Hidden burden in BUDDHISM

Hidden is not necessary appropriate word.   To the people who is aware of it, it is nothing new but

because of it is not convenient or sound nice, it has been stashed away or intentionally ignored, hence

it was rarely talked about, —– YET, it is the most crucial element and the steps of which

a Buddhist had to take once in their pathway.

—–

Go back to the Kisa Gotami story, —– What was her Contemplation ?

Was that just an acceptance of the life’s reality and the surrender to a force of the Dharma ?.

What was the meaning “Surrender” to the Dharma ? —– obviously, it is silly to stand against the Dharma,

therefore, it is no point to talk about the general condition of human existence, as man’s

existence is a minute from the beginning.

Superficially the teaching in the story of Kisa Gotami is an acceptance of the life’s undeniable reality= Dharma.

Yet hidden in the story, was her Self Denial —– not just accept the Dharma, but there was much more

personal, strong feeling of the failure, as a mother and a wife.

In fact, it was a rigid patriarchal society where a wife’s role and the duty was to bear a son.

A woman can assert her status only as the mother of the heir. Having her son’s death, she was

facing not only the grief of her loved child but a crisis to be branded as a woman of failure.

—– To accept the emotional trauma of both grief and the feeling of failure in fully minded

depth was, in deed her contemplation.

Discovering the harsh reality and found no possibility to find the seeds to revive her dead child,

psychologically she was stripped naked, left alone in the void of blank space —– she became

a clean blank sheet of paper, well prepared to listen the teaching of Buddha.

And Buddha knew she will reach to this state of mind when she come back. ( That’s why he sent

her out for a journey ) So that, when Buddha saw her come back without carrying heavily deluded

expectation and clean calmed face, he gave her kind consolation and the words of wisdom.

—-

Often forgotten or rather intentionally ignored fact of the Buddha’s life is that,

once Buddha was a renegade of the ascetic holy man’s lank.

In order to soften the blow, this story was changed to rather positive description of that

Buddha found the better way to reach the truth, other than torturing the body and the mind —– though,

the eyes of the society then and to the mind of himself,  he knew he was a renegade until

Buddha found his own answer —– real truth and the way to reach there.

In the man’s life, anything has happened was, in fact placed there to be happened.

Same apply to the Buddha’s life as well. —–  If he didn’t join the holy man’s lank and learned among them

and then abandon its practice, the Buddhism today is not exists.

In other words, the elements and the experiences Buddha gained while he spent a time among

the ascetics, and  above all, the contemplation he got when he became a renegade was a key

to reach the Buddhism.

When Buddha abandon and let such practice go, he was literally a broke. no margin to retain

any ego or arrogance left, and having the deep blank space in his mind —– the mind was

completely open. Buddha was ready to configure his understanding from the deep depth of

his subconsciousness. ——————->  (read again and have enough time to visualize those words)

And Buddha’s blank space in his mind,  completely open subconscious inspiration was

able to see the invisible rules of the Dharma which we call  Panya Paramita.

Here the Buddhism was born.

—–

It must be clear, it sound not very pretty though, a defeated completely lost mind, or utterly

desperate feeling of failure, —– utterly denied and hopeless ego, utterly powerless feeling

and so on, —– is the key to gain a blank space or completely open humble mind.

Which can be bracketed as a Self Denial.

May be not, not pretty, but sound rather dreadful   😀

But this is the key step to start to receive the teachings. —– hidden and yet another unfortunate

aspect of the Buddhism.

Yet, even The Great Teacher Buddha went through this, how can we avoid to take this step ?

Sound too much ? —– OK, I leave the analysis to the next post   🙂

___/\___

—

PSYCHE of Kisa Gotami

—– ( Before, it may better read the previous post [ Word — or  Run ] first, for continuity sake ) —–

A Buddhist who is practicing many years, asked me about a direct transmission to Kisa Gotami.

Wasn’t that, a kind of spiritual revelation, inspiration did hit her ?

He is always inclines to a spiritual mysticism as he came to the Buddhism from New Age fascination.

Though,  I don’t take a stance in Mystical Spiritualism. It got to be clearly logical and scientific,

save the last remaining unknowable in the extreme front.  ( And unexplainable 8150 story  🙂  )

” I think, it was rather common psychological process. Her grief got worn-out, while finding out

the facts that everybody is having the bereavement of loved one,  yet this is what the life is ”

” If you see hundreds of facts which telling you only one truth, on the end you got to accept it as the truth.

And  if you try to know with your effort again and again, your body and your subconscious learns

that It is the inescapable Truth. Once you came to this state, the fresh grief and its feelings gone.

A fresh emotion never stays fresh for ever.  As its says, the time is the best consolation.

In the case of Kisa Gotami, this process of time had accelerated into one day.

Since running around whole village all day, she must be physically exhausted, and when she came back

and sat down before Buddha, she must felt real brake and a rest.  Child had gone but a grief too.

Buddha didn’t do any magic.  It was a very effective spot on advice and the Practical Solution.

—–

Later she became a bhikkuni ( nun ) and joined the followers of Buddha —– its mean, her husband lost

not only a child but a wife as well.  Poor man.

I’m sympathetic to her husband as well” 😀

___/\___

—

Word – Word – Word or RUN

In my daily life, my radio is always on.

On the beginning of my English life, it was  BBC Radio-3  with its classic music. 

But past 10 years, it is almost always Asian Radio, hence the languages are Hindi, Urdu,

Tamil etc, and musics are Bollywood, Bangla, Punjabi etc (they rarely play classic Indian music).

It seems, it is an annoyance to a visitor, hence all of them volume down the radio.

(What so ever, it is noisy)  In fact I’m not necessary listening it. Any how I can’t understand the languages

and I don’t care the music    Still, something there would cheer up the atmosphere. 

Best of all, it will prevent the unknown unwelcome visitor to knock the door.

(I’m open minded, but not necessary having open door policy  😀 )

[]

Even though not listening, still I remember lots of  Asian popular music and picked up quite

a few of words.  So, time to time I asked my Asian friend about the word, what is the meaning

—– then I realized, the meaning of the word is so widely varied in each context and

among the people (even among the same Hindi etc).

Like the words  Kia-bate.  On the face its mean “What’s going on ?” can be an accusation but also

a praise with unexpected surprise. 

[]

So that the words in the Hart Mantra, ” Gate gate ( Bodhi-suwaka)” can be

” So, it went on as Bodhi-suwaka” or “Hurrah , go-on, go-on, Bodhi-suwaka”. (I don’t care though)

—— So, it must be a lots of headache for the academic, authority to translate an

ancient Mantra, —– as we can conveniently see the situation in the Wikipedia, and

compare the difference in the interpretation of such as the  Eight fold Pathway ( Just find

which word is correct to describe the Pathway ?  —– how time consuming ! )

[]

In the Buddhism story, the story of Kisa Gotami who lost her child, is the

most well-known one.

I knew this story since I was in my 20th though, why I didn’t talk about here before is, the

seeds what Lord Buddha asked Kisa Gotami to find was,  in Japan (hence in China as well) it

was written as Poppy Seeds, not the Mustard Seeds as known in the West. 

I thought, I should find which one, before I write.

[]

Lord Buddha asked Kisa Gotami to find the Seeds (which one ever) from the

house where no bereavement ever taken place, to revive her dead child.

She went around asking all the houses in the village, but everybody told her

“Oh no, we lost one (or many)” —– on the end, she contemplated that it was an

inevitable and common occurrence and came back to

Lord Buddha with calmly settled, relieved heart.

[]

Lord Buddha knew, she is so desperate ( = Mind was stuck, attached to her child)

= she will seek the seeds in just for its purpose ( Mindfulness), and walk and walk

asking door to door (Repeated Practice) —— soon she become to do it with almost

automatic manner next by next hence get the state of the mind of No-mind,Mushin.  

And with Mushin she could see the situation and the fate, with clear eyes and

the mind. —-Hence achieve the Contemplation.

This is a Direct Transmission.

[]

How many hours has she walked ? =It all happened in one day.

With Lord Buddha’s spot on advice, a desperate woman achieved contemplation

and get peace of mind.

Lord Buddha knew, an explanation in the words wouldn’t work.  

But the practice (walking, asking around) does. = This is the typical teaching

of Lord Buddha which showing its crucial core of the Buddhism.

In comparison, the people who try to read the words still arguing —– 2500 years ?

[]

So,  through your book away, switch off your computer, and go out.

As Lord Buddha said,  ” Don’t believe (cling on) the words you were told.  Think yourself “.

Have a nice walk.  You can see something afresh.

Yes, it is your first step to learn what the real Zen and the peace of mind is.

___/\___

[]

–

PERFECT or INPERFECT ?

Many of you who read especially the previous post ” Limit of TRUTH “ may be wondering

what I was intended to say.  ( In fact I was showing, how futile to hit the wall on the end of cul-de-sac  and

the limitation of the approach toward the life by way of thinking )

Fresh comer to the Buddhism might be bemused or even felt a disappointment as I’m not selling

the Buddhism while saying ” This is the perfect Answer, buy Buddhism” —- like another vending post.

But this is what the Buddhism and the greatness of the Buddha’s teachings are.

It is not revealing what the structure of the Dharma nor to teach how to control it, but to learn the

way to follow it through practice, and the gradual change of the way of the Life and its mind–set.

Buddha was not a Devine figure nor Prophet telling glorious story.

He was a great teacher who taught the TRUTH of the LIFE through practice.

—

As it is the TRUTH, it is not necessary a sweet story nor deceptive salvation story, as harsh words in

the Four Noble Truth epitomizes.  Since the Dharma  is strict, not necessary friendly to the mankind

still it is only the rule beyond the human control or intention, Buddha taught the way to follow it.

And this WAY is what Buddha mentioned last in the Four Noble Truth .

To follow the unknowable uncertainty  and its changing nature of the very Dharma,

Buddha was teaching its on the spot user–manual, not the analysis of its tendency or psychology.

Same as  how to use a computer, to know how CPU was manufactured, with which material and so on,

wouldn’t help at all for its usage.   All about the mater is how we use it without causing clash or over heat

and complete the task —– therefore able to  have smooth happy life (then nirvana).

( But mind you, the Life and the Dharma is not as simple and cheap as  PC,  you can’t buy another one 😀 )

This approach  became more apparent as in the development of the Hinayana Buddhism.

It is not the Buddha’s idea or invention, it was his discovery in the function of the Dharma.

Hence,  it is the teaching to see and become aware how the Dharma exists in ourself.

—— or the Life to be accommodated in the Dharma.

So that, it was often dabbed as  ” Life in harmony with the Nature “

When the matter is not imposing own idea but to be accommodated by the Dharma,  it is the matter of the

acceptance, not the choice —– in fact there is no choice but to accept   (—– with  fight or else  😀 )

Whether the Buddhism Accommodating the Dharma or Dharma accommodating the Buddhism may sound

strange though, because of this accommodating nature of the Buddhism, the Buddhism can accommodates

any another religion,  race  whoever ( them to exists is also the expression of the Dharma —– if they are

contradicting the Dharma they couldn’t be there in the first place)

—– and exactly the same context, accept  any situation. ! ! !

Hence, Buddhism can be in the millionaire’s life and in the murderous gang star’s life too.

( So, there is my old post  ” Zen in a Battle field ”   😀  )

—

Thinking and judging in our way, and imposing our thinking, ( whether it is logical or not ) to the Dharma

is noting but an alienation or even a disrespect to the Dharma.

With an insatiable apatite to find whether one atom is in two places in the same time or not, or why

the rabbit bonking a lot etc ( 😀  ) might be in a legion unknowable.

So that, all about the teachings of Buddha is to eliminate the own thinking, conscious Self.

When conscious Self is not there, what is Mr. A standing here ? —— It is a manifestation

of the Dharma taking a shape of Mr. A

—-

When you face your own life in Mushin, you see only the immediate matter, the abstract

interpretation or romantic dream can not be there —– hence you are concentrating to the matter.

Being in Mushin, the subconscious program  ( Dharma ) which is most relevant to the matter ( whether you are

aware, it is there or not) will deal with the matter —– hence you can deal with it in most efficient way.

To deal with its matter, only small part of the Dharma ( and its wisdom )was needed.  Yet still, all the

Dharma is in us —– may be another occasion we may need somewhat fancy part of it.

Like Window Program, it came as a bundle, OS to graphic program, text document, video etc etc,

when you buy Laptop, it comes together —– you open and use the program for the task to task.

Some of the program, you may never use —– it’s still there, and something you may not understand what

it is for —– and the most basic phenomena of how the electron behaving in the billion of semiconductors

in the CPU—– I don’t think you are care about it at all.

Don’t think, just use the computer and do the task,  Just Do It.

So, Don’t ask or think about whether they are perfect or not, or showing the Truth or not.

It is not the computer to make you to achieve Nirvana, but the work you have done.

—— Funny you may feel with this metaphor

—— But this is your Life and the Teaching of Buddha.

___/\___

—

PAIN ? — How about SMELL ?

When I wrote about the PAIN, many of you might thought, it’s gone too far and hard to believe.

Yet, as a matter of fact, you are experiencing same kind of phenomena in your life everyday.

For instance, the smell.  Your bad (or no) smell of your mouth or body odor. —— It might be almost non

or awful, though  you don’t know or you can’t tell.

If the stimuli of smell is not there we can’t feel the smell, of cause.  But if it is persistently there, the threshold

of the sense become high, and we become desensitized to its smell.  This is the reason why you can’t

judge your own smell.  (Bad breathed person still able to smell other’s bad breath —– it’s not own smell  😀 )

But there is a completely opposite situation.  Once you become conscious about your own smell,

regardless it’s there or not, you become paranoid and become obsessed to use body splay etc etc.

The manufacturer of deodorant or such kind, try to make you think, you are a smelly person — and once you

were trapped, there is no escape. You start to think, others are pretending not feel the smell, in order not

to offend you.  You are completely possessed by the delusion. And  becoming  to over sensitive to any

minute smell.   (Though, there are many really smelly person who doesn’t care at all also exists  😀 )

A similar situation is in the noise.  Someone is almost immune to the high level of noise but others are often

too sensitive —– couldn’t sleep because of the noise of ” Electronic Watch ” ( How can you hear ? )

Fishmongers never complained, fish smell fishy or car manufacturer never complained it is noisy, because

they got used of it (desensitized ), or contemplated and accepted,  as it is a part of their own life.

If there is a possibility of compensation,  to become conscious and too sensitive then become sleepless

and fallen ill, could be a choice. (People live by the sea never complained  its endless wave noise, because

there is no point and no gain to do so ).  Or other choice is completely ignore and just get used it, and

carry on the life —– is depend on the mind-set.

So, one’s Ego, Greed, Obsession or Paranoid —– or in opposite, Contemplation, could make completely

different perception, hence, even a different view toward the life.

This is the reason why the Buddhism is here. ( for you to get correct mind-set )

___/\___

—

CHILD’S VIEW — DHARMA ?

One of my friend who is a cool customer to my blog said to me

” Hey, your theory has broken down,  Although you’ve been saying , the children unconsciously

accumulates the Dharma into his subconscious, yet, you yourself didn’t know and had to learn

why the energy in a battery lighten up a bulb “

” Ha ha ha, yes I’m well aware of that.  That’s why I put that story there “

” When the time of Buddha, the world having less invisible, let alone electronic gadgets.  The life what the

Father saw was the same as what the Kids are seeing and the Nature is the same Nature.

Yes, the Kids today are living in a false environment with full of electronic gadgets, but what actually they

are doing in the LCD screen ? —- Lethal combat ?  Car racing ?  peeping Naked Woman ?  —- What’s new ?

What makes difference, between beating an enemy with stick or shining Star War’s sward ?

Or, racing horses or Super Car ?   Is any mutant beautiful Woman here today ?

The signal running in the body and the brain is the same electric pulse.  2500 years ago and today.

Neurology was utterly unknown 2500 years ago but you know it today though, has it given you any new

sight,and new sensation ? (You still have to deal with exactly the same kind of headache with your wife. 😀 )

—-

On the time of Buddha, human being was seeing the nature in much more direct and naked manner.

All the system were more visible.  Cooking on open fire,  instead of micro-wave. 🙂

Still, with a heat, carrot soften and then disintegrates.  Oil lamp light up the room, same as LED light.

We now having nicely packaged, well covered-up environment though, the basics are still the same,

and what the child learned is more or less the same —– see the brothers sisters grow, see the people

getting old and die.  The seeds germinate and grow to make yet another seeds which needs good

watering and fertilizer and so on.  This is the same Dharma.

———- And more importantly, even today, how many people remember such as  Ohm’s Law, and even if

knowing it, how many of them using it in their life ?

What about a  Super Nova in the sky to do with anybody’s life ?

In 90% of the case, electronics mean,  when to charge the battery,  or to take the battery out to reset the

gadget —- in its best, and other than a buzz-word and a pretense, it is not existing in their life. Merely using it.

There wouldn’t make any difference to know invisible and unknowable.  ( Well, except Virus and  Bacteria )

Kids playing with computer without knowing what the BIOS inside is configuring the hardware set-up, still

knows  when a plant in a pot needs water.—– This is the indicator to have good Dharma in him ( her ).

(The trouble is, even if having it,  still not know how to follow it—– or over riding it with own Ego )

—– Convinced ? ”

Good.   ___/\___

—

Virture of DHARMA (2)

When I was a small boy, my brother showed me an electric trick

of a small light bulb connected to a battery with thin wire,  and light

it on and off, which he learned in the school on the day.

I learned the trick and improvised it further and made a model of

town (?) which having street with electric-poles carrying supply cable

and street-light,  a house with a light inside etc etc.

—

Then a question arose —– ? ? ?

Why electric power goes every where,  where ever the wire was

connected.  And regardless how many light bulbs or length of the wire connected.

( Well, anyhow they are only few bulbs and few meters of wire —– it was a kid’s play )

Why the power doesn’t refuse to go one place or why a bulb some meters away, light up in the same instant

with another bulb. —– If we are walking on the street, it takes longer to get far, and not necessary go all the

places.  That was a  COMMON SENSE  I have acquired so far until then.

So that, I had to learn  “Incredible, Invisible Phenomena” and its rules ! 

(It was my start for the unknown frontier 🙂 )

———- Strangely, even though I’m using pretty big IC etc, to build electronic circuits these days, still  I’m

not necessary sure, why electron has to go just because it is conductive, in more or less in the same speed ?

( Ultimately still there is no explanation Why a material such as lead gives positive voltage and lead oxide

gives negative voltage in a lead accumulator, and electron start to move when they are connected with wire ! )

The same can be said, why the light has to go even the end of the universe, just because it is an open space ?

———- Why they never refuse TO GO THERE saying I DON’T WANT.  😀

You may say, simply it is just an emission of energy —– ?   Really ?

Those seemingly imperative phenomena are still puzzles to me.  Why the light which got no fuel can travel

to infinity ? —– is it a kind of inertia ?  But a Photon which got no mass can have inertia ?  And why it bend

a course when it go through near heavy star while having no mass —– how gravity can affect it ?

—– Anyhow, it seems everything spread and try to get the state of even balance. (Light brighten the dark. :-))

So, it is safe to say, the basic tendency of the Dharma is to gain an equilibrium with its  perpetual

spreading dynamism, which keeps changing moment to moment.

In fact this is one of the fundamentals of the Physics called Entropy.

( Hence, even a culture, knowledge, technology spread  (so does the MacDonald  😀 )—– and applying

this view may explain the Democracy —– Dharma hate the concentration of the power,  Dictator  😀 )

—

Contrasting to this, the existence and its activities of the Life-form is having different principle.

As I wrote before, the Dharma also support the Life-form to exists.

To create the Life,  it is necessary to configure the selected atoms and molecules to combine

in specific order and create a pattern, as organic matter —— and ultimately the DNA.

So that the Dharma having two-way process, one is out-warding dispersing process, and the other is

centripetal combining process. —– Any Life-form has to go through those two-way process.

This is the Life’s fundamental Karma.  The Wheel of the Life. ——– Process of configuring

the matter and the structure, then its destruction / disintegration.

This is the reincarnation in the Buddha’s teachings. ( It is nothing to do with Vedic Atoman and their

idea of reincarnation of perpetual soul,—– which is the idea Buddha rejected )

—

Life’s centripetal process and its tendency is the self-replication of the pattern (DNA) and the self-preservation,

in another word, it is self-centered.  Though, Life-form is only a very peculiar small part of the Dharma,

naturally Dharma is dominated by the wider rules which is out-warding dynamism —– spread and

gain  the equilibrium.  So that, even the inside of our body, chemical exchange such as Oxygen and CO2 or

balance of Hormone etc or even the communication of Nerve signal are all following the dispersing principle.

And  remarkably  the breeding, as its name Propagation suggests, is the activity to spread the species

as wide as possible, and to fertilize as many as possible.

Inevitably such as mankind’s existence is heavily entwined those conflicting principles / Dharma.

Therefore pushing one aspect too far always create fatal stress / unbalance with external wider world.

So that, to keep a good balance with the environment and the society is the crucial matter

for the survival.

Too much exploitation of the Nature, let alone destroying  the Nature, would lead to a heavy repercussion.

( Which we mankind is facing this very moment )

——- Interesting point is, as we are having the Operation System  which follows the principle of

the Dharma inside of us, and the sensing mechanism of those operation in our Feeling /

Subconsciousness as the Default, some of the very sensitive people can see or sens those balances.

— For instance, an inherent feeling of compassion and the drive for the Charity is one of its manifestation

of the internal Dharma —– to help or spread the  wealth to others, is a psychological  mechanism to lessen

the unevenness of the society.    If the wealth and the power is evenly spread, there wouldn’t be a conflict, and

it would be a Peace and a Harmony in its society and with the environment. — unless somebody with Ego and

Greed want to have all for him (her ?) self. ( Unfortunately this is the case too often )

—

If you know the Buddhism, you may found the description here is somewhat familiar.

As a matter of fact, I thought I was approaching from the scientific observation. —– then  realized,

it is nothing new. —– They are all what Buddha found and taught then.

But this fact indicates, this is not a fancy observation or theory of today.   They are the same findings and

the insight, by the man of 2500 years ago, who had no modern scientific knowledges.

Simply because the Dharma is the same Dharma.

—

Too much centripetal, selfish mind / Ego and Greed invites heavy repercussion and would lead to

the Self destruction. Therefore, be charitable and share the compassion with others.

Too extreme is also detrimental.  Better stay humble and in the Middle way.

And above all, as the Dharma is, open your eyes wide  and spread your view.  Don’t get stuck

with your narrow view and narrow thinking or cling to a fixed idea. —– Be flexible to the changes

as the world is changing with its dynamism and the flow, every moment to moment.

As our thinking is emanated from our centripetal mind or Ego, better be detached from it and

embrace the Dharma.  Stay in Mushin.  Spread and fuse your mind to the Nature / Dharma.

—-

You must be amazed, all those Virtue and Virtues wisdom are not deduced from the concept, but they are

the inherent Rules or tendency of the Dharma itself.  This is the Default settings you can see !

And this is the proof of the greatness of the Buddha’s teachings.

What Buddha did was,  just pointed the Dharma with his finger.  That all.

( But funnily enough, in 2500 years, so-called Buddhists have been gazing at his finger )

We need to see the Dharma with our own eyes.  Which is on front of us.

___/\___

—

PAIN CLINIQUE

HEALTH  WARNING : In this post, some description may give you a distress.

———————————-Anybody squeamish, may better avoid reading this.

With a release of a film depicting a man cut off his own arm to survive, when he was trapped under fallen rock

—– many more stories of the people who did the same has been appearing in the media.

To face such dreadful incredible situation, how human psyche works, became a topics of the neuroscientists

and the pain researchers.

And the scientists discovered an interesting phenomenon that the mind-set can control the pain.

—-

The man actually cut off his arm and  freed himself described the moment  ” There was amazingly not

much feeling or pain, hence able to sever the fresh and the bone with cool conscious,  as if it was just a

preparation of meat for a BBQ ”

A pain research lab did an experiment and found how human brain process the pain signals with heavy

involvement of the emotion, and found the emotional preconception influence the intensity of the pain.

If the emotion was cut off, in another word, dispassionate, even a pain signal doesn’t reach to the Brain.

( As a matter of fact, I did this to deal with my toothache.  Since I don’t take any medication, neither Dentist’s.

I just accepted the pain as if I were born with it.  So, there wasn’t a pain.

But able to do this resulted, no teeth left. —– sound awful isn’t it   You may say, it’s not Middle Way though,

it was not any extreme.  Simply there wasn’t a pain to endure.  It was just another day. 😀  )

But with exaggerated emotion and the fear, even the same stimuli can give far more pain.

———- These facts signify and prove the Phenomenon in the Zen Buddhism.

Preconception adjust the body’s physiology, such as rising Adrenalin level, hence heart rate etc, ready to

encounter the critical situation, but so often the case, it over shoots, setting the tension too high and making

a feeling and sensitivity to the pain even higher, then even creating an exaggerated image to be a miserable

victim etc, and making the life even more dreadful.

In the opposite case, if a man contemplated the situation and totally accept it and able to see that

” There is no way left and it is no use to complain or fight against it “ —– This absolute mind-set

(in Buddhist term, Mindfulness ) and absolute dispassion ( Mushin ), would even block the pain, and makes

the man to see the situation in cool head.    ( Because no emotion clouding the eyes )

—

This mind-set is —– as it involves the control of the emotion, it situated in the Old-Cortex deep in the brain,

right next to the Hippocampus, Limbic System, with its close proximity, it affects the physiology too.

The mind makes you to get ill, but in the other hand, it can alleviate your pain and misery as well.

—– Repeated Buddhism practice will make you to get lid of useless thoughts, and

the state of the no mind = Mushin  makes you to do the job dispassionately and efficiently.

—– Once you master this, you can free your mind in any situation.  You are no longer a prisoner of  Emotion.

You don’t need to learn this when you are facing life or death situation. —– So, buy Buddhism now, while

you can, while you are in Peace. —– It never cost you  for your arms and legs  😀

___/\___

PS:  No,no. The photo above is nothing to do with the story.  The beautifully tattooed DNA pattern is

—-–my  friend  Michael’s very active healthy arm.  Photo was just happened to be in my album and

—-–going to be published in a book, collection of the Scientific Tattoo.

—-–I haven’t asked him how much pain he had to endure though, I think it wasn’t much anyway  😀

—- ( It only scratched the skin, —–  never went to the bone ! )

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My HEALTHY LIFE

Ha ha ha ,  I know it is utterly misleading. 00 Because I don’t have a notion of Healthy Life.

I am just living as I am. —– and just happen to be healthy   ( apparently  🙂  )

If I have to analyze any peculiar practice  which might be related to my health is ——

I’m keeping my hands, nose and throat as clean as possible —– or just wash them very often.

To keep the hands clean was especially essential to handle photographic films.

But to keep the nose clean was taught by a teacher in my junior school.  Which was to take water in

the hands and suck it in the nose, then blow it out three times ! —– All the pupils in the class were

horrified, saying it’s too dirty though I convinced at once —– it’s a good idea and very rational, why not. 🙂

So that, when ever I came back to my place, like take off shoes, to wash hand, nose and gurgle are

the automatic routine.  Though, it might be related to a sublimated Japanese Shinto Custom — keep clean.

And there is no such thinking which relate this practice to health matter exists.— Just doing it.

It is not possible to have objective comparative test of  IF-NOT.    We got only one life and I couldn’t

replicate my same life, but only having NOT washed hands, and see what would  happen.

Simple fact is I rarely get ill, nor catching Cold, Flu.  Still, I don’t know whether washing hands are anything

to do with my health.  —– very funny you may think though, I rarely use soap ! —– same as, I don’t

use washing-up liquid.   I have one in the bath-room and another in the kitchen though they last—-may be

six months or more ?   My view of the soap is —– mankind is using soap not more than one or two hundred

years.  Removing our own natural oil, then applying pig-oil with artificial fragrance, is not a good

idea and the waste of the money. —– If I were ever smelly soapless person, still  it’s not a problem at all,

since I wouldn’t come closer to others less than an arm’s length  😀

So is a shampoo, I just shower the hair removing a salt in the sweat and use a shampoo less than once in

a month.  The shampoo is notoriously bad to the head,  the reason why I still have full head of hair, in more

than three feet long  pony-tale might be because of  not using shampoo. (So, one bottle of it last years  😀  )

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I eat anything though, the amount has been reduced in comparison to when I was young.

( I still have the same body weight 60 Kg / 9.5 stone,since when I was 15 years old ! —– When I was

physically very active, such as climbing the mountain , eat twice amount was no wonder though, sitting on

front of key-board  blogging or making electronic circuit needs to eat less —– and I never eat chips)

For my cooking, generally I use one carrot, one onion, a grab of green or green pepper etc and 150g~ 200g

of protein, meat, chicken, fish or egg etc everything from fresh ingredients, except  fish-tin (tinned fish has

no artificial preservatives) and smoked fish or bacon (to make bacon soup ) tofu or fried tofu are the rare

processed food.  And cooking them in many different way (by the way, I don’t buy cooking oil —– oil comes

from ingredients such as chicken naturally) and eat them with rice, pasta, noodle  etc.

So, I’m eating more or less the same food every day with my own cooking —– in past 25 years ?

Buying fresh ingredients is the cheapest, but I buy a lots of not cheap fruits as well.

And cooking from the fresh ingredient may take a bit longer cooking time still, my electricity bill

for a quarter is only £40~£50  (I don’t have gas —- I knew it become expensive ) 1/3 of other people.

——

This is literally, humble life —– or some said almost a life in poverty  😀

And I don’t take any drag, never do gamble, stopped to drink alcohol , never eat junk-food nor buy

fizzy drink but drink 1.5 ~ 2 litter of the tea —– hence there may not be any cause to get ill.

( Arh, no chocolate !  😀  )

In addition,  I gave-up woman 25 years ago.  So, no psychological up and down. —– Peace ! ! !

On top of this life style,  I used to have very vigorous exercise  (which looks like dancing  😀  )

once in every week, and these days I’m still doing it, may be once twice a month.

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It is hard to define a reason  why  I live  without getting ill — was it thanks to my  food life, exercise regime?

But, one thing I can definitely sure is, not to ever think or worrying about it.

If there is no crime, there is no criminal law or such concept at all.  Once if somebody start to think about it

then the notion of such activity teaches the possibility or another menu to the mind.  Shall I try ?

In a same way, a notion of illness trigger the imaginal symptoms and it become noticeable.

(Noticing ? Feeling ? —– isn’t it just in the Mind ? )

Even an intellectual medical information, once it caught your attention, it remains in your mind.  And as

often you think it,  it become your long-term memory and the memory / mind deepen and goes into your

subconscious —– as subconscious is in the old cortex in the brain, with its close proximity, it start to give

an influence to hippocampus / limbic system of the brain,  where the physiological control of the body

is taking place —–> hence stress and imbalance of the hormones —–> real illness !

Mind makes people becoming ill. —– It is a vicious circle and the domino-effects.

Here the Paradox of the Buddhism again, as long as the one is bothering with the notion of Health

or Illness, no healthy life ever come.  Here require the teaching of Mishin again.

So, better start Healthy Life when you are healthy and having full of vigor, and make it routine.

To keep the same healthy routine is far easier than to change a bad habit or regime.

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SUBCONSCIOUS again ? — is it a Face ?

Collection of images here are supposed to be a face, picked up by the Google Picasa Face-recognition

program.  Google is expecting us to make up a Web-album —– effectively  my own facebook.

Obviously Google want to tap-into the social-networking market therefore,  listing up the faces appeared

in my cyberspace —— then connecting the face to my Email etc by the name, to utilize their vast amount of

the information about my contacts, my interests, my search records, which they accumulated over the years.

So, Google can sell the AD ” Not just personally targeted, but also to their contacts / friends too ”

—— though, I’m not interested in that kind at all, yet still Google is keep scanning and making a face

collection without my permission ( I can’t remove this program —– do you know how ? ) while making

a number of mis-recognitions.—– So, I got an opportunity to collect ” False images”. 🙂

Some of those are looks like faces —– I can see too, though some are not at all, and puzzling how on earth

this image could be mistaken as a human face  / what made a computer to think this is ?

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I don’t remember the detail of  whose report though, there was a psychologist’s experiment, which showed

even a few months old baby can react to the photographic image of such as a tiger, and came to a

conclusion that the human has genetic memory of dangerous predator. We do not expect that a small

baby has learned knowledge of tiger yet—– its mean the reaction has to came from instinct, in another word,

its visual memory / basis of reference information is in our subconsciousness.

——– Whether it was a Genetic memory, Proto-image or just a mistake, we are very responsive to

the image of the face. And the Face recognition program which the human possess, seems to be a

very old / primordial program in the Old Cortex, hence it can function even a time of newborn baby.

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In this blog, you might thought, I am using the word ” Subconsciousness ” as if it is a magic keyword.

But how do we know, such invisible, therefore unaccountable memories and the process can be reliable,

let alone a myth of Dharma is there or not. (Please read “Mistake in Philosophy — Answer in Zen” together )

——- The reason why I picked up Google Picasa program was, —– at least it is a rigid visible

counter reference. — In comparison,we don’t remember how many times ever mistook an image as a face,

let alone to know what % of probability.   So, this program showed a counter sample of the case when the

recognition was done by an artificial intelligence / computer automatic pattern, face recognition without

having any cross-reference (such as a flow of logic ” If it is a face, where is the body —-> false or true ).

So that it would show the worst case as a bottom line <—- Human got to do the better.  🙂

So far, Google Picasa picked up about 40 false images of faces out of 50,000 facial photos ( plus, may be

twice as much number of the graphic images in the saved Net files)—— 0.08% ~ 0.03% of False rate.

Statistically negligible figure ? —– still, one mistake could change one’s life, therefore significant ?

This is a very rough science or one might say, it is not even a science at all though, this is a DIY  Zen Blog,

hence, I would say, it is convincing enough to conclude, human can sense and able to accumulate

quite accurate information of the surroundings / environment. (Even a machine can do with

negligible false rate, why not a human)

—– Are you bemused ?   But this is the situation in our mind.

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