Greenwich Park again — Red Deer

Greenwich Park has a Red Deer enclosure in their south eastern

corner = closer to the back gate.

Unlike its northern part, closer to the Thames , where Royal Naval College,

Royal Observatory are attracting the numerous visitors, its southern part

maintains more natural environment = small pond, dense rhododendron

bush etc etc and naturally we can see many birds, even red deer.

South of the park is the Black Heath area.  Heath mean, the land covered by

the Heather plant. (Well, in the old days.)   Heather is a Elicaseae plant and a

cousin of Rhododendron ! (You believe or not  😀 ) ( Heath looks like this !)

And where ever a natural reserve and a pond, the Birds gathers.  —– and

where ever the Birds gathers, Human forks / Kids coming to feed them.  🙂

(It’s a well established custom of the modern society)

Not so many people thinks to make them a roast duck.  🙂

——– (Photos were taken by Tamron 500 mm SP F8 Mirror lens)

 I was really fascinated by (1) the quality of this 40 years old lens and

(2) how the birds can keep their feather dry ! 

So, the Red Deere here are not for Venison !

Photo above, left was a view of 15 mm lens and in its center, a

white-dot was a Wood Pigeon = photo Right, shot by 800 mm lens. 

The building with clock tower is a very historic old School. (So, I heard )

Sound very dashing but looks pretty miserable building = Trident Hall.

This one is really the Pride of England or its past glory !

Old Royal Naval College.

(The photo Center is the Trinity Hospital. Photo Right, Cutty Sark Ship)

Camera used was Canon 5D Mk3,  Pentax 15 mm F3.5,

Tamron SP 500 mm F8 Mirror lens,  800 mm Mirror Lens ??? make. 

[]

Western God — Eastern Heaven

While talking with a Japanese lawyer about the Human-right, the most

fundamental difference in its origin become clear. = The origin of the

Judea-Christian God was such as like Gilgamesh who went to the heaven

and became the God. That’s why even the God speaks the same language

and able to listen a man’s play.

So that, even God’s given Ten Commandment was written in human

language but applicable only to the mankind = not to animals or to the

Great nature.   And because of the God has human origin or a product of

human imagination hence, having the same sentiment and the logic.

Therefore having the same fundamental needs, and expresses its needs as

the right (or in the other words Our EGO) and demanded.

This is a so-called human-right circulated in the western society.

—– You can imagine to live anywhere though, the people accept

you to live there is depends on their attitude = You can not demand.

You want to live is your wish though whether you can survive or not

depend on your fate.    Still believing, you can demand to your fate is,

because you know that the fate / God is negotiable, since he is a same

kind having the same mind. 

[]

In comparison, the Easterner has no God but the Heaven (Taoism) or

the Dharma (Buddhism) as the ruling Supreme Power.

But as it has no personified figure or human like character, it remained as an

invisible abstract notion whose power is absolute and to be feared.   Under this

Supreme Power, we exists only under its shadow.  = Nobody has independent

“Right” kind, merely having the given opportunity to stay here.  

But in the same time, this Supreme Power is not a tyrant but the power to

exercise Justice in Rational way. (= If not Rational, its system will not work.)    

Therefore the fate this Supreme Power has given us is the equivalent of

our “Right” (or the Cause of us to exist or not exist = Fate, even as a Death.)

[]

The idea of social system under this Eastern Ethos is = “All the system has to

be operated accordance with this Justice” = abstract notion of “Right or Wrong”

exists in the society as the Absolute Moral which is not negotiable or given a

margin of discretion.   And the most important point of this Eastern Ethos and

its system is, not just applicable to the human but it extends to all the nature.

Therefore, it causes us to exists but in the same time, in the same extent,

it causes the rain or even earthquake to occur = all the dynamism of

the Dharma or Power of the Heaven.

[]

So-called Civil-right has its origin in more or less the same story.   Such as like

King John who was forced to sign the Magna Carta, he was not a man of

Supreme Power = merely yet another Warlord, who happen to be a King then.

So, as a part of negotiation and the expression of power balance, the Magna Carta

was composed. = It was nothing like the God’s given Right to preserve human

dignity but a mare bargain of do and do not.

[]

In comparison, eastern Emperor was the Heaven-chosen Ruler ! (In its legend ! 😀 )

So, his power is absolute and not negotiable at all. —– the trade-off to the ruler is,

he couldn’t make a mistake since he was supposed to be the wisest-man who is able

to see the invisible sign of the Heaven to know incoming disaster etc etc —– if failed,

he would be ousted by the popular up-rise. (This was the Chinese history in the past

4000~5000 years !) —– In contrast, the authority of Japanese Emperor has never

been contested and its blood-line has never broken in the past 2000 years.  So that,

former Palace of the Emperor in Kyoto has no defence structure at all, ie; no high

wall or moat, since it was not necessary as Emperor never made mistake and nobody

ever stand against him.   (Current Palace in Tokyo was originally built for Shogun.) 

(Any short coming occured, it was all due to his courtier or minister’s mistake and

their head could have been chopped off, leaving the Emperor’s authority intact. :-D)

[]

—– in such system, there couldn’t be a prescribed law to guaranty the right of the

subjects, since there could always be the different condition and circumstances.

Therefore, the precedence never be generalised = always, “Such and such year

what was said” and it only worked as a reference. = had no bounding power.

= Everything was depends on the discretion of the Emperor or the Shogun.

So, this was the reason why in the Eastern society there couldn’t be the

development of Human-Right has ever taken place. = Since there couldn’t be

a possibility of negotiation against the ultimate, invisible power. —– but the

western idea of Human-right was made up with a negotiation between the

[Man] and a notion of yet [Another Man with power] therefore, a reasonable

line was drawn as applicable to the both side.

= So, it’s funny to hear that the so-called Western Human-right said to have

divine origin. ( Oh, really, what’s divine you meant ? !   😀 )

(Eastern philosophy never indulge [So-called Equality] = IF it exists, it negates

the fundamental teachings of the Karma and the Moment dependence of the

Dharma (and one’s life).  —– The reason why the Sangha of

Lord Buddha had no Cast in its group was, not because of the notion of Equality

but because of the cause to generate a Cast, the SELF of Previous Life is not exists.

But it doesn’t mean, the person would be born Karma Free. = Far from it,

If The Karma doesn’t exist, the Cause to create the person is neither there.

= Person wouldn’t come to this world. 😀

Can you ever imagine that you can force the Karma to create you with

the want of Human-right. 😀

(You can not negotiate it with the Karma, but you just follow.   😀 )

___/\___

[]

New year’s First Sunrise — (well, almost)

New year’s First Sunrise —– well, not quite.  It’s the second one.  

Yesterday was a bit cloudy = so, this is in deed, the first opportunity

to take picture though ……… I didn’t even go out of my room,

let alone go-up a hill or a beach to take typical photo.

Worse still, I didn’t even rise a bamboo blind.  Still, with a longer 

lens with its shallow depth of field, bamboo-blind was disappeared.  

And at least, the photo on top is a genuine photo of SUNRISE !

—– but, first of all, why do we bother a day next of 31st of December ?    

or So-called New year’s day.  

It’s not even a Winter Solstice-day = just arbitrarily man-named day

= a products of human imagination.     Nothing absolute !

[]

We human invented so many rules and the patterns for us

to be bound or even enslaved by it.  

Like, if we use English, we have to follow its strict rules.  

Or some of the people created their own God and follow it.

—– so, to take a special significance of the NEW-YEAR’S DAY

—– IS just depends on our mind-set.  

Mind has created “Special Day” and the mind enforce its belief.

—– still, it is only in our imagination.  It might be fun and

able to have a kind of comfort to feel a part of the larger society

though —– we may better to think “Why do I follow this ?”

There could be the other kind of life “If not follow it”.

Enlightenment is to liberate the mind yet I wouldn’t simply say

brake the convention —– to chose the same convention, same

conclusion could be a feasible choice. 

Still, to see it in different eyes, everyday could be a fresh first day.

Have a peaceful and joyful year.

___/\___

[]

Fort’Mason’s Cherub

These days, all the job for the Angel has been monopolized by

the Cherub or other order has been made redundant.

And the another question is —– wait a moment, in mediaeval time

had Cherub wearing pants ? —– When they started to put it on ?

As far as I remember, I never seen Cherub wearing

dark red pants —– or was that trendy Pampers ?

Anyhow, don’t take it anything serious.   Ha ha ha  😀

And he used be a Cherub, (didn’t you know) still he is a

very very nice Angel.

Fortnum and Mason’s Xmas Window Decoration 2013

Among the big shops in London which one got the most heavy Gothic

taste may be a point of argument though, in my view, a shop selling

exactly the same things 100 of years = Fortnum & Mason must stand out

in its stubborn position.  —– Started to sell the candles to the palace and

expanded to deal with the Tea and established over the years,

Tea is a Tea = no new model or fashion there.  (Herbal tea is not a Tea !)

So the same shop is standing on the same place, looks the same too.

The design of Xmas window decoration is also heavier than Selfridges,

such as against the children’s tale, Fortnum & Mason chose

Greek Mythology — kind of difference. 

So, their taste for ancient Greek leafy pattern is still continuing though,

this years concept is more casual. = story from the next door.

It seems, even the shop stuck to the old tradition, the north Arctic

frontier, where Santa is based on, having a technological advancement

—– now, Santa is using a cart, instead of sleigh.   (Photo Right )

Santa’s new cart !

Any how, —– it’s fun  😀

(Shot by Canon 5D Mk-III, 24~70 F2.8, Pentax 15mm F3.5)

[]

Selfridges’ Xmas Window Decoration 2013

When it is a Christmas time, there always the special window

decoration of Selfridges is. = It is a long established tradition.  

And what sort of theme the decoration this year has, was

the interest of the people. —– It’s always a kind of children’s

fantasy though, it’s attracts as many as grown-ups too.

But this year’s decoration is not from any book or story —– quite

products orientated design = snow scape around the product.

So, the girly doll to audio gizmo.

Fashion(?) shoes to sports shoes.

—– Sports wear or toys ?  —– and of cause, they sells pants too.  😀

So, the handbag ! —– I have no idea what is a connection

between expensive bag to a snowy mountain.

Neither I have an idea what the Selfridge to do with

glittering naked woman.  😀

So, I couldn’t find whether it was children’s dream or adult’s dream.

Or, executive’s speculation = effect of Xmas campaign ! ?  😀

(Shot by  Canon  5D  Mk-III,  Fisheye Zoom 8~15mm  F4)

[]

2014 — Japanese New-Year’s Card Design (Free from Canon)

Following last year, I show you a Card Design Web-site of Canon again.  

When people design their own card and print it, quite likely people use

Canon printer and consume their INK = so, they can sell more.  😀 / 😦  

(A printer of HP etc was in fact made by Canon !) = Have you ever seen

Chinese or Korean Printer ?   Unlike electronic goods which they can copy 

by buying the same components made in Japan, printer has to be made

in incredible precision and has to keep work  5~10 years = no Chinese

can make.     So, the Canon knows, they should give back some.

Those are the link to their Free Card design site :

http://cp.c-ij.com/ja/contents/10n201/list_45_1.html    —————- Formal style

http://cp.c-ij.com/ja/contents/10n202/list_45_1.html?log=nt-02    ——— Casual

http://cp.c-ij.com/ja/contents/10n311/list_45_1.html  ——- Material components

New Year logo

When you click to their site, you will see a screen like this (in Japanese).

Still, left hand Column you can try clicking (and return)  next by next.

(In fact, the link above are the same to first three on the column )

In order to avoid the mess, I’ve made those samples in Collage

= you can save from here and clop OR download from Canon site. 

The sample above, left is a letter Spring.  —– the center, the letter Dream

—– Right, ancient figure / original shape of the letter Horse.

The samples above 3  may be used as a component.  

Right, Stump face saying “Good sign of Long-life and Happiness”

(Canon site has English etc too, though, not for New Year but

to make for Xmas Card. = Cultural difference is here  ! ) 

PS :  Those Link also provide Free Design Templates.

They are reputed, trouble-free good site.  = Worth visiting.  🙂

http://www.designbank-nenga.com/

http://illustrain.com/

http://nengarank.com/html/index.html

http://www.wanpagu.com/top_illustration.html

And one more site !

[]

Hart Mantra — True or False ?

So called Hart Mantra (Sutra) / 般若心経 might be the most well-known Buddhist’s scripture among it’s 3,000 books, except to the followers of the Pure-land sect. (Pure-land sect prohibits their followers to read this scripture !)

[]So, other than the Pure-land sect, all the Buddhist are accepting the teachings written in this Sutra —– are they ?    

Its scripture said that “When all-seen Bodhisattva / 観自在菩薩, (suppose to be         

Lord Buddha himself though, Bodhisattva is the one yet to be Enlightened = can not to be a Buddha) practising Supreme Wisdom / Panya-Paramita / 般若波羅蜜多, found that the 5 aggregates (effectively everything) are Void, therefore resolved all the (cause of) sufferings, (thence told to) Shariputra that “The existences (Form) are no different from the non-existence (Void) —– which is the teachings of the Voidness in the existences and the Voidness in our own perception, therefore the Voidness of our own existence = hence No-self.

—– sound not much wrong in the Mahayana Buddhism’s context. —– (If we could ignore the silly ignorance in this scripture such as “Bodhisattva who haven’t reached Enlightenment yet still able to have all-seen power and teach one of the senior disciple, Shariputra who has been reached Enlightenment already”)   

Shariputra was not the earliest original disciples.   He joined the sangha long after Lord Buddha started teaching.   If this Sutra has any historical significance, it showed that Lord Buddha found the Voidness long after he started teaching. —– It couldn’t be true at all !   Such fundamentals in the teachings, should have had sorted out on the beginning.   Because, that must be his Enlightenment.

The main question what Lord Buddha had to find an answer was, to explain to the people who has been frightened by the idea of being trapped in the endless cycle of rebirth / reincarnation, even to reborn to a beast (= new trend of Vedic belief or beginning of the Hinduism) by showing them “There couldn’t be any possibility of rebirth, because the Self / Atoman (which Vedic teachings said) is not exists”. As he found the answer in the theory of Karma (Moment to moment inter-dependency of the existences) that the permanent Self couldn’t be existed. So, he started teaching of those truths. —– otherwise, what was he teaching before he found this Voidness ?

[]Further more, historian found a funny origin of this Hart Sutra (+Mantra), that this sutra has been written (or compiled) in China in 7^th century and then translated back to Sanskrit, therefore, we better not to take its contents as in its face value but to see it as a theoretical metaphor.

—– Of cause, many fantastic story in the Mahayana scripture are nothing to do with original teachings. —– Use your common sense,

Lord Buddha wouldn’t have said any fantasy as he rejected useless thinking as a delusion.  Naturally, he never showed a miracle or magic kind and prohibited such practice to the followers. = its mean, that the scripture which contained “Mantra” (or Dharani — which supposed to have a magical power ) is not the Buddhism at all.  You know this is why

Lord Buddha taught “Don’t believe what others said or you read, but find it out by yourself”

Blind Buddhists are worse than an ignorant, because he believes that he knew something. 😀

The matter in the Buddhism is, not about to know the words such as Voidness or Selflessness, but actually being Selfless.   Actually being Selfless mean, when you read those few lines in here,  just now (or few seconds ago ?) you didn’t aware that YOU are reading this. —– so, without having any conscious of the SELF (who supposed to read this), how you could manage to read this?      WHO the person reading this blog minutes ago ? = YOU have to sort it out by your self, —– When you were convinced that you don’t need to have your SELF-conscious to DO the things, you ARE most likely found yourself detached from the Ego, Greed, Fear, Lust etc. too, exactly the same practice which

Lord Buddha started to teach  2,500 years ago.  

___/\___

[]

PS: If you were confused of “Mantra” or “Sutra” —– The main body of scripture is the Sutra.  And last line of the words “Jate Jate, Para-Jate ~ ~ ~ Bodhi-suwaka” is the Mantra, which supposed to have magical power hence never translated but chant as they are.    Though, the meaning is = (as those words are infact common with ordinary Hindi today = since I noticed while listening Asian Radio here.) = Go Go, Go more, You Go Further, To be Enlightened.

—– Para is same as in  “Para-mount”, Bodhi is same as in  “Bodhi-sattva”.   🙂

* Beliefe of magical power in the words = Mantra / Dharani  is a practice of Tantra sect.  Nothing to do with

Lord Buddha’s teachings.  =  Last quarter of this Heart Mantra is praising and promoting  the “Power of the Panya Paramita Mantra” though, such notion is all in the mind or only imaginary existence.   (If there is any power, why India need to spend so much money for their military weapon.) 

All the products of imagination are nothing but the Delusion. It’s not the Buddhism. So, those scriptures are the evidence how the Chinese author was ignorant to the original teachings. —–

Lord Buddha left the last words”never idolize and worship me” = so, why needs to worship mere scripture written by a person who even didn’t know the teachings ! 

[]

Flower of Fig-titiosa

  With a request of HM Bente, a servant,

Plant Hunter, Yoshizen took an expedition

to find an elusive legendary flower of Fig.

After a great journey and the hard work,

he discovered it and brought back a flower

for the world to see it, first ever the time

in the history of mankind.

(though, this photograph was too

over-saturated, hence the color is not

very faithful representation of  its nature.

—— you are better advised to refer to the next photo.  🙂 )

The formal name of this plant is  [Ficus. Figtitiosa var Brag]    !

Yes, honest, this is nothing other than the Flower of the Fig.

You got open your mind and the eyes. —– Convinced ?  

(A wise advice is, eat this with a pinch of salt.)  😉

[]

What Buddha found

(According to the Scripture which Yoshizen found in the Dragon’s den in South London.

—– the Authenticity is more or less the same to any other Buddhist  Scripture )  ;-D

After 6 years of ascetic hard practice which was based on the Vedic concept, “With a

concentration of one’s mind = Atman can reach to the level of super natural power”

which is, of cause, on the belief of that the Atman exists. —– but to realize, it was not

suit for him, and left the ascetic practice, and having nursing his weakened body,

Gautama Buddha suddenly noticed that, while eating a milk-porridge offered by a

village girl Sujata, his mind was completely empty. = no mind or conscious was there.

It must had shocked him and made him realized that we’ve been doing a lots of things

without having any thought or conscious. We all are walking without thinking how to walk.

Facing this undeniable fact, he realized that the belief of Atman was utterly false.

What makes us to live, and walk was not the Atman but invisible Dharma.

Atman is not exists, and if we remove the mind or thinking and make it empty, the Dharma

which has been masked by the mind will prevail.

—– So, he tested this, sitting under the Pipal tree.   And after 49 days when he run-out of all

the thoughts, the mind became empty, hence, without any pre-conception and with the

clearest eyes, he saw the world as it is which is the sign of the Dharma.

It was the moment of his Enlightenment.

[]

Then he gave a thought, why the same man who had been believing the existence of Atman

now seeing it is not exists.   If really Atman exists, same Gautama must see the same Atman

still here, but the fact showed, it is not.    It changes moment to moment.

When things changes, others change as well with direct, indirect connection and this makes

the Dharma dynamic.   Hence, nothing stays permanent.

But it is the paradox, to be the Dharma it should be permanent. —– what only persistent in

the Dharma is, its nature of change, not the appearance.   Appearance is just a transitional

illusion on our eyes.   And our eyes were also attached to this transitional existence, us,

which we can not even define it is existing or not, because the one who try to define it,

is not a consistent existence either.

So the situation, which can only be describable is, the changing nature of the Dharma which

got a mechanism of Karma, which drives everything change, moment to moment,

that nature IS the Truth.

[]

It’s means, “No rigid existence of Atman, let alone its perpetuity, hence No Self, the Self what

we imagined”, everything is Void.  And the Dharma and its mechanism of Karma are all

invisible and unknowable because they may also be Void.

—– Yet still, we are here, there is no choice but has to accept this Truth.

When you can not beat, better join them, be flexible.   This is the Enlightenment.

It is not a kind of jump and dance discovery, but neither need to be depressed, because, this

is what we are and our situation is.   It’s mean, we neither need to worry because, our worry

itself may be yet another illusion, and anyhow we are here only in this moment in only one life.

And we are here because the Karma caused us to be here, there must be a reason which

we can not know.    We have to accept and respect the Dharma.

[]

And an essential wisdom to deal with this situation, —– to deal with almost invisible Dharma

and the Karma, we have to see them as it is, with transparent perception, never with

coloured glass, in other words, in Selfless clear eyes.   In Selflessness, in definition, there is no

Ego or Greed either. Since, the owner of Ego and Greed is not exist.

Therefore we have no possibility to loose anything = We will be in total freedom = We can have

totally liberated life, free from any delusion.

So, Lord Buddha started to teach the way to obtain this Selflessness.

[]

(Note : It is crucial to see the formation of Buddhism in an aspect of historical situation.  

It was a time when the Vedic belief was gradually taken-over by the new Hinduism.  

A religion of mostly just worship and make rituals toward the Vedic Deities (hence, ordinary

people were just by-standers) to a religion which is taking a personal account in each Karma

and perpetual cycles of Reincarnation (Samsara) = Hinduism, which horrified the people with

a fear to be trapped in a cycle and even born again as a beast.  

Lord Buddha urgently needed to to give an answer to those people and liberate them from

such deluded idea by teaching them that the reincarnating soul = Atman itself is not exists

hence the one’s death will be the total end which IS the Nirvana.

No-Self / Selflessness / Anatta / Anatman was the centre of his teachings.  That was why when

Lord Buddha was asked a question (again) “What happens after a death ?” or  “After a death

where the soul goes ?” He was so annoyed and didn’t give an answer.  —— On the scripture,

his personal attendance Ananda asked him “Why didn’t give an answer” “Because, it would

confuse them” = If this scripture was true, even a closest disciple haven’t understood the

teachings, or most likely  the writer of the scripture didn’t know what the Buddhism was.

(on that time the original teachings had already lost !) 

[]

—– It’s sound strange still, it is quite common tendency of the Karma, people who afraid to

get injured get injury.   (May be because, the person who had no fear was more agile and

able to see and avoid a danger = the same tendency appeared everywhere in the life.)

There are endless list of the paradox in the Life. = They are definitely making the life FUN.

And this is the secret to live happier peaceful Life.

So, this is the Enlightenment.

___/\___

[]