The following are inspirational Buddha quotes and stories on mindfulness, karma, nirvana, happiness, and just letting go.
"Don't blindly believe what I say. Don't believe me because others convince you of my words.
Don't believe anything you see, read, or hear from others, whether of authority, religious teachers or texts."
"Don't rely on logic alone, nor speculation. Don't infer or be deceived by appearances."
"Do not give up your authority and follow blindly the will of others. This way will lead to only delusion."
"Find out for yourself what is truth, what is real. Discover that there are virtuous things and there are non-virtuous things. Once you have discovered for yourself give up the bad and embrace the good."
~ The Buddha ~
Is the information that we are given through out our lives meant just for us? Or are we suppose to share what we know? And who do we know who to share it with? How much information do we share? Do we want to make some one else's journey a little easier through life. Or not? Isn't learning the hard lessons how we learn? So maybe we should just keep our mouths shut, sit back in our comfortable places of life, and shut up? But then don't we end up feeling like we could have, should have, done something, anything? To save some one, anyone, or to save something? But is it our job to save everyone? Isn't it just up to us to influence those we love? But only If they let us... On the other hand we are all part of the human race. We all share experiences that could benefit some one else, even strangers. The greatest of those experiences is simply sharing love, kindness and compassion. Lots of questions. No real clear cut answers. Or is there?
Lately I have been hesitant to blog. A lot of ideas that I blog about I get from hearing, and/ or watching people. Some people are strangers, some are not. Some are from people whom I love and/or respect, some are not. I have been told by some people that I should stop blogging. Stop telling others what I think, what I see, what I hear. Stop voicing my opinions. "Opinions are like assholes...everyone has one." Who thought up of that phrase? I think it has been very effective at silencing so many people who should perhaps speak up. Having some people tell me this has made me hesitate on sharing what I see, hear, and experience. But then something interesting happens. My rebellious nature, which I have never lost since when it developed during adolescence, kicks in. I searched the quote; from what I can gather the quote comes from Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry movie. Interesting how a movie can hold so much influence.
http://quotegeek.com/quotes-from-movies/dirty-harry/5162/
Learning that a random quote from a movie about, lets face it, a cop who subscribes to his own form of justice, mostly by illegal means, got me to thinking about what influences our opinions, and how. This movie came out in 1971. For 43 years now people have been using this quote to shut people up, and down. Is it the over used misuse of this quote that is to be blamed? Or all of us that allow it to intimidate us? Why does it intimidate?
Well its origin comes from Clint Eastwood for one. Even when Clint Eastwood plays a good guy it is with a slightly injured, on the edge, man's man, fuck the world kind of attitude. In Dirty Harry he is playing a cop, who is not a good cop. He gets the job done, and we all silently cheer, well maybe not so silently, when he inevitably kills the bad guy who deserves to die. Harry is basically saying that even though he works with in the justice system he thinks the system sucks and is going to bring his own form of justice to get the job done. He mocks society and the hypocrisy of much of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qphxc1CiQYE
SO here's an interesting twist for everyone who misuses this quote. The quote is actually there NOT to shut people up but to get them talking!! Think about it! This is a guy challenging the system on almost every level. The quote is directed not towards someone who is thinking outside the box, but to someone who is in the box! So basically the conclusion that I have come to, when someone misuses this quote to try and get me to be quiet, is to tell that someone to; 1-watch the Dirty Harry movies dumb ass, and 2- you really are a lemming aren't you!?!
Not very Buddhist of me I know. And I recognize that. Which brings me to my next thought on speaking your mind. I truly don't think there is anything in any spirituality that says that anyone is suppose to sit back and say/do nothing when they see/ know someone is engaging in something wrong, or something wrong is taking place. The problem is not in people using their spirituality to define what is right and wrong. It is in the individual interpretations. Take a person who is highly prejudice, and angry, about everything, and everybody. We've all seen/ heard about these people. I can pretty much guarantee that a person of this type is going to interpret most spiritual readings to support, and even encourage more anger, and discrimination. However take a person who is kind and loving and compassionate. This person will interpret spiritual readings, and teach them, in the context of love, kindness and compassion.
Lets not put all the blame on the person who is doing the teaching. In communication there are two people. One throwing and one catching. Someone can throw a ball perfectly, but if the person catching doesn't catch it then the throw is incomplete. Does the person who is throwing give up? Is the person who didn't catch just a bad, flawed catcher? Or does the person throwing keep on trying until the catcher gets it? Who do we continue to practice with?
Here's what I think. I think not only do we all have the right to communicate what we feel is important, but we all have a bit of a moral obligation. I will give you an example. In my home, growing up, abuse was a secret. Everyone knew, no one talked about it. The adults would hint around it with the children who they suspected were enduring the abuse, but nothing was every said, or done. The kids were not protected. Why?
The adults didn't want to make waves, to disturb, and upset the rest of the family. They told themselves that kids turn into adults, and they, themselves, turned out ok, so the kids in question would too. (Abuse is generational unless it is put to an end.) They didn't think it was their place to say, or do, anything. So they didn't, and the abuse continued until the kids grew up.
Interesting thing happens, and it happens in many family's who keep the abuse secret. The abuse is kept secret because no one wanted the family to break up; and/ or the rest of the world to know of the terrible, embarrassing things that were taking place. The kids are basically a sacrifice; given up to keep the family together. These kids grow up, however, and as adults the family splits anyways; the adult children of abuse want nothing to do with persons who were suppose to be keeping them safe as children. They were crap role models.
What is role modeled to these kids is distrust, uncertainty, victimization, weakness, co-dependency, and many other traits that, if you are a logical, mature, healthy adult, make you feel anger towards people who did a shitty job at raising you. Once the anger passes it is replaced with resentment, and then sadness. Even when you get to a place of forgiveness, because you understand that perhaps these people didnt know any better, the decision to not have them be part of your life remains. Children of abuse are put in the role of being adult. They are made responsible to protect themselves, and protect a secret which should not be kept. Who wants to be the only adult in an adult relationship? Especially with people who didn't behave as adults when you needed them to be.
When you are raised to keep "secrets" that should not be kept you grow up feeling that you have an obligation to ensure that people know what you know. It is why I was a social worker, and in child development. Teaching other parents what it is like for their children to endure some of the things that they put them through redeems my past for me. Teaching kids how to say no, and to tell what they know gives them, and me, confidence. Teaching others about my journey through life, writing, talking about not only some of my experiences a s a child growing up, but as a wife, a parent, a friend, a co-worker, a fellow human being, helps me to feel that my experiences, whether they were good, or bad, were not wasted. Yes, I sometimes feel sad, even angry. These are necessary emotions, to learn, and heal. Learning how to have them appropriately is important. When I learn how to do this I pay it forward.
When I repeat the mistakes of my role models, and choose to not talk about what I feel are important aspects of life that some one, and I don't know who it could be, anyone, I am affecting my Karma. Choosing not to learn, choosing to repeat the crap, choosing to not speak about anything that may make someone else uncomfortable, is bad Karma. Hence, moral obligation.
Karma, however, does not address someone else's Karma. We are only responsible to ourselves for our own Karma. So we are morally obligated to share what we know, what we have experienced, what we have learned, to help alleviate some one else's suffering, and hopefully, make their journey to Nirvana easier; in return making our path, our Karma, better. We can communicate our knowledge, in many ways, in hopes that who we are communicating to will understand, and perhaps even agree, and benefit from it. BUT once we tell the truth, as we know it, politely, and respectfully, we are to back away calmly from it, with self assurance, respect, and compassion. We took care of our own Karma.
You see everyone may have an opinion, and has a right to express it; expressing that opinion does not mean that everyone else needs to agree with it, it just means that you have said your peace, and done what you feel to be the right thing. Karma. No one has the right, how ever, to tell anyone to not speak. It truly is not what you say, but HOW you say it, and the intent behind it. An exchange of information is just that. You cannot change how someone else thinks, behaves, or lives. You can only choose to change yourself around the situation, and how you choose to change yourself is directly connected to your Karma!
Many people never use the second part of that quote,"opinions are like assholes..." It is, "Everybody's got one, and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks." Harry is basically telling the person who he directed this to, I hear what your saying, but Im going to do what I think is right anyways. Now I would never take a gun and shoot someone to make my point; but Im going to embrace the attitude of Dirty Harry.
You can disagree with what I write, what I think, how I live, and what I say. Its OK! But Im still going to do what I feel to be the right thing in the end. I will not repeat past mistakes. I will be a good role model. Most importantly Karma is a bitch. From now on when some one says to me, "opinions are like assholes..." In context to how I choose to live my life I am going to reply with more confidence,"and yours stinks."
Namaste
Peace out
http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/120956/why-is-karma-a-bitch
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