the complete whole

The Tao gives birth to One. One gives birth to yin and yang. Yin and yang give birth to all things. . . . The complete whole is the complete whole. So also is any part the complete whole. . . . But forget about understanding and harmonizing and making all things one. The universe is already a harmonious oneness; just realize it.

- Lao Tzu, The Hua Hu Ching

our phony economy

this was a great bit in Harper's Magazine on what should be the true measure of GDP.

http://peakwatch.typepad.com/Our_Phony_Economy.pdf

(an excerpt from the beginning...)

OUR PHONY ECONOMY
By Jonathan Rowe, from testimony delivered March 12 before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Subcommittee on Interstate Commerce. Rowe is codirector of West Marin Commons, a community-organizing group in California.

Suppose that the head of a federal agency came before this committee and reported with pride that agency employees had burned 10 percent more calories at work last year than they did the year before. Not only that-they had spent 10 percent more money too. I have a feeling you would want to know more. What were these employees doing when they burned those calories? What did they spend that money on? Most important, what were the results? Expenditure is a means, not an end, and to assess the health of an agency, or system, you need to know what it has accomplished, not just how much motion it has generated and money it has spent. The point seems obvious, yet Congress ignores it every day when it talks about "the economy." The administration and the media do it, too. Every time you say that "the economy" is up, or that you want to "stimulate" it, you are urging more expenditure and motion without regard to what that expenditure is and what it might accomplish, and without regard to what it might crowd out or displace in the process.
That term "the economy": what it means, in practice, is the Gross Domestic Product-a big statistical pot that includes all the money spent in a given period of time. If the pot is bigger than it was the previous quarter, or year, then you cheer. If it isn't bigger, or bigger enough, then you call Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke up here and ask him to do some explaining. The what of the economy makes no difference in these councils. It never seems to come up. The money in the big pot could be going to cancer treatments or casinos, violent video games or usurious credit-card rates. It could go toward the $9 billion or so that Americans spend on gas they burn while they sit in traffic, or the billion plus that goes to such drugs as Ritalin and Prozac that schools are stuffing into kids to keep them quiet in class. The money could be the $20 billion or so that Americans spend on divorce lawyers each year, or the $41 billion on pets, or the $5 billion on identity theft, or the billions more spent to repair property damage caused by environmental pollution. The money in the pot could betoken social and environmental breakdown-misery and distress of all kinds. It makes no difference. You don't ask. All you want to know is the total amount, which is the GDP. So long as it is growing then everything is fine.

the light from which everything in the universe comes

remember the clear light, the pure clear white light from which everything in the universe comes, to which everything in the universe returns; the original nature of your own mind. the natural state of the universe unmanifest.
let go into the clear light, trust it, merge with it. it is your own true nature, it is home.
- tibetan book of the dead

being peace

if we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.
-thich nhat hanh, "being peace"

observe life for what it is

so much fear and desire come from that commitment to "i am" - to being somebody. eventually they take us to anxiety and despair; life seems much more difficult and painful than it really is.
but when we just observe life for what it is, then it’s all right: the delights, the beauty, the pleasures are just that.
-ajahn sumedho, "seeing the way"

wisdom

to attain knowledge, add things every day. to attain wisdom, remove things every day.
-tao te ching

FOURTEEN PRECEPTS OF THE ORDER OF INTERBEING

by Thich Nhat Hahn

1. Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology. All systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.
2. Do not think that the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow-minded, and bound to present views. Learn and practice non-attachment from views in order to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.
3. Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money , propaganda, or even education. However, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrowness.
4. Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, by all means, including personal contact and visits, images, and sound. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.
5. Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.
6. Do not maintain anger or hatred. Learn to penetrate and transform them while they are still seeds in your consciousness. As soon as anger or hatred arises, turn your attention to your breathing in order to see and understand the nature of your anger or hatred and the nature of the persons who have caused your anger or hatred.
7. Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Practice mindful breathing in order to come back to what is happening in the present moment. Be in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing, both inside and around yourself. Plant the seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depth of your consciousness.
8. Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break. Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.
9. Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people. Do not utter words that cause division or hatred. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things that you are not sure of. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.
10. Do not use the religious community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party. A religious community should, however, take a clear stand against oppression and injustice, and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.
11. Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realize your ideal of compassion.
12. Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war.
13. Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of others but prevent others from enriching themselves from human suffering or the suffering of other beings.
14. Do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect. Do not look on your body as only an instrument. Preserve vital energies for the realization of the Way. Sexual expression should not happen without love and commitment. In sexual relationships, be aware of future suffering that may be caused. To preserve the happiness of others, respect the rights and commitments of others. Be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world. Meditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings.

our reactions to our feelings

from contact comes feeling. from feeling comes reaction. this is what keeps us in the cycle of birth and death. our reactions to our feelings our are passport to rebirth.
- ayya khema, "being nobody, going nowhere"

we are dependent on one another

because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. that is not just a dream but a necessity. we are dependent on each other in so many ways that we can no longer live in isolated communities and ignore what is happening outside those communities.
- his holiness the dalai lama

give it meaning

i have always believed, and i still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.
-hermann hesse

commitmentphobia

this sounds too familiar...

Fear of commitment
from wikipedia
Fear of commitment in popular literature refers to avoidance of long-term partnership and/or marriage but it is often much more pervasive. In 1987 the term commitment phobia was coined by Steven Carter in his book Men who can't love.
In romantic relationships, the paradox is that the commitmentphobic craves what he/she fears most: love and connection. This leads to a confusing and destructive pattern of seduction and rejection that is generally experienced by the love object as emotionally devastating. Though generally attributed exclusively to males, it is well-documented that commitmentphobia is not gender-specific.
While this behavior has been documented for some time, the word commitmentphobia (no space, no hyphen) was actually coined in the 1987 New York Times Bestseller Men who can't love by Steven A. Carter and Julie Sokol (M.Evans & Co. Publishing). Interestingly, in 1987, legendary New York publisher George de Kay (Body Language, Aerobics, Open Marriage, Atkins New Diet Revolution, etc.) resisted printing the word commitmentphobia on the original book jacket, fearing it sounded "too scientific and off-putting." Within one year, the phrase commitmentphobia had become popular American jargon and the sub-title of the book was changed to include the phrase "commitmentphobic."
Commitment phobia is rooted in fear -- fear of lost options or fear of making poor decisions. The commitment phobic mind sees decisions as permanent. It symbolizes being caged or trapped. Commitment phobics actually take commitment very seriously, which is why the decision to commit can be so hard for them. "A rolling stone gathers no moss" is the appropriate proverb for this subclass of individuals. And like the proverb, commitment phobia is a double edged sword -- on the one hand you avoid obligations, ties, and commitments yet at the same time the commitment phobic may secretly crave the lives of those who committed and the growth that those roots produced. But when push comes to shove, the CPs' fear usually wins out -- commitment phobics desire freedom above all else and sometimes, alternatively, they desire fantasy over reality and yet in other cases, they desire both.
Commitment phobia is largely unrecognized as a real disabling fear. It is sometimes thought to be associated with fear of death, fear of intimacy, etc. But most CPs usually show signs of commitment fears across many domains of life. Sometimes it is so pervasive that that it interferes in their ability to make simple every day decisions and on the larger scale, of managing and maintaining their life. CPs are prone to self-destructive behavior and escapism as a way to assuage their anxiety. Carter and Sokol refer to both active and passive commitment phobics but usually CPs have elements of both active and passive CP behaviors (some may have stronger preferences). In terms of personality types, commitment phobics are usually enneagram types 7s, 6s or 4s, which are types that tend to engage in push-pull behaviors (7s tend to be more "active" phobics while 4's tend to be more "passive"). Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's is a classic example of a 7w6 active commitment phobic. Cameron Diaz (enneatype 7w6) recently admitted that she has commitment phobia, most likely of active variety.
"As a commitment-phobic individual, people often laugh at my only goal in life -- to get a dog. I have wanted a dog for at least 15 years and every New Years I tell myself, this is the year. 15 years and waiting... But like an ice-berg, the desire to have a dog is just the tip of the berg; where most of the hurt and anxiety manifests is in my one on one personal relationships. Each time I hope that this one will be different; That I won't run away. When forced to make a choice I almost freeze in panic. I have thoughts in my mind but I can't speak -- the only thing I can think of is how to get away from this source of anxiety. I may break things off or say something to get the other person mad (and therefore not interested in a commitment). I feel like a crab without a shell when cornered. And I can't stop feeling like that."

existence is not mutuallly exclusive

what is meant by nonduality, mahatmi? it means that light and shade, long and short, black and white, can only be experienced in relation to each other; light is not independent of shade, nor black of white. there are no opposites, only relationships. in the same way, nirvana and the ordinary world of suffering are not two things but related to each other. there is no nirvana except where the world of suffering is; there is no world of suffering apart from nirvana. for existence is not mutuallly exclusive.
-lankavatara sutra

removing barriers

the only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. to the degree we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confidant and fearless about looking into someone else's eyes.
-pema chodron