Thought on MARATHON — SUFFERINGS

Tomorrow, tens of thousand of people will run for London Marathon.

Quite few of my friends did it and till some years ago, I was thinking I’ll do too though,

I’m becoming aware, better not.

( I can invent hundreds of the excuse not to do = it’s mean to think about itself is utterly a waste of

time.= So that, in accordance to my Zen Moto [Just do it] => Just think not. Ha ha ha 😀

Therefore, in my peaceful mind — Marathon ?  What Marathon ?   What a nice day !

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Why people run for such enduring action which is not even their imperative, which is,

some said useless action.  = Of cause, some are running for the Champion Medal and some are running

for Charity though, bast majorities are running for a sake of just running, or even for a fun.

What is a fun while giving 50 km or so torturing, punishing task to the own body ? —– of cause, as

I used to be a member of the Alpine Club, I know what it is, as we did similar training and above all,

we did pretty similar body punishing long walk in the mountain, often carrying 40, 50 kg of lord on

our back. —– and we mountain climbers were always making joke

“ What silly things we are doing 😀 ”

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Then give a thought or two. —– ? ? ?

Have I, have we ever had an easy life ever ? —– We, the greedy creature, the human,

always assess an action in comparison to the gain though, is this kind of view true ?

For a sake of convenience and to have an quick answer, we Buddhists having a tendency and good

excuse to end the argument, we have pretty nice story to convince ourselves into contented, which

called Enlightenment 😀

—– See this in reverse. = Need to have an excuse to have a peace of mind is,

because it is not in a peace at all isn’t it. 😀

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In Lord Buddha’s teachings, life was defined as SUFFERING (how nice). Yes in deed, this is true.

So, a training is the training for this unavoidable enduring life. = training for the Marathon but the

Marathon itself is a training to face a situation in the life.

June in every year, we members of our High School Alpine club had a special stamina training for a

preparation for a summer climb while carrying 40 kg of stones to a 900 m high mountain top,

starting 6 o’clock morning, reaching the top about mid day.

It was on a ridge called Baka o-ne in Oh-yama, west of Tokyo. Why it called Baka o-ne, Nut’s ridge

is, it is just one continuous boring climb, no respite = makes anybody just fed-up.

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While carrying 40 kg of utterly useless stones, I cursed every single step “What am I doing.

How silly I am. Ok, on the next step, I’m going to through this stones away and shout to the leader

“ Kill me here, I’m out” — on the end we reached to the top AND came down with empty ruck-sack,

that was all.  (Since many clubs are doing this many years, the mountain top having tens of tons of

round shaped river stones, which makes innocent walkers just puzzled.  “How come ?” 😀 )

( Soon or later, I tired to complain = after all, to join the club and came to the mountain was my

choice.  I’ve gained a kind of contemplation [Just walk] otherwise I shouldn’t have born to this

world. — And I continued this, while keeping Mountain shelter as a volunteer, we had to carry-up

the food staff for the lodgers of up to 300 people a night, without receiving any money, far from it,

we had to spend our own money to get there  Kita Yatsuga-take.)

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Anyhow, the life is the suffering  😀     But, if we have a training while having heavy punishment

to the physics and to the mental strength, we obtain good resilience to a cause of those sufferings.

To over-come the endurance of Marathon, the person gain the proof in the fact, I did.

And this proof gives the person a confidence = I can do, because I have done.

This confidence brings a peace of the mind = Don’t worry too much, it may not

as bad as the Marathon. 😀

So, it is a good news, it wouldn’t be in vain.

Enjoy a running.   Have a good Marathon 🙂

___/\___

[]

Mushin – Panya Paramita – Dharma (in [Z-band] )

Hidden between the line of funny Cat’s story, the paragraph ;

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

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

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

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

primeval Limbic feeling = This feeling is the common language with any

living form.

= Here is a good insight to understand what the Panya Paramita and the Dharma is.

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To make the story easy to understand, let’s use a metaphor = assuming the [common language]

quoted above is a kind of signal in certain frequency, to say [Z-band].

Like Internet system, all the Spiritual communication and the information are exchanged through

this [Z-band] channel.

This channel is inherent to all the existences include the all the life form, it’s mean this is the

communication system of the Dharma.

All the life form mean it’s include us too.   Therefore everybody having born with

the Dharma with in (born with a Receiver and Transmitter) hence, the person

should able to receive the signal.

But, unfortunately, because of us, only us human got hugely out grown brain, thanks to the evolution,

our brain and its activity is creating too much noise, and this noise is

masking the [Z-band] signal.

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Since we evolved like an “add-on extension” on top, we still retain old system in the base.

The process how we were developed in the Mother’s womb, from a single-cell organism = egg to

fully grown human body, showing this fact.  = (Once, you were a fish —– remember ?)

In other words, we are retaining whole evolutionary history together with its DNA (and memory).

In our expanded brain / neural system, the old part is known as the Limbic system.

This Limbic system is common with another animal.   So that, we (our far ancestor) were

using this Limbic system with pretty small brain.  But, as there was no huge noisy brain then, all the

signal we were using for communication was in the [Z-band]. As all the existences are using

this [Z-band] too, we were able to communicate with other animal and the nature.

Life and the survival was relying on this system.

[]

You may feel strange though, this communication in [Z-band] is existing even in a photography.

In WordPress Blog, such as [draw and shoot] (link here) I noticed, the author, Karen is communicating

with nature in this [Z-band] as her photos are showing it.  Hence, I often commented saying her, her

eyes are the eyes of Zen. = No wonder, her Blog was selected as one of the great blog for Earth Day.

(Incidentally, Radio Communication is using X-band for Satellite channel but not Z-band yet.  So, I

made up a word Z-band = Z after Zen  😀 )

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Unlike so-called intelligence and our signal processing system in the current brain, which got only

few hundred thousand years history, this [Z-band] has been used and refined in the hundreds of

millions of years in the history since then the Universe was created.

Because of this, this is the channel, where the information of  Dharma, even the

activities of such as this Planet was broad casted.

(Hence animal can sense the coming Earthquake or foresee the weather).

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To listen this [Z-band], it is essential to silence the noise of the brain.

The Buddhist’s practice is a way to obtain this silence = Mushin.  Then, in Mushin,

what we are able to listen is, what Dharma is telling = This is the Panya Paramita.

But this signal is not an abstruct message such as the God’s words, but live broadcast of the

situation we are facing. = It’s like a latest Drive Information system. You can see all the

meter-readings and the SatNav information of trafic condition though, it wouldn’t tell you

the destination or Philosophy in driving.    Read it and what to do is up to you.

[]

Lord Buddha’s teachings are all about “How to get it” = the way and the Practice, not an

abstract answer.   The Answer has to be found by the person = [Think yourself], as it is different

in situation by situation, person to person, as each person has own Karma.

To see its situation and respond to it,  live in its moment is the matter.   It can only be found

by [mindful clear eyes] of the person, obtained through the learning. —– This was why

Lord Buddha didn’t answar “General view or belief” like what the Dharma is = Because

the Dharma is a moving mechanism, working in its rationality ( of which we only able

to analyze its small corner, not in its total dynamics, and WHY) = The important matter for us,

is to see the Fact in meter-reading, not a belief or a fancy illusion which exist only in the mind.

Lord Buddha didn’t teach anything supernatural.  But, this Panya Paramita in the [Z-band]

came to the edge of it.  For him, it is the FACT though in the same time, he knew it is audible

to only few people who can hear = no need to explain to them since they knew it, but impossible

to make sense of who couldn’t.  It’s like a pain of Kidney stone = only the people who got it knew.

This was the reason why he taught only the way to get it ( I mean not Kidney stone  😀 ). 

And this was what

Lord Buddha found and taught.

___/\___

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Talk with Cats = What is MUSHIN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

of Mushin and the SELF.

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

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

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

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

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

those actions were carried out in Mushin.

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

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

when sitting and meditating.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Heart, Soul or Pure Human Emotion come from ?

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

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

Old Cortex and Limbic System.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Realistic Images of Unrealistic Future

There is a pretty comprehensive collection of art works of Futuristic landscape in the Net.

—– Here is one of its Link >   http://artprofilesworld.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/

digital-landscapes-3d-future-visions/

As you can see in those images, they are the images of our current knowledge of the technological,

architectural images, when they are linearly scaled-up and pushed to the limit.

Linearly pushed mean, the concept itself doesn’t have [unimaginable leap] though,

I’m not complaining their poor imagination.

As you can see in those images, there is even a hint of

[How these society, colony are surviving and sustained]   ? ? ?

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Is there any system to harvest solar energy and synthesizing Carbohydrate and Protein

(in simple term Foods to eat) out of the air and the water ?

Can you imagine, the time when the civilization had advanced to such extent = naturally, all

the harvestable natural resources had been excavated to the bottom = naturally, by excavating

such as rare-metal, toxic by-products had polluted the sea and all the fishes had long gone.

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Even if 2/3rd of the Earth was covered by the water, they are non-portable (undrinkable) water.

With the heat of the Sun, evaporated water from the sea has to go somewhere = make the rainfall though,

it wouldn’t go to the desert.

With the over exploitation of the timber and the minerals, I don’t think the Jungles like in Amazon or

in Africa are still there.   The rain fall to the tree-less land only makes flush flood, while wash off the top soil

= make the land to yet another desert.

Where can agriculture taking place. Where the food come from, let alone the water.

To built those fancy future cities, raw material might be mined and manufactured to the structural steels,

glasses or fancy new material though, somebody who run the industry got to be a man

= where his lunch come from ?    Algae grown in the huge tanks ?

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Those images may looks impressive though, they are the pure fantasies which has no

solid ground of reality.

Even now, we human being already pushed the capability, sustainability of the earth too far,

I wouldn’t imagine we are going to have a landscape anything resembling like those images.

I do much prefer to live rather fossilized archaic simple life. (So, I don’t have Smart-phone,

let alone Tablet kind, not mention even a Credit card.   No Net-porno because I can’t pay 😀 )

Simple, hence not a complication of the dairy life, therefore peace of mind 😀

___/\___

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Humming a Song

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

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

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

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

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

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

thoughts and open the mind to listen its meaning.  

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

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

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

” Hum,  sound convincing”

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

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

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

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

“ That’s right”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“ Oh I see, was that’s the reason”

[]

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

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

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

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

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

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

“ Sounds not very happy isn’t it”

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

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

So that we could survive”

“ May be”

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

[]

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

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

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

still all the necessary data processing are automatically carried out.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[]

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

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

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

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

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

___/\___

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Words and MIND

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(otherwise couldn’t survive = intellectually selected out)

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

verbal communication became key tool for the survival.

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

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

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

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

complexed Mind.

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

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

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

but just a pattern connected to Banana) 😀

mmm

( An article from Gizmzg site )

App would allow humans to communicate with bonobos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read on Desktopor Read on Mobile

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Is Buddhism a Religion ?

I spent half of my life to find what is Zen.

As my understanding of the Zen deepen and the points what

Lord Buddha taught then became clear, I realized many mix-ups and the confusions

surrounding the Buddhism. 

(Please read the previous post to see What was the original teachings ? = Scientific Universal Truth)

Provably the most controversial question I can make is, whether the Buddhism

(in its original teachings) was a religion at all in the first place ?

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The answer to this question must lay in the title what

Lord Syakya-muni Buddha was given = [ BUDDHA] the enlightened one, not a Divine figure

even not a reincarnated Divine figure, such as Brahman’s.

Instead, he was described as a person even the God Brahman came and pay a respect.

Hindu people regarding him as a Guru, the great Teacher.

Not as an imaginary Godly figure but a historical real person.

[]

Another fact to consider this question is, in his core teaching of  [Four Noble Truth], of which

one of them defined that the [Life is to have suffering, illness, getting old and to die] —– what sort

of the person was able to say such extremely blunt harsh words ?  = sound not very popular.

In contrast,  moneymaking Guru needs to attract a lots of worshipers hence resorting with soothing sweet

words. = Lords of attractive promises, Salvation, Heaven, Mythical Power, New Opportunities, Love

etc etc, while saying “Believe me” and in the same time “ Otherwise you go to the Hell ”

The same tactics of  fraudsters = [Carrot and Whip] = with those [Words], Guru mislead the people

= This is what the Religion is = “If you believe, it is True”.   ( Sorry to use harsh unreserved

words here, because I don’t need to be popular nor drive Mercedes neither  😀 )

[]

Lord Buddha didn’t need to tell this kind of mambo-jumbo at all. Because he was not teaching

a Belief System but just the TRUTH and that was the reason, on his death bed he gave an order to his

disciples [Don’t believe the words, but think yourself] and [Don’t worship me].

What Lord Buddha taught was a Technique to live the life in Peace, and the Truth of the Life.

Like a teaching of how to ride a bicycle, and the knowledges of the road and its terrain ==> having learned

this technique, anybody can have a freedom to go around by their will.

And knowing the road-map and the condition of the road, by which people can chose the best way to

reach their destination, while avoiding obstacles and dangers.

[]

So that, the teachings of Lord Buddha can be applicable to anybody, any people in any persuasion.

Since it was not a belief system but the Wisdom = Truth of the life.  (How the Mind works,

and How the existences, include us are operating as a Rational Interactive System)

And this is why it is appealing to even to the people of another religion, who is

searching the road-map and the direction.

[]

But Lord Buddha did know that his teachings itself is not a salvation by its own.

It is not his teachings save, but the people themselves,the rider of the bicycle.

And in his teachings there is no strong Carrots or Whip = no Heaven or Hell = no Get-Rich scheme

or God’s Punishment of which those illusion can scare and drive the people.

Lord Buddha didn’t use an illusion or fear, nor Placebo effects to fool the people,

but aimed to change their Habit = Habit can be changed only by the willing person.

With this reason, he intentionally put a [MUST] in one of [Four Noble Truth] =

[The One has to actively cherish and learn this teachings] —– This is a clear indication of

[How Buddhism was not a religion] = All the Religion says ” God will give you the benefit,

otherwise sends you to the Hell”.  But Buddhism doesn’t have a God to undertake this.  

So that, the matter was not a Belief, but the Mind-set and the Technique to get it.

It was more like to recruit a member for a fancy sports club.

[]

As everybody remember, it was not easy to learn how to ride a bicycle = unless you wished and had

eager will to ride, you couldn’t master it.  And the way of  learning / practicing  Buddhism is rather laborious

continuous work = you can’t master it quick manner, regardless how big the donation was.

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Yet another difficulty of the Lord Buddha’s teaching was,  as a nature of learning a practice,

it was hard to teach in the words.   (You can not find any written explanation, how to ride a bicycle.)

Even worse, practice itself was not the goal but a process to change a state of Mind, which is invisible.

Who can describe this. ( On top of this, there was no notion of  [SUBCONSCIOUS] then ) = Only the way

was to observe how  Lord Buddha was doing,  and try to do the same.

Still, the teachings has been kept by the people who actually mastered the practice.

If you try again and again, soon or later,  suddenly you become able to ride a bicycle.

Because, as a nature, our body has its sense of balance and dynamic controls.

And once you mastered it,  it is impossible to go back to the state of  [can’t ride]  😀

Same as riding a bicycle, Lord Buddha’s teachings are the universal technique applicable to the whole

human, in other words,  it is the Universal Truth,  like a Scientific Truth of the Gravity.

= Because, how human mind works, and its controls are common to all the human being.

Lord Buddha’s teachings can not be regarded as a kind of religion.

Whether the person chose it, believe it or not, it is there and working. (as Dharma and the Karma IS )

Therefore, classify his teachings as mere religion and try to monopolize it,  is a mistake.

Lord Buddha’s teachings are the asset of the whole human being =

it is much more than a religion.

___/\___

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Research to the Memory Mechanism

This is an interesting article, I found in [Gizmag] news letter.

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Researchers may have discovered how memories are encoded

in the brain

By Ben Coxworth

13:07 March 21, 2012

Scientists have developed a theory regarding how the brain stores memories (Photo via Shutterstock)

While it’s generally accepted that memories are stored somewhere, somehow in our brains, the exact process

has never been entirely understood. Strengthened synaptic connections between neurons definitely have

something to do with it, although the synaptic membranes involved are constantly degrading and being

replaced – this seems to be somewhat at odds with the fact that some memories can last for a person’s lifetime.

Now, a team of scientists believe that they may have figured out what’s going on.

Their findings could have huge implications for the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Leading the study is Prof. Jack Tuszynski, a physicist from the University of Alberta. Also taking part are his

graduate student Travis Craddock, and the University of Arizona’s Prof. Stuart Hameroff.

The project was inspired by an outside research paper, that described experiments in which memories were

successfully erased from animals’ brains. That study concluded that a specific protein

(calcium-calmodulin dependent kinase complex II, or CaMKII) played a large role in the encoding and

erasing of memories, by strengthening or eliminating neural connections.

Tuszynski and his colleagues noted that the geometry of the CaMKII molecule was very similar to that of

tubulin protein compounds. These tubulins are contained within microtubule protein structures, which in

turn occupy the interiors of the brain’s neurons. They are particularly concentrated in the neurons’ axons

and dendrites, which are active in the memory process.

The scientists wanted to understand the interaction between CaMKII, tubulin and microtubules, so based on

3D atomic-resolution structural data for all three protein molecules, they developed highly-accurate

computer models.

What they discovered was that the spatial dimensions and geometry of the CaMKII and microtubule molecules

allow them to fit together. Furthermore, according to the models, the microtubules and CaMKII molecules are

capable of electrostatically attracting one another, so that a binding process can occur between them.

This process takes place within the neurons, after they have been synaptically connected, to (in some cases)

permanently store memories.

“This could open up amazing new possibilities of dealing with memory loss problems, interfacing our brains

with hybrid devices to augment and ‘refresh’ our memories,” said Tuszynski.

“More importantly, it could lead to new therapeutic and preventive ways of dealing with neurological

diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, whose incidence is growing very rapidly these days.”

A paper on the research was recently published in the journal PLoS Computational Biology.

Source: University of Alberta

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Of cause, this research only found how the neurons were connected = its structure, but not the way

how they are configured as a pattern. —– It’s mean, on future, we may repair half impaired memory

= as long as the existing connection (even if it is not in full working order) is still there.

To create new memory or re-create lost memory is not possible. —– still, it is a good step forward.

We are still no way near to find, how the nerve grows to the direction where the next neuron is, and

to create the pattern which represent [ the memory ].

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Link to the original Gizmag article >>>

http://www.gizmag.com/memory-storage-theory/21900/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=47cc5c43d3-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email

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What Lord Buddha originally taught ? ? ?

My task is to find what the original

Lord Buddha’s teachings then 2500 years ago ?

As I wrote on the beginning, there was no direct recording ( I mean written ) of his words.

Even the earliest written scripture were made more than 200 years after his death.

So, does the earliest scripture Agama is telling true story —– I’m not very sure.

There is a Mantra in the Argama which is listing up what was the bodily appearances of

Lord Buddha. —– 32 major signs and another 80 miner signs of them.   (See Wikipedia 🙂 )

—– ? ? ?   Really ?

Among major signs, it is said that he had [ blue eyes ] —– M m m,  Really  ? ? ?

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Lord Buddha came from the family of the elected local chief = ruling family, but not rely on a military

power = seemingly a kind of Democracy there then.  —– Still, the dominant rich family could be a descendant

of the invader / conqueror = foreign people who got blue eyes, —– Caucasian ?.

Or a roving sword’s master with blue eyes / Hero who were married to a daughter of the King,  hence his

descendant could have blue eyes though, —– I’m very much doubt of it.   (No such historical fact there )

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Something certain is that the author of the mantra had a fascination / admiration to the blue eyes = almost

like a fanatic fan who chase Rock star.  (Despite, the idolized personal worshiping was prohibited by

Lord Buddha himself on his death bed)

And of cause, the author or the preceding people who had been keeping the teachings in a verbal form =

reciting the memories mouth to mouth, had never met

Lord Buddha himself nor able to give any rational thought while copying it. = It’s mean, despite of

Lord Buddha’s teaching [ Don’t believe the words, but think it yourself] the people had been

blindly following and believing what was toled. (regardless whether it was true or not)

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Make the situation worse was that those people who compiled the Mantras, the professional monks who

almost monopolized the writing, reading skill needed to justify their position and to enrich themselves by

tinkering the Buddha’s stories.  Later addition of the story/Mantra, such as that the Vedic God came to see

Lord Buddha and paid their respect was,  intended to show off the supremacy over the Hinduism.

Therefore, when we read those even earliest scriptures, we have to read them with a pinch of salt =

diligently follow the teaching of [Think yourself] = (this teaching seemed to be a true word of

Lord Buddha as it is not necessary convenient to the money-making monks = still,  not  altered) 😀

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While reading and thinking, we have to distinguish, what is metaphor of what, in reference to the real life =

your real life.   Especially, when it is dealing with the matters of our mind, as they are not necessary visible,

we need to give a very good insight.    And most importantly, give an insight to what was not written = such

as about their mundane dairy life in the community,  who got only a rice bowl in a bag = exactly the same

dairy practice was carried out.  And the instruction or advice to individual follower = that was the

Real Teaching given by Lord Buddha = which is the most crucial, but missing in the script.

———- In the situation of dairy life, to see what

Lord Buddha was doing, his body movement, attitude was what the CORE of the TEACHING.

That was why, all the Buddhist sects are telling importance of the dairy life.  ( Because the

Buddhism is not what you’ve read or understood, but what you are actually doing  = this

actual action become an habit which reflects into your subconsciousness = you only

learn this from ” DOING it by Yourself ” —– not from reading or thinking )

In a mantra, gone too-far-fetched glorious stories are likely just a glorious story, elaborating the glory of

Lord Buddha, nothing other than that.  ( In fact, it was a self indulgent of a monk who wrote the story)

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This is the reason why I’ve been relying on the reference to the science, since

Lord Buddha had very good observation and the insight in rational approach = very

scientific mind-set.  (But don’t expect the Modern science, it was 2500 years ago —– still,

Lord Buddha’s insight to the human mind is,  even in today’s standard,  astonishing.)

In comparison to the Hindu approaches, to see the natural phenomena —– instead of contributing

them to each God in charges with,  but see the facts and its relation, and understand it in the

frame-work of cause and effect is nothing but the scientific thinking.

———- With a psychological profile, I’ve been thinking

Lord Buddha was a scientist,  whose insight even reached to the edge of the Universe

And he found those rationally interacting system and its rules as the Dharma.

___/\___

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Be in Emotion — or in Detachment

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

and the Tsunami in Japan.

After I caught a first short news, it took another

5 hours to know what has happened there in the Japanese

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

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Having one year anniversary, one of the literally left over

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

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

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

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There has been two opposing opinions among the local

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

the Bus should be preserved as it is.

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

it should be removed, was over whelming.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

practice to enable a person to detach from it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

even having nightmare, and so on.

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

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

be imprisoned by the same emotion has to be distinguished.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

what I’m talking about in this whole blog.

___/\___

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

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

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