The Kalachakra is a Tibetan Buddhist doctrine on the cycles of time. In addition to being a text, meditation practice, and initiation ritual, Kalachakra is a prophecy for the victory of the Buddhist religion in a war with Islam.
Perhaps the most fundamental mistake of Buddhists over the last 2,500 years, and in particular in modern times, is the silent treatment given to the most precious reward of all time we have inherited: freedom from suffering. As a whole, Buddhists are overly shy about what makes the teachings of the Buddha so valuable and most easily the greatest religious wellspring of enlightenment and wisdom in the last 2,500 years. The peaceful flowering of calm and joy that Buddha’s teaching offers all those who try it with everlasting freedom from the pain of worldly concerns and serenity in the path that lies beyond it is unmistakable.
The Care Bear’s are a 1980’s franchise aimed at children to represent the power of positive emotions. Magical and whimsical beings, the Care Bears’ ultimate weapon is the “Care Bear Stare” (a.k.a. “Belly Magic”), in which the Bears stand together and radiate light from their respective tummy symbols. These combine to form a ray of love and good cheer which could bring care and joy into the target’s heart. Western Buddhism exists almost entirely on the actions and intentions of the Care Bear Dharma philosophy. Western Buddhists think they can have the same effect as Care Bears by repeating word incantations like metta and happiness as enchantments to bind evil from causing them and others harm. The workshops and books of these Care Bears reveal how happy they are with themselves and what they are doing in the world. But Buddhism has nothing to do with being happy with conditioned things. The happiness to be found in Buddhism is from renouncing all causes of suffering until nothing is left in the mind to perturbe the virtues to be had from living a purified life (see Khuddakavatthu-vibhaṅga).
Bill Warner on AmericanThinker.com recently wrote about the dismal attitude of certain Buddhist leaders when Buddhists and their holy sites are attacked. He wrote, “Many Buddhists are absolute pacifists who hold to the “if you do good, good will come to you” school of politics. The problem is that such Buddhists usually cannot figure out why Muslims believe that being a Buddhist is evil. They may be ignorant of Islamic doctrine that says that the only good that can come out of a Buddhist is submission to Islam.”
The future has major challenges facing humanity including climate change, the end of the era of inexpensive oil, over population, and associated problems. Unfortunately these big problems will lead to massive suffering if they are not addresses in an intelligent and rational manner.
The second Noble Truth of the Eightfold Path of the Buddha’s teachings is Right Intention. Right Intention contains three characteristics: the intention of renunciation, the intention of good will, and the intention of harmlessness. The three are opposed to the wrong kinds of intention: intention governed by desire, ill will, and harmfulness.
In the face of terrorism, it is exceptionally challenging and incredibly important to maintain the Right Intent. Even with the blood of our brothers still fresh on our most holy temples to lose the Right Intent is to lose the foundation of our religion.
The teachings of Lord Buddha and his unbroken community of faithful followers has existed for over 2,500 years. The Buddhist faith is characterized by two profound teachings encapsulated in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. Buddhism teaches it’s adherents a sublime message of peace through understanding the nature of suffering, its causes, and its resolution. In practical terms, Buddhists strive to learn about themselves and the nature of their mind to uncover the seeds of suffering and extinguish their source.
This has profound effects on the actions and behavior of Buddhists that continually strive towards perfecting the virtues of the mind and releasing the bonds that tie the self to suffering.
These images are the huge stacks of signatures collected by monks in Myanmar for the Buddhist Defense Laws. As you can see, these petitions are very popular in Myanmar. This is what Buddhist activism looks like in action!
There is a tendency within the Sangha to use quotes of the Buddha out of context. Many if not most of Lord Buddha’s sutta are directed to the community of monks themselves. For example, this quote which shows the essence of Buddha’s teaching on surrendering anger:
“Those absorbed insuch accusations as: “He/She/They abused, hurt, did me or us wrong ” whether right or wrong!, such foolish ones only prolong own pain by being obsessed by their own anger. However! Those freed of these accusations:”He/She/They abused, hurt, did me or us wrong ” noting: whether right or wrong – so what! – such clever ones stop own pain by relinquishing all anger.”