Overview
The first part of this site includes sections on mindfulness and meditation with some plans for a mindfulness/meditation practice followed by sections about Buddhism. After the Benefits (and risks) of Mindfulness, Meditation and Mindful Movement and Myths of Meditation, we get into mindfulness with The Foundations of Mindfulness for a perspective on ideas about mindfulness and meditation that have been around for ~2,500 years. Mindfulness plans based on mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT), mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) and Vipassana meditation follow The Foundations of Mindfulness, then there are some mindfulness/meditation ideas and potential ideas for your own mindfulness plan (with potential schedules for a self mini retreat). The latter sections include sections on Buddhism that may be worth contemplating or useful in daily life regardless of one's religious beliefs (if any), mindful movement, mindful parenting tips, chronic pain (pain reprocessing therapy/PRT has been used for chronic pain and is associated with mindfulness/meditation)(read website legal disclaimer), death and dying, thoughts for the day/daily devotion, some related posts, Dharma lists and Pali terms (Insight Meditation Center), and a list of references and potential readings.
Feel free to skip the rest of this page if you just want to get into any of the above.
Commentary
A friend once asked me, "what would Buddha do?" and I thought of the similar saying "what would Jesus do?" and replied "what would G Bu do?," "G Bu" being short for Gotama Buddha. This site was initially created as an easily accessible, portable reference to a collection of notes I made while studying mindfulness, meditation, and Buddhism, and I decided to use "What Would G Bu Do?" for the site name. Over time, I added more sections, like Mindful Movement, Chronic Pain, etc., and I continue to periodically revisit and revise the site.
Some people shy away from meditation and Buddhism because of potential religious implications. But meditation is not inherently religious, and it is found in a variety of religions and cultures and has been practiced around the world for centuries (interestingly, in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, the word for prayer is interchangeable with meditation). Meditation can be practiced in the context of any religion or no religion, and there are secular paths within Buddhism- one does not need to be a "Buddhist" to practice mindfulness and meditation or to benefit from basic ideas in Buddhism. Ideas from Buddhism can provide tools and practices that can lead to inner, and by extension, outer peace. The Eightfold Path in Buddhism has similar "guidance" that may be found in other cultures. One could practice only mindfulness/ meditation and cultivate peace, happiness, etc., with or without any religion, but an ethical framework, such as the Eightfold Path or similar, can be useful for guidance, balance, and harmony with respect to the activities of daily living. In the absence of such a framework, one could potentially practice mindfulness and be focused yet perform actions that are harmful or otherwise may lead to suffering/ dukkha, for oneself and others.
A fundamental teaching in Buddhism is freedom, freedom from dukkha- typically translated as "suffering," but it can also be the subtlest of discontent, anxiety, dis-ease, anguish, unsatisfactoriness, etc. The path to that freedom, from a mental construct framework, is pointed to by the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path and includes mindfulness, introspection, and meditation. The writings about Jesus also include commentary on “freedom” (“you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free”) as well as looking within (“the kingdom of god is within you”) and developing compassion and wisdom. If we look for "universality” in writings and teachings across cultures, some common themes in the teachings of Buddhism and Christianity include “freedom," looking within, and compassion and wisdom. Buddhism and yoga also have many overlapping ideas and practices, and qigong and tai chi have been referred to as “meditative movement.” Beyond culture specific ideas and labels, these all have significant overlapping features and can supplement each other quite nicely.
When contemplating what has been written about Buddha, and Jesus, and the ideas of "what would Buddha do?," and "what would Jesus do?," we don't actually know for certain what they may have said or what they might actually do if they were alive/physically present today. We can get some ideas based on writings and teachings about them, but we will ultimately defer to what we might want to believe, or what others might want us to believe, as long as we dwell in, identify with, or are attached to such “beliefs.” The words and ideas related to them are signs to deeper understandings and experiences- neither Buddha nor Jesus wrote anything themselves, the writings about them came about after they died (some many years later), and such writings have been subject to years of verbal transmission/ oral tradition, faulty memories, selective preservation and destruction, modifications, embellishments, misinterpretations (including inadequate translations) and the incorporation of preexisting and coexisting ideas and mythologies. And, after all, the Buddha was not a "Buddhist" and did not have or need "Buddhist scriptures," and Jesus was not a "Christian" and did not have or need "Christian scriptures." With this understanding, we can learn about and contemplate their teachings and perhaps avoid getting stuck on or attached to culture specific words, writings, or ideas, and simply experience what the writings are perhaps trying to convey. And comparing writings related to them with writings from other cultures may be a good way to see what might be considered "universal truths."
"One's own preferences are not to be followed simply because they seem logical or resonate with one's feelings. Instead, any view or belief must be tested by the results it yields when put into practice; and — to guard against the possibility of any bias or limitations in one's understanding of those results — they must further be checked against the experience of people who are wise.”
“Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. All systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.”
"It is not words or concepts that are important. What is important is our insight into the nature of reality and our way of responding to reality."
"As unnecessary as a well is to a village on the banks of a river, so unnecessary are all the scriptures to someone who has seen the truth; when your understanding has passed beyond the thicket of delusions, there is nothing you need to learn from even the most sacred scripture; indifferent to scriptures, your mind stands by itself, unmoving, absorbed in deep meditation. This is the essence of the path."
"This pure Mind, which is the source of all things, shines forever with the radiance of its own perfection. But most people are not aware of it, and think that Mind is just the faculty that sees, hears, feels, and knows. Blinded by their own sight, hearing, feeling, and knowing, they don't perceive the radiance of the source. If they could eliminate all conceptual thinking, this source would appear, like the sun rising through the empty sky and illuminating the whole universe."
"If you cannot set down your holy book and walk away, you are not truly free."
So, why make any effort to read or study such things, be mindful, meditate, etc.? The mind loves to grasp onto things, and in the realm of thoughts, ideas from religions can provide insights and guidance. And, in the realm of the thinking mind, many seek meaning, connection, inner peace, etc., and some way to try to make sense of our existence, suffering, the universe, and death. Paths related to these are sought by many in religion, spirituality, science, philosophy, etc. Buddhism is a path for such things, and the practices of mindfulness and meditation (religious and nonreligious) have been correlated with a variety of benefits (mindfulness is not a panacea, however, and people with a history of anxiety, depression, trauma, etc., should discuss mindfulness/ meditation with a qualified health care provider).
Ideas, religious and non-religious, can enslave the mind- the conditioned mind. “Beliefs,” in any religion, are conditioned beliefs, limited by words and ideas. Without awareness of the conditioned mind, we get caught in, and reinforce, cycles of mind created ideas and thoughts that lead to dukkha- anxiety/dis-ease/dissatisfaction/suffering- for ourselves and others. Understanding how we get caught in such cycles is at the heart of Buddhist ideas, as well as other traditions, and can be useful to address dukkha.
This site is not a treatise on the history of Buddhism. Like a finger pointing to the moon, Buddhism (or Christianity, or any other religion) is one of many fingers pointing a way- a way to peace, enlightenment, nirvana, heaven, the kingdom of god, etc. Like all religions and ideas, "Buddhism" is only a map and is not, in itself, the "destination"- the "destination" is the journey itself ("you are already everything you seek") and is beyond the words and maps (conditioned beliefs) that we've created or followed (parable of the raft). But regardless of one's map and ideas, if one can find peace and treat others as equals with kindness, they should continue following their map- we would be better off if everyone practiced and cultivated equality and kindness.
It is said there is a "Buddha nature" (or "Christ consciousness," etc.) within each of us. From the Buddhist perspective, this implies we are all inherently enlightened beings. In Buddhist teachings, we can clear a path to realize our enlightened state by understanding the Four Noble Truths and practicing the Eightfold Path. Among these is understanding there is no separate, independent "self" ("nothing is to be clung to as I, me, or mine”), understanding impermanence, and understanding the underlying sources of dukkha.
In transcending the individual “self" and the conditioned mind, which is not unique to Buddhism, we experience things differently. While not necessarily Buddhist ideas, we can potentially appreciate a "self" within a universal "Self," an eternal "essence," an "animating force," an inherent "oneness" with all things, the "you" before "you" developed a sense of self and became attached to self, words, ideas, material objects, time, or even "nothingness;" “unless you change and become like little children, you will never get into the kingdom." From a scientific perspective, we can perhaps visualize our “essence” as interconnected, dynamic particles and waves, energy and matter.
Introspection and meditation are embraced by many for a variety of reasons. If we look within, we can perhaps understand and experience the “essence" that is ultimately at our core- we can also appreciate it in others and in all things. It is the same "source" at the heart of a seed growing into a tree and of all of the things that we perceive. When we look within, we can have deep experiences with our "being" and understand how ideas and mental boxes condition and imprison the mind and lead to dukkha; as long we are attached to ideas and thoughts, including the idea of a separate, independent “self," we will be stuck outside the "kingdom of god" that is accessible to each of us in the present moment/“now,” the only moment we really have. Spiritual teachers, mystics, sages, etc. throughout history have reiterated these ideas and the instruction to "look within."
"What is Guru or who is Guru? The conscience within you is the Guru. The one that guides you. The one that enlightens you. As such, there is a Guru in everybody."
"If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you; rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you."
"Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
"Buddhism," as a path, can be seen to emphasize introspection and reflection rather than a god, meditation rather than prayer, "enlightenment" rather than "salvation," and universal life/manifestations rather than individuality (no separate, independent "self"). With this in mind, it is not necessarily “religious,” although it can be religious when combined with rites and rituals, supernatural beliefs, etc. There are religious paths within Buddhism and there are secular paths. Beyond the religious realm, and compared with other religions:
- “sin” can be thought of as “missing the mark,” not awakening to your innate “enlightened” nature, getting caught in delusion and the illusions of our perceptions, and suffering rooted in identification with and attachment to an illusory "self," ideas, desires, the past or future, etc.
- “karma” can be thought of as cause and effect in the present moment and the potentially lingering effects of mind and body as we experience them now
- “heaven” and “hell” can be thought of as states of mind in the present moment
- "rebirth" or "reincarnation" can be thought of as the changing nature of each new moment; every moment of our past was a "past life," and each new moment is a rebirth- it is how we perceive and experience our new "births" that determine the quality and nature of each new "birth"
- "salvation" can be thought of as freedom from suffering/ dukkha, the extinction of all that leads to suffering/dukkha.
Like all religions, Buddhism has evolved over time and there are different sects and schools of Buddhism with varied emphases on doctrines and scriptures, experiential practices (including meditation), and ethics. But at the heart of Buddhism for many lie the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, and at the heart of mindfulness/ meditation for many is the Satipattana Sutta (often translated as The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (but may perhaps be better translated as "the discourse on the presence of mindfulness" or "the discourse on attending with mindfulness").
