Shoshin-Zazen

One day Sosan was sent into town to buy brushes and ink. Upon returning to the temple he had to respond to a call from nature. The temple had an old-style outhouse which was built very high off the ground. It was said that the outhouse was so high that if shit dropped when a traveler left Taejon, it wouldn’t land until the traveler reached Seoul! That’s how high this toilet was! So, as Sosan Taesa was squatting over the hole he happened to look down below–way below!–and saw many small animals.

As soon as his fresh shit hit the bottom, worms, rats, many kinds of animals would rush and dive into it, eating ravenously. After contemplating this scene for a while it struck him that the people in the market place were no different. They are always looking for something, always seeking something, always going for something new, always trying to make a profit off something. Ahh… his mind opened. He understood something. Up to now, he thought, I have been just like one of those worms, diving into new shit; always looking for another pile of shit. Now it’s time for me to really practice. Only reading sutras is not enough–that can’t help me. I have to do some serious practice.

What am I? Who am I?

In this world how many people really want to practice? Many people don’t practice at all. All day and night they fight and only exercise their desire, their anger and their ignorance. When you lose this body, you will have nothing to take with you. When this body disappears, what will you take with you? What will you do? If this don’t know is clear, then also the place you go is clear. Then you understand your job, you understand why you were born into this world. Then you understand what to do in this world. When you do that, then you can become a human being.

Tonight I will give you homework–a kong-an to work on. A long time ago a monk asked Zen Master Un Mun, “What is Buddha? Un Mun said, “Dry shit on stick.” What is that? What in the world does that mean? Dry shit on stick. If you keep practicing…ahh! Buddha is dry shit on stick! Everything in this world is Buddha. All things–not just dry shit on stick, but everything in the world. All are Buddha.

- adapted from Losing it is Getting it Zen Master Seung Sahn

Here is the highly anticipated sequel to the Spiders in the Closet trilogy. Enjoy!

The evil spreads. Apparently the evil turns even the purest of heart into mean fighting machines.

They fight and fight.

It was too much to bear. Something had to be done. Some tried…

…to eat really weird stuff. Ugh. While others…

…went to find the great taiji master… however…

He too got infected. Nothing seemed to work…The guy in the middle is super infected. (Hint: Look at the first episode.)

Not even the mighty Durian.

“I am flying, Jack!”

Look what happens when one eat too much durians. Its more effective than taking Tongkat Ali.

To be continued…

It you are looking for pictures in this post, you could probably skip to the previous post. There is also a possiblity you might be troubled after reading this post, so be warned.

Nevertheless, this post was manufactured in school. It seemed it would be a 4 hour of wait to see the dear professor. So here’s something for me to tide over this mentally constructed time-space.

Here goes:

Before writing this I was looking at the blogs and websites of my friends and their friends and their friends. This new media thing is interesting. Besides fulfiling the voyeur in us, there is a greater meaning to it. Easily, one could observe, daily issues that we grapple everyday and how we deal with them. Daily issues could include problems on a greater scale like family violence or relationship complexities. Daily issues could also lie on the other side of the spectrum, which include things that make us happy - celebrating a mother’s birthday, a day out at the zoo, getting As for the exam etc.

This would lead us to believe that we are all different. It also led me to think about the whole construct of this “inner workings” of our lives. Indeed, everyone of us is special; each of us have a unique potential. Like our DNA, we have our own story to tell. Yet, if we would to think deeper, everyone of us is connected (no, not the friendster, facebook kind of connection). A deep connection resonating in every part of our lives and this nameless connection is the human desire for happiness.

It’s true, is it not? Happiness is like the holy grail of our earthly exsistence. All of our lives we strive for happiness. However, there is one caveat that most of us forget. Happiness must co-exist with sadness. Let me try to elucidate this point.

The following is a part from a comment that I posted on Aditi’s blog not too long time ago. She wrote a beautiful article about life and I thought to give her another perspective on that.

I just read on the Sunday times about a teen that is afraid of death. It is not common to find young people who talks about death (especially theirs) so blatantly.

I had troubling thoughts too about death and trying to find meaning in all this mess in the world we live in. No, not sucidal thoughts.

The most taxing issue that I felt was this: All our lives we live in pursuit of happiness (right?), but there is one thorny issue here- if there’s no sadness, where’s happiness?

Therefore, I conclude that happiness and sadness are all part of human life. We cannot, obtain 100% or complete happiness due to the fact that happiness is the opposite of sadness. Makes sense isn’t it?

Henceforth, I ruminate further that obtaining happiness is neither necessary (this may sound weird), nor is it perfect. I relent to the fact that sadness is ingrained into our daily lives.

Therefore, I conclude that there is something, something out there that is more and greater than achieving “Happiness” (which I have explained is an illusion). Words cannot put it, but that something is obtaining “that perfect state of the mind.”

In addition, obtaining that “perfect state of the mind” allows us to rise above the realm of mere “happiness and sadness”. We would be free from the shackles of our mind. Some call it enlightenment, other people call it many names, but it has no name.

I have to emphaise this point:

“I ruminate further that obtaining happiness is neither necessary (this may sound weird), nor is it perfect.”

Some people might scream blasphemy at me, others might feel confused while others might pity my utter lack of insight. But no matter, whether you agree with me.

Thus, the question some ask might be,”So what do we live for, if happiness is not what we should we strive?”

This is a wonderful question.

I shall let this question linger. I shall keep this thought.

superficial desires can be satiated.

 

So am I going to buy a diamond ring for my future wife? haha… she better not read this post.

From Album for the Young, Op.68

Source: one of the loose leaves added to the auto graph booklet made for Marie Schmann’s birthday.

Schumann was fond of musical cryptograms, as can be seen, for example from the ‘Sphinxes’ in his Carnaval, Op.9. The answer to this little puzzle is given by the German names of notes in the upper line, as shown within square brackets above the staves:

Lass das Fade, fass das Echte (Aechde = old spelling of Echte), i.e Leave the cheap, grasp the true.

Wise words indeed.

This is the best picture of an Aurora - ever.  But being there and seeing it for real with your eyes will never be the same as desktop viewing.

Enough empty talk. My camera (and me) are ready for deployment to Finland, Sweden and the beautifully exotic Iceland.

Probable countdown: 9 months.

From http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071009.html

Aurora, Stars, Meteor, Lake, Alaska
Credit & Copyright: Bud Kuenzli

ICELAND AWAITS.