Understanding Prudence - A Buddhist Lesson

           

This is a tale that talks about listening to those that are wiser than you are, and recognizing that they are wiser.  This, for me, was difficult when I was in my teens, twenties and in my early thirties.   When I was doing my lessons on understanding the Buddhist way, this story came up, and reminded me of my foolishness.  

I am now one that lets those that know, lead, and I offer to support them.  When I feel sure of my ground, I will offer to lead, and step back when another feels strongly.  I am getting more wisdom as I keep my mouth shut.

May you enjoy this lesson!

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The story of Prudence…

Once upon a time there was a caravan leader. He went from country to country selling various goods. His caravans usually had at least 500 bullock carts. 

On one of these trips his path led through a very thick forest. Before entering it, he called together all the members of the caravan. He warned them, "My friends, when you go through this forest be careful to avoid the poisonous trees, poisonous fruits, poisonous leaves, poisonous flowers and even poisonous honeycombs.

"Therefore, whatever you have not eaten before - whether a fruit, leaf, flower or anything else - must not be eaten without asking me first." They all said respectfully, "Yes, sir."

There was a village in the forest. Just outside the village stood a tree called a 'whatnot tree'. Its trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits look very similar to a mango tree. Even the colour, shape, smell and taste are almost exactly the same as a mango tree. But unlike a mango, the whatnot fruit is a deadly poison!

Some went ahead of the caravan and came upon the whatnot tree. They were all hungry, and the whatnot fruits looked like delicious ripe mangoes. Some started eating the fruits immediately, without thinking at all. They devoured them before anyone could say a word.

Others remembered the leader's warning, but they thought this was just a different variety of mango tree. They thought they were lucky to find ripe mangoes right next to a village. So they decided to eat some of the fruits before they were all gone.

There were also some who were wiser than the rest. They decided it would be safer to obey the warning of the caravan leader. Although they didn't know it, he just happened to be the Enlightenment Being.

When the leader arrived at the tree, the ones who had been careful and not eaten asked, "Sir, what is this tree? Is it safe to eat these fruits?"

After investigating thoughtfully he replied, "No, no. This may look like a mango tree, but it isn't. It is a poisonous whatnot tree. Don't even touch it!"

The ones who had already eaten the whatnot fruit were terrified. The caravan leader told them to make themselves vomit as soon as possible. They did this, and then were given four sweet foods to eat - raisins, cane sugar paste, sweet yogurt and bee's honey. In this way their taste buds were refreshed after throwing up the poisonous whatnot fruit.

Unfortunately, the greediest and most foolish ones could not be saved. They were the ones who had started eating the poisonous fruits immediately, without thinking at all. It was too late for them. The poison had already started doing its work, and it killed them.

In the past, when caravans had come to the whatnot tree, the people had eaten its poisonous fruits and died in their sleep during the night. The next morning the local villagers had come to the campsite. They had grabbed the dead bodies by the legs, dragged them to a secret hiding place, and buried them. Then they had taken for themselves all the merchandise and bullock carts of the caravan.

They expected to do the same thing this time. At dawn the next morning the villagers ran towards the whatnot tree. They said to each other, "The bullocks will be mine!" "I want the carts and wagons!" "I will take the loads of merchandise!"

But when they got to the whatnot tree they saw that most of the people in the caravan were alive and well. In surprise, they asked them, "How did you know this was not a mango tree?" They answered, "We did not know, but our leader had warned us ahead of time, and when he saw it he knew."

Then the villagers asked the caravan leader, "Oh wise one, how did you know this was not a mango tree?"

He replied, "I knew it for two reasons. First, this tree is easy to climb. And second, it is right next to a village. If the fruits on such a tree remain unpicked, they cannot be safe to eat!"

Everyone was amazed that such lifesaving wisdom was based on such simple common sense. The caravan continued on its way safely.

The moral is: The wise are led by common sense; fools follow only hunger. 

-from Buddhanet.com

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Many blessings,

Judy

50 Golden Rules For Life

Picture of mountains in Elbow Falls Wilderness Area - by J. Hirst

Often, I find that I need a pick-me-up mental or spiritual boost on some morning.  I read a lot and sometimes find nuggets of good information in places I do not expect to find anything useful.

Last month, I was scanning LinkedIn and found this wonderful posting by Alvin Foo on LinkedIn on February 24 2024.  His thoughts and his rules for life are worth sharing.

50 GOLDEN RULES FOR LIFE.

1. Never shake hands at anyone without standing up.

2. In a negotiation, never make the first offer.

3. If they trust you a secret, keep it.

4. If they lend you a car, return it with a full tank.

5. Do things with passion or don't do it at all.

6. When you shake your hand make it firm and look that person in the eye.

7. Live the experience of traveling alone.

8. Never turn down a peppermint pill, the reasons are obvious.

9. Take advice if you want to grow old.

10. Come eat with the new person at school/office.

11. When you text someone and you're angry: finish, read it, delete it, and rewrite the message.

12. At the table you don't talk about work, politics, or religion.

13. Write your goals, and work on them.

14. Defend your point of view but be tolerant and respectful to others.

15. Call and visit your relatives.

16. Never regret anything, learn from everything

17. Honor and loyalty must be present in your personality.

18. Don't lend money to someone you know won't pay you back.

19. Believe in something.

20. Tend your bed when you wake up in the mornings.

21. Sing in the shower.

22. Care for a plant or a garden.

23. Keep an eye on the sky every chance you get.

24. Discover your skills and exploit them.

25. Love your job or leave it.

26. Ask for help when you need it.

27. Teach someone a value, preferably a small one.

28. Appreciate and thank the one who extends your hand.

29. Be kind to your neighbors.

30. Make someone's day happier, it will make you happier too.

31. Compete with yourself.

32 Treat yourself at least once a year

33. Take care of your health.

34. Always greet with a smile.

35. Think fast but speak slow.

36. Don't talk with a mouth full.

37. Polish your shoes, cut your nails, and always keep a good look.

38. Don't put your opinion on issues you don't know.

39. Never mistreat anyone.

40. Live your life as if it were the last day of it.

41. Never miss a wonderful opportunity to remain quiet.

42. Recognize someone for their effort.

43. Be humble, even though not all the time.

44. Never forget your roots.

45. Travel when you can.

46. Give up the step.

47 Dance in the rain.

48. Seek your success without giving up.

49. Be fair, stand up for those who need you.

50. Learn to enjoy moments of loneliness.

Many blessings,

Judy

Overcoming Helplessness

Picture of clouds lifting from Microsoft Clip Art…

 

 

I had a question from a reader asking how one can overcome helplessness.  It was not clear if the helplessness was for the person or for a friend.  Keep in mind that often helplessness is a learned behaviour . It is learned from parents who tell you that you cannot do anything and therefore do everything for you.  And it can come from an injury or illness where others must do everything for you because you are helpless at the time.  Then, being helpless feels comfortable because one is used to it.  Helplessness becomes a way of life.

Some of the tools that I use in coaching folks on how to move beyond helplessness, comes from a book Helplessness by Martin E. P. Seligman.  If you feel helpless or you have someone that you see as helpless or powerless in your life, try this, and read the book.

“Helplessness, then, can be recognized by: 

1. Lack of motivation, listlessness. 
2. Cognitive breakdown between actions and outcomes - inability to link actions to the consequences they bring about - also manifests as blaming others or external factors for your situation, condition, and outcomes. 
3. Negative emotions: boredom, anxiety, frustration, anger, hopelessness, depression (sometimes suicidal).

Apply this procedure to cure helplessness: 

1. Recognize your helplessness, lack of motivation, listlessness. 
2. Recognize that as a baby and subsequently you've had many experiences where you were unable to control consequences or outcomes. 
3. Recognize your negative emotions: boredom, anxiety, frustration, anger, hopelessness, depression. Acknowledge them to yourself, for example, by saying, "I recognize that I feel helpless, hopeless, and depressed." 
4. Consciously and deliberately choose to experience any or all of these emotions. Make a cognitive link between that choice and what you experience, for example, by saying to yourself, "I consciously decide to feel helpless, hopeless, and depressed. Therefore I feel helpless, hopeless, and depressed." 
5. Perform a simple action such as washing the dishes or combing your hair. Observe the consequences or outcome. Form a cognitive link between your action and its outcome. (Examples below.) 
6. Divide a sheet of paper into three columns. In the second column list both positive and negative outcomes you've experienced during the past 24 hours, including emotions. In the first column write down your corresponding actions or inactions that preceded those outcomes. In the third column write down the causal or cognitive links between actions/inactions and outcomes. Consider only your own actions and inactions. (How to express the causal or cognitive link is explained below.) 
7. Don't blame others or external factors for anything.
8. Pat yourself on the back for all the positive consequences you did produce.” 

from Helplessness by Martin E. P. Seligman

Blessings,

Judy

Buddha’s Thoughts

At least once a week, I get an email or a phone call from a client that gives me pause to think about “why is that person acting or reacting like that?” I usually have a lot of wonderment around the question, and usually, within a day or two, I get a story or explanation for the behaviour. 

This morning I had a chat with a friend who was telling me that he/she would be fasting for the next ten days to help raise her/his vibration. And further, she/he would be avoiding all sweet things. 

I have learned that each person must do what seems right or best for him or her. However, the thought that sticks with me in all that I do is the vow of MODERATION that all those who take Munay-Ki must agree to. Moderation means that one is balanced in all things. Extreme fasting, or denying oneself, or forcing self to do things that are not for the highest good of the body temple are not in accordance with the Munay-Ki Vow. 

As I was reviewing my lesson in Buddhism, the following teaching story came up, and I received confirmation from Great Spirit that I was on the path of understanding that we need to be balanced in all things. Here is the story.

The Holy Man Who Tried To Be Too Holy (Extremism)

Once upon a time, the Enlightenment Being lived in a world where most religions were very similar. They taught that the way to remove suffering from the mind was to make the body suffer instead. As strange as it seems, most people thought that the holiest of the holy were the ones who tortured their bodies the most! Since everyone seemed to agree with this, the Bodhisatta decided to find out for himself if it was true.

He stopped living as an ordinary everyday person and became a holy man according to the custom of the times. This meant that he gave up everything, even his clothes. He went naked, with his body covered only by dust and dirt.

So he wouldn't be spoiled by the taste of good food, he forced himself to eat only filthy things - dirt, ashes, urine and cow dung.

So he could concentrate without being interrupted by anyone, he went to live in the most dangerous part of the forest. If he did see a human being, he ran away like a timid deer.

In the wintertime he spent his days under the trees and his nights out in the open. So in the daytime he was soaked by the cold water dripping from the icicles hanging from the tree branches. And at night he was covered by the falling snow. In this way, in winter, he made his body suffer the most extreme cold in both day and night.

In the summertime he spent his days out in the open and his nights under the trees. So in the daytime he was burned by the most severe rays of the sun. And at night he was blocked from the few cooling breezes of the open air. In this way, in summer, he made his body suffer the most extreme heat in both day and night.

This was how he struggled, trying to bring peace to his mind. He was so determined that he lived his entire life in this way.

Then, just as he was about to die, he saw a vision of himself reborn in a hell world. The vision struck him like lightning, and instantly he knew that all the ways he had tortured his body were completely useless! They had not brought him peace of mind. Lo and behold, as he gave up his false beliefs and held on to the truth, he died and was reborn in a heaven world!

May you find this helpful in all that you do today, and all days!

Blessings,

Judy

River Otter - Another Spirit Animal

 North America River Otter – picture from Wikipedia… 

 

Last night, in my dream, several river otters were transformed from carefree, playful creatures into an ankle length fur coat.  I could only see the back of the coat, and every once in a while, it seemed that an eye would open on the back of the coat and look at me.  I woke up this morning with this image in my head.  Years ago, when I worked for Hudson Bay Northern Stores, we would get in shipments of cured furs, including otter.  The pelts were very soft and warm.  Most often, the pelts would be made into coats or jackets.  I wondered why I was getting this sequence of events.  Then I realized that I needed to talk about spirit animals today, and Otter was telling me that I should write about her.

Otter was born with a great curiosity, and will investigate anything that strikes her fancy.  She brings a message that we should indulge our curiosity about all things, and take no ones word for anything. Otter also looks at things from land, the surface of the water and from beneath the water.  Perspective may change, depending on the angle one views life from… so do not limit your self to one view point.  Explore many.  

We hear the words “go with the flow” and do not really know what that means because humans are constantly trying to control everything around them.  Otter drifts on the water, and follows the current, truly moving as one with the environment.  When in this state, it is easy to relax, and enjoy life.  The message is that we humans should not take life so seriously.  

Otter’s ability to be on land or deep in the water – it will hold its breath for up to four minutes – is a message about learning to get in touch with one’s deepest emotions.  It gives the example of going deep in the water to get food and this tells us that delving deep into our emotions to free up pain is food for our soul.  

Family has deep meaning for Otter who takes care of her offspring for as a two years.  Additionally, Otters love company and live in social groups.  Conservationists have found Otter to be very gentle and trusting.  She will come up on the bank to visit.  Her openness teaches us that we too need to be more trusting, and to embrace new adventures with enthusiasm.  

I wish you “Otter” filled days!

Blessings,

Judy

Snow Leopard Has Messages

"Their big eyes are so well adapted for low-light vision that snow leopards can hunt in near total darkness—but they can still go hungry when humans compete for their prey. Though trophy hunts for wild sheep and goats bring income to local communities, they can deplete food stocks for snow leopards."   Out of the Shadows, photo project by Steve Winter  The Winner of The Best Wild Nature Photo 2008

Snow Leopard has the colour brown, for the Earth, black for the Night and mystery and magic, and white for the Day, and connection to Great Spirit.  The reverence for Snow Leopard is displayed in the many legends around it. 

In  Nepal, in Dolpo, there are stories of great lamas frequently making trips to Tibet in the form of snow leopards, in search of rare medicinal herbs. Other folklore describes the snow leopard as a “fence” for the crops, meaning that in the absence of snow leopards livestock would be free ranging and thus would invade crop fields.

Dr. John Mock, in 2004, went to Pakistan, and investigated some of their myths.  This is one around the Snow Leopard.

Pari are female supernatural denizens of the high mountains. People in Pakistan, Afghanistan, north India and throughout Central Asia are familiar with pari. The Wakhi ethnic population in northern Pakistan, China, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have their own word for pari: mergichan. The mergichan inhabit the mergich realm, which is the realm of the mountains and high pastures. It is a pure, even sacred realm, where the supernatural mountain spirits tend their wild flocks of blue sheep and ibex. The Wakhi word for snow leopard is pes. A pes is a mergich animal found only in mergich areas. It rarely interacts with people, is hard to see, powerful, beautiful, and potentially dangerous. As such, it exemplifies many of the qualities of the mergichan, and so is an appropriate animal shape for them to assume.

If Snow Leopard comes to you, then know it brings several messages, and all of them or some of them may be for you!

1. Living high in the mountains, this animal is at one with Great Spirit and Mother Earth.  Leopard communes with the Wisdom Keepers (in Munay-Ki the mountains are Wisdom Keepers).  She reminds you to open up your intuitive abilities.
2. Snow Leopard moves invisibly and so is able to stalk her prey, as elusive as her prey is.  The message is clear – keep a very low profile as you pursue your goals to avoid drawing attention and competition to what you do.
3. Leopard is a hunter that attacks the neck from the back. As many belief systems say the soul enters and leaves through the back, it is believed that Leopard may consume souls. If Leopard comes to you, know that she is telling you that it is difficult for you to meet people face on, and to ensure your back is covered.  She also cautions about moving up on someone else’s back.  Balance in all things is required.  If you do need to defeat someone, beware of taking on their “stuff”.
4. Leopard medicine is one that requires strong bodies – and quick action.  This may lead to humans with quick, angry tempers.  Leopard cautions that the angry energy must be released. If not released, it will settle into the body causing pain in the bones and limbs…arthritis may result.

May those of you with Leopard medicine find peace.

Many blessings,

Judy

My Dream of Eagles and Horses

I dreamt that I was walking the dogs when we heard a racket to the left of us as the sun was rising.  There were five eagles sitting in one tree along the river. As we watched, the eagles lifted off the perch, one by one.  Later as we walked, we saw several horses playing in a field.  It was a wonderful dream that felt like love and freedom.  It felt like I was in harmony with the Earth and the animals.  I wanted to stay there.

When I woke up, all I could see in my mind were "eagles and horses".  Later, as I was looking for some information to send to a friend, I found a link to John Denver singing "Eagles and Horses". See the words later in this post.

I am not sure why this is important.  Perhaps it is because the eagle and the horse represent freedom - freedom of movement, of thought, of infinite possibilities.  Whatever the reason, I invite you to enjoy the two links to movies about "Eagles and Horses" and lose yourself in the mystery.

Pictures from Microsoft Clip Art...

The Song - EAGLES AND HORSES

Horses are creatures who worship the earth 
As they gallop on feet of ivory 
Constrained by the wonder of dying and birth 
The horses still run, they are free 

My body is merely the shell of my soul 
But the flesh must be given its due 
Like a pony that carries its rider back home 
Like an old friend that's tried and been true 

I had a vision of eagles and horses 
High on a ridge in a race with the wind 
Going higher and higher and faster and faster 
On eagles and horses I'm flying again 

Eagles inhabit the heavenly heights 
They know neither limit nor bound 
They're the guardian angels of darkness and light 
They see all and hear every sound 

My spirit will never be broken or caught 
For the soul is a free-flowing thing 
Like an eagle that needs neither comfort nor thought 
To rise up on glorious wings 

I had a vision of eagles and horses 
High on a ridge in a race with the wind 
Going higher and higher and faster and faster 
On eagles and horses Im flying again 

My body is merely the shell of my soul 
But the flesh must be given its due 
Like a pony that carries its master back home 
Like an old that's tried and been true 

My spirit will never be broken or caught 
For the soul is a free-flowing thing 
Like an eagle that needs neither comfort nor thought 
To rise up on glorious wings 

I had a vision of eagles and horses 
High on a ridge in a race with the wind 
Going higher and higher and faster and faster 
On eagles and horses Im flying again 

Words and music by john denver and joe henry

Many blessings,

Judy