Peace in a Battle field

There was a funny conversation in Email exchange ——–

” Hey  Yoshizen, could you pay the cost through Paypal please”

” Sorry, I’ve been black listed by the debt recovery company,

so that, I can’t use money transfer.  I only can give you in cash.”

” Oooooh, you are such a trouble maker 🙂 “

(Among the Anarchist group,  Trouble-maker is the honourable title  😀 )

” Oh yah, so far I’ve made the enemies,  whole Judiciary here, Japanese Embassy,

Police, Local Council, British Telecom, Virgin Media, Three G, T-Mobile and

barely having a truce with Talktalk.

So that, the Motto of the Zen is the PEACE,—— how to find a Peace / Calm Mind

while shooting  😀 “

—

——– When we are in the battle field, we need to have unmoved,  focused mind

and the clear eyes —- therefore the Zen is the most effective way to deal with the situation.

Dealing with the photography / how to capture the subjects, or even dancing on the rhythm, it is

the battle facing with the situation while sensing all the signals, then instant judgement and the response.

Because of the gushing torrent of the information is coming in, to put them in the clear space

in order to give detached  bird’s-eye view and make instant intuitive judgement

with appropriate priority, become crucial.

—–

This is the reason why,  the sword-masters,  martial-artists even the throat-cutting  share-dealers

needed to learn the Zen —– they are not chasing Nirvana or Enlightenment (too late any way  🙂 )

but needed to have ultimate efficiency managing their mind,

hence able to maximize their achievement in the life.

Do nothing, just sitting peacefully —— needs no more.

—

Nature = Dharma

–

—————————————–It’s a summer, have a brake, have a kitcat.

—-Photo by :  Canon 5D Mk-II  ( It’s a good Camera)  /  Nikon Fish-eye 16mm  ( It’s a good lens ) 😀

Talking blah blha, typing tick tick —– is a tiring business.  It’s nice to be in the nature.  Its teaches us more.  🙂

Please click the image to enlarge, and click again even larger.  Nature is not necessary posing us in orderly

esthetically pleasing alignment —– they can be just wild —– yet this is still their equilibrium / harmony.

Try to see them in esthetically orderly frame is our Ego.  Mahayana accept its disorder as it is.

This is the Dharma.   ___/\___—-

Great —– or Rubbish ?

One of my friend who is a Computer-Otaku read the latest three posts in my blog  (this blog  🙂   )

And questioned me  ” Obviously you are not try to sell anything by the spin,  though what actually

you are appealing ?     Try to expose flaw of Buddhism or How it is useless ? “.

———— ” Yes I know. You are absolutely right though, this is what the very Buddhism is.

I’m trying to show it “ ” Show what ? ”   ” Paradox in Buddhism “ ” Such as ? “

” All about Buddhism is in its state of Musin.

To be in absolute Mushin,  one can not have even a notion of Buddhism  or any expectation.

Expect its benefit or super natural power is nothing but the one’s greed and the arrogance.

Expect benefit such as I can change and find true Self and get Enlightenment is one’s thinking.

And see the Buddhism in such expectation  is nothing but a delusion.

All the benefit and the phenomena of the Buddhism would come beyond this,  never before.

So, it may come 10 years later or may never come “

” What a mean religion isn’t it ”   ” That’s why it was seen as an Enigma “ ” Rubbish “

———  ” Ha ha ha,  So, somewhere in the earliest post saying  Dog Shit “

” How many people ever reached Enlightenment ? ”   ” I guess, historically may be only handful “

” What ?  In whole Buddhism history ? ”    ” I think so,  may be less than 100 “

” Utterly Rubbish isn’t it ”   ” So, it’s a Dog Shit.  Ha ha ha   😀 “

” So that, it’s really Great, isn’t it “

” So,  you are selling  iPad  saying Don’t expect this one would work “ ” Thaaaat’s right. And

when people smashed it, it start working and show all the fancy things “

” That’s nice.  So, this is the Zen ? “ ” Thaaaaaat’s right ! “ ” How fascinating ”  😀

WEDDING

There is a nice Buddhist story ———-

” When two Buddhist monks came to a river crossing they found a woman having difficulty to cross the

rapid water.  One of the monk offered his back to carry her to other side.  After this, another monk started

to accuse him  ” Oh, you have broken the rule.  You touched the woman ”   He replied ” Are you still

carrying the woman in your back ?” ——– ( When you see a woman in trouble, to help her is your task

on front of you.  And when the woman is off your back.  Woman is no longer there.  If not there,  its not there.

Only the mind keep the woman still existing.)

There was my friend’s wedding.  ( So, the man and the woman decided to carry each other in body and the

soul ——- they are not the monk.  They are melting hot  😀 )    To celebrate  I’ve join the Champaign toast.

Then another friend said  ” Hey  Yoshizen,  I saw you have broken all the rules of Holy man ” ——- ?

Generally,  I don’t drink alcohol ( even though I can drink half bottle of spirit in a evening, simply I don’t like it,

as I’ve fed up to take care of drunken guys and anyhow it wouldn’t change me or the world,  nor it brings any

solution to any trouble ——- it’s no use mean,  waste of the time and the money.

To be cheerful and crazy  doesn’t need to be under influence.  I am the living sample.     Ha  Ha  Ha   😀  )

I was there to congratulate my friend ( and take photos ) not for any religious, moral campaign.

I don’t need to be obsessed by alcohol,  but in the same time I don’t need to be obsessed by the mind

of keeping  me perfectly dry. ——– This is,  what  Buddhist calls  MIDDLE WAY.  ——- Why is it the

matter to Buddhist ?     In the Buddhist  teachings, the both obsessions were created by the false

self which has no basis in our mind.  In other words, it is the delusion which shouldn’t be exist.

Anyhow it is not daily or even monthly occurrence, (last Wedding occurred two years ago)

to give a toast to the new couple Why not join.

———————-

Another day,  I took young lady who said never tasted Sushi to a  Japanese restaurant.   The man might have

heard this story as well, hence he teased me. 😀

It’s nice to have good food with pretty woman.   Have a nice meal together doesn’t necessary carrying hidden

agenda.   It’s a clichéd stereotype.   Nice meal is the nice meal.  Enjoy it and bye-bye. ——- What’s wrong ?

Zen Buddhism is (as it stand on the Mahayana philosophy)  to have the freedom of the mind (obsession,

paranoia is the enemy of free mind )  and fulfill the life’s potential to its maximum,

not to miserably vegetated to be a monk’s life.

( So, even a Holy Zenist drunk Champaign,  rest of people, not mention the new couple, are all get drunk )

~~~~~~~It was a superb wedding party.   Congratulation to the newly wed.  ___/\___  🙂

Eroticism ? —– Virtual Woman

Photo left is a kinetic sculpture titled ” Virtual Woman”.

The wire mesh torso which rotates  X and Y axis like

a computer 3D cage design,  hence its title.

Before this,  I made three nude figures using same

material and technique.

Despite of those nude figure (I mean female nude)

having supposed to be ideal proportion and curvy

contour,  strangely it doesn’t look erotic.

My friend who got quite a taste of female body (but not empty kind) said, ” Very sensuous but not sensual “.

Wondering  ” Why I couldn’t create erotic figure ? ”   I made most blatant one,  which is just an open-leg

part of the torso,  expecting to see literally naked eroticism.——— Yet the result was far from erotic.

The reaction of female Artist friend  was  ” Your piece is too strong as a sculpture,  leaving no margin to play

with erotic imagination ” ——- ” Thank you very much” ——– ? ? ?

———- Yes, eroticism lay in its suggestive subtlety,  not  naked exposure of ” Thing”,  otherwise

gynecologists can’t do their business.  If it is the case, where this human eroticism came from ?

The Neuroscientists / Human sexologist call this  ” Brainization of the sex” (not sure about this English

translation, as I read about this in Japanese book long time ago).

It is not from the sexual instinct,  as the imagination in the brain needs the source from out side.

So that, the Boys and Girls build up their Erotic Image Library  which is influenced by the Mass-Media, some

became obsessed by the size of boobs others are slim leg etc, and some are even become Anorexia.

Without the accumulation of the original data, we can not imagine anything.  Still,  we have the curiosity as

even a child has. ( This curiosity is at least  Sexual Instinct, which must be the relics of the lost program )

With this curiosity,  we build up own collection of sexual data bank.  Hence everybody got different one. 

But this is nothing but the evidence of  ” We are born without complete sexual instinct “

And as its imagination was made up in the brain,  it is not far from the delusion or obsession

(When a particular thought was associated with certain Emotion and when this connection become

subconscious routine,  it is the Obsession.  For example such as the word  ” Phallic”,  some people

instantly associate the certain shape of object  with  sexual connotation.)

——————–

But the trouble (?) in my case is not the perception,  but the way of expression —— way to make the shape.

One of my friend who knows my celibacy which started 23 years ago, teased  me  ” As you are a dried up

person, you couldn’t distinguish subtle juiciness of the body shape,  you can’t express succulent eroticism ”

” Oh, c’mon,  what kind of death sentence is it ?”   And he said  “But it might be your advantage,  as you

can handle and see otherwise messy slimy subjects, in perfectly cool, objective manner, people feel you

are a safe,  harmless man” ——- ” M m m, is it good things ? to a man who is still believing live and kicking ”

” May be its a trade-off to be a Zennist isn’t it,  by which you have your peace of mind,  I still have a headache

of my wife,  Ha ha ha  😀

——— So it was certified that, me to make nude figure is harmless and safe to the society.  😀

( And, I can continue experiment and research how our creativity and the perception works.)

As a matter of fact,  it has been used on the stage play directed and designed by

my friend Francesco Pestori,  titled  O-Project.

(and I took part of it acting as a life creating Scientist.  It was a fun.   ! ! !   😀  )

PS: This Virtual Woman alongside the Cupidon (pull the arrow and blow up condom) and

motorized  Wire Dinosaur  would be  exhibited at the Rickshaw Gallery,

opposite of  Southwark Station (Jubilee Line), opening  27th May, evening PV (6:00~9:00)

If you are interested to have a fun,  please come and meet them.

PPS: The Moving Image of this VIRTUAL WOMAN can be seen in Youtube / Google [kinetorori]

—

Ikkyu-san

One of the most famous  Zen monk,  Ikkyu  Sojun  is the literally most talked about Buddhist in Japan.

I don’t know how many books tribute to him and even cartoon comics featuring him for the children has been kept coming  to the book shelf, not mention  TV anime. Though, as he got so many legendary stories,  it is hard to tell which story has historical fact behind or it was an invention of novelist.  Yet still, I especially like this story which is so typical in Zen mind.

—————————-

When Ikkyu was exiled to a remote corner of northern Japan by the Shogun,  as he was an out-spoken critics and a pain on the neck,  the local  War-Load who was made responsible to keep him, put a woman to cook and take care of his daily life,  expecting  Ikkyu to have a relation with this woman,  which would give a convenient pretext to kill him.   Which was a hidden intention to isolate and exile him away from the Buddhist’s center of Kyoto.  Though, even a year past, no such relation had ever taken place.

The woman wondered if she is sexy enough to attract him or not.  So that, woman took a drastic action one night,  waited him in his bed  (well, it was a Futon)  naked. When Ikkyu saw her in his bed,  he didn’t show any surprise and get into the bed saying  ” I knew this would happen soon or later.  It’s nice to have human hot water bottle.  Oh good, its warm”  and within few minutes he started snoring. ——– Woman was utterly devastated.

——– Most of  women are having strange belief almost like a religion.

A man will do the business when he saw a woman laying naked.  But it doesn’t apply to a Zenist. 😀     (It exclude sham Zenist ! )

Unless its business is his task,  a naked body is just a naked body,  nothing to do with him and his body doesn’t react with so-called instinct.   Naked body is there just as it is.  Its sexual connotation is in one’s mind.  Without sexual connotation, it’s still beautiful, soft and warm to touch.   No problem to be there.

Unlike popular belief,  being as a monk Ikkyu had a mistress and he was more than capable to do the business until his old age, though unless the woman was the one he committed,  anybody else was the no existence.

In Mushin, if it is the task to take,  commit to it 100 % down to the level of subconscious.  If not, it is 0 % to the level of subconscious,  in deed to the instinct level.

(As the Emotion was detached,  sexual object wouldn’t cause the seclusion of adrenalin or testosterone,  hence so-called instinctive reflection doesn’t occur.)       (There said to be an extreme training to become a Tantra High Priest (Adjari) = While attending an all night sitting, the monk has to keep his penis elected continuously. = keep his mind totally concentrated to sexual arose. —– it’s a hard act for an amateur to try. )

Zen has only 100 % all, or nothing 0 %. ( Incidentally, this would explain Why Japanese tend to go to extreme. As there is nothing between, when it came to the situation of fight such as in war,  it would be either kill or be killed.   Somewhere between,  beaten yet still alive and become Prisoner of War was not acceptable.   It was regarded to be in half minded / coward.

All those psyche were originated from the Zen ethos. ——-  To reconcile with this extremity with Middle Way needs to have a real understanding of the Middle Way. = not a kind of “Somewhere between”. )

___/\___

.

London Marathon

Last weekend I’ve joined an invigoration party for a runner of London Marathon, went to the

course side in  Dock Land in the morning, taking my camera with me.

Captured top runners, few Japanese runners and fun-runners. ——- then, I waited and waited for our

hero to come, while watching and clicking tens of thousands of the fun-runners photos for many hours.

The trouble was, I didn’t know what kind of guise he is wearing.    Apparently we had phone

communication with him which saying ” I’ll be there in 10 minutes” again and again, always

another 10 minutes. ? ? ? ——- May be the time was kept stretching ahead of him as Einstein predicted.

This must be the revers of  Xenon’s  Paradox ( Arrow never able to hit Achilles)     😀

————————–

While waiting him, a pretty young lady spoke to me saying, she wants to see my dancing as she is a dancer

herself—— it seemed she hard the rumor from her friend who has seen my dancing in somewhere.

I told her to contact me through my blog, as this blog will come up on top of Google search, just by typing

“yoshizen”——it must be the easiest way to remember. ——- May be I should have talked her more, and

pay more attention to the pretty lady though, I had a task to take picture of my friend running, who may

appear in any moment  (and needs to find him among the crowd, in distance)——– m m m.

———————–

Zen works only to the task on front of the eyes or a thing in the hand.

Other than that, which exist in the mind should be treated as a delusion or a noise.

And I was in the fully minded state of capturing the runner—— not a young lady.  (How shame !   😀 )

Someone may say ” What happened the Open-mind” or  ” Just receive it, what so ever comes—– which

could be a crossing point of the Karma” ——- well  well  well,  I may say,  ” As it’s happened when I was

in the fully minded state in photography, but as it happened in not very convenient time —— its mean

the Dharma was not very keen to this. ———(so-called not very promising encounter).Any how, at last our man David has come with 50 kg load of back-pack. (seems car battery etc was loaded)

———- Why needed to carry 50 kg on the back to run 26 miles marathon ?

No reason.  It’s like an engagement of 60th  Existentialist.  This is the Absurd theater.

Most of the people just run and it is hard enough.  Though, in the same time “Why not with 50 kg on the back”

( heavier lord than the Army runners carrying).   Still, Just Do It.  Don’t think too much.

Without reason, someone may born in a remote corner of Africa, and may need to fetch 20 kg of water

every day while walking 10 miles bare foot.   This is the life there, the one has to accept, without choice.

So, we in the middle of  Stone age London, invent something out of any rationality, and do it as imperative.

( You know, 50 kg is pretty heavy and 26 miles is quite a distance ——– how nice  😀  )

This is why I like this group of people / Spacehijackers.

As soon as he appeared in sight, he was sieged by the members and bathed by beers, fed pizza ——-

and went on yet another 6 miles.  Good boy,  Good boy !

(Though, I haven’t heard the news, he got the finishing line. ——- Has anybody seen him collapsed

on the side of the road  ? )   Ha Ha Ha  😀                ( ——->   PS:  Please see the comment)

CYBER SPACE — (and Z80 mini-computer)

It is 25 years  since  Dot Com was first created,  and 20 years since  WWW  was invented.

One of my old colleague,  Camera Critics,  Kazuo Taira  was one of the pioneer of the PC networking, using

acoustic telephone modem and he organized the Photographer’s Computer Network in Japan.

It’s shame Mr.Taira  is no longer with us.  Unfortunately  we in the creative field tend to lose the friends who

tend to be a heavy drinker.  ( Do you know,  the average life-span of Rock musicians are 38 something,

of cause it may not caused by the alcohol alone )

And since then, our lives are more and more entwined with the Computer and the Internet.

Nearly 20 years ago,  I made a small computer using Z80 CPU,

designed from the scratch.  ( Left  Photo)

( I would say, it’s a half sculpture, half computer )

Its operates on only 10 MHz clock speed and having 512 Kb memory,

which needs to be programmed by Machine Code.

—– In electronics, to design and to build is one thing and

to make it works is the another.

Eliminate all the glitches and instability etc etc are the hard part.

—– As the definition,  computer operates on the data in the

memory,  once the memory was corrupted,  it needs to re-program from the start.

( It was the time of  UV erasable  memory,  before easy to re-program  Flash-memory )

After this experience,  I became a computer skeptic ” Computer can make mistakes ” hence, even now

I don’t use Credit Card and I rather like to use hard-wired design,  not soft control.

In this reason, I honestly admire the person who can design and manufacture a  10 GHz device which works

in any environment  reliably.

——————–

In another side of the revolution,  the Internet is becoming almost a monster, and the Necessary Evil.

Since  I  started to use Email,  I wrote very few letters  which  needed to be a signed evidence.

—– The trouble of Net is their intrusive activities.  As everybody knows,  Google / Gmail is

watching our use of web and the contents of communications word by word. ( Cookies, hidden files etc)

When I heard about  Facebook,  I instantly felt their dubious nature  ” Why do they need to have so much

detailed personal information ? “—– obviously they are  the salable commodities.

Without having such profitable return,  what is the point to provide free service.

Personal info’ used to be sold to the marketing / direct mail company before.  Now the Internet provider,

social networking site are the Marketing/ Advertising/ Direct-mailing/ Delivery Service  All-in-one.

(When  I got an Email from one of our Old-boy telling, he has reached to the grand age, the Ads on right hand

column are all cheap Funeral service and the international flower delivery — Great, thank you very much :-D)

So that from the beginnings I didn’t use my real name to open Email account, and never sign up the

Website which asks Date of Birth.  ( Still, now Yahoo knows my DOB, obviously from the content of

the mail between me and my friend. )

With full name and the DOB, the one can hack-in and get the information of National Health, and

together with the Address,  it is possible to access the Banking information.

——————–

To live in peace, we have to be aware ” We are in the battle field ” which the Buddhists call  Samsara.

With technology and the Internet,  we opened the Pandora’s Box.   It’s a funny situation, as in the Informations

we are becoming almost naked,  in the same time our contact itself becoming even more indirect.

Just by  the chain of characters on the screen, a 30 years guy pretending as a 15 years old boy,  chatting

with a 40 years woman who pretending 13 years old girl. —– Yuck,  how  beautiful,   😀

——————

Zen  rely on the Direct Transmission,  still what I’ve been trying here, is the triple, quadruple indirect

communications.  In order to type, I converted my feeling to the lingual form, and express it in the

bloody English, which typed chain of ASCII code traveled through unknown node here and there and

end up —– how do I know where.

As I thought,  I never met Buddha himself,  or  I have any idea , how many times the Mantra was translated

or re-written,  and  2500 years apart, someone try to reach the same conclusion as Buddha,

( in the point of indirectness, this is the far-most remote situation )

still, if its works,  a talk to others through  Internet may works too.

Thats what I’m thinking.

[]

NATURE and NURTURE

When people talk about  Nature and  Nurture,  those notions are regarded to be the counter idea.

But in reality,  they are entwined  inseparable factors.

Now a day,  nobody denies  the fact  that the Gene combination affect one’s development which even

include the one’s psychological disposition and behaviour pattern.

——————–

The most obvious but most overlooked fact in this field is, ——— that the Child is Nurtured by

the Parent who is having the same Gene like  their  Child.

Except the adopted child,  a half of the boy’s Gene come from the Father,  and the Gene which makes

a baby to a man, came from the Father’s  Y-Chromosome which is identical to the one  the boy got.

———- Assuming the Father behave under the tendency of the Gene set,  and the boy is growing up

seeing his ( Role Model’s ) behaviour pattern,  while boy himself having  (at least half of )  the same Gene

which giving the same drive to behave in the same way.

So that the reproductive process’ two key factors,  Nature and  Nurture are working toward same direction.

—————— I’m certain,  this is the common knowledge,  when the person reached to the age of 40th

everybody discover (whether the one feel comfortable or not ) how he (her) is a faithful reproduction of

his Father or Mother,  not only the physical appearance or voice but also the posture and the mannerism

or the way to think and handle the things as well.——- ( Rough Father’s Child tend to be rough too )

Even if you are not aware of this,  your wife or member of family knows this.

Which part is Genetic and other came from unconscious learning is hard to tell —– since it is entwined.

(So,  the scientists are studying hard for the Identical Twin,  but the one was grown up in the foster family

—— it is in deed, very interesting field )——- So far, mostly peculiar story of the twin come up to the news

such as, the twin grown up different family without knowing each other,  yet still having had identical life.

It seems, The Karma is a part of the Nature——- fixed on the time of the birth. ——- Does this mean,

CAN’T WE escape from the KARMA ?

BRAIN WAVE

Some days ago,  I saw a bizarre demonstration which purported to be an electronic display of the

Buddhist Meditation,  consisting a video image said to be controlled by the Brain Wave.

Loads of scientific buzz words such as Quantum Mechanics, Sinusoidal Alpha Wave etc etc were spoken.

———- Yet strangely, a demonstrator  who got a shaven head said ” I’m not an electronics expert,

so,  I don’t know the details of the technology here “—— Oh, I’m, sure Brain Wave is not Sinusoidal at all.

——————–

How bizarre this one was —– to begin with,  Alpha Brain Wave is nothing to do with the Meditation.

EEG  Brain Wave was picked up on the surface of the head and showing the summed up electric signal

of the inside Cerebrum Cortex’s activity.   Therefore,  the Brain Wave is the reflection of the vigorous

activity of the brain —— sound opposite of the calm Meditation.   (Of cause, even under the deepest

meditative state, certain physiological function is fully active, hence creating so-called  Artefact ( back

ground noise ) is always there.

Any how, the activity of inner part of the brain such as Limbic System is not possible to observe by the EEG,

unless a hole was cut to the skull and put through a probe deep inside.  ( Very risky operation )

——————–

More than 40 years ago, when a meditating monk was wired up and the EEG / Brain Wave was recorded

first time, the relation between Alpha Wave and the Meditation was discovered.  So, a  Myth  was created.

Though, ironically, some years later, the true nature of the Alpha Wave became clear —— it was the

indication of the ” Eyes are Closed ” —— its mean, the visual cortex in the back of the head is in idle state.

Nothing to do with meditation.    (Well, see nothing was indicated.  At least   😀  )

(  In the Zen, Eyes wide open and seeing, but take NO NOTICE is the key technique —– Thus able to

either Detach or Concentrate to any subject,  any time,  by will )

Yet still, the Myth or idiosyncratic misunderstanding was kept and worshiped by the people who doesn’t

know the Buddhism neither Medical science or Electronics.

And this kind of bizarre gimmick industry is flourishing.

How amazing  !!!

When Mankind didn’t have the knowledge of electric activity,  lightning was believed

to be an act of angry God.

The Brain still remaining in the mystery is,  nothing to do with  the mystery of the Buddhism.

Mind is not just a matter of  Brain cell and  Electric pulse.

—

PS: Half year later, I bumped a man who demonstrated aforesaid  Electronical Meditation, at an art

gallery and found that the man is (despite his shaven head  🙂 ) just a novel art performer, not a monk

or to do anything with Buddhist’s meditation.  So, he must had a lots of fun for doing it. 😀