tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84666696363904329922024-02-02T04:19:48.294+00:00it's okei!...and wither then, I cannot sayokeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.comBlogger413125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-3674321060509616092023-09-14T18:09:00.003+01:002023-09-14T18:16:46.395+01:00Two Poems in Spanish<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Santa Vida</b> (3rd April, 2012)</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sobre la casa del olvido</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Las aves hacen ruido</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Porque, Papa querido,</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Quisieran fiestar en tu nido.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Toma este rosario, es tu día.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Buen aniversario, santa vida.</span></p><p><br /></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cIrGQD84F1g?si=OBSb9WuXl_ZIUOqW" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Mercedes Sosa sings Violeta Parra’s “Gracias A La Vida”</span></i></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Gracias</b> (2014)</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Gracias a la vida</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Que no dura solo un día</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Gracias al anochecer</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Que nos enseña</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Gracias a la alegría</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Del amanecer</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Y para la sonrisa</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Del baile creer.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thanks to life </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That doesn't last just one day </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thanks to the twilight</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That teaches us </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thanks to the joy </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of the dawn</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And for believing</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In dancing with a smile.</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—okei</span></p><p><br /></p>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-27177497938298253762023-09-14T17:58:00.027+01:002023-09-15T15:14:11.872+01:003 Childhood Prose Pieces<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>A Day in My Holiday</b> (22nd August, 1993)</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was awoken early in the morning by the song of the hoopoe and other birds excitedly twittering in the trees. I soon remembered that I was not in England any more, but in Ampurias in Spain. As excited as the birds outside, I jumped out of my bed and, after a little while, the entire family was awake, apart from my brother of course. He is a deep sleeper. When I finally woke him, he complained that he had been in the middle of a fantastic dream. He tried to continue the dream, but in vain.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We made our way to the beach through the ancient pine wood. The waves curled over, foaming at the mouth, attacking, then from high up they tumbled at our feet; endlessly continuing, their wrath never ceased. When we entered the sea they towered above us. We decided to go to another bay which was much calmer, but we were soon put off by the sight of jellyfish. They lay white, mauve, wet and slimy upon the beach – dead. So we decided to swim in the endless charge of water, travelling over it and not through it, like my little brother. I did a few strokes, then stopped and started again. I came out of the water shivering, my ears blocked. I had once read that the temperature of the Mediterranean Sea never falls below 12˚C because the water has a higher concentration of salt than the Atlantic Ocean, but I do not believe this now!</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Whilst wrapped in my thoughts, the wind had increased and blew blankets of sand all around. I walked, looking down to the ground, my back to the gale which cut across my bare legs. Nothing could be heard except for the endless swashing of waves breaking on the shore and the howling of the wind as if it were travelling through a hollow tube…and then there was the endless ticking of time on my watch. That never stopped either.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There was not a single cloud in the sky because the wind had blown them far away so it was a pure and utter blue, but the sun was still orange upon the horizon and I anxiously waited for it to rise and warm me. But this cold sphere gave off no heat. It was as bitter as an orange from our orange tree — the only one in the whole village. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We were just about to leave the beach, when we met a man who taught us to skim stones. He took a flat pebble and threw it horizontally on to the roaring waters. It hit the sea with a splash, then jumped up and, like a bird of prey, it pounced down into the waters as if to catch a lonely fish. Twice more it soared and then sank into the depths of the sea, as if drowned by the surge of the enemy’s horsemen, where it probabily still lies now. He repeated these actions again and again, but told us that they skimmed better on calm water.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On the way home, we met a French lady with two of her companions from L’Escala. She talked so fast that I could not follow her conversation, but I picked up a few words here and there and tried to make sense of what she was saying: “drapeau jaunt - yellow flag, danger - danger, deux allemands noyés - two Germans drowned” At this point, I lost the thread of the conversation. My father explained to me later that they had been sucked in by the sea in the bay which looks calm and where we found some dead jellyfish. She told us that her name was Esmé, a very rare name, only found in the works of Victor Hugo. My mother thought that it was a good opportunity to practice my French. “What should I say,” I thought to myself. I uttered the first words that came into my head, “Est-ce que vous faites de la planche à voile? - Do you do windsurfing?” At first she just stared in amazement. She then replied, “Eh ben! À mon âge! - Oh my! At my age!” My parents later told me that she was eighty-seven.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We had an enormous breakfast with lots of cereals, croissants and a baguette. Then I went for a walk on the arrow-shaped groyne. It is made of stone. The waters in that area were filled with sand and then huge boulders were placed there to make it. The sea had miraculously calmed and the wind was not nearly so harsh. I was just starting off when a man selling coconuts and shouting at the top of his voice in incomprehensible Spanish intercepted me and I bought a coconut from him. He held an extremely sharp knife with which he cut the white of the coconut with amazing speed. He slashed the coconut a few times and then gave it to me. It took over five minutes to chew only one piece because two of my milk teeth were wobbly. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My brother and I clambered over the rocks. He treated it as a race and boasted how good he was at what he called ‘rock climbing’. At the end were a handful of old fishermen patiently waiting for a catch. We met one Belgian boy who had just caught an octopus which he was going to eat for lunch. His bait was sardines. He had learnt how to catch octopus at a nearby port. He held them by the tentacles and told us that the only dangerous part was the mouth which he pulled out and threw into the sea. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I then started counting the waves to see if the seventh one was really the biggest. I found that this was true. When I told my brother, he quickly scribbled it down in his secret notebook which he carries everywhere he goes. It probably also contains some poetry written on the sly.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My parents had ordered some paella at the restaurant in the village square. It is a Spanish dish which is very salty. It contains rice, a fish called 'rapé’ and shrimps. My father once said that I would be put off eating paella if I saw the ugly fish they used for it, but I doubt it. It is a flat fish which lives at the bottom of the sea and is probably very hard to catch.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While the paella was being cooked, I went for a walk by the sea. I noticed that near the shore the water was a turquoise colour. Further on, it was a light blue. Even further, it was a darker blue and on the horizon, the sea was a very dark deep blue. After about fifteen minutes, I came back to find that M— had gone off looking for me. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I had once told M— that I had a secret hiding place and he had obviously run off determined to find it. After half an hour, he was still not back. We looked for him, but in vain. He had gone as far as the ruins to look for me: a twenty minute walk. When he finally did arrive after an hour, he was panting, out of breath. His cheeks were red and his face was dripping with sweat which reflected the light of the sun and the sky. He was both hungry and very thirsty. For lunch he drank gallons of coca cola.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That afternoon we went to the Greek and Roman ruins. When my brother was little, he used to say, “Why such a fuss about a heap of broken walls?” But now that he has studied the Egyptians and their pyramids, he wants to become an archaeologist. He is especially interested in the Egyptian news and always wants to look at the newspaper to find out the temperature in Cairo. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This year more excavations have been carried out in Ampurias, but the archaeologists cannot dig under our village, although it is believed that the temple of Venus is beneath the medieval church. In the ruins we saw the great forum, beautiful mosaics and I took a photo of a copy of the statue of Escalapius. The guide told us that the Greek ruins were not as grand as the Roman ruins because the Greeks who lived there were very poor merchants and sailors, but they were rewarded with money for supplying the Romans with food and arms at the time of the Punic Wars. It was after these wars that they became rich enough to build the ‘agora’ and ‘stoa’. My brother found some pottery and the handle of an amphora. He claimed it was made of copper, but I told him that copper oxide was black.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we arrived home, we picked all the ripe oranges on our orange tree, but unfortunately they are bitter. M— had the scissors and my hands were getting pricked. I found it very slow just to turn the oranges round and round until they came off. As I knew he liked collecting shells, I said, “I’ll give you three nice colourful shells if you let me borrow the scissors.”</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“All right,” he replied. But when he realised how much his fingers were being pricked, he briskly returned my shells and grabbed the scissors. Altogether on just one tree there was a total of seventy ripe oranges. Not thirty as I had predicted. We gave them to an old woman to make marmalade. She used to live in the farm opposite, the only house in the village which has not been renovated.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We decided to go to Figueras to play chess. The car door would not open. Somebody had tried to force it open with a screwdriver. The policeman said, “A crime is reported every day. There is over 20% unemployment in Spain, the worst in Europe.”</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While the car was being mended, I read in a nearby wood. Half an hour later, my brother found me and said, “The car's been fixed. Come quickly, but be careful of snails. They are everywhere.” On the way back, he said, “I bet you crunched a snail.”</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“I bet I didn’t,” I said.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“But you must have,” he replied.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That evening my father read ‘Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve’ to my brother and me. It brought back memories of the smell of burning pine cones and olive wood in the cold spring evenings, when my father used to read to me by the blazing fire. Half asleep, I could hear the voice of my brother saying, “One more page. Just one more page.” Then my father turned off the light and went upstairs. I could hear the distant sound of eggs being beaten for an omelette; loud Spanish pop music; a woman’s voice shouting something incomprehensible. I then fell fast asleep.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I dreamt that I was travelling out to sea in a boat to what had looked like an island rich in vegetation from the shore. When I reached the spot where the island lay, I found a circular ring in the water like a stationary ripple. In this ring were four ducks. When I looked at a detailed map of the area, I found it uncharted. I then sailed back to the shore as fast as I could. I thought over what I had seen, wondering why it was visible from the shore and not from the boat. The island of Atlantis which sank under the sea many years ago crossed my mind. “Perhaps it is a ghost island,” I thought. Suddenly monkeys started entering the room, followed by ducks. At the end of the procession was a hoopoe who was calling to me and I woke up to meet an equally exciting day. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Ampurias</b> (9th December, 1995)</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span> <span> </span></span>Hidden away in the north-east of Spain, in the land of the hoopoe, a few feet from the yellow sands of the hot beach, bursts forth a habitat of trees and wildlife. Listen now, and you can hear the sea. Except in the hush of night or when the Tramontana wind blows south from the Pyrenees, its sound ceases to register in the mind, for it mingles with the other changing sounds of the day and forms an omnipresent background, a piece of canvas on which to paint my picture.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In this landscape moulded by the sea, numerous kinds of life abound, plants, birds, reptiles and insects. The tall pine trees whose proud trunks have been beaten into submission by the merciless winds from the sea, turn their broken backs over the path towards the fields beyond. Within the shade of these trees, protected from the powerful heat of the sun and cooled by the strong sea winds, the ground is almost moist. Unlike the open fields and suffocating streets, where the heat is intense, soft ferns and weeds have scattered themselves. Settled, united with the sandy soil, they thrive. This carpet of green merges intermittently with spiky nettles camouflaged with grass, which grate at the ankles of unsuspecting tourists. Snakes are not uncommon hiding in the blades of grass, smooth, black and poisonous. High up in the branches, the cicadas rub their legs in quick succession, the sound, erupting, sweet, discordant, a melodious cacophony of notes upon the air, reaching a climax at midday. Swallows fly seawards, surfing on the air currents, free from everything. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At midday, you can see the crowded beaches. The sea attracts tourists from afar, and most who come return again the following year. They sit under the brilliant sun throughout the day, sweating in the heat, a delightful form of self-torture. They then fling themselves into the sea to cool off. Some take advantage of the warm sea winds to surf on the surface of the water. Flapping triangles of colour stretch into the distance, bobbing up and down as the waves rise and fall. Others are fishing from the rocky promontory beyond the Greek breakwater or from the new arrow-shaped pier.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Behind me are the Greek and Roman ruins of Ampurias. The massive excavated walls have withstood the ravages of time. Some are made of large rectangular rocks, neatly placed in rows like Roman legionaries. Within a fenced off area is the statue of Aesculapeus, the god of medicine, overlooking all, white and inaccessible. The museum holds mysterious coins, sculptures, vases and a vessel made for funeral tears. The first Greek settlers came by ship and founded the town of Ampurias. They were traders and during the Punic Wars, they carried arms for the Romans in their ships, and so helped defeat Hannibal. They were richly rewarded and built a new 'agora'. In Roman times, Ampurias continued to be a market place and people from surrounding areas came to sell their goods in the forum. Hence Ampurias from 'Emporium’ meaning market-town. </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I turn my head and I can feel the sea wind blowing at my hair and my shirt pressed against my back. Across the dusty path, beyond the withering fields, stands a large mansion surrounded by a forest of eucalyptus trees, a painting of such beauty, colour and imagination that I have taken photos of this view on every holiday. In the distance and surveying all like deities, stretch the pale blue, snow-peaked Pyrenees. Rivers pour down these mountains in their v-shaped valleys. They then slow down as they flow through the Ampurdan plain and finally empty their silty waters in the salty sea. In the summer when the campsites are full, the mouth of the river Fluvia is no longer translucent but polluted by sewage. This may explain why jellyfish, semi-transparent and mauve, whose tentacles sting careless swimmers, are sometimes found floating just below the surface of the sea until they are washed up and lie lifeless on the beach.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The waves are gradually eroding the sea shore, slowly advancing up the beach, mercilessly destroying all in their path. The old Greek wall, made of huge boulders, is now completely surrounded by water. Two thousand years ago, it had protected the ships in the Greek harbour. Now it is a place from which fishermen can caste their lines. And perhaps in two thousand years the sea will have advanced further, and this special place will cease to be because specialness is but a temporary quality.</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>The Leaving</b> (17th February, 1996)</span></p>
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<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span> <span> </span></span>The curtains billowed in the wind, the curtain rings rubbing against the rails with a discordant screeching sound. I shut the open window. The noise died down to murmur. The crisp brown leaves rustled along the hard stone cobbles. It was not late, but it was already dark outside. The trees were not yet bare of leaves, their outlines visible against the clear and purple sky overlooking everything. In the daytime, hundreds had picnics under the wonderful display of yellow-brown leaves, short-lived, sparks of brilliance and wonder. Then nothing would be left behind.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The wind grew stronger now, the windows shaking in their wooden panes. I decided to leave the warmth of the house and take a short walk outside wrapped up in my anorak to feel the cool wind upon my face, the sweet night air. I moved almost effortlessly, the wind continually driving me forward on a blanket of air. The few lights that were still on were now disappearing into darkness. Then all the houses were black, bowing down in obedience to the night. The noise of my shoes upon the ground seemed to carry along the whole length of the tree-lined avenue, like a tunnel, the trees bending over my head on either side. The wind echoed and the leaves scraped against the hard surface, making a crunching noise as they were trodden on.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Time to go back before the wind gets too strong,” I thought to myself. I turned my back to come face to face with the merciless force of the rising wind. I put on my hood, but it was little use. I turned round and began to walk backwards. I kept on looking round, but despite this, the slight changes in direction of the wind left me knocking into flower pots, walking into parked cars and on one occasion stumbling on an empty Coke can in someone’s front garden.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Suddenly I felt an abrupt pain from the back of my head. I seemed to be encircled, surrounded. I could no longer move, trapped in my position. I tried to free my arms, but all I heard was the crunching of leaves and the noise of the wind, tearing at my face. I was surrounded by leaves. They grew higher and higher. I tried to lift myself out, but to no avail. I did not have my portable telephone so I could not call for help. I was drowning in a flood of leaves. They poured all over me like waves in the sea over a drowning man. I could not swim in leaves and my body was numb from cold. I breathed heavily and after one final attempt managed to climb on to the leaves. I started to crawl over them, a wave of relief now passing over my body. The trees seemed closer to me now, still bending, but this time lower, swaying downwards, staring thoughtlessly, staring mindlessly, as if about to grab me. All I could see in the sky was a mass of black, a thunderstorm of leaves, no longer beautiful, but menacing. They were falling around me, swallowing me up. “Where am I going?” I thought to myself.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Houses trapped me on either side. My only path was forward. Then suddenly the leaves seemed to give way, leaving no escape route. There was a loud crunch as I fell through the leaves and more leaves fell on top. I was buried. I held my breath for what seemed an age, struggling furiously. Suddenly, it was light. I saw myself through the leaves lying still, motionless. The image became smaller and smaller and then completely disappeared into a vivid white.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I had left the Earth far behind and all my neighbours, a sudden departure, a vivid farewell and then there is a blankness in my memory. I was nowhere and yet I remember once drinking from a well. I was in a queue waiting to get my share of water. My two next door neighbours were behind me. They must have died in that same thunderstorm of leaves.</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The picture grew larger, I saw a tree and I entered that tree, became innate with it. My arms were turning into branches, my fingers into leaves. I turned my head to see my old neighbours on that same avenue, their actions identical to mine. Then my head sprouted leaves and I became a tree. We were the homes of the new birds and since we died in autumn when the leaves died, we became creators of leaves ourselves and servants of the spring. This was the leaving of my former self and the leaving of my body.</span></p>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-36324584946157925152023-09-14T17:42:00.005+01:002023-09-14T17:48:03.166+01:0022 Childhood Poems<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Planet Earth</b> (~1987)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It has five blue oceans of water and sand.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It has seven continents of beautiful land.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It needs the sun for heat and light,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Otherwise, it would snow all day and night.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It goes at 66,000 miles an hour around the sun.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It takes 365 days on its yearly run.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It has one moon and it borrows its light,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Which is sometimes crescent and always white.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The biggest creature on Earth is the whale,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As big as a cargo ship from head to tail.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The smallest, I think, is the ant in the ground,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Which existed before dinosaurs walked around.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Man is the cleverest from birth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">He can kill everything on this planet Earth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>I Wish</b> (~1990)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I wish I could drive a spaceship in the sky</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To Jupiter and other planets.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I wish I had wings to fly,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But not to another planet.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But only like a bird beneath the clouds,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Or like the powerful Archaeopteryx.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I wish I could run as fast as light.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I wish I could draw perfect circles.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I wish I could measure a thousand galaxies at night.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I wish I knew how many degrees of heat are in the sun.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I wish I could do difficult equations.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I wish I knew how black holes were discovered by someone.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I wish I could stop wishing</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Because it makes me sad.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Train to the Olympics</b> (18th September, 1992)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The train gathers speed and hurtles on</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Past beaches and straggling rocks.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A flash of red poppies and gone</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Are the factories and tenement blocks.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The moon looks down on lakes and lands,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Flooding fields and flowers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It scatters pearls in thousands,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">On streams and fountain showers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The monstrous trees with outstretched sleeves,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Wave and whisper in the breeze.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The glow-worm lights up the leaves</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For the engine that groans and heaves.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The birds tremble when they hear the cries,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Of the train that hoots at night.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I have now closed my eyes</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And dream of Olympian heights.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>An Alien in London </b>(1st Dec, 1992)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">One by one, the lights turn on,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">After a second, they are gone.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The message that the lights had shown</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Is turned to blackness, still unknown.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Yellow, green, and Martian red</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Pierce my eyes and hurt my head.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Crowds are rushing as if in fright,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But all ignore the winking light.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They walk upright, some black, some pale,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Or drive machines with a smoking tail.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Bound to their seats, buckled and strapped,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They curse and scowl like creatures trapped.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They feed their machines from an Ess</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Through a hole in the right-hand flank.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They stop dead when the red lights shine;</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To dash wildly on, green is the sign.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Many are tethered without a rope,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Whether or not they are on a slope.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The tethering posts make a ticking sound,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Which I can hear with my ear to the ground.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The food they eat is called Big Mac.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The names they use are John and Jack.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They drink Coca Cola through long straws</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And greet each other by touching paws.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They gyrate round a boy carrying a bow,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Aimed towards an invisible foe.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Amidst the traffic he stands alone,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In Piccadilly Circus, a figure of stone.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Foaming Horses</b> (9th February, 1993)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Then they receded</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Once again</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And with all their force</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thousands of horses</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">With foaming mouths</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Galloped down</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The wide expanse</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Of the roaring sea</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And flung their bodies</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Onto the beach</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To flood the path</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And me</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Heaven & Hell</b> (March, 1993)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I enter bed and close my eyes;</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In the darkness, there she lies,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A strange phantom with hypnotic powers</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Leads me through the land’s great towers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And while beneath the gates I walk,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I hear the beings of both lands talk:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In mine, the sounds of sorrow and sin,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In hers, of happiness among fellow kin.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I enter her land and amazed I behold</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The colors, the riches, the gold,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Astronauts, pilots, sailors, and all.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But there in the corner I see a monster so tall</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Guarding the Field of Black Living Sand,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The one evil thing that man dreads from this land,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">That makes him with utmost haste depart.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In my adventure, I was the hero, central part,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But then through the gates I wandered afar</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Into my monotonous polluted world, a scar</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To nature and the universe.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Questions and Answers</b> (23rd April, 1993)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Why is the moon so white?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The moon is so white</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Because it’s a diamond to light up the night.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Why is the night so dark?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The night is so dark</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Because all things must sleep, including the shark.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">How can the shark see across the vast oceans?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The shark can see across the vast oceans</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Because in its eyes are magic potions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But why are the oceans so deep?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The oceans are so deep</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Because...oh! just go to sleep.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Who am I?</b> (25th April, 1993)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I am the Holy, Mighty, Everlasting One.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My body is of a kind that glistens in the sun.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It is composed of two gases, one the kiss of life,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The other is as deadly as a laser knife.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I am born in the mountains of the Himalayas</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">From a hole between permeable and impermeable layers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I jump up and as fast as the wind I fly</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Past where a sleeping fakir does lie.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Then I turn a bend and over a cliff I stumble,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I hit the hard ground with a slap and a grumble.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I swirl a pebble, forming a hole in my V-shaped bed</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Rushing over a cemetery, I bless the unfortunate dead,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And quench the villagers from their thirst.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Then my body rises and my sides burst,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My body flattens, to a man I have grown,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The green fields around me are sown</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">With cereal crops, spices, rice, and tea.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Many others of my kind join into me,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">We dance as one and sing one song.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">We create and destroy and can do no wrong.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">More and more join me and then I am old,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Wider is my bed and broader my land,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Stretching for miles there is fertile sand.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Once I heard a man say to another with such cheek,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">“This thing pollutes us. It makes such a reek.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They drink my blood and wash in it as well</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And blame me for my mud when it starts to smell.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I then divide myself and multiply.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In the Bay of Bengal I die,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But I do not die. Who am I?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Night & Day</b> (23rd May, 1993)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The moon and stars were out and bright,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Were holding hands and shining through the night.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There they shone on sky and sea,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And lit the earth resplendently.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The sun was out and shining gold,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Was sitting in the sky so bright and bold.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There she shone on fields and flowers,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Painting roses and peering through bowers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The mountains were tall, were stretching high,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Peeping over clouds and touching the sky.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The rivers were reflecting </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">the sun and the sky,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And flowing through fields of barley and rye.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The moon and stars were out and bright,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Were holding hands and shining through the night.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There they shone on sky and sea,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And lit the earth resplendently.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Henry & The Lion</b> (2nd October, 1993)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Henry, duke of Brunswick, was a knight in the second crusade.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The eyes of his wife were blurred with sorrow as she watched him fade</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Over the horizon in a boat with a thousand men or more</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To fight like a good crusader and spread the Christian law.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Their ship ran aground on the African coast, only Henry survived.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The rest wore heavy armour and from the ship they dived;</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Struggling for life; beneath the waters of existence they were drowned;</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Trapped beneath Death’s black cloak, the Devil looking greedily around.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Henry found a deserted coast and rested in a cave.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He awoke when something touched his face. A lion he saw, but was brave.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The lion did not attack him, so he removed a thorn from its paw.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He dressed this wound with a piece of his own very shirt which he tore.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The lion was so grateful that it always followed him everywhere,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hunting for him every day and feeding him with wild rabbit and hare.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But despite all this Sir Henry found the food monotonous</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And thought of the roasts and pies he had at home: delicious.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One day, sadder than ever and giving way to despair, he wept.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Then the Devil told him that his wife was to remarry that day. Up he leapt</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In fury and despair and for the Devil’s help he prayed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Devil said he’d take them home if he gave his soul and the deal was made.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When at home, the lion roared: all fled,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And Henry cut in half the man his wife would wed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At the death of Henry in 1195,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The faithful lion kept watch at the foot of his bed, alive.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Devil then entered on his cloven hoofs, tip-toeing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He picked up the lion thinking, in the darkness, the knight he was holding.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When the Evil One realized his error, he let it go in the sky and went back.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That is how the constellation of Leo, the Lion, became part of the Zodiac.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Bannockburn</b> (3rd October, 1993)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Brave Wallace is hanged and dead,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">So by Bruce the army shall now be led.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">“We shall capture the castle of Stirling</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And the Stone of Scone back we shall bring.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The English we shall conquer this Midsummer’s Day,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In these lands they can no longer stay.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thus spoke Bruce with a voice so stern</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Beside the wet banks of Bannockburn.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Scots made a hedge of spears, it is said,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And the purple heather became deep red.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Ten thousand of the English perished that day</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And four thousand of the Scots, or so they say.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Though the Scots were outnumbered three to one,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They stood firm and fought on until they won!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Never has such bravery ever been seen</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>A Childhood Memory</b> (4th December, 1993)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Six years old and spring in Ampurias.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Cold blustery winds from the Pyrenees,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Still snow-capped, not like the hot July days.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Olive and pine-cone fires in the evening,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Glowing, exploding with a sizzling smell.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">On the deserted beach soon after dawn</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The feeble orange glimmer of the sun</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Peeps through the snowy curtain of white cloud.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The pale blue sky stares down upon the sea,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Watching its slowly changing mirrored face.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It was April then. The waves curled over,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Mouths frothing, galloping</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But all fell down before me, receded</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Into the dark deep, reincarnated,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They rose to try and conquer once again,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Again, but every single time they failed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My brother and I entered the waters</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Of the cold Mediterranean Sea</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To swim breast-stroke, to race, to play, to splash</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Each other’s faces, while two tall Germans,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Goliath-like in strength, flexed their muscles</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And did several press-ups on the beach.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Seeing us, children, swimming in the sea,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They dived in thinking the water was warm,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But charged out, shivering, shouting, swearing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">“Achtung! Achtung!” they screamed in unison.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They asked my father, “How do they do it,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Those skinny boys in these icy waters?”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">“Enthusiasm,” he replied.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Highest of the High</b> (25th December, 1993)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The highest of the high, its peak above white cloud.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The bells of Fryman’s church ring out to all aloud</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To villagers from Fryman to sing and pray to God,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To fishermen in lakes below waiting for their cod,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To bakers, beggars, builders, butchers, everyone,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Even little children in the woods having fun.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Up the steps to the church a shoal of people hike,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The people of Fryman, big and small alike.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>UFO</b> (25th December, 1993)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I was sunset then, the sky was slowly fading</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Into the orange horizon. Clouds hung low,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Mountainous grey over the lonely park.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Black soldiers slowly oozed out of the pores</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Of the sky and merged with previous blue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I heard a plane, flying in the distance</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And looking up to see its flashing light,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Another light, above I saw,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">From oblong object, silence moving,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It split in three and vanished</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">No plane, it made no sound</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">No firework, it traveled long and high</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My mind could only say, “A UFO.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But still I do not know.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Insecurity</b> (4th February, 1994)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Five p.m.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Walking home from school</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In rushed blackness swarming </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Hiding all the blue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Changing was the sky. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Greyish blue it stood.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">No moon, no stars, no clouds, </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">No spears of drizzling rain</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Which drenched the playing fields, </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Whose scars now still remained</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In dark grey fiery puddles </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Waiting on the street.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Menacing.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Loud and slow and clear,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The steady sound of footsteps</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Approaching from the rear.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I saw not a man in front </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And dared not look behind.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I dared not run.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I dared not shout.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I shuddered,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To the echoing, deafening, loudening</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Ghostly footsteps behind.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">No foliage to hide in,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But leafless ogres towering. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Vulnerable.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A house with open windows,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A mole upon the ground.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My mouth was dry,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My throat was sore,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Air no longer sweet</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Against my frozen tongue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thoughts rushed in of warmth,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Laughter by the fireplace,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Snuggled up in bed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A cold hand touched</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My shoulder.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A friend </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Just passing by.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The dark no longer</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Was a fear.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The dark I feared no more.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Love and Death</b> (5th May, 1994)</span></p><p><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Though I am young and cannot tell</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Either what Death or Love is well,</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Yet I have heard they both bear darts,</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And both do aim at human hearts;</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And then again I have been told</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Love wounds with</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> heat as Death with cold;</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So that I fear they do but bring</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Extremes to touch and mean one thing.</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>—Ben Jonson (1692)</i></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Love would mould the world together,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For its grasp abides forever,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But, alas! Touched not are some hearts</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">By wily Cupid’s poisoned darts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Death is the fate of all living things:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Plants, birds, fish and creatures with wings.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I believe it not to be so cold,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But new life: a cure for the old.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>From His Coy Mistress</b></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Had we but world enough and time, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This coyness, lady, were no crime. </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We would sit down, and think which way </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To walk, and pass our long love’s day. </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of Humber would complain. I would </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Love you ten years before the flood, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you should, if you please, refuse </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Till the conversion of the Jews. </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">My vegetable love should grow </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Vaster than empires and more slow; </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">An hundred years should go to praise </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze; </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Two hundred to adore each breast, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But thirty thousand to the rest; </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">An age at least to every part, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And the last age should show your heart. </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For, lady, you deserve this state, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Nor would I love at lower rate. </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But at my back I always hear </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near; </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And yonder all before us lie </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Deserts of vast eternity. </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thy beauty shall no more be found; </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">My echoing song; then worms shall try </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That long-preserved virginity, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And your quaint honour turn to dust, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And into ashes all my lust; </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The grave’s a fine and private place, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But none, I think, do there embrace. </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Now therefore, while the youthful hue </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sits on thy skin like morning dew, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And while thy willing soul transpires </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At every pore with instant fires, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Now let us sport us while we may, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And now, like amorous birds of prey, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Rather at once our time devour </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Than languish in his slow-chapped power. </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us roll all our strength and all </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our sweetness up into one ball, </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And tear our pleasures with rough strife </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Through the iron gates of life: </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thus, though we cannot make our sun </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Stand still, yet we will make him run.</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>—Andrew Marvell (1681)</i></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">If only you would bide your time</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And serve me well with faith sublime,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Then I would banish all your fear,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Dispel the doom approaching near.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">“Please,” you would say, “don’t go away.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And I would say, “Another day.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">When your love is truly tested,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Then, like birds, we would be nested.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But never would I wish to stay</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And watch love grow and then decay.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Why do you fret about the time</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And try to tempt me with your rhyme?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For if I made you stand and wait,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Your fiery love might then abate,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And into ashes all your lust</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">An emerald with a coat of dust.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Now, therefore, quit your verse untrue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Oh why pretend I don’t love you?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But bear in mind I serve the moon</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And cannot marry you so soon.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Eagle (21st May, 1994)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He clasps the crag with crooked hands;</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Close to the sun in lonely lands,</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He watches from his mountain walls,</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And like a thunderbolt he falls.</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">—<i>Alfred Tennyson (~1851)</i></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The sky falls not upon his head,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The sea with Death dissolved like lead</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Coats not his body fatal red.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">He soars above both hill and vale,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Plunges—all forest birds do wail</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Its living prey it doth impale.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Lament for Hyoi </b>(11th June, 1995)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Neither the grass grows here,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Nor the flowers bloom;</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Even the sky looks down</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">On the mountains’ gloom. (Anon.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The shining sun descends in haste;</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">From Hyoi’s death it turns away.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The divine witness of a tragic waste</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Offers not a single hopeful ray.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Under moss and leaves his body now lies,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Lit by the stars and pale Thulcandra.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Over his heart an <i>eldil</i> flies,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Above the expanse of the broad <i>harandra</i>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To all our hearts Hyoi was dear;</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">He became <i>hnakrapunti</i>, this warrior so great.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">He slew the mighty monster with a ferrous spear,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But then with <i>hmâna</i> he met his fate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Yesterday the river was a sapphire blue,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Flowing but never reaching the sea.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">All the <i>hrossa</i> were singing and Hyoi too.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But today there’s no poet to go fishing with me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Spinning Coins</b> (1995)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The world holds a thousand coins that spin.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Mortal islands moving with free will.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Predestined, power of choice and sin.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Values change. Every day lives fill.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">All equal spinning dust: king, serf, clown</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Waging war against the clock was killed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Deepest thoughts and actions written down.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">One page of eternity is filled.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Though by Nature’s laws mankind is spun,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Society gains, when each man joins</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Knowledge, science, thoughts, all arts in one.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The world is a thousand spinning coins.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Le rêve</b> (15th May, 1994)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Il y avait un homme qui a rêvé</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Qu’il était en train de se lever</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Mais il a pensé que c’était</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Un rêve qui était</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Un rêve dans un rêve qu’il rêvait.</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Approximate Translation:</span></span> </i><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There was a man who dreamt</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That he was just getting up,</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But he realised it was a dream</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That was a dream in a dream he was dreaming</span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>La Vie</b> (3rd September, 1995)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">La vie est un rêve du seul et unique ciel:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Aussi amer que le citron et aussi doux que le miel,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Une chaîne de choix ou une série de problèmes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">La Terre est un paradis perdu mais aussi même</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Un paradis retrouvé où on passe</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Nos jours de joie sur sa jolie face.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Quand nous mourons, nous nous réveillons</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Et voyons le vrai monde où nous habitons. </span></p><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Approximate Translation:</span></span> </i></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Life is a dream under the one and only heaven:</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As bitter as lemons and as sweet as honey,</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A sequence of choices or a multitude of problems.</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Earth is a lost paradise, but equally</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A paradise re-found where we spend</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our days of joy upon its pretty face.</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And when we die we shall wake up</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And see the true world in which we</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: small;"> live. </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-38097304613496109912020-01-28T12:18:00.001+00:002020-01-28T12:18:28.398+00:00Joy Together<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div><br></div><div><b>Joy Together</b></div><div><br></div><div><p data-adtags-visited="true">Despite the pain, despite the tears,</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">Despite the distance and the years,</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">Despite new worries and old fears,</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">My heart is always reaching near.</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">Longing for you my love, my dear.</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">Seduced for ever by your charms,</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">Since first I held you in my arms.</p><p data-adtags-visited="true"><br></p><p data-adtags-visited="true">May I heal your pain and wipe your tears,</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">Love you ever closer with the years.</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">May I give you comfort and bring bliss,</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">With each deed and word and hug and kiss</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">A devotion and a proof of this</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">Till we dissolve in that embrace</p><p data-adtags-visited="true">And look to heavens with one face.</p><p data-adtags-visited="true"><br></p><p data-adtags-visited="true">--okei</p></div>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-88176429119811131792016-12-30T12:02:00.000+00:002016-12-30T12:04:13.412+00:00The Heart Sutra: Everything is Empty<div class="p1">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>Thanks to Yuan Hao who introduced this teaching to me, but any errors in these notes are mine.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Buddha’s teachings after enlightenment are sometimes categorised into three turnings of the dhamma wheel. In the first of these, Buddha elucidates the four noble truths for extinguishing suffering. In the second, he emphasises the teaching of emptiness and the selflessness of phenomena. And in the third, he discloses the luminous nature of the essence of the tathagatas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Heart Sutra is the shortest of this second wheel, also called the perfection of wisdom or prajnaparamita teachings. It comprises a condensation of several heavy bookcases of prajnaparamita suttas in the Tipitaka. These were further developed by Nagarjuna and commentaries on Nagarjuna by Aryaveda and Candrakirti. The Heart Sutra is often used as a daily prayer and also as a blessing both in Tibetan as well as other branches of Buddhism. Its importance is due to its encapsulation of the most fundamental and essential of Buddha’s teachings, namely with regard to emptiness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Perfection of Wisdom (<i>Prajnaparamita</i>) is sometimes regarded as a goddess to whom one pays homage. Bowing in Buddhism is not to idolise or worship a figure as if it is real, but to remind oneself of its embodied qualities, and to transcend the self that bows. During meditation, experienes of physical and mental bliss, of clarity and of emptiness may arise. But attachment to these states is an impediment to the practice. When coming to the text we begin by paying homage in order to facilitate a sacred state of mind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">At the beginning of every text, there are often recounted the five perfect attributes which serve as a reference guaranteeing the authenticity of the teaching and so dispelling doubt. These are the time, the place, the teacher, the teaching, and the audience (which in its retelling includes ourselves).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The main body of the Heart Sutra has the form of a question by Sariputra, an answer by Avoliketeshvara and an affirmation by Buddha Sakyamuni.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The emptiness teaching comprises an emptiness of foundation (the five aggregates), an emptiness of path (the twelve links and the four noble truths) and an emptiness of result (the profound wisdom).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The five aggregates are form, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness. Everything in the world is made up of these five. They are all empty. What does it mean to say that they are empty? Two images are used. One is of a white shell which appears yellow to a person with jaundice: just as such a person does not perceive the original whiteness, it is only because of our way of looking that we do not see things as empty. Another simile is that of the moon in the water. Emptiness is a lack of inherent existence or conceptual separation. It is what Thich Nhat Hanh calls inter-being or inter-dependence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">If the Heart Sutra is the essence, the essence of the Heart Sutra is in the enigmatic quatrain:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Form is emptiness;</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Emptiness is form.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Form is not other than emptiness;</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Emptiness is not other than form.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">If we can contemplate and realise this, the same applies by analogy to each of the other five aggregates. Once realised for the five aggregates, the same can be realised for the twelve sense bases, the eighteen constituents, the twelve links of dependent origination, the four noble truths and the profound wisdom of the Buddha itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">These four lines speak to the attachment to existence, to non-existence, to both and to neither. Contemplating the four areas of a Venn diagram, the identity of form and emptiness is established.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">To say form is empty is also to say that form is empty of an independent self. Conventionally speaking, we can talk of a car and a person and the moon. We can talk of good actions having good consequences and the importance of taking responsibility for our body, speech and mind. These are relative truths. To say all these are empty of existence or self-nature is absolute truth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">If we were to ask the philosophical question: if I replace one plank at a time of a wooden ship, at what point does it cease to be the original ship? Or the same question, but now where the replacement planks are made of metal? Or what if the planks are not replaced at all? What if instead of a ship, it is the human brain being replaced one molecule at a time with computer chips performing the same function: at what point would the result cease to be human? All these questions are based on a supposition of original nature. In a relative sense, the ship might cease being the original ship from that point when we did not recognise it as such. This emphasises how its nature is defined not in itself but by our own perception. But in an absolute sense, the nature of the ship or the human being is emptiness, so these questions are based on a false premise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Emptiness is sometimes expanded upon into 7 further profundities of emptiness: emptiness, no characteristics, no production & no cessation, no stains & no purity, no increase and no decrease. Characteristics include the feelings they may induce, whether beautiful or ugly, pleasant or unpleasant. The remaining three pairs refer to the perceptions, mental formations and consciousness respectively which may be induced. Though waves may rise and waves may fall, the wave is empty of inherent existence being but a movement of the sea of consciousness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">In order for sound consciousness to arise, there must be an ear consciousness and a sound. These three constitute sense contact from which pleasant, unpleasant or neutral sensations may arise, from which in turn craving or aversion may arise. The same is true of all the six senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and mind. There are therefore twelve sense bases in total, six internal and six external, and eighteen elements including the consciousnesses that arise therefrom. All of these eighteen constituent elements are empty.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Likewise the twelve links of dependent origination that begin with ignorance and end with ageing and death are empty. These twelve are: ignorance, karmic formations, consciousness, name and form, six sense bases, contact (just discussed), feelings, craving, clinging, becoming, birth and finally ageing and death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">So too the suffering, origin of suffering, cessation of suffering and the path leading to the cessation of suffering, as taught in the first turning of the dhamma wheel, are all empty of inherent existence. The wisdom then is to surrender to the cure, follow the dhamma, but not attach to it, because it too is empty of inherent existence just like the sickness it cures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">We finally turn to the emptiness of result: “no wisdom, no attainment, no non-attainment”. We already possess the Buddha’s profound wisdom, but both the wisdom and the self are empty. They only exist and manifest themselves as if in a dream. Abiding in this profound wisdom purifies the mind of all mental afflictions and attains liberation. But there is nothing attained. We experience a shift, as if waking from a dream inside a dream to realise that we are still dreaming. And this is a universal experience of all buddhas, past, present and future to become enlightened through this wisdom of emptiness, this <i>prajnaparamita</i> or supreme wisdom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The answer to Sariputra’s question concludes with a mantra for this perfection of wisdom: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>tadyatha om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha</i>. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">This is a blessing with healing power both mentally and physically. <i>Tadyatha</i> means “as follows”, the rest means gone to the other shore, completely gone beyond, completely awakened and enlightened, and <i>svaha</i> means “so be it” or “may it be”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">This mantra expresses a self-surpassing moment, beyond even the opposition of this shore and the other shore, awake or not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ken McLeod writes on the use of the six perfections to realise the prajnaparamita: <i>Where is the other shore? For generosity, nothing to own. For ethics, nothing to hide. For patience, nothing to fear. For effort, nothing to achieve. For stable attention, nothing to wander. For wisdom, nothing to know.</i> As a friend of mine joked: <i>wisdom is what remains when all that we have learned is forgotten</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The elements of natural awareness are like snowflakes falling on a hot stone, beautiful but transient. In the Amulet Mahamudra of the Shangpa tradition, the four drawbacks of this primal awareness is that it’s so close you can’t see it, so deep you can’t fathom it, so simple you can’t believe it and so good you can’t accept it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">As Ken McLeod says, “the most that a teacher can do is to help create the conditions in which seeing, the experiencing of presence or awakening can arise. The student needs three things: willingness, know-how and capacity.” Willingness is a letting go and is connected with faith. Know-how can be taught and helps cultivate attention. Capacity is the ability to use the know-how we have been taught in practice. Capacity can be developed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">At the end of the teaching, Buddha affirms the teaching. The function of this is to dispel all doubt of both the questioner, the answerer and all those present. The response from all the worlds of gods and men is to rejoice and praise the teaching. This signifies that the Buddha’s teaching is truly universal and applicable equally to all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Image:</i> <b>The Convent of St. Agnes</b> in Prague, photo taken by <i>okei</i>.</span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-8363754808184622172016-12-08T23:18:00.001+00:002016-12-08T23:19:28.623+00:00Befriending Inner Fear (Ajahn Brahm)<div style="background-color: white; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Here are some listener’s notes on a dhamma talk by Ajahn Brahm on “Befriending Inner Fear”. It could perhaps be summarised as a talk on right view and framing our experience in such a way that we shine and benefit others most.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Befriending Inner Fear</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>1. Three Questions: When? Who? What?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are three important questions: 1) When is the most important time? 2) Who is the most important person? 3) What is the most important thing to do? I will answer these three questions. The most important time is “now”. The most important person is “the one right in front of you”. And the most important thing to do we will come to later, but it is not to do things at all, but “to take care of things”. Stop choosing what to be aware of — what is in front of you right now is the most important, so take care of it, don’t try to brush it aside or get rid of it. With this in mind, let’s meditate for ten minutes. [The moment he falls silent, a toddler bursts out crying and keeps crying and cries continuously.] This is a good practice! Don’t tell it to be quiet. Care for it. [But the parents are too embarrassed so after repeated shushing without success the frustrated father carries the child out of the lecture hall for a while until she calms down.]</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b>2. Positive Framing: The Wisdom of the Great British Philosopher</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It’s supposed to be the most fearful thing you can do to give public talks. When I first started, I thought there would be only two outcomes. Either people would walk out, it would be terrible, I couldn’t connect with them, which would be great because I could sit back and be a hermit and take it easy. Or if they liked my talks and came in great numbers, then I could inspire people and give them happiness which would be marvelous! Either way, I didn’t need to worry. The best way to overcome your fear is to look at the world with a positive outlook!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It reminds me of a lesson by the great British philosopher whom I’m sure you’ve heard of. His name is Winnie the Pooh, or Pooh Bear! When Little Piglet and Winnie the Pooh were walking through the forest through a raging storm, first twigs, then branches and then whole trees started falling… Piglet worried that a tree might fall whilst they were underneath it? To which Winnie the Pooh replied, “Supposing it didn’t?” What if it fell where we weren’t underneath it? Fear is “what if…” followed by something negative. Replace it with something positive. A woman who had recovered from cancer worried, “What if my cancer came back?” The fear was crippling her and no-one was able to help her. She asked me and my answer was, “What if it doesn’t?” She got it straight away and it didn’t come back. Fear actually makes what we fear more likely because of the stress it causes. Like the TV show I saw when little about the grasshopper crossing a plank over a pool of acid, who gets nervous and falls only to discover it is just water: it is just the fear which pushes him in! So how to overcome fear so it doesn’t “push us in”? It isn’t by overcoming, but by befriending it, embracing it, caring for it, allowing it to be without trying to get rid of it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b>3. Let Go of Being Right & Share Getting your Way</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For those of you in relationships, something you will discover sooner or later is never try to convince your significant other that they are wrong. However good at debating you are, even if you are a successful lawyer with great skills at persuading juries, with your partner it’s different. I have a solution for this: simply check the calendar! If it’s an odd-numbered day, then the woman is right, if an even-numbered day the man is right. The observant amongst you will notice there are more odd-numbered days than even-numbered days in a year, but give the women that. As well as not trying to convince, don’t try to change. If you take care of each other, the change often happens naturally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b>4. Stop Worrying What Others Think of You (they are thinking mostly of themselves)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For those of you not in relationships, there’s something worth knowing which I wish I had been taught when young. It’s to stop worrying about how others think of us and to stop trying to put on some kind of act for them. What both men and women want in a partner is someone clean, trustworthy, kind, and happy. We spend our youth worrying what others are thinking of us. We do not realise others are worrying about themselves and not thinking about us at all. Let go of the fear of what others might be thinking. This self-confidence also turns out to be attractive. Maybe if I’d known that when I was younger, I wouldn’t have become a monk. But I’m very happy being a monk.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b>5. Stop Putting Off Happiness: When you are happy, that is success!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We spend our lives putting off happiness. “If only …, then I’ll be happy” First, it’s succeeding at exams, then finding a job, a partner, a house, a car… but the happiness never comes but keeps getting pushed back. Finally, it is looking forward to retirement, or for some people even death and the paradise to come. But happiness doesn’t come from success. Psychologists turn this around and say that success comes from happiness. The truth is different however. When you are happy, that is success!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b>6. You are Beautiful Because of your Imperfections</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“I am enough” as I saw once on a T-shirt. I love T-shirts because they are full of wisdom. Another I saw once said on the first line: “Nobody is perfect.” Then below that: “I am nobody. Therefore, I am perfect.” If you go to a wood, there is no such thing as a perfectly formed tree. Every tree is crooked and has damaged leaves and broken branches. In fact, your favourite tree is probably the most bent and crooked. Broken branches are where birds nest. There is beauty in all your faults and perfection in all your failings. When we do things, we tend to be downhearted by our mistakes and focus attention on them, but like the wall with two crooked bricks, look at them instead as a “feature”!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b>7. Hearting the Shadow Self: A Practice</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are parts of ourselves for which our fear is too great to connect with and befriend intellectually. And so, I recommend this practice. Imagine the doorway of your heart, a big Valentine heart, opening and a staircase descending from the part of you which you love and accept to those parts of yourself that are excluded or that are full of fear, the child in you who feels rejected or hurt. And lovingly invite these excluded parts and memories up the staircase into your heart to comfort and accept them, saying “you are part of me”. Embrace them. Embrace your shadow side. The catharsis that comes from this process is incredible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b>To Summarise:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1) stay present and aware and take care of whatever is before you now,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2) put attention on positive aspects of experiences and people,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3) do not try to convince, push aside, change or cure or failure will be disheartening, but instead focus on doing your best to care for people,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4) be trustworthy and kind, but also be confident not fearing what others think of you,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5) success is happiness now,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">6) there is beauty in all your faults and perfection in all your failings, and</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">7) open the door of your heart to welcome in and fully accept your shadow selves and so realise your beautiful and perfect wholeness, not just intellectually but from your heart.</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-10214048177710011692016-12-08T23:11:00.002+00:002016-12-08T23:11:19.866+00:00Ego (Ajahn Brahm)<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">These are notes based on a dhamma talk by Ajahn Brahm. Any errors are mine.<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Ego<br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The purpose of this is to share practical dhamma which is relevant, not to bore you with theory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Praise & Criticism.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">People don’t have a good relationship with themselves in the West. You are good people! If someone praises you or rewards you, don’t negate them for that, but say, thank you, I deserve it! Because you probably do. On a flight to Indonesia, I once met a Muslim flight attendant who said, “I’m your biggest fan, I’ve read all your books and I watch you on YouTube” so that was nice, and one really nice result of that was that I had wonderful service the whole flight! When I tell this story, people say, “aren’t you a monk, aren’t you supposed to be humble” and I joke, “I am humble, but what’s the point of being humble if you can’t tell people”. On the other hand, I’ve also made terrible mistakes. I once did a funeral chant at a wedding. They didn’t notice. It occurred to me that’s the real reason why religious services are in Latin in Christianity or in Pali in Buddhism, it’s so people can’t understand it. That was a really bad mistake. But they’re still happily together! Instead of feeling sad, admit your mistakes! Be honest about both your achievements and your mistakes. Receiving praise will make your heart big, not your head, and encourage you to do good things again in future. Also, accept criticism. If someone calls you a dog, look at your bottom. If you see a tail, they might have a point, if not, you can ignore it. The reason people get upset is that they believe the criticism at some level. So… just walk away. Once there was a politician who fell into a well. (I used to tell this story about a goat, but about a politician is more fun.) The farmer wanted to bury him in the well and started shoveling dirt over him. But what did the politician do? He shrugged his head and shoulders, brushed it off, stamped the dirt into the ground and stepped a little higher. Before the farmer knew what was up, the politician had risen up to the height of the well and calmly climbed out and thanked the farmer for his efforts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Problem-Solving.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, let me share a problem-solving technique. I got into trouble for ordaining nuns in Australia, but I believe in equality and I was trying to bring Buddhism into the 21st century. There are various ways I could have gone about it, but I follow the Nike philosophy “just do it!”. How can we get from A to B? This is the problem-solving technique. Imagine you are already at B and look backwards, thinking about how you got there. If you look from A, things might seem quite daunting and no solution might seem possible. Thinking from the endpoint and working backwards is much less stressful. In all parts of life, use this. It’s incredibly effective!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Letting Go.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We meditate not to achieve things, but to let go of things. Sooner or later, ego vanishes completely away. As a Buddhist monk, I am a loser. I’ve got no money, no assets, yeah I’m a loser, losing greed, losing hate, losing delusion, losing my ego. If you meditate to try to attain things, this will only lead to a stronger ego. Meditation is a putting down, The analogy of the water bottle. If you hold it up, the water keeps moving and it gets tiring. Put your work down from time to time and come back refreshed and clear. We are human beings, not human doings but have you ever seen a human being? A leaf only moves because of the wind. So too, the mind by its nature is still. Stop the winds of wanting and the mind moves less. It becomes perfectly still. When things become still they disappear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mindfulness.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A monk got a phone call, “I need you!”. “Sorry I’m busy,” he replied. “What are you doing?” “Nothing”. “But you were doing nothing yesterday!” “I haven’t finished yet!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mindfulness leads to Kindfulness leads to Being with whatever is most important.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Visualisation of Metta.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Imagine the heart as a huge airplane with two doors always open, always giving, always receiving. Don’t shut the doors of your heart to suffering, but transform it into blessings.</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-19221145721112891772016-12-08T22:59:00.001+00:002016-12-09T01:13:21.509+00:00Don't Worry Be Grumpy (Ajahn Brahm)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheTTQAR44XLUs7WdKZW1ksrzNVtWLBReLA-sF_D-q8g-ZR52VwibUGhwALFmlD-QVP0s7QiTS0f9CMIL1VHlfGXir4tSMi2kdoiUNZX4BW6LPkpgpqDcbjunU2nES0bXgjDJl0Q8Pi6js/s1600/tumblr_nye1p6xB9v1rdq596o1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheTTQAR44XLUs7WdKZW1ksrzNVtWLBReLA-sF_D-q8g-ZR52VwibUGhwALFmlD-QVP0s7QiTS0f9CMIL1VHlfGXir4tSMi2kdoiUNZX4BW6LPkpgpqDcbjunU2nES0bXgjDJl0Q8Pi6js/s400/tumblr_nye1p6xB9v1rdq596o1_1280.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
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<tr><td>Rating:</td><td><span style="color: #d9c11f; font-size: small;">★★★</span><span style="color: #d9c11f; font-size: small;">★</span><span style="color: #d9c11f;">★</span></td></tr>
<tr><td width="70"><span style="font-size: small;">Category:</span></td><td><span style="font-size: small;">Books</span></td></tr>
<tr><td width="90"><span style="font-size: small;">Genre: </span></td><td><span style="font-size: small;">Spiritual</span></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><span style="font-size: small;">Tagline:</span></td><td>Practical Tools from Ajahn Brahm</td></tr>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">As well as being full of wisdom and laugh-out-loud stories, there are also several practical tips in Ajahn Brahm’s book, “Don’t Worry, Be Grumpy” which I’d love to share. But these are just selective reminders — you’ve got to go read the book!</i><br />
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</i> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1) Let go of painful memories. We only keep beautiful photos to surround ourselves with. So too we should keep only beautiful memories and let go of memories that cause suffering. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2) Water the goodness in others and in yourself with attention and love. Instead of trying to “fix” what is unwholesome, let it wither away.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b> 3) Accept praise. You deserve it. But do not compare yourselves with others. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4) Give praise generously and sincerely. Criticism strikes home at once, but praise takes fifteen seconds to get through. If the need arises for constructive criticism, then use the sandwich technique. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>5) Lower expectations, and change your attitude. See the goodness in others, and the beauty in ugliness. If you cannot see it, imagine it! </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>6) Be a visitor to your own home at least one day a week to let go of the feeling of ownership and the need to control things. Be instead a watcher. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>7) Enjoy the in-between moments in life. Enjoy the journey, not only the destination. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>8) If you need to make a decision, toss a coin to test out how you feel. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>9) In life and death situations, ask for permission: from your pet, from your loved one. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>10) In looking after someone, focus on caring, not curing; the process, not the endpoint. If we focus on curing, then we will sometimes fail and guilt will follow. If we focus on caring, we know we gave our best. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>11) In a relationship, don’t think of yourself. Don’t think of the other! Think only of us!! </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>12) If you try to capture a moment in a photograph or in words, you might miss it. Stay present, and experience with wonder. Then it will be unforgettable. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>13) Promise honesty with your loved ones and commitment to work together. Honesty and forgiveness are much more important than hiding and covering our mistakes. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>14) Let go: both what you love and what you hold onto. What you love will come back if the love is reciprocated and what you hold onto, take a break, and you can always get back to it.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b> 15) Live simply. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>16) Cultivate loving kindness.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b> 17) Make wholesome things forbidden and they become more attractive. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>18) Eat the food, not the menu. Practice, don’t just preach. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>19) 20 push-ups every morning. Pushing up the corners of your lips. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>20) Happy or grumpy, you have Ajahn Brahm’s permission… it’s ok!</b></span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-33615982938348764432016-12-08T22:38:00.000+00:002016-12-08T22:38:41.417+00:00Meditation: A Tool for Stress-Reduction or the Way to Enlightenment <div style="background-color: white; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">These are rough notes based on a dhamma talk by Lama Samten. Apologies in advance for any mistakes in transmission.</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ZirRL3n7vqCBYR9hQaVnme82i8F6jNv-1e9ganpQbAD1yFQlKy0g9U6iA1p6dQIRQS-_-j9xeQX7rAA-u37XxFP2o20lNI1bkJlyR0_WdOapINPTqNpYQNkwzIt7TUR2EgQ7fVt8or4/s1600/tumblr_ny8hqfrzvJ1rdq596o1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ZirRL3n7vqCBYR9hQaVnme82i8F6jNv-1e9ganpQbAD1yFQlKy0g9U6iA1p6dQIRQS-_-j9xeQX7rAA-u37XxFP2o20lNI1bkJlyR0_WdOapINPTqNpYQNkwzIt7TUR2EgQ7fVt8or4/s400/tumblr_ny8hqfrzvJ1rdq596o1_1280.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am happy to be here. To begin, we need wisdom. The world is in a big mess. If we are not able to see ourselves, how can we understand others. So we must talk about wisdom first. Wisdom is like the head. Without a head, we can’t see, we can’t smell, we can’t kiss. That’s a problem! Second, we need moral ethics and integrity. These are like the arms and legs. Finally, we need meditation. This is like the body’s trunk. On its own, it is not much use. Meditation is conditioned on wisdom and moral ethics & integrity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Wisdom is not the same as intelligence or wittiness. It is the ability to see the difference between what is harmful and what is helpful, and the ability to see everybody, not just yourself. Wisdom is to see other as yourself, where other means the environment as well as other living beings, all things that we depend upon for well being. Wisdom is to be grateful to others, to learn from others and to appreciate everything you gain from others, also gratefulness for this precious opportunity of human life. Wisdom is what makes meditation meaningful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Moral ethics & integrity is to honour others and to honour yourself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Meditation then is putting yourself together, first body and then mind. If we lead a simple life, then it is easier to put the mind together. In meditation, we simply sit and watch the mind without judging, like a driver paying attention to the road ahead, or a babysitter just watching the babies play within set bounds without disturbing. In time, the thoughts will settle, like the dirt in murky water sinking to the bottom so the water becomes clear. The key is not to shake the water. Don’t disturb, let be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If the purpose is enlightenment, what does this mean? It means mind being at ease so nothing can disturb it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Every morning you wake up, you have a choice whether to have a good day or a bad day. If you check your breath and you’re still breathing, celebrate! Do something to make yourself happy, make a cup of tea. Then share happiness with others. Whatever job we do, we do it to help others. The money is not significant. But if we wake up thinking I’m terrible, I hate my job, wanting what others have, then we’re sure to have a bad day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enlightenment comes from calm mind. Calm mind is temporary happiness. Ultimate happiness comes from putting yourself together, meditating, not chasing around. Because all the time we are chasing around, doing something, competing with others. I wish people would compete to be the calmest and most compassionate!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some people are what I call lazy busy, so they don’t meditate. I ask, why don’t you meditate, and they say, “I have to watch a rugby match.” Watching is very important to them. Not enough suffering leads to many good excuses. But suffering is important and has meaning. It is like the firewood or fuel for enlightenment. In that sense, it is not negative but positive. And if you try to avoid it, it remains. Understanding suffering properly leads to contentment. Joyful, content, grateful to others, meditation leads to enlightenment.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Question: What is the right attitude to suffering in the world?</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Help others, but do not disturb yourself. Do not take too much the suffering of the world into yourself. Stay open and compassionate without being overwhelmed. Then you are better able to help the world.</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-77060484018340666152016-12-08T22:34:00.000+00:002016-12-08T22:42:54.675+00:00Buddha’s Path in Practice: An end in itself or a means to a better world? (Khenpo Sodargye)<div style="background-color: white; padding: 0px;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Below are some notes on a very compelling dhamma talk by the Tibetan monk <a href="http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.khenposodargye.org&t=OGI4MWQyNTk2MWMxMmRlZjVkOWE2ZGM1ODBiMjE0Y2EyM2ZhM2ZjOCxvMHV1OW5OTw%3D%3D&b=t%3AtzGnQU2gLT135XdH8kh6Sw&m=1" target="_blank">Khenpo Sodargye</a> at the Lady Mitchell Hall in Cambridge. A full video of the talk can be watched <a href="http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.khenposodargye.org&t=OGI4MWQyNTk2MWMxMmRlZjVkOWE2ZGM1ODBiMjE0Y2EyM2ZhM2ZjOCxvMHV1OW5OTw%3D%3D&b=t%3AtzGnQU2gLT135XdH8kh6Sw&m=1" target="_blank">here</a>. The audio may be heard <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw-eShdyJ94" target="_blank">here</a>. The organisers thank all those who helped contribute to the event, to all who attended, and to Rachael Harris (left) presiding and to Catherine Hardie (right) for interpreting so brilliantly into English.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buddha’s Path in Practice:</b></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>An end in itself or a means to a better world?</b></span></span></div>
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<i>(Khenpo Sodargye)</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Listening to each other…</b></span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Looking back at the twentieth century and the many conflicts throughout the world, we look forward and hope things will be different in the twenty-first century and that we take advantage of the opportunities for cooperation and collaboration to make a better world. While scientific advances of the West have certainly led to huge material improvements in the standard of living, the wisdom traditions of the East such as Buddha-dhamma have a lot to teach us. So there is a lot of scope for mutual exchange.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am going to talk about whether the practice of Buddha’s teaching is a practice for personal advancement or a benefit to the wider world. I have been engaged in the practice and study of Buddha’s dhamma for a long time. This dhamma is extremely vast. It is difficult to encapsulate its essence. Of course, it is said by some that the purpose of this teaching is to attain liberation, remove mental afflictions and enter nirvana. According to others, however, even after attaining enlightenment, one should dedicate oneself to the advancement of other beings. According to Patrul Rinpoche, a renowned master of the Tibetan tradition in the 19th century, the objective is not to become enlightened as an end in itself but as a means to liberate other sentient beings. As the Buddhist Chaplain at Cambridge said when I met her, the Buddha’s teaching is a powerful medicine of great value in the current age to those who are committed to understanding and practicing the teachings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the one hand, the current age brings unprecedented material blessings, but also unprecedented suffering. All kinds of events transpire around the world each day that we see in the news: war, pollution, food safety to name but a few. To take one example, three hundred thousand people have died in Syria in the last five years and a million people are displaced either within Syria’s borders or outside Syria, and we are seeing the effects of this in Europe and the different attitudes of people in this country to these refugees which I’m sure you are aware of. I would urge you think about the plight of these people who have lost their homes. Of course, I’m not making any requests of you, but asking for compassionate mind. Even if we do not have the means to do something, we should think about this. There are some who say that ordained monks should not think about this, that they should seclude themselves in a cave and examine the nature of mind. But in my opinion, as an ordained person, caring about sentient beings in the environment around us is very important.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Compassion for sufferers of depression</b></span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Challenges are not restricted to conflicts. Think also of depression. Over the next twenty years, this is expected to be the second highest cause of illness after heart disease. I’d like to say a few things tonight about depression and how the Buddha’s teaching can help with this. The reason I would like to talk about depression is because in the UK, 26% of the population are depressed, that is 16 million people, one in four! In China, there are 90 million sufferers — which is the population of the UK, Austria and Holland combined. Depression has existed in the past, but it is a growing problem in the modern age. Many famous names in history, many artists and writers suffered depression. Freud described it as a loss of interest in the outside world. It is not feeling down because of some reason that we are naturally upset about, but something more serious, a feeling that hope is extinguished and a loss in confidence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Depression is a subject I have paid a lot of attention to and studied a lot. The word did not even exist in Tibetan in the past. It is a new word, invented in recent times. So it seems depression was not common in Tibet. In terms of treating this disease, there are various approaches, including psychological and medical. While medicine might stop the symptoms, once the medicines stop, the symptoms return. Also, there are side-effects to medication. So I believe that to cure this illness of the mind, we need a cure of the mind. I have myself witnessed the great usefulness of Buddhist practices in countless instances, too many to name: the use of meditation, emptiness meditation, mindfulness meditation, mantra meditation and altruistic practices.</span><br />
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<i><b>1. Mindfulness Meditation</b></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In recent times, there has been an enthusiasm in the West for mindfulness practices, but they existed already in Buddhist tradition. One metaphor of mindfulness is of the mind like the reins that bring a stampeding elephant under control, after which positive mental states arise more readily. It teaches us to focus single-pointedly, and focusing on everything which arises in our life in this way is a very powerful practice. So mindful meditation is one very useful practice.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>2. Contemplative Mindfulness</b></span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another way of practicing this is as a contemplative meditation on the body, emotions, the mind, and phenomena. Focusing on the physical form, we realize its impermanent nature. We reduce our grasping towards it. Meditating on emotions, we realize their changing nature, and loosen our grasp on emotional states. Contemplating mindfulness and examination of our minds, we focus on the current moment and so understand the nature of our mind and do not cling to its persistence. Finally, contemplating phenomena, we recognize the empty and selfless nature of phenomena. There is no conflict between emptiness and achieving things, striving towards goals with effort. (Regarding the nature of phenomena to be inherently empty is something we have to have an understanding of, just as physicists describe matter to be made up of atoms in a state of flux. It is a common misunderstanding of emptiness to think of it as nihilistic and meaning we can’t have goals.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of course these four approaches to mindfulness are in the Southern Theravada tradition as well, the four foundations of mindfulness. By engaging in this meditation practice, it does heal mental affliction. And even if we do not suffer depression, practicing them is a good preventative measure to prevent future illness.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>3. Selflessness</b></span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another Buddhist practice which can be helpful is realizing selflessness: selflessness of being and selflessness of phenomena. A lot of depression is caused by strong grasping of self. The investigation of the two forms of selflessness is very important in this context.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>4. Mantra Meditation</b></span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As well as single-pointedness, mindfulness and selflessness, another practice I would like to share is mantra meditation. I have a lot of personal success with this both in my own life and with others. Although I am not a doctor, I have helped many people with this method. This tantric mantra was given to me in 1986. I think it had an extraordinary effect in helping me become unshakeable in my faith in the dhamma. In the beginning I would not have described myself as someone who was unmoveable in my practice. This mantra has ten syllables. It is not something I have taught in front of an audience before. But it is not something that needs faith. I believe it is like a medicine that the doctor prescribes. There is no need to understand it. It just works. If you have the need, write it down to share. Recite it 10 times, 10000 times. In terms of whatever endeavours we engage in, to overcome obstacles it really is a mantra of great potency. I would like to share it with you.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Om Sancha Maha Ruo Ka Na Hum Pat</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Om Sancha Maha Ruo Ka Na Hum Pat</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Om Sancha Maha Ruo Ka Na Hum Pat</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>5. Equanimity of a Mind at Ease</b></span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is a saying in Tibetan: after you go up a mountain, you have to come down. Happiness and sadness follow each other. It is good to maintain a mind at ease.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>6. Dhamma Study</b></span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Research into Buddha’s teaching is really invaluable and indispensable. The ideas of selflessness and of dependent origination are of absolute importance to our everyday lives! Engaging with these teachings, it is advisable to raise objections. Debate and rational investigation are the crux of our methodology in the Tibetan tradition.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>7. Parents, Family & Community</b></span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The last thing is to benefit others and to look after one’s parents. As Durkheim observed in his empirical studies, depression often has its roots not at the individual level but in the community, or common mind. So it is important to work at the higher level of the community also. Thank you!</span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Questioning Dogma</b></span></i></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Question from the audience:</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“I recited this mantra 1000 times a day and got into Cambridge and I think this is why I got in!”</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Another audience member: </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Oh, I want to recite this mantra!”</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Khenpo Sodargye:</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“In fact there are many people who got into Cambridge who didn’t recite this mantra!”</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-36211092857444948822016-12-08T15:59:00.001+00:002016-12-09T01:18:12.640+00:00Living in Truth (Luangpoh Sudhiro)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We all want to be happy. Is there a secret to it? If anything, it is living in truth. The Pali word for truth is Dhamma. This carries a lot of meaning to us in Thailand. The word Buddhism is a Western word like all the other –isms and sounds strange to us in the East. So we speak of Dhamma. When Buddha’s pupil said he did not believe what Buddha said, but he had tested and found for himself the effectiveness of his teachings, Buddha was pleased and instructed others to follow a similar process in the Kalama sutta. Our purpose in doing this is dhamma or truth.</span></div>
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One of my earliest memories was seeing a body burning. First the skin and then the muscles and… it was a very interesting experience! In the West, we try to cover up and hide away these things, but it is very instructive and in Thailand the children are taken to watch. I realized that the body that burns is just like my body. Where did he go? ...his relatives no longer hold him close, but turn away and leave. One day that will happen to me also. It was a moment of truth.</div>
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We could wake up every morning and create fantasies in our imagination, but the happiness that brings is not lasting. Facing the truth of our life doesn’t bring happiness immediately, but when the truth is accepted, the conditions that we hold onto are let go of, then we come into unity and harmony with the state of nature around us and a deeper happiness arises. Meditation is the description of that process. Meditation is often described in terms of two branches, samatha and vipassana, but these are like two wings of the same bird. Samatha is often translated as peace, vipassana as insight. To use the analogy of the soldier training to fight, samatha is building up the muscles, it is “pure” training, while vipassana is training how to react and what to do in every situation, it is “applications”. We must do both. The dhamma that arises cannot be described. It can only be experienced. </div>
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There is a saying in Thailand. Two ears, many mouths. We can control our own two ears much more easily than we can control the many mouths around us. It is the same with nature in general. We cannot control it and mould it. It is just simply so. We can only control how we react to it, how we live in harmony with it. Death is part of our nature. It is always with us, so in Buddhist meditation, we turn it into our friend and we learn to make use of it. If something causes us pain, we do not put attention on it as belonging to us, but just notice it as we would notice how tears come when we eat spicy food. Also, we focus on the breath, and as long as we breathe in and breathe out, something amazing happens - we are still living!</div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Source:</i> Based on a talk by Tan Sudhiro and written up by me. Errors of misunderstanding are mine.</span></div>
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<i>Posted originally to Buddhist Travellers in 2010.</i></div>
</span>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-6734545585454690692016-12-08T15:35:00.005+00:002016-12-09T01:12:28.539+00:00What makes a real community?<div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica";"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">1. What makes a</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> real community, a real Sangha? </span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqGP5s5Fzuv4XzKAzQUcmVh4eXeL_gYbOvWO6hcrq_Ys69yvRxDXp8dSQcXjIuKG8rwEnXBEemo6vVz4UhEtpWeVJ4Qs9fXUeHn_jCn0DAyUD6YRnRq6OcwdP8aZpB8Krs6ao8Mwvvqk/s1600/JohnEverett_MillaisChrist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqGP5s5Fzuv4XzKAzQUcmVh4eXeL_gYbOvWO6hcrq_Ys69yvRxDXp8dSQcXjIuKG8rwEnXBEemo6vVz4UhEtpWeVJ4Qs9fXUeHn_jCn0DAyUD6YRnRq6OcwdP8aZpB8Krs6ao8Mwvvqk/s400/JohnEverett_MillaisChrist.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Christ</b> by John Everett Millais</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">In the Pasadika Sutta in the Pali Cannon the Buddha expresses his pleasure that his disciples are proficient in the true Dharma, and that among the sangha there are experienced, trained and skilled teachers who are liberated and able to proclaim the Dharma and refute wrong ways, that there are middle ranking disciples who are experienced and trained, that there are novices and lay followers, that there are males and females, celibate and non-celibate. In this way the perfect life flourishes. It is clear from this passage that Buddha drew huge satisfaction from the existence of this community that he had brought together. This was his boast. He had created a wholesome community; one in which there would not be major quarrelling or trouble and which had a capacity to be of benefit to people far and wide. We would be mistaken to think that the Buddhist path is something just for individuals or that the Buddha would have been satisfied with a situation where each individual had their practice that they got on with in their own way in their own space. He certainly did tailor his injunctions to the needs and temperament of individuals, but the life that he led them toward was one in which there was a whole and wholesome community with all its constituent parts playing their respective roles, each complementing the others.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">—<a href="http://amidatrust.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2c4l76zhb1iqm" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">Dharmavidya</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The word "community" is on everyone's lips, but the reality is that we are living in a vast marketplace, where everyone is a consumer, but no one is a neighbor. Every day we are bombarded with goods gone ballistic and services turned sadistic. Even in the best of neighborhoods, we are afraid to go out at night. Is it any wonder that, when we go home at night, we try to draw the night about us like a cocoon? How to form a community, then, is not a rhetorical question. It is the most urgent issue before us... There is a new wind blowing in the world, and it whispers to us that the time for community has come. We are frightened by this wind, for sometimes its whisper becomes a scream. The wind can be as loud as a hurricane and as penetrating as a tornado. We run for shelter to what used to be our communities, only to find that the rooms that once kept us safe are now only walls that keep us apart from each other. We keep looking for the larger world. We want the larger world to take us in, and keep us warm, and make us safe. We want the world to be our community. We want it to be real. Well, why not? It is not too much to ask, really. We are learning how to overcome our own fears and how to find our own faiths. We are learning how to listen to each other. This is the only way to build community, and this is where we start.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">—</span><a href="http://sallyclay.net/essays.html" style="background-color: white; color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">Sally Clay</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">[Nationalism] is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members... yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion... This fraternity... makes it possible... for so many millions of people, not so much to kill, as willingly to die for such limited imaginings."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">—</span><span style="color: #003399; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.uio.no/english/research/interfaculty-research-areas/culcom/news/2005/anderson.html" style="color: #003399; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">Benedict Anderson</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #003300; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">2. What's lacking in an "imagined community"?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i>Published originally on Buddhist Travellers in 2012.</i></span></span>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-59824627197653427972016-12-08T15:17:00.000+00:002016-12-09T01:13:00.132+00:00Nagarjuna's Middle Way<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: large;">Starting in the first century B.C. and over the subsequent centuries, there is the emergence in Buddhist literature of the prajnaparamita sutras. These writings praise merit and discipline not as ends in themselves, but merely as a vehicle for the realization of transcendent wisdom. This wisdom, impossible to describe, is characterized by insight into the emptiness of conventional reality. Only one who abides in transcendent wisdom is liberated from the suffering of the world, and it matters not whether he or she be monk or nun.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: large;">In one such sutra, a lay person expounds the transcendent wisdom to an audience of monks. How astoundingly revolutionary that must have been! And yet this seemingly new philosophy of emptiness accords with what the Buddha himself had taught. In the Dhammapada, for example, he instructs that one look upon this this world as if it were a bubble and you its dreamer. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: large;">Nagarjuna in his verses on the Middle Way takes it upon himself to provide a philosophical basis to this insight. His approach is utterly negative, critiquing anything that might seek to fill the gap of emptiness. Even the concept of emptiness will not do! There was a great tradition of philosophical argument in ancient Buddhism. The great and good would gather round to listen and the stakes were often high, the loser of an argument often making obeisance to and becoming a disciple of the winner. It was a good way of resolving disputes. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: large;">Nagarjuna enters this arena as the dispeller of all disputes. He plays the language game but only in order to forbid every move except the move not to play. Nagarjuna, his adversaries and his readers get caught in their own game, but we emerge wiser: it is but a game. How could it be otherwise?</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNnqLtwLJCVjxBu_PBbirRCC7e0ZZhGhDc4dPZWkOSYuZP0yaOLQdv1GyfrWqIwKXCBveQTcodHLDZR5lIM5fBnMm61nEgLfbSUvTpql8Ws9HXXS1bOKShpc4U70AkqVRJ8xuuSJdvWo/s1600/jeremiah+morelli+gate2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNnqLtwLJCVjxBu_PBbirRCC7e0ZZhGhDc4dPZWkOSYuZP0yaOLQdv1GyfrWqIwKXCBveQTcodHLDZR5lIM5fBnMm61nEgLfbSUvTpql8Ws9HXXS1bOKShpc4U70AkqVRJ8xuuSJdvWo/s400/jeremiah+morelli+gate2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Magic Gateway</b> by <a href="http://www.morjers-art.de/index.html" target="_blank">Jeremiah Morelli</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><span style="background-color: white;">The following is the entire set of 26 verses of Nagarjuna's 12-gate treatise to enlightenment based on the translation of Hsueh-li Cheng, though lacking the accompanying explanations and commentary.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><b style="background-color: white;">1. (Causal Conditions)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Things are produced from various conditions and hence have no self-nature.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If they have no self-nature, then how can there be such things?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The [twelve] causal conditions really have no production.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If they have production, then do they have it in one mind-moment or in many.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If an effect is already real[ised in the cause], then there can be no production.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If at the outset unreal[ised], then there can be no production either.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If both real and unreal, then there can be no production.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">How then can there be production?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Four conditions produce things; </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">there is no fifth condition:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">the cause condition, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">the sequential condition, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">the appropriating condition and </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">the upheaving condition.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><b style="background-color: white;">3. (Conditions)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Briefly and broadly, conditions do not contain effect.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If there is no effect in conditions, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">how can it be claimed to come from conditions?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If effect does not exist within conditions, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">and yet comes from the conditions,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">can it not come from non-conditions?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><b style="background-color: white;">4. (Characteristics)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Neither created nor non-created things have characteristics.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Since they have no characteristics, they are both empty.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If origination is a created thing, then it should have three characteristics.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If origination is a non-created thing, how can it be called a created characteristic?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The origination of origination comes from the primal origination.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Meanwhile the primal origination is originated by the origination of origination.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If it is said that the origination of origination originates the primal origination,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">How can the origination of origination origination primal origination</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If it is itself originated by primal origination?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If it is said that the primal origination originates the origination of origination</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">How can the primal origination originate the origination of origination</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If it is itself originated by the origination of origination.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">When the origination of origination is being originated,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">it may originate primal origination.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">How can it originate primal origination</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If it itself has not yet been originated?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">There is no darkness in the light, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">nor is there darkness in that place.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The elimination of darkness is called illumination.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Now what could the light illuminate?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">How can darkness be eliminated by the light being lighted,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">When the light, just being lighted, does not come into contact with darkness?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If the light can eliminate darkness while having no contact with darkness,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">then the light here should eliminate all darkness.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If the light illuminates itself and other things, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">then darkness will also cover itself and other things.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If origination is not yet originated, how can it originate itself?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If it is already originated and then originates itself, why should it need originating?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><b style="background-color: white;">5. (With or Without Characteristics)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">There is no function of characterisation in the case of a thing with characteristics.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Nor is there function of characterisation in the case of a thing without characteristics.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Besides these, what can characteristics characterise?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><b style="background-color: white;">6. (Identity or Difference)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Characteristics and the characterisable are neither the same nor different.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If they are neither the same nor different, how can both be established?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><b style="background-color: white;">7. (Being or Non-Being)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">There cannot be being with non-being;</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Nor can there be being without non-being.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If there can be being with non-being,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Then being should always be non-being.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><b style="background-color: white;">8. (Nature)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">By observing that the characteristics change, we know all things are devoid of nature.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Things which are devoid of nature are also non-existent, so all things are empty.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><b style="background-color: white;">9. (Cause and Effect)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Within all conditions, effect is ultimately unattainable.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Nor does it come from elsewhere…</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">How can there be an effect?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><b style="background-color: white;">10. (The Creator)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">It is not justifiable that suffering is made by itself,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">by another, by both, or from no cause at all.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Therefore there is no suffering.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Effect is produced from conditions, conditions are not self-existent,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">If conditions are not self-existent, then how can they produce effect?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><b style="background-color: white;">11. (The Three Times)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Earlier, later, and simultaneous, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">these three events are impossible.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">How can events be produced from causes?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: normal;"><b style="background-color: white;">12. (Production)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The effect already produced is not to be produced;</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">that not yet produced is not produced.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Without that which is already produced, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">and that which is not yet produced,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">that which is being produced is not produced.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Image:</i> The Magic Gateway, copyright of <a href="http://www.morjers-art.de/pic36.html" target="_blank">Jeremiah Morelli</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Shared originally on Buddhist Travellers in 2012.</i></span></span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-17644457231020081562016-12-08T15:08:00.000+00:002016-12-08T15:08:06.728+00:00The Four Opponent Powers<h4 style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-weight: normal;">This is a beautiful teaching I came across about the four opponent powers: refuge, regret, repair & resolve, each of which purifies one of the four types of karma: Object, Intention, Action & Completion. The image is Vajrasattva, the bodhisattva with whom this teaching is associated.</span></span></h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">THE FOUR POWERS OF PURIFICATION</span></h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">The purification practices found within Buddhism are not unlike the practices applied in many other religions. The most essential mental factor that one requires is sincerity or honesty with oneself. When one wants to purify past negative karma, one has to do some action with the correct motivation. </span></div>
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This is summarised in the following Four Powers of Purification:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;"><b>Power of the Object</b>: One should practice thinking of all sentient beings one may have hurt. Refuge or reliance on Buddha, dharma, sangha, your own selfless nature and potential for change rather than on your ordinary sense of being inadequate in some fixed way. This purifies karma of Object, either beings or things that carry negative karma.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;"><b>Power of Regret</b>: This should not be senseless guilt or self-recrimination, which are said to be useless emotional torture. What is intended here is to examine oneself and one's actions and to recognise that negative actions done in the past were very unwise. This purifies karma of Intentions.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;"><b>Power of Repair</b>: Basically <strong>any</strong> positive action with a good motivation can be used as practice. Perform the antidote or repair by mentally and then actually doing something (generous, moral, caring, kind.) If you hurt someone, imagine being kind to them, then actually find that person or another person and act accordingly. This purifies the karma of Action.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;"><b>Power of Resolution</b>: It is good if one can promise to avoid a negative behaviour for a specific time, or at least promise that one will put effort in avoiding repetition. Do not break your commitments. Not being honest at this stage makes the practice useless or even harmful to oneself. This purifies karma of Completion.</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">It is often explained that one needs to clear a field by purifying it from rocks and weeds, then planting seeds by study and meditation, giving water and fertiliser by doing positive actions, and automatically new harvest will grow.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Originally shared on Buddhist Travellers in 2012.</i></span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-72419908439299737972016-12-08T15:01:00.005+00:002016-12-08T15:04:32.489+00:00Just-Sitting Zazen (Shikantaza) & The End of Suffering<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: italic;">Shikantaza</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> means “just sitting”, literally “nothing but (shikan) precisely (ta) sitting (za)”; ta is a powerful word, it suggests moving activity such as when an arrow hits the target, it emphasizes single-mindedness; while za as in zazen means sitting. Some have suggested that shikantaza bears a phonetic resemblance to the Pali word “vipassana”, but any etymological link is far from certain.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">In Shikantaza, there is no focus. Whatever thoughts and feelings arise, one neither indulges nor pushes them away. Not adding, not taking away. Just being, letting the thoughts and feelings arise and pass. It’s very simple, but not necessarily easy in practice.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">I would like to give a perspective now on how this relates to the end of suffering. Suffering (</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">dukkha</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">) is one of the three marks of existence, along with impermanence (</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">anicca</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">) and no-self (</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">anatta</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">). Suffering is at the heart of the Buddha’s most fundamental teaching: the four noble truths. These are that: suffering exists, the cause of suffering is craving, there is an end to suffering and the way to the end of suffering is the eighfold path. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">First thing to say is that suffering exists. In Pali, the term for it is </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: italic;">dukkha</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">, and the all-pervasiveness of this word is remarkably difficult to translate: it’s not getting what we want, getting what we don’t want, being separated from what we like, old age, disease, death. Suffering had a pivotal role in the life of the Buddha. It is said that as a young prince, he came across four people that changed his perspective on life. The first three were an old person, a sick person and a dead person. Then the fourth person that he saw was a wondering monk. Something about that person really spoke to him. He saw an inner peacefulness. It became his all-absorbing spirital quest: what to do about suffering. It’s the same for us. If everything were satisfactory, then we wouldn’t be interested ourselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Buddha asked three questions: (1) Why is there suffering? (2) Is there an end to suffering? (3) How can we find the end to suffering? The answers he found are given by the four noble truths. The </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: italic;">first noble truth</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> says that suffering exists. Trying to escape the suffering we get nowhere. We have to sit in the heart of suffering. It requires much coruage and this is where zazen comes in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: italic;">second noble truth</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> tells us that the cause of suffering is craving (tanha). A feeling arises, pleasant or painful. That’s not a problem so long as it does not progress onto craving. What do we do when a feeling arises? This is the point we have a choice. The crux is our reaction to the feeling. We tend to crave what’s pleasurable and try to ignore or be rid of what is unpleasant. If we avoid, it may come in another form. Even pleasurable things can cause problems because they’re impermanent, so if we try to hold onto them, they create disappointment. The more we indulge feelings of like and dislike, the more we consolidate these ingrained patterns of discrimination, so suffering continues. At the next step, “I really want” becomes “I must have”. This is when craving can turn into clinging. I must have material goods, experiences, achievements. Even if I get all that, I worry that I’ll lose it. Whilst craving has the elements of desire, want, need, once it turns into clinging there’s also an element of fear, of desperately holding on, an insistence, a hardness.</span></div>
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Let me give an example: I’m feeling hungry, and I could nibble on some tea biscuits, but I remember there’s some chocolate ice cream in the freezer. But when I go and take a look in the freezer, I find there’s only a spoonful left, and I could really do with more of that. I can’t settle with that, so I head out in the car to get some more ice cream, but the store is sold out. You can guess how I’m feeling now. There’s nothing wrong with wanting chocolate ice cream. The tipping point is the development of the craving when I find there is not enough left. It’s the arising of the driven quality. </div>
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The example I gave shows all three of what are called poisons: greed, anger and delusion. The greed and the anger are obvious, but there’s also the delusion of thinking I must have this chocolate ice cream for my completeness. In pursuit of what “I must have”, I might do things which harm myself, harm others, and later regret.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: italic;">third noble truth</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> is that there is an end of suffering, and that this is possible in this life. We have a choice whether to be driven by our cravings, or whether we meditate on them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: italic;">fourth noble truth</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> is that the way to the end of suffering is the noble eightfold path. This is (1) right understanding, (2) right thought, (3) right speech, (4) right action, (5) right livelihood, (6) right effort, (7) right mindfulness, and (8) right concentration. One way of looking at the eightfold path is that this is a description of zazen, so the fourth noble truth is that meditation is the end of suffering.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Great Master Dogen went much further than this. As part of his teachings in non-duality, he said “training and enlightenment are one”. Meditation is not the path to the end of suffering, it is the end of suffering.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Suffering is caused by the belief in a separate permanent self, an “I”. Then, I’m always seeking reassurance for this uncertain sense of “I”, and look at the world through the lens of the ideals, expectations of the self, thus distorting the world, not seeing things as they really are. The more we try to shore up our self, the more we are driven by fear and desire, and so we enter a spiral of discontent. Suffering does not originate from trying to shore up the sense of self, but comes from the sense of separation itself. We can’t think our way out of suffering, but it involves an assimilation at a deeper level. So we just sit. Non-duality is something we come to see concretely for ourselves.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s not about what I want, but what’s the best thing to do. The driven quality of craving can be used for a good cause, but we have to be honest with ourselves about our motivations, we can be imaginative about alternative ways of doing things, and it’s never for us to judge the motivation, craving or delusion of another, but to look within ourselves first. This is where the precepts can be useful. They are a description of compassion in action. Zazen and the precepts together help us to manifest compassion and wisdom from within.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">We’re not trying to get from one point to another, suffering to not suffering. This would involve a duality. Accepting "what is" undermines the craving that underlies our greed, hate and delusion. Instead of "being me", "just being". Let the wholeness of the experience just be. It’s a paradox that we have to be willing to learn to just be with suffering in order to end suffering. Whatever is here right now is accepted. Nirvana is not somewhere else, or some time else. It doesn’t work if we look for freedom </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: italic;">from</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> suffering. Freedom is found within the circumstances of our life.</span></div>
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Let me finish with a quote by Great Master Dogen about suffering and the end of suffering. Great Master Dogen says, “Could it be possible for us to understand that life and death are, of themselves, nothing more than Nirvana. There is obviously no need to try to escape from life and death or to search for Nirvana. And for the first time, freedom from life and death becomes possible.”<br />
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<em style="background-color: transparent; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Source:</span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"> This is merely written up by me. The speaker was a Zen nun. The video is Gudo Nishijima Roshi talking with Gustav Ericsson in Tokyo 2005 about the meaning of Shikantaza. The photo is mine.</span><br />
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<i style="background-color: transparent; color: #660000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Published originally on Buddhist Travellers in 2012.</i></div>
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</span>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-56669395382314193712016-12-08T14:36:00.000+00:002016-12-08T14:36:00.479+00:00Seven Factors of Enlightenment<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">These seven are:</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mindfulness </b>(sati)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Investigation </b>(dhamma vicaya)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Energy </b>(viriya)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Joy </b>(piti)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Tranquilization</b> (passaddhi)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Concentration </b>(samadhi) calm one-pointed abiding of mind</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Equanimity </b>(upekkha) the fourth immeasurable and culmination of loving-kindness, compassion and joy in the joy of others.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the Samyutta Nikaya's "Fire Discourse," the Buddha identifies mindfulness as "always useful”.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Investigation, energy & joy are considered 'activating'; and relaxation, concentration & equanimity are considered 'calming'. Therefore, when one's mind is sluggish or drowsy, one should develop the enlightenment factors of investigation, energy and joy; and, when one's mind is excited or restless, one should develop the enlightenment factors of tranquility, concentration and equanimity.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The factors also act as an indicator distinguishing between lazy inactivity and the relaxed concentration of absorption because wholesome states of mind will increase when these seven factors are present, while unwholesome states will be sure to wane.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Originally published on Buddhist Travellers in 2012.</i></span></span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-60656706127136152632016-12-07T23:50:00.001+00:002016-12-07T23:50:55.622+00:00To see things as they really are: Meditation Vipassana<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Vipassana means to see things as they really are. Meditation means to focus the ruminative quality of mind. Sometimes this is focused on the breath, or a mantra, a visual image, counting, even spinning discs, all for the purpose of developing concentrentration. But vipassana by contrast is all about something else!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">The fundamental question of philosophy is how to live a proper life. In Buddhism, there is attention in particular on which mind states make me unhappy (fear, anger etc. and the domino effects they trigger), and how to overcome them. One way of overcoming these mind states might be to express them, but this could harm others. Another way is to suppress them, but suppression buries and does not fix the underlying tensions. A better way is to divert the mind, such as the Japanese fiction writer Murakami’s reaction of going for a run whenever someone upset him. This provides temporary relief, but the problem might still remain. Vipassana meditation is a technique for both facing problems, as well as developing the concentration which makes the mind stronger and less likely to get upset.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">It always amazes me that Buddha left his wife and young son at the age of 29 in order to follow this path. There is an image he gives of purifying water in a lake. When alum is sprayed on the water, the dirt in the water sinks to the bottom so you can drink it. Concentration is like this alum on the water. But each time, there’s a storm, it whips up the water again and mixes it up with the mud. So how to clean up the lake for good? This is the aim of vipassana. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">Personally, I approached this with great scepticism, but there have been amazing advances in perceptual psychology in the last few decades, most notably by Milner & Goodale that there are two perceptual pathways by which we process our experiences. These two are the perception, and secondly the sensation as I evaluate that perception and react subconsciously to it. To overcome negative mind-states, Buddha sought to cut the chain of events leading to them at the pattern of sensation, at the deep part of the mind that reacts without me knowing it. New experiments in psychology are showing signals in the brain indicating which way a subject shall make a decision, sometimes even seconds before the subject has consciously evaluated and come to that decision. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">The four foundations of mindfulness are mindfulness of mind (citta), mind contents or qualities (dharmas), mindfulness of body (kaya) and mindfulness of bodily sensations (vedanas). Some interpret the latter as emotions or feelings, but I think it's rather our bodily reactions to those feelings. It is the latter form of mindfulness that vipassana, revived in Burma by Ledi Sayadaw in the last century, focuses on. The other forms of mindfulness will follow along with it. The purpose of this talk is really to intrigue you into doing a 10-day retreat. Let me just end by saying that this mindfulness of bodily sensations involves a dual awareness, not only of what comes up, but also of its changing, impermanent nature… to see things as they really are!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><em>Source:</em> Anonymous. This is merely written up by me.</span></span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-71576436042121122632016-12-07T23:45:00.001+00:002016-12-08T15:45:54.728+00:00Salsa on Impermanence (Hector Lavoe)<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large;">A contemplation on impermanence by </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large;">the Puerto Rican master of salsa, Héctor Lavoe (1946-1993).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: small;">Todo tiene su final, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Everything comes to its end.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: small;">Nada dura para siempre, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666600;">Tenemos realizar que no existe eternidad</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-size: small;">Como el lindo clavel solo quiso florecer,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-size: small;">Like the beautiful carnation that only wanted to flourish,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666600;">Enseñarnos su belleza y marchito perecer,</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000;">Showed us its beauty and then wilted and perished,</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666600;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666600;">Como el campeon mundial dio su vida por llegar</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666600;">y perder </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666600; font-size: small;">lo mas </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666600; font-size: small;">querido en las masas otro mas</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-size: small;">Like the world champion who gave his life to win </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and when he loses, the masses love</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> another one.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: small;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xQI3rPbbmXw" width="560"></iframe></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Shared originally on Buddhist Travellers in 2011.</i></span>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-38547111338411246182016-12-07T23:39:00.003+00:002016-12-07T23:40:35.834+00:00What is a holistic education? (Krishnamurti)<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">This is based on Krishnamurti's first talk with teachers at the Rishi Valley in December 1985, which can also be read in the book of his final talks </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">The Future is Now</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.jkrishnamurti.org/krishnamurti-teachings/view-text.php?tid=1677&chid=1369" style="background-color: white; color: #003399; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;">http://www.jkrishnamurti.org/krishnamurti-teachings/view-text.php?tid=1677&chid=1369</a><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large;">What follows is a short summary. The responses from the teachers in green have been improved in places by contributions from Yahoo Answers.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"> </span></span></div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"> </span></span></span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZdOwFPcaNAWXnvcXFkjS-yN2cw414LC_MIIZ37NfedSAOd77v3XBv1GMCOea9-ga5qm_HIXqUBhlWLJ6bFDpfzuirPhgi9zIySPlSLO6DYWzqRHmyqCBO1SD-jzULON-b2CcNrByi9aY/s1600/BST_BMAGG_K2391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZdOwFPcaNAWXnvcXFkjS-yN2cw414LC_MIIZ37NfedSAOd77v3XBv1GMCOea9-ga5qm_HIXqUBhlWLJ6bFDpfzuirPhgi9zIySPlSLO6DYWzqRHmyqCBO1SD-jzULON-b2CcNrByi9aY/s1600/BST_BMAGG_K2391.jpg" width="550" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">What is a holistic education?</span></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"> </span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">If you were given the task to educate a child, not just in Maths or English, but in order to bring about a holistic life, how would you do it? Through what means, what kind of attitude, what kind of verbal explanation could you bring about a way of living which is whole and unbroken, not fragmented in specializations as many of our lives are.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Wholeness means goodness, not in the ordinary sense of a good boy, a good husband, that's all very limited, but in the sense of being extraordinarily generous, not wanting to cause harm, in a sense which is as correct now as in a hundred years. Because it does not depend on circumstances, it is always correct. It applies just as much to one child as to the whole school. From that comes right action. So goodness and a holistic way of living go together.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We must first be holistic ourselves. We have to make the child feel secure in his relationship by creating a caring environment with clear boundaries. We must be a role model and teach by example. A child may go through ups and downs of emotional turbulence of anger or over-excitement, and we may do too, but as a teacher, we must leave our own emotional turbulence at home in order to provide consistency and stay rational in the face of difficulties, so the child knows what to expect and can follow our example instead of getting caught up by their emotions. Thus, we can teach them how to make the best when things go badly, and not let things slip when things go well. </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Exactly! If you are fragmented, and you make a problem of it, the result is only more fragmentation. Nor can you wait until you are holistic yourself, because that could take an eternity. The child is waiting to be educated now.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div><span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">There is nothing to be done except watching, observing.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You have already come to a conclusion. You do not put yourself in that position. What's the relationship between you and the boy?</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div><span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We are learning together. I am not different from him.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course you are different from him — you teach Maths, he doesn't know any.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We must not over-shelter the child, relinquishing the need to be in charge and allow children to make their own choices and build character through adventure, difficulty and boredom, and also to give them space and time to contemplate and grow. Let the child win some arguments, but choose which ones wisely! Physical activities such as walks, raking leaves, doing chores, moving furniture help to burn off surplus energy and focus it more positively. Through consistency, trust and integration, with smooth interfaces instead of rigid systems, instead of action and reaction, sanctions and rewards, we can instead show patience, elasticity and empathy. Boundaries must be firm where needed, but established with love and compassion and mutual respect, not push/pull, expect, put down.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Love, compassion, that's the only thing that's holistic. Love isn't thought. Love isn't pleasure. Love is utterly unrelated to hate, jealousy, anger and all that. It is whole and it has its own intelligence. Don't just accept this. It cannot be known. To say I know you is to limit you within thought. So when I am given the task of educating this boy or girl, what should I do? I know one thing absolutely for certain: <span style="font-style: italic;">I don't know</span>, and I'm not just waiting for someone to come along and tell me what to think. Then, all my inventions, all my thinking have collapsed, so the brain is open for reception. The brain is closed by conclusion, by judgment, by opinion, but when I say, <span style="font-style: italic;">I really don't know</span>, then I've broken the closed bottle — I can drink the champagne. I begin to find out what love is, what compassion is, and that intelligence that's born of compassion. </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The brain is like a drum; it's all tuned up. When you strike it, it gives the right note.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i>Painting: </i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;">Boy </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;">Sailing a Little Boat</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;">by Francis Danby.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Shared originally on Buddhist Travellers in 2011.</i></span></div></span></span>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-44375325878656434292016-12-07T23:31:00.003+00:002016-12-07T23:35:06.356+00:00Conversations with Schoolchildren (Krishnamurti)<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">The following hour-long video records a conversation between the 89 year-old Krishnamurti & children at the school he founded in the Rishi Valley, India.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dueOavftgcY" style="color: #003399; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; text-decoration: none;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dueOavftgcY</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;">A full transcript may be read <a href="http://www.jkrishnamurti.org/krishnamurti-teachings/view-text.php?tid=1629&chid=1324&w=&s=Text" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">here</a>. What follows is a 10-minute summary of what was said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyGfFLarkwDOlpqzvpATHm2gMfc4lqMRefzTDovp1WnG7HvDKvCCTJgZcHfA1H07jHqtOvUEQeQ947WIMWZOWz5780nBRk83gTAPxy3F82QTMDrRncj4h5xjzAm9qH9R6hfDFLwq2sZw/s1600/ryland9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyGfFLarkwDOlpqzvpATHm2gMfc4lqMRefzTDovp1WnG7HvDKvCCTJgZcHfA1H07jHqtOvUEQeQ947WIMWZOWz5780nBRk83gTAPxy3F82QTMDrRncj4h5xjzAm9qH9R6hfDFLwq2sZw/s1600/ryland9.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>The Brain is Always Recording</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you have prejudices for or against a person, you won't understand them. Prejudices create a block. Will you drop your prejudices?</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Isn't it a prejudice if I expect the class to be interesting and I find that it's boring?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">No, that isn't prejudice. Look at those flowers. I want to talk to you about them. Do all the colours in this valley and the sunlit rock on that hill early in the morning all this beauty around you, does it mean something to you? Do you get used to seeing them? Why do you get used to them? Things change. If we watch, we see the changes. If we get used to each other, we stop listening. Your mind then becomes routine.</span></div>
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But the things we do every day, we get up at 5:30, we go to breakfast, we go for classes, that's a routine.</div>
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Why do you call it routine? Are you aware of what you do every day, do you pay attention, when you do your teeth, do you watch very carefully? If you watch carefully, it never becomes routine. Will you do it?</div>
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I'll try.</div>
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Don't try, do it.</div>
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That's easy to say. </div>
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You all want to be very comfortable. I will tell you what it means to watch. First, you watch with your eyes. Are you thinking while you are watching?</div>
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No, sir.</div>
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You have learnt something, haven't you? You are not thinking when you are watching. Then do you watch with your eyes only, or do you watch altogether? The depth, the shadows, do you see those dragonflies over there? And there is a man going by on his bicycle, do you see it?</div>
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Yes, sir.</div>
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When you watch, and also listen, you begin to learn. You are not merely memorising. Memorising is like a gramophone, repeating, repeating, repeating, to pass an exam to get a job. Is that learning?</div>
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No. At the beginning, yes, but afterwards you repeat.</div>
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Yes, afterwards it is not learning. If you watch, it is always learning. So watch your life. Will you do it?</div>
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Yes.</div>
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You promise? Careful! Don't promise without realising you must keep it.</div>
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I'll try to do it.</div>
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Not try. Either do it or don't do it.</div>
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But I want to do it.</div>
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Then do it. Just listen, if you do that, you become extraordinarily alive, your brain becomes extraordinarily sensitive. Don't become mechanical. You have got glasses, right? Find out if you can do without glasses.</div>
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I can't.</div>
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Don't say you can't. Find out. See if you can do eye exercises.</div>
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I am doing that.</div>
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So don't say you can't see. Remove your glasses and make an effort.</div>
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Wait, you said memorising isn't learning, but we have to study and memorise.</div>
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Suppose I'm teaching you history. History means story. Do you know who was the king of India in the 15th century. If I was your teacher, I would teach you not only the story according to books, but also the story about yourself.</div>
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That is a very far possibility of your ever being a teacher.</div>
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Why not? That is a most marvellous way to learn, not only what is happening in the world outside, but also the extraordinary book you have inside you, the book of the whole of mankind.</div>
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Then why doesn't it happen?</div>
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Because your teachers don't do this.</div>
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<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Sir, well you are the President of the Foundation. Why don't you do something?</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
You are quite right, sir. They won't listen.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
They are like us.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Quite right, only more grown up. I am not insulting them, you understand? I am very polite, respectful. They are like you, so learn from each other. I am learning now from you, how you say things, yes sir, and don't mean them. Don't say anything in your life if you don't live it. If you don't live it, you become a hypocrite. If you mean it, say something and if it is right, be honest. Don't pretend. Grown-ups do. That is the only difference.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Suppose I am having a fight with someone…</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Why do you have a fight with someone?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Because we have come to a disagreement.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Why do you have a disagreement? Learn, if you fight now, when you grow up, you will also fight, that becomes violence. You know how all over the world violence is spreading. So don't be violent, don't get angry. When you get angry, say I am angry and apologise, don't fight.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Then someone may take advantage of you.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Perhaps, but if I don't get angry back, he might quieten down.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Might.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
If you call me a fool, I don't react by calling you another fool, I don't react, I keep quiet. So my keeping quiet affects you - not always because people are not gentle enough. So you learn. </div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
What are we talking about?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
What I am talking about is: learn to watch, which is one of the most difficult things to do. Learn to listen, and learn to find out the way of living, not just repeat, repeat. Right? That's what I am saying this morning: don't become mechanical.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Sir, you said you wanted to talk about something different. So why don't you start the topic?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Because, sir, I wanted to find out what you were wanting first. Right? It's more polite, isn't it, to find out what you wanted to talk about. I serve you tea first, not myself.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Well we want to find out what you want to talk about.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Quite right. What I wanted to talk about this morning, if I remember rightly, was: are you sensitive?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
To what?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Sensitive. You see, your immediate answer is, to what? We are not talking about 'what'. But in yourself are you sensitive? Feeling. Alert. To flowers. To people. Then I was going to talk about what is your relationship - you understand the word - what is your relationship to what is happening in the world? Two thousand five hundred people were killed in Bhopal, and hundreds of thousands of people hurt, what do you feel about that? </div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
I feel sad.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Are you sensitive to other people's suffering? </div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Not as much as others.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
You know yesterday, the day before yesterday I was walking, there were two girls, blue with white stripes, students. They walk six miles that way, six miles back, twelve miles a day. Are you sensitive to how they feel about walking all day?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
No sir, because it doesn't affect me. It doesn't affect my life.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
You are selfish.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
I feel sorry for them.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Then what do you do?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
What can I do, sir?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Will you go and talk to your teachers and say please sirs or ladies, can you do something for them. Will you? Or you don't care. </div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
I do care, sir.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Then go to them, as I am going to them. I want to have a bus for those children, or have a school for them all here. I am working, I am going to raise trouble if they don't do it.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
You can, sir.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
You do it, you help me. Will you?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
If you tell me, I will.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
I won't tell you, you go and do it. That's where your independence is. You are growing up, you are going to leave this lovely place, Rishi Valley, and go to college, university, get married, children, and jobs, and what will your relationship be to the corruption of the world?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Sir, what can we do about it?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Stand up against what you think is wrong. It doesn't matter about others. Don't be corrupted yourself.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
It won't be any use if only one person is not corrupt.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Begin with yourself first.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
OK, so you are not corrupt — I am just giving an example — and you go for a job and there is the managing director interviewing you, and he directly asks you for a bribe or you don't get the job.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Don't get a job. Why don't you stand for something?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Without a job I cannot live.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Don't live. </div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Then what is the purpose of coming into the world?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Find out. You see you are all so weak, you give in. Suppose you say, no, sorry, I won't be corrupt, and you collect people around you, you work for it. </div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Sir, but if there are only five people around me...</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
That's good enough. Begin. I am doing this. Listen to me. I am going round the world saying, religions as they are, are rubbish. Right? They don't like it. I don't mind. If they say to me, you can't come into this country, I don't mind. I can always come back to Rishi Valley - if they will allow me. I don't mind. But you people mind, you are all so frightened.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
But what if we don't have anything else to do?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Become a gardener. What's wrong with being a gardener? What's wrong with being poor? I wouldn't mind being poor.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
What is the use of this education? Being literate, you can't go for gardening, can you?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Then you do something literate. You're all so mediocre. Mediocre means going up the hill half-way, not going up to the top. Don't become a mediocre. Find out what is right. Don't care what people think of you.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
So if we all do what we think is right.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
No, not what you think is right - what is right. That's very difficult.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Everyone around us tells us, you must do this because this is right.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
That is just tradition, that is the authority. I want to find out what is right - don't you? How will you find out?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Sir, won't that be an opinion. Right for one person can be wrong for another.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
You think this is right, another thinks that is right, but I want to find out what is right - listen carefully - under all circumstances, under all pressures, whatever the public says - I want to find out what is right. Don't you? And it is difficult to find out what is right. To find out what is right you cannot have opinions, judgements, convictions. Right? So, you perceive what is right when there is freedom...</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Only when you have complete freedom.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Complete freedom, that's right. When you have complete freedom then you see what is right.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Sir, but how do you gain freedom?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
How do you gain freedom? You don't gain freedom. Freedom exists, comes, if you are not attached, if you are not self-interested — you understand? If you are not selfish.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
But I can't live alone in the world.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
I don't mind living alone in the world. You mind it, you are frightened.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
So how do you get rid of selfishness?</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
How do you get rid of selfishness? Shall I tell you a very simple way? Don't be selfish! Don't say, I am going to get rid of it, don't be selfish. Therefore learn what it means to be selfish, watch.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Everything leads to watching.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Yes, sir. Watching. You learn an infinite lot watching. So that was the first thing. I wanted to find out — if you are sensitive; then what is your relationship with the world; then are you different from the world? The world is violent, are you violent? The world is corrupt, are you corrupt? The world is saying, I am British, I am French, I am an Indian, I am a Russian, I am a Muslim. Therefore there is conflict. So I won't be any of them.</div>
</span></span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">It's coming up to an hour and a quarter now, and people are getting restless, so let us just sit quietly now for five minutes, absolutely quiet, don't move, take a comfortable position, close your eyes, and watch your thinking...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">...thank you for listening to me!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">—Krishna</span><span style="background-color: white;">murti (Rishi Valley, 1984)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><i>Painting: </i><b>On the Cliffs</b> by Henry Ryland.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white;">Originally shared to Buddhist Travellers in 2011.</i></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-90065492623905219372016-12-07T23:26:00.001+00:002016-12-07T23:27:23.636+00:00What is Religion? (Krishnamurti)<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">In January 1986, at the age of 91, Jiddu Krishnamurti gave his final talk, at Madras in southeast India, near the place where he was born.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The full transcript may be found at the link.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #003399; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.jkrishnamurti.org/krishnamurti-teachings/view-text.php?tid=1682&chid=1374" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">http://www.jkrishnamurti.org/krishnamurti-teachings/view-text.php?tid=1682&chid=1374</a> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: large;">What follows is a summary of what he said.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyTZ48jtfRvXE0z8MrKV-pIw5NkS08Jw6RknxnpmvbO8kpOhyphenhyphenEQcfstRzGzBFf91tfKQMdjpOnzBm6kUdLZWKMbjjHtofrye2_n8wNOcyj_TMhyAl1lGehBIAOnQvSoLUlwBaDWh9HOY/s1600/alphonse-osbert-muse-at-sunrise-magnet-0594-700x700.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyTZ48jtfRvXE0z8MrKV-pIw5NkS08Jw6RknxnpmvbO8kpOhyphenhyphenEQcfstRzGzBFf91tfKQMdjpOnzBm6kUdLZWKMbjjHtofrye2_n8wNOcyj_TMhyAl1lGehBIAOnQvSoLUlwBaDWh9HOY/s1600/alphonse-osbert-muse-at-sunrise-magnet-0594-700x700.jpg" width="550" /></a></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: large;">What is Religion?</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">From the beginning of time, man has always thought in terms of religion. What is that which is nameless? What is the supreme intelligence which has no relationship with all our prayers and gods and temples?</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are going to investigate — together, please bear in mind always together — not only the nature of religion, but also the computer. Genetic engineering on the one side and the computer on the other, and when they meet as they're inevitably going to, what are you as a human being?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What is creation? Invention is totally different from creation. Invention is based on knowledge. So what is life? We are going to enquire into the absolute, something that's really marvellous. You can't take it home and use it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What is meditation to you? The word means to ponder, to not let your brain wander all over. Is it a mechanical effort to achieve something? Is there a meditation that has nothing at all to do with the energy that says, "I must meditate!" The speaker says there is. You don't have to accept it, but he says that the ordinary meditation is self-hypnosis, deceiving yourself. When you stop self-deceiving, is there a different kind of meditation one which is not effort, not measurement, not routine, not mechanical? The speaker says: Yes. It is something that has to be <span style="font-style: italic;">absolutely silent</span>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">First of all, begin very humbly, very very humbly, and therefore very gently. It requires a tremendous sense not only of aloneness, but a sense of — I mustn't describe it to you. I mustn't describe it because then you'll go off on descriptions, and the description is not real. The description of the moon is not the moon, nor a painting of the Himalayas the Himalayas. So we'll stop describing. It's for you to play with it, or not play with it, going your own way. The brain is quiet, not made quiet by will or by intention. And, being quiet, it has infinite space. Are you waiting for me to explore and follow what I explain? What kind of people are you?</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, is your brain ever quiet? Not made quiet by various forms of drugging yourself, by drugs, whiskey and other forms of drugging yourself. You drug yourself when you believe without questioning. Then you have no energy of that kind demanded for the penetration of something immense.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, we're now going back to find out what creation is. What is life? What gives life to that blade of grass in the cement? Why are you listening to me? What is your motivation? Is there a brain, your brain, which is not muddied up by environment, society and the rest of it? What is creation behind all this? Are you waiting for me to describe it, to go into it? No description can ever describe the origin. The origin is nameless, the origin is absolutely quiet, it's not whirring about making noise.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Creation is something that is most holy, that's the most sacred thing in life, and if you have made a mess of your life, change it. Change it today, not tomorrow. If you are uncertain, find out why and <span style="font-style: italic;">be</span> certain. If your thinking is not straight, think straight, logically. Unless all that is settled, you can't enter into this world of creation.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Do you want to sit together quietly for a while? ...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Painting: </i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Muse at Sunrise</b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> </b>by Alphonse Osbert.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Originally posted on Buddhist Travellers in 2011.</span></i></span></span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-26976179742679332762016-12-07T23:14:00.003+00:002016-12-07T23:21:00.815+00:00What is Love? (Krishnamurti)<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">In January 1986, at the age of 91, Jiddu Krishnamurti gave his penultimate talk, at Madras in southeast India, near the place where he was born.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">The full transcript may be found at the link: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.jkrishnamurti.org/krishnamurti-teachings/view-text.php?tid=1681&chid=1373" style="background-color: white; color: #003399; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">http://www.jkrishnamurti.org/krishnamurti-teachings/view-text.php?tid=1681&chid=1373</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">What follows is a summary of what he said.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What is Love?</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">You have to think, not just agree – doubt, question, enquire together. I am not here to guide, instruct or help. We've had that kind of help for generations and look where it's got us.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">We are walking up a very long street together. It requires energy. To enquire very profoundly, we must also enquire, what is energy? Everything on earth requires energy. What is its origin? Abandon all that the ancient people have said; leave it at the roadside and let us walk on.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Is there an energy which is not contained within the field of knowledge, not put together by thought?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Thought gives great energy; to wake up and go to the office at nine o'clock every morning, earn money, plan for the future. Thought has planned this society which has divided this world into communist, socialist, democrat, republican, and the army, the navy, the air force. Without thought, we can't do anything. Thought is based on knowledge and knowledge on experience. Experience is stored as memory and this is the origin of our thought. But experience is always limited, always adding more. Therefore thought is limited.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Thought has created fear. Fear arises because we want security. Fear on its own is a tremendous energy. But fear destroys love; love cannot exist where there is fear, the two are totally divorced from each other.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">So what is the origin of fear? To question all this is to be alive, to understand the nature of love. Time and thought are the central factors of fear. Time is both inward — I am this, I will be that — and outward. Time and thought are both movements. They are the principal factors of life. Is that all of life? Your consciousness if you examine it closely is made up of its content. Every human being on this earth goes through suffering, pain, wanting this, not wanting that. Your consciousness, which is what you are — not physically but psychologically, inwards — is the consciousness of mankind.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">Have you ever enquired very closely into what is death? It must be an extraordinary thing to die. Everything is taken away from you: your attachments, your money, your children, your country, your superstitions, your gurus, your gods. I want to find out for myself, whilst living, what it means to die. You don't see the beauty of it, the greatness of it, the extraordinary strength of it — whilst living to be dying. You understand what that means? Each day is a new day. There is tremendous vitality and energy there because there is nothing you are afraid of. There is nothing that can hurt. All the things that man has put together have to be totally abandoned. So can you do it? Will you experiment with it? Not for just a day; every day. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "arial";">No, you can't do it. Your brains have been conditioned so heavily by your education, by your tradition, by your books, by your professors. It requires finding out what love is. Love and death go together. Death says, "be free, non-attached, you can carry nothing with you". And love says, love says… there is no word for it. Love can only exist when there is freedom. It does not come from your wife, your girlfriend, your boyfriend. But the feeling, the enormous strength — the vitality, the energy of complete freedom.</span></span></span><br />
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</i></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><i>Painting:</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"><b>Clytie</b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: start;">by Lord Frederic Leighton. Clytie was a nymph in Book IV of Ovid’s Metamorphoses who falls in love with the sun god Apollo.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Shared originally on Buddhist Travellers in 2011.</i></span></span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-41527393872462213312016-12-07T23:07:00.000+00:002016-12-07T23:07:22.200+00:00Three Final Excerpts from Epictetus<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: large;">I've been posting some excerpts from Epictetus who was a Stoic philosopher from two thousand years ago and quite interesting to compare with Buddhist philosophy, along with commentary of my reactions to try to encourage discussion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: large;">There were three more excerpts which stood-out for me which I'd like to share, so here they are: </span></div>
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Enchiridion 17: Remember that thou art an actor in a play of such a kind as the author may choose; if short, of a short one; if long, of a long one… see that you act the part naturally… For this is your duty, to act well the part that is given to you; but to select the part belongs to another.</div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Commentary:</span> This appears at first to be the fatalistic stagnation of the very will which the Stoics would have us strengthen. "to select the part belongs to another" — indeed, it belongs to your self! The instruction then is rather to the ego, that it should have no importance attached to any role, but also that it should play the role as the self, as witness, would have it played should it be called upon to advise another. Emotions then, Epictetus advises, "may be displayed externally, but the mind remains still and undisturbed". But if an emotion is displayed well, it is by necessity felt, and if felt, the mind is necessarily disturbed in the expected manner… if you wish to avoid such disturbance, then you must indeed have selected your part to begin with, the part of the Stoic philosopher! Who today would make such a choice? Is it truthful?</div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Enchiridion 23:</span> If it should ever happen to you to be turned to externals in order to please some person, you must know that you have lost your purpose in life. Be satisfied then in everything with being a philosopher.</div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Commentary:</span> To please is to enjoy favourable conditions and to have another enjoy favourable conditions also. This should not be spurned, but the Stoic is concerned with a danger that we become enslaved by our need to please or be pleased, believing we must.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Enchiridion 27:</span> As a mark is not set up for the purpose of missing the aim, so neither does evil by nature exist in the world.</div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Commentary:</span> This is the lesson of the meaning of sin as <span style="font-style: italic;">error</span>. In Christian philosophy, it was rephrased as follows, though its impact was not properly appreciated: "Just as man does not set up a mark, or form an intention, for the purpose of missing the mark, so too nothing that God intended could be by purpose or design evil by nature."</div>
</span></span></span>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-46228844291386628552016-12-07T23:04:00.000+00:002016-12-07T23:04:37.937+00:00Training the Will, The Choice & The Banquet (Epictetus)<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Enchiridion 10:</b> On the occasion of every eventuality, wish not that things should be different but reflect that even if they should impede the body they do not impede your self, that is your will, and remember to inquire what power you have for turning it to use. If you see a handsome man or pretty woman, you will find that the power to resist is temperance, if pain is presented to you, you will find that it is endurance, if abusive words, you will find that it is patience. And if you have been thus formed to this habit, then you will not be carried away by appearances.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Enchiridion 13:</span> It is not easy to both keep your will in good condition and external things in good condition. But if a man is careful about the one, it is an absolute necessity he will neglect the other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Commentary:</span> Epictetus, in attempting to convince us of the importance of perfecting the will, presents us with a choice. We can't have it all! But when must we truly make a choice? The choice is a fallacy of our mythology that tells us how Achilles could either have greatness or length of life (and chose the former), a princess either beauty or wisdom, a husband either wealth or wit. In real life, regardless of our priorities, one thing almost always does not preclude another and many are blessed with neither. (When must we make "the choice"? Perhaps only for worldly things, not for things pertaining to our character.) So rather: keep your will in good condition and you will naturally keep your external world in good condition also; as within, so without. Or am I too optimistic?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Enchiridion 15:</span> Remember in life to behave as if at a banquet. If something is carried to you, then stretch out your hand and take of it with decency. Suppose that it passes by you. Do not detain it. Suppose that it has not yet come to you. Do not send your desire forward to it, but wait till it is opposite you. Do so with respect to wife, children, office, wealth, and you will be a worthy participant at the banquet of the gods. But if you take none of these things which are set before you, then you will moreover share with them in power. For, by acting thus, Diogenes and Heraclitus and those like them were deservedly called divine.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #009900; font-style: italic;">Commentary:</span><span style="color: #009900;"> The metaphor is a beautiful one, yet such behaviour could be described pejoratively as the limited equanimity of the cow if it denies a desire as well as (perhaps because of) the inability for the moment to attain it. But the objects of desire for which Epictetus advocates minimal movement are, like morsels at a banquet, not our own creations but that which life serves us. That we should not be attached to life's fleeting treasures seems obvious, yet would we not do well to be grateful for and enjoy them with a greater alacrity whilst we may, as well as perceive their deeper spiritual and creative influence upon us? If, for example, we learnt to create such delicacies ourselves, we might better serve others, for the delicacy is but a sign of the art of the one who created it. Desire is not merely an impulse, but also the outer form of love. Whilst it would be surely wise to minimise the movements of our material desire, would it not be wiser still to recognise our desire, delve into its significance, and maximise our will's potential to act for our love?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Originally published on Buddhist Travellers in 2011.</i></span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466669636390432992.post-54506115704863765812016-12-07T23:00:00.000+00:002016-12-07T23:00:20.571+00:00Self-Power (Epictetus)<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Over the next week, I'd like to share some excerpts from Epictetus that lend insight into the philosophy of the Stoics. It would be interesting to discuss the merits and the misgivings we might have with this philosophy, and if you like how it agrees or differs with our understanding of Buddhism. I've tried to start the discussion off by providing my own short comments and hope others will join in…</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><b>Enchiridion 1: </b>Of things, some are in our power, and others are not. In our power are opinion, movement towards a thing, desire, aversion and, in a word, whatever are our own acts; not in our power are the body, property, reputation, office and, in a word, whatever are not our own acts. Things in our power are by nature free, not subject to restraint or hindrance, but the things not in our power are weak, slavish, subject to restraint, in the power of others. If you think the things which are by nature slavish to be free, then you will be disturbed, but if you think only that which is your own to be your own, and that which is another's as it really is belongs to another, then no man will ever compel you, you will blame or accuse none, you will do nothing against your will and no man will harm you, for you will not suffer harm. If you aim for great things, remember that you must make no small effort, but some things must be put aside or postponed for the present. If you aim also for wealth or power, perhaps you will not gain them, but you will certainly be distracted from those things alone by which freedom and happiness are secured. Straightaway then, practice saying to every harsh appearance: "You are an appearance and in no manner what you appear to be." Then examine it by the rules which you possess, and by this first and chiefly, "do you relate to something in my power or to those things not in my power?", and if not in your power, be ready to say that it does not concern you.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #009900; font-size: large;"><i>Commentary:</i> This in a nutshell is the philosophy of the Stoics. Such an attitude of the renunciation of the external it would seem could be abused or taken advantage of, but it could never be manipulated for it constitutes a declaration of absolute freedom of the mind. And yet to what extent could it in fact be disempowering? It seems to entail an indifference in our attitude to things outside our power, and consequently an indifference in our behaviour regarding such things. But circumstances might change. That which is outside our power might yet be overcome through our efforts to master it. The right manner of this renunciation of the external is perhaps best explained in terms of the subtle distinction between indifference and equanimity. Equanimity (upekkha) is the seventh and ultimate factor of enlightenment. Unlike indifference, it is rooted in wisdom.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><i>Originally published on Buddhist Travellers in 2011.</i></span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0