Please begin by reading the “Preface to Erik’s Notes on Buddhism:” found on the main page of Buddhism ~ Thanks

Sure it is possible to end all suffering completely and forever. But first we need to know what suffering is and then we need to know what causes suffering.

So first, what is suffering? My suffering is an experience that results from my Negative Thinking. In fact, 100% of all my suffering is the result of my Negative Thinking: my Anger, Jealousy, Greed, Pride and Ignorance. Anger = I want to destroy your happiness and the causes of your happiness. Jealousy = 1) Your suffering is my happiness; 2) Your happiness is my suffering. Greed = More will make me happy. Pride = 1) I am already good enough, I do not need to improve myself; 2) I am so bad, there is nothing you can do to help me (my problem is more powerful then any solution you have); 3) Laziness, I know it would help, but I am not going to do it now. Ignorance = 1) Not knowing the truth about who you are (if you would like, see my Note on “What is Present Moment Thinking?”); and 2) Not knowing the truth about how things work (again, if you want, see my Note “the Four Facts”).

Once we know what suffering is, it is easy to see that Less Negative Thinking = Less Suffering (regardless of the conditions that we find ourselves in). Based on this, I can be in pain and not ‘suffer’ – as long as the pain is not driving me to get caught up in my Negative Thinking. If the pain exceeds my capacity to renounce my Negative Thinking then I am in trouble, hence the need to continually practice renouncing my Negative Thinking. (Renunciation = I want to get rid of my Negative Thinking because it is the cause of all my suffering and because it is a condition for others’ suffering. Literally, I want to decrease my attachment to my Negative Thinking.)

But then there is an important follow-up question. What is happiness and can we have true happiness? By understanding suffering and the cause of suffering, it is easy to understand that that my happiness is the cessation of my Negative Thinking; and, Zero Negative Thinking and zero negative Karma (the power of Negative Thinking) is True Happiness. True Happiness is the same as Vast Awakening – Buddha.

I think a lot of people get caught up here believing that they need to give up attachment in general. But there are at least two major problems with this idea. One, it is impossible for a sentient being (Present Moment Thinking with Ego-Clinging) to not have attachment. Thinking always has hope and fear, always has attachment and aversion. But it is only the attachment to anger, jealousy, greed, pride and ignorance that is the cause of our suffering. Therefore, we need to give up our attachment to our Negative Thinking only. Secondly, Renunciation is Positive Thinking; therefore, we need to have some attachment to our Positive Thinking – otherwise we won’t decrease our suffering and the cause of our suffering. Without attachment to Positive Thinking there is no practicing Dharma.

Of course this is a very short and simple answer but these are some of the most basic fundamental principles of Buddha’s teachings that I have been fortunate to receive from my teachers; and as these have not yet succinctly made it into the mainstream western understanding of Buddhism, I offer them here. I Hope it is of some value.

May all beings be free from suffering and Negative Thinking – may all beings have happiness and Positive Thinking.

Namo Buddha ya

Please begin by reading the “Preface to Erik’s Notes on Buddhism:” found on the main page of Buddhism ~ Thanks

First, remember that Positive Thinking is Only:

• Renunciation = I want to get rid of my Negative Thinking because it is the cause of all my suffering and because it is a condition for others suffering.
• Compassion = I want others to be free from their suffering and the causes of their suffering (their Negative Thinking).
• Faith = I want to increase my Positive Thinking because it is the only cause of all of my happiness, and because it is a condition for others happiness.
• Love = I want others to be happy and have the causes of happiness (their Positive Thinking).
• Wisdom = Knowing, Experiencing and Realizing the Four Facts about Happiness and Suffering.

And, Negative Thinking is Only:

• Anger = I want to destroy someone else’s happiness and the causes of their happiness.
• Jealousy = 1) Your suffering is my happiness; 2) Your happiness is my suffering.
• Greed = More will make me happy.
• Pride = 1) I am already good enough, I do not need to improve myself; 2) I am so bad, there is nothing you can do to help me (my problem is more powerful then any solution you have); 3) Laziness: I know it would help, but I am not going to do it now.
• Ignorance = 1) Not knowing the truth about who you are (see Who Am I); 2) Not knowing the truth about how things work (see the Four Facts).

“I wish it were easy for me to see the difference between positive and negative thinking.”

Ok, here is an easy way to tell the difference. Just check the intention behind the rest of the thinking:

For Positive Thinking:

If my intention is to decrease my anger, jealousy, greed, pride and ignorance then I am practicing renunciation.

If my intention is to help others decrease their suffering and the causes of their suffering, then I am practicing compassion.

If my intention is to increase my renunciation, compassion, faith, love and wisdom then I am practicing faith.

If my intention is to help others increase their happiness and the causes of their happiness, then I am practicing love.

If my intention is to increase my understanding, my experience or my realization of Positive Thinking, then I am practicing wisdom.

And for Negative Thinking:

If my intention is to make someone else feel bad – to harm their happiness – then I am practicing anger.

If my intention is to acquire happiness from someone else’s suffering, or I am upset when someone else is happy, then I am practicing jealousy.

If my intention to get more things – more wealth, more sex, more fame, or more praise in order to make myself more happy – then I am practicing greed.

If I think that I am just fine the way that I am – that I don’t need to improve myself – or that I am so bad that there is no way for anyone to help me, or if I am just too lazy to work on improving myself, well then I am practicing pride.

And finally, the above: anger, jealousy, greed and pride arise from ignorance. Therefore, when my intention is to engage in any of these negative thinking I am practicing ignorance.

Also, when I ignore what I know to be good for myself and choose what is bad for me and others, I am practicing ignorance. For instance, when I ignore the fact that my negative thinking is bad for me and for others and still I choose to engage in negative thinking, that is practicing ignorance. Or, when I choose immediate gratification over real long term benefit for myself and others, that is ignorance.

“If I am doing research on the harm that organizations do to people and communities – something that I think is important and can benefit humanity – isn’t that a form of negative thinking (depressing) that could potentially have positive benefits (liberation)?”

When we look into ‘bad news,’ it is not Positive Thinking or Negative Thinking. Remember, what makes my thinking positive or negative is my intention. If I listen to ‘bad news’ and become angry – I want to harm someone – then my intention is negative and therefore, this is negative thinking. This is not different from listening to ‘bad news’ and feeling depressed, as depression is simply anger turned in upon oneself.

However, if I listen to the exact same news and I think, I want to stop their suffering and put an end to the cause of their suffering (their negative thinking), then I am now practicing compassion, which is positive thinking.

If I go on to research this particular situation with the intention of helping to stop it, then I am applying my compassion to a solution. If I continue down this path and try making positive changes that will benefit humanity, then this is the practice of love – wanting others to have happiness and the causes of happiness. This is where compassion and my love come together for the benefit of others.

These days, as a practitioner of Positive Thinking (Dharma), it is best only to watch the news when you have a lot of compassion. Otherwise, the ‘news’ can become a condition for your negative thinking.

“I remember reading somewhere about a study that showed a correlation between people who think for a living (like academics) and depression…so is it the less you think, the happier you will be? If so, who is going to do all the thinking that so much needs to be done in this world?”

First, it is important to know that thinking cannot be ‘stopped.’ Until I become Buddha (zero Negative Thinking and zero Negative Karma) I will always be thinking. Not only is there no way to ‘stop’ thinking, there is no way to decrease thinking. You can’t decrease the present moment. What I can do is decrease the amount of jumping around from subject to subject that my thinking does; and it is definitely possible to decrease gross conceptualization. But that is a different issue than the question here.

In this study, I would guess that there was a misunderstanding between the connection of suffering (depression) and thinking. The researchers simply failed to make an adequate distinction between what kind of thinking (positive vs. negative) the academics were doing and how they then felt. It is silly to say that more ‘thinking’ makes us feel depressed, because more positive thinking is the cause of more happiness. However, it is totally correct to say that more negative thinking makes us feel more depressed, because that creates more suffering.

‘Thinking’ is not the problem; only Negative Thinking is a problem.

“Are positive and negative thinking on a continuum?”

No, positive and negative thinking are different. Remember, my happiness is the result of my positive thinking and the power of my positive thinking; and my positive thinking is the cause of my happiness and the condition of all beings happiness. My negative thinking is not on that continuum. My negative thinking can never be a cause of my happiness.

Please begin by reading the “Preface to Erik’s Notes on Buddhism:” found on the main page of Buddhism ~ Thanks

The nature of Present Moment Thinking is Buddha!

Here are some of the fundamental facts about the nature of Present Moment Thinking:

• Thinking is relative truth
• Relative Truth is interdependent origination
• The realization of relative truth is absolute truth
• Absolute truth is non-dual wisdom of Emptiness and interdependent origination

The nature of my Present Moment Thinking is:

• Vast Awakening
• True Happiness
• Zero Negative Thinking and Zero Negative Karma
• Immeasurable Wisdom
• Unconditional Love
• Endless Power
• Absolute Truth
• Infinite Peace
• Boundless Compassion
• Incalculable Luminosity
• Indestructible Bliss
• Unchangeable Happiness
• Unsurpassable Enlightenment
• Boddhi – BUDDHA

Please begin by reading the “Preface to Erik’s Notes on Buddhism:” found on the main page of Buddhism ~ Thanks

Here are some of the fundamental facts about Reincarnation:

• Present moment thinking is the reincarnation of past moment thinking
• Present moment thinking will reincarnate into next moment thinking
• Until I become Buddha, Thinking will always reincarnate
• Acting with bad intentions results in my suffering
• Acting with good intentions results in my happiness

Present moment thinking is the reincarnation of past moment thinking: When most people think about reincarnation, they seem to think that it is something you do once – every lifetime. But in fact, present moment thinking is constantly reincarnating – every moment! This present moment thinking is the reincarnation of the moment that came just before it, just as this present moment thinking will reincarnate into next moment thinking.

Until I become Buddha, Thinking will always reincarnate means that as long as you have thinking (Present Moment Thinking) that thinking will be constantly reincarnating. Only when you reach the state of zero Negative Thinking and zero power of past Negative Thinking (which is the same as 100% Positive Thinking, or Buddha) will you be beyond thinking. 100% Positive Thinking is True Happiness and is the same as beyond thinking – beyond reincarnating and beyond all suffering.

Acting with bad intentions results in my suffering means that my present moment negative thinking has power, and that power will impact my thinking badly as my thinking reincarnates in the future.

Acting with good intentions results in my happiness means that my present moment positive thinking has power, and that power will impact my thinking favorably as my thinking reincarnates in the future.

Of course there is a great deal more to be said about reincarnation, however, these are the most basic, fundamental facts regarding reincarnation if you want to understand Buddhism.

Please begin by reading the “Preface to Erik’s Notes on Buddhism:” found on the main page of Buddhism ~ Thanks

Here are some of the fundamental facts about Present Moment Thinking:

• In all universes, I does not exist
• Body is not I; Body does not contain I; outside of the body I does not exist
• Thinking is not I; thinking does not contain I; outside of thinking I does not exist
• I am single present moment thinking only
• I am what I think
• Whatever I think naturally increases
• Thinking is impermanent

In all universes, I does not exist: If ego, the independent, self-sufficient, autonomous, self-contained ‘I’, is investigated fearlessly and unconditionally then the only thing that will be found is the present moment.

Body is not I; Body does not contain I; outside of the body I does not exist: Upon investigation, you will find that the body is not the I. No part of the body is the I. The brain is not the I. None of the glands (despite our many references) are the I. Also, the body is not housing this independent, self-sufficient and autonomous I. Nor for that matter, can this I be found outside of the body.

Thinking is not I; thinking does not contain I; outside of thinking I does not exist: Again, upon investigation, you will find that thinking is not the I, and no part of your thinking is the I, just as thinking is not housing this independent, self-sufficient and autonomous I. Nor can this I be found outside of your thinking. In fact, ‘I’ is merely a label for your present moment thinking.

I am single present moment thinking only: Or more accurately, “I” is your single present moment thinking. I, ego, self, mine, soul, spirit, are all just labels for single present moment thinking only. So what do these five words, Single, Present, Moment, Thinking, Only, really mean?

• Single means that there is never more than one moment at a time. We never have two thinkings at the same time. The past never overlaps with the present. We are never really ‘of two minds.’ There is only a single moment of thinking at a time.

When you have the experience of thinking two or more things at the same time, really you are jumping back and forth between these single thinkings – very fast.

• Present means now, not the past or the future.
• Moment means the smallest amount of time possible, no more and no less.
• Thinking means this moment is not dead. The present moment is your knowing, your awareness. Your present moment thinking has countless qualities: knowing, knower, feeling, sensing, categorizing, hoping, fearing, wanting, rejecting, emoting, and many, many more.
• Only means that this Present Moment Thinking is all that you will find – if you take the time to investigate what is really going on here. So is this a good thing or a bad thing? It turns out that this is great because Present Moment Thinking is not some little and insignificant thing. Present Moment Thinking is amazing beyond your wildest dreams. For more on this, see the upcoming Note: “What is the Nature of Present Moment Thinking?”

I am what I think: Literally means, ‘I’ is what thinking thinks ‘I’ is. This does not mean that if you think you are a donkey that you will suddenly become an ass – although, becoming an ass isn’t very hard. With a little beer or tequila, anyone can potentially make an ass of themselves. It just means that our sense of self is defined and determined by our thinking. When we increase our Positive Thinking, we become a good person and those around us see us as a good person, just as our Negative Thinking ‘makes us’ a ‘bad person.’

For this very reason, it is impossible to be an inherently bad person (a truly or totally bad person). All Negative Thinking is rooted in a lie; therefore, our Negative Thinking, our ‘badness’, is not really true. As soon as the lie is seen for what it is- a lie- the badness begins to fade away and our true nature, our Positive Thinking, begins to emerge.

Whatever I think naturally increases: This is one of the remarkable keys to the whole universe. Whatever you repeatedly think, like anger: “I want to destroy your happiness. I want to destroy your happiness…” will naturally build and become stronger. So even if you begin with a very small dislike, such as, “I don’t like it when you…” and you repeat that thinking many times, it will naturally build into you being really pissed off at that person. This is how we mysteriously just blowup at someone. Really, we have been quietly (and often times unconsciously) repeating little annoyances over and over again. Also, if you spend a lifetime repeating thinking like “I am no good. I am no good…” or “I can’t do that. I can’t do that…” – well, sure enough, you are going to be right.

The good news is that this same structure holds true for your Positive Thinking. This is why practicing Dharma works. You practice Dharma by repeating your Positive Thinking over and over. When you repeatedly give up your five Negative Thinking, your anger, jealousy, greed, pride and ignorance will decrease. When you repeatedly practice having compassion and love for others, your capacity to have compassion and love will increase. Every Positive Thinking is one level of happiness and wisdom. Whatever you think repeatedly will naturally increase.

Thinking is impermanent: This means that all thinking is temporary. Good or bad, positive or negative, all thinking seems to interdependently arise, seems to exist, seems to function, and seems vanish. So, good news, don’t get too hung up about whatever it is you are thinking. In another moment you will be thinking something else. Seriously, this is saying that you can never draw a line in the sand so deep and so damaging that it can’t be washed away. Fortunately, we can’t get stuck anywhere for very long.

Now don’t go thinking that this also means that it makes no difference what you think because it’s all going to change anyway, this would be a huge mistake. All thinking has power – when we repeat the same kind of thinking over and over, the power of that thinking builds and grows. The thinking itself is impermanent, but the power of thinking can become more and more stable.

Please begin by reading the “Preface to Erik’s Notes on Buddhism:” found on the main page of Buddhism ~ Thanks

Here are some of the fundamental facts about Time:

• If something exists, it is the present moment only
• In the present moment, the past does not exist, and the future does not exist
• The present moment is almost beyond time
• No time – No Thinking. No Thinking – No time

If something exists, it is the present moment only: This means that if anything can be said to exist, then that thing can only be the present moment. This is not a philosophical assertion, nor is it a religious ‘blind faith’ belief. If a thing (anything) is investigated fearlessly and unconditionally then the only thing that will be found is the present moment. According to atomic physicists’, atoms- the basic building blocks of all material things- cannot be found. Atoms do not exist. Now if we were to jump to the outrageous conclusion that ‘nothing can therefore exist’ we would be denying the simple fact that we are aware of something: we are aware of the present moment. We can find the present moment.

In the present moment, the past does not exist, and the future does not exist: When we make the effort to investigate, we do not find the past. Everything we know about the past, we know now – in the present moment. When we make the effort to investigate, we do not find the future. Everything we know about the future, we know now – in the present moment. Again, if we investigate fearlessly and unconditionally, we only find the present moment.

The present moment is almost beyond time: If the present moment were any smaller, then there would not be enough time for anything to happen at all; and on the other hand, if the present moment were any longer, then there would be enough time for a beginning of time, a middle and an end of time. If the present moment were any longer than a ‘moment’ then there would be linear time and we would find the past and the future as well as the present moment. However, again, when we investigate fearlessly and unconditionally we only find the present moment – we only find now.

No time – No Thinking. No Thinking – No time: So what is the present moment? The present moment is your thinking – Present Moment Thinking! Without time there would be no thinking, no knowing; and without thinking, there would be no time. Time is thinking – thinking is time. Time and thinking are synonyms.

Please begin by reading the “Preface to Erik’s Notes on Buddhism:” found on the main page of Buddhism ~ Thanks

Negative Thinking = Anger, Jealousy, Greed, Pride And Ignorance

• Anger = I want to destroy your happiness and the causes of your happiness
• Jealousy = 1) Your suffering is my happiness; and 2) Your happiness is my suffering
• Greed = 1) Chasing happiness – “More will make me happy;” and 2) Squeezing happiness – “If I lose this, I’ll never be happy again!”
• Pride = 1) I am already good enough, I do not need to improve myself; 2) I am so bad, there is nothing you can do to help me (my problem is more powerful then any solution you have); and 3) Laziness: I know it would help, but I am not going to do it now.
• Ignorance = 1) Not knowing the truth about how things work (see the Four Facts); and 2) Not knowing the truth about who you are (see Who Am I).

Please begin by reading the “Preface to Erik’s Notes on Buddhism:” found on the main page of Buddhism ~ Thanks

Dharma = my five Positive Thinking

And what is Positive Thinking?

Positive Thinking = Renunciation, Compassion, Faith, Love and Wisdom

• Renunciation = I want to get rid of my Negative Thinking because it is the cause of all my suffering and because it is a condition for others suffering.
• Compassion = I want you to be free from suffer and the causes of your suffering (your Negative Thinking).
• Faith = I want to increase my Positive Thinking because it is the only cause of all of my happiness, and because it is a condition for others happiness.
• Love = I want you to be happy and have the causes of happiness (your Positive Thinking).
• Wisdom = Knowing, Experiencing and Realizing the Four Facts about Happiness and Suffering.

Please begin by reading the “Preface to Erik’s Notes on Buddhism:” found on the main page of Buddhism ~ Thanks

Happiness = Peace

Peace = the cessation of Negative Thinking
Negative Thinking = anger, jealousy, greed, pride and ignorance
Decreasing Negative Thinking = Increasing Peace
More peace = more happiness
Zero Negative Thinking = True Happiness

So is there True Happiness, lasting happiness? – YES.
The more you decrease your anger, jealousy, greed, pride and ignorance the more you experience happiness – no matter what circumstances you find yourself in.

What is NOT happiness?

Happiness is NOT: a new car / house / job / partner / lover / toy / etc.
If it were, most folks would be getting happier more of the time
and not just getting more debt, stress and grief.
New and better stuff is only a condition for how you feel – not a cause.

Happiness is NOT: having more fun / excitement / distractions / etc.
If it were, more beer would lead to True Happiness
and not to a hangover.
More and more fun is only a condition for how you feel – not a cause.

Please begin by reading the “Preface to Erik’s Notes on Buddhism:” found on the main page of Buddhism ~ Thanks

From what I can tell, there are at least three major forms of Buddhism: Religious Buddhism, Philosophical Buddhism and the third form of Buddhism, what I have received from my teachers, the Buddhism that deals with the science of happiness. So what does it mean for Buddhism to be ‘the science of happiness’? Here, Buddhism simply describes the facts regarding our experiences of suffering and our experiences of happiness according to the science of observation and reason.

So what does it mean to use observation and reason to discover the facts about something?

Usually, we begin with a bunch of assumptions and then based on those assumptions you make a hypothesis (a guess) about what you think is true, then you test that hypothesis and see if we can disprove it. If after a reasonable number of tests (and reasonable is usually determined by the one doing the tests) we fail to disprove our guess, then ‘maybe it’s true!’

But there is another way to use observation and reason to discover the truth about something. In fact, Buddhism rests on this alternative method. Here we begin with a willingness to investigate fearlessly and unconditionally. Rather than beginning with a set of assumptions that we are leaving untouched and uninvestigated, we allow everything to be part of the field of investigation. No assumption or belief is so sacred or precious that it won’t be fearlessly and unconditionally examined, and if it is invalidated through observation and reason, then it is let go of.

What do we find when we diligently and insatiably investigate, both fearlessly and unconditionally, that which can be known about our experience of suffering and happiness? We find that there are some basic facts that govern those experiences. We find the experience of happiness and we find the experience of suffering. And we find that these felt experiences are not random nor are they caused by anything that is experienced as being outside of ourselves. We find that the cessation of our suffering follows from very specific and completely infallible causes; and we find that our increased happiness also follows from very specific and completely infallible causes. And best of all, we find that these causes are always within us.

In the rest of these Notes you will find some of these facts that govern our experiences of both suffering and happiness. At least that is my goal. Please keep in mind that this is Buddhism according to the Mahayana tradition of the Dzogchen Longchen Nyingthig lineage as it has been transmitted to me by my teacher Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche and from his teachers all the way back to Shakyamuni Buddha – at least to the best of my fairly limited abilities. I beg that you forgive me and grant me your patience whenever I fall short of my goal.

For me, this is the most valuable and precious information in the universe – I hope that it will be of benefit to you as well. If you find value here and are interested in learning more about the facts that govern your happiness and the cessation of your suffering, I would strongly encourage you to find a competent teacher with whom you can study and from whom you can learn. After that it will be up to you to contemplate and ultimately meditate these facts. This is the path that leads to True Happiness – zero suffering. This is the Buddha Path.

If you are curious about what I meant above when I mentioned philosophical and religious Buddhism, what follows is a very brief explanation.

When Buddhism is treated as a form of philosophy – a set of ideas – a practitioner thinks about Buddhism. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and ideas and if we all sit down together, perhaps we can share our favorite ideas and maybe we can even synthesize some new and better ideas. For the philosophers, Buddhism is a pool of ideas that can be dipped into and played with, analyzed, and engaged and accepted or rejected as is seen fit. This is fine, if all you want is to think about suffering and happiness. But it will not necessarily move you any further in the direction of decreasing your suffering and increasing your happiness.

And for those for whom Buddhism is really a religion, Buddhism is used to ‘give meaning’ to their lives. Buddhism is used by the practitioner to fulfill the practitioner’s personal agenda for better or worse.

According to Wikipedia: “A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendent quality, that give meaning to the practitioner’s experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth.” And, well, if Wikipedia says it then it must be true. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion.

However, using Buddhism to “give meaning” to our “experience of life through reference to a higher power [Buddha] or truth [Buddha’s teachings],” with the end result being that ‘my life now has meaning’ is not in keeping with what the Buddha taught about our experience of suffering and happiness; and this is not the Buddhism that I have been introduced to. In fact, there are many textural references from Shakyamuni Buddha that refer to this dynamic and strongly warn against it. Very quickly, it just gets in the way of decreasing suffering and increasing happiness.