Awakening the Buddha Within, Lama Surya Das

Part one: discovering ancient wisdom in a modern world

Chapter 1: We are all buddhas

• “I knew that I wanted to learn more, not earn more.”
• The concept of fighting for peace, a contradiction in terms

  Chapter 2: A Tibetan prophecy

• Dharma: that which supports or upholds
• The Buddha told people not to follow anything blindly, for Buddhism is not based on belief so much as rational experiment
• “I do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; I seek what they sought.” Basho
• To spiritually transform, you don’t need to see different things, but see things differently
• How can there be peace in the world if we are not at peace with ourselves?

  Chapter 3: Deconstructing the house that ego built

• Poison one: ignorance of truth
• Poison two: attachment
  • We trade success for real lives; we crave beauty so much that we only see the imperfections in what we have; we become attached to others, so we attempt to control them
  • Two subsets of attachments are pride and jealousy.
  • Pride causes us to define ourselves by our attachments, maintaining a rigid persona, deadening the flow of authenticity and spirit
• Poison three: aversion (or dislike)
• Because we are ignorant, we think we can be made happy by fulfilling attachments. Inevitably we end up disappointed, and become aversive to that disappointment, escalating to anger, hate, and enmity
• The author mentions resistance to change as another poison, i.e., attachment to negative habits, or aversion to the discomfort of the stress that accompanies growth

  Part 2: Walking the eightfold path to enlightenment

  Chapter 4: The four noble truths

• We don’t need to dispel what we desire; we must dispel our attachment and identification with what we crave to reduce our suffering
• Wisdom is how we transform the hedonic treadmill into a lovely garden walk
• The enlightened still have preferences, but they are not attached to them. This is similar to the notion of “preferred indifferents” of stoic philosophy
• Buddha realized that one seeking truth had to move away from the extremes of self-indulgent passion (extreme indulgence) and self-inflicted mortification (extreme sacrifice), and instead pursue the Middle Way, i.e., moderation
  • Buddha grew up as royalty (indulgence), left royalty and spent 6 years eating a grain of rice a day (impossible) but more realistically undernourished himself while meditating all day
• A perfectly realized spiritual life is not a carnival ride of exhilarating ups and frightening lows
• Happiness cannot be found in a life devoted to sensual pleasure (more money, sex, vacations, status, pride, materials) [excessive selfish motives], nor in a life devoted to self-denial, self-deprecation, blame, and guilt [excessive sacrificial motives].
• The eightfold path includes:
  • Wisdom training
    • Step 1: Right view
    • Step 2: Right intentions
  • Ethics training
    • Step 3: Right speech
    • Step 4: Right action
    • Step 5: Right livelihood
  • Meditation training
    • Step 6: Right effort
    • Step 7: Right mindfulness
    • Step 8: Right concentration
• These steps form more of an interconnected circle. The three main values of Buddhism are wisdom, ethics, and meditative awareness
  • Very similar to stoicism’s three disciplines of acceptance (physics), philanthropy (ethics), and mindfulness (logic)

    Part 3: Wisdom training: seeing things are they are

    Step 1: Right view, the wisdom of clear vision

• Samsara: perpetual wandering
• The enlightened mind is free flowing. Like Teflon, nothing sticks or clings. The unawakened mind is like sticky flypaper, holding onto thoughts and worries. Fixed positions and entrenched opinions
• Trying to grasp emotions and things is like trying to grasp water between your hands. It is bound for disappointment
• “Each of us is unique, but we are not especially special; we are all interconnected notes in the same cosmic symphony.”
• Meditating on death can make life more meaningful, shifting things into perspective of what is and what isn’t worth pursuing
• When asked whether God existed or not, or whether the universe had a beginning or end, the Buddha remained silent. He felt that speculating about such questions did not facilitate progress towards freedom and peace
• It is better to know nothing (and recognize that you know nothing), than know what isn’t so
• The self is a process, not some independent and concrete entity
• Often the greatest doubts occur just before a big breakthrough. Doubt is the great teacher.
• Four transforming thoughts that redirect the mind, a daily meditation
  • Precious human existence: be grateful for this lifetime, life is rare to obtain and easily lost. Use this precious time to develop yourself with diligence
  • Death, mortality, and impermanence: all things are impermanent, the time of our death is uncertain, and we depart alone from this world. The duration of our lives is like a flash of lightning
  • The ineluctable law of karma: wholesome and unwholesome words, thoughts, and deeds procreate in kind, following us like a shadow follows the body
  • The defects and shortcomings of samsara:
    • birth, growing up, and illness are difficult.
    • Aging and death are painful.
    • Losing what we care for hurts.
    • We are blown about by circumstance and conditions beyond our understanding, making us feel lost, anxious, and powerless.
    • Being unaware and half-asleep in our own lives is wasteful and meaningless
    • We are continually tormented by fear of the unknown and ignorance and doubt about where we will go and why

      Step 2: Right intentions (right thought)

• Thoughts manifest as the word; which manifest as the deed; which develops into habit; which hardens into character.
• As the shadow follows the body; as we think, so we become
• The jewel in the lotus = wisdom and compassion are in us all. What we seek, we are
• “Wisdom tells me I am nothing; love tells me I am everything. Between the two, my life flows.”
• Wisdom without love is not wisdom. Love without wisdom is not love.

  Part 4: ethics training, living a sacred life

• Sanskrit word for virtue/morality is sila (shee-la)
• Outwards: being straightforward, honest, healing, nonviolent, unselfish, caring
• Inwards: being honest to yourself, free from self-deception, selfish bias, ill-will, prejudice. Straightening out things when they are bent.

  Step 3: right speech, speaking the truth

• There will always be sparks that have the potential to generate an angry reaction. A trained mind is like a pool of water that causes sparks to fizzle out, whereas the untrained mind is like a pool of gasoline that cause a reactive explosion
• The less full of ourselves we are, the more room there is for others
• Downsizing and simplifying frees you from attachment to material goods. The same can be said about your mental real estate. The less thoughts you’re attached to, the more free and clear your headspace

  Step 4: Right action, the art of living

• “The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.”
• The author says to give now, use your wealth, talent, and energy for the greater good, and it will follow you in the afterlife.
  • I agree with the point, giving is virtuous. I’m not a fan of using it as a reason to profit in the afterlife. This makes the deed about you, which seems besides the point.
  • This also speaks to why the afterlife/rebirth themes worry me, they seem to suffer from an attachment to my life, with enlightenment providing one a (likely false) hope to cling to it for another lifetime
  • I think rebirth is fine as a metaphor, but it seems regressive if taken seriously. Good deeds do carry on after you pass, because they urge others towards goodness, creating a positive chain of cause and effect
• “We are being foolish when we congratulate ourselves on our compassionate behaviour when in reality we are simply giving in or giving up too easily. In all likelihood we are being lazy, fearful, frightened, or even codependent. This idiotic pseudo-compassion is counterproductive, and can enable others to hurt themselves further. Sometimes to say no is far more affirming and supportive than to just say yes without reflection…Sometimes we give in because we are trying to manipulate a situation—perhaps we are afraid of rejection or we want to get something in return. We all need to be really clear about what it means to give with a pure and unselfish heart.”
• At the end of each day, tally up positive and negative actions to help you stay on the right path

  Step 5: Right livelihood, work is love made visible

• As per Buddha to a layman, there are four things conducive to happiness in this world:
  • To be skillful and knowledgeable in whatever profession one has
  • To conscientiously protect one’s income and family’s means of support
  • To have virtuous, trustworthy, and faithful friends
  • To be content (glass half full) and to live within one’s means
• The eight worldly winds blow us about like leaves in the wind when we become too attached to them. They are:
  • Pleasure and pain
  • Gain and loss
  • Praise and blame
  • Fame and shame
• “Don’t be best friends with Pride and Vanity”
  • Pride arises from a person, or a group of persons, tendency to attribute their successes to themselves alone. “I did that” or “We did that” despite the challenges I/we faced. This is delusional and neglects the interdependent nature of the natural world. The innumerable causes and effects of the world allowed for your success, not you. Be grateful for success, but don’t attribute a false sense of ownership—pride—to it. It never belonged to you.
• Money is helpful or harmful depending on whether we use it or abuse it, whether we possess it, or it possesses us
• The happiness quotient: if we want more than what we have, we become dissatisfied. Becoming happy is about balancing the amounts of what we want and what we have. The middle way in Buddhism is all about striking balance between self-indulgence and self-denial
  • Guided by wisdom, find a personally satisfying balance between need and greed
• Success is not found through the gratification of desire, but in the end of desire—which is contentment. True wealth is when one enjoys what they have.
• Finding the right job is about finding work that genuinely develops us as we develop it.

  Part 5: Meditation Training; awareness, attention, and focus

• Thought and intellect are great servants, but poor masters
• When our mind becomes more centered, clear, caring, and open, we have much more room for both others and ourselves. This requires mental discipline, a training of the mind

  Step 6: Right effort, a passion for enlightenment

• When we cling to narrow-minded opinions, we smother them and our mind becomes fragile. Instead, dance with opinions and give your mind the room it needs to flourish.
• There is no way to happiness and peace, happiness and peace is the way
• Rejoice in the good fortune of all. Do not wish ill-will on others, regardless of who they are. Avoid jealousy and covetousness
• Four great efforts involve: avoiding unwholesomeness, tending to and reducing the unwholesomeness within you, tending to and promoting wholesomeness into your practice, and maintaining that wholesomeness once it’s there

  Step 7: Right mindfulness, keeping your eyes open

• You may feel you have no time to meditate, however meditation actually adds back time to your day through additional mental clarity and spaciousness

  Step 8: Right concentration, the joy of meditation

• Remindfulness, the recentering of attention to the object of meditation
• Investigate your restlessness when you meditate. If you get bored, ask “why do I get bored? Why aren’t I satisfied?”
• Daily meditation is like a mental floss that protects against truth decay
• Metaphysical fitness is as important as physical fitness

  Epilogue: Toward a western Buddhism and contemporary dharma

• Make the effort to contribute to others rather than convert others
• Western Buddhism will tend to emphasize personal growth and individual interests more than institutional preservation and growth (democratic vs collectivist)