Themachinist, interesting points. I was just wondering today whether Buddhism is secular.
Buddhism for mothers is quite good (so far) in that it doesn't seem to focus much on the spiritual. In fact, regarding karma, she says that its not about any kind of divine retribution or the universe punishing bad deeds but that everything you do and say has a result. I quote:
'Thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the dead;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character.'
Basically if you thing bad things, eventually you will act badly and you will be all mean and twisted and people will respond badly to you. She says if you want to see into the future look at the present, i.e. how you are now. This has really hit home with me as I am always waiting for things to get better, I assume I will grow into a more beautiful, more patient, more intelligent person, but if I am not those things now and am not trying to be those things then how can I be.
I am really enjoying the book but like themachinist I am not keen on the dogmatic or mythological side. In some anecdotes about retreats and stuff she talks about shrines, presumably that's a shrine to the Buddha? So there is an element of worship involved? And what does it really mean to be a Buddhist monk or a nun? What are they doing?
Whether I pursue Buddhism or not I am really enjoying the book, but I've yet to find out if it offers any practical advice. At the moment while I am reading it I'm really into it, but once I've put the book down I've forgotten.
Any tips on how to put it into practice? I feel like I should write post it notes and put them everywhere.
The main messages I have at the moment are:
-If you want to know what your future life will be like look at your life now
-Do not succumb to your emotions, acknowledge them and accept them
-Accept hardship with equanimity, pain is necessary
-Live in the moment with your child
These all sound really lovely and I imagine myself to be this calm, bounteous, equanimious (I don't think that is really a word) person, partly because I live a lot in me head and really suffer from negative emotions, but also partly because I want other people to think I am this lovely, calm etc. person which I don't think is really the point
Plus there is something really satisfying about succumbing to a really shite day, wallowing in it medicating with wine, chocolate and trashy TV. But I don't think that is very Buddhist either (plus it speaks to a whole load of other psychological issues with regards to making yourself feel better with food, wine and mindless entertainment!).