Thursday, September 8, 2011

"Friends with Benefits"? (video)

Amber Dorrian, CC Liu (Wisdom Quarterly)


Make love, not war. If there is "war in the" air around 9/11 commemorations and prison planet survivalism, where is the love?

"Love" can mean so many things. Sex is one of them, usually the euphemistic meaning. But there is a better Greek word, agape. Oddly, English is not lacking. English-speakers are. Buddhism speaks of metta, "loving-kindness," as one of the most important qualities to develop.

If there is light in the soul,
There will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person,
There will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house,
There will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.
-Chinese proverb

Lust, sensual craving, thirst, greed are all less than profitable expressions of this impulse in the Sense Sphere (kama-loka). Mara Devaputra is either Cupid or Lucifer in this sense, an evil or a messenger of light... maybe both.

Can Buddhists talk about sex -- one of the worst things one can do in this society which is all about war, defense, security, and resistance? Yes, Buddhists can do anything. With greedy intentions, we make our way and our world. With loving intentions, it is immediately a different world.
The world we see outside changes instantly from changes inside. Whether the world is ever a way or ever changes, who can know? It is about what we notice, what we bring forward as evidence (or what is shoved in our face by mainstream media), what we talk about/focus on.

Love and kisses for everyone, enemies, soldiers, elderly, corporate capitalists, tea baggers, meditators... We can curse the darkness or light a candle. And what we choose is important.

Our beliefs become our thoughts.
Our thoughts become our words.
Our words become our actions.
Our actions become our habits.
Our habits become our values.
Our values become our destiny.
- Gandhi


Killer life coach James Ray on belief and RAS