Spiritual Materialism and the Criminal Corporate State

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Rio

Have you noticed how many of the so called “religious or spiritual leaders” of today ignore the crimes of our flawed socio-economic system? How they ignore the crime of the century? 

Turning a blind eye to what criminal banks are doing today is not spirituality. A Central Bank’s Scheme  Ignoring the ongoing crimes being committed against humanity is not spirituality, ignoring the evidence verifying a controlled demolition on the “false attack” of  September 11, 2001 is not spirituality. 9/11 Explosive Evidence – Experts Speak Out

Remaining silent in today’s world is a crime, is to support a criminal corporate state which is wreaking havoc in the world even as I speak.  Refusing to acknowledge the crossroads in which humanity finds itself today can be called hypocrisy, duplicity or cowardice but never spirituality; that “spirituality” is a mask, and it is extremely dangerous. It takes you away from true awareness and the right action; it is deceitful and immoral.

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Vietnam War lifeRemember Vietnam? This is Iraq and Afghanistan today with the help of our tax dollars. 

Are you still doing business with the big banks?

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The Lord of the Rings | A Riddle | JRR Tolkien

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Rio

Today, I have a riddle for you. I changed something in the poem below (from The Lord of the Rings trilogy) which slightly alters its meaning; it is a change for today’s world. It is a very small change, but it is there. Can you see it? And, can you see why it is timely? If you don’t like riddles, don’t bother.

The Ring

 

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be kings.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

JRR Tolkien

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The Forest Moon | Reincarnation | Enlightenment

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Rio

The Forest Moon in Thumb Butte, AZ (Click to enlarge)

I was recently talking to a friend over dinner and the subject of reincarnation came up. I said there is no reincarnation.

I know, some Buddhists (including the Dalai Lama) believe there is reincarnation. But if the Buddha explained that there is no “self,” who is reincarnating? Hindus believe in reincarnation. And Paramahansa Yogananda, a very respected spiritual master, stressed reincarnation, with proof. But Hindus do stress that only the “Self” exist; everything else is an illusion, a projection–including time and space. So, it would be an “illusion,” reincarnating into a bigger “illusion.” Right? It gets complicated, doesn’t it? I suggest that what we need to do is forget other lives until we master this life, our present challenge. Once we do that everything will be revealed to us, and there will be no more doubts or beliefs. We will know and be free.

This reminds me of an interesting question: Are you enlightened? “I” can’t be enlightened because “I” is the problem. In fact, everybody is enlightened but that “I” pulls the wool over our eyes and doesn’t let us know. If  “I” am looking  for enlightenment, “I” am missing the point and making enlightenment one more item on my “I want list.” All we need to do is drop that “I” with its incessant jabber and selfish wants, and . . . wake up!

The moon is a symbol of enlightenment in Zen Buddhism.

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Good and Evil . . . Are they there? | A Buddhist Thought

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Rio

University Ave. Tucson AZ

I was at University Avenue doing an improvised book signing,  when Michael (whom I had previously met there) stopped by to chat. He had been perusing my blog, and didn’t agree with the way I used the word “evil.” He prefers to use “detrimental.” I can understand his view: there is no “I” that we can (or should) be judgmental about and classify as evil; and there is cause and effect, and the responsibility of humanity as a whole. Indeed!

But in the world of form the ego holds the baton, and it can be the source of extremely “detrimental” actions, which can be considered “evil.” (Evil meaning: “profoundly immoral and malevolent.”) Self-importance can turn a group of people into homicidal maniacs, who can kill 3,000 people to blame somebody else AE 9/11 Truth and make a fortune by killing even more people. I would consider that an “evil deed.” Don’t you think?

If you let me define morality as the way we treat other human beings: our family, friends, neighbors and everybody else, the act described above is not only immoral; it is “evil,” because the persons responsible are not only immoral but also sociopaths without a conscience.

In this world, although a dream, we do need morality because within this construction, the great suffering caused by the ego is obvious. Due to the ego, evil does exist  in this enormous stage, and that ego-mind must be understood and disciplined. Therefore, we have responsibilities to meet, a challenge to face.

“What we are is the result of what we have thought,
is built by our thoughts, is made up of our thoughts.
If one speaks or acts with an impure thought,
suffering follows one, like the wheel of the cart follows the foot of the ox.”–Buddha 

An undisciplined mind will unavoidably lead us astray, toward “detrimental,” “bad,” or even “evil” acts; and that is where suffering comes from. And if there is a selfish entity who is causing enormous  suffering , (with predetermination) for personal gain, that entity and its actions are “evil.” Wouldn’t you say?

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Digression | Presence

Posted on September 8, 2008 by Rio

I was caught by the flu last weekend. It came out of the blue; I had been feeling great and the weather couldn’t have been better. San Diego, CA almost always has a summer breeze.

Isn’t it amazing how a simple virus can reduce a human being to a sniveling, panting heap of pain and discomfort? You can feel miserable enough to see your death staring at you; some viruses do kill. One positive thing about getting sick is that it can give you some perspective; it points out to us the impermanence of all life. All we have is the moment we live.

The flu made me think about the most important thing we can have…

Our actions are frequently affected by worries and influenced by misleading assumptions that stem from our aimless self-reflection. It is our undisciplined and relentless mind that produces irresponsible or base behavior induced by irrational fears, which originate in non-existent sources or situations. Reality is warped by the wandering mind; reality is not what we think (our concepts and ideas). Thus, the most important thing we do is to discipline our minds to focus on reality as it is now. We have the uncanny ability to ignore the obvious.

Although all sages from the beginning of time have stressed the importance of having presence of mind, we refuse to see the necessity of it. We refuse to see what it can do for us. To try to simplify something rather complex I would say that it does three things for us: Physically speaking, presence can even save our lives by helping us be aware of what is coming at us; mentally, it will eliminate stress because stress dwells either in a non-existent future or a past that we refuse to let go; and spiritually, it will help us to see that we are never separate from the Source–“be still and know that I am God”–psalms 46:10.

I don’t know anybody that can be mindful at all times, but just trying our best (just our best) makes a big difference. And with a disciplined mind comes equanimity and inner balance whether we have or have not. And bear in mind that “having” and “having not” are always subject to change, so the most important thing we have is our presence of mind.

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