Wanted: Urban Monks.

"All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else."-Buddha

I really like this striking image--the pagoda speaks of the timelessness of the Dharma while the buildings project the essential, utilitarian-nature of day-to-day modern life. Perhaps some might try and crop out the buildings from this picture believing they take away from the pagoda. But nothing in this world exists in a vacuum--everything exists in relation to everything else. If the world were full of nothing but serene, Buddhist, pagodas full of chanting monks, who would provide the upkeep of this world that must get done regardless of the Dharma? We need "urban monks," as well; lay people who bring the serenity of the pagodas to office buildings, prisons, schools, apartments and every nook of this world. We can touch places and lives that a lot the ordained monks can't ever reach.

I use to want to be a "traditional monk" because I believed it would provide a haven from a world that I perceived of as pure disaster. I didn't realize then how foolish and naive I was being. I was only seeing the disastrous suffering in the the world because I was filtering out the positive stuff. Through meditating upon the pitfalls of perceptions, I became aware that I was projecting the disaster that I was ignoring inside my mind, out onto the world. So, of course, all I was seeing was a chaotic world!! It is a delusional trick that we perform, so that we can blame the world for all our troubles, and not accept our responsibility.

It doesn't mean we're bad people for making these mistakes. You don't blame the baby for shitting in it's pants, do you? It's simply being a baby--and so are we. We are simply being a typical but loveable infant who is trying his/her best to grow. It's natural for a baby to make a mess of things--that's how they learn. How are you going to know that some things are less helpful in your life until you make a mistake?

So, it's o.k. to shit your pants from time to time--spiritually speaking, of course. Shit, itself, isn't bad either. To paraphrase my teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, without shit, we wouldn't have roses!! Our mistakes, fertilize the seeds of our good intentions to grow roses of happiness and peace. The key is to not blame yourself for doing something that human's can't help but do--make mistakes. This world itself is imperfect and flawed, so how could we not make mistakes? You are trying, and trying is a pro-active action. A lot of people are too afraid to try, so go easy on yourself.

PHOTO CREDIT: "Hong Kong Pagoda, and buildings" by Stuart Miles for Free Digital Photos.

~may all beings know peace~

Looking for Books to Help Navigate a Mean World.

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has noticed in the last decade or so that much of society has become increasingly mean, disrespectful, rude, greedy, selfish and heartless toward their fellow humans--as well as toward animals. Now, I realize that not everyone is this way but at least in my area of the world, social politeness has degraded severely in my lifetime.

As many of you know, I have a debilitating psychiatric condition called, schizoaffective disorder, which is basically bipolar with some schizophrenic symptoms. Along with having a.d.d., it's hard for me to filter out the toughness and harsh social relations that are poisoning our society. Since I have trouble screening the constant bombardment of stimuli in this world, I have little bandwidth, so to speak, to absorb this nasty behavior.

Thus, I get sad, angry and frustrated with the world, rather easily. Whether it's navigating reckless driving, dealing with selfish people at the market, or living amongst others who live a shallow, superficial life; it's hard to learn how to live amongst such heartlessness and ignorance without it depressing you to the point of wanting to give up!!

So, I am looking for some suggestions on some books that I could read about how to deal with mean, nasty, rude, selfish people. I'm not talking about any of the traditional Buddhist texts/books but rather those specifically dealing with how to live in this world without it getting to you, and turning you into a cynical person from a purely psychological, clinical point of view. To narrow it down further, I'm looking for a "self-help" type book on tips for dealing with such cruelty. Of course, meditation helps a lot, (as do Buddhist books) but I need something that's more related to specific tips on living in the modern world of cruelty from a non-religious point of view.

Please, don't criticize me or condemn me for my struggles. I'm a very tender person and gets easily depressed, down on myself and easily over-whelmed with negativity. If you don't know of something that can help, and would rather tell me my problem is not being a "good enough Buddhist," then please have some compassion and keep your thoughts to yourself.

I know this is the anonymous dominated cyber-land, but please treat me with respect and remember that behind my profile is a real person who struggles a lot with psychological issues. I'm a strong person but also quite fragile to stress. This is a very hard issue for me to deal with and talk about. I don't need criticism--I need support, understanding and some tips on a few books that might help me deal with my psychological stresses from having to live with this world. Thank-you for understanding my sensitivity. It's hard enough writing this out and exposing myself, so please, treat me how you'd want to be treated. Thanks, again--James.

~Peace to all beings~