According to Buddhism, our view of the self as a singular, distinct, autonomous and lasting entity is at odds with reality and, therefore becomes a source of frustration and suffering. An exacerbated feeling of self-importance, self-cherishing, and self-centeredness are the basis for impulses of attraction and aversion, which quickly develop into mental afflictions of hatred, craving, arrogance, envy, and lack of discernment.

Conversely, viewing the self as a mere convention or as a designated label for our dynamic stream of experience - consciousness in relation to the body and the world - is in harmony with the interdependent and impermanent nature of reality; and leads to a state of well-being grounded in wisdom, altruism, compassion, and inner freedom.  In order to reach this understanding, one should thoroughly investigate the notion of a “self” that might possibly constitute a separate, autonomous entity.

This analysis reveals that the self cannot reasonably exist outside of the body and the experience of consciousness. It cannot be intrinsically associated with the physical constituents of the body since it does not have any location, shape or color, Finally, the self cannot be found in the stream of consciousness, within which past thoughts have gone, future thoughts have not yet arisen, and present thoughts do not abide. Thus, Buddhism concludes that the self is a mere convention. (to be continued)

We are like birds that have lived too long in a cage to which we return even when we get the chance to fly away.
We have grown so accustomed to our mental habits that we can barely imagine what life would be like without them.
The prospect of change makes us dizzy.

« Simplify, simplify, simplify… » These refreshing words written by Henry Thoreau remind us that much of our suffering comes from adding unnecessary and disturbing complications in our lives. We seem to be continually weaving elaborate conceptual webs around even straightforward events. We distort reality and shroud it with complications by superimposing fabricated mental constructs. This distortion invariably leads to mental states and behaviors that undermine our inner peace and that of others.

How many human enterprises and noble causes have failed due to such unnecessary complications! We need to simplify our thoughts, simplify our words, and simplify our actions. We need to avoid falling into circular mental rumination, pointless chatter, and vain activities that waste our precious time and engender all kinds of dysfunctional situations.

Having a simple mind is not the same as being simple-minded. Simplicity of mind is reflected in lucidity, inner strength, buoyancy, and a healthy contentment that withstands the tribulations of life with a light heart. Simplicity reveals the nature of the mind behind the veil of restless thoughts. It reduces the exacerbated feeling of self-importance and opens our heart to genuine altruism.

From March 16-20 in the beautiful Himalayan foothills of Himachal Pradesh, at the Deer Park in Bir, India, over fifty translators and scholars of Tibetan Buddhism gathered for 5 days of intense and constructive discussions, to which I was fortunate to participate. This wonderful conference was organized by the Khyentse Foundation.

The group also included major scholars engaged in life-long projects to study and translate the Pali and Chinese versions of the Buddhist Canon.

The conference was conducted in an uplifting spirit of commitment and collaboration under the leadership of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and other teachers from the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It outlined a vision for the next one hundred years to “translate and make universally accessible the Buddhist literary heritage.” Five and twenty-five year goals were also defined that include the translation of the Tibetan Tripitaka (Kangyur, Tangyur, as well as canonical sources) and many other volumes of text written by Tibetan masters.

The group widely supported the goal of gathering all the resources available (original texts, existing translations, dictionaries, glossaries, etc) and making them available in an open-source manner. Messages of support were sent from all over the world to encourage the translation work.

As a inspiring conclusion to the conference, the teachers, translators and scholars were received by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His Holiness gave us profound advice and emphasized the usefulness of first translating the commentaries written by the 17 great Indian pandita of the Nalanda tradition, in order to provide the necessary foundation to understanding the words of the Buddha that are collected in the Kangyur.

Interdependence is a central Buddhist idea that leads to a profound understanding of the nature of reality and to an awareness of universal responsibility, as often pointed out by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Since all beings are interrelated and all, without exception, want to avoid suffering and achieve happiness, this understanding becomes the basis for altruism and compassion. This in turn naturally leads to the attitude and practice of non-violence towards human beings, animals and towards the environment.

Unchecked consumerism operates on the premise that others are only instruments to be used and that the environment is a commodity. This attitude fosters unhappiness, selfishness and contempt.

The vast majority of Tibetans have never heard of global warming, although it is a well-known fact that the ice is not forming as thickly as before and the winter temperatures are getting warmer. In parts of the world where there is access to information, most of us are aware of the impeding danger of global warming and of the lack of serious measures taken by political authorities to address it. Even the “Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change” that warned of the catastrophic economic impact of global warming had little impact on decision makers. It is not as if more facts are needed; the evidence is striking enough.

People react strongly to immediate danger but it is difficult for them to be emotionally moved by something that will happen in 10 or 20 years. They will rarely be motivated to change on behalf of something for their future and that of the next generation.  They imagine ‘Well we’ll deal with that when it comes.’ They resist the idea of giving up what they enjoy just for the sake of disastrous long-term effects. Their actions are based on not being inconvenienced now.  The future doesn’t hurt – yet.

The Europeans are advancing with their renewable energy programs, but in the large Asian countries, change is barely beginning and will require major shifts in policies and financial investments.  It is difficult to expect poor truck drivers in Nepal to stop using their old vehicles that emit clouds of black soot exhaust. That would deprive them of their basic livelihood. Who will give free electric cars and efficient solar cookers to all these people?  Who is going to pay for all that? How are we to offer biogas to a billion people in India?

The Chinese government is building a super-ecological island where everything will be zero-carbon emissions, in an effort to show off their technology. Meanwhile, they are doing just the opposite in the rest of the country, buying SUVs in frenzy, and polluting the air and the rivers in such unprecedented ways that it even triggers popular revolts in cities where toxic fumes and waters are harming people.

Within ten years they could make substantial investments in renewable energy. As time goes on it will become less expensive. The oil billionaire, Boone Pickens, is a case in point. He has put several billion dollars into wind power.  Did he do it for the money? “Of course” he said, “the oil business is just mad.  Renewable energy not only makes sense but it can make money as well.” Even from the point of view of a hard-core Houston oilman, it makes sense. This kind of person can be an enormous help to shift perspectives in other business people’s mind. If the USA begins to act, that could be a social tipping point for meaningful reduction of carbon emissions.