tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035958209397763222024-03-05T06:16:16.737-08:00Snow BranchesPoetry and aimless musings of a Zen Buddhist layman, mostly about compassion.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-47955591436442345022016-10-31T17:05:00.000-07:002019-06-01T23:17:34.486-07:00What Matters Else but Kindness?<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
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I've been wrestling for months with a blog post that I finally decided not to finish.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It had the grandiose title <i>Oh God (or Whoever You Are)</i>, and was going to cover the waterfront, posing (but not answering) questions like, "How can an all-knowing, all-powerful and all-loving being permit terrible suffering everywhere in the world?"<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was going to take an intellectual dive into the realms of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheism" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">pantheism</a> (everything is God) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panentheism" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">panentheism</a> (God is in everything) - this from someone who has studiously not studied philosophy - and somehow end up at nonduality and perhaps even take a brief tour of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gateless_Gate" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">Gateless Gate</a> or a little dip into the meaning of meaning.<br />
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The goal was not to linger there too long (see, e.g. <i><a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2011/03/gazing-at-ox-solipsism-and-being.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">Gazing at the Ox - Solipsism: Trapped in Tozan's First Rank</a></i>) but to end up in the world of compassion.<br />
<strike><br /></strike><strike>Realizing</strike> Knowing all along that I was stupefyingly unqualified to pontificate about the foregoing, ditching the post was the only conceivable outcome.<br />
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So, now being without a blog post and still really wanting to say something about compassion, I'm just going to dust off this little poem and re-post it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhvUJVWFBS4dK9uLKICPIperaJONFGxRz4AIt6RcdBhVOdpc_f4kDACklfHDZZNZPF0jcaXxGudXukIxnzvvM8qOoln_5Faj08h3nhgTpCnJV7-salShAN1FF2MH_1LmvNGfBC87ioski/s1600/Ducks+Geese+and+Swans+copped+sharpened.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #6699cc; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhvUJVWFBS4dK9uLKICPIperaJONFGxRz4AIt6RcdBhVOdpc_f4kDACklfHDZZNZPF0jcaXxGudXukIxnzvvM8qOoln_5Faj08h3nhgTpCnJV7-salShAN1FF2MH_1LmvNGfBC87ioski/s400/Ducks+Geese+and+Swans+copped+sharpened.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="400" /></a><br />
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A field of swans and ducks and geese,<o:p></o:p></div>
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A twilight picnic meeting,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Together wade and feed in peace,<o:p></o:p></div>
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No thought of time as fleeting<o:p></o:p></div>
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How precious, life, how hard to know,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yet time I’m prone to squander,<o:p></o:p></div>
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My home is here and now, although<o:p></o:p></div>
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My mind is prone to wander<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s open up our guarded heart,<o:p></o:p></div>
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No matter if it’s breaking<o:p></o:p></div>
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And all we cherish falls apart,<o:p></o:p></div>
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We’re from a dream awaking<o:p></o:p></div>
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The lonely wave, it laughed aloud<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then wept with such emotion,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Cried, "Oh my God, I see it now -<o:p></o:p></div>
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I've always been the ocean!"<o:p></o:p></div>
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Compassion is a burning flame<o:p></o:p></div>
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That sears away our blindness,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Though we may never be the same,<o:p></o:p></div>
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What matters else but kindness?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-41542828640377119692015-06-27T09:15:00.000-07:002015-06-27T20:28:20.339-07:00On Formerly Hating Crows (and Other Murderers)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hate is a pretty strong word, but hate crows I did, for a long time, and so did my whole family.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Soon after <a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2011/08/going-first-class.html">arriving in Victoria from Scotland</a>, we were captivated by the goings on in our back yard. From an upstairs window, we watched in anticipation as a pair of robins built a nest in the apple tree below.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before long, the nest was complete, tiny blue eggs appeared, and instead of twigs, mum and dad robin brought home worms and insects for their hungry new brood. How we loved that little family!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Looking back, I think we identified with them because we were making a new home too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In less than a minute, right before or eyes, it ended. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The crows attacked, the robins screamed, we shouted and screamed and ran downstairs, but far too late. Nothing remained except one of the babies, dead on the ground. In that moment, crows became evil incarnate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I took up BB gunnery and would lay in wait in my sniper's nest in the window upstairs, having sworn vengeance upon any black bird that dared to darken our back yard. However, despite my worst intentions, I was a terrible shot and no crows were harmed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The robins never came back, and the empty nest remained a cruel reminder for several years until my dad replaced it with a tree house. (Although at the outset I said our whole family hated crows, I don't think my dad actually did. He <a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2012/05/buried-treasure-on-lyle-hill.html">was a very kind man</a> who rarely spoke ill of anyone.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our anger and hatred were unthinking reactions to the violence. Emotion over reason. I suppose, to put it in perspective, we might have considered that crow nestlings are also the victims of predators, few reaching adulthood because of raccoons, squirrels, foxes, hawks, owls, bullfrogs and rats.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We might even have considered the havoc wreaked on unsuspecting worm and insect families by the marauding robins.<o:p></o:p></div>
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More to the point, the crows ate the baby robins because they are crows, not because they chose to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Said a scorpion to a frog, “Please carry me over the river.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The frog replied, “I’m afraid you’ll sting me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“No, I won’t. If I stung you, we would both perish.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Well, OK then.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Halfway across the river:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Ouch! Why did you sting me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Because I’m a scorpion.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I sometimes think I have fully forgiven the crows. Although it feels true, it makes as much sense as forgiving the wind for blowing down a tree.<o:p></o:p><br>
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Forgiving humans. Well that's different, isn't it?</div>
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In the news reports that the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/us/boston-marathon-bombing-dzhokhar-tsarnaev.html">Boston Marathon Bomber had been sentenced to death</a> we also learned some of the victims had forgiven him.</div>
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Different, unimaginably difficult, but surely, necessary.<br>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corvus_hawaiiensis_in_grass.jpg">public domain</a></span> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-40895475684406268702015-06-23T09:40:00.000-07:002015-06-29T11:03:46.232-07:00The Good Oil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In a supermarket buying some plain soy milk for my daily banana / blueberry / cinnamon / oat bran / wheat bran / wheat germ / hemp seed / flax seed smoothie, I went through my usual ritual. Propping the cooler door open, I practically unloaded the whole shelf to get at the cartons at the very back with the latest 'best before' dates.</div>
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When I got home, I realized I had been so wrapped up in getting the freshest cartons that I had bought <i>sweetened </i>soy milk. Bleagh.</div>
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In the midst of berating myself for being such an oblivious dolt, I realized there was a second dynamic: I felt like a heel for needlessly seeking out the best for me, leaving the older cartons to go to someone else or even be thrown out... and for taking so long to realize I was doing it. </div>
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Then I remembered I had already figured this out years ago but had obviously forgotten the lesson. I had borrowed a car for a week or so from a friend. Before returning it, I went to top up the oil. I had a jug of cheap stuff and a small container of expensive oil. Naturally, I reached for the jug since he would never know the difference and I could save the good oil for myself.</div>
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Then, as now, a little nagging voice asked me what was so special about me that I should have the best. The good oil ended up in my friend's car.</div>
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When I exchanged the sweetened soy milk for plain, I confess I took a little pleasure in choosing the oldest cartons on the shelf.</div>
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I feel a bit awkward talking about 'good' deeds performed. Is this just ego not wanting to appear to be seeking praise? *sigh*</div>
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<i>All the suffering there is in this world arises from wishing our self to be happy. All the happiness there is in this world arises from wishing others to be happy.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i> -Shantideva (from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattvacary%C4%81vat%C4%81ra">Bodhisattvacharyavatara</a>)</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Photo credit: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-align: start;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Knipptang">Arne Hückelheim</a></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-12313603749647661442015-03-31T04:31:00.000-07:002015-03-31T15:44:01.141-07:00Straying In One Place<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjX1Fo0zxt_VYg1mKFhe2VKgdOhstRZ-iiCXsAoUwY8oXrz9uF7L8QWsfZDzOcI2vGEmibzpmD9HTXEslaCUPPkLTitNTgvXKUt2hkCKGp7mja5LP1JRoYB-UOZjk5cbqz_VsLec7ao0u/s1600/sailing+enthusiast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjX1Fo0zxt_VYg1mKFhe2VKgdOhstRZ-iiCXsAoUwY8oXrz9uF7L8QWsfZDzOcI2vGEmibzpmD9HTXEslaCUPPkLTitNTgvXKUt2hkCKGp7mja5LP1JRoYB-UOZjk5cbqz_VsLec7ao0u/s1600/sailing+enthusiast.jpg" height="640" width="477" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Urban Monk Cunningly Disguised as Yachting Enthusiast</td></tr>
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There is a patch of water near Cadboro Bay in Victoria where the tide is particularly strong. Small sailboats race there, and when the wind abates somewhat, it's not uncommon to see them with their sails filled but drifting backwards. Since their direction is the nearby U.S. coastal waters, a rather overused quip from fellow sailors is, "Have you got your American money?"<br />
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For the last several months my forward progress has felt like moonwalking - effortlessly striding ... backwards. And the common perception that time seems to accelerate as we age doesn't help matters. I walk into Monday full of hope and ideas and things to achieve, then rest for a moment, have a little nap, and it's Monday again.<br />
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One of the things that seems to have been drifting just beyond my reach is connecting with the sangha.<br />
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For the longest time, I have been meaning to drag my butt to the <a href="http://zen.ca/">Zen Centre</a> and plant it on a zafu, but the weeks have turned into months and I haven't gotten any closer.<br />
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Another place I wanted to spend more time is the blogosphere, reading and writing, but haven't done much of that either.</div>
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The paradox here is that a big part of the solution to the problem is to simply overcome the problem. What I mean is that interacting with sangha - cyber or otherwise - is a strong motivator to engage in practice, in this case communal sitting in zazen and reading and writing blog posts about practice - i.e. interacting with sangha.</div>
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So as we used to say in the hippie days, "nothing to it but to do it." I could go on about this, but I think today is more about action than verbiage. So I'll click the 'publish' button, go sit with the Twitterverse, read some blogs, and trek on over to the zendo.<br />
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Hope to see you soon.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-23167130411066143322014-12-31T00:53:00.000-08:002014-12-31T01:36:52.150-08:00The Other Holocaust<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Reading <i>Bearing
Witness: A Zen Master's Lessons in Making Peace</i> by <a href="http://zenpeacemakers.org/bernie-glassman/">Bernie Glassman Roshi</a> and
Eve Marko was an eye-opening introduction to Socially Engaged Buddhism, in
particular, the Zen Peacemakers' annual (currently 19th) <a href="http://zenpeacemakers.org/events/bearing-witness-retreat-at-auschwitzbirkenau/">retreat</a>
to the old site of the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The Zen Peacemakers'
Three Tenets are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Not-Knowing</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">, by giving up fixed ideas about ourselves and the universe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Bearing Witness</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> to the joy and suffering of the world<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Taking Action</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> that arises from Not-Knowing and Bearing Witness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Glassman expands on the
third tenet:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">When we bear witness, when we become the
situation — homelessness, poverty, illness, violence, death — the right action
arises by itself. We don’t have to worry about what to do. We don’t have to
figure out solutions ahead of time. Peacemaking is the functioning of bearing
witness. Once we listen with our entire body and mind, loving action arises.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Loving action is right action. It’s as simple as
giving a hand to someone who stumbles or picking up a child who has fallen on
the floor. We take such direct, natural actions every day of our lives without
considering them special. And they’re not special. Each is simply the best
possible response to that situation in that moment.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">With the greatest
possible respect and deference to the victims of the Nazi holocaust, their
families and loved ones, my heart will burst if I don’t bear witness to another
holocaust that is taking place under our noses. In the spirit of Not Knowing, I
won’t say another word about it </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 8pt;">this
year</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> except to share these
ten pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-55699613942194247852014-12-24T13:52:00.000-08:002014-12-24T13:52:44.926-08:00An English Teacher's Gift to a Stranger in a Strange Land<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4j9DyeUu2DNiLQvm3Ta8gErWwKoPhGKeJD2oy67m4cEQzhoEv8Y5ancp2HM_rMWe-r1WxCILR_BH80z6PUA1jdP9owN0Wyv2FGZLcVJZ09DCDS7SGpP9CILxAKDDUBJU5kCVULGayTjx/s1600/Grade12+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4j9DyeUu2DNiLQvm3Ta8gErWwKoPhGKeJD2oy67m4cEQzhoEv8Y5ancp2HM_rMWe-r1WxCILR_BH80z6PUA1jdP9owN0Wyv2FGZLcVJZ09DCDS7SGpP9CILxAKDDUBJU5kCVULGayTjx/s1600/Grade12+photo.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></div>
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I wrote <a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2013/05/childhoods-end.html">elsewhere</a> that part of me (my thinking mind) feels like it's still seventeen. </div>
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Comparing my profile picture to the high school yearbook photo above will confirm that the rest of me definitely is not.</div>
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A couple of years before the photo was taken, a very dear English teacher (Mr. W. L. Hardie) made a lasting impression on me. His presentation of Emerson's essay <i><a href="http://www.emersoncentral.com/selfreliance.htm">Self-Reliance</a></i> was a gift that 50 years later, I still remember fondly.</div>
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The tenet is simple: don't be afraid to be yourself. Since we are each unique, it also means have the courage to be different.</div>
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To an often painfully shy introvert, those words were music. I took the advice to heart - perhaps, I hasten to admit, a tad to the extreme. If you look closely, you may detect some subtle differences from my classmates below (hint: check the hair length, sideburns, glasses, shirt and tie colour)...</div>
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Many years later, noticing my tendency to be timid and overly self-effacing, the <a href="http://www.zen.ca/teacher/">abbot of our zen centre</a> offered some kindly advice that can be reduced to one word. Manifest!!</div>
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Or, in the language of the Heart Sutra, less emptiness, more form.</div>
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As we act out our lives and our practice ripens, no doubt maintaining a skilful balance between nonduality and differentiation becomes more natural and effortless. However, a concept that came of age, like me, in the hippie era was that ego is to be avoided and even, to be ashamed of. Consequently, a well-aimed self-administered kick in the pants is occasionally needed to get me 'out there'.</div>
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And what a strange world 'out there' can be.</div>
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The flip side of being aware of our individuality is noticing the wonderful, the weird and the heartbreaking. Interwoven with wordless beauty and breathtaking kindness are idiotic thoughtlessness, meaningless self-absorption and unspeakable cruelty, all of which, through encouragement, great sorrow, some despair, and yes, anger, kindle our compassion, fuel our resolve and launch us into action.</div>
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I admit that when the 'stranger in a strange land' feeling comes upon me, I have a tendency to disassociate myself from the perceived evils of the world, to set myself above them and to cling to an idealistic construct of myself. Before too long, hopefully, I also realize that these are warning signs that I'm allowing <a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2012/01/unification-anxiety-and-nonduality.html">unification anxiety</a> to creep into my life and that it's time to dive back into practice.</div>
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We can be strangers in a strange land, as long as we keep our hearts wide open and remember that everyone else is a stranger in this strange land too.</div>
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May we make the other strangers feel at home.</div>
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May we love the ones we're with.</div>
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Well, the last bit is true....</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-42551713222181587712014-10-18T17:50:00.000-07:002014-10-19T00:56:18.823-07:00Musing over the Rainbow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCkWQg6kSBREYcUgdfx7TkhIMkAvwIL4S1S0u1583op-ibe01OgB7-yTQkthnIjlBZJ4FhygtXNeF0pvtwTJP7yuzxzYGjiwQK5-XJOL0i2oGOqDF8LASjYwq4ATT3Sw6iVBzODuDY_j0/s1600/Double_Rainbow_with_Niagara_Falls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCkWQg6kSBREYcUgdfx7TkhIMkAvwIL4S1S0u1583op-ibe01OgB7-yTQkthnIjlBZJ4FhygtXNeF0pvtwTJP7yuzxzYGjiwQK5-XJOL0i2oGOqDF8LASjYwq4ATT3Sw6iVBzODuDY_j0/s1600/Double_Rainbow_with_Niagara_Falls.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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As the loyal companion of two rescued springer spaniels (see <a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2012/01/rescue-of-dallas-and-austin.html">The Rescue of Dallas and Austin</a>), I joined the English Springer Spaniel Lovers Facebook group.<br />
<br />
Springers are 99% heart. Dallas is about as smart as a bag of hammers, but I've never known a dog with more heart.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
As you might expect, members of the group tend to post from the heart too. Most of the stories are heartwarming accounts of devotion and loyalty and just plain cuteness.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But as you might also expect, there are heartbreaking stories of the brown and white faithful companions arriving at the end of their all too short lives. This, I learned, is called going to the Rainbow Bridge.<br />
<br />
Lately, several Pride parades got me thinking about the rainbow symbol.<br />
<br />
The oldest is probably as the symbol of hope for the future.<br />
<br />
Noah said it was God's way of saying that He was done with His ethnic cleansing rampage.<br />
<br />
Personally, I wouldn't take much comfort in that, coming from a being who had just massacred 99.99% of the women and men on earth and their children. Not to mention what must be the worst example of collateral damage ever - especially coming from an omniscient omnipotent being - killing all but two members of every innocent animal species on the planet.<br />
<br />
Oops - ranting. Perhaps another time...<br />
<br />
The rainbow symbol that gives me the most hope is as the celebration of diversity.<br />
<br />
You know how some people just can't seem to tell you about someone else without being compelled to also mention the person's race, religion, sexual orientation and body morphology? I remember getting particularly fed up with racial stereotyping one day and saying, "Won't it be nice when all the races have completely interbred and we all look the same?"<br />
<br />
After a little reflection, however, I realized that what would be much nicer will be to live in a world where our hearts have opened and prejudice no longer abides, where, with innocent, affectionate curiosity, we can approach strangers and ask them about their racial origins and no offence will be intended and none will be taken.<br />
<br />
Here's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Cassidy">Eva Cassidy</a>. Sadly, cancer took her to the Rainbow Bridge early, but the songs she left behind have gladdened many hearts.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AGaVQN-en2A" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo credit: <a href="http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/user:Captain76">Captain76</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow#mediaviewer/File:Double_Rainbow_with_Niagara_Falls.jpg">CreativeCommons</a>.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-66079825968184483352014-09-05T16:21:00.000-07:002014-09-05T16:21:04.848-07:00Down Judgment Road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnhaWvym8qVLOhm7d6CbW9O5qqhMAkmR7MSUsKDeaa-gbZhq43Q08vHe532wEy41LY9E1N1BXoCIZbbQ1FRG1jpBA3-UUVrbVgNHx69RINmmHGsU1IhCfE8mdF07CGzMo491vJUJ2VW_G/s1600/ICJ-CJI_hearing_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnhaWvym8qVLOhm7d6CbW9O5qqhMAkmR7MSUsKDeaa-gbZhq43Q08vHe532wEy41LY9E1N1BXoCIZbbQ1FRG1jpBA3-UUVrbVgNHx69RINmmHGsU1IhCfE8mdF07CGzMo491vJUJ2VW_G/s1600/ICJ-CJI_hearing_1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'm becoming a grumpy old man.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At least, the warning signs are there. A new addition to my
watch list of troubling tendencies – joining old friends procrastination,
avoidance, timidity, gluttony (a.k.a. Sweet Tooth) and sloth.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Because I propounded the old adage, “If it’s worth doing,
it’s worth overdoing,” I had my last cigarette and drink 26 and 16 years ago,
respectively.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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However, being judgmental is one of those awkward
necessities – along with procrastination, avoidance, timidity, gluttony and
sloth - that you can’t quite drop cold turkey if you tend to overindulge.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I mean, some things just have to be put off or avoided,
caution is often called for, and without eating or sleeping, we wither and die.
And judging is a necessary part of rational thought.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So it comes down to practice: our efforts to give energy and
direction to our everyday lives to do the ‘right’ thing – as in the
right speech, right livelihood, right concentration, etc. of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Eightfold_Path">eightfold path</a>,
making our way through the currents of cause and effect in the ocean of form
and emptiness, otherwise known as our ordinary lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Zen master Yunmen was once asked, “What is the teaching of
the Buddha’s entire lifetime?” Yunmen answered, “An appropriate response.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.zen.ca/teacher/">Eshin Godfrey</a> likened
our moment to moment efforts to stay on course to sailing a small boat.
Responding to the movements of the wind and tides and waves and currents,
adjusting our weight, the pressure on the tiller and the tension in the sails.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Of the possible responses to the specific annoyance of intrusive unhelpful
judgmental thoughts, making sure my mouth remains shut is a big one. Refraining
from scowling is also big, as is refraining from rolling my eyes (unless it's
at my ridiculous penchant for judging...).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Then there is the standard repertoire for dealing with unbidden thoughts in
general - acknowledging them, evaluating their immediate usefulness (yes,
judging them!), and for the most part, letting them go their merry way without
following them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But many (of my) judgmental thoughts tend to be unkind, and
these call for more extreme measures, namely a concentrated blast of kind
thoughts at the judgee.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
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Here's Pema:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkj_vxfr_hnO0Fc3wSIQ43PvaS4IVFedVl3awISgVeNNJQFNLbcyfFfNjuOGb1QQZiYakZh6Il922_1xKxgX-_Ra_U6L7wHeRNoadZxZ3bnALfMsr4YqCWL_y8aez09MefHfZFNhZECfOx/s1600/Pema.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkj_vxfr_hnO0Fc3wSIQ43PvaS4IVFedVl3awISgVeNNJQFNLbcyfFfNjuOGb1QQZiYakZh6Il922_1xKxgX-_Ra_U6L7wHeRNoadZxZ3bnALfMsr4YqCWL_y8aez09MefHfZFNhZECfOx/s1600/Pema.png" height="301" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span><br />
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<i>The
next time you go out in the world, you might try this practice: directing your
attention to people—in their cars, on the sidewalk, talking on their cell
phones—just wish for them all to be happy and well. Without knowing anything
about them, they can become very real, by regarding each of them personally and
rejoicing in the comforts and pleasures that come their way. Each of us has
this soft spot: a capacity for love and tenderness. But if we don’t encourage
it, we can get pretty stubborn about remaining sour.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
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Here are some related posts:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2011/12/you-must-forgive-them-all.html">You
Must Forgive Them All</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2012/03/lifeless-or-just-leafless.html">Lifeless
or Just Leafless?</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2012/09/too-bad-for-you-buddy.html">Too
Bad for You, Buddy!</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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And here's Sarah:<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1lV33Na_N7Q" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ICJ-CJI_hearing_1.jpg">Top Photo Credit</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-22792007595774096942014-05-30T22:55:00.000-07:002014-05-31T07:44:40.852-07:00Profoundly Ordinary (and other Zen Oxymorons)<div dir="ltr">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKKggywwBmdDkPo3kvwarSLlRLUAB2eaFIpu3gImuuNqdDE1LVhvpF1CfZ-jlcQ61m0PhnkZ0ICs5gP6I-T68hZGeBYxnswExBSgqYIv338eU2d1sKKvNw-xgaaQxFBI9E6E478uacISS/s640/Abbotsford%2525202011-05-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKKggywwBmdDkPo3kvwarSLlRLUAB2eaFIpu3gImuuNqdDE1LVhvpF1CfZ-jlcQ61m0PhnkZ0ICs5gP6I-T68hZGeBYxnswExBSgqYIv338eU2d1sKKvNw-xgaaQxFBI9E6E478uacISS/s640/Abbotsford%2525202011-05-17.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></a></div>
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Insight into the great matter, sometimes reverently called
the <a href="http://buddhism.about.com/b/2012/11/17/the-great-matter-of-birth-and-death.htm">The
Great Matter of Birth and Death</a>, has likely been pursued for millennia,
ever since humans became self-aware.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Enlightenment, satori, kensho, seeing into one's own nature,
self-realization, illumination, awakening, seeing one's original face,
epiphany, reaching God-consciousness, or, as Robert Aitken Roshi put it,
noticing something important.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirTEKxd-uwp2rafKXHrclVcyOHWbC8boNxicxZVZjM4tucMlZJDQfYAB_dOieWLS_Rp_Vc9QCkw_jsC5GRjBeheh6J7bTXc0amE8Z22AUwWpPCQXHWyjWJLSs-4KOVUfT_Faaxuz-M0jsK/s1600/Flammarion+colour+reduced.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirTEKxd-uwp2rafKXHrclVcyOHWbC8boNxicxZVZjM4tucMlZJDQfYAB_dOieWLS_Rp_Vc9QCkw_jsC5GRjBeheh6J7bTXc0amE8Z22AUwWpPCQXHWyjWJLSs-4KOVUfT_Faaxuz-M0jsK/s1600/Flammarion+colour+reduced.jpg" height="310" width="400" /></a></div>
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It can be a gradual shift in perception spanning decades or
a sudden realization as quick as the opening of an eye. It can follow years of
diligent meditation / zazen / mindfulness, or it can happen for no apparent reason
at all.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Although much sought after, it is not infrequently, I
suspect, the elephant in the room. After all, “Whoever knows does not speak;
whoever speaks does not know.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Which means whoever spoke those words (Lao Tsu) obviously
didn’t know (?)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Which means the statement might be false. Which means … hmmm
… entering a place where words fall apart.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On March 15, 1958 In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and
Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton">Thomas Merton</a> was
suddenly overwhelmed with a realization “like waking from a dream of
separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world, the world of
renunciation and supposed holiness. The whole illusion of a separate holy
existence is a dream.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Over at <i><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/">Monkey Mind</a></i> in his post <i><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/2013/06/a-bit-of-what-kensho-is-and-a-bit-more-of-what-it-isnt.html">A
Bit of What Kensho is and A Bit More of What it Isn’t</a></i>, James Ford Roshi
wrote, “…what we get is a discovery of our ordinariness. And, like for Father
Merton, finding our deepest connection.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bodhidharma’s answer in the first koan of the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Cliff_Record">Blue Cliff Record</a></i> to the emperor’s question, “What is the first principle of the holy teaching?”
was, “Vast emptiness, nothing holy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The oxymoron ‘profound ordinariness’ might have been used by
St. Augustine. (I’m flitting about here, fearful that this piece may descend
into rational analysis in a place where rational analysis has no business
being.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>His
particular usage of oxymoron, found in the prayer to God, is as follows:
"(You are) deeply hidden yet most intimately present, ... immutable and
yet changing all things, ... always active, always in repose, ... you love
without burning, ... you are wrathful and remain tranquil. You will change
without any change in your design” (Conf., 1,4,4) …<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>Augustine
uses the oxymoron for glorifying God. The phrase "(You) deeply hidden yet
most intimately present" contains contradictory and incompatible words.
Yet it is with these contradictory words that he was able to express God. God
is absolutely ineffable. Nevertheless, "if that is ineffable which cannot
be spoken, then that is not ineffable which can be called ineffable."
(Doct.Christ., 1,6,6)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Hikasa Katsushi – <a href="http://www.bigakukai.jp/aesthetics_online/aesthetics_13/text/text13_hikasa.pdf"><i>Augustine
on the Aesthetics of Ambivalence</i></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Speaking about shift in perception, here is an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostereogram">autostereogram</a> (remember
them?) The slightest change in view brings alive a vivid three-dimensional
image from a bunch of coloured dots.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCT034Z_yK1wgRVjl3kBd6AgfJ8ow_rAuOCsiy8nnHrwRhLkJBFTxSqbeoJ4fgtCh0PPoroz3HtjFRzj72jmXnYoOOAU1oSBIqZjfmUZZBvOXmWc1zhiesoQ8q8CvpHTjbXQIy8NlK1VE/s1600/Stereogram_Tut_Random_Dot_Shark.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCT034Z_yK1wgRVjl3kBd6AgfJ8ow_rAuOCsiy8nnHrwRhLkJBFTxSqbeoJ4fgtCh0PPoroz3HtjFRzj72jmXnYoOOAU1oSBIqZjfmUZZBvOXmWc1zhiesoQ8q8CvpHTjbXQIy8NlK1VE/s1600/Stereogram_Tut_Random_Dot_Shark.png" height="200" width="400" /></a> </div>
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<br /></div>
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Hint: enlarge the image and experiment gazing at it
slightly cross-eyed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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[Spoiler alert: It’s the image of a shark, cut <i>into</i>, not
standing out from, the flat surface.]<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Perhaps here might be a good place to mention, for those
interested but who haven’t read it yet, <i><a href="http://www.wisdompubs.org/book/book-mu">The Book of Mu – Essential
Writings on Zen’s Most Important Koan</a></i> by James Ford Roshi and Melissa
Myozen Blacker – a collection of over 40 wonderful essays, each pointing at the
moon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And finally, another grateful nod to James for introducing
me to Peter Mayer’s <i>Holy Now</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KiypaURysz4" width="420"></iframe></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLR2vVOV_uTo5a7IwpZ9b32PRYhQRq74ILKy7fSq1Tq6wJCdas5JQNnT20jI5ADnrqqRonV0AzhrEfyc2TkBOaKJSTHs0pqyByBVEI8BbNL8aw4xHw1GKFDjvWSrQ0emJ2ghScCd4B4vE/s1600/Tea+party+with+pets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLR2vVOV_uTo5a7IwpZ9b32PRYhQRq74ILKy7fSq1Tq6wJCdas5JQNnT20jI5ADnrqqRonV0AzhrEfyc2TkBOaKJSTHs0pqyByBVEI8BbNL8aw4xHw1GKFDjvWSrQ0emJ2ghScCd4B4vE/s1600/Tea+party+with+pets.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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“It's not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world.</div>
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It's our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.”</div>
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― L.R. Knost<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #898f9c; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><a href="http://www.littleheartsbooks.com/2013/02/20/two-thousand-kisses-a-day-gentle-parenting-through-the-ages-and-stages/"><span style="font-size: small;">Two Thousand Kisses a Day: Gentle Parenting Through the Ages and Stages</span></a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A big part of my job is persuading people: judges to grant what I’m asking for, opposing lawyers to be reasonable, clients to get real. It spills over into daily life as I bend the ears of friends, family, colleagues and strangers, trying to sell my particular brand of The Right Way to eat, live and think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">All for a good cause, of course, to end the suffering of all beings, everywhere. Probably a smiley face should go here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Human evolution. L</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">eaving be</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">hind cannibalism, slavery, racism, sexism, homophobia, war, the death penalty, exploiting animals. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">We can give it a push, or at least, get out of the way. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It dawned on me that I've spent quite a lot of energy trying to change opinions that were formed back when I used a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule">slide rule</a>.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> Pushing molasses uphill comes to mind.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I can relate to the inertia, as I suffer from the same opposition to change - clinging vainly to a version of the English language that's crumbling before my eyes, and I feel as helpless as my forebears who watched in dismay as “you” relentlessly replaced “thou” and “thee”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It further dawned on me that evolution won’t come by changing the tightly held views of old people, but by encouraging the amazing hearts and minds of those who have never seen a slide rule, an eight track tape or a brick phone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I went looking for statistics about the views of different age groups and found these:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.statisticbrain.com/vegetarian-statistics/">Statistcbrain</a> (2013): </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Age demographics of the the 8.3 million vegetarians/vegans in the USA</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">42.0% 18-29</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">40.7% 35-54</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">17.4% 55+</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2014/03/28/shrinking-majority-of-americans-support-death-penalty/">Pew Research Center</a> (2013):</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Americans opposing the death penalty</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">43% 18-29</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">38% 30-49</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">33% 50+</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/159089/religion-major-factor-americans-opposed-sex-marriage.aspx">Gallup</a> (2012):</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Americans who believe same sex marriage should be valid</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">73% 18-29</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">49% 30-49</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">51% 50-64</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">39% 65+</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Taking the cynical view, it could be argued the statistics mean our liberal ideas become more conservative with age, but I don't buy that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">If we encourage our children and if we seek out and nurture the child in us, I believe the human race will evolve beyond our wildest imaginings.</span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-91120884467509694112014-04-11T22:13:00.000-07:002014-04-12T02:23:47.408-07:00A Field of Swans and Ducks and Geese<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhvUJVWFBS4dK9uLKICPIperaJONFGxRz4AIt6RcdBhVOdpc_f4kDACklfHDZZNZPF0jcaXxGudXukIxnzvvM8qOoln_5Faj08h3nhgTpCnJV7-salShAN1FF2MH_1LmvNGfBC87ioski/s1600/Ducks+Geese+and+Swans+copped+sharpened.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhvUJVWFBS4dK9uLKICPIperaJONFGxRz4AIt6RcdBhVOdpc_f4kDACklfHDZZNZPF0jcaXxGudXukIxnzvvM8qOoln_5Faj08h3nhgTpCnJV7-salShAN1FF2MH_1LmvNGfBC87ioski/s1600/Ducks+Geese+and+Swans+copped+sharpened.jpg" height="212" width="400" /></a></div>
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A field of swans and ducks and geese,<br />
A twilight picnic meeting,<br />
Together wade and feed in peace,<br />
No thought of time as fleeting<br />
<br />
How precious, life, how hard to know,<br />
Yet time I’m prone to squander,<br />
My home is here and now, although<br />
My mind is prone to wander<br />
<br />
Let’s open up our guarded heart,<br />
No matter if it’s breaking<br />
And all we cherish falls apart,<br />
We’re from a dream awaking<br />
<br />
The lonely wave, it laughed aloud<br />
Then wept with such emotion,<br />
Cried, "Oh my God, I see it now -<br />
I've always been the ocean!"<br />
<br />
Compassion is a burning flame<br />
That sears away our blindness,<br />
Though we may never be the same,<br />
What matters else but kindness?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-70216228206203097302014-03-01T22:42:00.000-08:002016-07-14T15:38:13.165-07:00The Sinclair Effect<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRvV61DKhpU-ZGgpt6cE99H4DKEoDsMjeP6yfvtS9HIBqwJLBO2PuxJeeSto-YM7h9Q7YaPVwNckfA0Cd7DSX2xu1HMQuQ2NpaomP2E-peh8AZGGy6YZ4KTvv7P_-iD_DQMsGTmDvn0vm/s1600/Slaughtered+Cows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRvV61DKhpU-ZGgpt6cE99H4DKEoDsMjeP6yfvtS9HIBqwJLBO2PuxJeeSto-YM7h9Q7YaPVwNckfA0Cd7DSX2xu1HMQuQ2NpaomP2E-peh8AZGGy6YZ4KTvv7P_-iD_DQMsGTmDvn0vm/s400/Slaughtered+Cows.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>I think how we treat our
animals reflects how we treat each other.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>- </i>Barack Obama<o:p></o:p></div>
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In fact,
how we treat our animals<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>affects</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>how we treat each other.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>At the turn of the 20th
century, Upton Sinclair exposed the devastating work conditions and living
environments of those who toiled in Chicago’s stockyard slaughterhouses. In </i>The Jungle<i> he made a connection between the numerous
after-work fights instigated by slaughterhouse workers and the killing and
dismembering of animals all day at work.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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This is from the introduction to <i><a href="http://www.animalstudies.msu.edu/Slaughterhouses_and_Increased_Crime_Rates.pdf">Slaughterhouses
and Increased Crime Rates – An Empirical Analysis of the Spillover From “The
Jungle” Into the Surrounding Community</a></i> by Amy J. Fitzgerald from the University
of Windsor and Linda Kalof and Thomas Dietz from Michigan State University (<i>Organization & Environment</i>, 2009 v.
20).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Their
study concludes,<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The findings indicate that slaughterhouse employment
increases total arrest rates, arrests for violent crimes, arrests for rape, and
arrests for other sex offenses in comparison with other industries. This
suggests the existence of a Sinclair effect unique to the violent workplace of
the slaughterhouse, a factor that has not previously been examined in the
sociology of violence.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Albert
Einstein had a suggestion:<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>A human being is a part of
the whole, called by us 'Universe,' a part limited in time and space. He
experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the
rest. A kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind
of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a
few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the
whole of nature in its beauty</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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and<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>If a man aspires towards a
righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Others
have written in a similar vein.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>We can judge the heart of a
man by his treatment of animals.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>- </i>Immanuel Kant<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The greatness of a nation
and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.</i><span class="apple-converted-space"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space">- </span>Gandhi<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Until he extends the circle
of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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- Albert Schweitzer<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>As long as people will shed
the blood of innocent creatures there can be no peace, no liberty, no harmony
between people. Slaughter and justice cannot dwell together.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>- </i>Isaac Bashevis Singer<o:p></o:p></div>
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But
slaughter and beauty do dwell together, among us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>I expect
to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any
kindness or abilities that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now.
Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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- William
Penn<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-10885551718132163552014-02-07T16:10:00.000-08:002014-02-09T11:16:45.497-08:00Contagion - or, When You're Smiling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have to admit that when I worked for a couple of years as a microbiologist not too long ago (<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2011/11/car-16-reminiscence.html">Car 16 - a Reminiscence</a>), I thought it was really cool to be in a place that had creepy biohazard symbols posted on the doors and refrigerators. We worked with some fairly nasty critters living in test tubes and petri dishes that, if they made it from the lab into the coffee room, could turn the latter into Ground Zero of our very own epidemic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On the subject of spreading, I was pleasantly surprised to read these words and then learn who wrote them:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Goodness always tends to spread. Every authentic experience of truth and goodness seeks by its very nature to grow within us, and any person who has experienced a profound liberation becomes more sensitive to the needs of others. As it expands, goodness takes root and develops. If we wish to lead a dignified and fulfilling life, we have to reach out to others and seek their good.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>…<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>This is always a slow process and we can be overly fearful. But if we allow doubts and fears to dampen our courage, instead of being creative we will remain comfortable and make no progress whatsoever. In this case we will not take an active part in historical processes, but become mere onlookers as the Church [or the world, or society, or the individual] gradually stagnates.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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- Pope Francis (<a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium_en.html#THE_DELIGHTFUL_AND_COMFORTING_JOY_OF_EVANGELIZING">Evangelii Gaudium</a> Nov. 24, 2013)<o:p></o:p></div>
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I think this applies to each of our own efforts to influence the spread of compassion, whether in general, or in specific undertakings like promoting gender equality and animal liberation, or working to eliminate the death penalty and war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We sometimes wonder, <a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2011/06/acts-of-kindness-does-size-matter.html">in acts of kindness, does size matter?</a> Just sharing a smile, or, like Mother Teresa, living a tireless life deeply dedicated to relieving suffering. I think if we act with our whole heart when an opportunity to be kind presents itself, perhaps the question doesn't matter. (By the way, Mother Teresa said, “I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much.”)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Little things can add up to a lot. Tipping points are reached when small things reach a critical mass. Videos of random acts of kindness can go viral.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MGEiA80ZL08" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
A life full of kindness of any kind is a full life.<br />
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SPaz5pfZIF4" width="560"></iframe></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvTv9Rv4KNmShGhalbwO2r2C5Qgr0nEY6clyApFydEOM62Tu1T-YgFZOqzCeVPigVSkX7XyJJvMqcMc0va41zG_xwhR2eUtMNRa1RHjTiA2UAjUP94wtcJTOFq-KcY4XgNGrh8oDNTG4H/s1600/At+the+Lab+20100810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvTv9Rv4KNmShGhalbwO2r2C5Qgr0nEY6clyApFydEOM62Tu1T-YgFZOqzCeVPigVSkX7XyJJvMqcMc0va41zG_xwhR2eUtMNRa1RHjTiA2UAjUP94wtcJTOFq-KcY4XgNGrh8oDNTG4H/s400/At+the+Lab+20100810.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little tubbier then, with elbow in the <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-35048465496864784002014-01-11T14:56:00.000-08:002014-01-11T18:24:45.168-08:00The Doorstep Cross-Examination<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULXyjtZYN1UTLr8FPdP1EhALx8Hd_m0nRtOMTQ3mAY-vJJwbuHVdsiJQkCGiMzjaepXhARr_slCWPtEl5h3oAMFwu26S7xjK2e_Hzh-LyWDwU8na9J75cyUr_kkUuX5vX_wsi1hSiTaM9/s1600/Jesus+knocking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULXyjtZYN1UTLr8FPdP1EhALx8Hd_m0nRtOMTQ3mAY-vJJwbuHVdsiJQkCGiMzjaepXhARr_slCWPtEl5h3oAMFwu26S7xjK2e_Hzh-LyWDwU8na9J75cyUr_kkUuX5vX_wsi1hSiTaM9/s1600/Jesus+knocking.jpg" height="400" width="385" /></a></div>
<br />
I've been told by a certain household member that having a discussion with me is like being cross-examined on the witness stand. While I don't entirely agree, I have been known to take a rather direct approach to piercing bafflegab.<br />
<br />
One of the most baffling varieties is literal adherence to the words of a religious text, whether it's the Bible or the Buddhist canon.<br />
<br />
Although I usually just bite my tongue, nod and smile pleasantly (assuming I've been trapped and didn't have a chance to escape first), occasionally a demon possesses me to jump in with both feet.<br />
<br />
This was one of those times.<br />
<br />
Two or three members of a religious group showed up at my door and wondered if they could invite themselves inside to tell me something important. I had a bit of time to spare, but not that much, so I engaged them on the doorstep. I'm afraid what followed was essentially a cross-examination.<br />
<br />
Q: You folks believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible, don't you?<br />
A: Yes.<br />
Q: Every word in the Bible is true, right?<br />
A: Yes.<br />
Q: So in the beginning, Adam and Eve were the only people on the earth, weren't they?<br />
A: Yes.<br />
Q: Then they had two sons, Cain and Abel, right?<br />
A: That's right.<br />
Q: Then Cain slew Abel?<br />
A: Yes.<br />
Q: Then, the Bible says, Cain took a wife, correct?<br />
A: Yes.<br />
Q: Sooo... Where did his wife come from?<br />
A: Adam and Eve had more children.<br />
Q: Oh. You mean Cain married his sister?<br />
A: Yes.<br />
Q: But I thought the Bible says incest is a sin?<br />
A: Well, God made an exception in Adam and Eve's time. It became a sin later.<br />
Q: I see.<br />
<br />
Soundly defeated, I nodded, smiled sweetly and wished them a nice day.<br />
<br />
[Note to self: Remember law school? Courtroom 101? Never ask a question you don't know the answer to?]<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-75001361070637135512013-12-31T23:17:00.001-08:002013-12-31T23:20:12.635-08:00Gratefully, a Third Time Around the Blog<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<br />
It's a bit dizzying to realize that the earth has gone around the sun three times and I've gone from being 61 to 64 since I first timidly clicked the 'publish' button on this blog.</div>
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It's also rather humbling to discover that folks from 129 countries have paid a visit - 53,672 visits to be exact - with over half of them this past year. Particularly since, out of the 75 published posts, only 14 went up this year. While it would be nice to believe that quality has replaced quantity, I think a simple shortage of effort and focus on my part is the reason.</div>
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I've noticed this before (<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2012/03/lifeless-or-just-leafless.html">Lifeless or Just Leafless?</a>), particularly at the end of this summer (<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2013/09/missing-in-action.html">Missing in Action</a>). Despite a little flurry of activity in September, I seem to have made a fairly easy transition from aestivation to hibernation.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Do I suffer pangs of guilt thinking about the posts I haven't published? Definitely. Do I plan on going gentle into that good night? Definitely not.<br />
<br />
Once again, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has stopped by for a read, and to the cybersangha for the generosity that has come my way in the form of kind social media comments, shares, +1's, mentions, RT's and likes, and of course, the thoughtful and encouraging comments left on the blog. Thank you so much.<br />
<br />
Oh, and speaking of humbling, it's hard to describe the feeling I get when I check out a favourite blog and discover a link to lowly Snow Branches on the blogroll alongside my all time blog heroes. Perhaps a combination of surprise, grateful affection and apprehensive butterflies hoping I won't blow it and get deleted.<br />
<br />
I just had a thought: It's not very Zen to express my feelings like this.<br />
<br />
Then I had another thought: What a dumb thought.<br />
<br />
Wishing you the very best for the New Year!<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-54747045495587909982013-10-27T02:18:00.000-07:002013-10-27T23:59:45.356-07:00Zen and the Art of Debauchery<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
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Every summer on Salt Spring Island, the Saturday market
brings droves of tourists in their cars and campers to the village of Ganges.
Much time is spent circling the blocks hoping someone else will leave the
market and vacate their spot. Inevitably, someone came up with an apt bumper
sticker: <i>Zen and the Art of Motor Vehicle
Parking in Ganges</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ever since Eugene Herrigel's book, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery">Zen in the Art of
Archery</a>, and later, Robert Pirsig's<i> Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance</i>, a plethora of "Zen and
the Art of ..." books have sprung up, ranging from <i>Zen and the Art of
Knitting</i> to <i>... Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Much has been said about the "Zen" of activity
beyond effort. Two of my favourite bloggers wrote about it this month:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>In
letting go of “trying”, in letting go of any intellectual idea of how archery
should be done, these archers are simply totally, wholeheartedly merged with
their activity. The years of practice in a very easy way, in a relaxed way,
comes through. The archer, the arrow ...
are all one movement and one whole. Subject and object merged. This is what one
might call effortless effort.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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- <a href="http://byakurenzen.blogspot.ca/2013/10/beyond-effort.html">Beyond Effort</a>
by Judith Ragir at <a href="http://byakurenzen.blogspot.ca/">Byakuren's Zen
Practice Blog</a><i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>...
Dogen Zenji propounds the concept of ... gujin ... which means “the full
exertion of a single thing.” That may sound like yet another form of striving,
but it is actually quite the opposite. Far from adding another burden, the
practice offers a path toward total rest.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>Gujin
has been variously translated as “total realization,” “total penetration,”
“total manifestation”—and, most often, “total exertion.” The scholar and
translator Francis Dojun Cook, an authority on Dogen, explains the concept in
this way:<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>From the angle of the person who experiences the situation, [gujin]
means that one identifies with it utterly. Looked at from the standpoint of the
situation itself, the situation is totally manifested or exerted without
obstruction.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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- <a href="http://practiceofzen.com/2013/10/09/the-labyrinth-of-exertion/">The
Labyrinth of Exertion</a> by Ben Howard at <a href="http://practiceofzen.com/">One
Time, One Meeting</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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I suspect we all experience this from time to time. Splitting wood with an axe, no matter how hard I try to hit the
centre of a log, I always seem to miss, but often as soon as I stop trying, the axe splits the log
exactly in the middle, even cutting the little dot in the centre of the growth
rings in half.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Debauchery</i>. One
definition is "seduction from virtue or duty". Also, <i>debauch</i>: "to
make disloyal", "to lead away from virtue or excellence" and
"to corrupt by intemperance or sensuality".<o:p></o:p></div>
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I realize they are only human, but fresh (to me) news of Zen
masters behaving badly always triggers a little letdown.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the ‘60’s, Philip Kapleau’s <i>The Three Pillars of Zen</i> was the first Zen
book that really touched me. Kapleau’s teacher <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakuun_Yasutani">Hakuun Yasutani Roshi</a>,
who founded the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanbo_Kyodan">Sanbo
Kyodan</a> school, became one of my Zen heroes. I even wrote him a letter asking
for advice (he didn’t reply).<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the little letdowns was learning that, as most
notably published in Brian Daizen Victoria's book <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_at_War">Zen at War</a>, both Yasutani
Roshi and his teacher, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harada_Daiun_Sogaku">Harada Daiun Sogaku
Roshi</a>, held extreme right wing, militaristic, and in the case of Yasutani,
anti-Semitic beliefs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Kubota Ji'un, the 3rd Abbot of the Sanbo Kyodan wrote:</div>
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<i>I
personally became Haku'un Yasutani Roshi's disciple at the age of 17 and kept
receiving his instructions until his death. So I know very well that Yasutani
Roshi did foster strongly right-winged and anti-Semitic ideology during as well
as after World War II, just as Mr. Victoria points out in his book.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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- <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20080704201754/http:/www.mkzc.org/apology.html">Apology
for What the Founder of the Sanbo-Kyodan, Haku'un Yasutani Roshi, Said and Did
During World War II</a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; line-height: 15.199999809265137px;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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I find the following quote from Harada Roshi particularly disquieting, perhaps because it takes the form of “Zen
and the Art of …”:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Forgetting
[the difference between] self and others in every situation, you should always
become completely one with your work. [When ordered to] march -- tramp, tramp;
[when ordered to] fire -- bang, bang; this is the clearest expression of the
highest Bodhi-wisdom, the unity of Zen and war.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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- <a href="http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/Miscellaneous/Transcendence_East_West.htm">quoted
in Daizen Victoria, "Japanese Corporate Zen," Bulletin of Concerned
Asian Scholars 12.1 (1980:65)</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Victoria’s book has not been without criticism:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>It
is right to uncover actual corruption, and Victoria has done a great service in
shedding light on a dark time in our history, but nearly destroys his argument
by his questionable methods and exaggerated conclusions. … Let’s keep up the
good fight to uncover wrongs, reflect and atone, make things right. But let us
do so in a forthright and honest way. One must not manipulate and straighten
twisted vines.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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- <a href="http://sweepingzen.com/zen-war-author-brian-victorias-unethical-bahavior-jundo-cohen/">“Zen
At War” Author Brian Victoria’s War On Zen</a> by Jundo Cohen at <a href="http://sweepingzen.com/">Sweeping Zen</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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We practice Zen for the benefit of beings. Selflessly
seducing a student or skilfully slaughtering another being - on the
battlefield, the electric chair or the barnyard is using Zen as a means to an
end that doesn’t justify the means. To me, this is Zen and the art of
debauchery.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bodhin Kholhede, dharma heir of Philip Kapleau, has this to
say:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Now
that we’ve had the book on Yasutani Roshi opened for us, we are presented with
a new koan. Like so many koans, it is painfully baffling: How could an
enlightened Zen master have spouted such hatred and prejudice? The nub of this
koan, I would suggest, is the word enlightened. If we see enlightenment as an
all-or-nothing place of arrival that confers a permanent saintliness on us,
then we’ll remain stymied by this koan. But in fact there are myriad levels of
enlightenment, and all evidence suggests that, short of full enlightenment (and
perhaps even with it—who knows?), deeper defilements and habit tendencies
remain rooted in the mind.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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- <a href="http://www.tricycle.com/feature/yasutani-roshi-hardest-koan" title="Yasutani Roshi: The Hardest Koan">Yasutani Roshi: The Hardest Koan</a> Tricycle
Magazine, Fall 1999<o:p></o:p></div>
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And finally, thanks to Koun Franz for this kindly reminder:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>There
is another conversation in all of this, one that I find more troubling: “He
wasn’t a real Buddhist, because a Buddhist could never do something like this.”
The math behind this is very simple: If a Buddhist could never do this, and if
I am a Buddhist, then I am incapable of doing [this]. And if he and I do not
share the same capacity for doing good or bad, then he and I are fundamentally
separate.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>It
doesn’t work that way. We may want it to, but it doesn’t. The fact is, there’s
nothing that a human being (any human being) cannot do. The difference, if
there is one, is that Buddhists might know that. …<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>I
wanted to say there’s a limit and I’ve found it, that here, finally, I can say,
“I am not that.” But that’s not the truth. I know. Whether through practice or
the constant asking or just advancing age, I know better. ...<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The
question for us is how—not
just, “How could he do it?” but “How could I do it?</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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- <a href="http://nyoho.com/2013/09/18/what-are-the-depths-to-which-youll-go/">What
Are the Depths to Which You’ll Go?</a> at <a href="http://nyoho.com/">Nyoho Zen</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-84063050698787176572013-09-29T22:24:00.000-07:002016-07-12T16:00:09.685-07:00The Animals Wearing Our Clothes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZEsvd0c77V2nuth1kD8hBpm2z4rxaaQSOaEeztbyrS-uSeBFrrC43oFf0gwnd71LhCyz-AIqHlPX1uhNNj8QmlvSBaggyuZkIYTeZ8Lfe7jwCbbYSC62vpziwVZj_Ltyx4_jYvqWarj7/s1600/monkey_wearing_clothes-11981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZEsvd0c77V2nuth1kD8hBpm2z4rxaaQSOaEeztbyrS-uSeBFrrC43oFf0gwnd71LhCyz-AIqHlPX1uhNNj8QmlvSBaggyuZkIYTeZ8Lfe7jwCbbYSC62vpziwVZj_Ltyx4_jYvqWarj7/s400/monkey_wearing_clothes-11981.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><p>It's natural to focus our compassion on other beings - animals, children in need, the sick, the downtrodden, even our enemies. Being selfless. Putting our own needs and comfort on the back burner. Tireless rescue workers forgoing sleep. Mother Teresa. Bodhisattvas in the trenches. So much to do. So little time.<br />
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In all of this, it's easy to forget a much neglected group of animals. I wrote about them in my first blog post (<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2010/12/who-are-these-faithful-friends.html">Who Are These Faithful Friends?</a>):</p><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i>They are generally obedient animals, with teeth, nails and hair like most others. ;They love attention but are often ignored. They would love to romp, but are usually allowed only a little bit of walking, and for the rest of the time, are made to sit.<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i>Most often, they are made to eat food with minimal nutritional value, so that for much of their lives, they are obese and unhealthy. In some cases, they are forced to breathe smoke and even to take harmful drugs to the point of addiction.<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i>They have naturally curious intellects, but these are usually stifled by the countless hours of mindless television they are made to watch.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i>They are aware of endless opportunities to make others happy, to reach out and comfort suffering. But because they are forbidden to do so, they are mostly sad.<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i>Despite all of this, they continue to serve us until they eventually die.<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i>They deserve our kindness.<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i>They are our bodies.</i><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal">Compassion for others and our sense of identity with them go hand in hand.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i>Compassion is not an idealized state. It is a profound realization that we are not separate from one another. It involves the ability to feel another’s suffering. Like lovingkindness, it is fundamentally interactive and ultimately has no subject and no object. Lovingkindness and compassion are the perfume of the realization of nonduality.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><o:p></o:p></div> <a href="http://www.gratefulness.org/readings/jh_compassion.htm">Compassion: The Second Abode</a> by Joan Halifax Roshi<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Respect and kindness towards our animal bodies is really no different.<br />
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Besides, there is work to do, and our bodies are our tools. Letting them deteriorate is like letting our chisels get blunt and our wrenches get rusty. Unnecessary illness is unnecessary distraction.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>In our enthusiasm for self-sacrificing compassionate action (or possibly, I hasten to add, because of laziness or gluttony), we may overlook or minimize our bodies' needs.<br />
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Sleep<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i>The cost of poor sleep is much greater than many people think: it may have profound consequences for our long-term health. Research has revealed that people who consistently fail to get enough sleep are at an increased risk of chronic disease, and scientists are now beginning to understand why. Treating sleep as a priority, rather than a luxury, may be an important step in preventing a number of chronic medical conditions.</i><br />
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</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><a href="http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/consequences/sleep-and-disease-risk">Sleep and Disease Risk</a> (Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Exercise<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i>The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. ... </i><i>Find a physical activity you enjoy, and just do it. If you get bored, try something new. ... </i><i>As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day.</i><br />
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</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676">Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity</a> (Mayo Clinic)<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A healthy diet<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolic_syndrome">Metabolic Syndrome</a> is a cluster of conditions — increased blood pressure, high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist or abnormal cholesterol levels — that occur together, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes ... If you have metabolic syndrome or any of the components of metabolic syndrome, aggressive lifestyle changes can delay or even prevent the development of serious health problems.<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/metabolic%20syndrome/DS00522">Metabolic Syndrome</a> (Mayo Clinic)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I can’t slip away without putting in a plug for what I believe is one of the best gifts you can give your body – a whole foods plant based diet, as recommended in the documentary film <a href="http://youtu.be/O7ijukNzlUg">Forks Over Knives</a>.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i>Through an examination of the careers of American physician <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldwell_Esselstyn" title="Caldwell Esselstyn">Caldwell Esselstyn</a> and professor of nutritional biochemistry <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Colin_Campbell" title="T. Colin Campbell">T. Colin Campbell</a>, Forks Over Knives suggests that "most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods." It also provides an overview of the 20-year <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China-Cornell-Oxford_Project" title="China-Cornell-Oxford Project">China-Cornell-Oxford Project</a> that led to Professor Campbell's findings, outlined in his book, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study" title="The China Study">The China Study</a> (2005) in which he suggests that coronary disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer can be linked to the Western diet of processed and animal-based foods (including all dairy products).<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forks_over_Knives">Forks Over Knives</a> (Wikipedia)<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/O7ijukNzlUg" width="560"></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This public service announcement was brought to the animals wearing your clothes by the animal wearing mine.</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-69976110466357856542013-09-19T21:15:00.002-07:002013-09-19T21:15:53.265-07:00I Will Love You All My Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxjhfydLffFpQbtP6ZhOLAn55v1tYX2RzcF8GZbAgfnuXSQcp3V0TsOyzr_JAvki6OrZAu0wyu5s1-fSE0mDxo6gkOR_k5yTwXJIBaf_2B6O9jGlr8AamTaOntTZ02eha8-6s82S4WO9l/s1600/IMG_47403819203366.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxjhfydLffFpQbtP6ZhOLAn55v1tYX2RzcF8GZbAgfnuXSQcp3V0TsOyzr_JAvki6OrZAu0wyu5s1-fSE0mDxo6gkOR_k5yTwXJIBaf_2B6O9jGlr8AamTaOntTZ02eha8-6s82S4WO9l/s400/IMG_47403819203366.jpeg" width="400" /> </a> </div>
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The first time I saw this picture, I got choked up - and the second time, and the third, and the fourth. Innocence, unwavering loyalty, sadness at the shortness of life, all from one image. It was love at first sight.</div>
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I will love you all my life.</div>
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Lovers say it to each other. Christians, Muslims and Jews say it to God. Narcissists say it to themselves. Materialists say it to their possessions. Vegans say it to the animals. Environmentalists say it to the earth. Bodhisattvas say it to all sentient beings.</div>
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It's possible to get bogged down in nonduality (<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2011/03/gazing-at-ox-solipsism-and-being.html">Gazing at the Ox - Solipsism: Trapped in Tozan's First Rank</a>), but wherever "I" and "you" appear, so can love. What an absolutely marvellous fact!</div>
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<i>For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. </i>(1 Corinthians: 12-13)<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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It's also possible to get bogged down trying to define love. A many-splendored thing? That which makes the world go round? The only thing that there's just too little of? All you need? Perhaps love is like a window. Perhaps an open door. I fear we're straying into koan land.</div>
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Never mind. Our hearts know exactly what love is, even if our brains don't.</div>
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Returning to the pathetic story about how I let a bunch of pixels shaped like a dog's face get to me, I was reminded of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachik%C5%8D">true story</a> of Hachikō, an Akita dog. The video tribute is a moving blend of clips from the 1987 movie and the 2009 movie with Richard Gere and Joan Allen.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zz_9bNCAnuY" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Thanks to Lynette Monteiro at <a href="http://108zenbooks.com/">108zenbooks</a> for the introduction to Hachikō in <a href="http://108zenbooks.com/2010/04/26/all-in-the-waiting/">All in the Waiting</a>. (And best wishes to Lynette and the Ottawa Hospital Emergency Spiritual Care Assistance Team responding to the train-bus tragedy yesterday.)<br />
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<i>What the world needs now is love, sweet love,</i></div>
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<i>It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.</i></div>
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<i>… no, not just for some, but for everyone.</i></div>
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(Burt Bacharach)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-35860791190895136032013-09-09T23:38:00.000-07:002013-09-10T05:37:06.296-07:00Flee(t)ing Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4KjBnH7gM-5mR-VLTW8UuD91A7c1DXXRfsRt03c9wispZ67MOAGhsuw-lN3VVZjcdBpi48k95hEzS37mU5XQwrXWLDHCCn0vSXEPBUM7OR2a6FzaE6b3ZyjWMWme2hlcn3fGoZKjlfZhA/s1600/Eagle+by+Marjon+Hollander+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4KjBnH7gM-5mR-VLTW8UuD91A7c1DXXRfsRt03c9wispZ67MOAGhsuw-lN3VVZjcdBpi48k95hEzS37mU5XQwrXWLDHCCn0vSXEPBUM7OR2a6FzaE6b3ZyjWMWme2hlcn3fGoZKjlfZhA/s400/Eagle+by+Marjon+Hollander+cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As I never seem to tire of mentioning, my attraction to Zen practice is its simplicity, or more precisely, its lack of distracting frills and ornaments, and its directness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Whether we're off the cushion chopping wood or interviewing a client, or on the cushion following the breath, sitting with a koan, or just sitting, our brains naturally churn out unbidden thoughts. A constant part of practice is dealing with them in order to be fully present.<br />
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In <a href="http://books.google.ca/books?id=O4P9lrArrrcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=opening+the+hand+of+thought&hl=en&sa=X&ei=alYqUu2XMejSiAK9vYHQCg&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=opening%20the%20hand%20of%20thought&f=false">Opening the Hand of Thought</a>, Kosho Uchiyama Roshi (successor to Homeless Kodo Sawaki) describes the process like this:</div>
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<i>Briefly, our attitude in zazen is aiming at maintaining the posture of zazen with our flesh and bones, and with our mind letting go of thoughts.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>What is letting go of thoughts? Well, when we think, we think of something. Thinking of something means grasping that something with thought. However, during zazen we open the hand of thought that is trying to grasp something, and simply refrain from grasping. This is letting go of thoughts.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>When a thought of something does actually arise, as long as the thought does not grasp that something, nothing will be formed. For example, even if thought A (“a flower ") occurs, as long as it is not followed by thought B (“is beautiful"), no meaning such as AB (“a flower is beautiful") is formed. … So, even if thought A does occur, as long as the thought does not continue, A occurs prior to the formation of a meaningful sequence. It is not measurable in terms of meaning, and it will disappear as consciousness flows on.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Our encounter with thoughts during practice seems to fall into two categories: after daydreaming and before daydreaming.<br />
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The first happens when we have grasped a thought, chased it with others, and find ourselves in a daydream. Here we simply notice that our attention has wandered, let go of the thought, and return to being present. If it’s gentle, effortless and non-judgmental, the process of letting go doesn't itself become a distraction, as it can otherwise trigger its own train of thoughts.<br />
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The second happens when we become aware of a thought as it begins to take form, but before it takes hold.<br />
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Dealing with these nascent thoughts requires even less effort - just returning the attention to the matter at hand without, literally, giving them a second thought, allowing them to 'disappear as consciousness flows on.'<br />
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Of course there are times when we need to pay attention to thoughts as they arise. Making thoughts disappear while trying to write a list of things to buy at the store would be a little, er, off the mark.<br />
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The title of this post comes from the realization that opening the hand of thought is a skill that, perhaps because it's so easy, can be used wrongly. I've been catching myself allowing thoughts to disappear not because they distract me from being present, but because they're uncomfortable: generally thoughts that remind me I'm avoiding something. (Hopefully I'm just noticing this more, rather than doing it more.)<br />
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Either way, more practice required.</div>
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Related Post: <a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2011/04/stage-fright.html">Stage Fright</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">©</span> 2013 Marjon Hollander, with kind permission.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-39598448287285200912013-09-01T14:36:00.000-07:002013-09-03T09:21:19.080-07:00Missing In Action<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkU_1UNSycqqfNrPQBNDnK0fGPc994cj9v3oJ8m1dP2M7tTnbOQIf5TQHZGJd5Bz7egSi1FpZwQHGEsxWhC-uryPolXiXoejWHJ1R2xw7dUpNUd_nHG_O26o0nwLqXNF0rvYiui0hAckc4/s1600/2012-09-30+17.17.56+Austin+in+the+Flowers+r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkU_1UNSycqqfNrPQBNDnK0fGPc994cj9v3oJ8m1dP2M7tTnbOQIf5TQHZGJd5Bz7egSi1FpZwQHGEsxWhC-uryPolXiXoejWHJ1R2xw7dUpNUd_nHG_O26o0nwLqXNF0rvYiui0hAckc4/s400/2012-09-30+17.17.56+Austin+in+the+Flowers+r.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Stepping from August into September, the
question nipping at my heels is, "When is not doing enough, enough?"
The lazy summer months floated by, my formal practice went on holiday, this
blog crawled under a rock and went to sleep and to some extent, honestly, I
feel like I did too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The summer hasn't been a complete
write-off by any stretch. Lots of family
time, office time and exercise, and what I think of as my informal practice -
i.e. for pretty much everything outside the zendo that doesn't involve sitting
on a zafu, aiming to be fully present - continued to unfold at its own pace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2012/12/the-bodhisattva-express.html">bodhisattva
express</a>, it seems, has infinite stations where one can get on board, but
none for getting off and going on a seaside holiday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The feeling of having been missing in
action (I pause to acknowledge having borrowed, nay, stolen the term from
blogging friend Lynette Monteiro's<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://108zenbooks.com/2013/07/22/trudging-the-wrong-path-diligently/">Trudging
the Wrong Path Diligently</a>) arises when my half-hearted best intentions miss
the mark and I drift back into reading a mindless novel. Another twinge of
remorse comes from the downside of spending less time on the internet: falling
behind in my blog reading, leaving a veritable cornucopia of wonderful works to
catch up on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I could lapse into platitudes here, but
since what is really called for is action, I'll just click the 'publish' button
and get back to work at failing better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">See you out there.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-76137394192924123492013-06-26T10:33:00.000-07:002013-06-26T10:33:11.964-07:00The Waterfall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlYvMk1YCV4BKIev6ONj9pbif36D43VaYFAASsmsVCgnTYA6OOPmkSbfEXt3RGs-Q4JNYhTHNgKPR736YTZYpDUL7ndj_OaUPoFuJVpAleK2gtP5JFLV9zgEzXq6BlDu1QJ-yeuejlIS0/s1600/Skogafoss_from_below+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlYvMk1YCV4BKIev6ONj9pbif36D43VaYFAASsmsVCgnTYA6OOPmkSbfEXt3RGs-Q4JNYhTHNgKPR736YTZYpDUL7ndj_OaUPoFuJVpAleK2gtP5JFLV9zgEzXq6BlDu1QJ-yeuejlIS0/s400/Skogafoss_from_below+cropped.jpg" width="376" /></a></div>
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Chaos and bedlam<o:p></o:p></div>
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No droplet misplaced<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pandemonium<o:p></o:p></div>
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Cacophony<o:p></o:p></div>
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Every splash harmony<o:p></o:p></div>
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Even the moment<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of thunderous impact<o:p></o:p></div>
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Silent water<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gives silent birth<o:p></o:p></div>
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To silent spray<o:p></o:p></div>
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The waterfall<o:p></o:p></div>
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Is the water<o:p></o:p></div>
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Is the trees<o:p></o:p></div>
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The waterfall<o:p></o:p></div>
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Writes this<o:p></o:p></div>
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Reads this<o:p></o:p></div>
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Is this<o:p></o:p></div>
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Is just<o:p></o:p></div>
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A waterfall<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo: Skógafoss waterfall, Iceland<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: #f7f8ff;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/" style="background-position: 100% 50%;"><span style="color: #663366; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Wikipedia</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/" style="background-position: 100% 50%;"><span style="color: #663366; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Wikimedia Commons</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>image is from the user<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Chris_73" title="en:User:Chris 73"><span style="color: #663366; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Chris 73</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and is freely available at
//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skogafoss_from_below.JPG under the<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/" style="background-position: 100% 50%;"><span style="color: #663366;">creative commons cc-by-sa 3.0</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>license.</span></span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-58549780591746288882013-06-14T19:22:00.000-07:002013-06-14T22:24:05.274-07:00Perceiving the Precepts and Buddhist Carnivores<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJOwCwPiNpgMcBECGfYNOrfHq-E5gFS6f2w0POtE3USBliEEUoGnbs8eJjfuXXwwBncYXC0zvJAOoJz-E2idz_uUqupOGPpdjDXE5vtflxUHxdRPRdLMXhBCXQ_V0sa6uWjwzTnSPWwVy/s1600/mosesHeston2703_468x611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJOwCwPiNpgMcBECGfYNOrfHq-E5gFS6f2w0POtE3USBliEEUoGnbs8eJjfuXXwwBncYXC0zvJAOoJz-E2idz_uUqupOGPpdjDXE5vtflxUHxdRPRdLMXhBCXQ_V0sa6uWjwzTnSPWwVy/s400/mosesHeston2703_468x611.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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A constant and necessary part of my job is critical analysis - looking for flaws in arguments. Clients, colleagues and opposing counsel try to persuade me with a chain of reasoning that leads to a conclusion they want me to accept. They naturally emphasize the strongest links. I naturally roll out my electron microscope and scrutinize the weakest ones.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Although I try to phrase “you’re wrong” in the nicest possible way, nobody likes to hear it. Emotion aside, critical analysis is simply a search for the truth. Better to have a few ego feathers ruffled than find out the hard way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I've been doing this for as long as I can remember – in school, in science, in law, and in everyday life so much that I've gotten used to my brain’s incessant little contrarian quips. Make a pronouncement and I’ll take a pot shot at it before the words are out of your mouth.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“All crows are black…” “What about albino crows?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Useful in the courtroom, perhaps, but a decided handicap in polite company.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Whether I want it to or not, my contradict-o-meter starts going crazy whenever precept #1 of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva_Precepts">Bodhisattva Precepts</a> (Do not kill or cause suffering to other beings) or #2 (Do not take what is not given) occurs in the same thought as eating or using animal products.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My train of thought goes something like this:<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is not necessary to eat animal products to be healthy. Period.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Eating animal products creates a demand for animal products.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Producing animal products for food almost always involves killing animals and/or causing them to suffer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Therefore, eating animal products almost always causes unnecessary suffering and offends the first precept. Animals don’t give us their flesh or milk or eggs voluntarily. We take them because we can, and this offends the second precept.</div>
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If the Bodhisattva goal is to relieve suffering everywhere, causing unnecessary suffering is exactly the opposite.</div>
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I'm quick to admit that not every case is black and white – just most cases.</div>
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If eating animal products were necessary for health, then we would have a real ethical dilemma, but it isn't, so most of the time, we don’t.</div>
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There are truly difficult occasions when insisting on strict veganism may cause suffering. When one parent is vegan and the other eats meat, they have to reach a truce over what kind of food their young child will eat. Other situations, e.g. not offending your host, can often be avoided by giving a little advance warning. I don't think people really want you to go against your conscience – after all, who would insist that a Muslim or a Jew eat pork or an abstainer drink alcohol?</div>
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There are arguments in favour of using leather, e.g. boycotting the sweatshops that make non-leather shoes, but I'm not inclined to agree that putting poorly paid people out of work altogether is a good thing, and from what I've read, the <a href="http://www.peta.org/issues/Animals-Used-for-Clothing/leather-animals-abused-and-killed-for-their-skins.aspx">suffering caused by the leather industry</a> is of a different order of magnitude.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of my Zen heroes is <a href="http://sweepingzen.com/robert-aitken-bio/">Robert Aitken Roshi</a>, for many reasons. A big one is his direct speech about taking compassionate action. In <a href="http://books.google.ca/books?id=oCcqUMIMaHoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Robert+Aitken%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_7S7UcX-FYqBqwHT-oBQ&ved=0CFUQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false">Miniatures of a Zen Master</a>, he wrote:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The Dharma is pure and simple. 'Do not kill.' Denial of this truth can be convoluted and complex. 'Git along little doggie,' chants the cowboy affectionately on the way to the slaughterhouse. 'Do your patriotic duty,' advises the leader on this or that side of a war. Come on! Start at the beginning. Killing is killing. Build your case there and make your presentation there, if you have the fortitude.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Using animal products, or not, is an individual choice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We can't judge each other's choices because we don't know what is in each other's hearts and minds.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm just saying what's in mine.<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-11194868872417551992013-05-31T20:02:00.000-07:002013-06-01T01:35:36.439-07:00Childhood's End<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTum9RuqGSzRJ5N688pwzotE8BGHX_070NFWpMN97DhfFDt3LbSHUwXoHEElNwZRNbhyphenhyphen-ty9puLqYzmaWPgm838Ih1Q-QDOrvxZj7P4iuwsC4YivUS9G9pKhmP4crZXMFGJHbanULa-t_/s1600/Childhood's+End+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTum9RuqGSzRJ5N688pwzotE8BGHX_070NFWpMN97DhfFDt3LbSHUwXoHEElNwZRNbhyphenhyphen-ty9puLqYzmaWPgm838Ih1Q-QDOrvxZj7P4iuwsC4YivUS9G9pKhmP4crZXMFGJHbanULa-t_/s400/Childhood's+End+cropped.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
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It seems like I've been seventeen for an awfully long time -
47 years next month, to be precise. Body sporadically reminds me that, although
feeling the benefit of being a herbivore and getting some exercise, it's no
longer a teenager. However, I can't honestly say my thinking mind feels any older
than it did when I graduated from high school. It’s still curious, prone to
wonder, and as my colleagues will attest, annoyingly analytical.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was years after my teens before I could freely admit to
being an adult man. Over time, my depth perception has increased and I can't
deny being a bit wiser, but terms like 'grown up' and 'mature' suggest a level
of development I still don't feel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This post languished as a draft for over a year as a title,
opening line, picture and a few scattered thoughts. Because the <a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2013/04/with-bliss-bestowing-hands-searching.html">previous
post</a> leaned towards ‘nothing to attain’ (hopefully not so far as to suggest
that aimless marketplace wandering should be substituted for formal practice),
now seemed a good time to bring this one out of mothballs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childhood's_End">Childhood's
End</a> is the title of a science fiction novel I read in my teens by the late
Sir Arthur C. Clarke about a tipping point in human evolution. It made a
lasting impression on me and contributed, I’m sure, to my shamelessly
optimistic belief that, despite the horrors of human depravity, war, and the
animal holocaust, we are growing up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We start out preoccupied with ourselves. Possessive, even
obsessive, about our toys. Caught up in playground rivalries - "I'm better
than you are!" With any luck, as we grow older, we leave some of this
behind. Life becomes less about our own personal pleasure, our personal safety,
and our status in the eyes of others. What gives us more happiness is nurturing
growth and healing hurt, as if our need for the world to be our parent
transforms into our becoming a parent to the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the novel, a whole generation of children begins to
exhibit breakthroughs in awareness and acquire powers that their fearful parents don’t understand. To shepherd the children through this
transformation, a race of benevolent aliens keeps a watchful eye, and for the
most part, doesn't interfere with human affairs. One exception is their
intolerance of cruelty to animals. At a bullfight, when a Picador stabs the
bull with his lance, the entire crowd screams in pain. They quickly got the
message.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I think the reason I avoided finishing this post for so long
is that it cuts uncomfortably close to the bone. Writing about childish
behaviour in others draws on my considerable judgmental skills. Just
when I've figured out the specifics of someone else's arrested development, however,
I catch a glimpse of myself in that pesky mirror and it all goes out the
window.</div>
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I feel those pokes of the Picador’s lance as twinges of guilt each time
my critical thoughts loop back and point out my own fears and defence
mechanisms. The lessons hit the mark, and I’m very grateful for them … but it doesn't mean I have to like them.</div>
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Kindly
reminders to stop and, rather than follow my inclination to run away and take
refuge in distraction, take refuge in the Three Jewels.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Beckoning to loosen my fierce grip on the 'right' way.</div>
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To let each moment be.</div>
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Childhood's beginning.</div>
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Related posts:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2011/01/ah-but-i-was-so-much-older-then.html">Ah But I Was So Much Older Then</a></div>
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<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2012/03/lifeless-or-just-leafless.html">Lifeless or Just Leafless?</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2012/08/last-night-i-had-strangest-dream.html">Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2012/06/snuggle-swim-and-hug-taking-refuge-in.html">A Snuggle, a Swim and a Hug - Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels</a> </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-802536772416919412013-04-26T20:30:00.000-07:002013-04-26T22:28:50.253-07:00With Bliss-Bestowing Hands Searching for the Ox <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lSLAPo-jggUUdw84UxilpPrAdje_ZpE5W_THGURAmDZzITcy1IUxez7TY4xoypHmAKPP4kjyUwuKNB74TJypcvyc6cnyaJOo-jxZuHP_A3TXHimM8b30PLHRgvMJqR6wtI6ICALLVeS2/s1600/ox_01_reps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lSLAPo-jggUUdw84UxilpPrAdje_ZpE5W_THGURAmDZzITcy1IUxez7TY4xoypHmAKPP4kjyUwuKNB74TJypcvyc6cnyaJOo-jxZuHP_A3TXHimM8b30PLHRgvMJqR6wtI6ICALLVeS2/s200/ox_01_reps.jpg" width="187" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GZzI-AcNKY3IKDxVhvW6sryWRCf7ry-YMv8ryb1IYmkt9euJtBo5YY4RoJkecpkM5Rw4qbfHBRbkmLe5YAMPMEkWCYLdfbElywIQZMc0g8VM9DKfHIs3UYeFDakLDJTntMivooru6_eg/s1600/oxherding10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GZzI-AcNKY3IKDxVhvW6sryWRCf7ry-YMv8ryb1IYmkt9euJtBo5YY4RoJkecpkM5Rw4qbfHBRbkmLe5YAMPMEkWCYLdfbElywIQZMc0g8VM9DKfHIs3UYeFDakLDJTntMivooru6_eg/s200/oxherding10.jpg" width="156" /></a></div>
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The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures are traditionally considered to
represent stages along the path of awakening. The first picture is of a
beginner; in the last picture, the beginner has become a master. For present
purposes, I'm skipping the steps in between.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The beginner appears to be intent on seeking. The master
seems to have found, mastered, and transcended whatever he was looking for, and
now, for lack of better words, is blessing everything he encounters.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The boy in the tenth picture looks remarkably like the
beginner in the first - perhaps a hint that beginning never ends, or in T.S.
Eliot's words, the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In <a href="http://books.google.ca/books?id=SS-Dc6ox4hYC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false">Original
Dwelling Place</a>, Robert Aitken Roshi wrote:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>I
spend time with inquirers disabusing them about absolutes. When someone who has
read a little in Zen Buddhism asks me if I am enlightened, I respond without
hesitation that I most certainly am not. When someone asks me how many koans I
have passed, I respond that I am still working on my very first koan and that I
haven’t passed it yet. This is not false modesty but is true to the very
bottom. There is enlightenment beyond enlightenment, passing beyond passing.
Each milestone on the path may seem a be-all and end-all experience. Everything
falls away. The everyday self disappears. Yet the path continues to open out.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Experience
is the moment; the path is endless practice.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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The tenth ox-herding picture brings to mind words from
another tradition:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>…
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will
give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.</i> (<a href="http://bible.cc/revelation/21-6.htm">Revelation 21:6</a>)<o:p></o:p></div>
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The point I seem to be trying to make is that it’s never too
early to spread kindness. No need to ‘attain’ something first. Just do it. The
marketplace awaits your bliss-bestowing hands.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Oh and the flip side of that is, do we really believe there
is something to attain? Or, perish the thought, that we have attained it?<o:p></o:p></div>
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-------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lately I've been discovering the music of <a href="http://www.libera.org.uk/">Libera</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>I
am the day, soon to be born<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>I
am the light before the morning<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>I
am the night that will be dawn<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>I
am the end and the beginning<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>I
am the Alpha and Omega<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The
night and day, the first and last<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-803595820939776322.post-27346373599509491972013-03-28T21:08:00.000-07:002013-04-08T20:53:44.766-07:00Zen but not Buddhist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfws1fzBQ7vVyitNXjGVeC97c6jrsV6z5FTLITJIKWn7PLWkGP3mW_bt1GktlxIovjsxtl75lk7BTAsopt-NPLjPZXRzGIEZ37s8EQFv1HkqM0ArUMPO6qT0oUvQaoDYyfEYuCesNwgM4-/s1600/Enso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfws1fzBQ7vVyitNXjGVeC97c6jrsV6z5FTLITJIKWn7PLWkGP3mW_bt1GktlxIovjsxtl75lk7BTAsopt-NPLjPZXRzGIEZ37s8EQFv1HkqM0ArUMPO6qT0oUvQaoDYyfEYuCesNwgM4-/s400/Enso.jpg" width="291" /></a></div>
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Don't worry - I'm not jumping ship, just letting my mind wander.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As time passes, I seem to have been shedding one thing after another - old habits, language, values, beliefs (see, e.g. <a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.com/2011/05/prayer-pruning-goodbye-jesus.html">Prayer Pruning: Goodbye Jesus?</a>) like articles of clothing along the dock on the way to a dive into the lake.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I wrote elsewhere (<a href="http://davidmashton.blogspot.ca/2012/04/buddhist-blasphemy.html">Buddhist Blasphemy?</a>) that I call myself a Zen Buddhist because the label seems to be the best description of what I seem to be. And then, because I'm a Zen Buddhist, I do Zen things, like put on a black robe and do zazen on a zafu on a zabuton in a zendo, chant the four Bodhisattva Vows and pay attention to the abbot.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ever with an eye for a simpler way, it seemed logical to wonder about extracting from Buddhism some kind of 'pure' Zen - in words attributed to Bodhidharma:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>A special transmission outside the scriptures,<br />
Not founded upon words and letters;<br />
By pointing directly to [one's] mind,<br />
It lets one see into [one's own true] nature and [thus] attain Buddhahood.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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(I was tempted to replace the last four words with "..." because of the B word.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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It's not that everything Zen has to be as wordless as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Sermon">Buddha's holding up a flower evoking a smile from Mahākāśyapa</a>, but I admit to ducking for cover when I encounter language like:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>This teaching of causality is not that of universal mutual co-arising and non-temporal causality developed later (as, for example, in the Hua-yen tradition), but the temporal, twelvefold chain of dependent arising as discovered by the Buddha during his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and classically expressed in the Mahāvagga…. Dhātu-vāda is antithetical to Buddhism, since it is the very teaching that Śākyamuni intended to deny. </i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(</span><i><o:p></o:p></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paul L. Swanson <a href="http://www.academia.edu/2315412/_Zen_is_not_Buddhism_Recent_Japanese_Critiques_of_Buddha-Nature">"Zen is not Buddhism": Recent Japanese Critiques of Buddha-Nature</a></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">)</span></span></div>
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But I'm not convinced that bare bones ‘pure’ Zen as a method of transmission can stand on its own.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The law of entropy says that over time, things naturally dissipate, decay, scatter, become diluted, disorganized, out of focus, forgotten. The principle seems to have wide application: a drop of ink in water, galaxies, civilizations, memories, my desk.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Energy and direction are required to counteract entropy. This opposing force also takes many forms: biological growth and healing, cultivating relationships, repair and cleaning, spiritual practice.</div>
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So if Zen is a blooming awareness, how best help the flower unfold and propagate, and at the same time, counteract the natural tendency of awareness to become a fading memory, soon easily confused with a clever facsimile constructed entirely of thoughts?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Buddhism component, with its priesthood, ordination, teishos, sanzen and dharma transmission, is a ready-made machine for nurturing, refining, and passing on awareness, with the added benefit of quality control to ensure that the end product is the real McCoy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Granted, the gadget is of very old construction – some parts seem unnecessary and overly ornate, but modernizing it has mostly been rather conservative – I suspect, at least partly, because of the priceless nature of the human raw materials and the onerous responsibility for their transformation. It works, and if it ain’t broke…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nevertheless, those inclined to be ‘spiritual but not religious’ may be turned away from the Zen by a perceived irrelevance of the Buddhism.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Domyo Burk covers this nicely in her post <a href="http://sweepingzen.com/zen-and-religion/">Zen and Religion</a> at Sweeping Zen:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>When someone describes themselves as “spiritual but not religious” they usually mean that they pay attention to aspects of life beyond their immediate and personal physical, emotional and mental concerns – like universal truths, morality, or the existence of God – but they do not identify with an established tradition, set of beliefs, or institution. If we use this popular understanding of religion, we might use the term “Zen practice” to refer to the Zen teachings and practices that address our relationship to ultimate reality, and the term “Zen Buddhism” to refer to the set of traditions, resources and institutions that people have created to support and convey those teachings and practices. Zen Buddhism includes writings, a special vocabulary, history, mythology, rituals, devotional practices, imagery, religious objects, clergy, institutions and – most of all – many groups of people, now and over the course of the last thousand years, consciously practicing Zen Buddhism together.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>...<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>I hope non-religious folks can find a way to practice Zen, because I believe that in its essence Zen is about training to master the art of living a human life. I want people to have access to that training even if they aren’t interested in religion, or if they follow a different religion. I see this training as a wonderful opportunity to take full advantage of having a human life, but even more I see it as a fundamental human responsibility. Should we not work to master the art of our human life as we would work to master a skill, a trade, or another kind of art? Should we not diligently train ourselves throughout our lives toward greater wisdom, compassion and facility with using this tool of a human body-mind?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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The value of “many groups of people … consciously practicing Zen Buddhism together” is echoed by James Ford Roshi in his Huffington Post article (well worth reading in its entirety) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-ishmael-ford/how-to-be-spiritual-but-not-religious-in-a-way-that-actually-helps_b_2827611.html">How to Be Spiritual But Not Religious in a Way That Actually Helps</a>:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>There's something really important about people on a spiritual path coming together regularly with others. …</i></div>
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<i>We desperately need others, if we hope to grow spiritually.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The human ego is not a pretty thing to behold in isolation. We need each other. We need our rough edges bumped against, and worn down a little.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>And little does this as well as throwing one's self into a spiritual community.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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It's easy, and exciting, to envision an evolving Zen Buddhism that can be embraced by a wider and wider sangha without losing its edge. Surely it's happening as we speak.</div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Enso.jpg"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">Calligraphy by Kanjuro Shibata XX "Ensō (</span><span style="color: #663366; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">円相</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">)" (Wikimedia Commons)</span></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11