Growing Zen

I watched the BBC's Hawking yesterday. Totally captivated my imagination. Those guys deal with and say the same things about science, physics, the origin of the universe, as I've come to conclude through my study and meditation on scripture and God. Below are some quotes I've read in the last few days that go along with the idea that God the power is the Law of reality that created, governs, and maintains the universe.

"I believe the universe is governed by the laws of science," he said. "The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws." -Stephen Hawing

Quickly, on the subject of miracles: I don't think the above quote negates the possibility or reality of miracles. I think that God has to operate within the laws of nature and science, since God the person is one with God the power, which is the Law of nature and science. For God the person to break or go contrary to this Law (God the power) would be to obliterate God's existence. I believe in miracles. I believe God has all power, since God (person and Law, which are the same) is all power. So of course there are miracles, those things which seem to defy reason or reality. But miracles must necessarily actually be in accordance with the Law, or else the whole thing is ca-put. You know?

Einstein's Theory of Relativity, bolded bit going along with the idea of interdependence:
As summarized by an American astronomer, Professor Henry Norris Russell, of Princeton, in the Scientific American for November 29 [early 1910s, I think?], Einstein's contribution amounts to this:
"The central fact which has been proved--and which is of great interest and importance--is that the natural phenomena involving gravitation and inertia (such as the motions of the planets) and the phenomena involving electricity and magnetism (including the motion of light) are not independent of one another, but are intimately related, so that both sets of phenomena should be regarded as parts of one vast system, embracing all Nature..." H. A. Lorentz, The Einstein Theory of Relativity. Public domain book on my Kindle, so no accurate page number, sorry.

And, Buddhist and the Dalai Lama's thoughts on the origin of the universe:
"These long speculative descriptions [the Buddhist explanation of the universe, its origin and disposition, etc]--elaborated by successive schools and often contradicting one another--run counter to Sakyamuni's [The Buddha, Siddharta Gautama] fundamental recommendation not to plunge 'the cord of thought into the impenetrable.' The question the eternity of the universe, and consequently of its origins, actually seems to have been part of the 'fourteen unexplained views.' The Buddha even said, 'Knowledge of all these things cannot make anyone take one step forward on the road to holiness and peace.' His only answer was silence.

Nevertheless, as the Dalai Lama told me on several occasions, on the one hand, events without a cause cannot be accepted, and on the other hand, it is absolutely necessary to pay attention to the advances of science to modify, if need be, the Scriptures. Thus there is no reason to be surprised at how little he insists on going back to ancient theories. He prefers to stick to the Big Bang and to try to find in it an explanation that jibes with the essentials of Buddhist teaching.

Apropos of the Big Bang, I remind him that this ironic expression, coined by astrophysicist Fred Hoyle, who was opposed to it, is based on an idea formulateed by a Belgian priest, Fr. Gearges-Henri Lemaitre. Even in scientific theories often enough it's possible to find a trace of 'hidden metaphysics.' The idea of an 'explosion,' of a brutal, luminous beginning of the world, can in fact be harmonized with the biblical account of Creation." -The Dalai Lama with Jean-Claude Carriere, Violence and Compassion: Dialogues on Life Today, 191.

I have a bunch of excellent passages that I want to record for future reference. No synthesis, sorry. They're just excellent to read through. First, Sylvia Boorstein, Pay Attention, For Goodness' Sake:

There are only two possible responses to every challenge--balanced acceptance or embittered resistance. Acceptance is freedom. Resistance is suffering.

"This is what's happening. It cannot be otherwise. Struggling is extra. Struggling is suffering."

     Everything is always changing, and so nothing can be permanently satisfying. And I absolutely know that railing and resenting when I am displeased with life's unfolding compounds my pain. Life unfolds lawfully, guided by conditions far too complex for me to know and certainly beyond my control.
     The pain we feel about what has happened intensifies with bitterness--which we often cannot help but feel--and we suffer. In a moment of Wisdom--"It is me. It is now. It is painful. And it will be painful for as long as it is, and then it will change"--the suffering stops. The heart's natural compassion becomes available to provide support, to comfort the pain.

Recounted from a friend, talking about his teacher, who greeted everyone with "Thank you":
"Renouncing contention was Lama Yeshe's practice. His thanking was a way of keeping himself from getting frightened. I completely got it, that things happen, that not everything is what you want, that some things you need to change, but that it's all part of life, and that it is manageable. Workable."

However amazing life is, it is full of pain. ... [N]ot resenting, not being in contention with circumstance, not adding extra suffering to pain, doesn't require all-out thanking. It only requires accepting. It requires being able to say, "This is what's true. Okay."

Forgiving is hard practice, too, but it's plausible. Reasonable.

Don't add rage to pain.

"What is the meaning of life?" does not solve the problem of "What should we do?" ... Ending suffering depends on seeing clearly, without bias, "It's like this," so the "What should we do?" question can answer itself.
Life is so difficult
How can we be anything but kind?

That's enough for now. I have more that I need to copy out of my current book, so I'm sure there will be at least one more entry on suffering.

This is from Sylvia Boorstein's Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake. She recounts a conversation she had with a Muslim cab driver about prayer. This bit picks up after she asked him who often and for how long he prayed:

"Well, it could take a long time or short. If you have a short time, you can do it in a short time. Probably longer is better... You know,m it really doesn't matter how long you pray. Some people stand and pray all day but it doesn't really count because it's not connected to their heart."

"Really? How do you connect it to your heart?"

"Well, you can't just decide. It gets connected to your heart when you know what the situation here is. It's like we've all been thrown in the middle of the ocean. Nobody knows how to swim. We're all drowning. It breaks your heart. You see that, then you connect."

That is what I'd get tattooed, on the inside of my left wrist, above my mala bracelet. A permanent reminder of the following, inspired by the section on the paramita (perfection of the heart) lovingkindness, from Sylvia Boorstein's Pay Attention, For Goodness' Sake:

1. Always tell good stories about people to other people. Provide everyone with as much opportunity for love and harmony as possible by providing a good ground for people to love and be loved.

2. Always tell good stories about people to yourself. Ruminating on old wounds or insults causes the hurt to rot. We're all just trying to do the best we can, and we all mess up. Be forgiving of others, and be kind to yourself in letting the hurt go. Holding onto hurt is not a strength, it is a self-inflicted and chronic weakness. Forgiveness and love are the only things that can make you whole again.

3. Always tell good stories about yourself to yourself. Be kind to yourself. Allow yourself to grow. Be gently mindful of who you are and what you do. Be forgiving and supportive of yourself when you need to make adjustments. Recognize and nurture the good in you and what you do.


It is this way that we must train ourselves:
by liberation of the self through love
we will develop love,
we will practice it,
we will make it both a way and a basis,
take a stand upon it,
store it up,
and thoroughly set it going.

-The Buddha