[Buddha-l] Re: Peter Junger died

[James Ward]

[Please forgive the effrontery -- JW]

http://samsara-blog.blogspot.com/
http://samsara.law.cwru.edu/
http://samsara.law.cwru.edu/blog/archive4/index.html

"Thursday, August 10, 2006

A Congeries of Cons

The other day I heard on the TV, while I was trying to take a nap, some 
talking head discussing how the Republicans had framed the word 
"liberal" so that it now has almost exclusively negative connotations 
and how the Democrats had not succeeded in coming up with s similar 
frame to use against the Republicans.

And that got me to thinking.

It seems to me that there is one term -- "Neocon" -- that describes a 
group of people on the right who -- what with the war in Iraq and all 
-- are almost universally despised. The trouble is, of course, that the 
Democrats can hardly get away with applying the label "Neocon" to all 
their opponents, for most of them, however distasteful they may be, are 
not exactly Neocons.

But, thinking that, I suddenly realized that even if they are not 
Neocons, all of those opponents can be framed as some sort of "cons" 
and justly smeared with the opprobrium that is attached to their "Neo" 
congeners.

So here is a list of "cons" of various sorts. (I have not bothered with 
definitions, since normally they will not be needed when the labels are 
applied.)
Neocon, Retrocon, Quasicon, Me-Me-Con, Mexicon, Texicon, Psuedocon, 
Econ, Geocon, Globulcon, Paleocon, Scardycon, Killercon, Wimpycon, 
Whoopsicon, Contracon, Lexicon, Hemi-Semi-Demi-Con, Republicon, 
Anticon, Greedycon, Anti-Americon, Bullycon, Bellycon, Jellycon, 
Parasiticcon, Crypticon, and Idioticon.

I could go on, but I'm sure that you get the idea."


From: 	  junger at samsara.law.cwru.edu
Subject: 	[Buddha-l] Rebirth and a Footnote
Date: 	February 6, 2006 12:10:41 PM PST

I have just posted the following entry in my blog at 
<samsara-blog.blogspot.com>:

My Favorite Footnote

My favorite footnote is footnote 8 in Robert Nozick's State, Anarchy, 
Utopia (1974) where he quotes an old Yiddish joke:

"Life is so terrible, it would be better never to have been born."

"Yes, but how many are so lucky? Not one in a thousand."

This takes on especial significance in the context of the Buddhist 
teaching that the goal of Buddhist practice is to free oneself--and 
others--from the cycle of rebirth.


From: 	  junger at samsara.law.cwru.edu
Subject: 	[Buddha-l] Jodo Shin Shu and thanksgiving
Date: 	November 22, 2005 10:55:22 AM PST

I've started up my blog again at <http://samsara-blog.blogspot.com/> 
and some of the entries relate to matters within the jurisdiction of 
Buddha-Hell.

Here is one about Jodo Shinshu Buddhism---a subject that seems to be 
greatly ignored on this list---and thanksgiving, a talk that I gave at 
an "interfaith service" about thanksgiving

As I understand it, my charge here this afternoon is to read or recite 
some passage from the literature of my school of Buddhism, which is 
Jodo Shin Shu---the True School of the Pure Land---, which is the 
tradition of the Cleveland Buddhist Temple.

So here goes:

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU. NAMO AMIDA BUTSU. NAMO AMIDA BUTSU.

Of course, since I recited that in my approximation of the Japanese 
pronunciation of a Sanskrit phrase, I suppose that I owe you some sort 
of explanation.

So here it is.

There are many different schools of Buddhism, perhaps as many schools 
as there are Buddhists, for there is nothing that one is required to 
believe to be a Buddhist and each of us can only follow our own path.

But one thing that almost all Buddhists have in common is that they 
have many reasons for giving thanks. Giving thanks is a basic part of 
Buddhist practices: thanks to our parents, thanks to our friends, 
thanks to the lunch we ate today, thanks to things just as they are, 
and especially thanks to the Buddha for the Buddha's teachings.

Now the central teachings of the Buddha are that all things are 
impermanent, that all things are interdependent, and that no thing, no 
person, has an independent essence---that no person has an independent 
self. The Buddha teaches us that as a result of these truths that 
anyone---and that means every one of us---who clings to impermanent 
things, and especially to the idea that one has an independent self, is 
going to be disappointed and unhappy.

And finally the Buddha teaches that, if you don't want to be unhappy, 
then you are going to have to truly get rid of the ignorant belief that 
you have a separate self that exists somehow apart from that of others. 
And, of course, since that means that you must recognize the fact that 
you are inextricably interconnected with others, it requires that you 
not only want to attain your own happiness but that you want all beings 
to be happy.

And so the goal of all Buddhist practices is to attain wisdom and 
compassion. The wisdom to free oneself from the fetters of one's 
ignorance and greed and the compassion to wish that same freedom for 
all others.

But Shin Buddhists like myself, ordinary ignorant people filled with 
blind passions, have to recognize that we simply lack the capacity to 
free ourselves from the bonds of our ignorance and greed.

Now the usual translation of NAMO AMIDA BUTSU is: ``I am one with Amida 
Buddha---I am one with the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life---I am one 
with the infinite wisdom and compassion that surrounds me.''

But for an ignorant person like myself it is more likely at first to be 
a cry of existential despair.

We are, however, taught in the Shin tradition that if we listen 
carefully to NAMO AMIDA BUTSU we will hear Amida Buddha calling us to 
entrust ourselves to the wisdom and compassion that surrounds us. And 
when we truly hear that call, then NAMO AMIDA BUTSU becomes: ``Thank 
you. Thank you. Thank you.'' Every day becomes a day of thanksgiving. 
Every moment becomes an eternity of thanksgiving.

NAMO AMIDA BUTSU. NAMO AMIDA BUTSU. NAMO AMIDA BUTSU.

<http://samsara-blog.blogspot.com/2005/11/giving-thanks.html>