Panda Babies

Oh, Cm’on,  you got to be joking. —– No no, they are REAL Panda Babies.   Not soft toys  🙂

Born in China and hand reared by personal attendance, even when a baby they are the well behaving

Confucius Pandas  !  😀

They are the precious baby (hence not cub, and sleeping on the Futon mattress) of Panda,  in

the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Base.

When I found this photo in a Japanese news site, I couldn’t stop to join this fun.

It’s definitely make anybody smile.    And everybody ought to join the circle   🙂

Have a happy smily day.

(  The original news site   <  http://www.jiji.com/jc/p?id=20110928090039-1443782&j3  >  )

___/\___

—

Tiny LIFE

( What I casually called Mayfly here was in fact  Green lacewing /  Chrisopidae )

Some days ago, short floss like thing standing on the edge of the book, caught my eyes ? ? ?

At second glance, I realized, it was an egg of the Mayfly.   Then I remembered a

Mayfly was flapping around the table lamp a night or two before. = so,  she laid an egg ! ?

While looking around —– I found four more  those eggs

here and there. —–  And I found a dead Mayfly too.

—– M m m m # ? # ?.  What a hell ! What should I do ? ? ?

non

I don’t like it. Absolutely not welcome at all.

Even if those eggs hatched, there is no food for its larvae

—– simply I can’t take care of them.

—– and if I pick and throw them out, the eggs will be

eaten by other small creepy crawlies.

—– In any choice, those small life would be doomed —– isn’t there any alternative ? ? ?

non

So that I decided to take picture of them = at least, Mayfly could contribute something to

the world —– ( really ? —– for what extent ? ) —– Don’t ask me,  it’s a sheer excuse.

But, to take picture of such minute subject is not easy. As my macro photo system has been

disappeared somewhere I decided to make it using cheap Chinese Micro-scope Lens.

( Using wide-angle lens with reverse adopter could make large magnification though its big

shoulder prevent to access small corner to take picture of this kind of fixed object )

So, I wound a wire around the screw mount of the microscope lens (and partly soldered / Photo above left )

then glued this ring on top of a splay can which happen to have suitable diameter ( Photo, middle ) and

put LED focus light —– here the Macro Photo Adopter for Canon EOS.

( can was mounted on a Canon body cap —– with a cut-out hole in the middle, of cause 🙂 )

What a hustle you might say. Yes it was a hustle in deed. To holding a wire ring in the dead centre

of a mouth of can while keeping it exactly parallel (well, sort of 🙂 ) and filling the 2.3 mm gap around

of it, using Araldite glue etc. etc,  a  lots of work.

non

But don’t forget the life of a small Mayfly —– she unfortunately end-up her life in this room though,

at least she did her best,  surviving few days without drinking any water (may be — I know not) and

laid the eggs which was her duty in her life.

At least, I have to respond to the encounter with this life —– it is the duty to be a Buddhist.

Squeezing the brain and find the way to solve the technical difficulties and achieve ( at least in the

acceptable standard 🙂 ) the necessary objective —– is the Zen ( in action ).

This is what I’ve been saying “ Do It “ not wasting the time thinking.

—– Um m, the result seems not too bad. ( I think —– for an almost cost nothing hand-made device 😀 )

( Quality of the images is not as good as Zeiss apo-chromat lens I used to use, but think about the price 😀 )

___/\___

PS :  The stem or egg supporting rod (?) is nothing but a wonder of the nature.  How the secluded liquid

—– can instantly harden and able to hold the egg on top. —– If anybody know the scientific research of

—– this,  please let me know.  (Incidentally, the rainbow color on top photo was created by the optical

—– diffraction of the transparent membrane of the wing. —– it’s mean, the thickness of this film is as thin

—– as a wave length of the light ! — isn’t this incredible ?   Man’s technology is still behind of the nature )

PPS ;  After many years of  having had their visit here, this year I came to the resolution, how to deal with

—— them.  = When ever I saw them flying under the light, catch them and throw them out of window.

—— Watching them fly or take rest on somewhere —– might be amazing or interesting and giving a water

—— or piece of fruits etc. may seems to be an act of friendship or what so ever.  IT IS our arrogance

—— and on the end, it would do nothing good to them.  They don’t belong to this room and there is no

—— prospect for them to have their fruitful life here.   Throw them out where they belong = NATURE.

—— It is the most kind and friendly things we can do to them.

It is often the case, without giving a help and leave a person in their own device could be

the most kind things to do to the person’s life.  

—

What a situation, what BUDDHIST can do ?

Having more than 2,600 years history, Buddhism acquired very wide-spread of diversity and its facets.

From almost purely religious belief to the way to control one’s mind-set, on top of its local variations.

Like, Pure-land sect might be its extreme and the Zen is the other.

And the Tibetan Buddhism is one of the most uniquely evolved type in its land.

Some are adopted and fused with the fashion of popular belief then, such as the Tantrism.

Still all derived from the teachings of Buddha. Which is,

how peacefully live the life of impermanent life.

[ Don’t worry regardless how the situation in THIS life is dire, there is a heaven waiting for you.]

—– is a typical religious approach, such as the Pure-land sect.

[ See only the subject which IS on front of you ( its mean, Don’t be deflected by a matter which is

irrelevant )] —– is the Zen approach.

Non

Most of the Buddhist’s site says [Be grateful to have a joy of the life and have a peaceful life ] —– how sweet !

Yet seeing too many disturbing news, too gloomy aspects of the social, political, economical situations, and

seeing loads of destructive reports ( such as in a website < Extinction. Protocol > —– which is giving

an impression [ the world is end tomorrow ] ) —– how can I keep my peace ?

Non

Facing the devastation of the world such as happened in Japan [could we still stay calm ? ]

As a Zen Buddhist, I might have made an explanation “ As a Buddhist, I gave some donation to Japanese

Disaster Fund etc, which I thought my duty, though further than that, I can’t do much as it is too far away”

—– but, wasn’t it, bought small peace of mind, then buried the head in the sand with convenient excuse ?

And making excuse “ What I can do is, transmit nice stories to make a reader to feel a joy of the life —– and

put photos of flowers and blue sky “ ( though, i’m not necessary doing this  🙂  )

Other Buddhists might have thought “ This is what the Samsara meant, this is what the life is, so, I need

to chant the Mantra more ( to go to heaven) “

—– but in reality, the situations are not such benign, nor Buddhist’s thought is simple.

Non

There could be some thoughts, from quite meta-physical view such as, we human being is facing an

awful repercussion, as we have been odd with the Dharma too long ( so-called Punishment ) to

much talked about break down of ecosystem / global natural balance, devastation of environment

—– driven by the man’s greed (Capitalism) —-> hence we are having so many freak weather, climate

change and its chain reaction etc. etc, the list of implication is endless.

———- then, what can we do, and should do as a Buddhist ?

In fact, when I faced this question on the time of Japanese disaster, I was deeply affected, or simply

depressed. —– what AM I doing here.   just reading the news ?

Just an ordinary man who went there with bare hand and shifted the mud, would have done much more

good to help the situation.  Or, should I keep stay calm, as if nothing happened in the world, while stop

reading the news —– and making nice lemon tea ?

Was that a kind of peace what a Buddhist should enjoy ?

Nothing other than on front of me, exists in the world ? ? ?    Other than that, are all irrelevant to

the one’s life and they are the delusions ?

non

Where is the realm of one’s life — while everything are inter-connected to each other.

The air I have inhaled now could contain an oxygen atom which has been exhaled by a man in the other side

of the world a month ago, or from a plant leaf of Amazon jungle.

What actuary Dharma affecting one’s life ?

—– Or, was that only manifested as a flow of the occurrences ?

The answer seems to be, there is no fixed answer to what is right or wrong as a notion,

such as [go to disaster area and help clearing the mud] or [stay here].  They are just man’s Thinking.

As, there was no way to go there and I happened to stay here and worried about the situation

—–  happened as it was, it was right = the natural flow of the Dharma. ( if it was wrong, I shall

pick up the consequence soon or later = if it’s comes, it comes )  ( In this extent,  Buddhists are passive

= unless we were attacked, we don’t fight, we don’t attack —– ? ? ?  Does it mean, to research defence against

tsunami is wrong ?  No, the danger is already there, and soon or later it will come = preparation is a defence.

non

While after the Atomic Bomb, the ground of Hiroshima and Nagasaki started to have regrowth of

the plants, flora and fauna, and the People started to rebuilt the houses.

People couldn’t wait 25 years like Chernobyl.  (Incredible though, it’s just a historical fact )

People lived there might have shorter life and some baby might have died prematurely —– still, we haven’t

found any mutant man, or super cockroach from Hiroshima or Nagasaki —– simply defective GENE has been

died and disappeared —– and survived are just lived on as normal existence.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the same bustling Cities like all another Cities in Japan now, other

than their horrendous memories. —– Life continues and the cities and towns in Japan will be recovered with

wiser adaptations in their building design.

Living far away from Japan, I’ve shed a tear or two with the emotions of  powerlessness.

—– that was my deed,  this is what happened. That’s it.  Not my word or thinking but only the fact count.

( Regardless, what ever the theory, planning, talking, we don’t know what actually happen —— and when

it happened, we have to follow and find the measure —– only the reality, the fact and the deed count. )

There wouldn’t be any escape and in the same time, no use to dream any hypothetical

possibility or have an illusion to be a Superman.   ( Unless you were born to be a Superman  😀  )

Yes, this is what the Dharma is.  We have no way else but accept and follow.

___/\___

( PS :  By the way,  I like Bob Geldof —– He was a young man with passion as a young man is,  but

don’t like Bono —– he is just a bully, who found a mechanism to satisfy his ego)

—

Japanese ENIGMA — It’s the BUDDHISM

There are numerous report of the Japanese disaster which showed incredible calmness

and the orderly behaviour of the people who went trough unimaginable devastation of

their life.

AND the unbelievable calmness while hearing and facing the situation of their Nuclear plant’s

meltdown. —– as if even a meltdown didn’t make a news or no longer the issue.

non

Of cause there was a cunning manipulation of the media by the government and the establishment

whose interests are heavily entwined with those Power supply industry ( with their financial, political

mutual interdependency ) and the PR machine which organized the bent scientists who has been

creating smoke screen and the deception saying “ Nuclear is safe and clean “.

non

So when their Nuclear system break down and shown the leak of radio-active material, they kept

pretending it was just a minor trouble of electric power failure, hence nothing serious at all, and

try to patch-up behind the scene. —– though, as it has melted down just the next day of Tsunami,

the trouble couldn’t be solved easily—– meltdown is really serous trouble.

—– still, they managed to keep the people ignorant, then rose the accident level 5 to 7, a month

later —– waited until the people get used and become immune to a bad news.

Strangely you may think, even in this situation, there is no word of Meltdown in

the Power company’s official report. (Saying  ” I’m not good in English”  😀  😀  )

So that no longer Japanese believe the Company who is just dodging the word. 

( Then what can you believe —— nothing. —– neither knows what will happen ) 

non

Strangely, how serious the situation was, which was detected and assessed by the foreign experts

who saw the Nuclear accident in Three miles Plant US, and those report was appeared in the media

abroad, —– but they were ignored as a demagogue —– anything bad news were suppressed.

This attitude was taken not only the Japanese media but it was common among the people.

[ The most important issue is, to rebuilt the life and regain the normality.

Anything obstruct this has to be rejected and ignored]

———- Whether you can believe or not, you like or not, this is the Buddhism.

non

Buddha told that the life is suffering — and the death is in the end. Yet still, there is

the way to overcome those obstacles by the way to see the world and the life.

And the way to see it, is the Buddhism.

By this, the Enlightenment, we can get the Nirvana —– therefore, instead of wasting

the time worrying about those obstacles and the troubles, [Just get on the life. Just Do It]

Japanese are literally doing this.   ( Unlike in the west, no riot smash or burn down the

Company —– because they know such emotional act can’t solve the trouble at all)

non

Buddha ignored a question what is the structure of the universe or the soul is perpetual.

—– obviously because  [ They are unknowable and it doesn’t matter for us at all ]

non

Now we human being is at the brink of finding the fundamental of the existence by the experiment

of Atomic research —– sound interesting though, —– [ String theory ? ? ?] —– ?

Is it the matter to how many person in the world ? Is Parallel World (even if it’s existed)

anything matters to you ?

The more closer to us, all the fancy gadgets wouldn’t work and couldn’t be designed without the

calculations in the Quantum theory —– though, how many people in the world actually dealing

with this ?   Most of the people using the gadgets only knowing which switch is on-off.

We might be extinct because of the activities of the Sun or by an Asteroid etc. etc. who knows ?

Is it help us to know what could happen one day ? — other than interesting brain teaser.  😀

———- So that, Buddha rejected anything which exist only in the mind

and irrelevant to our dairy life —– defining they are just the delusions.

non

To the Japanese people, natural disaster —– when it’s comes what would happen are same as the

Asteroid or Solar Activities —– it may come but what can you do ?   Nothing.

If nothing, it is better not to bother. —– Worrying wouldn’t help anything (except to the

scientists who knows better and the engineer who design more reliable structure )

And for them, the trouble of the Nuclear Meltdown and its consequence came into the

same category. —– therefore, if it’s happens, it happens —– same as inevitable death,

there is no escape hence no point to argue. —– just resign.

(Anyhow, they can’t understand what is the Nuclear Reaction mean and radiation is

invisible.  It makes no different to Earthquake.  They just shut off the useless thinking )

And as the blockage removed ( worrying mind has gone) then,  just live the day in its best.

Do the best mean, do what you can, to the things on front of you.  Help others who is having more

difficulties.  Utilize something which remains —– improvise and be resourceful. etc.etc.

The matter is live there while making in its best. —– best mean not to do wrong —– they

don’t rob others, nor steal. Even don’t cry —– crying makes others even more depressed

—– it’s no good.  So, this is how and why they are seemingly behaving in such orderly way.

non

You must be realized, it is not enigma at all —– and realized, the control of ego and

emotions can be done by anybody. ( If you can not, it is because you are believing and

unconsciously wanting to cling your ego and the emotions.

—– it is your trouble of fundamental Mind-Set — you need to change the subconscious )

non

Play to the 25,000 victims of the disaster in Japan.

And the best wish to the recovery of the half million people who has been affected.

___/\___

—

Baby Baby

There was a BBQ in my friend’s place, and I checked the palm lines of my friends

Lukas and Lucy’s baby Lia’s. —– Hm —– hm hm !

Anyhow, a baby is —– fundamentally cute.

Why CUTE ?

A notion of beauty came from the eyes of grown-up’s. Therefore, it

needs the exact shape and the proportion etc etc.

A baby got everything out of proportion.   Big eyes big round cheeks short legs

etc etc.   Hence they are not beautiful but cute or pretty.

non

Beautiful woman is the eyes to appreciate —– though not necessary nice to talk with.  Especially too perfect

beauties often repel us.  Or at least me.  ( Anyhow I know I don’t match them.  Ha ha ha  😀  )

The charm point, which attract us is somewhere a little bit out of perfection.   Out of proportion.

So, the charming point lies between perfection and a monster. —– So that, a bit out of standard is a charm,

but  if it’s gone too far makes a monster.  How much [a bit] is depend on the individual taste.  Some likes more

and some got taste of even a monster.  In most of  case, where the people feel charming and cute, such

as big eyes etc are in fact the typical feature of the baby.

Cute disarm and open the mind of grown-ups and make them feel joy.  So, everybody loves it.

Simply because the babies are absolutely harmless (except few historical accidents 🙂 )  and the living sample of

the glory of the life  ( save the pain and the hardship of the parents found in reality  🙂 )

If anybody really encounter a creature 6 feet tall looks like a baby in the picture, definitely frighten them

though, here, she is just a small baby,  only makes you smile.

Isn’t she CUTE ?

—

SINSAI . INFO — A Website to Help Others

—

Only four hours after the Japanese Disaster, an information website called SINSAI.INFO started.

The site is giving the extracted information of what people tweeted or the report to tell what is the

situation there or needs of help in the Geological, Graphical framework.

On the beginning it was started by a small group of the IT engineers lead by Haruyuki Seki, though soon

many more volunteers joined through internet while communicating each other by the Skype Chat and

became a formidable volunteer work force.

And the persons who did similar work for Christ Church Earthquake Relief project, using

[Ushahidi Feed] open-source program which organizing and displays the information on the map

has joined, and the top expert of the web design, top expert to organize the information as the geomedia and

top expert for interfacing to other system by designing applications hence able to provide the information

through mobile-phone or to use with Android etc has all joined together.

It became a working group, almost a dream team, no commercial project can ever dreamt of, or

no commercial project can afford to employ them.

—

What was the key, How and Why, the activity like this started ?

Everybody wanted to do something to help, the sense of duty told them “Have to do something”

It was a spontaneous fundamental urge of the human psyche to help others, unconscious sense of duty,

when someone faced the situation which needs the help.

The situation  itself has driven the people —– not one’s intention or will, neither ideology.

This was a situation where the Dharma worked. And the people who is connected to the Dharma

spontaneously reacted. —– Since it was the Dharma, it was not an individual mind or intention.

This is the Selflessness of the Dharma.   And as the people having and following the Dharma,

every person worked selfless —– or it must be said, in their default state as a part of the Dharma.

—

( I doubt, if it was a commercial project, they would not have worked together in such selfless

manner.   In a commercial project, there are certain work convention exist, which limits what

the one should do —– what you ought to do must be compatible to what you were paid, and

within a reasonable working schedule —– it became a subject of relative assessment.

It mean, The Person is seeing the Work in distance / as an object = It is not in ICHIJO ( Oneness )

In contrast, free voluntary work has no limit —– free mean, no price =  priceless mean it can be

infinitum hence the quality has to be absolute and there wouldn’t be any limit of working time.

This is the condition of WHAT the MUSHIN meant and WHAT the MINDFULLNESS appeared.

The crucial point here is, they did this spontaneously / nobody asked them BUT they did

almost automatically —– How and Why ? —– Dharma inside of them, has DRIVEN them )

On top of it, the program system they have based on, Ushahidi ( Meaning “Testimony” in Swahili ) is

an open-source program. There is no monopoly or copyright control. Open-source is selfless.

And this program was best suited to organize the information in geological order.

—

The drive to start a voluntary work to set-up and run SINSAI. INFO Website was purely came from

its situation.   Dynamics was there in the Dharma and the Dharma has no self.

The situation, a phenomena of the Earth, cracked open.

As the drifting earth’s Tectonics plate collide and the stress increased, it had to be adjusted = then

the plates has moved causing big earthquake and its movement caused the huge movement of the

sea water as well, created huge Tsunami.

The movement of the plates followed the Dharma, in its Earth level action to regain the balance.

It was simply unfortunate to the human-being happened to be there.

—

Then, seeing the situation, the Dharma in Human level responded, since some of the people

were born to be good in their IT skill, for them to react in the aspect and the possibility in IT field was

their second nature.  They found the way to help the victims in their natural capabilities.

So that, their solution was the Information website [ SINSAI . INFO Ushahidi Feed ].

Since its starting point was the fundamental compassion, therefore Ego, Greed etc has no place

and the task and the requirement is Just Do the Best.

There was no place to accommodate useless thought.

In fact, they had barely enough time to set-up and made it functioning.

They frantically worked some time all through the night.

Yet still, their action has been following the Selfless Dharma, it was the right action, destined to succeed.

( Otherwise why the Dharma made them to start in the first place . And of cause,

the Dharma is the Universal force, it covers the Buddhists, and non Buddhists all alike).

This is really the Dharma at work.

___/\___

—

MOUSE !

Some days ago, I suddenly noticed something

a fluffy blob on the floor, between my foot.

Bending myself down and with close-look, I realized

its hairy tear-drop shaped blob was a Mouse.

Even with my movement he (she ?) didn’t run.

Stayed there with crouching posture, both hand

on the floor. ( well, like all the four-leg animals do naturally 🙂 ) as if he is begging me something.

I scooped him up on a cardboard paper.   Look into his tiny eyes, he gave me rather drowsy look.

I put the cardboard paper on the kitchen table and gave small piece of  tissue-paper

soaked with water and small crumble of biscuit. —– he only touched a water.

He just staid there almost motionless, and two hours later when I looked him again,

he was laying on his side —– He was dead.

—-

Next day I took his dead body to a nearby park and buried him under a blossoming cherry tree.

—– A council flat I’m living, the building has been poisoned by the council pest-controller.

These day’s rat-poison is not like an old-day’s nasty Arsenic, but very sophisticated nerve-agent.

It interferes a mouse’s nerve system and also deteriorate his eye sight.

So, a mouse coming out to a brighter open space and die,   preventing a rotten smell coming from deep,

dark corner. —– how clever and well-designed killing system.

—

Since then a thought to that mouse remained me and made me wondering.

What a hell,  how on he came to me to DIE.     I’m not a funeral director or priest.

And, how he knew I would bury him under a tree —— ? ? ?

If there is such a reputation among the mice community in this area, am I going to have hundreds

of dying mice queuing here ?    Oh, no please.

When I was young, I was a notorious insect terminator, making hundreds of Insects specimen.

———- ? ? ?

Any how, I know at least that mouse got a peace under a cherry tree, away from harsh rat (?) race.

Yet still, as it happened, it happened.    It’s not my remit to guess whether there was a kind of

intervention by the Dharma —– or else ?

What so ever happened, what I can do —– is my best and I think, I paid enough respect to him.

( Don’t ask me to make a golden coffin to him )

—– One day,  if I were attacked by a swarm of grudged insects in the Hell, an army of mice

suddenly appeared and fight off the insects. —– How sweet children’s tale isn’t it ! 😀

___/\___

—

YOU are a part of the DHARMA

The people who is thinking to know or believing the Buddhism, might be believing that

Shakya muni Buddha started the teaching of The Dharma.

You are wrong.

—-

The Dharma exist from the beginning of the time and the space. —-– or even before that and

may triggered the creation of this world itself.

And the notion of the Dharma has been existing thousands of years before Buddha.

In fact, an ancient word Dharma is a headache of the scholars and the translators alike, as its contains

so many meanings.   All the existences is the Dharma, and the Rules among those existences is the Dharma.

And the Rules and the Law are also the Dharma. —– it’s suggesting it was the long-established philosophy

to see the world, visible and invisible, the existing world is an entwined system of the existences and

the relations and the rules between them.   It was derived from the basic attitude to see the things not

just as a material but to understand them in a spiritual context.  Typical in the Eastern Philosophy.

It is more akin to the general theory of the Universe which can define from the sub-particles

to the life-cycle of the stars and the universe.

What Buddha found was mainly the relation and the rules between Man and the Dharma.

But as the Dharma itself is the Rules, what he taught was the way to see and follow its rules in the Dharma.

And taught his followers, to follow and live according to the Dharma, it is the way to attain the Nirvana.

——

As everybody born with the Dharma within ( of cause, since we are a part of the Dharma ) every body

should able to see and easy to follow it. ( provided, to see it with clear eyes and the mind. 🙂 )

So that, Buddha ordered his disciples to see and think it by themselves —– not believing what others

said or written.

—– Why, the reason was?  Because, the Dharma is invisible and deep inside of each person’s

subconscious, only a fully opened mind, without any disturbance of the thought in the mind

can see it. Listening, reading somebody else’s words need to think the meaning —– utterly opposite of

what Buddha taught.   Of cause, no-one can write down and listing up what the requirement of the Dharma.

No human being is above the Dharma.

Even Buddha followed the Dharma and accepted his Nirvana.

—–

As everybody is a part of the Dharma, everybody is connected each other and to the natures.

As if you feel the pain of the injured hand in your whole body,  the pain and the agony of the victims

in Sendai hit the other people,  even a Yakuza in Osaka,  and made him to drive a truck to deliver the

relief goods to the victims.  It was his spontaneous actions and nobody needed to persuade him to do.

Thousand of volunteers like him are helping the victims of the earthquake, tsunami and evacuees of the

destroyed nuclear plant,  simply because the compassion in their subconscious,  which is no

other than the Dharma, has driven them.

Some volunteers may be the Buddhists or other persuasions but not necessary all of them.

Its mean,  the humanistic compassion is not a monopoly of the Buddhism nor any religion,  but

the Dharma and its virtues are the common among the all the human being.

Buddha pointed out this fact, and taught the way to see and listen it,  since he noticed the

mechanism and the tendency of the Rules in the Dharma,  by his insight while in Mushin.

What makes the Buddha’s teaching unique was,  that he found an active process to reach the

Dharma by sharpening one’s perception by the practice.  The practice to silence the useless noise,

the one’s thinking which is masking the Dharma.

—-

Fundamentally the Dharma is Selfless as it is,  say the Universal Soul,  the Rules of

the Universe,  it doesn’t belong to or favour any individual.

And its Rules are for the continuation of the Universe,  not necessary for a single individual.

Therefore, to see and listen what the Dharma is aiming, the one has to silence his own projection.

In other words, the one has to know he himself is not a single entity, only a part of the Dharma.

In metaphor, there is no such things of the sovereign independence of the Nation of the Self.

Strangely you might think, giving up the independence can bring much more benefit to a  nation.

( Don’t fooled by a silly sample of a farce in the European Community and the troubled  Greece and the

Portugal etc,   EC is not the Dharma.    Ha ha ha  😀 )

Of cause, the power of the Dharma and its aim of continuity is far grater than an individual.   😀

Its power ratio is the infinitum against virtually nil.   Better forsake useless own thinking and let the

Dharma to decide —– this is what Buddhists calls the Selfless-Life  or  Life in Mushin.

In another metaphor,  the Cloud Computing has more power than the set of program in an individual

PC. ( —– though, I don’t like the idea of Cloud itself,  since Google is not the selfless Dharma.

There is no such things like free lunch.  Think while using free Google,  what we gave up to them ?

To them we are completely naked. What we are interested in, what we are searching, what we are

talking with my friend etc etc and made ourself to just a target of the  advertisement )

—-

Once the individual thinkings were cleared off,  one’s subconscious,  and the Dharma which

has been masked underneath will prevail.

And it allow a person to react instantly without the hindrance of time-wasting thinking or

useless consideration of Ego.

This is what the Zen Buddhism is doing and what you can achieve with it.

___/\___

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SOCIETY

In the media reports of Japanese Disasters, a peculiarity of Japanese society was shocked the world.

“Why Japanese can keep calm and not express their grief ? “

I explained a back-ground —– their deep embedded Ethos / Fatalism originated from the

Buddhism —– in the previous post.

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But there is the another aspect which is even deeper and common to all the human-being.

We human-being is a social animal , we live, and have to live as a member of a society.

We are definitely a descendant of the packed animal like monkey, chimpanzee, not a lone panther.

Hence it is written in our gene, and so-called instincts are programmed accordingly such as the

gripping hand of a baby is to cringe to a mother.

To be a social animal, there is the order of the society and its rules. Any member who couldn’t

comply the rules, will be excluded from its society —– and slow death is the fate.

Where those rules were posted ? Ethos and those social code are not written but kept by the

member, the member themselves are the role-model / manifestation of the rules.

As society is operated by their member who possess the same Ethos and the Rules, and it is

almost the same even generation after generation, all the social activity, social systems are coherent

with the same Ethos. Everything shows the same manifestation and follow the same rules.

This exact coherency can be observed by even a small baby and learned by them and written

down into their subconscious memory. In fact this is the so-called Collective Unconscious.

But this is the case when the society is having universal, coherent system and the Ethos.

Among the member, some might become rebel though, the person is only temporally rebelling

or just behaving the reverse of existing rule —– nothing new just a reverse.

But when the population who is possessing fundamentally different Ethos, moved into other society,

it start to show completely different situation.

In metaphor, when non-thieving society received considerable size of thieving group, the Ethos of

both societies break down. ( Even thieving society and their way of life having their own strict rules,

taboo, who to steal or who is the senior thieves and the violent punishment who break its rules )

A kids of Non-thieving society learn the thieving, and a kids of Thieving society learn to

escape a punishment claiming his Human right 😀

Everything break down and only Ego exposed.

A baby start to see two conflicting systems and the rules, hence unable to figure out what is the Ethos of

the Society —– there couldn’t be a Collective Unconscious but just an attitude of

convenient cherry picking of excuse and the knowledge of “How to avoid “ —– it’s mean avoid

to be a member of the society. In fact there is no longer a society and its integrity exists.

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Fortunately ( or unfortunately ? ) Japanese society still maintain themselves as a society,

as foreign element is still negligible, even an outcast group Yakuza responded to the disaster, with

hundreds of truck load of relief supply delivered to the evacuated people.

Even though Yakuza were branded as the criminal organization, they are undoubtedly nobody else of

Japanese, and a part of the same society, hence share the same compassion and the sense of duty.

—– simply because, they grown up in the same society ( Even Yakuza was once an innocent

small boy,as you know 😀 ) hence build up the same Ethos as a Japanese.

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In reality, to make a baby to a Japanese, other than the teachings in a school and the family and the

circulating popular culture, such as everybody should have the same gadget and ware same kind (well

some pre-classified types) of fashion, there is a hidden secret of social pressure to a person

to conform the social code.

It is more akin to the chorus of the hen in the Animal Farm. When this chorus starts, even a person

who has been saying different opinion suddenly changes the colour and join a chorus, the louder the better.

This is a moment to a person to assess what is the majority and join them.

When the majority is behaving in a certain way, just do the same. To remain within the same group

and the society is the imperative in Japan. Whether it is true or not, right or wrong, just go with them.

So that, when nobody is crying –its mean, no-one should cry. The unwritten code says “Mittomonai

( It looks disorderly, and embarrassing ) “ Anybody brake-off from here, there is a danger to be ostracised.

As a result, everybody looks calm on the TV.

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Funny side-effect of this conformative society is, as the expectation and the imaginary eligibility

of a man is fixed, such as socially acceptable income and the status etc, under the stagnated

Japanese economy, most of the ordinary man is no longer regarded to fit to marry —– hence

so many people are forced to stay single. ( A research found that among the eligible age-group,

only 6 % of men were regarded to fit the expectation of the woman, its mean, if a woman marry

other than rare 6 % , she will face a humiliation, a chorus of “Mittomonai”.)

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When no dominant voice led the chorus, hens couldn’t know what to do.

Strangely, they still knows when somebody start to show up with unconformative opinion, they

overwhelm the opinion with their noisy chorus and suppress it. Therefore no fresh innovative idea

(other than imaginative Manga story) nor strong decisive idea coming out of Japan.

This is the situation in Japanese politics too.

Therefore, when they faced a crisis of Nuclear accident, they only try to avoid the Japanese public

fallen into a “Mittomonai” panic, by pretending nothing serious happened, thus do-nothing —-take

an emergency measure itself looks “Mittomonai”—– until it’s actually exploded.

Then everything got too late to take any measure. —– though, a criticism like this will be seen by a Japanese

as an act to expose “Mittomonai”Japan, hence has to be suppressed —-> So that , there wouldn’t be any

“Mittomonai”situation, therefore, able to keep calm face. Face is more important than the safety.

Beautiful isn’t it ?

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DISASTER in Japan

 

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——————————————————– Here Everything was lost

—————————————————–anything remains is the HOPE

————————————————–and the WILL to Re-build the LIFE.

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Seeing the Earth Quake and the Tsunami report from Japan is nothing but a heart-braking to me.

To see a photo of a flatten muddy field which caption says, There used be a town, its empty span of

nothingness shocked and made me wordless. Emptiness of almost perfectly flushed-out field.

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It seemed, the western reporter, photographer prefer to pick up dramatically or even funnily

piled-up devastation. An orgy of destruction. ——— but to Japanese, as I am, it is not funny at all

nor the object to be amazed.

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Another cultural differences appeared in the western media is, all the report found it is even strange,

the reporters unanimously says ” how Japanese can keep emotion in check and stays calm ?”

The emotion is the default feeling of the human-being, hence it is more or less the same to any

culture. Though, emotional expression is not instinctive, in other words, it is cultural.

Whether it is emotional or not, expression is a way of the communication, therefore even

an emotional expression is dependent on the situation.

—– there was an interesting psychological study and the video images of the small children.

When a small child stumbled and fallen, having a pain the child started to cry. —– You will think it is

a natural emotional reaction.

Though when the same child stumbled and fallen on the empty street where nobody else is in sight

( except a hidden video camera ), child didn’t cry, and stand up by herself.

This is the true nature of the human-being. —– communication is to appeal to others.

Having emotion is one thing. To express is other.

If there is no other person to help, no need to express. —– even small child knows this

and behave accordingly.

AAAAA

In the western culture, where the Ethos and the psyche was shaped in the cast of Judia-Christian religion.

In there, the God is a humanized image or notion. And the relation of the believer to

the God is one-by-one base. You have to stand before the God in person. Hence you have to talk or express

to him — otherwise you can’t to be heard.

Therefore, unless you express and assert your Self, you are not exist. And under this understanding

even a word expressed by a person may not necessary enough. Hence, a written contract became essential.

So that, express and express and make a claim is the basis of the psyche.

And as the relation to the God is one-by-one, when something happened, shout “ Why me “

AAAAA

In comparison, the Eastern God or the place of the mighty power is the Heaven,

or Buddhist’s  explanation is the Dharma. The rules of the Universe.

Regardless, whether you face it or not, believe or express yourself or not, you are under the Dharma.

As all the occurrences and the existences are in this Dharma or under this Dharma, hence even a huge

natural disaster may produced by this same Dharma, hence you can’t argue with it.

Nor there is no use to complain or express your emotion. —–  Shout and cry is no use. The matter is

just think what you can react to the situation. What you have to do the next.

And in the case of huge natural disaster, as the same fate has come to everybody, and as everybody

was created by the same Dharma, everybody has the same feeling and facing the same situation,

one crying wouldn’t make situation any better.

Thanks to Japan has very little foreign element in their psyche, everybody is sharing the same psyche

—– even to the people who was not affected by the disaster, they share the same pain,

hence the help started almost instantly. And no looting at all.

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In the Buddhist’s explanation, this is the moment when the Dharma prevailed.

As everybody having the Dharma in them, when they sees the situation far beyond the human

comprehension, lost the word, hence lost any thinking, therefore the mind became

blank = blank open space = Mushin —> The Dharma, hence its nature of Charity and compassion prevailed.

And the Dharma is inside,  whether the police is there or not, no looting occure.  Since Dharma knows it.

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I only hope the people who had this disaster to recover and able to re-build their life.

( And in this given opportunity, Japanese can root out their rotten government and rotten policy in their

nuclear generating system )

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