of the path. Without effort, nothing can be achieved. Mental energy is the strength behind right effort; it can occur in either healthy or unhealthy states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is detailed in four types of actions that rank in ascending order of perfection:

1. To prevent the arising of un-arisen unhealthy states,
2. To abandon unhealthy states that have already arisen,
3. To arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen, and
4. To maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen.

Right Mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition. It is the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear consciousness. Usually, the cognitive process begins with an impression induced by perception, or by a thought, but then it does not stay with the mere impression. Instead, we almost always conceptualize sense impressions and thoughts immediately.

We interpret them and set them in relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally go beyond the facticity of the original impression. The mind then posits concepts, joins concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs into complex interpretative schemes.

Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualization in a way that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted for this as the four foundations of mindfulness:

1. Contemplation of the body,
2. Contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral),
3. Contemplation of the state of mind, and
4. Contemplation of the phenomena.

Right Concentration The eighth principle of the path refers to the development of a mental strength that occurs in natural consciousness. Concentration in this context means a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration also in everyday situations.

I never said being Buddhist would be easy.

Pay off mortgage

Trust fund for the Ruler’s education- at least 5M

Pay all bills

Pay off my parents Mortgage and all their bills

Buy both my sisters homes- pay off their student loans

Pay off the hubbies parents mortgage- and any outstanding bills

Pay off my best friend’s mortgage

Start a bursary/trust/whatever for single moms/dads to get pay for daycare and or education for improving job skills

Donate a crazy huge amount of money to the First Church Mission (downtown eastside food/soup kitchen)

Donate money to the Red Cross, or another relief organization.

Get a bunch of the snotty teenagers in my neighbourhood -who think they have it rough- and take them downtown where we buy 100 sandwiches from Timmy’s and hand them out to the street kids.

Go to Europe for a year

Buy a Mini

Hire someone to clean my house once a week forever.

Give a bunch of money to the schools the Ruler will go to- anonymously

i've lost all my motivation. and am on the verge of falling asleep. My parter in crime and her husband are also sacked out sleeping off this dreary saturday afternoon. I decided to venture off home, where I'll be innterupted by the Ruler, but al least there will be some energy to fed off of there, unlike here. :D

Even though blogging is detramental to this novel writting process and I would like to say that I won't post again until it is over, that is highly unlikely, just harder, now that I will be without a wireless connection.

I will check in, sometime later, maybe post something more, I don't know. I hope the change of scene helps my motivation... off I go...

FM

I wrtoe for about 45 minutes last night, and then got so tired I just couldn't see the words on the screen so i went to bed. I figured I would wake up arounf six of seven, i'm so used to that with the ruler. but no here it is almost nine am! and I'm just got my coffee and getting set to write.

I slept in!!! ack!!! if you, anyof you see me bumming around here today or any day until tuseday - yell, shout, and tell me to bugger off, got it? I've got a novel to write!

FM

ten minutes approx to lift off... I'm writing on a friends laptop, and I'm still getting used to the key placement, I'm just doing a bit of writing here to get the hang of it. it's all squishy and the keys are small. but it's coming along and I'll get something written tonight, but not a lot i expect because i'm very tired and even the yucky Red Bull i drank a half hour ago isn't really helping my energy.

I've been awake since 430am, i don't figure on going to bed for another couple hours, this could be the longest i've been awake in about five years... yup just killing time...

8 minutes to go...

My parnter in crime isn't actually writing a novel for the contest, she's just going to work on her own stuff, rework some pieces etc... who know's she's pretty tired too and i don't know how long she'll last. but she's been a sweetie and already put sheets on the couch for me to crash when I want.

five minutes to go... think I'll get a snack, my pillow for my butt- this chair is too low- and get ready...

will update come morning time... good sleep all...

FM

Plot: No. Enid coming to terms with her mothers death (and guilt) from cancer

Cryptic dialogue: Yes. Most likely, haven’t written any yet, but I’m terrible at dialogue so it’s likely

Cryptic dialogue hinting at a dark past betrayal: Yes. Enid feels guilt, believes her mother blamed her for her cancer.

Was it incest? Probably. No not in this case, abuse yes, incest no

Female character as empowered victim: Yes. Of course Enid is a victim, but finds the strength to face her past to be a support to her friend Anise who’s husband has just left her

Graphic but ironic use of violent imagery: Sure. Maybe but I’m not sure yet

Healing: Yes, but only at the end. Always she gets healed it ALLL works out, but I’m pretty sure the bastard husband doesn’t come back.

Humour: No. actually there might be just not sure yet

Irony: Yes. To the best of my ability, though often irony escapes me so we never can tell.

Characters who spend most of their time remembering things that happened to them before the book actually started: Yes. ALWAYS! That’s what happened in the last one, most likely in this one too.

Isn't the concept of an "empowered victim'. an oxymoron?: Shhh.