The Age of Anxiety (23/1/02):

Sometimes we hear this age we are living in described as an age of anxiety. There are many reasons for this feeling of anxiety in our societies. The speed of change, increasing complexity of technology, social disruption and crime, the disappearance of ethics in a climate of greed where the market and economics has become all, increasing gaps between rich and poor, terrorism ­ one could go on and on. In many ways these are all symptoms of deeper, underlying cultural forces - the ideologies driving our current approach to politics, economics, science and technology, social issues, education, international relations and the environment.

The dominant ethos in our Western societies at the moment could be described as materialistic and techno-managerial. With it have come the de-sanctification of Nature and the disappearance of what I call the mystery-principle of life, the magical quality of existence. People no longer have any connection with these qualities, with a deeper underlying mythology. The emphasis on the intellect as the superior faculty has destroyed this. What this means is that people are bereft of anything that engages their imagination, their intuition, their hearts. There is no faith or trust in anything and where there is no faith or trust there is no confidence. The word confidence derives from the Latin roots of 'with' (con) and 'faith' (fide). This includes no self-confidence. We are anxious.

On my last ordination retreat we explored the importance of discovering one's own personal myth; the unconscious journey you are already on. From a Buddhist point of view this myth (if it is a healthy one) is inevitably about a yearning for self-transcendence. If you analyse most of our cultural myths or stories they usually have this at their core, maybe wrapped up in a lot of symbolism. Learning to tap into this myth rather than dismiss it (as 'a bit of a myth', which our overly-intellectual contemporary culture tends to encourage) is really important. It helps open you up to a larger universal myth and can help fire up the imagination, inspire and bring confidence. The word for faith in Buddhism is sraddha and is better translated as confidence-trust. The emotional security it brings is always based on intelligent analysis and testing in Buddhism, not blind belief. If you're interested in reading more of these articles you can do so on our website. New Buddhist Philosophy and meditation classes start in April. For information on courses and activities, or to enrol, please contact us at the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

Introducing Buddhism (14/2/02):

A new day-time, six-week 'Introducing Buddhism' course starts at the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre (TBC) on Thursday the 21st February 10am-12noon. These courses are for people who want 'to know' more about Buddhism before perhaps exploring it more. It's clear that interest in Buddhism is increasing in the West. Our centre is part of a pioneering movement that is helping Buddhism spread and adapt to Western culture - and adapt it must, as it always has when it moved into a new culture. For example, it adapted quite significantly when it moved from India into China, because the Chinese civilisation was so developed.

Similarly, as it moves into the West, it is encountering for the second time a highly developed civilisation. To survive in this Western context Buddhism has to evolve past its traditional Asian forms. As they exist at the moment they are too difficult to assimilate for the vast majority of Westerners, who tend to see them as curiosities, or are attracted to their exoticness. But if you want to really change and grow psychologically and spiritually you cannot bypass your own Western psychological and cultural conditioning. All of us brought up in Western cultures have been deeply, unconsciously, conditioned by its cultural forces such as Christianity, scientific rationalism, utilitarianism, materialism, commercialism, democracy, intellectualism, individualism and the doctrine of rights, to name a few.

Part of the spread of Buddhism into the West involves an information explosion on it (for example books, TV programs, the internet). Where there is lots of information there is the also the danger of ill-informed views and opinions and simply 'getting the wrong end of the stick'. So the 'Introducing Buddhism' course offered at the TBC goes back to the core teachings of the Buddha (which have become known as 'Basic Buddhism'), that all major traditions share at their heart. These include formulae like The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, The Three Characteristics of Conditioned Existence, The Law of Conditioned Co-production, the nature of the human condition and the origin of suffering. The course is primarily designed to clarify views and clear up misconceptions through discussion and exposure to people's different points of view. It is also taught in a clear Western style of expression and English. For information please contact us on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

Fixed Self-View (21/2/02):

We usually have a fixed view of ourselves in the West. Quite often it's a negative one, such as, that I am bad, no good, stupid and won't ever be able to change. It's interesting to reflect upon where in our culture this negativity springs from, this problem with appreciating ourselves. We even have a saying about it that an old dog can't change its spots. The following words from Buddhaghosa, one of the earliest Buddhist sages after the Buddha, put quite a different slant on it: " No doer of the deed may be found; No one who ever reaps their fruit Just bare phenomena roll on, Dependent upon conditions all."

This is the idea that we are not fixed, that instead we are an ever-changing flux of conditions mental, physical, biological and chemical. The fixed view of the self is just mental phenomena and if we ever stop to observe our minds we discover that those phenomena are just changing all the time ­ minute to minute and day to day. They are certainly not fixed. They change in dependence upon conditions and are thus impermanent. Just like all conditioned phenomena in the world.

We can use this fact to help us. If we set up the right conditions it will change our mental states, for example, from negative to positive ones. Instead of a fixed view of yourself you can develop a more fluid one, such as, that you can make of yourself whatever you want by putting the right conditions in place. Some of the best conditions you can build into your lifestyle from a Buddhist viewpoint are the practice of ethics, daily meditation and study. For information on courses and activities at the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre please contact us on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

The Buddha's Death:(28/02/02):

On last Thursday evening (28th February) we celebrated Para nirvana day at the TBC. This festival celebrates the passing away of the Buddha, which is traditionally known as the Paranirvana. Yes, we 'celebrate' the Buddha's death. This is because it represented the attainment of supreme nirvana, the extinguishment of all craving and conditioning, the ultimate freedom and peace, beyond all conditioned things, eternal and complete and self-illuminating. The aim of the Buddhist life is to go completely beyond conditioned existence (samsara). It's easy to keep coming back because we are so attached to the world. It's much harder to stay away.

But where has the Buddha gone - where does an Enlightened being go? This is part of the mystery aspect of Enlightenment central to the Buddhist teaching. Traditionally the Buddha having experienced Nirvana is spoken of as neither existing nor not existing! Also Nirvana is spoken of as in Samsara, and Samsara is in Nirvana. These are mysterious words because they cannot be grasped, let alone understood by the intellect. These notions are a mystery to the reasoning mind (this is a root meaning of the word 'mystical'). And yet we need mysteries because without them the world becomes a dry, arid place if the only way we can relate to it is through the intellect.

We need the mystery principle to enchant the world, re-establish its magical qualities. We need these dimensions to kelp open up our imagination and to stimulate the emotions of awe and reverence that can inspire and motivate us. What Buddhism seems to be saying is that we are trapped in the conditioned world in time and space but at the same time we are part of something much larger beyond time and space. Sometimes we can sense this. The more we open up our imagination to this mystery, this Cosmic Myth, the more we become spiritual beings that can rise into the unknown. For information on courses and activities at the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre please contact us on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

Spiritual Friendship: (7/3/02)

All Buddhists go for refuge to the Three Jewels. That is they seek security in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. The Buddha represents the ideal condition of human enlightenment. The Dharma is the Teaching ­ all the operational concepts of Buddhism and its methods and practices of self-growth. The Sangha is the fellowship of all the enlightened masters and sages of the past that have occurred in the Buddhist tradition and who give us confidence that the goal is attainable. The Sangha also involves all those Buddhists striving to practice the path and this includes our spiritual friends. This is where we can find real security or refuge in the Buddhist view.

We particularly stress spiritual friendship in Buddhism in the West, even as a practice. It is wonderful to have friends with whom one can fully and frankly discuss one's ideals. So often our friendships are based on more mundane factors, such as, wanting to belong to a group, or simply physical attraction, or because we perceive that they're popular and we want to be with someone like that. Spiritual friendship is often with people who aren't like that at all and it is such a relief and release of the heart to be able to talk and open up about our spiritual ideals, which we often hide in the ordinary world.

Another really important aspect of spiritual friendship is that human communication works on our emotions and can transform us. Often after discussing the Dharma with an order member friend I feel very inspired and emotionally uplifted. So the sangha can provide support for members when they're down or struggling, as all do who attempt the spiritual life. Also there is a role for criticism from our friends when we stray from the path or act unskilfully and can't see it. For information on courses and activities at the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre please contact us on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

Contacting Our Emotions (11/4/02):

To manage ourselves skilfully it's important to know how we're reacting emotionally to events and circumstances. However, in the West we tend to be not very good at this. A popular book published not long ago called "Emotional Intelligence" was all about this. About how intellectual intelligence is not the only component of intelligence and how important it is to educate the young from an early age in developing emotional intelligence. Buddhism has always seen intelligence to be a combination of reason and emotion ­ a combination of intelligent feelings and 'feeling-full' intelligence.

One of the ways into our emotions is to acknowledge the basic feeling of pleasure and pain when they arise. These are strong, simple signals that are often ignored or covered up. But it's important to 'own' them because they are the originating point of emotional reactions. You can make it a practice to ask yourself throughout the day whether you are enjoying this experience or not, whether you feel something or not. And if you can feel something is it a pleasant feeling or a painful feeling?

This is a very good habit to get into and it will develop emotional accuracy, truthfulness and mindfulness. If you're truthful with yourself about how you feel, then you'll become more clear-minded and self-confident. You'll not be pretending that you're enjoying something when you are not, or convincing yourself that some experience will be unpleasant when you know that you'll enjoy it. If you don't pretend, you give yourself more freedom of choice in your emotional reactions. More about emotions next week - if you're interested in reading more of these articles you can do so on our website. The new six-week course on Introductory Meditation is starting at this stage on thursday April 18 10am ­12. For details please contact us on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

Going Deeper into Emotions (18/4/02):  

Last week we talked about being able to contact our emotions by being aware of the primary feelings of pleasure and pain. One of the ways into our emotions is to acknowledge the basic feelings of pleasure and pain when they arise. Another way to get into them, is not so much to label and analyse them, but to 'experience' them directly. Initially it may be useful to label them, but to really get into them it's best to drop any attempt at analysing them along the lines of "what type of emotion is this that I'm feeling?"   Try and communicate with them using a different language to that of the conceptual or intellectual. Use sensory language. Try asking yourself what colour they are, what temperature, texture, even what sound and smell they have? Are they hot or cold, smooth or rough that sort of thing.  Really try to "feel" them; what do they feel like, what shape and where in the body. Get a felt sense of them and stay with the felt sense for a while.   As with meditation as your self-awareness goes deeper and deeper into them they can begin to change. Eventually you can experience them as raw energy and you can 'unhook' them from whichever part of your personality they're stuck with. This way they can be transformed. The raw energy of depression can be changed into a warm, compassionate feeling for yourself. Great anger can be transformed into great love. This is the wonderful thing about self-awareness, it's like bringing heat to water, which changes it from liquid to a gas. It's a transforming agent. Next time you're in a mood try and sit with it, go into it and explore it and let it 'be'. Then after awhile it will have 'been' and you'll feel different. If you're interested in reading more of these articles you can do so on our website. The next six-week course Introducing Buddhism is now starting on Tuesday 30th April 7-9pm and the next Introductory Meditation is starting on thursday May 2nd 10am ­12. For details please contact us on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.  

Unconditional Being (27/4/02):
 
There are many schools of Buddhism in the West these days. In a way the western cultures have become heirs to the whole tradition because never before in the past were all the schools present in one country or culture. It seems to me that whether they are vipassana (insight), Zen, Tibetan, Hinayana or Mahayana schools of Buddhism they all seem to be emphasising some common themes as they adapt to the West.
 
One of these is that if through the practice of meditation and mindfulness we can break through or break out of our fixed, confined, mechanical mind we experience a state of unconditional being. Our mechanical mind is reactive in the sense that it reacts with pleasure or pain, attraction or repulsion to whatever it encounters. Through mindfulness practice we learn to just watch these reactions and not get caught up in them. We create spaciousness in our mind in which these impulses-to-act just die out like aircraft vapour trails in the sky. This way we get to know ourselves in greater detail.
 
Also through meditation we become more and more familiar with this fundamental quality of spaciousness within our mind. Sometimes it is described as a basic sanity or our potential Buddha-nature within. It's the region of our creative potential that can allow us to respond rather then react to events.  It has nourishing qualities of freshness, openness, and goodness. It's beyond our normal, limited egoistic view of ourselves, which we struggle so hard to maintain through desire and aversion. Because it is unfamiliar territory and beyond our normal sense of self it takes patience and courage to learn to dwell in it.
 
When we can, we discover a bravery within that potentially exists within everyone without exception. It is our unconditional, pure being and it is where Nirvana lives. If you're interested in reading more of these articles you can do so on our website. The next six-week course Introducing Buddhism is starting on Tuesday 30th April 7-9pm and the next Introductory Meditation is starting on Thursday May 2nd 10am ­12. We also have a retreat over the May long weekend. For details please contact us on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

Sources of Inspiration (2/5/02):
 
Meditation is a direct way of raising your level of consciousness. Higher levels of consciousness have qualities like mental clarity, tranquillity, one-pointedness, bliss and joy. There are also many indirect ways of raising your level of consciousness and these can also be sources of inspiration. One of them is to get away from it all for a while in a beautiful, natural setting for a retreat from the world. Some of us are going on a long weekend retreat this weekend in Toowoomba and the theme of the retreat is 'Sources of Inspiration'. It's being led by one of our women order members this time ­ her name is Vimoksalehi.
 
Other ways include leading a regular and disciplined lifestyle practicing moral precepts, having regular hours for meals, work, recreation, study and observing moderation in things like eating, sleeping and talking. Yoga, tai chi and related disciplines like flower arranging can also help uplift the mind. Then there is enjoying works of art ­ poetry, music, literature, and paintings. These can work on developing and refining the emotions. Living in clean, healthy, aesthetic environments with good feng shui and communing with Nature are also helpful.
 
Association with spiritually minded people and spiritual friendship can be very inspiring. Helping other people and even our means of livelihood can be indirect ways of raising our level of consciousness. Chanting and ritual worship, devotional practices, lighting candles, sticks of incense, making offerings of flowers and other things, bowing, all of these can also have a powerful effect on our emotions. In fact, if our everyday lifestyle can incorporate a lot of these indirect ways, as well as include formal meditation, we could be experiencing a higher level of consciousness as our normal one all the time. They would arise as naturally as an apple falling off a tree when it is ripe. If you're interested in reading more of these articles you can do so on our website. For details of classes and open evenings and other activities at the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre please contact us on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

Clear Mind (9/5/02):
 
One of the root, skilful mental states in Buddhism is clarity of mind or lack of confusion. The Buddha encouraged his followers to question and clarify their unexamined beliefs and opinions. He said not to believe in his teaching or any teacher's, just because of the teacher. He was about the only religious leader in history who said not to blindly believe in what he taught. His teachings were a means to an end, not an end in themselves. He advised that we examine everything, including his teachings, and if after due examination they were found to conduce to happiness, the good, the welfare of yourself and others, then to accept and practice them.
 
Some of the key questions that Buddhism raises are: how does one become happy? How does my behaviour affect me? What does the best in me long for? It's good to put aside some time to reflect on such matters and to search for meaning in your life. You can ask yourself whether it's objectively possible to grow and develop. The answer has to be 'yes'! Then you can ask yourself, well ­ do you yourself want to grow? If the answer is again 'yes', then the obvious thing to do is to decide to make a little effort towards it. If the answer to either one of the questions is 'no', you haven't thought it through clearly!
 
Or perhaps you're stuck at the moment and right now you're not in the mood. But even that is really evading the issue, because in the long term, if you understand what personal development is, you'll surely want it. Or perhaps that's the problem; you don't know what it means to 'grow and develop'. But that could be doubt and you need to work at it again and again until you see it more clearly. It can also be good to talk to friends about the issues the reflection raises. For details of classes in meditation and philosophy, open evenings, our calendar and retreats please contact us on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

To Be or Not To Be (16/5/02):
 
We do not exist as separate entities. We are not disconnected to everything else. This is the topic we have been wrestling with this week in our Introducing Buddhism course. As I'm sure you are aware there are certain conditions that we depend on for our existence and without them we'd cease to exist - air, water and food to name three of the most basic. We are completely immersed in or enmeshed with our environment; without its inputs into out biological system we wouldn't exist. If we leave this planet we have to take an artificial environment with us to survive.
 
So in this sense there is no self separate from everything else. Yet we have a very definite experience of self and part of that experience is that we are separate from other things. What a puzzling position to be in. The Buddhist teaching on self that describes this paradoxical situation is that we as self neither exist nor do not exist. In other words ultimately we do not exist as something disconnected and completely separate and self-sustaining; and yet we do exist as a self that is thrown up by various conditions. Our existence as self is contingent on these conditions.
 
The principal condition is that our brains are capable of reflexive consciousness ­ a consciousness that can bend back on itself and be aware that it is being aware. It is this continuous awareness of something being aware that gives us the sense or feeling of being a self. But actually it is just a continuous process like a series of snap shots strung together that give the illusion of solid reality just as a film does. When the film is playing we see what looks like solid independently existing entities. But when we stop the film and look at the reel we find that it consists of a whole lot of single photographs.  
 
This sense of self from a Buddhist point of view is very important. Without it we would not have autonomy and the ability to make choices, like choosing to grow and meditate. But we don't take it too seriously. We accept that the experience of separation it bestows on us is apparent not real. Meditation reveals to us how the self  has no real substance and makes it transparent. We use it to help us mange life but we don't take it to be the centre of the universe. Meditation also overcomes the sense of separation and reveals something beyond the illusion of self. For details of classes in meditation and philosophy, open evenings, our calendar and retreats please contact us on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

The Buddha's Enlightenment (23/5/02):
 
Last Sunday we celebrated the Buddha's Enlightenment along with Buddhists throughout the world on Wesak, the full moon day of the month of May. Before the Buddha became Enlightened he had to conquer the demons within himself. This was a very important stage and he said that many famous sages of the past failed to proceed past this point. In early accounts of this incident the demons attacking the Buddha were personified as all sorts of frightening and ferocious beings attacking the Buddha. They also included the seductive daughters of Mara ­ the Evil One.
 
In the Life of the Buddha according to the Pali Canon (the earliest collection of the Buddha's teachings), Mara is said to have sent nine squadrons of demons. It is when we see the list that we realise these forces are actually personifications of the Buddha's own mental states. They included sense desire, boredom, hunger and thirst, craving, sloth and torpor, cowardice or fear, indecision and doubt (uncertainty), ill will and obstinacy, gain, honour and renown, ill won notoriety, self-praise and denigrating others. I think we can all relate to these mental states and the fact that they threatened the Buddha before his Enlightenment makes him less of an abstract figure to us; he was just a human being like us.
 
What happened next is often depicted in Buddhist art. All the monstrous beings or forces attacking him when they encounter the Buddha's aura are transformed into flowers that fall at his feet. At this point Mara departed in defeat. This highly symbolic image shows how the Buddha's totally imperturbable calm self-awareness was able to identify and transform these negative energies into positive ones. Thus we find in the Buddhist tradition a lot of emphasis on not running away from one's negative mental states but patiently working with them and capturing their energy in order to transform them into positive ones.

 
In fact in the Abidharma, often referred to as a massive treatise on the psychology of ethics in Buddhism in the Pali Canon, there is a list of twenty factors of instability or negative mental emotions that we can use to help us identify the demons we create for ourselves, some of which we didn't even realise existed. Once we identify them we can work with them. So don't run away from them. Indeed as one Buddhist writer has put it, without them, without Mara, the Buddha wouldn't have awakened! So she says, weren't they his best friends? For details of classes in meditation and philosophy, open evenings, our calendar and retreats please contact us on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

Buddhism and the Environment (3/6/02):
 
Last Sunday we had a stall at the World Environment Day celebration at Lake Annand Park - so I thought I'd say a few words about Buddhism in relation to the Environment. I've seen Buddhism referred to as 'spiritual ecology' in the literature on Buddhism and the Environment ­ what does this mean? Well, ecology studies organisms and their relationship with the environment, in contrast to biology, which tends to study organisms in isolation. What ecology reveals in its study is that everything is interconnected with everything else and knit together by a complex web of conditions and causal chains occurring on the biological, physical and chemical planes.
 
Buddhism has always accepted that all phenomena are interconnected and mutually conditioning. However, it considers that this occurs not only at the material level but at the immaterial level as well. In other words at the level of the psychological, volitional and spiritual as well as the physical, chemical and biological. Thus, just as the biophysical environment ­ for example, the landscape, the weather ­ can affect human mental states, human mental states can also effect the environment. The three poisons of greed, aggression and delusion operating in the collective human mind can actually manifest as poisons or pollution in the biophysical environment. This is one way Buddhism can be interpreted as 'spiritual ecology' ­ it factors the human being into an intimate cause and effect relationship with the environment. So the Laws of Conditioned Co-production and Karma (that actions have consequences) are very relevant to the analysis of environmental issues and problems and their relation to human ethics.
 
Next Saturday week the 15th of June, a Womans' Dharma day is being led by an order member from Sydney. Her name is Satyaghandi and she will be further exploring the theme of 'The Elemental Path to Insight' after giving a talk on the Thursday night the 13th June at the TBC. We are made up of the elements ­ earth, water, fire, air and space ­ and by understanding how the elemental energies manifest in us we can develop greater awareness and equanimity. The theme will be explored through meditation, guided imagery and discussion. For details of this and other classes in meditation and philosophy, open evenings, our calendar and retreats please contact the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre (TBC)  on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba

Mysteries of the Human Psyche (6/6/02):
 
The human psyche is a mysterious thing! Anyone attempting to grow spiritually sooner or later discovers this. One of the strengths of our teacher, the Ven. Sangarakshita, is (in my opinion) that he has gone to great lengths to point out how important it is for us to become psychologically integrated before we can make spiritual progress. It's almost like psychological growth is necessary before spiritual. He was one of the first teachers in the West to realise how important an issue this is for western people.
 
In the early days people jumped in at the deep end with approaches like Zen Buddhism and tried to appropriate experiences like their own ultimate non-existence, when they weren't sufficiently psychologically integrated or 'together' to assimilate the experience. In such circumstances these experiences can be psychologically destabilising or even downright dangerous. In more recent times this danger has become increasingly recognised as in the West the discipline of psychology and Buddhism explore what they have in common. In fact this danger has now become known as 'psychologically by-passing'. 
 
We are a bundle of different selves all inhabiting the one body. Have you ever noticed how one self might decide to get up early the next morning and another comes on duty when you wake up and decides to have a sleep in? Often as well these different selves or sub-personalities are in conflict with each other and sabotage each other, often unconsciously as illustrated by the fact that, even though we wanted to do one thing, before we're fully conscious of it we've done the opposite. How can we grow or assimilate spiritual experiences whilst this state of affairs exists?
 
One of the main aims of meditation is to pull all these scattered energies together. To harmonise them, or balance them, and this is what psychological integration means. Once drawn together then we have a chance to galvanise them in the direction of our best interests. One of the most painful aspects of growth is facing just how un-integrated we are. We want to change, so we're not happy with how we are, but we don't want to face this fact or the demons within in any real depth. The next Introduction to Buddhist Meditation course starts on Tuesday 23rd July 7-9pm and the next Introducing Buddhism course Thursday the 25th July 10am-12noon. There'll be an open evening preceding them at the TBC on Tuesday 16th July 7-9pm. For details please contact the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre (TBC) on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba

Buddhist Centres in Toowoomba (20/6/02):
 
We have received some inquiries lately that suggest that people don't realise that there are now two Buddhist Centres in Toowoomba. Our centre, simply known as the Toowoomba Buddhist centre or TBC, opened in July 1999 at Bridge Street and then in July 2000 moved to 4 Thorn Street where we are currently located. The other centre, known as the Pure Land Learning College, opened in 2001 in West Street. Although both are Buddhist Centres there are very big differences in their approaches to Buddhism and their style.
 
The Pure Land School is a form of Chinese Buddhism that developed in China in the third and fourth centuries C.E. (Common Era ­ 3rd century A.D.). Their teaching is that if you conscientiously chant the Amitabha Buddha mantra you can be re-born in the Pure Land and proceed from there to enlightenment. The College is a training centre attended by mainly Chinese monks and nuns (and some American ones) who wear traditional robes and study the works of their teacher Master Chin Kung and Pure Land texts in Chinese. They aim to train their people to spread the Master's teaching, including over the internet. Like many Asian forms of Buddhism, because of their longer history and support from Chinese communities, they have considerable financial assets.
 
Our centre is an example of the 'new' Western style of Buddhism pioneering its development in the West. It's only been around for the last four decades. The centre is very 'grass roots' - a simple rented premises with a shrine room and other rooms. The centre runs classes in Meditation and Introductory Buddhist teachings as well as retreats and workshops, including for the local schools. We tend to follow the teachings of the Venerable Sangharakshita who is an Englishman ordained in the East and who has been one of the pioneers in adapting traditional Buddhist teachings to be relevant to the modern Western cultural context. His movement known as the Friends of the Western Buddhist order (FWBO) has order members rather then monks and nuns and is very much lay-oriented.
 
The TBC is autonomous and part-time in the sense that most people attending and running it also work. We rely on the generosity of our members for our existence and some times struggle to pay the rent. Our classes are attended mainly by Western people (but not only) and have been of considerable help to the community. The Buddhist courses (in English of course) have helped the healing and psychological and spiritual development of community members, as well the overall development of physical and mental well-being. The feedback we have received has indicated that our preliminary aim of helping people to become happy, sane, healthy individuals has been successful.
 
To help pay the rent we are looking for people interested in hiring out some of our rooms. We already offer classes in Tai Chi and Karate but are interested in other indirect ways of working on consciousness-raising like yoga, massage, Alexander technique and related alternative practices. If you're interested in this issue give us a call. The next Introduction to Buddhist Meditation course starts on Tuesday 23rd July 7-9pm and the next Introducing Buddhism course Thursday the 25th July 10am-12noon. There'll be an open evening preceding them at the TBC on Tuesday 16th July 7-9pm ­ come and have a look. For details please contact the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre (TBC) on 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

The Three Poisons (11/7/02)

I n B u d d h i s m , t h e n e g a t i v e h u m a n t e n d e n c i e s t o g r e e d , a g g r e s s i o n
a n d i g n o r a n c e o r d e l u s i o n , a r e k n o w n a s t h e T h r e e P o i s o n s . B y
w o r k i n g o n o u r o w n m i n d s , t h r o u g h m e d i t a t i o n a n d t h e p r a c t i s e o f e t h i c s , w e c a n b e g i n t o c o u n t e r t h e s e t e n d e n c i e s .

S u b h u t i , i n T h e B u d d h i s t V i s i o n , d e s c r i b e s g r e e d a s e n c o m p a s s i n g t h e w h o l e g a m u t o f u n h e a l t h y d e s i r e , f r o m v a g u e h a n k e r i n g s t o
i n t e n s e l o n g i n g s . T h i s n e u r o t i c c r a v i n g , f o r a p l e a s a n t s i t u a t i o n o r n o t f o r a n u n p l e a s a n t o n e , i s a n a t t e m p t t o s e c u r e o u r i d e n t i t y a s a s e p a r a t e s e l f . G r e e d c a n m a n i f e s t i t s e l f i n c r a v i n g f o r
o b j e c t s o r m a t e r i a l p o s s e s s i o n s . I t c a n b e s h o w n i n o u r f e e l i n g
t h r e a t e n e d w h e n o u r i d e a s a r e q u e s t i o n e d . M o r e o f t e n i t i s e x p r e s s e d i n o u r r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h o t h e r p e o p l e . W e s e e k t h e i r l o v e ,
a p p r o v a l , a d m i r a t i o n , t h e i r p r e s e n c e , b o d i e s a n d s u p p o r t ; a n d w e
t a k e u p t h e i r t i m e .

I t i s i m p o r t a n t , h o w e v e r t o r e c o g n i s e t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n n e u r o t i c c r a v i n g a n d h e a l t h y d e s i r e . W e m a y b e a t a t r a c k t o t h e f r i d g e
d o o r w h e n w e a r e b o r e d , a g i t a t e d a n d u n h a p p y b u t t h i s i s v e r y d i f f e r e n t t o a h e a l t h y s a t i s f a c t i o n o f h u n g e r . S o m e d e s i r e s c o u l d b e a c t i v e l y c u l t i v a t e d , s u c h a s f o r f r i e n d s h i p o r a b e a u t i f u l
e n v i r o n m e n t .

G r e e d i s d i s p l a c e d b y g e n e r o s i t y . I t i s o p e n - h a n d e d a n d n o t
l i m i t e d t o m a t e r i a l c h a r i t y . I t a l s o m e a n s b e i n g g e n e r o u s w i t h o u r t i m e , o u r a s s e s s m e n t o f o t h e r s , a w i l l i n g n e s s t o f o r g i v e w r o n g s
a n d t o g i v e o f o u r s e l v e s w i t h o u t t h o u g h t o f r e t u r n . E v e r y o n e c a n g i v e s o m e t h i n g , w h e t h e r i t b e a s m i l e t o a s t r a n g e r , d o n a t i n g
p o s s e s s i o n s o r l e a d i n g s i m p l e r , l e s s e x p l o i t a t i v e l i v e s .

H a v e y o u e v e r e x p e r i e n c e d t h e g e n e r o s i t y o f p e o p l e w h o h a v e v e r y l i t t l e t o g i v e i n a m a t e r i a l w a y ? H a v e y o u e v e r m e t a n y o n e w h o ,
d e s p i t e h a v i n g t o c o p e w i t h a l l m a n n e r o f a d v e r s i t y , i s m o r e
c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e n e e d s o f o t h e r s , g i v e s t i m e , h a s h u m o u r a n d
s p r e a d s e n c o u r a g e m e n t ? H a v e y o u e v e r t h o u g h t , I w i s h I w a s m o r e l i k e t h a t ?

B y g i v i n g c o n s i s t e n t l y w e c u l t i v a t e t h e d e s i r e t o g i v e t o p e o p l e
w e d o n t k n o w a s w e l l a s p e o p l e w e k n o w . F o r s o m e , i t m a y b e
e a s i e r t o s t a r t s m a l l a n d t h e p o s i t i v e e f f e c t s o f e v e n v e r y s m a l l
c h a n g e s c a n b e i m m e d i a t e . B y d e v e l o p i n g t h e h a b i t o f g e n e r o s i t y , w e b e c o m e i n w a r d l y e n r i c h e d ; , w e b e g i n t o f i l l o u r o w n e m p t i n e s s . W e m o r e f u l l y r e a l i s e o u r i n t e r c o n n e c t e d n e s s w i t h o t h e r s a n d
g r a d u a l l y o v e r c o m e t h e d e l u s i o n o f a s e p a r a t e s e l f .

T h e n e x t I n t r o d u c t i o n t o B u d d h i s t M e d i t a t i o n c o u r s e s t a r t s o n
T u e s d a y J u l y 2 3 , 7 - 9 p m a n d t h e n e x t I n t r o d u c i n g B u d d h i s m c o u r s e T h u r s d a y J u l y 2 5 , 1 0 a m - 1 2 n o o n . T h e r e w i l l b e a n O p e n E v e n i n g
p r e c e d i n g t h e m , a t t h e T o o w o o m b a B u d d h i s t C e n t r e ( T B C ) o n
T u e s d a y , J u l y 1 6 , 7 - 9 p m c o m e a n d h a v e a l o o k . F o r d e t a i l s ,
p l e a s e c o n t a c t t h e T B C o n 4 6 5 9 7 7 6 0 o r a t w w w . f w b o . o r g . a u /
t o o w o o m b a

The Three Poisons (18/7/02)

Currently, we are taking a closer look at the negative human tendencies towards greed, aggression and ignorance or delusion. In Buddhism, these are known as the Three Poisons. We have looked at ways in which we can counter greed by developing our capacity for generosity. Today we shall focus on the tendency to aggression, aversion or hatred

What is hatred? As Subhuti says, in The Buddhist Vision, human hatred may range from senseless acts of cruelty against completely innocent people to being no more than a mild dislike and a frosty manner. We hate what we feel threatens or undermines our sense of self. We go far beyond our instinct for self-preservation by vigorously defending a weak ego. While aggression may be vented on objects, it is almost always directed at people.

At one end of the scale, hatred may take us by surprise, as when someone 'cracks up' over a seemingly small thing like being kept waiting. We may have a persistent feeling of irritability or sense of being wronged, which shows itself in a carping, 'picky' attitude towards others. At the other end of the scale, our sense of 'I' may feel so under threat that we want other people removed or even for them to be destroyed entirely. Aggression at any level ultimately, brings unhappiness for both perpetrator and victim.

So how can we counter our hatred? Hatred is displaced by love. In the Buddhist context, the Pali word metta is best used to describe 'love', being an intense desire for the welfare of others, which is acted upon. Metta can be actively cultivated through the meditation practice of metta bhavana. We can develop a more kindly attitude towards ourselves, systematically work upon our relationships and develop a friendly attitude towards others. By encouraging positive emotion through meditation and by ethical behaviour, we can develop our antidote to the poison of aggression.

The next Introduction to Buddhist Meditation course starts on Tuesday July 23, 7-9pm and the next Introducing Buddhism course Thursday July 25, 10am-12noon. It may not be too late to register - for details, please contact the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre on 46597760 or at www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba