Yet another 8150
Among the regulars of the Dorkbot gatherings, there is a creative programmer Jagannathan,
who has presented semi autonomous, self interactive moving pattern of enigmatic images before.
On the Dorkboat, he performed an electronic music composed on the spot, jammed with Alex Mclean.
On the boat journey, we talked about our resent activities, since our idea to put his organic program
to combine with my strange kinetic design hasn’t been materialized yet.
I told him about my Youtube images with its key word Kinetorori. To google Kinetorori, it led to both
Yoshizen blog and my Youtube channel.
Along side the Youtube video clip / Cupidon and the blog Kinetorori, inevitably he stumbled upon
8150 story. Which lead him to read a post ” Is Dharma directing us ?”
In that post I was asking the reader to check their Number. So, he checked his Bank a/c number ——
Bang ! —— He discovered, his Bank a/c number having this fatal 8150. ——- Please read
the comments on the post. ” Is Dharma communicating us ?” (To search, type in the box and click )
Later he said on the Email, Shocked and amazed by this. And as he said on his comment, he is
having this only a Bank a/c number since he arrived here 10 years ago. —— does it mean,
the Dharma did know from the beginning, we are going to meet —- or the person who got this
number are destined to meet together?
Jagannathan is not a Buddhist but he believes Brahmanism. Still, what so ever human make up the
name the ultimate power over there is the same entity. All of us are under the rule of this power.
And, in deed we were watched by it.
I gave a thought for Jagannathan’s life —– then I realized a crucial point that is (as he described
in his email) after he experienced the trouble of his program Pirated, he decided to publish them
as open source ” Instead to spend the time to encrypt them, better spend the time to create
something new, which gives more freedom” ——- abandon the ego and greed and
give-away his creation, brought him more freedom and strangely more wealth and stayed in health.
—— this is the very paradox in the Buddhism which I described many times.
So that, the greed-free honest attitude in the life is the key factor, as his life style is far from ascetic —–
having a wife, likes cider and he confessed, its hard to stick with Right-hand Zen. 😀 —– Still,
Selfless, Ego-less free mind may made him spiritually stand out.
Programing is a laborious work for perfection ( if not perfect, it doesn’t work at all 🙂 ) and
even for open source free program, if it is not creative and useful enough, nobody give a sit.
And now he started to wonder —— is this, because of him being protected by the Dharma too ?
( Fascinating isn’t it —— or is it Spooky ? 🙂 )
—-
Worship ?
If anyone think the Buddhism is one of the religion, soon you will be realized
“If it is the religion, where is the God and what to worship ? ” —— Then you might be
realized, something peculiar or even something wrong.
—
Since, on his death-bed, Buddha ordered to his followers ” Don’t idolize or worship me”
In the Buddhist’s Mantras, there is even a single line of script which described that
Buddha himself bowed to anything, exist.
Buddha respects the Dharma and its rules, though rule is just the rule.
Rule is not the God or an object of worship. ——– Gravity is one of the physical phenomena.
Its rule is absolute. No one can escape —- though, no one think gravity is God nor anybody worship it.
Dharma rules the universe though as it is not like a personified western God,
Dharma is not answerable, even communicable to the human, it is not an object to worship.
Hence, Buddha didn’t need to worship the Dharma but he just followed and lived with it.
Because of this, the Buddhism has been often regarded to be NOT a religion,
and often mistook as an atheist.
( Lots of you may think, if this is the case, what about the many Devine figures in the temple and
worshiping rituals the monks are performing ? ? ?
——- It is just because of a mix-up with Hinduism. It is not the Buddhism )
In the same kind of misunderstanding, lots of people think the Buddhist practice is a part of rituals.
No, they are a training exercise to gain a state of the mind ” Mushin “.
( DO the things without Thinking —– leave it to the control of subconsciousness / Dharma )
Darma has unknowable mystical power ——- though, it is not because of Buddhism.
Since, Dharma and the Karma are ruling anybody, regardless one’s religion.
Believe or not, everybody you too, are under the Dharma —— hence, it’s better to aware it.
To become aware it ——- you are wiser. Which we call ” Enlightened “
Buddhism itself has no mysticism or mumbo-jumbo.
Buddha’s teachings or Buddhism is the way to see the Dharma and live with it.
Following and living with it, mean more smooth natural life, hence having the Peace.
___/\___
Practice ?
There are funny misunderstandings among the Buddhists, which lead to the even funnier
misconception of the Buddhism.
Due to the each sect’s tactics to monopolize the Buddhism, each sect having their own practice,
banging a drum or chanting the name of mantra or sitting etc etc what so-ever.
But, one shouldn’t forget, they are just a mean or tool to learn Buddhist’s Teachings.
—
There are hundreds of practices which bear the name ***** Dou such as Ju-dou, Ken-dou, etc.
Dou mean A Way / Pathway —– to reach Buddhist’s enlightenment.
It is a vessel to cross the other side. In metaphor, a finger pointing the moon.
With an unfortunate confusion in the English translation, the word PRACTICE was taken like
a training exercise. But,original meaning is To apply the teachings to a real situation and Do it.
Medical practice mean actually cut a stomach and stitch it —— Oh, c’mon don’t cut it for practice. 😀
To reach Olympic Medal in swimming, swimmer needs the basic training of running, push-up etc
though, no-one would think, do the running is swimming.
—
Yet still, lots of self-proclaimed Buddhist believes ” As I’m chanting the name of mantra, hours
every day —– so I’m a Buddhist ” —– so, I asked ” How come, your joint (hashish)” ” Oh, with this
I can reach even higher spiritual level ” ——- m m m ?
Buddha’s followers literally followed him, And copied exactly the same what he was doing.
This is the PRACTICE. Buddha was the living sample of How to live as a Buddhist.
Buddha was not doing any training exercise. When he want, just sit and took a rest.
But never tortured his legs. ( So, he could walk by his own till 83, to his Nirvana —— in comparison,
all the Zen sect high Priests end up in wheel-chair when they got old, due to many years of torture to
the legs. —— when Master Dogen said ” Just sit ” on that time life-expectancy was mere 40~50 years,
long before the body started to show the symptoms of old age)
So,—– sitting is just sitting, take a rest ( away from the life’s all other activities / actions ) — hence,
no need to think or worry —– have a break, that’s all.
It is so funny, sitting itself was mistook as to be a Buddhist. —— No, It’s a misunderstanding to think
” Sitting is to reach the Dharma ” —— No, we are with Dharma 24 hours, every fraction of second.
Our life itself is the PRACTICE. To achieve the best in the PRACTICE is the Buddhism.
___/\___
PS: As I wrote in the earliest posts, those ” Repeating Buddhist’s Practices “ are the
training Practice to learn ” Do the things without thinking “ ( by means of ware-out the mind )
which is aimed to attain the State of the Mushin.
The Key to the Buddhist’s life is To live the life in Mushin—— hence, life is the PRACTICE to
apply the way of Mushin. And the Mushin is the synonym to the Clear Eyes to see the Truth.
Mulberry
Every year, in the middle of August, there will be my annual event to go to see the Mulberry tree
and eat its berry, as one of my special ritual. ( After this, it will be the Blackberry’s season 🙂 )
—
There is a Japanese song called ” Aka-Tonbo ” ( Red Dragonfly, and its appearance heralding the coming
Autumn / end of the summer) —— it was dubbed as the second Japanese National Anthem.
Some Japanese expatriate would tear when they sung this, even though they may not necessary ever
eaten this berry in their life.
Song is about a childhood memory, when he (she) was piggy-backed and saw the red evening sky,
the flying Aka-Tonbo, and the memory of picking the Mulberry. ——– (sob sob)
My childhood memory itself was nothing like in the song, still when ever I saw this Mulberry tree
my thought just goes to this song. ” This is the Mulberry of Aka-Tonbo song ” ——– still, it is
almost a mystery, why this Mulberry having such significance and Aka-Tonbo song makes the
Japanese cry ——- though, it is a touchy subject I never dare to ask others ” Why you cry ? ”
—-
I can describe, the size and how its berry looks like (it looks similar to Blackberry —– if you click
the photo and enlarge it twice, it will be about 80% of the life-size) though I can’t tell what is the taste
and how it is distinctive. Unlike the light or sound, there is no chart to plot or even measure its
distinctiveness. (We only able to measure the strength of each taste, very strong to very weak.
But we even don’t know what sort of difference or similarity between the taste of apple and the grape)
So that, we can not objectively describe or think about the taste— Only able to detect, it’s there or not.
—-
Among the sensory stimuli, the visual signal is the most indirect stimulus. It detects the light
reflected on the surface of the object and the signal has to be reconfigured as a pattern in the brain
—– otherwise its signal / stimulus wouldn’t have any effect as a stimulus, as if it is not existing.
In comparison, sound signal stimulates the hearing nerve direct. As long as it’s there you can not escape.
But the sound is a by-product of something vibrating, and transmitted through the air, if we block
the air path we can annihilate its existence.
Though, taste and the smell is the direct chemical effects created by the particular monocle of
the material or ingredient, so the monocle itself needs to touches the nerve.
Second direct sensory are the touch feeling. It will be detected by the direct touch but needs to feel
and assess. So that the same stimuli of such as touching a wire-brush —— very slight ticklish feeling
to itchy feeling and if it was pressed too hard it is painful —— its dependent to the interpretation.
Some people feel even pleasure by piecing the skin by needle. (I wonder what sort of process there ?)
—
The more direct the stimulus, its effect goes deep straight, even hit one’s physiology straight, since it
by-passing the process of the brain, and evoke the subconscious reaction, revive the latent
memory and hit the emotion direct, we can not control —— sob !
When a monocular of chemical which is unique to the Mulberry, touches our taste-bud, specific
signal was transmitted from there (scientists still don’t know the mechanism, is it the pattern of pulses ?
if it was the case, can computer mimic the pattern and recreate the same sensation of taste ?
or even create the similar but slightly different pattern hence new taste ? ? ? ) we perceive specific
sensation and as its sensation is unique, it will be strongly associated with its particular
situation —— hence, its revive the strong memory and the associated emotion.
—
Yet, me to go and pick Mulberry is not only for indulging child memory, but I rather feel a kind of duty
to remember our humble origin. We human being came from the savannah as the hunter gatherer.
We survived while picking fruits, plant roots, sea-shell etc etc —– thanks to the nature and
ultimately the energy-source, the Sun. ——- (Fruits comes from the tree, not from Tesco 😀 )
We never created foods. We are just a sucker of the nature and a part of the food chain.
Especially to be a Buddhist, we shouldn’t forget that fundamentally we are the bikku (beggar ).
So, thanks to a tree in a park, I can pick this Mulberry, free of charge.
( Though, I’m not alone. It seems I’m competing with another picker and the Birds —— early Birds got
better chance and upper hand / upper wing to reach top of branch. I got only few left over. Sob 😀 )
——
Zero = Infinity
Watch this Space.
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
This is the Space supposed to accommodates whole Universe end to end. Therefore if you type here, the
space would be enough to have the whole Buddhist’s mantras scripts trillions of trillion times, though
WordPress is a small provider in the cyber space and myself is an ever minute blogger, hence the
appearance of the space is just this small.
Yet, you can see the infinite spread of the space ——- since this is the expanse of the Dharma.
Did you see it ? You convinced ? ——– Well done. Then, watch the inside of the circle —– zero.
— ——————————————————— ——o
Do you still see the same expanse, whole Universe ? ——– Since, this is the same Dharma.
——- Now you know that with Dharma, you can be whole span of the Universe, in the same time
you can fit inside of the space zero.
Once you free your mind, you can be in anywhere, you can live anywhere in any shape.
With its blank space of the mind ( Mushin ) and the complete open perception,
you can embrace Infinity and the Zero in the same time.
This freedom is the Enlightenment. There would be no limit or any hindrance in your life..
___/\___
Rules in Helping Others
Be kind to others, help someone in need. ——- What a nice words —— as the Words.
Though, when its came to the practice, there are loads of question arise.
If you are a Buddhist, there must be the fundamental understanding to pay a respect to the Dharma.
Therefore has to accept the manifestation of the Karma.
Everybody got their own Karma. ( Not only the Buddhists. 🙂 )
——– So, when something happened or you encountered and see somebody in difficulty and obviously
needs a help. If it is a very simple matter, it may not very complicated —— just give a hand.
Though, if the matter was very serious and the help may affect the person’s life or fate. ——– M m m ?
How do we know, if it does not interfere the person’s Karma ?
To live on their own pathway according to their own Karma is their individual birthright.
In the same time, we shouldn’t be obsessed by the idea of ” I’m helping others ” —— just help without
having any notion of help. If you do, you have to do it in Mushin.
Why encounter such situation, there was our own Karma working as well —— It was not just an accident.
———- So, where a Buddhist draw a line IN the Middle way ?
For such situation or even for the general rules to deal with others, I’m following a hose Rule. Give a help
automatically but ONLY once. ( Buddha said to have offered three times though I’m just a small man I can
afford only once. Any how we got only one life and only one chance, never able to try the same again ——
—- have you ever seen or heard the same person born again and did the same attempt and succeeded ?
No such things like reincarnation exists. —– yes, decomposed my body, the element must be re-used to
constitute another life form, well may be a plant —– what so ever —– like a hydrogen atom in my body
has been recycled, recycled billions of times since it was created in the Big-Bang (allegedly) though,
no same person had ever created or same mind / soul ever exists, since even the soul is the result of
own Karma and the Karma of this moment is never the same in second later. No moment stays the same )
If my help didn’t work, it is the sign, I’m doing wrong AND / OR it is the person’s Karma.
Struggling my way of help, believing this should work is the delusion. It may make situation even worse.
Observe everything include the self, in the completely detached eyes. So that never exited or panicked.
Other than technical difficulty, a sudden occurrence of blockage or short coming such as suddenly
mob-phone broken or train service halted etc is the sign of halt from the Dharma = stop it at once.
If the help is essential and when you are doing it in your Mushin, Fully Minded, strangely all other
factors work together as well. Others give a hand, conveniently specialist appeared etc etc.
So-called Devine Intervention really happen.
After the event, never contact the person unless the person gave me a contact.
( If the person is a stranger, never exchange contact unless the follow-up is the essential part of advice
——- avoid to touch personal matter as much as possible and limit only to the issue or problem itself)
It is the arrogance to see the result of the help. (such as ” Have look I’ve successfully helped this person “)
As the matter of fact only the person knows whether the help was really helpful or not.
If the person is not grateful and contact to say thanks, it was a sign of inadequacy.
Then, erase the memory of event other than the data of the experience (practical technique etc).
Above all, I myself have One Week Rule which is, even when I’ve offered a help for the project etc,
if it was not started or the person did not make a move within one week, its file is deleted —– so, I
will not retain the memory. If it is not urgent to the person, why do I need to take initiative and if the
person got yet another problem occurred, it is the sign, Dharma is not keen to its project.
Me to help a project lie on front wouldn’t have any problem though I wouldn’t undertake the person’s worry.
This is my way to live as a Zen Buddhist and live the life with light luggage.
___/\___
Science of Mantra
Unlike what I wrote somewhere “Buddhism never contradict Science” if anybody read the Mantras
everybody can see it just as a piles of piles of bullshit. One description contradict to other or utterly
absurd logic etc etc (such as devils chasing wondering dead soul in the hell “therefore blah blah —-” 😀
Oh, C’mon it’s not a logic —– So, what is this metaphor meant for ? ? ? )
So, Why I saw them ” Scientific” was, ——– the matter is not the contents in the Mantra but the
effects it causes and evoke the mind ——- instead of blindly accept a Dogma.
If anybody read Abidharma cosa Mantra (provided not fallen into asleep. 😀 ) it will definitely
wear out the one’s mind, exactly same effect to chant the name of Mantra thousand times.
Analyzing the existences and the perception and categorizing them into thousand of classification
——- and to read them through ( What a hell ) definitely make the person to abandon the thinking
words and words will become just the patterns passing through the eye field.
Exactly same as a typist. Just type the chain of words. Just let them go. Don’t think.
This, well thought-out psychological effects are amazingly scientific. —– Akin to the process of
blow heat the malachite with charcoal and to get the copper metal. Long (in deed) before the
mankind knows the carbon in the charcoal reduct the oxygen from copper-oxide —– from
the observation then try and test and establish the method is nothing but the rational science.
—— So, unmistakably on the time of it was written ” To study this Abhidharma is the way to attain nirvana”
( in hard way —— and not very good to the eyes 😀 )
( PS : Earley version of Buddhist Mantras such as Pali Canon is far shorter though always having repeating
——- phrase, which was meant to be recited ( It’s in the poetry form) —— by reciting them repeatedly
——- its goes down deep into a person’s subconscious, hence it will become automatic to recite (without
——-thinking) thus able to attain state of Mushin (Selflessness) —– So, some described it ” Purify the Soul “.
Without shouting the Dogma, still able to convert one’s mind by observing the psychological effect is
nothing but the scientific approach.
—
Dharma and Heaven
( This post may read as an addition to the previous post Dharma = System )
In the east a word Heaven ( Ten in Japanese, Tien in Chinese ) having somewhat similar meaning like
the word Dharma. Heaven can be just a sky above but not necessary a Paradise like in the west.
Heaven is where the invisible but ultimate power, the Ruler reside. Or the Rules itself.
As the Heaven cover everything on the earth, there is no escape therefore this notion affects every other
notions and the fundamental philosophy and the ethos.
Unlike under western humanised or personified notion of God, in the east there is no margin of negotiation
to the morality, like the situation of crime and punishment. There is no such things like ” If the God doesn’t
arrow this I’ll go to another God, or our church justify this killing since enemy is pagan”. Killing is killing.
( I’m not talking the sheer number of execution in China, or having sever punishing flood and earthquake)
Without having the insight of this fundation of ethos, ” Wrong is wrong. There is no escape” it is hard to
understand the hidden psyche of Fatalism in Taoism or Zen Buddhism.
As the basis of the Buddhism lie in the word / notion of the Dharma which is all the Existence /
Nature and the Rules behind or Existence / Nature itself is the Rules, it is naturalto see why
eastern culture is so well harmonized with the nature,
or to see why the Hinayana Buddhism says The man’s life itself is the Enlightenment —— as
the man born with the Dharma within.
___/\___
DHARMA = System
While putting comments and reading the replies of another Truth Seeker’s blog, I’ve found
the definition and the understanding of the word DHARMA vary a lot between the Buddhists.
Some sects seemed to define the meaning of DHARMA very narrowly just as the Teachings.
The worst case I found was the Teachings of his instructor. 😀
———- Then I realized, this must be the KEY in understanding the Buddhism.
Buddha (in my blog when I say Buddha, its meant only Buddha / Shakyamini / Gautama Buddha )
had rejected all another teachings of so-called guru and popular Vedic teachings, and established
his own teachings which we now call the Buddhism.
Why he was called Buddha / Enlightened Man, not like a prophet or Devine figure was, he was
a man who found the Truth in this whole world. —— Whole world mean all the existences, include us,
human being and our psychological phenomena as well.
—— By seeing it with his clear eyes, Buddha realized, the truth is in the very Dharma itself, as
the Dharma is whole existences and the rules combined together.
—
On this occasion, I’ve clicked Wikipedia to see what others are saying. The authors who
compiling those descriptions are the people who learned the subjects much longer than me
hence, their descriptions are correct though, strangely the crucial point, the meaning of
the DHARMA also contain the phenomena itself is only mentioned in the last. ( in two places )
—
Think where Buddha was standing and what he was seeing. —— In northern India, far away
the great Himalayan mountains, river, forest, green fields, people and animals —— and
the human life —— from there Buddha found the rules behind of all those existences /
the rule of the DHARMA and its intricate relations which are relying on each other /
the relative existence of the existences / phenomena.
( In any body’s eyes, the Nature’s intricate Eco-system and the Harmony must have amazing Rules. ——
Some says it is the God’s design —— in fact it was the result of hundreds of millions of years refinements.
—— any irrational, ill-matched design has been eradicated. Hence only rational existing, happily exist now)
( So, I wrote somewhere before ” Spread your hand wide. Embrace the world. This is the Dharma “)
When Buddha inspired his understanding, of cause, he was bound by the notion of the word
Dharma which mean whole existences and the rules behind of it, gave the foundation of his philosophy.
In another word, Buddha’s teaching was inseparable from the meaning of the word Dharma
—— all the existences and the rules behind which is not independent notion from
the existence itself, since they are all related and dependent each other.
With this understanding of dependency, our human existence couldn’t be seen as the solid
permanent existence neither ——> Hence, The Atman (Self) is not exists = Anatman (Non Self )
( When the Self is not a reliable existence, the product of the self / Thinking has to be seen as a Delusion )
And as the Dharma is not abstract, independent idea, BUT inseparable from Existences / Phenomena
even the teaching couldn’t be separated from the real life —— Hence, teaching = Practice.
—
———- From those observations, I found the meaning of the Dharma should be
better understood by the word, SYSTEM.
SYSTEM mean, they are not just a pile of existences but each part are connected each other and
functioning together. And to make a SYSTEM as the functioning SYSTEM, there is the Systematic Rules.
And the Rules has to be viable / rational, otherwise they would disintegrate and disappear.
( This is the reason why Buddhism never contradict against the science.
Since, Buddhism stands on the facts, therefore it have to be rational. Not stand on the absurd idea or belief.
This is the reason why Zen rejects the imagination and thinking, and relying on the observation.
Incidentally, when Buddha was asked about the structure of the universe he didn’t give an answer.
He might wanted to say ” I don’t know. Who care, do you ?” ( Such imaginary world is not relevant to the life )
neither he answered when he was asked whether the soul exist and reincarnated.
He would have said ” Haven’t you understood what I said before”
( Anatman / Nonself was his main teaching, since Vedic Atman is only imaginary product / Delusion )
Buddha never argue or get angry. 🙂
( Someone who deluded by wrong thinking/ belief will not get enlightenment that all. It is the person’s Karma.
Buddhism never offer the salvation, only give the guidance to the person to learn.)
—

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