Grass Hut - 2 - Living Lightly On The Land

[Kokuu]

Anshu

You may be right and I misread some of the comments. However, there is definitely something that sticks in my craw about (mostly) affluent westerners talking about simplifying when they still live more affluent life than most of the people on the planet, including the poor in our own lands.

Sure, talk about how free you felt when backpacking but remember that when you were doing that you didn't need to wash your clothes or work and were going back to a fully equipped and doubtless heated home. We all need to get away but we have the benefit of a cosy safety net on our return to wash and dry our wet clothes.

Simplifying is great when it is a choice. For some people, living with very little is a way of life through necessity not choice. We get to pick and choose. Others don't.

Gassho
Grumpy Kokuu
#sattoday

[Anshu Bryson]

Anshu

You may be right and I misread some of the comments. However, there is definitely something that sticks in my craw about (mostly) affluent westerners talking about simplifying when they still live more affluent life than most of the people on the planet, including the poor in our own lands.

Sure, talk about how free you felt when backpacking but remember that when you were doing that you didn't need to wash your clothes or work and were going back to a fully equipped and doubtless heated home. We all need to get away but we have the benefit of a cosy safety net on our return to wash and dry our wet clothes.

Simplifying is great when it is a choice. For some people, living with very little is a way of life through necessity not choice. We get to pick and choose. Others don't.

Gassho
Grumpy Kokuu
#sattoday

Dear "Grumpy Kokuu"


I am hearing you. I suppose that the only thing I can add is that, sure, folks in the West might well be able to go 'minimalist' by choice; but, I wouldn't trash them for making that choice rather than making the choice to go on a track to excessive consumption...

For me personally, yeah, I am lucky enough have that choice. No question. And grateful to have it. I suppose it is what you do with that choice that matters. And the intent. But it is difficult/impossible to know the mind of others...

Shouganai... (loosely, "what are you going to do...?")

But trust me, I live in a 'developing' nation, I've worked in conflict and post-conflict areas. I know the 'no-choice' that many people have. It is by no means lost on me.

Gassho,
Anshu/Bryson

sat today

[Kokuu]

Anshu

Yes, you are right. If we have the choice it is good to use it wisely. However, I don't think we should lose sight of the fact that what we consider 'minimalist' still puts us among the most affluent in global society.

Gassho
Kokuu
#sattoday

[Anshu Bryson]

Anshu

Yes, you are right. If we have the choice it is good to use it wisely. However, I don't think we should lose sight of the fact that what we consider 'minimalist' still puts us among the most affluent in global society.

Gassho
Kokuu
#sattoday

Agreed. No question.

Gassho,
Anshu/Bryson

sat today

[Jishin]

Grass Hut - 2 - Living Lightly On The Land

Hi,

There is no need to get defensive if there is no need to get defensive. And this, of course, applies to me too.

Gassho, Jishin

#SatToday

[Jinyo]

I am very happy with my home/surroundings and wouldn't want to live with 'less' - no desire to return to the damp/mould filled home I lived in as a young mother with a baby.
I love where I live because I can share it - my grandchildren come play in the garden and have their own bedroom. My garden is a place of refuge and beauty. My husband has worked very hard - and even in his seventies continues to - to maintain a comfortable home. It is important to us that we can help our children out if needed and we still have my mum to think of. Life brings responsibilities to others and its plain naïve to say money doesn't matter.

But have we as a society got our values turned upside down - most definitely - overt consumerism eats away at the heart of being human.

I wish everyone a decent home and a small plot of land to be in touch with nature - a moderate income to be able to enjoy a little frivolity because fun,invention and creativity can go hand
in hand - and the common sense to know when to stop and realise that enough is enough.

Gassho

Willow

Sat today

[Ongen]

Hi all,

I live in a simple but still fairly spacey house with my family of 5, my income is - to official dutch standards- slightly below what they call the 'armoede grens' ( the income level below which you're officially poor). To be honest, I have plenty in way of things, abundance in way of love and friendship and precisely enough in way of money.
Of course I can't afford much fancy stuff but with the money I have, spent well, I am still able to take my family on holidays twice a year, do lots of fun things, own a computer and a car and many of those things 'needed' to live in this culture. We cut out what we don't really need, mostly since those things usually are expensive. But also because we notice that every truly unneeded 'thing' that goes away leaves a space that gets filled with joy.
I realise there are limits to this, but with a well kept balance it's wonderful to live with as less as you can.

I relate to Fugens story, I love hiking too and still remember well a trip I made with my wife hiking around the Hardanger Jökulen, a huge glacier in Norway. We had our tent, some food, a stove. We only needed a good place to pitch the tent every night. Enough food. Preferrably not too bad weather. That was all, really. In the end, what do we need after all?

I'd like to quote a paragraph of Jeff Shore's translation of the 'Zazen Manual' (a text about 1000 years old, written by some unknown chinese monk)

Even if you devote your life to it, be wary of falling short. And if you waste your time, how in the world will you overcome your karmic hindrances? Thus an ancient has said that without the concentrated power of dhyana(定力), you will cower at death’s door. With eyes covered, you end your life in vain like a vagabond. Fortunate dharma friends! Please read this manual again and again. For the benefit of oneself as well as others, let us all together fully awaken.

The complete text is legally available for free here, for those who are interested.

We don't have to live like vagabonds, unable to find our homes. They are where we are

Gassho,


Ongen / Vincent
Sat Today

[Matt]

Jishin and Kokuu, I sincerely appreciate your efforts to keep our conversation real concerning material possessions. I am not about to go live in a grass hut myself. And being able to choose a minimalist lifestyle is indeed a privilege for those of us who are relatively affluent.

I would say, though, that I'm not sure that owning a BMW is a requirement for most people's job. While I don't think we need judge those who purchase such vehicles, I believe as Buddhists we are called to be mindful in our engagement with the world, and that includes the way we spend our money and the resources we use. The reality of western life is that we are pretty much constantly bombarded with messages to buy more stuff in order to be happier. I believe our Zen practice works against this, continually calling us to return to our true source.



Matt
#SatToday

[KellyRok]

Hello all,

There are wonderful perspectives here, thank you for sharing. When I was a kid, my family used to go hiking and camping. I mean really roughing it, tents, or just sleeping under the stars. You ate what you caught in the stream and what you gathered from nearby blackberry bushes. Those are some of my best memories. I can really relate to those that continue to hike, camp and just simply enjoy being in nature.

Willow, this is just beautiful and so true!

I wish everyone a decent home and a small plot of land to be in touch with nature - a moderate income to be able to enjoy a little frivolity because fun,invention and creativity can go hand
in hand - and the common sense to know when to stop and realise that enough is enough.

I believe so much that you can live a simple but abundant life. What is simple for me, may not be for you. Each of us has what we consider priorities and necessities. What is right for one, may not be for another. Live the best way for you and your family and don't judge others.

If you have an abundance of whatever it may be, share it. If you have only a little, share that too.

Gassho,
Kelly/Jinmei

[Jishin]

Hi,

One of the happiest moments in my life was when I made a donation that kept 8 dogs alive for one month. Sharing is wonderful.

Gassho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Kyotai]

That is a wonderful thing Jishin

Gassho, Kyotai
Sat today

[Ed]

..as I've posted somewhere else here I just lost my house to foreclosure and it has been wonderful. We are released from the money, lawyer, bank hassle.
We moved to a smaller house we rent disposing of a lot of furniture, clothes. I wanted to give away everything...except my t-shirts.
I found that my book collection and t-shirts were my most priced possessions.....our cars are old, we live from paycheck to paycheck and we are the happiest we have been in a long while...calm and at peace.
It ain't the possessions. It's the illusion.
It's the illusion of solidity we give ourself and the stuff we grab, be it a BMW or a small apartment, or a lovely, wild garden; even a grass hut or our practice. That illusion is what we have to let go.
The Middle Way.
It's all about the MW.
And balance.

Gassho.

[Ongen]

Thank you, Ed

Gassho

Ongen / vincent

Sat today


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jundo]

I am going to dig up an old post ... It is about "renunciation", and also about the dependence of Buddhism on rich and powerful lay people, right since the Buddha's Day ... food for non-thought for everyone here ...

-------------------------

A recent issue of Buddhadharma has a round-table on Renunciation. I do recommend the opening essay by our friend, Koun Franz ...

One cold night ten years later, I left my wife behind to enter a monastery deep in the mountains of Japan. I had only my robes, my bowls, and the certainty that this, too, was important. I had not transcended attachment, not by any means—we hugged before I left, and as we did, I thought, I don’t know how to let go. I needed to learn how to let go.

So, said the Buddha, do we all. The topic of this issue’s forum, renunciation, does not lend itself to easy answers. For some, the word evokes basic questions about how much we need versus how much we want, what is ours to give and what holds us back from doing so, and specifically, as Buddhists, the relationship between our investment in practice and what we get in return. For others, an act of renunciation can look like just another attachment, a story people tell themselves about how spiritual they are. To really let go, they say, you also have to let go of letting go.

Renunciation can be submission to a schedule that is not of your own making; it can be the offering of all things to all beings; it can be the act of embracing things just as they are. Renunciation can be a radical intuitive leap beyond all preferences. And it can also be the choice to sleep on the floor even when you really prefer to sleep on a bed.
http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/web-a...unciation.html

I think it is hard for some of us to truly practice non-attachment and renunciation while owning so much valuable property. There is one story told in the discussion that really says it for me. It tells of a Tibetan Rinpoche who was staying at the home of one of his wealthy students in California. The student was saying, "I really enjoy having beautiful things around, I like having a house in this beautiful valley ... but I'm not attached to any of it. I enjoy it, but if it weren't here, I wouldn't mind." At that point, the Rinpoche picked up a coffee pot and started to tilt it over a $35,000 Persian carpet. There was no description of how the story ended, but I think the point is clear.

...

It is tricky for us in the West to balance such a life simultaneously with values of non-attachment to "stuff", simplicity, moderation and charity. However, we must find a way.

It is actually not such a new question in Buddhism, if I may point out. As I mentioned above, most of the lay supporters of Buddhism in India, China and Japan were people of means ... and many kings and wealthy folks were the Buddha's sponsors. I think the Buddha was rarely heard to tell a wealthy patron or king to give all his/her wealth away if walking a lay path, although he/she should be generous in charity and donations. Never a monastery or temple has been built since ancient India without the support of rich and powerful people, and the same for Dogen and most of the great Chinese, Japanese and other Buddhist masters everywhere. Dogen built Eiheiji with the financial support of his rich patron Lord Hatano Yoshishige ...

http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=i5FtE9KbRz4C&pg=PA159&lpg=PA159&dq=dogen+Hatano+Yoshishige&source=bl&ots=Kk1PSlqgxA&sig=7_wS0lkyGXBidQ-opygVa1EsxF8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DXGzU4XZN8WA8gX_roHIBA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=dogen%20Hatano%20Yoshishige&f=false

...

These questions of balancing wealth, personal security and Buddhist Practice are nothing new.

These questions of how to balance wealth and Buddhist Practice and Renunciation are not just something faced now for the first time. Nonetheless, the temptations we all face these days are particularly great. We must be very careful to find a good way in this modern world of sometime excess.

This may be a good time to repost some of the Buddha's advice to householders on wealth. The Buddha did teach one path for homeleavers ... having nothing much besides a robe on their back and a begging bowl. But he also taught another path for lay folks on whom Buddha & the Band depended to supply the robes, offer land for the monasteries, put food in those bowls.

Buddha's basic point comes down to ... if one has wealth, use it for good purposes ... don't live to excess ... and don't be attached. Zen traditionally values also the simple, intangible treasures of life ... the things which money cannot buy.

Gassho, J

===========

In the Dighajanu Sutta, when the lay man Dighajanu asked the Buddha on how to have “happiness & well-being” in this life, the Buddha offered the following advice;

[The Blessed One said:] "There are these four qualities ... that lead to a lay person's happiness and well-being in this life. Which four? Being consummate in initiative, being consummate in vigilance, admirable friendship, and maintaining one's livelihood in tune.

"And what does it mean to be consummate in initiative? There is the case where a lay person, by whatever occupation he makes his living — whether by farming or trading or cattle tending or archery or as a king's man or by any other craft — is clever and untiring at it, endowed with discrimination in its techniques, enough to arrange and carry it out. This is called being consummate in initiative.

"And what does it mean to be consummate in vigilance? There is the case when a lay person has righteous wealth — righteously gained, coming from his initiative, his striving, his making an effort, gathered by the strength of his arm, earned by his sweat — he manages to protect it through vigilance [with the thought], 'How shall neither kings nor thieves make off with this property of mine, nor fire burn it, nor water sweep it away, nor hateful heirs make off with it?' This is called being consummate in vigilance.

"And what is meant by admirable friendship? There is the case where a lay person, in whatever town or village he may dwell, spends time with householders or householders' sons, young or old, who are advanced in virtue. He talks with them, engages them in discussions. He emulates consummate conviction in those who are consummate in conviction, consummate virtue in those who are consummate in virtue, consummate generosity in those who are consummate in generosity, and consummate discernment in those who are consummate in discernment. This is called admirable friendship.

"And what does it mean to maintain one's livelihood in tune? There is the case where a lay person, knowing the income and outflow of his wealth, maintains a livelihood in tune, neither a spendthrift nor a penny-pincher, [thinking], 'Thus will my income exceed my outflow, and my outflow will not exceed my income.' Just as when a weigher or his apprentice, when holding the scales, knows, 'It has tipped down so much or has tipped up so much,' in the same way, the lay person, knowing the income and outflow of his wealth, maintains a livelihood in tune, neither a spendthrift nor a penny-pincher, [thinking], 'Thus will my income exceed my outflow, and my outflow will not exceed my income.' If a lay person has a small income but maintains a grand livelihood, it will be rumored of him, 'This clansman devours his wealth like a fruit-tree eater.' If a lay person has a large income but maintains a miserable livelihood, it will be rumored of him, 'This clansman will die of starvation.' But when a lay person, knowing the income and outflow of his wealth, maintains a livelihood in tune, neither a spendthrift nor a penny-pincher, [thinking], 'Thus will my income exceed my outflow, and my outflow will not exceed my income,' this is called maintaining one's livelihood in tune.

"These are the four drains on one's store of wealth: debauchery in sex; debauchery in drink; debauchery in gambling; and evil friendship, evil companionship, evil camaraderie. Just as if there were a great reservoir with four inlets and four drains, and a man were to close the inlets and open the drains, and the sky were not to pour down proper showers, the depletion of that great reservoir could be expected, not its increase. In the same way, these are the four drains on one's store of wealth: debauchery in sex; debauchery in drink; debauchery in gambling; and evil friendship, evil companionship, evil camaraderie.

...

"There are these four qualities that lead to a lay person's happiness and well-being in lives to come. Which four? Being consummate in conviction, being consummate in virtue, being consummate in generosity, being consummate in discernment.

"And what does it mean to be consummate in conviction? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones has conviction, is convinced of the Tathagata's Awakening: 'Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy and rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge and conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine and human beings, awakened, blessed.' This is called being consummate in conviction.

"And what does it mean to be consummate in virtue? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones abstains from taking life, abstains from stealing, abstains from illicit sexual conduct, abstains from lying, abstains from taking intoxicants that cause heedlessness. This is called being consummate in virtue.

"And what does it mean to be consummate in generosity? There is the case of a disciple of the noble ones, his awareness cleansed of the stain of miserliness, living at home, freely generous, openhanded, delighting in being magnanimous, responsive to requests, delighting in the distribution of alms. This is called being consummate in generosity.

"And what does it mean to be consummate in discernment? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones is discerning, endowed with discernment of arising and passing away — noble, penetrating, leading to the right ending of [Dukkha suffering]. This is called being consummate in discernment

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an08/an08.054.than.html

Gassho, Jundo

SatToday

[Meishin]

Thank you, Jundo

Gassho
Meishin
Sat today