Let's try this again, shall we?

Obviously I put my studies on hold for a long time.

But as I said before, I have my whole life (and subsequent ones!) to learn.

So today I started to read The Illustrated Dhammapada (a HUGE pdf file, but very worth it) and I find it to be much easier to read than my previous Dhammapada study. So I'll be combining them both.

In The Story of the Monk Cakkhupala, the Buddha tells the story of the blind monk Cakkhupala who accidentally stepped on some insects while pacing during meditation. Some other monks reported this act to the Buddha and the Buddha tells them that since Cakkhupala did not see the insects and did not intentionally kill them, he was innocent.

I like this because it really shows Right Intention. Even though sometimes Right Intention doesn't always work out, it's still the right thing to do. Cakkhupala was practicing Right Intention in his pacing meditation. Killing the insects was accidental and does not change his intention.

The story goes on to tell us why Cakkhupala is blind. In a previous life Cakkhupala was a physician who deliberately made a patient blind. So in turn, in several lives afterward, Cakkhupala is blind.

"All that we experience begins with thought. Our words and
deeds spring from thought. If we speak or act with evil
thoughts, unpleasant circumstances and experiences inevita-
bly result. Wherever we go, we create bad circumstances
because we carry bad thoughts. We cannot shake off this suf-
fering as long as we are tied to our evil thoughts. This is very
much like the wheel of a cart following the hoofs of the ox
yoked to the cart. The cart-wheel, along with the heavy load of
the cart, keeps following the draught oxen. The animal is
bound to this heavy load and cannot leave it."

So we must let go of our evil thoughts. Easier said than done. In Christian religions, this is why people pray for their enemies. Harboring evil thoughts and hatred causes internal sickness.

In my own practice I'll be using meditation to release evil thoughts. I can think of a few areas in my life where I hold on to negative energy and bad thinking. It takes time and practice, I'm sure, to learn to automatically not turn a bad situation into a bad thought.

I found some interesting thoughts in the Commentary section of this 1st verse. This particular Dhammapada is translated and commented by Ven. Weragoda Sarada Maha Thero.

He says that Buddhism teaches us that all that we experience, the world, ourselves, the universe, was created by thought. So many Buddhist texts state that the Buddha doesn't mention the world's creation - and because of this I had come to the conclusion in my own mind that it didn't matter how the world was created or whether there was or wasn't a "God"... but I'll have to pause and think about this idea that the world is created by thought or cognitive process.

Because where, then, did the first thought originate from?

I like the idea because it lends credibility to the idea that "God" lives within each of us and that we are all "God" and all connected. It brings in those ideas that are so popular now (Eckhart Tole and The Secret and The Power of Positive Thinking) that I find myself drawn to. And I find myself comforted by that idea.

So to conclude for today and to bring a focus to my meditations for the day:
We must practice Right Intention
We must let go of negative or "evil" thoughts
All that exists is created by thoughts

"Don't try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist;
use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are."
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama