Daikon 2020

So, I’m watching the same windowscape of my kitchen window.

Only a difference in these days was, the leaves of the Daikon head. Which was growing well. Some of you might say that I can cut them small and eat or put in a Miso soup —– I know. But I want them to live free and grow. (I’ve tormented the Daikon root badly enough, boil her alive and eat = I need to make a hypocritical excuse by humainly saving the leaves)

It’s a spring. (Forget the hell outside or the world beyond)

So, the Daikon is having her flower bud —– though, would the flower open or not is the different story.

https://yoshizen.wordpress.com/2017/05/17/daikon-flowers/

When she got 30cm tall, before opening the flowers, she lost a vigor of the life. I couldn’t see any reason why, —– it was same as last time. How shame. (May be I need to learn about the Daikon plant start from its seed, not the left over top of a Daikon food.)

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Is this ZEN or nuts. (2)

I’ve put this picture before though, this IS too iconic and deserve to have its own post.

Young man who reached to his adulthood this year showing off who he is on the local ceremony event where he may see his old mates of junior school etc.

You may think, that was his display of his EGO, but you were wrong. Think, if he got ordinary mind of ordinary citizen, or common EGO such as the collective unconscious, do you think can he do the public display like that ?

Too often, this was the case that the other people misunderstood the Japanese mentality. = It was not a matter of EGO but, he was just playing the role without his own SELF. And he might have taken the role without having any order or others suggestion. = it might come like a revelation = Oh’ I got it, I’ll do.

So, a Chameleon pearched on his head. = pretty impressive !

Thousands of the people took the role to volunteer the rescue work after the disaster in such a way. —– In the same way, often the people take their work / job to became a man of “research” or a man of “the convenient store” what so ever. And that was the reason why others hear the story of “How the researcher dedicated his life to discover or develop the scientific something.”

And here again, it was not a kind of the intended dedication. But, he just took the role, since there was nothing else in sight = so, he was just doing the subject on front of him. This mental process was in fact the mechanism of the ZEN of which the key word was No-SELF. Since No-SELF = there couldn’t be any intension. = Just do it !

The matter of whether this person doing IS ZEN or not, rely on if he can be selfless when he deals with other than his Chameleon.

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Is this ZEN or nuts ?

You may not guess what I’m going to talk. And don’t know what this is.

It was my life’s residure and its accumulation. The Lidl’s plastic tray of the Chicken.

I stopped to eat Beef 1987 when the BSE was reported. (It happen to be the same year, I also stopped any sexual contact when the first news of new diseases = later named to be AIDS was reported.) —– So, since then I only eat Chicken or fish, on top of veggie and fruits. Therefore, with my regular shopping of Chicken (about 1kg par week), those plastic trays are keep coming. —– as a kind of tempolary container, those trays are always conveniently in use still, much more trays are piling up. (If I were a good business person, I might have made a rule to limit the number of the trays in stock.)

If it was 10 or 20, nobody would bother. But when it accumulated to the hundreds, people may started to wonder — “Is it ZEN ?” — or nuts.

Number of ZEN stories are the story of the endless concentration and the result of the tenacious pursuit. = as a matter of fact, the practise in the Buddhism is nothing but the endless repetition of the same action. —– whether the matter or its purpose was the end result or in the process, its practise changes the person. So, its hard to tell, whether the continuous action was a part of ZEN practise or the problem of one’s own mental.

Then, if it was the case, how they related to the Buddhist mind of Detachment, No-clinging or live on the Impermanence kind. = you may feel the contradiction between here. —– Why you feel contradiction IS because your understanding of Detachment / Mushin = Mind of No-mind was wrong. This was the most common misunderstanding in the Buddhism. = Detachment / Mushin IS NOT an idea or thinking BUT they are the condition of the mind = like the mind was in an up-beat or sud state kind. I’m not thinking “Not to buy Beef” but I don’t see the beef there. (Not to buy Beef was not an ISM or thinking BUT it was the situation of “No beef was there”. ) So, no-one see the beef, because the one who see the beef / SELF is NOT there.

Because of, the people try to UNDERSTAND the Buddhist’s mind or try to think “That way” they can NOT get it. Buddhist’s mind IS NOT attained by intention. It has to BE in the state. When you are in, you can not aware that you are in.

So, the tray of Chicken keep accumulates —– without my conscious. I’m living without me aware that I’m living. I do, I eat , I speak what is natural to me. So, I don’t import anything foreign to my life. This IS what we call Buddhism. IF you THINK and TRY to practise Buddhism, it is NOT BUDDHISM. BUDDHISM has to reach without intention. While living as a Buddhist but forgot that you are a Buddhist, you are a Buddhist. In that state, even the SELF = you are, not existing.

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I found a photo looks too iconic of the Japanese mentality ! This is what we meant “Go for all hog” —– this mentarity was behind the recovery from the earthquake disaster etc.

The young people attending the local ceremony to count that they reached to the adulthood on this year.

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Strange Fragmented London

Those photos were taken in the same time of other “Fragmented Lens Photos” though, something wrong with Colour balance setting. —– Still, I like them.

Is it possible to take photo without an intention of taking photos ?

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1/4 lens !

After two attempt of two 1/2 double lens, it would go to even 1/4, naturally. (Anyway, it was only a matter of hacksaw and a glue work. And it was what an Otaku lives for. 😀 )

Photo left = Covering the lens with black tape and see the effect = even from a small part of the lens, good enough image would be created. Photo right = so, only 1/4 of the lens to produce the main image and 3/4 lens for the out of focus bokeh.

The plastic lens was mounted to the Sony A7R camera (yet the lens can be attached to the Nikon Z as well.)

So, this homemade lens will produce the image even worse than those W-lens A or B ! 😀 —– can you guess how happy I am. Ha Ha Ha 😀

So, they are the regular test shot. (This dry rose has been working for me the past 5 years !)

In case, if anyone wanted to see more natural image for a comparison, those are the images from the ordinary (?) 110 Pentax 24mm lens on the Nikon Z.

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Archery Contest — Zen ? ? ?

There is an annual Archery Contest in a Japanese Buddhists Temple = Sanjyu-sangen-do, Kyoto. (If you are interested in its details, please google > Toshi-ya, Sanjyu-sangen-do ) (the Viz here is the Female Archer’s day’)

What I want to talk about here is not about its history or meaning, but the way how Japanese Archery / Kyu-do was done.

From the Viz here, you must be realised that the Japanese Kyu-do mount the Arrow outside of the Bow, and not aiming the Arrow while watching its direction from the back. Unlike a western archery, cross-bow, or a riful gun there is no “sight” to aim the target. The eyes, the head of archer is the other side. So, you might be wondering how the archer could aim the Arrow to the target ?

Training is to train the body function, its power and the coordination to higher level. —– In the case of Karate, (say, hit an opponent by a fist) the movement and the control is rather simple as it is the matter of the hand’s movement. Though, if it involve a weapon, the coordination has to become a bit more complicated as the movement became indirect. — still, like cutting a lemon, the body (hand) need to keep the knife steady and make its movement constant, while involving rather small number of the muscles, while having the straight feedback of the each movement through the eyes. (On this “cutting lemon” arrangement, even a direction of the knife blade could be changed while the blade is in the middle of lemon.)

Though, the Japanese Kyu-do’s control is incredibly indirect. Certainly the Archer is seeing the target and stand towards the target though, we can not see any further details of the control, how minute adjustment of the angle was transelated into the arm’s muscle or body position etc.

In this field, a book [ZEN in the ART of ARCHERY] by Eugen Herrigel has almost historical significance. (—– though, as the Kyu-do has no mechanical system of the “Control”, neither Zen use the verbal communication to explain how, the book wouldn’t give you any answer how the arrow could hit the tail of the first arrow. But only hinting something spiritual made the arrow to fly.)

In Zen term, it is the state of the Ichijo = Body and the Mind, the Bow and the Arrow, the target, and even the air all became one by abandoning all those. In Buddhists term, it was absorbed by Dharma. = By abandoning all the aim or thought to hit, obtaining the natural control of the Dharma = this paradox IS the core of the Zen Buddhism.

In This extent, the Book by Eugen Herrigel was a very rare and important guide book to learn the Zen. To learn the Zen, an innocent, naive man could not able to learn anything by sitting. Because there wouldn’t be any explanation of Zen let alone what the sitting for. Yet still, that book explain, how to negate the own Ego by exactry follow and copy the way to do the Kyu-do. And the way to abondan even the intention to hit = to become the Void oneself. (The book was written by the outsider = not by Zen monk, hence the trade secret has been exposed ! ) So, the reader could able to learn the mechanism of the Zen.

However, if it was looked at more demystified angle, the control of the Kyu-do might be somewhat similar to the Skiing. Control of the ski board couldn’t be done by just the legs but needs to have all the coordination of the whole body, on top of the snow condition and the topography, even the weather. Then the certain aim or a mind goes to the ski, yet still, we are not skiing while thinking how to ski. There may not be a kind of “The Mind of Ski” —– it could be empty. But, without having any thinking of control, if the aim was goes left, the ski goes left. There may not be any mythical control behind still, in the certain level of advanced skill, whole control of ski or Kyu-do could be done in the almost God’s hand level. —– This advancement could be achieved also under the Zen approach, still, make it thankful to the mythical Dharma or just a physical advancement would be a matter of one’s belief.

—– So, it was the same situation, when I was making aluminium sculpture “Buddha 2009” I needed to find the aluminium pipes for the material, then I found a lots of discarded pipes from a construction site = its always like this happen on me. (What I’m doing synchronise with Dharma —– or they help me) .

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ヨシ禅ブログ要約

これは「仏教の行と大脳生理」のポストに付いたコメントのやり取りで言い得て妙だと＝再録に至った次第

Spiritualism | Yoshizen’s Blog said, on April 21, 2019 at 19:00(Edit)

[…] このブログでは禅仏教を専ら神経生理の自動制御に帰結して論じていますが、そこでは「だから何ンなの」はめったに出て来ない。自動制御の稼動状態は誰の目にも明らかであるから解り易い。しかしその背後には不可解なものが多すぎる上に「ホンマ？」がついて回る。無心になる事で、経験則やDNAに予めプログラムされた自動制御に任せる。同様に生をカルマの生起に任せる。＝これで人智を超えたダルマによる完璧な対応処理が行なわれ全てメデタシメデタシなれば文句ナシ。－－－とはいかない。都合良い神ワザ伝説はいくらでも並ベられるし、それをもってスピリチュアルな調和が得られるなどと強弁しても意味はないーーーつまりそれが真実ではないのだから。＝真実ではない所がダルマゆえの真実か？と、解ったようなシタリ顔してもまた無意味であるし、だからサトリは犬のクソと言ってみても何も始らない。　つまり完璧な答はどこにも無い。 […]

yoshizen said, on August 25, 2019 at 12:02(Edit)

スピさん、コメント深謝。御自身で諒解の如く言葉としての解答などどこにも無いでしょう。それでも何かスピリチュアルな真実をお持ちいただいたとか？　是非お聞きしたいものですね。
そもそも小生がやっているのはゼロから出発してのDⅠY禅探求です。つまり２５００年前同様、何の仏典も無い状態で、色々試しながらそれが「いわゆる」禅と伝えられているものと合致するか、その検証を試みている訳です。
自動制御は遇然の発見ながら、これこそが
釈尊が見出したもの、そのものであったとは完璧に納得。で、だから何ンなのよは、DIYそのものが答え。現にここに在り何だかンだやっている当人の在りよう、その事実、日常平常が答えです。ヤレ同心ニ重濃度針穴写真云々、ZAPPAの写真がどうのと、全て能書抜き、現にためらいも無くやった事、おそらくその解脱の上に在る自在が問題です。禅は能書でも足をひねる事でもなくいかにこだわり無く生きる事が出来るか、それが唯ーの目的。　(乞参照　＞ヨシ禅縁起）

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〜〜〜で、ここまで来てハタと気がついた間抜け、[ Spiritualism ]と言うのはコメントを書いた誰かではなく実は大分前に書いた自分の古いポストからの抜粋であった。

で、そこでさらに出て来る疑問は、いったい誰がこの抜粋を作ってコメントに入れたのか？？？－－－そもそも１０００以上も有るポストの中から、しかも日文の内容を理解して撰択すると言う作業を、果たしてどっかのボランティアさんがやったのか、あるいは WP かグーグルの AⅠ が全自動で処理したのか？？？ ーーーそのどちらであったとしても、これは驚き以外の何物でも無いし, いささか怖い話でもある。ーーーつまり処理する目的で僕のブログを読んでいる目にとってこれらはどう見えているのか。ジャンクのベス単と禅がいかなる脈絡で捕えられていいるのか？？？　フシギ。

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平常心（対話から）

これは友人とのメールのやり取りの抜粋です（青字は友人）

ーーー で、かつての人生の思い出、その追憶の駒々はどんな栄光や贅沢よりも、私にとってのかけがいのない宝物なのだ。それが宝物かガラクタかは、ひとりひとりのホンネで決める、というより、決まってしまう事だ。

そんな個人ごとの宝物を死ぬまで保持することがいかに大切かを共感する人々は、決して少なくはない。

この心理をわかってくれるときが来れば嬉しい。そして、先輩が意図していること とは無関係に、このホンネの欲求に先輩のピンホール写真が寄り添ってくれるから、ありがたい。

あのピンホール写真にやすらぎを覚えるのは、私の場合、心が覚えていて、時空を超えて再現したい、あるいは、せめて心の中にだけでも再現し再体験したい愛しき何かへの入り口を感じさせてくれるからだ。

　　おたくはものすごい思ぃ入れと追憶の中で生きていて、おそらく禅も同様に思ぃ入れ、思念の形だと考えていると思う。しかし僕の禅には思い込みの部分は無く現にやっている事、そこでの無心が僕にとっての禅であり解脱なのだ。つまり、何か特別な思い方とか観念が禅なのではなく、何の思いも無いのが褝なのだ。

何の思念、知的作意なく発想された事は、実は潜在意識、情念の深層からの呼びかけに外ならない。で、それを黙々と追求していくうちに針金彫刻やA７Rに付いたベス単なんて物が出来上った。これが僕の禅であり自在だ。

同様に何故かボケた映像に引っかかる。待てよ、これどっかで見たぞ。いつだったかは解らない遠い昔、ひよっとしたら夢の中だったかも。－－－で、ツァィスレンズの向うにそれを発見して以来、僕のレンズ行脚が始った。ピンホールはその一駒だ。

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　　執着を捨てることを良しとする賢人は古来多かれど、「自分に正直に生きる」「嘘をつかずに生きる」ことではじめて安らぎを得る人も多い。しかし現実には本音をいつわり、偽の自分を生きて幸せを装う程、器用に振る舞えない人のひとりであることをさんざん自覚させられてきた。

　　正直も否も、欲や執着と言った感情どころか、そもそもアタシはあまり自己である意識が無いので思いつくまま 勝手に生きさせていただいております。これが禅で言う自在。

で、自在についてもう少し書くと＝これは孔子サマの言う「己れの欲する所に従えども距を超えず」と同様なもので、己れ、己れの生きざま、思考、撰択の全てが一致しているなら、つまり己れとして生れたそのもの、つまりカルマ、ダルマに沿ったものであるなら、それがー如であり、それが正しい。

　　正直であるの無いの云々と考えているお宅はまだ正直の外側をうろうろしているだけで正直になり切っていない。(本当に正直なら、それについて考える事はない）

『俺以外の誰でもない俺は、俺である事を考える必要はない』

だから禅は考えないし（無心）自己である意識の必要も無い（無私）。只生きるだけ。－－－で、これが自在でありその心を平常心と呼ぶ。

お宅がごちゃごちゃ悩んでいるとしたら、お宅は悩むように生れたのかも知れぬ＝それがお宅のカルマであるなら、そう生きるのが正しい。

（禅とは冷いもんです　😀）___/\___　

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Deeper into the Zen

Some of you, the keen followers might be wondering what this man is  talking about ?   And what would it to do with Zen ?

—– The fundamental question is, “If the Zen is to deal with the life in the absolutely empty mind =  in Mushin, (completely dispassionate, almost like a machine) —– Hey stop joking, which part of the brain is actuary handling it ? ”  (If somewhere the brain IS handling = with the intention to handle it, IS not Mushin but just not aware what he is doing, it’s a fraud ! )

How I came to here, you may find how our condition of the Guts (and the chemicals of its bacteria, parasites) influencing our “Feeling = Heart = Mind = ultimately the way of thinking”   We are not really in control. (Since this blog IS the live description of the DIY Zen research, I need to see the mechanism what makes the Zen as Zen —– in fact what IS so-called Zen ? = if any at all ?)

Now you must be convinced, that the so-called Zen teaching in the town IS fraud. Zen couldn’t be learned or taught, while saying Zen.  As long as the notion of Zen in mind, even if it was hidden in the deepest unconsciousness.  It IS not Zen.  I’ll show you “The legend = the Archer who try to reach Zen while learning Archery in Japan” in the next post. (If you like to start ahead, find a book and read it before hand = Zen in the Art of Archery : by Eugen Herrigel —– It’s a small book = 100 pages or so in a Penguin books)

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PS : I’ll explain you, my utterly strange Lens Making Game.  Do you think is there any complicated theory or creative notion ? —– Non at all.  It was the same process of the cutting a lemon.   In other word, a kind of work of Just Do It with a material I found then —– Imagine, do you think would it be any sophisticated philosophy or scientific theory behind ? = far from it, cutting minute depth of metal barrel to match the focus = IS the ZEN.  (I don’t have a skin thick enough to have a pretense to show-off “Copy the mantra” kind)   😀

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Dance Dance Dance !

May be because I’ve clicked the Spanish Flamenco or Japanese Awa-odori dance kind before, time to time, Youtube send me the dance viz —– so, I’ve encountered those amazing dance viz.

In this viz above, the first group was Doushisha-Kouri Hi’ and the second group was Osaka Tomioka-Hi’ —— Yes, they are all Hi-school girls.  First group was performing the dance,  titled “Black Rose” in black costume.  Then the second group was dancing in the 80s Disco style.  Those two were the top of the many hundreds of the entries of Japanese Hi-school Dance Club Annual Competition.  Lots of the club members may never dance before = It’s mean, to train the members in Three years to this level must be nothing but a phenomenon. — (A story behind told, that they practiced up to Nine hours a day ! —– Some comments to the viz described “like a Ninja” = Yes, Ninja was created in the same way = They were all under the same Japanese Zen Culture !)

Despite Tomioka got only second in last (2017)  year’s National Competition, once their viz, “Babbly Dance” was uploaded on to Youtube, it spread through SNS, they received 30 million hit and created a hype in Japan. ( So, they were invited to dance at “New year’s Eve National Song Fest/ 紅白歌合戦 on NHK” = for the hi-school girls to appear such National fest was the exceptional honour)

I admire the intensity and the speed of their body movement, though I wouldn’t dance in that way.   They dance very physical though, their movement was a staged, visually choreographed style for show = not follow a natural body dynamics.   It’s mean, if they were pushed while dancing, they will be easily toppled.  I took the basic body movement from the ski = if we lose the balance on ski, we will fly in the air and land 10 Ms away.    So, I’ll keep the center of the movement always in the symmetry to the center of gravity (so that I can hit or give a kick in any moment without losing the body balance as the body itself having the counter balance.)

One girl was saying, “Don’t think. Just keep doing until the body start to move automatically” = this words were the same as what I’ve been writing here, “Don’t think = Mushin” is the key in the Zen practice.  When their body start to move automatically, the ill-balanced artificially choreographed movement would be smoothed out.  I think, while doing such intense training, those girls would gain much more important “Natural dynamism of the body” which will be the key for their happy, healthy life for whole life.  Well done girls.

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