On Philosophy – The Occasional Blog of Jose R. Rodriguez

A Buddhist Reference Sheet by the Numbers

May 7, 2016 No Comments

The sheer number of lists and numbers that exist in the Buddhist teachings are one of the things that attracted me early on. There’s something about the logical way that things are laid out that speaks to my techy mind. And although it is through experience and feeling that we gain a true understanding of the Dharma without this logical framework of study and discussion it would be difficult to deliver or receive a lot of what leads to an understanding of these experiences.

I’ve recently been working on a single-page reference sheet for some key elements of Buddhist practice and study. I was inspired by Art’s Buddhist Cheat Sheet by Arthur Rosengarten which was a great look-up for me several years ago. I have been using a variety of resources in this effort, starting with Mr. Rosengarten’s original infographic as a jumping off point and including the wonderful rigpawiki.org and wikipedia as well as “The Heart of the Buddha” by Chögyam Trungpa as well as my own experience of practice and study in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Below is a link to an Adobe InDesign hosted version of the file which can be printed, downloaded as a PDF or shared online. I welcome your comments and feedback.

Please feel free to download, share, and distribute as you see fit but note that this is just one man’s view on a sliver of what has been my path of practice and study and not meant to be any sort of exhaustive resource or doctrinal document.

Addendum

I’ve labeled this reference with a version number (v1.2 as of this post) — I plan to continue updating and potentially expanding to two sides of a single page. It just feels incomplete without things like the 12 Nidanas, the 5 Buddha Families, and so many others. Just for fun, I’ve gather a couple of classic and modern infographics and may add more to this post as I find them.

The Five Buddha Families Mandala — by the amazing calligraphy artist Tashi Mannox

Five Buddha Families — From “The Myth and Magic of Vajrayana Buddhism”

Samsara / The Wheel of Life Tibetan. Traditional Tibetan thangka painting. Source unknown.

The Nidana Sequences — Attributed to Jayarava – Lot’s of neat stuff in his texts directory.

On Art, On Philosophy, On Technology, Portfolio

I AM, No Self : Redux

March 7, 2016 No Comments

Photo of Projected Artwork in Gallery — The original “I AM, No Self” on view at SP@CE224 Gallery, 2010.

Back in 2010 I had the internet ask itself, “Who am I?” – “I AM, No Self” was the response. A digital art project which looks at identity and egolessness through the lens of social media, the project began as a personal contemplation. Born of my meditation practice it was shown for the first time in March of 2010 at the SP@CE224 Gallery in Buffalo, New York. The piece was part of a show themed around the concept of identity.

Back in 2010 I had the internet ask itself,
“Who am I?”

In a way this piece looks at our collective consciousness gathered by social media and asks of it the question, “Who am I?” The response is an endless stream of truncated self-identifying statements spanning the from mundane to the heartbreaking. When viewed in a gallery setting this work is taken to another level as the viewer, standing on a platform or otherwise marked space, blocks out part of the projection; their own silhouette carving out an area that is non-self identifying.

Initially the viewer may be overwhelmed by the endless flow of this collective mind-stream but it is my hope that in the space of a minute or two, the smooth and rhythmic pace of the animation, in concert with the gap visible in their shadow, will both relax and awaken the viewer to feelings of joy, compassion, kinship, and ultimately liberation.

Photo of Projected Artwork (2) — The original “I AM, No Self” on view at SP@CE224 Gallery, 2010.

Originally created in Adobe Flash, I recently reprogrammed it in using HTML5, allowing it to be viewed in modern browsers as well as on tablets, phones, and other mobile devices. While the personal screen experience is less impactful than being there I think it is worth sharing online.

It is my hope to show this piece in public again, perhaps projected at a larger scale for a wider audience.

View the project online at http://iamnoself.me

On Philosophy

The Coyote’s Dilemma

February 7, 2016 1 Comment

The bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute.

The good news is there’s no ground.

— Chögyam Trungpa

This seems like an appropriate way to begin…

We, our family, our country, our global society seems to be in a constant freaked out free fall. With seemingly good reason. The economy is all over the place, the world has been at war for as long as my children have been alive (one of them is a teenager), and while we survived an actor president back in the 80’s – we’ve got a rabid business tycoon turned reality TV star with eyes on the oval office. In the media, even the once levelheaded pundits are telling us that the sky is falling. Again with good reason. Climate change, while still played down by some, is obviously affecting weather patterns.

That’s the bad news. Nothing to hang on to, no parachute.

The good news? Well, if you have read the opening quote, you have an idea. But what does it mean for there to be “no ground?” How does that figure into the reality of our daily lives? Maybe we could start with what it means for there to be ground.

We generally think of ground as a safe place. If we’re on solid ground then chances are we’re not falling. When Matt Damon’s character in “The Martian” gets back to Earth after being stranded on Mars he kisses the ground. Home. Familiar. Comfortable. Solid. Ground.

However, when the rug has been pulled out from under our feet, or if we’re falling through the air without a parachute, our relationship to ground changes. We are in unfamiliar territory, uncomfortable due to the fact that our lives are not turning out how we planned. At that point the ground might be more akin to the solidity of our expectations. The ground of our concrete hopes and fears.

For the coyote in the Warner Bros. cartoons, hitting the ground usually meant he was about to get crushed by a boulder and mocked by his quarry, the roadrunner. “Meep meep!”

I remember distinctly that there were a couple of times when the coyote defied the laws of physics and swam through the air as he fell, or even walked across thin air to safety, albeit temporary safety in his case, but that’s another story.

I wonder if there isn’t something to be learned from the coyote’s dilemma.

Maybe we can adjust our relationship to this free fall by becoming more familiar with how it feels to be groundless. Accepting the vulnerability and intimacy of our groundless situation; our reality. The reality that things not always going to go our way. The reality of human suffering in a world that is in constant flux. The reality that the material and economic choices we make affect not only our lives but the lives of everyone else too. And at the same time, maybe we can loosen up our expectations. We don’t have to give up on our dreams or stop working towards change in the world. We don’t have to give up on anything – but maybe we can soften the ground of our hopes and fears.

Maybe with this familiarity and flexibility we can free fall without the freakout. It seems that we could likely get much more accomplished this way; and maybe even enjoy the wind in our hair as we go.