Rambling over something bugging me...

                                      Anyone and everyone is a Bodhisattva, you have to find it.

He who writes does not know, He who knows does not write., but what the heck!

 Who or what is a Bodhisattva? I have talked to myself so much about it the past and even take a what is known as 'The Bodhisattva Vows' when I was a Zen student at Green Gulch , Green Dragon Temple located in Marin County, California where I spent almost two years and was finally booted out of the place for being a 'Disruptor!" and I was, in more than one ways. I can make a few clicks and Wikipedia would help me out making sure I am giving an accurate rendition of who or what a Bodhisattva is, I have done that many times before somewhere in this lengthy Blog. This morning the question surface out of the blue and remained with me all morning while I made my coffee and watered the plants, hung the laundry and swept the house, reheat yesterday's lamb soup, cleaned the kitchen and emptied the garbage, I might gave missed a thing or two, but they will be taken care of in due time. While all these was happening in the physical realm, the question persisted in the mental realm and so I decided this it is what I will write about in my Blog this morning; my perception of what or who is a Bodhisattva.

A Bodhisattva is a Buddhist perception of one who has approached the 'Gateless Gates' of Freedom from Suffering to be dissolved into the emptiness of the void beyond being a Buddha, it is called attaining the state of Pari Nirvana, a Perfect and Complete state of Being that is Pure Consciousness Itself, or the state of dissolving of consciousness like the Gautama the Buddha of our History or The Historical Buddha. Gautama the Prince attained Liberation after years of ascetism and luminous studies of the human mind and its strength and weaknesses and discovered that this existence is all an illusion and that Suffering Is but None who suffers. He had an awakening when He realized that He was Empty even of His Own Being; when there is no 'I', there is no suffering. There i have spelled out in my own perception of who or what the Buddha is and what he Realized to become Enlightened. Off course then again, the Devil is in the details and it is up to each and anyone to discover this for him/her self to become a Buddha, free from suffering. It is said that once a Buddha,{we are all potential Buddhas}, attained to Complete and Perfect Enlightenment and take the one step beyond into what is known as the Pari Nirvana, there is no turning back. It is said that it was at this stage that the Historical Buddha was approached and urged to return for the last time to this illusory world as a Bodhisattva and remove the darkness that was threatening to engulf the religion of His forefathers, Hinduism. Shakyamuni Buddha returned as a Bodhisattva, Gautam the Buddha, who was the son of a great king, born as Prince Siddhartha Gautama who was destined to become "The World and Time Honored One, Shakya Muni Buddha of the Nirmanakaya Loka. This whole perception just popped out of my head and so is subject to scrutiny and I will stand corrected for any error.

                                      An Artist is a Bodhisattva who shares through Creativity.

The Historical Buddha was/is not a God nor is He to be worshipped, He was a 'Devine Teacher.' An awakened and liberated Being who undertook a spiritual quest for humanity out of the feeling of compassion. Who was urged to return and save Humanity who were the verge of being overcome by darkness and Chaos through the influence of greed, hate and ignorance; he returned as a teacher of mankind. Shakyamuni Buddha was the Boddhisatva of Infinite Compassion and Light of Wisdom and Impeccable Practice {Sadhana}. Through His presence and Teachings the Buddha led a good number of men, women and children out of the state depravity and corruption as was being imposed upon the Hinduism by the Priests and the Rulers. Hinduism was being taken for a ride and the ignorant masses were victimized. It was in answer to their cries for a savior that the Gods and Deities of the Hindu Pantheon, like Indra, Brahma and Vishnu in whose names the atrocities were perpetrated, made the Collective and through Lord Indra they pleaded for the Buddha to intercede on their behalf and save the suffering masses and with reluctance it was said, the Buddha accepted the task and returned as a Bodhisattva. To those who are interested in Buddhism this is a great study starting with the study of 'The Seven Buddhas Before Buddha', yes, there were seven Buddhas before the Historical Buddha and one after;  the future Maitreya Buddha . 

We are all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas if and when we come to a realization who we truly are beyond the name and masks we wear, the level of education and roles we play, beyond the good and bad the right and wrong our ignorant interpretations of how we experience the life around us while we are still alive. How often do we ask, what is the purpose of my life of being here on this planet and the answer i often give is, I am a Bodhisattva, I sent here to serve and save the suffering and I am a very busy man as life today sucks! Wake up! Look around you! How can you sit on your ass and make believe that all is well! Yes you can if you are an awakened one or a Buddha, but you are not and you are too lazy and ignorant to make the effort to understand even why you eat sleep and shit for no apparent reason and then you die! If you are not passionate about living death is a waste of time on you. An artist, a carpenter or a fisherman, a tennis player or a scuba diver, a farmer a preacher; we are all Bodhisattvas on a mission to serve this planet and the humanity it holds.

So Wake Up! Stay Awake! Don't be fooled!  

How can a man of servitude be bored, there's so much to do, to learn to see to experience to share. Someday someone from your past may step up and ask, what legacy have you left behind you that is worth noting? How will did you serve in your capacity of a Bodhisattva, a Healer a protector, a servant of the Lord fulfilling his covenant as a man and his Maker. I will do my best to accept my role conscious or unconsciously,: I will become a Bodhisattva like Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, or Samanthabadra Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas. I will practice as diligently as Milarepa and Ibn.Arabi and I will take my stand, my Dharma position as a Muslim on the Path of Islam, Surrender, Submission to the Will of the One, the Whole, the Complete,  Allah swt. Lord of Creations. Yes I am Rambling about things beyond my pay scale! Perhaps along the way I met too many great teachers whose sharing and advice have etched into my mind and shelved in the subconscious somewhere, these individuals from my Grand Parents, my Aunts and Uncles, my childhood friends friends and school mates, they were my teachers, just as Junpo Dennis Kelly , Dainin Katgiri Roshi and Thich Naht Hanh and my personal friends Paul Discoe and Ed Brown, my Zen Teachers. For those curious enought you can Google these Names and you might find some interesting characters and interesting stories in them. 

Today Palestine and especially Gaza needs Bodhisattvas, Lebanon, Syria, Yeman, Sudan, Afghan, and many more, they all need numerous, countless Bodhisattvas. Those fallen while in the service we hail as Martyrs and Heroes and we step forward to take their place. Humanity needs to be healed and the healers are the Bodhisattvas, they are the Medics and Doctors, they are the food and health people who feed and care for the sick, these are Bodhisattvas, they deserve our prayer and collective consciousness shine upon them as a source of protective and healing energy. We cannot turn our backs on them, especially not if we are  avowed Bodhisattvas. We who have awakened to our true nature, we will do our part in the healing and protection of all beings in the six realms and ten directions, of past present and future be left suffering in this Universe. Can you hear the scared voice of a child coming out of the rubbles in the street of Gaza? Listen! Become Aware, let the Light of your Love penetrate into the depth of the rubbles and give comfort to the child till she sleeps forever or be saved. Being totally oblivious to the suffering going on in Gaza is not an option to a Bodhisattva and the least he/she can do is to pray or simply surrender with acceptance of the inevitable an act Divinity beyond the scope of man; like why do man like to kill?