Money, Sex, War, Karma - Notes for a Buddhist Revolution :: a book review

I just finished reading David R. Loy's book "Money, Sex, War, Karma- Notes for a Buddhist Revolution" and with a title like that, it pretty much sums it all up.

Loy writes clearly on these key topics and answers many of the misunderstandings that can arise from misinterpretation of the dharma. (Sharon Stone would take heed to read the chapter on Karma). A strong thread of socially engaged Buddhism is present in his writings and he engages the question of wwbd (what would Buddha do?) in a variety of diverse life scenarios and influences such as vegetarianism, ecology, video games, advertising and genetically modified foods.

I wholeheartedly appreciate that this book features such a wide array of topics as part of its investigation. I also do thank the author for not choosing to barrage his readers with lists of 'things that can be done' as a part of this "Buddhist revolution".

"Money, Sex, War, Karma" is not a manifesto or call to arms but rather a book that puts the power in the readers hands to evaluate how best to be a socially engaged individual, awakening to the potential of what it means to be human in this age.

Please visit Wisdom Publications for more information on this and other super books by David R. Loy ***I'm particularly interested in reading Loy's book "The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons: Buddhist Themes in Modern Fantasy" - which pretty much sounds like an awesome book for a geek like me to read!

update...

Well aside from a big change in my work status where I've left the cocoon of my former trade (Project Manager) to take on a role with an exciting startup as a Community Manager, I've been pretty much in a state of loafyness.

The antidote many say is to rush myself off to a retreat and park butt to cushion. I haven't done a retreat in oh so long and part of that scares me. I really do admire those of us 'laypeople' who practice in the world. Sure the idea of sitting off in an Himalayan cave sounds absolutely frightening to me, but it takes such bravery to also face the world daily and work with our own unique obstacles and challenges.

This morning, I was on the Seinfeld subway ride in which everyone was either trying to push me, smother me, prod me or generally get under my skin. One fellow commuter stepped out of the subway car to let others out and when I tried to hop back in, was promptly shut out. He slammed his fist onto the door and stomped off in a huff. I had that shared connection on feeling that anger. Then I looked at the man who forcefully pushed me aside as he ambled on the subway and tried to evaluate what he was thinking when he barreled through a wee 5ft tall girl to score a seat. I saw a lot of pain in his aging face. No wedding ring and signs of loneliness. Ah all of these projections. I could only wonder what storyline he was creating about me.

almost instant dharma

(Almost) Instant Dharma

If you pay attention for just five minutes, you know some very fundamental dharma: things change, nothing stays comfortable, sensations come and go quite impersonally, according to conditions, but not because of anything that you do or think you do. Changes come and go quite by themselves. In the first five minutes of paying attention, you learn that pleasant sensations lead to the desire that these sensations will stay and that unpleasant sensations lead to the hope that they will go away. And both the attraction and the aversion amount to tension in the mind. Both are uncomfortable. So in the first minutes, you get a big lesson about suffering: wanting things to be other than what they are. Such a tremendous amount of truth to be learned just closing your eyes and paying attention to bodily sensations.

--Sylvia Boorstein, in Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Fall 1992

boing boing - How to make a giant cardboard Gandhi

Just in case you are sitting around wondering how you can make a giant cardboard Gandhi... here's the scoop from boing boing.

I guess that's rein-carton-ation. (I know. It's a lame attempt at a joke)

The personality of death

This past weekend I attended my aunt's funeral. Talk hovered in the air around how was aware of how sick and weakened she truly was. The secrecy which she guarded the bitter truth of her illness was honorable and reminded me of how a lioness protects her cubs. She ultimately didn't want her children and family to suffer.

In Buddhism, we are presented with the bitter pill of gulping down that suffering is a part of life. Some of us face it as the truth while others turn away in fright or continue to numb ourselves from this reality.

It struck me how our death manifests in itself so much of our personality- as how we travel through our lives is similar to how we face the truth of death when it presents itself. My aunt preferred to communicate via a series of journals rather than to open up her pain to the world, whereas I twitter, blog and note on facebook every single headache, misfortune or celebration that comes my way.

Death and life are intertwined and interconnected.

We all display such humanity and courage in how we live- and how we die, whether we are conscious and aware of it or not.

To my aunt, you were brave in your silence and you will be missed greatly.

"Crazy Wisdom" - Trailer for documentary on Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

The trailer for 'Crazy Wisdom' , Johanna Demetrakas's film about the life and times of Chogyam Trungpa, is now being shown on GritTV. It looks like a remarkable film which I am highly anticipating. Check out this blog for more information.

Thanks to Carolyn Gimian who mentioned this trailer.

Matt Skiba - Meditator

A few nights ago I had read an interview in this month's Alternative Press with Alkaline Trio's singer Matt Skiba which mentioned him taking up Transcendental Meditation. He speaks highly of fellow TM-er David Lynch's brilliant book "Catching the Big Fish" and cites it as a big influence on his creative process.

Skiba, quoted from the AP interview:

"Meditation has lifted all the fear and anxiety in my life. That makes life quite a bit more enjoyable. When you don't have these things bogging your mind down, it's much easier to concentrate on what you're trying to create and realize your true potential."

I'm looking forward to receiving the Trio's latest album 'Agony & Irony' which is in the post and making its way to my front door as we speak.

Gratitude

A while back I was checking out the roundup of Buddhablogs as I'm want to do each day and I came across a timely post on the subject of Gratitude... This post couldn't come at a better time as I've been feeling a bit wonky and need to generate a bit more reverence for the goodness this world offers.

Check out the blog post and be sure to leave a comment on the The Urban Monk's post on Gratitude

too much of too much

Gah! I've really been neglecting writing and I guess things just got a little wonky with me. This warm weather is such a glorious distraction and coupled with the bounty of great books and movies cropping up this season, I've been keeping a low profile these days. I hope you are all well and I'll be back in a matter of a day or so.