Details in the Fabric

Teacher<->Student

In my thought quest of seeking ways to best understand this dynamic between the learned and the learner, I have drowned in the depths of delusion, having inclined toward a self-centered nature of understanding. But despite the confusion, there was that deep knowing that it's not right and that there needed to be more. What was being experienced were developmental issues, which seems a common experience to human beings. As time progressed, the effort started shifting it's course -- from plainly trying to describe it, to living within the experience as understood best. This approach brought a very different perspective on the nature of this relationship; one that revealed it's serious, responsible, and two-sided nature. In the lines below is my understanding of this dynamic.

It's never, never about the individual or individuals involved. It's about those moments in eternity when thoughts/ideas are expressed, minds impressioned, questions aroused, and confusion clarified. And yes, the transmission goes both directions. It is this pure encounter that shapes the future of humanity.

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"There is the case where a monk, having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building, sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect, and setting mindfulness to the fore. Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out. 

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"[4] In one whose persistence is aroused, a rapture not-of-the-flesh arises. When a rapture not-of-the-flesh arises in one whose persistence is aroused, then rapture as a factor for Awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development. 

Source: Excerpted from a discourse between the Buddha and his disciple on the mindfulness of breathing.

Function beyond proven limits

"Take heart!"

"Have a heart!"

"A heart of gold!"

"I love you with all my heart!"

"It doesn't feel right. My heart's beating strangely."

Some common phrases attributing qualities of courage, mercy, kindness, love, and discernment to this organ called the heart in the human body. Science has a simple definition for the heart; expressed in the most basic way: an organ that pumps blood and thus sustains life by it's function. So where have all the other -- clearly scientifically unproven, but very truly felt -- attributes originated from and entered into our expression? Spiritual intuition? Maybe.

Writing Instrument of Zen

How I love using fountain pens to write with -- to hear the nib of the pen scratch the paper, to get ink-spots on my hands, to slow down while writing which allows for better thought processing. It's also the feeling of meaning, in full engagement, of literally drawing out each alphabet in a word. This leaves less empty spaces around the action of writing.

a lil' heartfeltness makes a big difference...

Stand as a Samurai Stands

Image courtesy of stuartwilde.com

What is this power in silence?

Learning is essential

If you like benevolence but not learning, the corruption from that is folly.

If you like wit but not learning, the corruption from that is license.

If you like trust but not learning, the corruption from that is theft.

If you like straightforwardness but not learning, the corruption from that is strangulation.

If you like bravery without learning, the corruption from that is disorder.

If you like strength without learning, the corruption from that is wildness.

- Confucius

Sweet Dreams

Fell asleep last night with her voice, reciting these poems, playing in the background...

and was it a good night's rest...:)

"Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care
The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast."
-- William Shakespeare 

Holiday Exertion

It has been said in the Buddhist teachings that without exertion, you cannot journey on the path at all. When you are taking a holiday or a vacation, you are very inspired to wake up in the morning, because you are expecting to have a tremendous experience. Exertion is like the minute before you wake up on a holiday trip: you trust that you are going to have a good time, but you also have to put your effort into it. So true exertion is some kind of celebration and joy, which is free from laziness.

Source: Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving Kindness, pages 70 to 71

Can you feel it?

Seek only that of which you have no clue.
Seek only that of which you have no hope.

~Rumi♥

I feel both fear and inspiration in reading these words, or more precisely, at the thought of living by them. It's interesting -- the eclectic mix of feelings we can have.

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Like this!

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Somethings to Say to Inspire

Somethings to Say to Children.

• I love you!  There is nothing that will make me stop loving you.  Nothing you could do or say or think will ever change that.
• You are amazing!  I look at you with wonder!  Not just at what you can do, but who you are.  There is no one like you.  No one!
• It's all right to cry.  People cry for all kinds of reasons: when they are hurt, sad, glad, or worried; when they are angry, afraid, or lonely.  Big people cry too.  I do.
• You've made a mistake.  That was wrong.  People make mistakes.  I do.  Is it something we can fix?  What can we do?  It's all over.  You can start fresh.  I know you are sorry.  I forgive you.
• You did the right thing.  That was scary or hard.  Even though it wasn't easy, you did it.  I am proud of you; you should be too.
• I'm sorry.  Forgive me.  I made a mistake.
• You can change your mind.  It's good to decide, but it is also fine to change.
• What a great idea!  You were really thinking!  How did you come up with that?  Tell me more.  Your mind is clever!
• That was kind.  You did something helpful and thoughtful for that person.  That must make you feel good inside.  Thank you!
• I have a surprise for you.  It's not your birthday.  It's for no reason at all.  Just a surprise, a little one, but a surprise.
• I can wait.  We have time.  You don't have to hurry this time.
• What would you like to do?  It's your turn to pick.  You have great ideas.  It's important to follow your special interests.
• Tell me about it.  I'd like to hear more.  And then what happened?  I'll listen.
• I'm right here.  I won't leave without saying good-bye.  I am watching you.  I am listening to you.
• Please and Thank You.  These are important words.  If I forget to use them, will you remind me?
• I missed you.  I think about you when we are not together!
• Just try.  A little bit.  One taste, one step.  You might like it.  Let's see.  I'll help you if you need it.  I think you can do it.
• I'll help you.  I heard you call me, here I am.  How can I help you?  If we both work together, we can get this done.  I know you can do it by yourself, but I'm glad to help since you asked.
• What do you wish for?  Even if it's not yet time for birthday candles and we don't have a wishbone, it's still fun to hear about what you wish for, hope for, and dream about. 

Source: Blog "Positive Thoughts" 

The original blog-post title offers these words as things we can say to children. But we can all know deeply that every single human being is a child at heart. In the right context, sentences like the above can be shared between human beings in any age group I think. My teacher's words serve as quite a fitting conclusion to this shared post.

"Loving speech has the capacity to turn around the heavens. Whether you feel like offering it or not is irrelevant to the difference it can make in a given circumstance."

- Koun Franz

Experience

We throw ourselves out there to be eaten by the wolves, or to be petted by the monkeys, or at times to just plainly exist as nothingness.

Renunciation?

The art of a skillful "no" we offer ourselves. 

This no can be very tricky. It's not the no of aversion, or of suppression, or of denial, or even of self-judgement. It's like the loving no offered to a child about to harm itself owing to ignorance.

- Joseph Goldstein

Reflection

Someone defined enlightenment as "being interruptible."

From all the descriptions of enlightenment that I've encountered so far, this one seems to make the most practical sense. Personally, my understanding of enlightenment is one in which the individual enters into an advanced state of mind. And so, coming from that perspective, I like how this description associates vast openness with the state of mind of a human being.

Alone Looking at the Mountain

The birds have vanished down the sky.
Now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains. 

- Chinese poem originally by Lǐ Bó, translation by Sam Hamill

Samurai: to Serve and Attend

"From the moment they wake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue."

Intense Presence?

Trust?

Plunging in with abandon.

Gaze of love

Look at someone and experience their loveliness,

Look at someone and experience their preciousness,

Allow the feeling to sink into the depths of being.

Impressionable

To be absent for a while is the same as being dead.

- from a death poem written by an annonymous Zen master

Religious impulses should be transformed into manifestations of natural beauty.

- Zen saying

To become completely one with action requires diligent effort and consistent practice everyday. Everyday.

- Zen saying

Meeting Confusion

 

 

Instead of struggling against the force of confusion, we could meet it and relax. When we do that, we gradually discover that clarity is always there.

Source: Excerpted from "When Things Fall Apart:Heart Advice for Difficult Times", page 27

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THE PLEASURE OF THE SNOW LION

In the Shambhala teachings, the snow lion is connected with being perky, enjoying the freshness of the highland mountains. The snow lion is vibrant, energetic, and also youthful, roaming the highlands where the atmosphere is clear and the air is fresh. The snow lion is not perked up by temporary situations but experiences unconditional cheerfulness. Just as the snow lion enjoys the refreshing air, the perky warrior enjoys continuous discipline. For the snow lion, discipline is not a demand but a pleasure.

Source: Excerpted from The Sacred Path of the Warrior, pages 165 to 166

The ray of Hope

"From my obscurity came forth a light and illuminated my path."

Source: Kahlil Gibran Quotes

Brave

Every day as we walk out into the world with heart, there is a new kind of bravery awaiting to greet us. On some days it's less intense than others, but it's always ever present. On the less intense days our spirit heals and expands, so that on the more intense ones we are able to draw from these reservoirs of strength which have been built up over time.
Our capacities as human beings never cease to fascinate me.

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How it was back in the day.

Nelly Sachs Receives her Nobel Prize - Media Player at Nobelprize.org

Observation

“It is an ironic habit of us human beings to run faster when we're lost.”

- Rollo May

Beautiful!

Such a great example of natural beauty in the human spirit.

"I see that I'm a little piece of a big, big universe."

Wholeness

The state of calm or in Buddhist terminology "Samadhi" is one which knows that there is more to life than the mere feeling of one's likes or dislikes.

- Me trying to digest the thoughts shared by my teacher Koun Franz