I visited the Dagom Gaden Tensung Ling Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in Bloomington. I would have been very remiss if I had not. I was having dinner at a local bar and the guy next to me was describing his Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting to a couple of women that were sitting there. Of course the guy had a picture of "leaded" margaritas in front of him. He went on to explain how stupid the whole DUI process was that landed him in court-ordered AA. I think I was the only one sitting there that got the irony of the whole situation. I couldn't help but think, "Yea, you hit my family and court-ordered AA is going to be the least of your worries". Yup, that was anger.
1 comment:
The problem isn't anger, but what is done with it. If a person nurtures their anger, or act mindlessly, the strong emotion is quite likely to increase suffering. If, on the other hand, one acknowledges the emotion as a distraction, and then returns to centeredness and focus, anger is as insubstantial as any other dream.
Tibetan forms of Buddhism are fascinating, and seem to attract many Westerners. That seems strange to me. The intense imagery and symbolic hierarchies of demons is something we don't usually associate with 'modern' thinking. On the other hand, the Tibetan Book of the Dead is one of the fundamental texts for studying Mahayana thought. For me, the Soto Sect forms that I learned so many years ago 'works' pretty well. Gate, Gate, Para-Gate, Para-sam Gate... Sowaka. Now really, isn't that just as 'nonsensical' in terms of modern thinking as the elaborate rituals of Tibet. LOL.
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