Joe Rush in the Southwark London

South of Themes river, around the London Bridge, and down towards Deptford, navel center Greenwich — used to be a ship building and the industrial area —– .   So, we can see a lot of disused buildings, abandoned empty spaces etc. even now.   And, somewhere, somewhere we saw “re-development” etc though, ? ? ?    (kind of sky-scraper, Shard is the prominent one)

An easiest “Re-development” is to put the chairs and tables in the empty space and sell the drink (and some food) = as long as somebody buy a drink, it makes a business.  A place called Vinegar Yard is such kind.   Put a disused Train coach on top was a option (and may be used as an office space, in the same time as an eye-catching display.)  

Huge ants infesting the building must be another option.  Then I realised that, this is a part of the Joe Rush Exhibition.

Joe Rush is a well-known figure among the festival fan as he is the fixture of the Glastonbury Festival while displaying huge  so-called wasteland art.  (Using discarded objects such as a parts of the machine etc and create a kind of the sculpture —– so, the aforesaid Ant was made out of motorbike’s fuel tank and the photo above seems to be out of piping connector, and photo right seems to be an Italian coffee maker)   I met him about 15 (?) years ago. And remember when I visited his work shop in the Deptford creek.

(Don’t ask me what are they.)   But, something fuzzy image, photo left was taken by Kodak Vest Pocket Camera Lens.

No idea what this one was ?

Not only the mechanical sculpture, south london got many big toy for the grown-ups.  (not Haley, but Triumph = THE British !)

And Southwark can offer enough drink.

Since the time of Shakspere.

In case if the drink excess, you can treat it with no problem.  (everything handy here)

And the posh food as well. (The mix of discarded junk and the too clean new fabrication is the Southwark London)

All the photos here (except one) were taken by the 110 Pentax 24mm lens on the Nikon Z7

A.

Self again (2) — Buddha’s hesitation

In the Lord Buddha’s story, it was said that the after reached his enlightenment he was very reluctant to tell others what he found, since

Lord Buddha was very much aware that what he found was too difficult to make others to understand.     It seems, the earliest teachings started with the teachings of the Four Noble Truth and other stories showed that the idea of the Karma, Cause and the Effect has followed it. —– though, behind those story, there seemed to be a many misunderstandings or a twisted truth.

Give a thought or two, is the teachings of the Four Noble Truth or teachings of the Cause and Effect contain any difficult logic or the theory which gave a headache to comprehend.

Considering the situation, that the time when the oral tradition of the teachings were written down by the Vedic Brahman ( = only the people who could read and write then, even if he was converted to the Buddhism, like Shari Putra.), the teachings of the No-self may not to be written down faithfully.  Because to the Vedic Brahman who has been taught to believe that the existence of the Atoman (perpetual soul) it was too irrational to write down the teachings of Anatoman (= No-self).    And as I wrote it in the previous post, it is almost impossible to explain it without using the notion and the word of “self”. = (If you use the word Self, it is effectively recognised the existence of the Self.)

So that, it is much more natural to believe that what Lord Buddha found in his enlightenment was the idea of the No-Self (which was the rational answer from our existence as a cause) = Anatoman.   Yet this was really a problematic, revolutionary idea then.  = naturally very difficult to teach against the others popular belief.  Therefore, it naturally made him to become very reluctant to talk about —– until, he found the way to teach it without the words = in action (and the Upaya.)

(Without having this under line  tradition — (or the hidden fact) behind, it is hard to explain how and why the idea of No-Self or Void came up and became very popular in the time of Mahayana.)  

.

Self again

To a Buddhist, self is the most problematic subject for ever.  Though, surprisingly very little was   written in the scripture.  Do you know why ?   Because, it was the first problem of all.   As you might know, that, in the Buddhism, there is no self. (How to write about which is not exist)

Yes — NO-SELF but in here there are already two problem was loaded.   When we say “Self” there are two meanings or the Aspects of it.   One of them is a part of our mind, somewhat related to the Ego.   And the other is the notion created by its observation.

= If you ARE true ( = Rationally coherent) Zen Buddhist, you can not say No-self. —– ?   Why ?    If there is really no Self, even a word “Self” can not exist.  (If you say “No-Self” there is one more self in your mind who is observing your mind = you are not yet in a state of Ichi-jo = oneness)

If there is a land where no crime neither criminal act exists, there couldn’t be a word / notion of crime there.   Exactly same to this, when there is no self, the word “Self” is not exists. (Unless it was a fraud)  On the time of

Lord Buddha, the followers could receive his teachings in an up to the occasion metaphor or so-called upaya often using the action, there was not much difficulty to understand it.    With, the notion of No-Self, therefore No Perpetual Soul, therefore No Reincarnation, therefore No cast was demonstrated in the Sanggha as a deed (not the verbal explanation) = Everybody was accepted and treated as an equal followers.

Though, hundreds of years later, on the time of Mahayana, the scripture writer had to invent a kind of printable expression to explain the “Selflessness” to the mass without using the word SELF, such as in the Vimalakirti sutra “To give without having the mind of giving is The true giving” or otherwise “See as not to see”, “Do while not to do” kind —– they are trying to express the act without having the conscious of action (not such as a gray zone between two.) —– yet now, quite a lot of people still thinking that to sacrifice own self is the selflessness. (it’s just a devotion —– while riding a bicycle, your body moves without your self-conscious, so, you don’t need a devotion for bicycle = just ride) = It’s the same, Buddhists doesn’t need to be a vegetarian.

___/\___

.

God and Heaven

The most fundamental difference of the western God and the eastern Heaven is, the one imagined in a brain (modeled from such as the Gilgamesh Myth) or the one observed as the natural phenomenon.   So that there could be a complaint to someone who created the idea of western God, why the Evil was also created ?  And there, the matter is whether you believe its story or not.  Unless you believe it, it doesn’t exists.  

In contrast, as everybody in the east can see, the Heaven or the Nature is existing even before the human being or the universe was created.  Whether it was believed or not, it is a real existance to anybody.    Therefore, they knew the utterly evil earthquake, tsunami, volcano etc are a part of the nature.   (If the people has  ever encountered those utmost power of the nature, they become aware, they have to live with this without making useless complaint. )   So, that is how those evil were accepted as their part of the destiny.   The system or the existence of those phenomena all together IS the existence of which the Buddhists calles the Dharma, or the Taoist calles Heaven.   The strange phenomenon is, some profound Zennists are able to communicate with this Heaven or Dharma.   (save, other than a nuts)   😀

.

First Reiwa (令和) Sky

So, this is the sunrise (over the roof) 1st of April 2019  06:18 ( = British Summer time 07:18) by Zeiss 18mm F3.5 on Nikon 850

And this is the same sky but a minuets before of the top photo, taken by 110 Pentax 24mm on Nikon Z7   (It seems Zeiss lens showed much clear image —– of course, 110 lens costed me only few pounds as a junk, in contrast Zeiss was £800 even for a second-hand = be humble, don’t expect too much)    😀

* * * * *

PS : Looking around the Net-sphere, it seemed that the news of naming the new era in Japan took so much attention from all over the world.   The tradition to name the Era originally came from Han dynasty of China though,  like most of the culture in China it ceased to exist under the communist rule.  (So that the young Chinese except Taiwanese, even can not read their own classic literature like Laozi 老子, Confucius 孔子 — let alone to understand them)   Yet still, as nearly 1/4 of world population is Chinese, some of them might have studied classic, hence able to read the “Chinese” character 令和 of which the meaning is more or less the same to us .   (Some character’s meaning is quite different between Chinese and Japanese = such as for flowers, Chinese use 華 , Japanese use 花 but for Chinese this letter 花 mean mor like a lot of mess, therefore 花子 in China mean a beggar wearing tattered rug. — without knowing this, quite few Japanese girl got their name Hanako 花子 ! )

The meaning of the character 令 is “telling or announcing” = so that, with an additional 金 (metal) to its left hand side, like this 鈴 it’s become “Bell”

And the 和 mean “come together or harmonize”  so that a word 平和 mean peace ( 平mean “flat or plain”) = Everybody come together in harmony” is a Peace.

Therefore, 令和 Rei Wa mean, Calling a Harmony  or Telling, be in Peace”.  (May be not as strong as “Shut-up, you the Devil”)   😀     (By the way, officially Reiwa starts on the 1st of may, coinciding with the new Emperor to take the throne.   This, one month ahead schedule was for the people to prepare such as for printing the calendar.)

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Big Data — ? ? ?

Obviously, my electricity supplier is very keen to change my old electric meter to so-called smart meter,  though, unfortunate for them, even if the meter was changed, it doesn’t work because the user, me don’t use a smart phone.   In the age of the internet, everything, all the data seems to be connected and exchanged each other through Wifi.  (whether they were sold for the money, or hacked free or spread by mistake.)

The worst culprit is the Google = as they spy on our activity, from the words in the mail, or search record, or net browsing history. = So, they can send a precisely personally targeted AD.   = When my friend sent me a mail saying that he got 70s, then I get the ADs of cheap funeral director, cheap wheel chair, international flower service etc etc.   And, when I made a net shopping of old film camera or rechargeable battery once —– then thy seemed to sold my data to others = I started to receive the same kind of ADs again and again.   “I’ve bought the one already, I don’t need to buy the same again, can’t you understand ? ”    Still, the Googl’s advantage is too tempting and everybody want to get such Data-Power to sell.  So does, the window-10, even the Firefox want to know my phone number with a pretext of “to increase the security of the account” — no thanks.   For my personal data security, I never use my real name on the Net or to login my PC  (therefore, my mail or PC user name never match to my banking data or NHS data somewhere in the Net = useless to hackers) neither switch on the GPS kind of location data even on my camera, and made a setting “Don’t trace me”—– For some people, to feel “Somebody be with me” and find out “I am in” might be a joy though, I don’t feel like that at all. = leave me alone !

So, the electricity supplier got the idea to spy on me through the use of the electricity, and logging its data via smart phone.  (And sell the data to such as to Amazon — then Amazon can send me the ADs through the phone = That’s why, the Amazon is so keen to invest £25 in advance, while thinking, soon they can make more money out of me) —– its might work, provided if I got a smart phone.  😀  😀    But, I’m not fancy to be integrated into such Big Data.   I’m Out.

.

Useless thought — is it ?

While boiling the eggs, I suddenly heard a noise “Pang”.   I knew it must be a noise of the egg cracked, as time to time they do.   When I checked them, I found an egg popped open a part of its shell, like a submarine opened his hatch = a well made round hole. —– I’ve seen hundreds of the cracked egg when they were boiled “in my life” though, I never seen the Egg Submarine opened his hatch. = this is THE first event ever I encountered and witnessed in my whole life.    is it ? ? ?  —– So, what’s the matter ? 

———- Then I realized, this is the serious identity crisis case.  It would shake the foundation of the cause or justification of me to blog here. —– How and why this blog started ?  = This blog / Yoshizen started as a talking post to explain my theory, that is,  The Zen is not for talking or thinking but to DO.  This theory was conceived through my own experience of doing,experience of doing, and from many stories how the one could achieve his skill by just doing it many years kind, and the old say, such as even Rain drops carve the rock kind together with the very simple facts that the most of Buddhists sects are having their practice to repeat doing the same action.

—– So far, I think I succeeded to explain those matter by explaining them as the function of our brain / Amigdara. 

But, what about this instant case / Open hatched Egg ?     What this egg to do with Zen ? —– Quite few of the posts here are showing a kind of activity, demonstrating the simple, repetitive work for “Making something” also showing the sample of the way of utterly free thinking.  (why not approach, such as to use a spray can as a barrel of a macro lens or a discarded drink-can can be made a good sculpture etc. )

But is the Open Hatched Egg to do anything with the Zen ? = nothing.  Why not ? (Everything is the only an occasion in the life = have you ever seen any of two eggs cracked and showing exactly the same pattern ? —– Does the Zen Blog got to have a special big topics to talk ?  —– am I assigned to deal with such heavy role ?  —– who the hell yoshizen is ? = It must be a joke = can not be such ostentatious matter here.  it’s just a small free blog.  —– What an useless thought I got here.     😀

.

Quest of Better = Zen Mind

If you think about all aspects of Zen, you might noticed a point, which might be “The Point” in “The Zen”.

There are many books, collection of so-called Mondo = Question and the Answer — (though, they are mostly Rinzai approach).  Yet still, there is no ultimate sample like = “If you can answer this, you have reached to the Zen, or even the Enlightenment” kind.  —– Do you know why ?  Because, Zen is not a notion or thinking nor one answer or one point to reach.  Zen is a process.   A finger pointing the Moon.   Does anybody ever reached to the Moon ?   No.    Zen is not the Moon.   Nor Enlightenment.   Finger never reach the Moon.   But without the finger, there couldn’t be any Zen.    Because, Zen is in its process.    The process, try to reach.   Kneeling, a bit by bit —– ? to where ? —– to the better.   Go better mean, not to remain in the same place. —– in this aspect, Soto’s doing approach is easier than the Rinzai’s thinking approach. = This is the reason why most of practice for Zen learning was originated from Soto Zen.   That’s how all those achievement was made such as in the crafts skill, sword making, martial art etc. etc.   

You might have noticed, yes, this is the other version of the photo on the previous post.   This photo looks too ordinary = I chose darker one which may give a bit more dubious impression.   And made the image a bit of adjustment —> right hand side up a bit to break a balance and give even more un-settled feeling.  Then trimmed the top further to show the metallic forks more and gave even brutal, uneasy, un natural feeling.   —– you can see those differences on front but if it was a notion in your head, such as “The post should give rather heavy impression”  = How can you find the answer, what to do.    Seeing the things on front and adjust them to achieve certain direction would be easier —– but not in a thinking.   So, this was the point, how the idea of Kaizen was developed, and how Japanese created many small marvels in the electronics still, not able to invent iPhone. (Japanese was making over-spec mobile-phones but couldn’t conceive a fundamentally different phone system. = adding one more spec can be done as a Kaizen step, but iPhone kind was too far for the  Kaizen approach = It needed to change whole thinking from the start.) 

Zen culture is Doing, and its matter is “Keep Doing while aiming better” —– We may achieve Doing in Mushin = almost like a robot.   But aiming better is the matter of the Mind-set = with a full concentration, keep clear eyes on it down to the minute detail, and see what it should be.  = This is the ZEN practice. = In short, say to do A, having a mind-set “Do better A” and this mind-set might be sublimated down to the subconscious level IS Zen ! ~ ~ ~ and then, when you can do A with no mind at all, neither care anything (let A to have its own Karma) you ARE enlightened !  —– Unless otherwise, all the bicycle rider who doesn’t care any mind-set would become a Zen master.  (That’s why the enlightened master does looks exactry the same to the outside non-person.     😀  )

___/\___

.  

ZM2 Lens – Spring Walk

First visitor here tonight was from USA, seeking Plum Flower.   So, I’ll show you many Cherry flowers, Plum Flowers.

You may not believe though, all those photos here were taken by just one lens,  (homemade ZM2 lens, on Nikon Z7 camera — ISO 100, AV setting)  Slight difference of the focus, the lens can produce quite different kind of image !

This plant called Japonica Japan was originated from Japan as its name suggests, and a cousin of Quince, or relative of Pear.   Incidentally, a name Nipponia Nippon which meaning is the same (Nippon is the formal name — Japan is a nick name after Marco Paulo) was for national birds Toki who has been nearly extinct and revived to about 150 now.

Ever cute Snow drop, Japanese name is Yukiwari-so (雪割草) which mean the flower who sprout out the snow !

I found this variety of cherry first time in this country.  Still no idea of its name.

And this is somewhat close to the plum. (But not Japanese Ume 梅 —– I don’t know why Ume didn’t come here.)

And this is Daphne —– somewhat related to Cloves though, the story was very complicated = lots of misunderstanding.  (You might have seen a furniture made by a wood called Mahogany but never know what its tree looks like.) 

Same as that, the wood for burning incense Agarwood 沈香 was a mystery to the Japanese for many hundreds of years, and people mistook this plant was related to Cloves 丁字 (hence Japanese misnamed this Daphne as 沈丁花－－－on both case the letter 丁 represents the shape of nails which is a shape of the Cloves as well and the smell of this flower is the same to the Cloves though) those plants are in fact totally different plant. 

Since Agarwood can be sold for very high price, the tree has been pushed to near extinction = now they are protected and the genuine wood is hard to come by, so that, there said to be a lots of fake in the market. ( = a wood dripped into an artificial incense was sold to the tourists.)

Crocus is a relative of the Saffron.  (So, don’t eat them)

(In fact, Daffodil is also poisonous — if you eat = Who eat ?)

I guess this cherry seems to be originated from Yama-zakura.  — but not sure of its multi-petal flowers.

So, it was a nice walk and shootings.

Those three photos were somewhat an extra.  I met Ms.S and Mr.M as a next door of one of the cherry flower’s place.  They got very fancy bicycle with motor. (And those photos were for them to copy from here)

.

In law trouble

While browsing the Net, I encountered a kind of board where people put their story or accusation, complaint etc in their life.  People may also dumping their frustration or showing off their successful plot or revenge etc as well.     M m m —–  Then suddenly, I realized that there is one of the life’s heaviest paradox of which I’ve been able to avoid as a single monk. 

While growing up, whether as good boy, bad boy or good girl, bad girl regardless, whether they got any qualification and gained any good social skill OR NOT, almost of all in equal term, they get marry or became a in-law of the husband or wife.   Then naturally, the drama starts between those newly joined members and old families.    Elder brother’s wife may take advantage to be a senior position and bully even steal a things with an excuse of I just borrowed it as in the same family and just forgot to return etc. etc.    The more audacious win.   Even if it was an obvious crime, Police is not very keen to intervene the family matter = giving an impression of free to go.  (If Police try to prosecute, suddenly the witness change etc, because of the pressure from the close ties etc. etc. —— Police knows those entangled emotional situation too well etc. etc. )

You may choose your spouse but you can’t avoid your in-law.    Unlike to get a job, you don’t need any qualification or intelligence to become in-law as there is no test or interview.   Even worse, so-called commonsense may not to be shared by others neither no enforcement.   They can say, that’s who I am, its my right to be me.    So, hell opened. —– And the very hell is where they thrive.   They grab what ever they want and getaway in a midst of chaos.  

For introduction, or a match making party, at least a kind of selection of school or society, still in reality, most of the people find their spouse mostly by chance without knowing any detail of the person let alone its relatives.   And suddenly those people may come to your room with spare key.   Asserting that they have a right to demand and do so as a relatives (even if they are only in-law).

Their logic is, as the declaration of human right says, everybody got the equal right to claim their share of happiness.   Especially among the same family, the happiness and the wealth has to be shared equal.  Therefore your expensive jewelry also belong to me etc.   So, I don’t need to ask you because, it IS mine.   Don’t you understand ?

Everybody got an equal right to get marry to almost anybody yet still, all the trouble might be caused by “who the person IS” which has been almost out of scope when he or she start their relation (they were hot in love and believing nothing else is a matter, don’t interfere us). —– So does, anybody has a freedom to choose own life-style as it is their own business and their right — Then suddenly the floodgate opened as a in-law.   It seems it is a most convenient excuse to an uneducated EX-hooligan to start bullying, make the younger in-law to easiest target.   —– If you see the hi-school  boys, girls, in the town you may understand how such in-law was going to be mass-produced.   —– it’s a trouble isn’t it ?    To have the individual right and the freedom and the peaceful social harmony in the same time seemed to be impossible.   But, that’s what the world is.

.