You know... I have been thinking, which is dangerous, I should maybe go into detail about each precept listed in the last post. If you the reader are curious it will satisfy your thirst and it will help me. So I think that it what I am going to do, starting now.

I will start with the Three Treasures.

1. Taking refuge in the Buddha.
2. Taking refuge in the Dharma.
3. Taking refuge in the Sangha.

They are not that bad... honest.

Number one is pretty self explanatory "Refuge in the Buddha" well that more or less means to me that one should trust his teacher (Buddha). But here is the catch: everything is a teacher even you the reader. Now that is the deepest meaning. The basic meaning would be to listen to the 'original' Buddha's teachings. One minor misconception about Buddhism that I see and hear is that many think Buddha is a god like figure... more than human. Now some will argue this and I am not going to point fingers, but in my eyes the Buddha was nothing more than a man. He lived, he experienced pain, emotions, and finally death. That sounds pretty human to me. Anyway, taking refuge is more or less trusting the teaching of the man in question.

Number two: Dharma is a teaching, and in this case means the teachings of Buddhism. So one who takes refuge simply gives himself up to the dharma (follow the teaching/trust the teaching).

Number three: Sangha is the group in which people practice the dharma and take refuge in the Buddha. So it is devotion to the group of other Buddhists who practice with you. But I think, personally, it is more than that. Sangha is a group true, but I do not like how that is kinda selective to only Buddhists. I view Sangha as the world including all who reside on it. Afterall one simple teaching is that everyone and everything has potential to be a Buddha... so why not?

Now you should be able to see how these all go together. If you trust the Sangha you trust the Dharma and if you trust the Dharma you are trusting the Buddha.

I could write more, but I believe this does some justice... afterall I am still a student and I am not a teacher so DO NOT take everything I say as truth. I, like the Buddha, am human and prone to the human condition of making mistakes. No one nor anything is perfect all the time.
See that was painless.

Night.

"DO YOU 'CEPT THE LAWRD AND HIS YOUNG'N JESUS?" "ARE YOU READY TO BE DUNKED IN THE NAME OF THE LAWRD?" **Insert heavy southern accent**

"Yes sir..."

That is right Kyle is going to be Baptized... well kinda. I have made the choice to undertake Jukai. This is kinda like a Zen Buddhist baptism. I would become an official Buddhist, and to top it all off I would get a nifty Buddhist name! Now I say official but if one wishes to get technical I am already a Buddhist only because I am trying to stick to the precepts (codes of conduct) and I do recite the four vows (which will be listed below along with the precepts). More or less during Jukai, there will be lots and lots of Zazen and I will 'officially' take the Buddhist precepts and try to live in accordance with them. Oh and the kicker is I am required to sew. Now, if you are reading this and you happen to be a friend, you should know that I have no sewing talent what so ever. Even though I do not even have a slight ability in the use of thread and needles I will attempt to sew a Rakusu... which is a garment for Zen practitioners who have undergone Jukai. Kinda looks like a giant bib. It is a symbol of the buddhist robe, without having the troublesome robe. So I will be giving updates about this sewing endeavor and I hope to finish by the end of July... (HA! wishful thinking).

Four Vows:

To save all sentient beings, though beings numberless.

To transform all delusions, though delusions inexhaustible.

To perceive reality, though reality is boundless.

To attain the enlightened way, a way non attainable.

(Below is what I will be adhering to when I take Jukai)

(Three Treasures)

1. Taking refuge in the Buddha
2. Taking refuge in the Dharma
3. Taking refuge in the Sangha

(Three Pure Precepts)

1. Not Creating Evil
2. Practicing Good
3. Actualizing Good For Others

(Ten Grave Precepts)

1. Affirm life; Do not kill
2. Be giving; Do not steal
3. Honor the body; Do not misuse sexuality
4. Manifest truth; Do not lie
5. Proceed clearly; Do not cloud the mind
6. See the perfection; Do not speak of others errors and faults
7. Realize self and other as one; Do not elevate the self and blame others
8. Give generously; Do not be withholding
9. Actualize harmony; Do not be angry
10. Experience the intimacy of things; Do not defile the Three Treasures

Well that is all for now.

Night.

Fears.

Everyone has them... kinda like opinions and that is okay. But what do we really fear? Fear of loss, spiders, people, heights, death, life, clowns, purple child molesting dinosaurs and the fear of flight. But do we really hate spiders or clowns, or is it our reaction to those subjects? Are we afraid of the subject or the reaction? 

I am deathly afraid of spiders. But is it the creepy eight-legged arachnid that is slowly crawling down a web from the ceiling scary? Or is it the fear that the spider will bite causing PAIN and TORMENT.

So, do we fear the subjects or the potential physical and mental pains associated with those subjects? I will leave that one up to you.

Night.

PS: I wonder what you would think if I told you that if you were bitten by a spider, that in a way and certain viewpoint, you are indirectly bitting yourself. Maybe for another day.