Public Journal

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 90 One post I think I saw on Reedit, the newish student said he thought ACIM was very repetitive. I do think it really pounds in ideas. Grievance seems to be one. As I said before to me that is Ego getting in the way, with an idea. And all ideas, need to be judge by the crucible of wisdom for want of a better term. When this idea came about or now that you are studying it, is it some “grievance”. Did someone slight you. Did your boss, make an accusation out the blue and now you are upset at its unfairness? Looking at the idea from the perspective of wisdom and not ego, maybe it is really not worth your effort at all. Thing is that certain knowledge I think is a miracle. Speaking of time, the problem is now, the grievance is now. I have said more than once to myself, all problems kind of boil down to not worrying about it. Either you confront the problem, turn to your boss and say, I don’t know where you got that info but it is wrong, I didn’t do that. Or you think, I really don’t care what he thinks about that, and move on. But it is now, not later ever. You can make the mistake of caring it around for days and let it eat at you, but does that really help ever? Np, of course not.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 82 The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness (ACIM, W-82.1:1) an interesting idea. From the Buddhist perspective in a way nothing to forgive since what is bothering you about someone else is well generated by your own Ego. So if your Ego is not running you around by the nose you are not bothered and actual forgiveness is not part of the equation. To me if you meditate, and that person who has been causing you problems enters your mind, set that thought aside, and do it till they do not enter your thoughts again. At that point you have forgiven. This applies to life in general. If you feel life is putting things on you, it is your thoughts doing that life just is, same solution. As for my function? My function is to be alive. My function is to study the path and stay on that path. Also a good idea to follow your passions in life, what truly makes you happy.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 80 One problem is letting your ego get in the way! The way to do that is meditation. When the ego is not screaming, you are free of problems. Now you can live in the here and now. What problems, that person who slighted you yesterday is now in the past, and it doesn’t exist. And that bill that is coming up is not here right now; it is in the future, and it also does not exist, and is very subject to change! “This is my actual ACIM journal — the real notes, reflections, and insights I work through every day. If you want to see how I practice the Course in real life, it’s all here:

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 78 I love the use of the word grievance; I’ve said that before, but it is so appropriate. I think if I was writing this from my perspective, I would say, seeing with Wisdom, ego is set aside, and you can then see the “miracle of the precious human birth”. I think I have seen the Dalai Lama quoted more than once. When that grievance is not in front of your mind, and you can look at how wonderful things are turning out, that is a miracle. You see clearly that things happen in their own time, usually in their own way. It is you that stands in the way of the flow.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 75 The Light has come. 1. Interesting treat today, as if you are seeing correctly! Not a bad idea; we are at this point, Lesson 75, and we have been practicing to see the world without our ego. We should maybe have a good handle on what ego is and what mind is. 2. Here it expands on that we are now at a point of light. I like that idea; Eckhart Tolle says all the time, in one way or another, there is only now; the past is gone and tomorrow is just a dream. With that accepted, truly accepted, what is there really to be worried about in the now? Why not choose joy, and happiness as your modus operandi? 4. Agreed, if everything we do is based on one idea that the only thing to do is this idea, thought, writing, speech, done in Love in Compassion, and if it is not, don’t! Can’t be unhappy. Course to sum up, again, I wouldn’t use God, but as part of the whole, you have a duty, and if you pay attention, a knowledge that reality is not really unhappy, bad, etc. If you are on that spiritual path, it frankly just is. And with that certain knowledge, you see that there is so much to be thankful for.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 74 The opening, “There is no will but God’s”, how do I resolve that idea from a Buddhist perspective? In some ways, I don’t think you can. But since the Universe, mind, etc. is all there really is, and I am a part of it, then I just need to realize that I am acting out this life, this rebirth, as I should. That is not to say that if I don’t have a clear mind and a diminished ego, that I can’t do great wrongs. I think that is obvious. But if I am on the road to awakening, that becomes way less of a problem! A lot of teachers say things like, "You are already enlightened; you just have lost sight of it!" Allan Watts comes to mind with that. Me, not so sure. I am sure that every day practice, for me with Tibetan-based meditation, you concentrate on the practice for today!

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 73 From my perspective, “will you share with God”, as I’ve said, being a Buddhist, I have no real concept of a creator. But I am happy to say I will share with, say, the universe, and that I will not let Ego get in the way. One needs to be aware of what comes from a clear mind and what springs from ego and grievance. Ego builds, brick by brick, a fortress of all the things that have wronged you. Everyone, if they let it happen, has hundreds and thousands of slights or real wrongs against them. How many times do you tell someone about a wrong that happened to you and then they have to tell about the greater wrong they suffered? My session meditation is to note thoughts that enter my mind, mark them as thoughts, and put them aside to experience the silence of mind. Over time, real ideas and inspiration will come forward. Mind you, I have no problem using God in the process. Even physicists say that consciousness may be just one. If that is the case, isn’t that God? Hmm, have to think about that one!

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 70 The first paragraph really of course matches up with my Buddhist training and personal knowledge. You create your problems. The idea that I am being put upon is just of course false. It is how you react to the problems that come up in your world. Also as it says salvation, I would say Nirvana or maybe true vision, you can read this Lesson and then say well I am saved! Ah, no you have a lot of work to do. Learning to see what is in your own self / mind. That get’s you down the path. Guilt, hum that is an interesting one from a Buddhist perspective. First very few things from our perspective are guilt worthy, I am not even sure I have ever seen guilt used in any book or teaching. Wrong way, wrong energy, or wrong thought, yes seen that more than once. So get your mind sorted out and frankly I think you can be guiltless after that. Yes spending time looking at the wrongs either done to you are ones you did to others, is mostly a waste of time. The process is the important part. The rest is just I want to talk a little about meditation. I thought mediation was a common thing among ACIM practitioners. I have a feeling it is not exactly. These “practice periods” that are mentioned in every Lesson are not like most Buddhist meditation especially Mahayana sects of Buddhism. A teacher seeing you struggling might give you a mantra to repeat over and over either out lound or in your mind, so you don’t have any place for stray thoughts to enter. I do not do that personally. I sit and try to when a stray thought enters the forefront, mark it as a thought and get back to the quiet emptiness. That is mind and not the ego. And I believe all problems in this world stem from ego. “Your salvation come from you”, that is so true. No teacher, minister, or book can save you, only you can do the work to make it happen.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 68 I think it is wonderful to use the word grievance to describe living in the ego and letting the lying part of you decide who you should carry a chip on your shoulder about! Shut off from Self; of course, I would call that mind, but same idea. If you are not letting Ego run away with you, if you have worked on quieting it so it's not screaming in your head all the time, you're way less likely to see that old enemy and think, what are they up to now? No, probably just ignore them. If they come up to you to start something new. You can use your calm mind to listen and answer; set anger aside. From experience, I can say they will not be able to deal with that; they want that conflict and anger! Of course, saying grievances will redefine God is not what I would say, but if your ego is in charge, you cannot see the potential of the Universe; you are stuck in mundane acts of anger and hate, not Love and Compassion. Do it enough, and you are in hell. My practice would be meditation. When you sit quietly and thoughts invade the quiet, mark them as thoughts over and over; soon they will subside. In that quiet, there frankly is no space for grievances. Keep it up long enough, and frankly you walk in peace.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 67 This almost 100% ties in with Tibetan Buddhist thinking. I’m sure you have seen the Dalai Lama talk a little about Love and Compassion, implying that is all there is. I agree. Since in Buddhism there is no actual concept of a creator, you are not say made in God’s image, son of God, etc. But you are born in this world innocent and really only having love. This comes I believe and some writings agree, from that universal mind. It is only after that Ego gets going and pollutes that stream. So Ego is the thing to work on. Reading through this lesson it is working on ego, doesn’t make a real declaration about it but if you are concentrating on God, you sure can’t be dwelling in the Ego. I’ll reiterate there is only Love and Compassion, and the only way to get there is lesson the ego!

“My happiness and my function are one.” Today’s ACIM lesson lands in a way that feels very familiar from a Buddhist view. In both traditions, happiness isn’t something we chase — it’s something we uncover when we stop following the ego’s demands and return to what’s already true. The Course says our function comes from God, and because God gives only happiness, our function must be happiness. Buddhism frames it similarly: when we act from clarity rather than grasping, suffering falls away and our natural joy shows itself. What struck me today is how often I’ve tried to find “my function” through effort, identity, achievement, or spiritual performance. None of that ever brought peace. The ego promises a thousand forms of happiness, but none of them last. Lesson 66 invites a different approach — not arguing with the ego, not defining happiness, not chasing meaning. Just resting in the idea that happiness and function are the same because they come from the same Source. I’m sitting with that today. Letting it soften me. Letting it simplify things.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 64 Let me not forget my function? That is an interesting thought from my perspective. Mostly in Buddhism, you are here, maybe through good Karma, because it is always expressed as, “This precious Human Birth.” This means that while you are here, you are to connect with the universal mind and minimize the ego. Form of temptation doesn’t really fit, but it is a definite illusion what you see most of the time, based on your ego making choices all the time, both good and bad. But If you can see clearly, most of it just fades away, and the concrete things of life present themselves. The rest is about the last few lessons, and I will add my motto here. Every action you take can either be done in Love and Compassion or not, and if not don’t!

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 63 This lesson, if you remove a creator from it could be a talk or writing by a Buddhist sage. Live your life in the here and now and abandon the past and future; peace ensues. Your example will light up all around you. Things will change by osmosis of sorts. This is salvation: removing you from Samsara to Nirvana and helping those around you move in that direction. I have a motto, if you will: in every action there are only two things to keep in mind: it is either done in Love and Compassion or not, and if not, don’t.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 62 This Lesson ties in with Buddhist teaching rather well. Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes we are of one mind. So, when you do something to someone else you just do it to yourself. So why would anyone not forgive another, you are after all just forgiving yourself? The mentioning of salvation of course brings up what is salvation? From my perspective it is to be ever closer to awakening. To see reality and not the illusion of the ego is ultimately what should happen.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 61 This lesson definitely converges with Buddhist teachings. Teachers in Buddhism make the case that you are everything, I.E., the light of God, in Christianity. This is because the entire universe is represented by you in this human life. So you have all you need; you are the example of Love and Compassion in human form. Sure, the Ego moves one away, and instead of being humble and accepting the now, we start striving again! Sheez!

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 60 This lesson is about listening to God. As I’ve said no creator in Buddhism. So, should we listen to the Buddha? Not exactly; listen to his teachings and the teachings of all the Bodhisattvas of history- yes, maybe. For sure, study and meditation put you in a place to quiet the Monkey mind, as some teachers say, and see to be present. The issue of trust is, of course, faith. This idea of faith gets tossed around a lot in Buddhism. Faith implies trust till you know. Others say the trust comes because you have seen results, so what I read must be true, and even though I have not seen Nirvana, it must be real and possible. And the issue of fear? Most fear comes from the ego. If you minimize the ego's hold on you, fear naturally subsides. There are stories of the Buddha not fearing all kinds of demons and bad men. He has seen ultimate reality and no longer fears. I would add that he acted without thinking.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 59 (41) God goes with me wherever I g (ACIM, W-59.1:1) There is, again, in Buddhism no creator, but when you realize that you are connected to all life, the same thing applies: how can you be alone? Being by yourself is not being alone. (42) God is my strength. ²Vision is His gift. (ACIM, W-59.2:1-2) Now that is a little different: if you are seeing clearly, not with the ego, then you are looking with the certain knowledge of the Dharma, I suppose, and its correctness. 5. (45) God is the Mind with which I think. (ACIM, W-59.5:1) So if you are abiding in Mind. If the teachings are just part of you, then the world is seen as it is, not as some illusion. Not seeing others as different or less, or more. No, the world is, and you are there to live a life of Love and Compassion.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 57 I interpret this as what Ego can confuse you about: how you are in the world. Ego has you striving for things that are empty: wealth, power, prestige, things built in this world. 2. (32) I have invented the world I see. (ACIM, W-57.2:1) This is, of course, so true that ego has built it brick by brick, good or bad, since you were a child. One must realize it, so the building of reality is a clear view based on mind. 3. (33) There is another way of looking at the world. (ACIM, W-57.3:1) This is the seeing through to what is real, not what everyone tells you is real, but the actual vision of this reality. 5. (35) My mind is part of God’s. ²I am very holy. (ACIM, W-57.5:1-2) Again in Buddhism, no creator, but when you walk in reality, it is frankly sacred. The world will cease being a scary place, but just a place where things need to be done, and you will do them. People cease to be after something because, after all, what is there to get from you other than your love and compassion?

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 55 "I am determined to see things differently. (ACIM, W-55.1:1)" Hum, from my perspective, being here in this world is great suffering; if I think that suffering is totally mine, that achieves nothing. I have to overcome the world's suffering. "3. (23) I can escape from this world by giving up attack thoughts." (ACIM, W-55.3:1) This, to me, is about minimizing the ego. If it does not run your life, you can see clearly what things are and know you do not really have to get involved. "4. (24) I do not perceive my own best interests." (ACIM, W-55.4:1) Now that Buddhists, in a way, have no self-interest. That is not to say you're not to take care of yourself, but only from the perspective of doing good in the world, being compassionate, and being good to yourself. "5. (25) I do not know what anything is for. (ACIM, W-55.5:1)" Taking into account of doing things in love and Compassion, how can anything be frightening? Just act. Do what needs to be done when it presents itself! Not to worry about whether it is right or wrong; again, keeping the idea of Compassion in mind, it will be right.

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 52 Reality is never frightening. That is an interesting thought, and I think it's true if you are seeing clearly and not letting your Ego dictate what is true. If you have quieted your Ego and now can see more clearly, it is kind of like watching a play on stage- yes, emotional, but not nearly life and death. As you learn to live in the present, you also learn that the past is gone and can not be changed. There is only now for you to take action. “My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts. (ACIM, W-52.3:1)”, if you live in the past, thinking of regrets of what you should of done, you can find yourself frozen in essence. Now you second-guess every idea or action you come up with, even if a very good intention. One done in love and compassion. The past is gone; only the now exists for real. “My thoughts do not mean anything. (ACIM, W-52.5:1)” This is one of those things that I work with every day. My thoughts are empty; they have no substance till they are made real in action. Most of them that come up can just be ignored, maybe even worked with to just mark them as thoughts and hopefully just get on with real living.

The Buddhist Student Lesson 51 As I said before, no concept of a Creator, but having read this, some interesting ideas indeed. Since we all have Ego, starting near birth we add ideas, name thing, and all around us help us do that. This piles on and on, and with out some kind of intervention the world is seen as an illusion, “Nothing I see means anything.” Now all the world only has meaning for you. Of course other’s illusions cross over and find some harmony but nothing is really real, “I have given what I see all the meaning it has for me.” “I do not understand anything I see”, think about that one for a second, if everything is an ego Illusion, is it real? Do I actually understand anything I see, no probably not. “I am never upset for the reason I think.” Because all that Ego building since birth now can you really trust anything really? The way to start the healing of mind is to start minimizing Ego. The best and surest wey to do do that is daily meditation. Do it every day as much as you can if you can only spend 5 minutes then five minutes. I use the app ever single day to time my mediation.

First just to remind people I'm actually a Buddhist. Having said this, since Buddhist have no concept of God, an original creator, how do I resolve that. Well in Buddhism especially Vajrayana, an offshoot of Mahayana, there is the concept of mind. We are for all intents and purpose all of mind. So God, MInd, sort of seems along the same line. So reading lesson 49, is all about keeping God, I.E. Mind at the forefront and not let Ego, that part that is thinking, and going all over the place take a back seat to what is important. I think the workbook is trying to get us to meditate if you will several times in the day to get in touch with that part that is in touch with God or Mind. Hum.