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

1. The First Fact = All of my suffering is the result of my Negative Thinking and the power of my Negative Thinking. This is The First noble truth of the Enlightened regarding my suffering.
2. The Second Fact = My Negative Thinking and the power of my Negative Thinking is the cause of 100% of all my suffering and it is the condition for all beings suffering. This is The Second noble truth of the Enlightened regarding the cause of my suffering.
3. The Third Fact = All of my happiness is the result of my Positive Thinking and the power of my Positive Thinking. This is The Third noble truth of the Enlightened regarding my happiness.
4. The Fourth Fact = My Positive Thinking and the power of my Positive Thinking is the cause of 100% of all my happiness and it is the condition for all beings happiness. This is The Fourth noble truth of the Enlightened regarding the cause of my happiness.

1. Regarding the First Fact:

You may have heard or read statements like: “The truth of suffering,” or “True suffering,” or “Life is suffering,” or “According to Buddhism, everything is suffering.” Fortunately, these statements are a bit off. At best they are not delivering the full meaning of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, and in the worst case scenario they have nothing at all to do with the truth about what is going on here.

If “The truth of suffering,” or “True suffering,” means that there is actually true suffering, then that suffering would be ‘real’ – an actual fact. If suffering were an actual fact, then there would be no way to end that suffering; and this would negate all of Buddhism. Buddhism is the science of True Happiness, and there is no True Happiness if suffering is an actual, unchangeable fact.

On the other hand, if you understand “The truth of suffering” to mean the “The truth regarding suffering,” then you are getting closer to the four noble truths of the Enlightened regarding suffering and happiness which state that suffering cannot actually or literally exist in any absolute way. This is not to say that we do not experience suffering. Obviously we all do experience suffering. It is just a statement of truth that this experience of suffering that we are having is not rooted in any fact.

For instance, when you have a very vivid dream like falling off a cliff, and all of your senses tell you that you are really falling, you think that this is a real experience. “I am falling! Oh poop, I am going to die!!!” However, upon awakening from the dream, you no longer think that the cliff is real and that you are about to hit bottom. According to the first noble truth of the Enlightened regarding suffering, all suffering has this same structure. Yes, there is the experience of suffering and this experience is not what it appears to be, much the way our dreams are not what they seem to be. This seeming contradiction will persist for as long as you continue to experience ego-clinging. In other words, built into the orientation of experiencing a me and an everything else that is not me, is an all pervasive quality of experiencing some degree of suffering.

So, while the experience of suffering will take on many forms, all of these experiences of suffering have to do with our thinking. What the first noble truth of the Enlightened regarding suffering tells us is: “all of my suffering is the result of my Negative Thinking and the power of my Negative Thinking.” Or put another way, my suffering is the result of my Negative Thinking and the power that my Negative Thinking has on me and what I perceive. If I am experiencing something that I do not like (and that is suffering), then I can know for a fact that this experience is the result of my own Negative Thinking. This is the first noble truth of the Enlightened regarding suffering.

If “Life is suffering,” or “According to Buddhism, everything is suffering” were accurate, then all of Buddhism would cease to exits. Life itself is not the problem. Living is not the problem. In fact, life is enormously precious. Because we are alive in these precious human bodies, experiencing this amazing world, we can practice Positive Thinking in a most profound way. Therefore, it is silly to make blanket and all encompassing statements that life and everything in it is suffering. The only problem that we have is our Negative Thinking – the cause of all of our suffering.

When you go back to the actual meaning of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha you will never find a “true suffering.”

2. Regarding the Second Fact:

Not only is your Negative Thinking the only cause of all of your experience of suffering, but it is also a condition for all beings’ suffering. Nothing good ever comes as a result of increasing your Negative Thinking; and if we want world peace, then we have to start by decreasing our own Negative Thinking.

Everyone has already had a direct experience of this fact. You walk down the street and someone up ahead of you is shouting in anger. Not once has anyone ever come across this scene and felt happier for it. While some may laugh nervously or even laugh bitterly, this has nothing to do with their being happier. My anger does not make you happy. Your jealousy does not make me feel better. However, your anger, even when it is directed at me, is not the cause of my suffering. While it may be a strong condition for my experiencing suffering, only my Negative Thinking can really cause me to experience suffering.

If another’s anger were the cause of your suffering, then there would be no way for you to respond to their anger with compassion. In fact, compassion (wanting another to be free from suffering and the causes of suffering) is the proof that another’s anger is not the cause of your suffering. Because you can choose compassion in the face of another’s rage, clearly their anger is not causing you to suffer. By responding to their anger with compassion, you are working with their anger to create the cause of your own happiness and the condition for all beings happiness. But more about that when we get to the Fourth noble truth of the Enlightened regarding the cause of happiness. For now, knowing that your Negative Thinking and the power of your Negative Thinking is the cause of 100% of all your suffering and that your Negative Thinking and it’s power are the condition for all beings suffering is knowing the second noble truth of the Enlightened regarding the cause of suffering.

3. Regarding the Third Fact:

Just as the first fact states that my experience of suffering is in my own hands, so is my experience of happiness. The fact that “all of my happiness is the result of my Positive Thinking and the power of my Positive Thinking” means that we can increase our experience of happiness, and not just fleeting happiness or mundane excitement, but real happiness.

Because happiness is not something that you get (like a new car, or a finer sweetie, or any other thing that can be gotten) but is the absence of your own Negative Thinking, and because your Negative Thinking is not based on anything real (it does not inherently exist), it is possible to have zero Negative Thinking. This is an amazing fact. The more you decrease your Negative Thinking, the more you will experience peace; and peace is real happiness.

When you arrive at the state where there is no more Negative Thinking and there is no more power of your past Negative Thinking, you have achieved True Happiness. This state of zero Negative Thinking and zero power of past Negative Thinking is True Happiness – it is Vast Awakening. We have a name for you when you no longer have any Negative Thinking and the power of your past Negative Thinking is completely gone. We call this state Buddha. This is the meaning of “cessation” when you hear or read “the truth of cessation.” It is the cessation of all your Negative Thinking.

The act of reducing your Negative Thinking is called ‘renunciation.’ Therefore, more Positive Thinking (which includes renunciation) = less Negative Thinking. Positive and Negative Thinking are always in inverse proportion to one another. When you increase one, you always decrease the other by exactly the same amount.

Happiness is the cessation of Negative Thinking. Nothing else can ‘make’ you happy. Certainly we can all be conditions for each other’s happiness, but we are never in control of another’s happiness. Good thing too, really. If you could actually make me happy, then you could also take my happiness away from me.

So the third noble truth of the Enlightened regarding happiness states that all of my happiness is the result of my Positive Thinking and the power of my Positive Thinking. All I need to do now is increase my renunciation, compassion, faith, love and wisdom. And how do I do that? Well, that’s what the Fourth noble truth of the Enlightened regarding the cause of happiness is all about.

4. Regarding the Fourth Fact:

My Positive Thinking and the power of my Positive Thinking is the cause of 100% of all my happiness and it is the condition for all beings happiness. This is what is meant by “the paths.” The only path that leads to your True Happiness (zero Negative Thinking and zero power of past Negative Thinking) is your Positive Thinking. While your renunciation, compassion, faith, love and wisdom may take many forms, for instance there are many ways to express compassion or love, it is only through the simple act increasing your Positive Thinking that you will help yourself and others.

If you like, repeat the following stanzas ~ that is, really meditate on them:

• “May I realize that all my suffering is the result of my Negative Thinking and negative Karma. This is The First noble truth of the Enlightened regarding my suffering. Now I know why I suffer and how to decrease my suffering.”
• “May I realize that my Negative Thinking and negative Karma are the cause of all my suffering and the condition all sentient beings’ suffering. This is The Second noble truth of the Enlightened regarding the causes of my suffering. Therefore, I will decrease my Negative Thinking and negative Karma.”
• “May I realize that all my happiness is the result of my Positive Thinking and positive Karma. This is The Third noble truth of the Enlightened regarding my happiness. Now I know why I am happy and how to increase my happiness.”
• “May I realize that my Positive Thinking and positive Karma are the cause of all my happiness and the condition of all beings’ happiness. This is The Fourth noble truth of the Enlightened regarding the cause of my happiness. Therefore, I will increase my Positive Thinking and positive Karma.”

Repeating these four stanzas many times will bring great benefit to you and to all beings.

So, practice Positive Thinking as much as possible; it is easier than practicing Negative Thinking and it is the only path to happiness. While there are many forms that Dharma practice may take, all forms of Dharma practice come down to this – increasing your Positive Thinking. Increasing Positive Thinking is practicing Dharma. This is the meaning of the Fourth noble truth of the Enlightened regarding the cause of happiness. This is the path to True Happiness. This is The Buddha Path!

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

Karma = the power of thinking.

Here are some of the fundamental facts about the power of thinking:

• Every Present Moment Thinking creates Karma
• Every Negative Thinking creates negative Karma
• Every Positive Thinking creates positive Karma
• The past Thought is gone but the power of past thought remains in the present moment
• My Negative Thinking creates my negative Karma, and deletes my positive Karma
• My Positive Thinking creates my positive Karma and deletes my negative Karma
• Acting with negative intention creates more negative Karma and results in my suffering
• Acting with positive intention creates more positive Karma and results in my happiness
• All my perception of phenomena is the creation of my Karma
• All my Karma is the creation of my Thinking

Given that Karma is the most complex and difficult subject to understand, to go any further here would be silly for now. Karma can only begin to make sense after much of the Buddhist Fundamentals are clear. I will go further into Karma again in the near future, after enough of the Fundamentals are posted and clear.

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.