San-sai (山菜) = Edible Plants from Mountain

Early summer, lots of Japanese goes out field or mountain to gather edible plants.

They appreciates each plant’s distinctive tastes and the flavor which is unique to the season.

= Naturally, I receive my friends Email with those stories and photographs (Link here).  (He was few years

Younger member of the Alpine Club = In his older Posts, you may see that he is climbing snowy mountain

every week and skiing ! = That’s how Japanese is living with the Nature )

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—– those custom was behind of my Bracken story. = for me, as an ex-patriot, it is a sort of nostalgia to my

Japanese taste,  in the same time it is a resistance to the modern western culture “Vegetable comes

from Tesco”, —– but in fact, it often came from a farm other-side of the earth, 

and regardless the time of year.  (Still, I got tasteful great memory to eat full-ripen tomato in the

very middle of dizzyingly vast, red tomato field in a Canary Island which tomato is destined to

a shelf of super market in England.  A farmer stopped me to pick, and gave me the better one  😀 )

For a sake of convenience, it degrading the one’s only life to a life in statistical number.

To live in its moment mean = unique moment = unique to its year’s season. = not standardized

homogeneous pattern, which was mass produced and sold by a Supermarket.

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The stories from Japan is not a kind of surprising news = went so and so place and picked this and that plants then

enjoyed eating them as a Templa and so-on.

(In the photo left, underneath is Wasabia Japonica (that Wasabi /山葵 , comes with Sushi.

They grow in a very clean mountain stream).    And the Small Bamboo Shoots (Takenoko / 竹の子 ).

The big one on top is Aralia Cordata (Udo / 独活).

Right photo is also in the Araliaceae family, Eleutherococcus Sciaphylloides (Koshi-abura / こしあぶら) = may

be not in the west and its bitter taste may be too strong for other than to Japanese ). —– Yet, I noticed, this

Japanese tradition may have some displeasure to the western people which might be originated

from the difference of the natural environment in Japan, and their attitude toward the plants.

= In comparison to the England where only 20% of the land is mountainous,  Japan got their 80% is the mountain

= hence the area where those plants grow is huge and those plants are everywhere = human activities wouldn’t

affect so much (anyhow people wouldn’t go to the same area which got too much competition) and

the plant would recover by making side shoot.

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—– It may sound too funny though, only a week or two ago I discovered that I can use Google and Wikipedia

in Japanese. 😀

Because of my knowledges of the plants are all in Japanese, I didn’t necessary wrote the name of the plant in English

or in Latin before. —– But when I Googled and saw Wikipedia in Japanese, then found the English name, I noticed,

some of the plant which Japanese eat, are the garden plants in the west.

Like Foster, they are quite common in the gardens here, and in Japanese mountain they are everywhere.

= they are easy to distinguish and easy to cook such as to put into Miso soup though, the western people may not

feel comfortable to eat them as they make pretty flowers.

The Japanese “Udo” Aralia Cordata is now widely sold in England with a fancy name of “Aralia Cordata Sun King”

hence people never considered to eat as “Udo” like Japanese does.

There is a very firm idiosyncrasy

= plants in the garden is only for visual pleasure never for eating !

And they may not want to be seen as an hungry people. 😀

Kitchen garden might be only for a show-off of their rich folly and for a talking piece.

—– For a Japanese, nature is not just for looking at. They eat a lot from the nature as well

= literally living together.

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Green — Photos from Park

In japan this plant was called  Naruko-Yuri.  Naruko is a line of small wooden pieces hanged

from a long rope, similar to the Bamboo Bells, brown by the wind and hitting each other to

make noises.   The rope could be stretched across the rice-field to frighten off the birds.

Over a pond in the park, huge Willow tree has new leaves which is making messy reflection.

To look into the reflection —– in fact, often we are looking deep into our own mind.

The photo left was said to be a cousin of Asparagus hence their young shoot is edible, are they ?

And the center is a Goliath’s Stick (I’ve picked up this name long time ago though, it may be wrong.

Proper name is  Aralia Elata and in Japan we call them  Tara no Ki).  Their young shoots are

highly praised spring delicacy in Japan = (Ki no Me / Tara no Me).  In my theory, the Plants which

got a lots of thorns are normally edible.  In the same Aralia family, Udo is also edible but got thorn 

as well —- (otherwise plants need to have a poison for their own protection).  

The photo right is meant to be an answer to Ms Bente Haarstad (Link here) who showed

the Norwegian Nettle in her photo blog.  This is the English Nettle, hence they got the same

square stem and the stings, but it looks quite different from theirs. (not know the taste 🙂 )

———- So, the park can accommodate all walk of the life. 

———- Don’t think too much. Just enjoy the sun on this moment. 

(Since we didn’t have enough of it, on wet April  🙂 )

[]

Pink — Photos from Park

The Rhododendron’s Stamens showed holes to spread pollens. 

In a distance, I thought they are the Orchid, though they seems like a kind of Caw Slip.

I have no idea of their name.  

But, her Stamen and Pistile looks very different from other Primulaceae.  You may know better.  😉

I know the Japanese name  Nobotan  but not English name.  In fact I don’t care.  😀

A garden variety of  Pink (or pale violet ?)  Forget-me-Not.  (I rather like to forget  😀 )

I’m familiar with this flower over 35 years, but never bothered to find the English name.

Japanese name is  [Gen-no Shyoko] = it’s mean “The proof of a Devin Power” since

this plant has powerful medicinal property to cure a stomach pain.

—– When a romantic German Novels was translated into Japanese, the translator

realized that the tone of this name would destroy a sweet mood of ” young boy gave

a small flower to his sweet heart”,  translator intentionally changed it to

Rhododendron = and completely destroyed the meaning.  😀

[]

Compassion and Charity in Dharma

When we saw somebody lost a balance and seemingly fall, we just give a hand to

hold the person. ———- why ? ? ?

Give a thought. —– Why do we need to give a hand to this person ? Why this guy shouldn’t fall ?

Why with my hand, why not other’s ? —– This guy even might have a Karma to fall here, and

hit the head and to die. —– Or, is it to prevent a messy situation developed and don’t want to

see bloody scene ? = are ALL, in the THINKING.

[]

But without any thinking, instantly we just stretch a hand to support the person.

Have we ever taught to hold a person to prevent fall ?   Who told you to do so ?

= Without any knowledge, without any thought, WE JUST DO IT. = WHY ? ? ?

Because it is in our nature. Instantly see what is necessary, what is right and good.

So that, Lord Buddha explained that this is the Dharma which, we were born with.

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There is no word on the beginning.   So we needed to invent a word for this phenomenon, as

[Compassion].   And after started to notice this, started to talk and teach brah brah brah.

Without we know its whole mechanism and details, we knew it’s there of which we named

DHARMA.   And we knew, it is functioning without we think nor even noticing it. = in other

words, it is there, in the same time it is within us.

—– If we start to think, it is not necessary rational nor beneficial for us.

—– Why, do I need to help this person.   Yet we automatically do it. = don’t need

to think too much. = better leave the matter to the hand of DHARMA.

[]

And this is what all about the teachings

of Lord Buddha.

His teachings are all not about to reach the Darma, but to eliminate the obstacles

which prevents the Dharma prevailing. — such as “Why do I need to help other = Ego”.

“Has it any benefit for me to do this ? = Greed”.

“Oh, this person is falling, —– should I help but how = too much useless thinking to waste the

time and make it too late”

= So that, the core teaching was to eliminate the useless thinking = without own

thinking we can react to the situation = it’s mean, we can do it without SELF

= Self itself is not exists.  ( He just pointed out the facts and its explanation,

same as the science = anything fancy imaginative stories were added by others)

[]

Natural flow of inspiration doesn’t necessary having a convenient order or structure.

Lord Buddha’s teachings must be given as his wisdoms, situation by situation on the spot.

The structure and the classification, listing and the numbering must came much later = after

the teachings were written down as the scripture.

Trouble in the Buddhism teachings are, the person who compiled it didn’t necessary understood

what the [Mushin] is or knowing the effect of having the Dharma in him.

Therefore, he only guessed and listed up each description of act from hear-say.  

So that, in the Buddhism Scriptures, each duties were listed

as if it is an each discreet mind and act. (List of DO and DO-NOT)

(It was like a man who doesn’t know the Dancing, to teach How to Step and

How to move Hands all separately without accompanying music  😀 )

In the state of the mind = in Mushin, Compassion, no Ego, no Greed, no

Wrong intention etc etc are in fact, just one mind.  It is an inseparable one state

to see the good or better at once, which also controls action or body movement.

( So, the Best Judgment, Creativity or the Mastery Skill are all bore-out from this)

Though, it couldn’t even be observable by the person. —– If it was in conscious

of the person, such as “ This is a compassion” = it is a sham and just a pretense.

This is the reason why being in the state of  Mushin and in Ichijo is so crucial.

[]

When your hand spontaneously hold the person,  it was a real compassion and

the prevailed DHARMA.

___/\___

[]

Fuji Soft-Focus Lens

While looking for a Pentax 20 mm lens to use for Macro shot (use it with revers mount-ring

on Canon —– Canon’s 20 mm lens is too big and F-aperture couldn’t be set manually),

Then I bumped to 40 year old  Fuji Soft-focus 85 mm F4 lens, deep inside of camera cabinet.

Yah, yah, I’m still having this ! —– I remember, I used this lens twice = It is my bad habit to

buy strange Camera, Lens, funny devices whether I need to use it or not = still, to see how

it was designed or what sort of things could be created from such junk is,  I should say,

my pleasure. —– (Like £10 broken camera, it is a treasure box of spare-parts)

Any how, to test this lens, I popped out to take picture of  Chery Blossoms. (Yet again  😀 )

Most Soft focus Lens is using an optical aberration = Uncorrected Spherical Aberration, 

which cause the light spread out side of the image, hence giving soft halo around the image

while maintaining the sharply focused core image in the center.  (Though, having inherent

soft image in the view finder, to have sharp focus in the first place is not easy  😀 )

And as this Fuji Lens is using so-called Lotus-Root Iris (having lots of hole in a disc) to

control intensity of the effect, some time the artifact appears in the off-focused Boke image. 

In the photo above, you can see the ghost of multi-hole disc. = this is a sample of dirty Boke.

When soft effect works well, effect is far better than soft filter or grease, as the image has

solid core of focused image.   (With soft filter, everything become soft).

With darker background,  you can see how halo spread around the bright images.

Though, with low contrast subjects, the effect is subdued.  In fact, with smaller F setting,

the effect of aberration become very little, same as even a cheap bad lens can give sharp

image with small F-aperture setting.

These days,  even a Mob’Phone camera can take pretty sharp photos.   Sharp images with

over Photoshoped photos are everywhere, and I’ve got rather weary with them.

Our eyes are not necessary need to see everything in its details. That is why, when sharp-eyed

Photographer showed unknown view or fresh viewing angle, the image surprises us.

So, I found, soft images which shows [the details as if no details are there],  isn’t too bad.  😀

[]

Talk with Cats = What is MUSHIN

Somebody said “Hey yoshizen, you are utterly nuts, how you can talk with cats ?”

—– Quite often, when I saw a cat, I call him (her ?) “wu Nya” 😀

And lower my body or crouch and say “Oide, oide” (it’s mean, “Come, come” in Japanese.)

So that, my friend who happened to be with me, say “How this cat understand Japanese ?”

or “Can they understand Japanese ? Hey, don’t be silly ” —– then, those friend

was surprised as he saw the cat is coming to me and having their head scratched.

[]

So, I said to my friend “Of cause, they don’t know what that Japanese mean.

But, do you know, the cats can read our mind ?” “Oh yes, I know they can”

“So, this is it. It doesn’t matter what language I have used on my rip, but my mind,

in fact deep down to my subconscious level, I’m expressing the friendship message

as the same kin.  Cat understand this message like a mind reading”

[]

If you remember what I wrote in the previous post, you may be confused by this description.

—– “Deal with cat in Mushin”. —– What the Mushin mean here ?

THIS IS the most misunderstood point in the Buddhism and in the concept

of Mushin and the SELF.

Open your mind, don’t think anything, empty your mind, brah brah brah ——.

They are all just the words, only described the superficial appearance and its observation.

Yes it is true. There was no thinking in the brain on that moment, hence it seemed the mind

was empty. —– still, full function of the body is continuing.

Tea Master is making a tea, Sword’s Master is fighting, I was calling the Cat. = all

those actions were carried out in Mushin.

[]

Lots of amateur Buddhists and Sham Monks or so-called Instructors, Practitioners are believing

and teaching that the Mushin is a kind of special mental state occurred only

when sitting and meditating.

—– Forget the Buddhism for a while. (Before talking Buddhist’s mind, you better know what

the ordinarily mind is 😉 ) = Remember what people say “Talk from your Heart”

“It struck our Soul” “Selfless Love” etc ==== You can understand all those words straight,

what it’s mean. = In fact all those words are describing the same psyche in our deep-down mind

= the pure human emotion in our subconsciousness, without any intentional thinking

= away from political, psychological manipulation, self enriching maneuver or egotistic thinking.

People can naturally feel, talk and act without having any those intentional artificial thinking.

—– Where those Thinking come from, and where those psyche described as

Heart, Soul or Pure Human Emotion come from ?

[]

Complexed highly intentional thinkings are all bore out of our highly intelligent Cerebrum =

large Brain.  But Heart, Soul and Pure Humanistic Emotion are come from our

Old Cortex and Limbic System.

(Which is common, even with cats, hence we can shar the same psyche. 😀 )

Mushin = Mind of No-Mind is the state of the brain, when all those Thinkings in the Cerebrum

were stopped (or suppressed, abandoned what ever the word. And an advanced Zen Master can

stop even the process or Emotion in the Limbic System as well). = Still, some subconscious and

basic function in the Limbic System can be maintained and continue its process.

[]

Likewise, the Self with its Self Conscious Thinking together with its Emotion could

be disappeared, still able to maintain the integration of the body and its function.

= Thinking was stopped still, subconscious is aware the situation.

In fact, subconsciousness knows the situation far better, because Limbic system

is directing and controlling all the data flow in the Brain.  The Cerebrum is only

converting some of those data into the words and to the visible conscious.

(This is why the argument, what is the SELF and whether it is exists or not was started.

And the typical Mahayana Expression [It exists as not exists] was invented).

Consciously conscioused SELF is clearly be seen, but subconscious is invisible. 

You can hear my word to a cat “Oide, oide”, but you can’t hear the signal

in [Z-band] channel hidden there.   (Unless you too a cats person  😀 ).

[]

PHILOSOPHER (Cat’s story – 2)

This is an old story though,  when I got a water flood from a burst pipe of the flat above,

I had to shelter myself to a friend architect’s house in the south London.

Strangely, the garden of this house was a gathering place of the cats around.

Every day more than 10 cats came and go or staying there all day.  The wife of my friend

complained as the cats stomped the flower shoots etc etc, not mention their droppings.

She tried all sorts of tactics to chase-off the cats, but nothing deter them keep coming.

[]

I gave a solution to prevent the cats damage young shoot of the flowers by putting many

sticks standing on the seed bed. (as the sticks sticking out every 4 inches or so, cat can’t walk,

let alone to jump down there from the fencing wall) —– yet still the cats were keep coming

by climbing the tree.

While watching them, I invented the nick name for each of them.

Such as [Wu-he] after a character in a Japanese comics as this cat got a fanny slimly face.

(If you pronounce this, on front of a mirror, you will see your face looks smiling with a bit of

embarrassment = the character in the comics was this kind  🙂 )

[]

The another cat named [Philosopher] was after his habit and he seemed to be a loner,

not playing with others so much, but stay in the garden looking up the bird on the tree.

When he saw a bird, he was making strange noise, like cracking his teeth “ Ka ka ka ka”.

Then one day, I saw this cat actually caught a sparrow and eating it with cracking noise

“Crack, crick, munch, munch” —– M m m ?

There was a sort of say in Japan “Never feed a chicken with bone in it, since broken bone is very

sharp to damage cat’s stomach, causing the cat’s death” — though, if he could eat whole sparrow,

the bone may not be dangerous for him to eat.   So, I tested it by giving him chicken wing.

He eat whole of it while cracking the bones and appreciated very much.  Since then, I kept giving

him a chicken wing every day.  He was waiting me on the garden door every day. (The wife of

my friend hated this and she kicked [Philosopher] out when he walked into the kitchen.)

[]

Then I found a ground floor flat with big garden in the north London and moved to there taking

this [Philosopher] with me though, it was a first experience to him. He seemed to be panicked.

While having second journey to bring other boxes, he escaped through a ventilation hole in the

bathroom. —– what a blunder = I made a lost cat.

Few days later, when I met the friend again, he mentioned that [Philosopher] is

still coming to the door waiting my chicken wing. —– What ? ? ?

[]

My friend didn’t know, I took him to north London, but if the cat is still coming to his house, it’s

mean, the cat managed to go back to the south London within 3 days, while finding

the direction and having 8 miles (13 km) journey !    What an incredible story though,

in the same time, it showed that the cat couldn’t comprehend, I was the one moved out, and took

him to the new flat (while giving him a big trouble) = therefore, no more chicken wing there.

There is another say in Japan that cat never cross a water or river. From the north

to south London, of cause, there is the Themes river. Still it wasn’t a problem for him.

One of the most enduring story of this kind was, a cat in Japan who was

accidentally left behind, did follow the owner who has moved from a

north-western city of Itoigawa to Yokohama, and found the owner, after 2 years

of journey while traveling 600 miles (1000 km).

Nobody know how he could find the direction but simply the cat did.

[]

There are many myth around the cat though, many of them are not true.

It was said that the cat belong to the house not to the owner.   But this is not true.

One of the cat I used to live with, remembered me even after 10 years kept by

others.  (When the cat saw me, he jumped up to my shoulder,  and rubbing

his nose to my cheek.  This is the greeting the animal does each other.

Because my cats thinking me as their same kin, they treat me like another cat).

Something certain is, they got unknown, hence mythical sensory power.

[]

When I talked about this [Philosopher] story to a secretary of a Bank who was one of

my client, she mentioned, one of their staff is asking if anyone can adopt a kitten.

—– So, it was a beginning of my life, living with the cats.

[]

The old part of our Brain, like Limbic System is common with another animal.

In fact we only got add-on of large brain on top.  In other words, the process, the control of

the sensory grands and the basic perception in the Limbic system having the same language.

( Similar to the computer, what ever the operational system and the higher language, still

down to the bottom, they are programmed and operating in the hexadecimal binary cord.)

= by using this channel, we human could communicate with the other animal.

To do this, we human needs to silence the noise coming from the Cerebrum and its thinking.

[]

The stories of the Zen Buddhist communicating with other animal may have

the basis in this phenomenon = silencing the noise of thinking in the Brain

mean, it is to be in a state of  Mushin.

Not in thinking but having a deepest perception of  friendliness in the primeval

Limbic feeling = This feeling is the common language with any living form.

The most peculiar things about this, the cats can sens this remotely.

Often suddenly a cat came out of dark, and asking me to scratch, or tangling

with my foot. —– How they knew me a cat’s person before-hand ?

(But it seems there is a drawback, the dogs often hates me.  😀

—-– So, I’ve been asking many people if I smell fishy ? )

[]

Humming a Song

While having a chats, how we feel about a particular sound,  a friend recalled one of my post

[Spiritual Sound] (click the Link) which he said pretty interesting.

“ Oh yeah,  high pitch tone instantly  take our attention,  and it gives a bit chilly feeling

doesn’t it.   But if it wasn’t a rapid warning sound but slowly moving continuous tone,

strangely it makes us a bit mesmerized and feel something spiritual, because high-tone

alerts our emotion “Be careful” and makes us highly perceptive,  it’s mean, silencing  the

thoughts and open the mind to listen its meaning.  

This completely open passive mind-set is what we feel “Spiritual”. 

Spiritualism is in fact, a matter of our mind-set, not the existence of the God. 

A mind-set which open the perception try to listen and awaits to see its meaning”

” Hum,  sound convincing”

” In fact any sound which gives no meaning or too repetitive and boring,  also makes our

brain to resign the data process and become blank or open-minded state. 

This open-minded state is the essential key to the all the religion”

“ Aha, isn’t it related to the continuous chanting of  Buddhist’s mantra ?”

“ That’s right”

“ It’s very funny isn’t it. Chanting Mantra is supposedly concentrates to their belief and

show their dedication, but in fact, it lead the Mind to fed-up and resign.   Ha ha ha.”

“ That’s a beauty of the Buddhism.   Buddhism is based on this paradox.

The end result to open the Mind is the matter,  regardless the approach”

“ Do you mean, fed-up is the Enlightenment ?”

“ Oh, you are almost Enlightened. Ha ha ha.

Fed-up to chase money-making, Fed-up women’s bottoms, Fed-up to fear the Death.

Then convinced [OK, never mind Life just goes on] is what all about the Enlightenment.”

“ Ha ha ha, it’s really a Dog Shit isn’t it”

“ Yes, Dog Shit are everywhere.  It’s called Universality of the Darma.  Ha ha ha”

[]

Then the other, mentioned “ Oh, there was a TV program.  A scientist  try to investigate

what our brain is configuring the information, he try to learn Tight-rope Walk, and found

a humming a song would help learning the body balance”.

“ Well spotted.  Whether the sound come from external source or from inside, it stimulate

our sensory. But, if it has no meaning, our brain resign to process its data, and became blank.

Still, if he was on the rope, body’s motor region have to control the body balance, but

without any disturbance of noise such as a fear to fall or a conscious of that the TV camera is

watching.   Humming signal chased off all the evil thoughts.  Ha ha ha”

“ Oh I see, was that’s the reason”

[]

“ Oh, do you remember the time, when you had a long walk or doing a boring manual work,

suddenly an old song came up to your mind, and it kept ringing in your mind, or you were

just keep humming it.   I remember when I was having long long walk in a mountain range,

the same song on a loop  all the day, and I walked like an automatic musical toy ”

“ Oh, yeah.  I remember it happened many times”

“ It must be the self protection or a remedy to deal with, otherwise intolerable situation”

“ Sounds not very happy isn’t it”

“ Yeah, but that’s why our brain filled our mind with the same repeating song, and avoided

us to fall into a mind crunch.   Blank mind can leave the body to just carry-on the task.

So that we could survive”

“ May be”

“ No, it’s not may be.   Blank Mind is the Key to deal with the situation best”

[]

In the public perception, the words [Blank Mind] sound not very promising.

So, the Zen Buddhists found better word [Mushin]  🙂

In fact, this [Mushin] can deal with everything better, because even the conscious mind became blank,

still all the necessary data processing are automatically carried out.

While the Scientist was on the rope, his conscious brain was occupied by a humming song and let the

subconscious motor region to control body movement, with no interference from the useless thoughts.

While walking in the mountain, a song in the mind eliminated any thoughts to blame the

situation,  still all the necessary knowledges and the control of the body kept functioning.

When you need to find a new tactics or to be creative, let the mind become blank, hence, no useless thoughts

still all the necessary data of which the subconscious has been storing are available to deal with the needs.

As a matter of fact, they automatically do far better job than ourselves.

[]

So, to resign thinking and put the Mind into the Blank Space,  would bring better judgement and the

better way to live. —– (Time to time, it’s better to hum a song than occupied by worries = humming a

song, may work better than Zen sitting, as it brings [Mushin] straight   🙂 )

And this is the reason why the Musicians are often having very close understanding of the spirituality.

( Except  the case, some times they got the feeling of spirituality mixed-up with the trance by a drug)

___/\___

[]

Words and MIND

To think about the MIND matter, naturally I had to think where the Mind originally came from.

Our internal drive itself may not necessary connected to the mind.   In fact, majority of our body’s activities

such as the internal organs were carried out without noticed even by our subconscious.

Yet, some signs given off, out of subconscious may affect our mood.

When a mood or body’s physiological condition were noticed by the consciousness,

this conscious may be categorized and some of them were given a generalized notion with

its associated word. ===> With only those notions and the words, we do conscious thinking.

[]

It’s mean, our Body and the Mind are having a Pyramid like structure with many layers.

Yet, not everything are fully connected one by one to upper structure = In other words, our conscious is

covering only very limited area of our Mind, let alone the whole Body matter.

Despite we are having an impression of [highly developed, sophisticated ] thinking process though, in fact

it was done in the pretty murky dark operation. = 90 % of thinking are done, out of our

conscious and it takes (said to be) 6 second to become clearly noticeable form by our brain.

Naturally, we see the Mind matter with a mysticism with the fancy words of, Spirit, Soul etc,

still,  Lord Buddha was the one who clearly saw this structure = what is the role of the

subconscious  (2400 years before Freud, even when the notion of [Subconscious] was not

existed) and he showed the way to tap-into its power to control human life.

[]

I’ve been thinking that the evolution of man was linked to the change of eating habit, Fruits-eater to the Omnivore

= then, animal protein induced further development of the brain.

Omnivore is the knowledge based eating habit = to communicate and teach which one is edible = ability for

visual pattern recognition and the categorical memory (notion) was forced to develop

(otherwise couldn’t survive = intellectually selected out)

In the same time, shared knowledges and the projected, anticipated search could lead to the higher success =

verbal communication became key tool for the survival.

—– Naturally, accumulated knowledges could be summarized and lead to have the

abstract notion with word ===> abstract thinking has developed.

Those projected (When they think “Get fish” = fish is not there, but expected existence),

abstract notion (such as “Good to eat” “dangerous”) along side the emotion, created

complexed Mind.

[]

Therefore, in my theory, the development of the language was essential to the development of the thinking

—– yet still, here is an interesting experiment with Bonobos who hasn’t got a language.

( Or, is it just a Conditioning of their basic desire to objectives ? = not a sophisticated thinking

but just a pattern connected to Banana) 😀

mmm

( An article from Gizmzg site )

App would allow humans to communicate with bonobos

The seven bonobos living at the Bonobo Hope Great Ape Trust Sanctuary in Des Moines, Iowa, are

a pretty smart bunch of apes. Among other things, they have a vocabulary of about 400 words

– they don’t speak those words, but instead associate the meanings of them with symbols known

as lexigrams. Using large wall-mounted touchscreen displays, they are able to communicate with

humans by touching the appropriate lexigrams on those displays. Now, the sanctuary wants to

develop an app that could be used on mobile versions of the wall screens, so

tablet-wielding bonobos could communicate from wherever they happen to be.

Read on Desktopor Read on Mobile

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Be in Emotion — or in Detachment

Gosh, it’s exactly a year from the Earth Quake

and the Tsunami in Japan.

After I caught a first short news, it took another

5 hours to know what has happened there in the Japanese

News site. The rest was, I don’t think I need to repeat here.

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Having one year anniversary, one of the literally left over

of the iconic land scape of the Tsunami = a Bus body left

stranded on the 10m roof top of the local town hall has

been removed. ( The photo left from the Jiji news.com site )

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There has been two opposing opinions among the local

people.  One was, as a historical, iconic monument,

the Bus should be preserved as it is.

But, the other opinion, as it recalls horrible memories = Don’t want to see it any longer, hence

it should be removed, was over whelming.

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Everybody has Emotion. It is the basic judgmental response to the stimulus, instantly created in

the old part of the brain, limbic system.   As limbic system also controls the physiological

reaction, an Emotion triggers the seclusion of the Hormone, Neuro Transmitter etc.

Unlike Nerve Signal which is an instantaneous electrical pulse, those chemical Hormone remain the body

system, so that, unlike a momentary come and go Thinking process, Emotion affects a person’s mental

condition and the physiology pretty long time, some time long enough to make a person fallen ill.

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This is the reason why and how the Buddhism invented the way to curve the Emotion by its

practice to enable a person to detach from it.

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While detached from the Emotion of the disaster —– to see the Bus stranded high-up on the top of the building,

must be really an amazing, unusual experience. —– Hence came to a thought to make it as a historical

monument, could be a good idea = can be only such a monument in the world.

Though, to the vast majority of the local people who have had literally run for the life or lost their family member,

close friend, the memories of the disaster were still too real.   And its memory re-creates the same Emotion,

hence the seclusion of the same Hormone = same reaction of the body, heart beat, blood pressure increase and

even having nightmare, and so on.

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In order to keep the compassion to the deceased and the fellow victims, it should be better to keep the memory

afresh, is the one opinion.   Though, to live one’s life in full potential, to keep the memories and to

be imprisoned by the same emotion has to be distinguished.

Time is the best cure for a sad memory —– the old say.

The Buddhism practice is to accelerate this aging process, and make a person to see its memory in a perspective,

in another word, in distance = detached = in Zen Buddhist’s term  Mushin ( Mind of No-Mind ).

By detached eyes, a person can see the situation and the possibility or the alternative, in much

liberated perspectives.   Hence able to make much better judgement in the life.

After all what local people needed was not a reminescence of the disaster, but the mind to look forward to

rebuilt the town and their life.   When a mountain of tasks on front, the emotion is nothing but the obstacle.

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How to learn one’s mind detached,  hence able to have turmoil-free calm mind-set is

what I’m talking about in this whole blog.

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PS : Further reading, how Buddhist’s practice works to achieve  Detachment > >>   http://bit.ly/yG6rph

(This post could be the most crucial post among the others in my blog )

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