RELIGION or POLITICS - Why Buddhism????? (Cont'd)

(Again much of the contents herein are taken from the book "Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death, byDaisaku Ikeda, President of Soka Gakkai International.)


Hi friends, I trust your week is going well, and that you are determined to make your vote count in order to begin the process of reversing the present direction this country is be lead to. And whether you like him or not, you'd best listen each night to Glenn Beck so you can learn the real inside of what is happening, how and why. Things about which you will never know from the Media.

So now, on to some more important things. I continue on with The Nine Consciousnesses. Yesterday we learned about Consciousnesses, information leading up to explaining how they all relate to our lives, from beginning to end, and beyond, now beginning with the First Six Consciousnesses - Sensory Perception and Integration. Continuing..........

ALSO, EACH SENSE ORGAN POSSESSES A CONSCIOUSNESS OF ITS OWN.  PHYSIOLOGICALLY SPEAKING, THE SENSE ORGANS DO NOT PASS ON TO THE BRAIN EVERYTHING THAT THEY PERCEIVE. RATHER, THEY SELECT AND TRANSMIT ONLY THE "IMPORTANT" THINGS.   SO, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE CONSCIOUSNES OF THE EYES, FOR EXAMPLE, WE ARE REFERRING TO THE EYES' OWN POWER TO DISCERN OR SELECT.  SAY WE ARE DESPARATELY LOOKING FOR OUR KEYS.  AS USUAL IN SUCH SITUATIONS, THEY ARE RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THE LIVING ROOM, BUT STILL WE DO NOT SEE THEM.  WE MAY SEARCH FRAN-TICALLY, YET THE KEYS REMAIN LOST BECAUSE OUR EYES HAVE "SELECTED" WHAT INFORMATION WILL BE SENT TO OUR BRAIN -- WE HAVE PRE-SUPPOSED THAT THE KEYS COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LIVING ROOM.  (AFTER ALL, WE WOULD HAVE SEEN THEM IF THEY WERE THERE!)
 BECAUSE OF OUR FIXED BELIEF, THE INFORMATION PICKED UP BY OUR EYES -- THAT THE KEYS ARE IN THE LIVING ROOM -- IS NOT RELAYED TO OUR BRAIN.

Buddhist practice is said to "purify" the senses nd the other levels of consciousness so that we can perceive all phenomena clearly and accurately. Again, the sense organs arfe the interface between the small iniverse of our lives and the cosmos.  To purify our sense organs, then, means to completely harmonize our lives with the universe, "tuning in" to its rhythm. One who has purified the sense of sight will find even the most mundane scene to be a miracle sparkling with life. And one who has purified the sense of hearing can hear Mozart in the cacophony of a baby's cries.


My friends, I won't go into the 'purification' of the first six consciousnesses at this time, because it goes into deeper and more serious aspects of being a practicing Buddhist. But, the Purifying, is automatic from the practice, and once there, your life becomes so greatly managable and worrisome-free. I am available for dialogue with anyone interested in learning about this.

See y'all friday and stay cool. More great stuff ahead.    Cheers      CJ