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Saturday, 28 November 2009

  • Reading the Tao

    I bought this when it first came out, and it has been sitting on my shelf for a while, waiting for me to find some free time to read through it. Well, free time arrived today, and I'm really glad it did, because I am thoroughly enjoying the excerpts from the Chuang-tzu and the Chung Yung with commentary by Stephen Mitchell.

    text: How do I know that loving life isn't simply a delusion?
    commentary: Well, I don't. So that settles that.

    text: The Master pays attention to what is happening within her innermost self.
    commentary: When the mind is free of thoughts, it becomes its own fulfillment.

    text: The Master understands there is nothing to understand.
    commentary: Once you realize what you are, there's nothing left but gratitude and laughter.

    Great book for a rainy day. Now all I need is the rain.

    Currently
    The Second Book of the Tao
    By Stephen Mitchell
    see related

Tuesday, 10 March 2009

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

  • Some Blogs I Follow...

    Bhante Dogen
    Buddha_Frog's Xanga Site
    Chán Poetry
    Dharma Dog Blog
    Dogen Sangha Blog
    Go Drink Tea!
    HARDCORE ZEN
    In Pursuit of Mysteries
    Monkey Mind
    Mysterion's Postulates
    Ox Herding
    Perspectives
    The Zen Community
    The Zennist
    theworsthorse.com: the Budd...
    Wild Fox Zen
    Zen - The Possible Way
    Zen Mirror

    ...apparently Xanga did not like the list of links

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

  • Full Moons and Wild Fox Spirits....

    small_wild_fox_spirit Drawing: Wild Fox Spirit by Glenda Gill 

    The waning gibbous moon shown in the sky last night, as a tornado ripped down a street near my house.  The power was out; but I could still see well upstairs because of the moonlight.  Earlier in the day, I had finished reading some web references about Kitsune http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune and Kitsune lore http://www.comnet.ca/~foxtrot/kitsune/kitsune5.htm from Japanese mythology.  I thought the physical descriptions of a small woman with dark hair streaked with gray, dark eyes, thin face and eyebrows and high cheekbones were rather interesting. There is a story someone wrote about Kitsune called Haunting Fox here: http://lisadchavez.blogspot.com/2006/09/haunting-fox.html 

    I finished reading, and sat down to meditate, and this haiku came to me:

    Full Moon
     
    Wild fox spirit howls
    and summons a winter wind
    ruffling moonlit fur
     
    I was about to email this to a friend when the storm hit and the power went down.  Interesting wording.  Anyway, it seems that a wild fox spirit was evoked.  I had recently posted some info about the three veils and how they relate to 'Nothing' on a Buddhist blog. Perhaps one should not mix Buddhism and Qabalah.  Or maybe it's just random; you decide.
     
    Today's BeliefNet quote is from Thich Nhat Hahn:
     
    Our Nature

    After you wake up you probably open the curtains and look outside. You may even like to open the window and feel the cool morning air with the dew still on the grass. But is what you see really "outside"? In fact, it is your own mind. As the sun sends its rays through the window, you are not just yourself. You are also the beautiful view from your window. You are the Dharmakaya.

    Dharmakaya literally means the "body" (kaya) of the Buddha's teachings (Dharma), the way of understanding and love. Before passing away, the Buddha told his disciples, "Only my physical body will pass away. My Dharma body will remain with you forever." In Mahayana Buddhism, the word has come to mean "the essence of all that exists." All phenomena--the song of a bird, the warm rays of the sun, a cup of hot tea--are manifestations of the Dharmakaya. We, too, are of the same nature as these wonders of the universe.

    --Thich Nhat Hanh, Present Moment, Wonderful Moment

     

Tuesday, 03 February 2009

Buddha_Frog

  • Visit Buddha_Frog's Xanga Site
    • Member Since: 9/2/2005

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