High Plains Buddhist

Namaste. I Bow to the Buddha in You.

2009-01-19T18:10:00.001-06:00

Kansas City Hates Buddha!

2009-01-14T10:07:00.001-06:00

Ok, only one guy from Overland Park does.

As Tony's Kansas City notes, a guy from OP objects to a statue of Buddha at the Kansas City Zoo and compares it to a cross or a nativity scene on public property.

As the Kansas City Star reports:

David Engle said he felt a chill down his spine Sunday on a visit with his family to the Kansas City Zoo.
He could hardly believe it when he saw zoo visitors rubbing the heads and bellies of two large, smiling statues of Buddha at the entrance to the Tiger Trail area.

The lawyer in me understands that it might be close to the line. But Buddhism is a philosophy and not a religion--at least that's how I view it.

The tension between church and state in America is an on-going--and I think--a healthy thing.

We all must be mindful about inflicting our views on others. I'm not saying that KC Zoo Buddha (click to see photo on Flickr) does, but I can see how someone could be upset about it, rightly or wrongly.

Namaste.

To Just Be

2009-01-11T18:27:00.001-06:00

After years of thinking I have to become I'm going to just try and be for a while.

A Little Buddhist Thought on the Economy

2009-01-11T14:08:00.003-06:00

I try not to use Buddhism to make political points. One can be a Democrat Buddhist or a Republican Buddhist. I don't pretend to know what political party the Buddha would belong to. I'm guessing he'd be an independent.

But I came across a posting on The Middle Way that attempted to explain the economic mess we're in from a Buddhist perspective. Here's an excerpt:

The current global economic crisis is easily understood through a Buddhist framework. The institutions saw the world as self and other. They saw, and see, it as something to “win”. They focused on Profits and the Trickle Down Theory of economics.

Buddhism teaches us about no self, no other. It teaches us that the “I” thing we grasp isn’t real. It opens us to the world of interconnectedness and interrelatedness. That’s all well and good but the thing is, we’re here now.

I would distill it even further in Buddhist thought. We're in the soup economically because of a lack of mindfulness. We at the micro level and those at the macro level didn't pay close attention to economic decisions. When you make a bad or take out an ill advised loan, it's eventually going to come home to roost. Add a little karma to the mix--you reap what you sew--or for every action there is a reaction--we have some problems.

Just something to think about.

Namaste.

New Year, New Blogs

2009-01-03T19:26:00.002-06:00

With the New Year comes some changes and additions here at the South Dakota Watch/Kansas Watch family of blogs.

First, I have two new blogs that I've been developing over the past weeks.

The first is The Epp Law Report. It is a spin-off of South Dakota Watch. TELR will focus primarily on "practical" legal information and observations that spring from my law practice with a sprinkling of legal news.

Site: http://epplaw.blogspot.com

Feed: http://epplaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The other new blog is the Missouri Valley Eclectic (or MoVE). It is basically one-stop shopping of all my blogs and other short thoughts. While I know the trend in blogging is to have niche blogs, my life is not a "niche" but integrated with my interests as a lawyer, Buddhist, South Dakotan, former Kansan, and other things. So, if you read South Dakota Watch, Kansas Watch, High Plains Buddhist, and The Epp Law Report, you can read MoVE and get all of them in one place.

Site: http://movalley.wordpress.com

Feed: http://movalley.wordpress.com/feed/

I've also started a South Dakota Watch/Kansas Watch Facebook group. I'm trying to add a footprint for those blogs on different platforms as well as provide a place to build community. I hope you'll become a member. If you want an invitation, drop me an email at toddepp(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thank you for your support and readership through the years. I hope you'll continue to read and participate. Kansas Watch and South Dakota Watch in particular rely heavily on your tips for breaking news. Please keep up the stream of great emails that help inform the public.

Have a great 2009!

Hpy nu yr! ;)

2009-01-01T12:36:00.000-06:00

Received my first ever "Happy New Year" text messages today.

It's a whole new communications world, fellow babies, when even 50 year olds get warm wishes from friends via text.

The Bad Karma of Brett Favre

2008-12-29T19:22:00.006-06:00

I'm guessing Buddha was not a football fan. He strikes me as more of a soccer kind of guy.

And while I'm not sure I buy into the whole "your karma is forever" school of thought like some Buddhists, I do think there's some practical truth to what I'll call "transactional karma." In other words, our actions have intended or at least understandable consequences.

Which roundaboutly gets us to Number 4, Brett Favre, late of the New York Jets.

Remember last spring and summer when he went all Hamlet on us--To stay retired or unretire, that is the question.

He had originally told his team of many good years, the Green Bay Packers, that yes indeed, he was finally hanging up the cleats. And the Packers, based on that, decided to move on with Life After Brett Favre and made Favre's patient understudy--Aaron Rodgers--his replacement.

Then Brett acted like a spoiled brat and said he wanted to come back to Green Bay. Green Bay said, "Brett, we've been through this dance before and we took you at your word. We're moving on. Good luck."

Then Brett waged war against a team that had brought him glory and honor, daring it, cajoling it, demanding that it trade him. Number Four looked like a petulant child not eating his meat so he wouldn't get the pudding that he wanted.

Then the Jets decided to jettison long-time starting quarterback Chad Pennington and got into the Favre Sweepstakes. Never mind that by the time they got Number 4, he'd missed almost all of training camp and had to learn a new offensive system.

Pennington ends up signing with last year's crappiest team, the 1-15 Miami Dolphins. Basically, football exile (ok, that would be Detroit). But it was close.

Brett and his new team start off well, going 8-3 at one point and were anointed the best of the AFC after defeating the Tennessee Titans.

Then karma kicked in.

The Jets finished the season like a staggering drunk, losing most of their games down the stretch--and a sure playoff bid. The once invincible looking Favre was now throwing the ball to guys in the wrong colored jerseys.

Meanwhile, Pennington just kept his mouth shut, worked hard, and threw for more yards and more completions than Favre--and even Miami legend Dan Marino.

In a game that only the cosmos or the NFL could have envisioned, Chad and Brett played in the last game of the season for a playoff spot. Pennington was sharp. Brett looked flat, often arrogantly trying to put the ball where he no longer could.

Miami wins, vindicating Chad Pennington.

Meanwhile, Jets coach Eric Mangini, who still finished the season with a winning record, gets the boot today. He too bought into Brett's bad karma.

And the chatter is that Brett won't be back in New York or anywhere else. Even his old mates in Green Bay say his leaving didn't make them stink this year--in fact, their offensive numbers were close to last years.

Brett's little temper tantrum has ended finally ended nearly nine months after it began--and has tarnished his Hall of Fame career.

Yes, there is a thing called karma. Even in the NFL.

The Buddha must be smiling--and looking forward to Wildcard Weekend.

Ten New Years Resolutions the Rest of You Can Use

2008-12-27T23:37:00.003-06:00

'Tis the season for Top Ten New Years resolutions.

Like any of us are going to follow them. Sure, we'll do ok through maybe January 5th, but after that, it's back to our bad old ways.

So, to help, here are some stupid and silly New Years resolutions for 2009 that won't hurt anything if you break them. In fact, some of them, you should.

1. You know the way you are? Don't be that way!

Perhaps the greatest advice ever given from one TV character to another, Lou Grant said this to Ted Baxter when Ted was about to be married on the Mary Tyler Moore Show back in the 1970s. Are you a smoker? Don't be that way. Are you depressed? Don't be that way. Are you a jerk? Don't be that way. Simple.

2. Don't be such a dork.

This resolution is related to #1 but more specific. If you're reading this list, you're probably a dork. A non-dork wouldn't be reading this list. So don't be a dork.

3. Get off your fat butt.

You know you need to exercise more. Get off the freakin' couch and walk around the block or something. That's free, don't even need to pay money for a health club.

4. Develop your inner edit button.

Don't say the first stupid or hurtful thing that pops into your head. Find your inner edit button. Then use it.

5. Get off your fat butt and go help someone.

Your life probably isn't all that darn bad. There are other people who do have bad lives and could use your help. So go help them. Be useful to others for once.

6. Don't love things that don't love you back.

All wound up because your favorite sports team stinks this season? Guess what: your favorite sports teams or players don't love you. They can't and won't love you back. So like them; just don't love them. Same goes for a lot of other things in your life. Love your kids, your spouse, your family, even your dog. They'll love you back.

7. Change happens. Deal with it.

Everyone says they want and like change. False. We really don't. And you really probably don't. Life in the 21st Century is full of changes--good changes and bad changes. Changes come real soon and make us women and men, as John Cougar Mellencamp sang. So suck it up and be a man or woman and deal with changes in your life.

8. Get off your fat butt and figure out ways to use less energy.

If four and five dollar a gallon gasoline last summer didn't get your attention, you really are a dork. See #2. Drive less. Ride your bike. Take public transportation. Get those goofy curly-cue lightbulbs that use less energy. Buy a canvas shopping bag instead of using the plastic ones. Help Mother Earth. She needs us right now.

9. Get off your fat butt and be a good citizen.

Not registered to vote? Register. Don't vote? Vote. Ticked off about a government program or project? Go to the meeting and discuss it. Don't be a dork (see #2) and complain about change (see #7) but do nothing to change the result.

10. Every day, once a day, do something nice for yourself.

The second best piece of advice one TV character gave another was when Special Agent Dale Cooper on Twin Peaks waxed poetic: Once a day, every day, do something nice for yourself.
Maybe it's a cat nap at your desk. Or maybe it's just a darn fine cup of coffee. Even though you may be a dork (see #2) and need to not be the way you are (see #1) be kind to yourself. Cut yourself some slack.

Follow these top ten 2009 resolutions and you'll have a better 2009--or at least a more interesting one. Good luck, fellow babies!

A Merry Canine Christmas from the Epps and the S.D. Watch Family of Blogs!

2008-12-25T17:41:00.003-06:00

The S.D. Watch family of blogs and the Epps (and their dogs) wish you a Merry Canine Christmas!

My daughter Sarah brought her three dogs over to our house today and combined with our three. Mrs./Dr. South Dakota Watch was none too thrilled. But the dogs and humans all got along fine and no major incidents of the pee kind either.

Photo: Bruno the Boxer (Sarah's), Thunder the Schnauzer (Todd's), Matt Epp, Winston the Schnauzer (Todd's), Luco the Mutt (Sarah's), Max the Welsh Corgi (Sarah's), and Toto the Cairn Terrier (Todd's).

Tales of Christmas: Happy Birthday, Eva Belle!

2008-12-24T19:05:00.001-06:00

(The following is another in the series of Tales of Christmas from the South Dakota Watch family of blogs. Enjoy!)

This Tale of Christmas is a little different as it is also about a birthday--My mother, Eva Belle James Epp, was born on Christmas Eve, well, sometime ago. My mother is from the generation where women don't tell their age.

Let's just say my mom grew up in the Depression with eight other brothers and sisters. Her dad died when she was only ten. My Granny James raised a gaggle of kids on the Nebraska prairie near Tilden. And my mom was a Christmas present.

She's lived through a car accident that should have killed her and made her a parapalegic. She grew up poor and without a father for much of her childhood. But she overcame.

She also had some brushes with greatness, like Baseball Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn who was in her high school class in Tilden. And going to nearby Norfolk to see the great Big Bands of the World War II era and an up and coming wiseacre by the name of Johnny Carson.

I can't imagine having a birthday the day before Christmas and getting screwed over on presents all your life. But Belle has overcome far more than that and led a good life of hard work, raising a family, and being an upstanding person.

Happy birthday, Ma!

Love,

Todd

Things That Rock #2--Roll-on Aromatherapy

2008-12-17T16:26:00.001-06:00

You know what rocks? Lip balm-sized bottles of roll-on aromatherapy.

No, I'm not some mushy brained New Ager.

But you know what, smell is very powerful. Think of what smell triggers. Baking bread? Home. Sweaty sweatpants? High school gym class. Perfume? That certain special someone. I could go on.

I roll on some lavender under my nose before I go to sleep. Very soothing. And lights out, I'm sleeping.

Got a headache? Roll on a little peppermint. Stressed out? Dab on some eucalyptus.

When I was in China as a mere lad, I did try some traditional Chinese medicine. One of the things I loved was "Tiger Balm," which was basically camphor and eucalyptus. Slather some on your temples and whatever ailed you was gone. Ok, maybe not gone, but you felt better. And people kept a safe social distance.

Roll-on aroma therapy tubes ROCK!

Help the Brookings County Food Pantry

2008-12-16T08:50:00.001-06:00

I hope you will join me in sending a monetary donation or a food donation to the Brookings (SD) County Food Pantry.

They were featured Saturday in the Brookings Register. My old home town's food pantry is in need of help as the pantry is helping more people than usual during these tough times.

(Pantry manager Don) Kasak reported Friday that the downtown pantry has assisted 753 families so far this year that's 143 more than in all of 2007.

"We're feeding a thousand adults right now," Kasak said, "and we get eight to 10 people a day stopping for assistance."

To give a monetary donation, send your check to:

Brookings Co. Food Pantry
PO Box 972
Brookings, SD 57032

The pantry is located at the corner of Third Avenue and Fourth Street in Brookings if you want to drop off a check or a food donation.

If you don't want to donate to the Brookings food pantry, donate to the pantry or food bank that serves your community this holiday season.

Things That Rock: Adult Chewable Vitamins

2008-12-15T11:23:00.001-06:00

"Things That Rock" will be a semi-regular feature here. I'll briefly praise people, places, and things that I think, well, rock!

Things That Rock #1--Adult Chewable Vitamins.

Why should kids have all the fun? Swallowing pills is a pain. Have you ever tried to swallow those fish oil horse pills? I can chew a very lovely lemon fish oil vitamin and not gag.

Plus, I think they are quicker. Instead of pill, water, swallow, repeat, I throw the chewables in my mouth, enjoy the various flavors, and I'm done.

Adult chewable vitamins ROCK!

If You Meet the Buddha on the Road and He Is a Lawyer, Kill Him

2008-12-10T23:09:00.001-06:00

I may someday write a book on this topic of trying to be both a Buddhist and lawyer. For now, you get just a short take on the conundrum. Think of it as a koan.

As I try to be mindful and kind and gentle, I am also faced with the reality of being a trial lawyer. Sometimes, in depositions and at trial, I have to try and inflict pain--deliberately--on witnesses to try and get to the truth.

Believe me, the first arrow out of my quiver isn't to act like an asshole. I've found that you often get more with politeness than jerkiness.

But sometimes you just have to shove some verbal bamboo under the fingernails to get a lying sack of crap to tell the truth--or at least make a helpful admission.

Which, of course, isn't very Buddha-like.

Frankly, I consider this contradiction in my life more problematic than being a meat lover. I like Buddhism. I also like being a zealous advocate.

Navigating the two--finding the Middle Path--isn't always very easy.

If you meet Buddha on the road and he is a lawyer, should you kill him?

Any thoughts?

My Last Seven Hours as a Forty-Something

2008-12-07T17:03:00.002-06:00

I'm still in my forties--for another seven hours or so as I write this.

Being in your 40s sounds a lot younger than being in your 50s. Which it is by ten years. Duh.

Tomorrow, I turn 50. I qualify for AARP membership. Yipee! I also think I get the right to pull my pants up to my nipples and complain about the government. Oh, right, I already do that now.

In what seems like just a few days ago when I turned 30, I was pretty pissed off that day in 1988. I had felt like I had not accomplished much of what I had wanted to accomplish.

Twenty years later, I can probably still say the same thing but I'm not so very worked up about it. And, I also know I still have probably 15 to 20 years of working life left to accomplish some of what I want to accomplish, as long as my health and my wife's health holds up.

I guess one of the few benefits of age is perspective. I don't get as worked up about things--either good or bad things--as I did when I was younger.

On the other hand, I don't really feel that much older than when I was thirty. Sure, a few (ok, a lot) more pounds, a bad knee, and a little less hair, but frankly, I don't feel that I'm that much older. I think I can dig these young people today when I'm not yelling at them to get off my lawn.

Not that I was ever all that hip, I feel like I think like at least a youngish person who has finally gained a bit of sense. I like to try new things, new foods, new music, new technologies. I admit I'm a bit old school when it comes to things like personal responsibility and discipline, but that's not a bad thing.

John Cougar Mellencamp sang to "hang on to 16 as long as you can." I guess I'll hang on to 49 for just a little bit longer and then see what else life holds in store. Fifty just might be ok too.

Perpetual Motion Is Over-Rated

2008-12-03T23:14:00.003-06:00

I used to think that I had to be in constant motion.

Work, activities, groups, travel, home. Repeat.

I thought I was the Renaissance Man, the Tough Guy, the person who could do it all.

I can't. I won't. I'm not able.

I have a lot of different interests and passions in my life. But they really don't mean much if I feel stressed about meeting or missing a bunch of commitments. When I do relax, it's like I can't enjoy my relaxation or meditation or simply being with friends or family because always in the back of my mind there is the next thing I have to do or get ready for.

No more.

As the Buddha supposedly said, "How can one ever know anything if they are too busy thinking?" Or as Stephen Covey might put it, what are your priorities, not what's on your schedule?.

Much as I might try or you might try, we can't do it all. Ok, maybe a few super-humans out there can. But most of us can't. We're lucky to be able to do one or two things well.

I've finally concluded after a crazy day that perpetual motion is highly over-rated.

Call the Exterminator! No, Wait, It's Just Buddha

2008-12-01T21:04:00.001-06:00

A Buddhist temple in Rochester, MN says a wasp's nest looks like Buddha.

See and watch the story from WCCO-TV here.

Which reminds me of the old Buddhist canard: If you see the Buddha on the roof looking like a wasp's nest, kill him. Or at least have a can of bug repellent handy.

The Dalai Lama: No Sex Please, We're Buddhists

2008-11-30T10:39:00.003-06:00

I don't normally disagree with the Dalai Lama. He's a pretty smart fellow.

But I think I take exception with his recent pronouncement (below) on sex. Certainly, being too attached to sex is not healthy. But it is an important part of the human experience. And ol Buddha was nothing if not human, albeit a very enlightened one.

An excerpt from a recent news report:

LAGOS (AFP) –
The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual and temporal leader, on Friday said sex spelt fleeting satisfaction and trouble later, while chastity offered a better life
and "more freedom."
"Sexual pressure, sexual desire, actually I think is short period satisfaction and often,
that leads to more complication," the Dalai Lama told reporters in a Lagos hotel, speaking in English without a translator.
He said conjugal life caused "too much ups and downs.
"Naturally as a human being ... some kind of desire for sex comes, but then you use human intelligence to make comprehension that those couples always full of trouble. And in some cases there is suicide, murder cases," the Dalai Lama said.
He said the "consolation" in celibacy is that although "we miss something, but at the same time, compare whole life, it's better, more independence, more freedom."

I'm thinking maybe His Holiness needs a hot girlfriend or a loving wife or something. That might change his mind on the subject.

Remember, Mr. Lama, the whole "middle way" schtick? Not too much carnal pleasure and not too much asceticism either?

Video: At the Intersection of Buddhism and Zoning

2008-11-30T10:13:00.003-06:00

No good deed goes unpunished.

A Thai Buddhist temple in the Bay Area that feeds people on Sunday mornings has encountered some unhappy neighbors because of the traffic and noise.

WWBD--What Would Buddha Do?

Apparently, have a zoning and planning board meeting.

To watch the CBS 5 San Francisco report, click here.

Welcome to the Re-Launch of High Plains Buddhist!

2008-11-29T20:38:00.001-06:00

It's been three months since I've last updated this site. My humble apologies. Part of it has been the craziness of work and the just completed election cycle, which I was very involved in.

Another part has been a lack of anything to say.

But that's ok too. You need some time to reflect and process. But I hope to post regularly if for no other reason I find it a part of my Buddhist practice. In the process, I hope you learn somethings too.

You'll find that I've added excerpts from other Buddhist blogs. There are lot of great sites out there with differing perspectives. I hope you'll check out the feeds at right.

Also, I've added widgets that will have Buddhism photos, buddhism quotes, and so forth.

There's also a place at the bottom to sign up as a follower of this site.

Thanks for your past readership. I hope you'll enjoy High Plains Buddhist, version 2.0!

Van Halen as Buddhists? You Bet They Are "Right Now"!

2008-08-28T10:39:00.002-05:00

Van Halen's great rock anthem "Right Now" might also be one of the best Buddhist songs out there.

Who can beat these lyrics for stressing mindfulness and living in the moment?

(Right now) Hey! It's your tomorrow
(Right now) Come on, it's everything
(Right now) Catch that magic moment
And do it right, right now (Right now)
Oh, right now!

It's what's happening
Right here and now
Right now, it's right now
Oh!
Tell me, what are ya waitin' for?
Turn this thing around

Van Halen--Buddha's rockin' little helpers!

Technorati Tags: Van Halen, Right Now, Buddhism, Buddha, mindfulness

Correction, Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop Thinking about the Moment

2008-07-18T22:33:00.002-05:00

I love Fleetwood Mac.

Great songs, great lyrics, great musicians, great presence.

But perhaps the Christine McVie penned song, "Don't Stop," isn't exactly a page from Buddha:

Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterdays gone, yesterdays gone.

Not exactly a lesson of mindfully living in the moment. Sounds like a prescription for lots of "shenpa"--dis-ease.

Anyway, here's a Buddha-like rewrite:

Don't stop, thinking about the moment,
Don't stop, it's all we ever have.
It'll be better to be in the present,
Yesterday's gone, tomorrow's not here.

Ok, not as bouncy or as catchy but probably a little better prescription for mindful living.

Hillary Clinton Makes Anger Management Hard for This Buddhist

2008-05-27T20:26:00.004-05:00

Hillary Clinton's recent comments in Sioux Falls, SD about hanging around in case of assassination (of a certain other candidate who I support) made me blow a cog.

How she can continually say such mindless, er, unmindful things, (i.e., like being shot at in Bosnia when she wasn't) is beyond me.

It's enough to make a Buddhist grab for his Thich Nhat Hahn patented portable anger mirror just to make sure my face is not too red or too contorted after listening to such unthinking statements.

Boy, she makes me mad! Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Breathe, Grasshopper, Breathe.

Which Is More Important?

2008-05-01T09:39:00.001-05:00

Which is more important? Being or becoming? Seems to me that society puts too much emphasis on becoming, which can never be achieved versus being, which is something we can all be in the moment.

Talk amongst yourselves and discuss.

Who Is the Most Buddha-like Candidate--McCain, Clinton, or Obama?

2008-04-29T10:49:00.001-05:00

I'll be writing about the more extensively later, but which candidate is the most Buddha-like? Is it John McCain, Hillary Clinton, or Barack Obama?