posted September 20, 2008 02:56 AM            

It takes little talent to see clearly what lies under one's nose, a good deal of it to know in which direction to point that organ.

~ W. H. Auden

posted September 21, 2008 06:54 AM            

The Skeptic, in fact, had the same experience which is said to have befallen the painter, Apelles. Once, they say, when he was painting a horse and wished to represent in the painting the horse's foam, he was so unsuccessful that he gave up the attempt and flung at the picture the sponge on which he used to wipe the paints off his brush, and the mark of the sponge produced the effect of a horse's foam. So, too, the Skeptics were in hopes of gaining quietude by means of a decision regarding the disparity of the objects of sense and thought, and being unable to effect this, they suspended judgment; and they found that quietude, as if by chance, followed upon their suspense, even as a shadow follows its substance.

posted November 13, 2008 10:41 AM            

Cherokee Wisdom

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

posted November 18, 2008 12:37 AM              

"Learning Zen is a phenomenon of gold and dung. Before you understand it, it's like gold; after you understand it, it's like dung."

posted November 20, 2008 01:19 AM              

"He that studies books will know how things ought to be; he that studies men will know how things are."

like that one alot.

"Chaos breeds life when order breeds habit."

"To love is virtually to know; to know is not virtually to love."

"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the little stones that cause us to stumble."

"Believe in love at first sight."

"Zen isnt about old men behind monastery walls -- it's about you and you and you."

"Mistakes are the dues one pays for a full life."

"Fools and fanatics always seem full of themselves, wise people are full of doubts."

"Remember that the best relationship is the one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other."

"The seeds of Zen are blowing gently across the earth. What a riot of color we shall see when they germinate! And what a good time to be a garderner."

"That life is worth living is the most necessary of assumptions."

"Learn to recognize your talents, don't hide them. What's a sundial in the shade?"

"Never laugh at anyone's dreams."

"Don't judge people by their relatives, judge them by their friends."

posted November 21, 2008 12:13 AM              

i have a hard time remembering what day it is, my name, address, dob etc most of the time, so i cant remember about spiders now.

posted November 25, 2008 11:35 AM              

" A master in Zen is not simply a teacher. In all the religions there are only teachers. They teach you about subjects which you dont know, and they ask you to believe because there is no way to bring those experiences into objective reality. Neither has the teacher known them - he has believed them; he transfers his belief to somebody else. Zen is not a believers world. It is not for the faithful ones; it is for those daring souls who can drop all belief, unbelief, doubt, reason, mind, and simply enter into their pure existence without boundaries. But it brings a tremendous transformation. Hence, let me say that while others are involved in philosophies, Zen is involved in metamorphosis, in a transformation. It is authentic alchemy: it changes you from base metal into gold. But its language has to be understood, not with your reasoning and intellectual mind but with your loving heart. Or even just listening, not bothering whether it is true or not. And a moment comes suddenly that you see it, which has been eluding you your whole life. Suddenly, what Gautam Buddha called "eighty-four thousand doors" open. "

posted November 25, 2008 01:50 PM            

He continues:

Then -- very strange -- that question "What is that state?" transformed itself into another question "How do I know that I am in that state, the state of Buddha, the state I very much wanted and demanded from everybody? I am in that state, but how do I know?

Calamity

The next day, on his 49th birthday, U.G. was again pondering the question "How do I know I am in that state?" with no answer forthcoming. He later recounted that on suddenly realizing the question had no answer, there was an unexpected physical, as well as psychological, reaction. It seemed to him like "a sudden explosion inside, blasting, as it were, every cell, every nerve and every gland in my body." Afterwards, he started experiencing what he called "the calamity", a series of bizarre physiological transformations that took place over the course of a week, affecting each one of his senses, and finally resulting in a deathlike experience. He described it this way:

I call it calamity because from the point of view of one who thinks this is something fantastic, blissful and full of beatitude, love, or ecstasy, this is physical torture; this is a calamity from that point of view. Not a calamity to me but a calamity to those who have an image that something marvelous is going to happen.

Upon the eighth day:

Then, on the eighth day I was sitting on the sofa and suddenly there was an outburst of tremendous energy -- tremendous energy shaking the whole body, and along with the body, the sofa, the chalet and the whole universe, as it were -- shaking, vibrating. You can't create that movement at all. It was sudden. Whether it was coming from outside or inside, from below or above, I don't know -- I couldn't locate the spot; it was all over. It lasted for hours and hours. I couldn't bear it but there was nothing I could do to stop it; there was a total helplessness. This went on and on, day after day, day after day.

The energy that is operating there does not feel the limitations of the body; it is not interested; it has its own momentum. It is a very painful thing. It is not that ecstatic, blissful beatitude and all that rubbish -- stuff and nonsense! -- it is really a painful thing.

U.G. could not, and did not, explain the provenance of the calamity experiences. In response to questions, he maintained that it happened "in spite of" his pre-occupation with - and search for - enlightenment. He also maintained that the calamity had nothing to do with his life up to that point, or with his upbringing. Several times he described the calamity happening to him as a matter of chance, and he insisted that he could not possibly, in any way, impart that experience to anybody else.

Describing his post-calamity life, he claimed to be functioning permanently in what he called "the natural state": A state of spontaneous, purely physical, sensory existence, characterized by discontinuity - though not absence - of thought. ... U.G. remained primarily in Switzerland but often travelled to other countries around the world, holding discussions with small groups of people and with interested individuals. However, whenever people sought him for answers to their spiritual dilemmas, he emphasized that he had nothing to teach, and that no one can really learn about enlightenment by depending on someone else as an authority, teacher or guide. He gave his only post-calamity public talk in India, in 1972. ... His unorthodox non-message/philosophy and the often uncompromising, direct style of its presentation, generated a measure of notoriety and sharply divided opinions. At the extremes, some people considered him enlightened (U.G. always refused the label) while others considered him nothing more than a charlatan.

posted November 25, 2008 02:02 PM            

Look, Listen, Feel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiOzIrrvEnk&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agAcXvmpjXE&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HNXSy4zJTg&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqTz6gG2M9Q

I dont even know if he's for real.

He says he's full of sh*t, lol.

He says, "Come off it, man,".

Sun trine my stellium.

posted November 26, 2008 08:03 AM            

~ Ryokan, 1758-1831