"A Course In Miracles" and Buddhism

In Buddhism we get very technical and specific about how to move the winds and channels in the body to achieve certain results. The past year I've been reading these quantum physics books, and A Course In Miracle, as well as Gary Rennard's The Disappearance of the Universe.  In reading these texts I find that they were perfectly describing the results that Buddhism says comes at a certain state. Exactly the same reporting from masters who have 'gone to that place' of enlightenment. 

A Course in Miracles approaches it slightly differently with the words of Christ. It's all about forgiveness on a pure non dualistic level (which is very Buddhist in some ways). It is forgiving the illusion. Forgiving the difficult boss who I created and is teaching me a lesson, forgiving this trouble, and that issue. Not condescending forgiveness which is poisonous. But true forgiveness and realizing we are all brothers of Christ and children of God. What is here isn't real and therefore is just an illusion. All there is, is God. 

And this isn't a God that created the world. Course states that karma created the world and that's that. God is formless, shapeless and sounds a lot like a codeword for dharmakaya or some sort of essence. And this God/emptiness is the only constant and therefore nothing else is real, so it must be forgiven. Or as one quantum physicists would say: it's the void that's full. The universe is empty. 

Forgive the mistaken belief that I am separated from God, b/c in fact I am not and never have been. This karma and constant reincarnation is a trick of the mind (Buddhist totally believe in this). And reincarnation was in the Bible for most of its history until Catholic Church took it out hundreds of years later. And so this cyclic thing is happening b/c of my own guilt, the constant shifts in my life are little guilt trips that trigger separation and division to appear on all levels. 

I separated from God (Big Bang) and set off a chain of events that occurred and arose the universe. In separating all time and space was created at once. My mind organizes it into a linear fashion to make sense of the universe. It is my guilt of separation and fear (God's gonna get me) that keeps me cycling around. It's what runs this world of the 20,000 illusions, shifting relationships, and separation. Fear from this guilt is what creates up and down feelings, something pleasant that must always change. So the big forgiveness lesson is with myself. I am not guilty. I am innocent. When the voices comes, when the illness comes, when mishaps come that trigger that voice of doubt/guilt which is my ego, I remember that I am innocent. 

God is...

And everything else IS NOT. So I forgive that which IS NOT, b/c it's not real. 

They say my guilt plays itself out with sickness and every dilemma. Anything that troubles or disturbs my peace is coming from that guilt/fear from the initial separation. And all of eternity is waiting. Eternity is right here waiting, for me to strip away my 'illusory guilt' which causes cancers and death, and all forms of separation. This, of course, isn't happening on a conscious level. The mind is massive and sets into motion events that will happen in this life based on that guilt. And my purpose here is to forgive. Forgive and remember: I am innocent. 

I find this works REALLY well with Buddhist studies. This is a Jesus I like and completely know. Not the condemning one, but one who is saying "I am Christ. And so are you." Then what could worry me in a long-term way if I am Christ? Would Christ care about sexual orientation, what nation I come from, what I eat if I'm talking about pure non-dualistic love? All that stuff is dualistic, set to confuse and separate, intended on perpetually re-enacting the initial separation that set everything into motion. The world is filled with outrage, scandal, war, and separation. And it must be forgiven on the purest level.

Supplementary book "The Disappearance of the Universe" is very powerful and goes through Course in Miracles at a more digestible level. The Course is very thick and big and takes a year or so to work through it. I have been feeling lighter. 

When I see scandal I forgive it. Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman: forgive it. Republicans wanting to cut taxes for rich and end programs for the poor? Forgive, forgive forgive. Truly forgive and realize that I will still vote, voice my opinion, but there isn't condemnation or rage. I am aware of the illusion and can't get enraged at it mirroring back my guilt. But when I forgive it, this illusion is released. Instead of getting sick 100 times, maybe I can get sick only 98 times and forgive it, remind myself of innocence and be released from the last 2?

At the very least, it makes reading the news and talking to people a lot easier. Anger is a call for love, so I give love. Love is a call for love so I give love. Everything negative is coming from a place of fear and guilt. So there is nothing to do but release it with forgiveness and then embrace it as Christ/Buddhamind/zero-pt field physics. God is formless, tasteless, colorless. All form comes out of duality so when I get to the level of ultimate forgiveness that is the 'disappearance of the universe' or 'clear light direct perception of emptiness' in Buddhism. The universe dissolves away b/c all duality has been released and with that there is only one thing: God. 

God is.

NO PEACE, NO JUSTICE

The protest call is 'NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE' All around the world people chant this simple battle cry.

Give me justice! I demand justice! And if I do not get justice, I will not be peaceful. 

To barter justice for peace, implies that one must come before the other. That the victimized, abused and accursed will no longer be peaceful until they are given what is owed to them. The chant underlies a belief that justice is in the hands of those 'others' out there. These 'others' are more powerful and must be called to task with the threat of unrest.

Trayvon Martin is the latest in the line of tragedies in which we demand justice or there will not be peace.

Today while skimming through the headlines it suddenly struck me that it should be the other way around.

NO PEACE, NO JUSTICE

There will always be injustice as long as there's a lack of peace. But while the former calls for others to do something, the revised call demands my hand in creating peace. No justice, no peace is a battle cry shouted for cameras. No peace, no justice is a heart mantra to be repeated softly throughout a day when facing any conflict.

If I could remember that all the justice I seek comes out of peace, then it would be very hard to get angry. The goal shifts and I must find the peace. There is only one place to look for this peace.

Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King were peace activists. Their marches stirred the disharmony present in the system and brought it to the surface in all its ugliness. Once in the light, the disharmony could not continue in its hidden state. It had to change because Gandhi and King were coming from a God-centered consciousness. This is a state of being that is the pure non-duality of love. It doesn't demand, differentiate, or hint. It offers love and peace that extends out to all who are willing to accept it.

The difference between peace marches and 'no justice, no peace' movements couldn't be any clearer. Peace marches employ God-centered consciousness, which removes the systematic injustice. 'No justice, no peace' marches seek to fight anger with anger.

Last year's Occupy Wall Street movement was an example of a successful group awakening that could not organically sustain itself. The marchers were mostly peaceful, they had not specific demands, and they merely wished to highlight the issues. But OWS could not succeed in the long-run. There was no God consciousness. Bereft of love, all social movements turn to hatred and accusation. There has never been an exception in human history to this rule.

In Myanmar there was an election this week for the first time in decades. Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has carried the message of peace into the heart of a brutal dictatorship. When she was urged to raise up a rebel army, she sat and prayed. When the military junta put her under house arrest, she sat and prayed. When her followers demanded that things go quicker, faster, that justice appear at their beckon call she merely shrugged her shoulders. The timing of peace wasn't up to her. Her job was to just surrender to it and allow. Allow for peace. Create the space of love. They fought her, killed thousands, censored her voice, but they could not stop this God-centered consciousness. It flowed out effortlessly and shifted the axis of global debate. This love shined a light on the injustice that was so bright that countries with no immediate interests or dealings with Myanmar began speaking up on the people's behalf.

Justice and peace go hand-in-hand. One does not precede the other. They move in-sync with each other. It is my impatience that sees the error in other's hearts before I check the one in my own.

PEACE>>>JUSTICE<<<<PEACE

Cartoons and Philosophy

This episode of The Pink Panther is a classic. It shows the ridiculousness of duality in a cute, digestible animated short. The clip was posted on the Non-duality Network and it transported me back to my childhood. The Pink Panther overcomes the stubborn painter until the entire world is changed. Love overcomes the anger and easily transforms it. The more will is exerted, the quicker Pink Panther progresses into a world of his own choosing.

I love cartoons, especially in their 60s and 70s heyday. Back then, the animation houses were filled with burnt-out philosophers, avant garde artists, and new-age, draft dodging weirdos. Parents would sit their kids in front of the TV and, unknowingly, educate them in Zen philosophy, Gandhi's peace protests, and the futility of violence. Growing up in the 1980s, we got a lot of the leftovers and repeats from that era.

Tom & Jerry, The Roadrunner, and Bugs Bunny made classics that featured villains blindly trying to exert their will on the willy and playful universe. The playful universe -often embodied as a juxtaposed character- would simply subvert, frustrate, and overcome the stubborn blind will. I don't think there's a better teacher for children on the idiocy of violence than watching Jerry repeatedly defeat Tom, or the Coyote who purchases ACME dynamite only to see it blow up in his face while the Roadrunner darts by, completely oblivious. Elmer Fudd's hunting for years and never catching one single animal (much less the smart-mouthed rabbit) is something I can see an anti-Vietnam hippy coming up with late at night in between tokes .

Dude, he never catches the rabbit. (puff puff)


Not even once. (puff puff)


Nah, never. (puff puff) Fucking asshole.


Awesome!

Pink Panther wasn't one of my favorite cartoons. If it was on, I would tolerate it. But most of the time I would look to see what else was on. From a visual standpoint, I didn't like the color pink. It wasn't because I was a boy, but the color irritated my eyes and reminded me on inflammation and Pepto Bismol. My sister's room was painted pink and it was one of the most effective deterrents from snooping around her stuff. Everything about that pink room annoyed me and I wondered how she could sleep in a giant esophagus.

But Pink Panther was a part of that arty European-looking minimalist stuff with jazz music. Along with Peppy Le Pew, there were these cartoons I was aware of as being 'arty' as a child. I appreciated them more than I laughed at the antics and looked forward to growing up and watching it again with some perspective.

If a college offered a major in cartoon philosophy, I think the graduating students would be a lot more insightful, mentally flexible, and innovative than most philosophy and poli-sci students. Most importantly, I think our society can learn philosophy, see how its applied in absurd situations, and laugh. Laughter is an excellent learning tool. In our insane political environment of outrage, I'm learning to laugh more, not take the so-called 'enemy' so seriously, and to re-indulge in cartoons for inspiration.