On the River Thames

Photo session in Greenwich naturally came down to the river side.

I saw swans on the Thames before, but this time there were quite few

Cormorants = may be Thames got enough number of fish now.  🙂

The Seagull I saw this time were rather small kind and doesn’t show much

dramatic flight ! —– (By the way, the photos in this post were all taken by

Tamron SP 500 mm F8 / Canon 5D Mk-III  and on the AV mode)

Of cause the Greenwich is a place on the Thames River. (southern side of it,

in more accurate term) and used to be the centre of the Global  Navigation Technology.  

In order to make a sea journey accurate and safe, Sea Chart / World Map has to have

exact positioning to the giography, hence the angular grid to define the Global position

was invented and made the imaginaly line running North to South, and a line running

on the Royal Observatory in Greenwich was made as the original point = 0 degree !  

Since the Sun goes round, “If you found the Sun in Exact south at 1:00 Pm Exact, you are

on the Longitude of 15 degree west”.   And on the Equinox Day, the hight of the Sun on

the 12:00 Noon Exact, tells you where you are on the Latitude. (If the Sun was 90 degree

on top of your head mean, you are on the 0 degree (Equator) or If the Sun was just on

the horizon (0 degree) , you are on the North or South Pole ! = How lucky you are 🙂 )

—– It’s mean, to have an exact measurement was crucial = not only an instrument to

measure the angle but also a watch, which can tell exact time.  (Hence, Briton and other

Nautical Giant (= other colonialist) Dutch were competing to invent accurate clock. )

Anyhow, it was a time when British Empire was ruling all the 7 seas.  

Not much activities these days but the remains became good show-piece for tourism.

Basically, Photography is the response to the MOMENT, 

but to capture a flying bird is a bit physically demanding task.  

Ha~ he~, —– once I was a young man.   Ha ha ha  😀

[]

Autumn Color

I popped out to the Greenwich with my friend who just bought DSLR this week

for a sort of photo session.  He has been watching YouTube Tuitorial viz kind of

“How to make a good photo” and “How to use DSLR”, though, they are still a

theory or knowledge. = Same as a Buddhist’s idea, it takes enough practice to

sink into a level of spontaneity. = Look into view-finder and see the Matter is

such as That “Depth of Field” what a viz told him. —– Anticipate, if the depth

changed what would be looks like then. —– Then own control starts.

Anyone can learn good composition / framing from the sample “To make Post Card

like scene to Post Card like Picture” though, to make “Nothing Special image to

Interesting Photo” need to have a good photographic talent. —– Exaggerate or

enhance the color would make a photo something looks nice though, its saturated

color gives irritation to the eyes too. = Here is the “Middle way” = the level of

saturation which our brain thinks !!! is always too much to our subconscious, since

our subconscious follow what is natural.    (Photos here are over saturated  🙂 )

Are you convinced ?  —– Take Middle way.  

(Looks unusual doesn’t necessary mean Special.

= in most of the case, it is just odd.  🙂

[]

Buddha’s Hesitation

Regardless, whether it showed real historical facts or not, still a kind of life history of

Lord Buddha has been well established and well known. = So, everybody knows his young

name, Siddhartha Gautama and a story, after he got his enlightenment, he became Buddha.

—– But, how about a story, that after he found the truth and reached to his enlightenment,

yet he said to have hesitated whether should he tell what he found to the others or just

remain quiet and wait to see own Nirvana, because the truth what he found was

too difficult to make others to understand.

[]

But the supreme God of the Universe, Brahman was frightened of this, if

Lord Buddha keeps the secret of  Truth in him and takes it to his grave, the man kind will

loose only the chance to learn it to save whole man kind from their sufferings, for ever.  

(—– Don’t ask me how Brahman did become aware of this —– If Brahman had such

Super natural power to know everything happening in the world, why he didn’t teach

such wisdom to the man, instead to bother the idea of yet another mortals.)

—– Anyhow, Brahman said to have come and begged to

Lord Buddha to teach the truth. —– So, what was that very Truth ? ? ?

(which would save the man, though too difficult to be understood by the man.)

[]

Many hundreds years after

Lord Buddha’s death, the new trend of Mahayana Buddhism created thousands of

enlightened Buddha and Bodhisattva —- during 2000 years history, they must be hundreds

of the thousands altogether.   If there are such number of the enlightened Buddha and

Bodhisattva, among them, at least some of them must had a very bright brain and clearly

aware what made him to get enlightened —– So, has any of them ever elucidated what the

supreme truth was —– Yet still, there was NON at all.

Only something related to this was, that the Zen Masters found it was the Dog Shit.

[]

Mahayana Scriptures says, the supreme wisdom is

“Panya-Paramita” “Anutra Samyak-SamBodhi” —– So, What ?

= WAS this “Supreme wisdom”  the one which gave a headache to

Lord Buddha for how to explain and make others to understand ?    If so, did any

one of those mass-produced Buddha ever got eternal life thanks to this secret Truth ?

Or this wisdom ever made any country free from the war ?    Nothing !    

No such wisdom, called Panya-Paramita had substance.

(Don’t make an excuse, by yet another Heaven’s story such as “Maitreya will tell it in future” )

[]

Looking through all the teachings in the Buddhism, there is No super-natural mambo-jumbo.

= Everything is easily comprehendable to normal brain, if not some of them are a bit harsh

or not very easy to keep-up, still, it is hard to imagine if there was any

“Hard to comprehend enigmatic issue” was ever existed on top of those,

especially considering  that No abstracts or Metaphysical illusion was in the

Lord Buddha’s teachings —– BUT if it was the notion of Selflessness, it was not only against

the common belief then, but also it would be very tricky matter to explain therefore,  this

trickiness would best match the trouble as a possibility, in his starting point. 

Assuming, —– if it was not a kind of fancy idea with magical power,

but simply the notion of Selflessness.  

—– The idea of Selflessness would make a perfect answer to the problem which the people

had been facing then. = Their fear to be trapped in the endless cycle of death and rebirth.  

(= It was a belief of New religion in the Brahmanism then = Hinduism now.)  

Against this, the answer of  “There couldn’t be such rebirth, because there is

NO soul or the Self remain after the death, which

could reincarnate to the next life”  was a perfect explanation. ——– But the trouble to

Lord Buddha was,  as the Self isn’t existing, there couldn’t be its notion, nor the word “Self”

= He couldn’t explain the phenomenon of the Selflessness without using the word “Self”.

(If he use the word “Self”, in effect it was the recognition of the existence of the “Self”).

Even worse, the phenomenon of the Selflessness is, not only in the depth of

Subconsciousness, but such notion or the word Subconsciousness itself wasn’t existing then.

—– until he found the way “Just let the people DO the things where Selflessness naturally

occur, which makes them to learn it by themselves, without needs of verbal explanation”

= So, with this solution,

Lord Buddha started to teach.  =  (Therefore, this was the origin of all the Buddhist’s

tradition such as “Selflessness”   “Without thinking = Mushin”  

“Without Word = but Direct Transmission”   “Learn through the Practice”)

Lord Buddha didn’t need to have a push from Brahman to start his teachings in deed !

(Still, making-up of such fancy story highlights the fact, that the original teachings has

been completely mixed-up with Hinduism then.)

___/\___

[]

Toy for a Grown-up / Rhythm Indicator

This electronic device is —– I may say, Rhythm-Indicator !

When I was a Disco-King (you believe or not 😀 ) often people (other keen dancer) asked

me a question about the way I dance, which is completely free movement hence virtually

no pattern still exactly follow and synchronizing with the Rhythm —– I needed to explain

what the Rhythm is.

Since I’ve been almost a fixture of the club, I also made enormous observation of the

people’s dance movement.    Among the many funny discovery, the most interesting

phenomenon was, that some of the people dance with the song, not with rhythm beat,

therefore it looks odd and off the rhythm still,  the person was not aware of it but

pretty much enjoying the dance  (in fact nothing wrong with it ! )

And another discovery was that the Spanish moves a moment later than the beat.  (It is

common with the Flamenco Dance, the movement occur not at the tense moment of the

beat, but the moment when its highest tension collapsed ! ! ! )

[]

Anyhow, to talk about the Rhythm in the noisiest environment, it’s easier to show it visual.

So, I made this Rhythm-Indicator  (but only for a Rock beat)   which shows the emphasis of

the 8 beat in red, amber, green, small green LEDs.   And I explained, the movement what

the Rhythm demands, not what I want to move. = So, the movement was the exact reflection

of the music in each moment, not a pattern in fashion  (such as in a film) or choreographed

planed movement. —–  Funny things even among the keen dancer was, that they dance

what they want = regardless the different music, still repeat the same movement !

(= What is the point to have different music.   😀 )

My indicator shows 8 beat, strong, weak so on, and having BPM (speed) controller, and a

Selector for x2 and ½ speed.   The Reset button was to synchronize with rhythm cycle. —– so,

in operation, reset to the first base drum, and adjust the speed to match the music =

Red LED to come coincided with every base drum of following cycle.

Voila’ the rhythm of the music was visually indicated.

—– To put the circuit and the batteries in a thin cosmetic case, I needed to curve the inside

to make a bit more space.    (It was long before SMD components or Lithium battery.)

[]

Though, even in the same music, same song, the speed is not constant and the pattern and the

use of percussion is changing. (that’s the way to make a music more dynamic and exciting).

—– So, inevitably, I had to design more elaborated system such as automatically pick-up the

base drum and synchronize the LED to the Rhythm cycle.

But instead to develop Rhythm-Indicator Mk-II, I changed the direction to design the

Sound-reactive Disco Pendant. = It was a by-product of the Base Drum synchronizing circuit.

—– I’ll show you those Sound-reactive LED Pendant in the coming posts.

[]

Cat’s Story / Haori-chan

When the time to give a birth came, the pregnant Mother-cat come and rub her head and body

against my leg.   That is their expression of “I beg you” —– I spread a bath towel on the sofa

and lightly give a massage to her tummy.   Then she start to push out the kitten next by next.

So, I take each kitten to her face for her to lick the new-born.

But some time (1 in 5~6), a still-born kitten came out.   Once, there was a very hard deliver of

over-grown kitten.   Only the head came out, I knew the trouble, and I pulled it hard.

When the whole body came out, the Mother-cat screamed.

That kitten was pretty big —- may be over 400g but I couldn’t save him.

Among the 3^rd litter, Haori (of cause, named later) was the most miserable kitten.

In fact, she was yet another (almost) still born.   I just took minuscule odds and revived her.

= As in the most of the case, kitten seemed to have drowned by the amniotic fluid, I shook

the body, head down to drain the water, and insert a small paper stick made out of toilet

tissue to the nose of kitten, for sucking out the water further.    And massage the body in

a warm water while blowing the air into the nose several times. —– in minute or two, three,

the kitten started to move. = Voila’ one life was saved.

(— Sound, and looks may awful treatment though, I’m not intended to play “Tender Buddhist

posture”, —– if the matter was to drain the water, I needed to use centrifugal force, hence

shake the kitten’s body in Karate speed —– To drain the water from a drowned human by

putting the hand into the throat, it neither be a nice picture, nor revive a person in hypothermia

in the mountain, it is more of the battle field operation than a “hart warming tender story” =

What-so-ever, my practice was very effective and altogether 4 out of 6 kittens has been saved =

this is the fact.  

Life is not for talking an imaginary sweet story, but just go through hard act.     Just Do.

Revived though, Haori was still the smallest and weakest, hence couldn’t compete with other

5 kittens on the milk-sucking battle.    I’ve tried as many times as possible, by taking other

stronger kittens off from tits and gave it to Haori, still, it was not enough, and needed to give

her supplement but, ordinary cow’s milk caused her diarrhoea and needed to buy special

“Kitten formulated Milk”.

On top of those trouble her eyes had infection and having eye-glue stacked on her eye lids.

When Mother-cat try to clean her eyes, she chew-off the dried eye-glue, but in the same time

her whiskers had been chewed-off as well.

(Poor Haori-chan, photo left ! / Photo right, Haori and Pino)

[]

A month past, when all the kittens started to change to the solid food, I trained Haori to eat

Kitten-milk-powder mixed with cream-cheese. Then cheese mixed with cat’s food but Haori

refused to eat cat’s food. —– (One theory said, that the baby (kitten) acquired the taste

(= what to eat) through the minute chemical in the Mother’s milk —– like Haori, who couldn’t

have enough milk from the Mother, hadn’t developed the taste for cat’s food.)  Therefore,  I

had to feed her frozen Coley Fish (lightly boiled) mixed with cheese. —– sound very special

treatment though, nothing special to Haori herself.   It was her norm and she just grown-up

to an ordinary cat.  (She didn’t grow Golden Fleece.  🙂 )

She behaved more or less the same to other cat but not so interactive, just sitting and 

watching out of window or me. = only not ordinary was what she was eating.

And because of her expensive diet, she couldn’t be adapted by others.

In addition, another cat, once adapted by other family had came back, because she, Pino was

a too clever trouble-maker.   Such as to jump to a door handle and open it etc. she was the

expert to open and sneak into anywhere, hence made a lots of mischievous.   (= get inside but

couldn’t open it from the inside then shit there, kind of trouble. 🙂 )

(— Though, I could anticipate what she is going to do, hence such as to make the things on the

shelf to fall easily, she instantly learn and never attempt it again.

So, those two, Haori and Pino were the cats lived with me longest, and left many wired stories.

[]   

Cat’s Story / Cat with Moustache / Cat’s Mind

Animal’s body-color or their pattern of fur never change —– that was what I believed too,

until I saw one of my kitten had grown his Moustache.   😀

Kitten here (photo, left ) was in his 3rd days in this world, and as a very very young boy, he

didn’t show his Moustache yet. —– then less than a week, a faint sign of it started to appear.

I thought he licked something black and got his nose smeared but it wasn’t. (photo, right)

—– And a month later, he was a well grown young cat with well trimmed Moustache.

He was one of kittens born with other 5 (though, one was stillborn and 3 were adapted by

the friends) and only a kitten remained in the family, he was given a name “Den-suke”

(a famouse Japanese comedian with his trade-mark Moustache = Japanese equivalent

of Chary Chaplin) and became an apple in my eye.

Though, I might have given too much attention, he seemed to become mother’s boy.

Unlike his father, “Kaka” who was quite an out-venturing Macho type —– but Den-suke

prefer to stay with somebody and playing / disturbing each other if not sleeping or

cosmetic-licking.   🙂

[]

As I wrote in the other Cat’s Story(s) before, I don’t believe common stereo-typical cat’s

character. —– If a cat became to a rather solitary animal, it was the reflection of how that cat

was grown-up in its environment.   If a cat was left only as an animal in a house and having

only the social interaction, fed twice a day —– what else other than a solitary animal he (she)

could became.  In contrast, if a cat was grown-up with a lots of interaction from the Mother cats

and the owner who behave (in certain extents 😀 ) like another Dominant cat, naturally the cat

become like a “Social animal”.   Remember, even in the feline family, Lion lives in a group and

having quite complex “Social” activity with Rules and Psychological games etc. —– so, we can’t

tell what genetic trait a particular cat got.   At least I can say, all of my cats were more or less

behaved like a dog = respond to each name and come and play (or disturb me 🙂 ) by their will.

Nurture play a big role in the cat’s character and behavioural pattern !

[]

But to grown-up with those social environment while acquiring behavioural pattern like a

pecking-order imprinted into the brain, if a situation change, such as when new kittens were

born, and not only the Mother’s nursing care but also my attention has to go those helpless

small creatures.     That was the situation what the Father, who used to be the Star, could not

comprehend at all. —– It was the same situation, when a human male and female couple got 

new arrival of their baby.   (Husband who used to receive whole attention of the wife, was

suddenly abandoned alone in a middle of nowhere, without having any idea what to do. 🙂 )

[]

To the Tom-cat, those new born kittens were nothing but the other small animals, no different

from mice = therefore, he started to handle (or play) with kittens as if they were the mice.

And neither had a notion of Fatherhood or Recognition of “His baby” he couldn’t understand

why he was smacked when he tried to play with kittens. = To his eyes, I just became a tyrant

who blandish a terror. —– Cats can understand each phenomenon only on its apparence but

not able to connect it to a secondary implication behind, therefore he only thought that he

was smacked because the Boss got bad day, not because he did wrong.

[]

So, he took a strongest weapon he could use against the Tyrant —— spread his diarrhoea

all over my pillow ! ! !  —– ( I was so impressed with his ingenuity.   A brain which couldn’t

process secondary implication, still able to have such creativity.   I wondered

how he managed to make a connection, “Shit on the Pillow will best annoy the Boss !”

—– Amazing isn’t it ?  ! —— Ha ha ha.  😀 )

So I say, I’ve learned enough and greatly deepened my understanding toward the

simple, emotion-based mind,  while living with cats.   😀

—– And three months later Den-suke had to face the same situation as

next litter of kittens were born.   (So, he became to rotten / fallen Apple ! ) 

[]

Figs

Before Marks and Spenser started to sell more civilized products like a Wonder Bra etc.

the Figs said to be widely utilized though, I haven’t seen any of them in use, other than on

a very decent ancient sculpture wearing it. —– Anyhow I’m not a very fashion conscious

person, I’m more interested in its edible part.

[]

Fig is a very peculiar plant.   Apparently it doesn’t have a flower still makes a fruits.

So that, in Japan they are called “Ichijiku” but to write its name in the Chinese character it is

[無花果] which mean “The Flowerless Fruits” though, its reading makes no “Ichijiku” at all.

Because of this, long since I’ve been wondering where this name “Ichijiku” derived from ?  

Then, one day on a street market, I saw a fruits vendor selling the Figs.

And I knew a man working there was a Kurdish.   I asked him, how they call Figs in their

country ?   He taught me it is “Injee” —– With flash of light, I realized, this must be the

origin of the Japanese name “Ichijiku”.

[]

Fig is one of the biblical ancient fruits together with Grape, and originated from middle east.

Hence all over the Orient, Turkey to Persia, Egypt,  Fig was commonly called Injee.

And it must came to China and to Japan through Central Asia = via Silk-road.   So, I refer to a

Chinese Dictionary to see what is the Chinese name of Fig —– it was [映日果], which reading

in Mandarin is In-lee-quo, but local pronunciation is more like In-jee-quo which was a direct

copy of the original sound to Chinese character, and an additional letter, [果] quo, to indicate

a fruits.  (Like the name of  Japan / [日本], which reading in Mandarin is Lee-pen though, other

locals read it Jee-peng = So that, Marko Paolo wrote it down as Jipang hence Japan !)

From here it’s easy to see, a Chinese pronunciation “Injee-quo” has been changed to “Ichijiku”

= One long standing question was solved !

[]

But, without having a flower, how Fig can reproduce themselves ? —– As a matter of fact,

they are not flowerless plant at all, far from it, the fruits we are eating is nothing but a

compacted pile of tiny flowers.  Hence, you can see numerous tiny seeds inside of Fig.

The seed was produced by the individual tiny flowers even more numerous than the seeds.

Those flowers were individually pollinated by also tiny Fig-wasp who came inside of a Fig

through small hole in the centre of fruits. —– Of cause, Fig-wasp was not come to a Fig to

pollinate but to mate and lay the eggs.   (There are many different wasps which got different

life cycle —– some stay inside waiting the male wasp to come and fertilize her, and she lay

eggs there, and larvae grow in the Fig and male dies there.   Some other wasps are came

and lay the eggs and their larvae are carnivorous and eat other wasp’s larvae. —– so on.)

[]

—– therefore, when we eat Figs, whether fresh or such as a Fig Roll, we are inevitably

eating the Fig-wasps as well.   (In effect, it supply the Essential Amino-acid to the strict

vegetarian people = that is why they don’t die with rack of “Essential nutrition”.

Though, you don’t need to become nervous, since this situation is quite normal and common

= can you expect any mass-produced food such as Jam, Marmalade, Ketchup, what so ever =

which track-load of ingredients thrown-into a belt-conveyor, and is there anybody removing

the small insect and their tiny larvae comes with ? )  (Unlike Bottle-fly or Cockroach kind, who

is dealing with human derivative, the insects living with fruits are less likely carries the

germ related to the human diseases, hence they are much safer.)

There are many warning of food allergy, Nuts, Eggs, certain Protein etc etc. though I never

heard anybody got ill because of accidentally eat an insect —– may be without knowing,

we are eating them quite regularly, our body may not recognize them as foreign substance.

This is what “living with nature” mean, in its reality.  😀  

This link may give you the idea, what is the situation.

http://www.rodalenews.com/bugs-food

[]

PS :  Incidentally, the Boddhi-tree [Ficus, religiosa]

 of which Shakya-Muni Buddha said to have reached 

his Enlightenment,  known locally as Peepal or

Pippal tree also belong to the same family / genus.        

(Photo Right from Wiki media)

So, the Boddhi-tree is a small fruits version of Fig tree

hence has no flower.  Despite the tree can reach up to

30 m, their fruits is not larger than a tip of finger.

( I do yet know how small the Fig-Wasp for this tree. —– Nearly 100 million years of

co-evolution, each species of Fig has their own gang of the Wasp species, otherwise

both of them would have had extinct long ago ! )

[]

Lettuce and Spinach — its Origin

One of the most unique Photographer / Artist, Karen showed her stunningly beautiful

photos of Canada Lettuce seed in her blog “Draw and Shoot” it awaken my memory that

I had the photo of this (or the one, closely related) plant — The seed-pod in her photo

looks very much like a Dandelion’s, as you can see.  = In deed, this plant is a cousin of

Dandelion and as its name suggests, it closely related to the Lettuce.  

Or the Lettuce was descended from this kind of Plant, namely

Luctuca of Asteraceae (Compositae) Family.   When I found that this plant was the

ancestor of the Lettuce, I was shocked —– as it was completely out of my imagination.  

( Not only it looks so different but also I’ve never seen it in an open field and flowering.)

A book, I saw said that  “to eliminate its bitter tasted white sap, it took 200 years” though,

Wikipedia says Lettuce has been cultivated since ancient Egyptian time.  So, the English

local farmer might have had their own approach, instead to import the established

variety from Mediterranean.

Something similar stories are in Spinach.

The photo left is a plant belongs to

Spinacia in Amaranthaceae family.

The Spinach was created from this kind

of plant, and this weed is also edible.

(Though, this plant contains Oxalic acid,

thus if eat a lots, it would cause an ulcer 

on the mouth.)

The cultivated variety is not only to eat

leaves but also there was a variety to eat 

thickened stem, called “Poorman’s Asparagus”. And other was called Lincolnshire Spinach. 

—– In deed, we human being is very resourceful — or used to be so poor to scrape the life ?

Still, there is a very funny situation. Despite increased world population, therefore needs

lots more food and in deed great number of the people are starving,  in the same time,

we are said to be wasting 1/3 of food. (couldn’t sell in the super-market, due to a blemish.  

Or made them rotten in a fridge due to too much shopping.) —– Something wrong isn’t it ?

[]

No Word = Strongest Teaching !

Wikipedia is a very convenient place to see the world, even about Buddhism.

Not necessary because it shows the truth but shows the current situation of Popular Belief.

Funny though, it often says “Citation required” — in Buddhism this is THE most blatant irony.

Understanding in Buddhism came from not because it was written. It always come between

the lines. —– Don’t believe what was written but you have to think yourself.

[]

In Buddhism, such as the strongest denial or the things which is not exist was not lexically

expressed.   So that, the matter was often over-looked or even mistook by the people who

only follows what was told or read.

Like a famous episode in the Vimalakirti Sutra —– To answer a question of “Oneness” (how

totally mindful to the subject) Vimalakirti utter no word, and its silence hit the audience

like a roaring thunder (so the scripture said).

[]

—– (If you couldn’t get it) = Think, such as in a situation of Sword Mastery, if a man using

the sword could see the situation, how he moves, how sword moves in the Objective View,

it’s mean his mind is separated and floating in the air and watching the situation in

distance = here, two Selves, one was watching and other was being watched, not mention

the independent Sword = this is far from Oneness.    When the conscious of using Sword

and the Hand(s) and even the existence of the Sword fused altogether and moves as one

unified force,  it is the Sword Mastery and the Master was in Oneness.  

(In Zen term it is Ichijo / 一如 or Fuji / 不二 )

—– If you are good in typing, you must know, when you were absorbed into its task =

not only the position of each key, but the keyboard, screen, even the draft paper has gone

out of your conscious but only a stream of each letters = your finger moves automatically,

completely out of your conscious.   And even your Brain was not in there, if the draft had

miss-spieling you just miss-type as it is = This is the Oneness = two Selves, Observer and

be Observed, in fact, THE SELF itself has been totally disappeared into the “TYPING”.

Therefore, no observer or conscious to describe it, nor description of Oneness on typing

could exist. —– (I can describe it because I myself is one-finger typist, still seeing other

expert, I can guess how it’s works from the aspect of Zen. —– still, I may be wrong. 😀 )

[]

—– So, there couldn’t be a description of Oneness.

= No word even from a wise-man Vimalakirti.    And, in the scripture, there was no

explanation such as what I wrote above ever existed, because able to write about 

expose a failure, that the one was not in “Selfless Oneness” = make a fool oneself.

This was also the reason when

Lord Buddha went out for a walk in a rainy night, he didn’t explain why, even to Ananda.

Because it was about the Selflessness = since the Self / its conscious was not there to

observe, there couldn’t be a word to describe it. = So that, there was no explanation.

(In fact, to teach Selflessness must be the hardest part, even though it IS the gist of Buddhism.

It can be taught only through a practice  (without type-writer !)  I wonder how many of the

followers could have managed to get it ? —– Still, as the tradition has been continued to

the Zen, it’s mean some had certainly mastered it and handed down the teaching !

—– but not by a word or scripture.)

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In Buddhism, a lots has not been written.   As, it meant to be a strongest denial.   Such as

Lord Buddha didn’t answer the question related to the “after life”.  Hence no explanation 

= it’s mean there couldn’t be any written record, hence no citation could be possible.

No citation indicates, no such things in the Doctrine of Buddhism.   And no word by

Lord Buddha ever existed since such matter has no worth to spear even a single word.

(Unfortunately, this situation had been exploited, knowingly or with sheer ignorance,

so many stories of “reincarnation, etc” had been fabricated.)

—– Yet western rhetoric wants to have a denial also has to be expressed,

and No-existence (it’s hard to explain what the Voidness is), has to be proved even

in the Wikipedia. —– It must be a headache to the author.

They can’t create a blank page in Wikipedia and put a comment  “This is Zen”.

(I wonder why not.   A blank page could convey as much as message written

in the same space.)     Ha ha ha.   😀

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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(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 !) 

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—– 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.

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