As most readers are aware I’m not what anyone would consider religious. I was raised as a Catholic but wandered away from it at a very early age. I have no problems with people who believe but my problems are with any “organized religions”. Once a religious movement of any kind become embroiled in politics, I disregard it completely. I’m a big believer in “self” but I’ve never received mystical tablets from on high or been visited by angels or by God or by supposed visions. I find those claims to be disingenuous and preposterous..

In the mid-1960’s I was serving with the Army on the DMZ in South Korea. I often explored the country on my off-time and discovered a small Buddhist temple in a rural area on the side of a mountain in central South Korea. The monks there spoke broken English and I spoke broken Korean which made for some interesting conversations. Over the months they were able to communicate to me what I later discovered were the basic beliefs of Buddha. Not colored by politics or government restrictions but truths on how to live a good and wholesome life created by inner peace and self-control. That’s when I became what many would consider me to be a half-assed Buddhist. I learned to appreciate Zen and the power of meditation without shaving my head or wearing orange robes or lighting my self on fire to make a political point. Have I always been successful in finding that inner peace – absolutely not, but I keep trying. Here are a few pearls of wisdom from the man himself.

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

Buddha also explained that all human suffering is caused by desire – for comfort, possessions, power, sex, love, or even life itself. Knowledge of ourselves comes from contemplating on three basic facts:

Nothing in the universe is lost. Even though you will die your constituent parts will remain part of the universe.

Change is constant, so any happiness based on things outside of ourselves is an illusion.

Every action has a consequence – a reminder that everything we do affects others.

Buddha was something of an agnostic and I’ve always seen myself in that way. In my humble opinion each of us is our own God. Look inside yourself to find and see the truth.

HAVE A QUIET ZEN DAY