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Scent of Light Episode
by Ken Norton
Buddha
Original Broadcast May 12, 2019
Rebroadcast on May 26, 2019 and June 9, 2019.
Mp3 Player
The audio file above is the spoken word recording
without background music provided to Radio KOWS 92.5 FM broadcast of the
Scent of Light episode for insert into the Radio Spotlight Magazine
with host Andre Marc.
Transcript
In this episode on the Scent of Light I will speak on the relevance of the
Buddha today 2500 years after his life on earth.
My wife and I just finished watching a dramatization
of his life produced for India TV by Dr. B K Modi in 55 episodes called
Buddha, that Netflix has recently added to its list of streaming videos.
The series took us on Prince Siddartha’s spiritual journey beginning with
his royal birth and upbringing to prepare him to become a warrior emperor.
His father, the ruling king, wanted to thwart the prophecy made by a
prominent sage that the Prince would become a renunciate and philosopher and
ordered that his son be raised without experiencing the griefs of life like
old age and death, experiences that would cause reflection and lead his son
into contemplating these sorrows in life.
Life however has its way of foiling this protective
plan of his father, and Siddartha is moved passionately into asking the deep
questions that the discovery of mortality induces in a sensitive soul. The
actions of Prince Siddhartha with his extended family of kingly uncles,
Royal consort and princely cousins presents scenes familiar to us all in our
own families, that arise out of such human emotions as envy, anger, revenge,
lust, greed, cynicism, pride and lack of self-esteem.
The film series presents the principles the Buddha as
Siddartha relates to those with very emotional reactive minds. His search
for what he called the ultimate truth that explains human misery and offers
an antidote, caused him to renounce his claim to inheriting the throne and
enter the forest and solitude for deep and often painful introspection to
answer his difficult questions of who he was and his purpose in life amidst
the inevitable hardships life offers everyone, rich or poor, privileged or
despised caste. After what The Christian mystic St John of the Cross called
the Dark Night of the Soul, Siddartha realizes enlightenment and the path of
the Middle Way and controlling one's mind at the onset of desire.
This enlightened state he called Buddha and this
became his title. Buddha was his conscience revealing his True Self, and
everyone could discover this Ultimate Truth of themselves. This led to
Buddhist principles of living in righteousness, and the valuing of personal
experience over ritualistic adherence to scriptures and priestly traditions.
He even opened the path to women and those of the lowest caste of birth, a
revolutionary act at the time and even for today’s society with its
inequalities and deprivation of rights.
I was raised in the Christian religion but I noticed
in this film many sayings of the Buddha that resonate with those of Jesus in
the Gospel scriptures. Buddha held meditation and conscious deep breathing
to be a indispensable tool for Self discovery and awakening the Buddha
within, similar to Jesus’s exhortation of communing with the Father in the
Heaven within oneself. Buddha talked of the principle of reaping what you
sow, requiring a discriminate mind to prevent entering into harming
relationships and notions of oneself is similar as well. He urged his
followers to be trustful in the providence of the present moment rather than
regret the past and fear the future, which reminds me of Jesus’ Sermon of
the Mount on asking a question to initiate reception of resources to satisfy
one's needs, just like the birds of the field are cared for in Nature.
Such principles of Buddha have lasted over time and
have influenced philosophical and religious thought through today. Our
attitude as experiences unfold is the most important contribution we make to
our decisions in life. A reflective and purposeful life encourages a right
attitude of the Buddha’s Middle Way. I highly recommend setting aside a time
to view this
series on the Buddha and reflect on your life and behavior of your mind.
This is Ken Norton on the Scent Of Light. You can
contact me via Ken at KennethENorton.com. The Scent of Light episodes are
archived on the web at kennethenorton.com. Thanks
for listening.
About the Author and Producer
Ken Norton earned his master's degree in Materials Science from Stanford
University as the Vietnam War was ending. During that time Ken served as the
personal assistant to a poet/sociologist Dr. William Hermanns as he prepared
his writings for publication, exposing Ken to not only the sciences but also
the humanities and comparative religion for making conscious and
conscionable choices.
Ken is a regular contributor to Radio Spotlight Magazine with his episodes
on the Scent of Light.
Ken Norton in practice of Tai Chi Chuan
2018 Photo by Elaine B. Holtz
I co-produce Women's Spaces Show with my loving partner and its host
Elaine B. Holtz. Take a visit. All the shows are archived on the website.
----
I am the Trustee and Archivist. Visit the website I built in honor of my
mentor.
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Be still and know,
We're in the flow
Of Love to grow
From seeds we sow.*
Kenneth E. Norton
* stanza from his poem Intuition's Joy
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