Takumi
At the Wireless Wednesday gathering in Greenwich, we had
2 laptops to repair. One was a quite hi-spec Dell which needed
to change a HDD and the other was HP.
Dell needed to completely disassemble to see the back of mother
board = so many screws had to be removed, and the cables had
to be disconnected etc etc.
—– Then, when two of the cables to Wi-fi module needed to be
re-connected, the guy who has been dealing with this kind of
the work very well, couldn’t manage to insert the connector,
and neither the other guy managed to do too. — strange ? ? ?
The cables to Wi-fi module were not simple power wire kind but
the hi-frequency coaxial cables. So, the connecting post was not a
simple metal stud but a coaxial connector and the male connector
has to be inserted exactly parallel to the female counter part,
otherwise the needle thin center pin would be broken.
—– While watching them try, I found their finger couldn’t keep
the cable straight, neither the finger pushing it is steady.
= So, it was the time for the Zen Buddhist to join the game.
And the cables were safely connected. 😀
[]
When earthquake struck Kumamoto, Japan, quite few hi-tech
company there had to close and it sent a shiver to many other
manufacturers in the world. Such as Sony has their factory for
image sensor there = if it’s production stopped and the export
delayed, the production of iPhone in China would be stopped.
(Swedish camera manufacturer Hasselblad had to postporn the
sale of their medium format camera H6D, because the production
of 100 Mp image sensor in Sony, Kumamoto was disrupted —
in fact, 80% 0f digital camera in the world relying on Sony)
When China got their industrial development, they took over
the top position of manufacturing business — that they thought.
— While ago, China’s Premier Lee Karchan was so annoyed to
find that they needed to import even a ball of ball-point pen.
In deed, 60% of iPhone was made by the Japanese components =
the components of which China couldn’t make by themselves
even when they bought and used the same machine.
So the world started to pay an attention, Why only Japanese got a
skill to make certain component or device, and started to talk about
the Takumi (匠), such as the Mind-set of Takumi, Skill of Takumi.
(Takumi mean, the Master of something) —– the economists,
industrialists etc talking a lots about the Takumi though so far non
of them seemed to be aware of the sublimated tradition of the Zen.
When a craftsman (even an engineer) try to learn, they try it again
and again and develop a state of concentration of the mind = this is
a condition what Zen Buddhists call Mushin. Since the concentration
in Mushin is to vacate the brain, not push high tension to the mind,
such as the blood pressure, testosterone level doesn’t go high = able to
keep the mind and the hands calm and steady. (= able to do the job
without an emotion or any useless thought.)
= And this was the way to use the tool and in control in making.
So, this IS what the Takumi doing.
___/\___
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Ha ha ha !
It was in yesterday, 13th Friday morning — Wow.
As it was literally accustomed, I picked out an egg for
my breakfast from the fridge and cracked. — ? ? ?
Cracked egg showed rather dark gap. — strange ?
—– The egg was supposedly a boiled egg but its crack
started leaking the slime. d leaking the slime.
[]
When Zen Buddhist says “Accustomed” mean, there
wasn’t a shred of thought. Act was totally programmed
and carried out automatic. Brain was literally empty.
= Just picked up an egg from the fridge though,
in this time, obviously I picked it up from the left side.
Left side for raw egg and the right hand side for boiled.
It was just a small mistake, still, What shall I do to this ?
I wouldn’t through it to a bin nor swallow it.
(some Japanese could do !) —– So, I emptied the egg
into a small rice bowl and added about the same
amount of rice powder (I should have had wheat flour)
and two spoonful sugar. — and mixed well. 🙂
—– So, unexpectedly I made a kind of pancake for breakfast !
Though when I cooked it
in a microwave cooker,
the cake mix suddenly
ballooned up !
Then clashed down.
I don’t know, was that
because of the rice powder
— the cake became very
leafy texture.
— and the end result wasn’t too bad. (— I could have eaten this
with honey, maple syrup, clotted milk etc though, don’t go too far.
Be humble to be a Zen Buddhist. 😀 )
So, the casuality of the 13th Friday was to eat a humble pie.
(and ignore the issue of the ageing brain — Ha ha ha !)
.
Self — No-Self
This was quoted from a part of the previous post.
(To talk about the SELF need to recognize the existence of it = need to
have yet another Self to observe its existence ! — if you can aware/
observe yourself, your observer has already alienated YOU. )
—– it seems I need to say a bit more :
When you got another “You” = you are no longer innocent happy mam.
Instead you start try to impose “What you’ve conceived your figure”
which is no more than a wish-full imagination OR distorted, depressed
“Hate-figure”.
To see the True figure of Yourself is one of the most difficult
task in the life. = First of all, it is hidden deep in your
subconscious,
and often, half of them were what you don’t want see.
So, the most of the people try to make-up something looks good,
(to satisfy your Ego, pride/vanity and want to show-off to others)
—– though, not necessary everybody, everything to be such ugly.
= Try to do better IS the default of our survival instinct !
(If we fail, the repercussion/drawback would be harsh ! = even a
fraud-star try to invent better story, and sword-master
practiced hard to kill the enemy )
So that, in the Four Noble Truth in the Buddhist Teachings,
“The effort to seek the Enlightenment” is very natural.
—– When you fail, still to see straight to the “Failed Yourself” =
IS in fact, a kind of the Enlightenment. (according to the Mahayana)
(To see yourself as it IS = IS see it without any impose = No-Ego, No-Self !)
= Don’t worry, relax ! 😀
___/\___
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Paradox on No-Self
Despite the Buddhism IS the teachings of the NO-Self,
there is no explanation of “What is no-self” in the scripture.
Even more peculiar phenomena were = there were hundreds,
if not thousands of description of “the ideal person” still
there was no words saying that the man has no-self. — Why ?
Because there IS NO-Self.
(To talk about the SELF need to recognize the existence of it = need to
have yet another Self to observe its existence ! — if you can aware/
observe yourself, your observer has already alienated YOU. )
.
Our feeling was induced by the Limbic System of our brain.
In fact, all the signal from the sensing organs goes to the
Limbic System first and the most of important process =
selection of those signal, cognition, judgement etc etc were
done in there and only the last result goes to the New Cortex
of the brain and then converted to the conscious and given
the lexical interpretation. = It’s mean, we human being has
enough wisdom to sense the environment and judge the
appropriate response to have the daily life by the process of
the Limbic System alone though, all those feelings and the
process are hidden under the darkness of the Subconscious/
Unconsciousness they ARE invisible for the most of us.
Those process were called instinct though as they were
hidden, often we don’t know why we took such reaction.
So that, when we say “This IS my decision and how I think”
they ARE only a conscious part of the process in the brain.
= And we called this = “Self-Conscious” and the SELF.
Lord Buddha saw this Self-Conscious as a mere delusion
and it was coherent with the view of No-Self = Anatman.
=== To become aware of the SELF is the sign of
the alienation to yourself and the break-down of Mushin.
(State of the Mind of No-mind) —– It IS the paradox.
And this paradox, delusion IS the loot-cause of the
discord to our nature / Dharma.
___/\___
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Enigmatic ?
People says that the Buddhism is the enigma.
Well, if the person says it’s an enigma, the person knows it half.
Half ? —– Yes the person already learned half of it !
It’s remarkable, despite the Buddhism is in the enigma.
Why it’s in enigma ? = Because the Buddhism is not teaching
the crucial matter in the words.
Why ?
Because, to learn it without the words is crucial, therefore
it wouldn’t be taught or explained by the words.
So, to know the situation and able to describe its Enigma is a
sure sign of that the person did come half way. = It’s great.
Well done.
(The point of this was described in this post.) = and as the story
tells, it’s point / secret was not clearly understood even by the
Lord Buddha’s closest disciple Ananda.
—– Because the teachings of Selfless or learning of selfless has
to be done in Selfless = It’s mean without the person aware of it
= couldn’t be told / couldn’t be heard. = Once you consciously
heard the word / explanation, your conscious / Self become
aware of it = it IS a breakdown of the Selfless.
Lord Buddha taught Selfless in this way (could anyway else ?) =
so, the Buddhism was seen to be an Enigma.
[]
Hence, you have to learn Buddhism / Zen in a Selfless way = it’s
mean you just do the practice until you get the Selfless state =
Mushin (Mind of no-mind).
And when you become able to live in the selfless way, you are
NOT conscious of your state, therefore you can NOT able to
observe yourself = you can NOT describe it in the words.
= So, you don’t know what it IS, nor others know either !
Everything stays in the depth of Subconscious.
Therefore, the Buddhism stays in Enigma.
—– IS it clear ? (= it’s a paradox isn’t it !) 😀
___/\___
Test of Selflessness (The most important Post)
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Wish Better or the Best
Somebody commented “Where the urge to make it better comes from ?”
—– as a reply I wrote “Even a monkey chose a good stone to crack a
hard shell = good choice or not, makes the difference = able to eat or not.
In the worst case, it may cause an injury to the fingers.
It’s mean, it is a key to the own survival= survival instinct.” — yet still,even
if it wasn’t such serious but rather playful situation, we try to do the better.
Just through something, stone, trash — we aim, to a target, bin etc.
—– Why ? —– To satisfy the Ego in a challenge ? “Hey look I succeeded” or
“I’m better than you” — Was it ? Not necessary in a serious situation, no
other person around, even trivial small things, such as just put few items
together, we try to put them tidier way or make the shape easier to handle.
(Then, the personality exposed = somebody pay more attention and make
the things / situations better. Otherwise, others creates even more havoc !)
If it was an instinct to avoid a pain and to chose the way which needs a least
effort, was based on the learning, why some of us never learn ? = In the net,
there are endless number of silly stories still, they were produced with the
effort to get an impact and the maximum number of view.
Have a good fun seems yet another instinct.
[]
After the accumulation of the learning, we human being made up the map
of which can tell General List of Goodies. Then those would be told by the
old man or wise man as the common sense, moral or social rules still, they
were originated from the human instinct. Therefore, the eyes of
Lord Buddha, they were seen as the expression of the Dharma. And as we
have it in our instinct, it was explained that we were born with the Dharma.
And the Zen is the practice to make it better with thousands times practice.
(If not million times) —– and to learn its mind-set.
So, Zen could (possibly) make a better person (in theory) 😀
I wouldn’t guaranty the better person still, the product produced by the
craftsman with such Zen mind, has been so good, such as the Japanese
cooking knife has become a must have item to the top chef of the world.
___/\___
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Lord Buddha’s Stance
When Lord Buddha got his Enlightenment under a pepal (bodhi) tree, he received
a milk porridge from a village girl Sujata and eat it. Since he has broken rank from
heard austere, denying their way, such as torturing the body wouldn’t bring any
supreme understanding of the Truth, so better remain to be ordinary,
this was his fundamental stance. — So that, in his earliest basic teachings such
as the Four Noble Truth, the Life was defined as in a suffering. Although the way
to make oneself free from such sufferings was taught, it was not telling like a
transcended vision, but showing a way of the living (of daily life = never staged-up
like walk on the water, or move a mountain but how to handle the things we are
dealing with every day’s life while living together with followers).
= This stance was the very foundation of the Mahayana Buddhism.
(The reason why in the early days of the Buddhism appear to have so-called
Hinayana style was, probably the influence of one of the disciple Maha Kashapa
who was originally a hard austere monk. (Buddhism took 5 hundreds years to
realize this mistake).
Another reason why such mistake was made was, that the core of the teachings
was to train one’s subconscious, not a word to memorize. = Buddhism is NOT the
theory/theology or IDEA, but the way how we see the things, react to the situation
or handle the things “without thinking”. ( = Just Doing)
The way to DO or to LIVE in this way can be learned only by the practice therefore
no point to explain it in the word. = Very difficult to teach, let alone to learn.
(To explain or to question nullify the point = like, to explain to be silent.)
[]
The back ground of those teachings was that our brain process the matter
unconsciously — consciousness comes far later after the intervention of the loads
of “considerations” such as own gain, desire, manipulative trick, etc etc.
What Lord Buddha found was That all of our sufferings were emanated from those
“consideration” or Thinking, therefore to eliminate those thinking and live on the
Moment (you can only see “The Moment” = before or after/future exists only in
your mind/thinking.) you can eliminate Sufferings, also the products of
thinking/imagination = fear, delusion, evil idea etc etc.
Do or Live without thinking IS nothing other than the MUSHIN.
This mindset was described by the Mahayana Script writers as the VOID.
—– So that, the teachings of
Lord Buddha was nothing to do with a fancy stories of Deity or Devil, Angel
let alone fancy “Spiritual” vision, but the practice. And the everyday’s our life
is the reality of our life = rather messy ugly phenomena. This was why
Lord Buddha liked to mix with people, eat the same food (he died for
food poisoning of rotten fish = he ate anything = not a vegetarian).
And to live in MUSHIN in what life ? = Just in our life = as it is, nothing special
= just ordinary life — What a dog shit. But this IS what the Enlightenment.
Lord Buddha didn’t tell anything peculiar or supernatural stories because,
that was not where he stood. (He was not a magician nor spin doctor but an
Enlightened man = Buddha. Enlightened wise man tells useful real stories, not
the useless crazy fantasies.) 🙂
___/\___
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What is MUSHIN ?
May be I’ve talked about this ten of the times if not hundred.
—– Still, I was asked the same question.
So, this is the most up-to-dated straight answer.
[]
It is a well known medical symptom among the Alzheimer patients
who lost the nerval connection to the Emotional region in the Brain
lost the recognition related to the SELF such as to recognize own
possessions even to distinguish the face of the own family.
So, Emotion judge the interest of OWN — in other words, this is the
center of EGO, Greed, Well being, Safety, Security, all those Instincts.
Of course, they are the key to the survival though, the total amount
of the signal/Data the brain has to deal is burst, so that there is a
rationalized economical saving was designed = coming data was
selected according to its importance.
The harmless insignificant data or repeating same data, are ignored.
We wouldn’t pay any attention to the same boring TV CM etc. and when
we do the repeating same work, we do automatic without Emotion. = In
deed, in such a case, the Motor Region of the brain would be programed
to do such routine work automatic, involving no Emotion at all.
[]
So, if we block the data/signal reaching Emotional region, we can do
the job automatic, without the Emotion. (= With highest efficiency !)
Without Emotion mean without the feeling of “Mine” = SELF —
because of no feeling of Ego, Self interest (mean, no envy, jealousy to
others), Own Greed, even No Cling to own Life, be free from the SELF.
This state of Mind mean, no need to cling the past, nor need to imagine
a dream= in other words, just see the world on front of the eyes as it is
Now, without having any Thinking.—– This eyes IS clear eyes.
And this state of Mind IS the “Mind of No-Mind” = Mushin.
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In order to acquire “block the Emotional process” Buddhists use
the long repeating practice for the brain to learn “How to
Opt-out the signal process” and DO the job (or Life) automatic.
(Like, you can branding “The matter” same as to the boring TV CM
and make it no longer recognized to be exists —
we know it’s still there though, it became a remote landscape.)
In certain extent, Zen Buddhism is very cool, even cold.
But, use this to live the life very hot is the other stage of Zen.
___/\___
PS : The Related Readings :
Clear the Deck for 2013 Reverse Engineering of Zen
Emotion / Meditation —– they are good to read. = It’s amazing
how Google Algorithm worked out to see the contents !
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Crèche in the Zen Buddhism
There are quite few Crèche in the Zen Buddhism.
Such as Mindfulness, Middle way, to live in Now,Selfless etc etc
and indeed, I did talked about those topics in the early posts.
Yet still, funnily enough, in the Agama Sutra, there was no word of
Lord Buddha for about those topics. And I realized that, the talking
of those Crèche started to appear in the Mahayana scriptures,
typically like Middle way.
—– as a matter of fact, I too wrote in somewhere, the Middle way is
not in the both extreme, somewhere in the Middle.
Though, think about the extreme — in the Nature/Dharma, if it was
too little, we may not noticed it was existing. And if it was too much,
there is no such things in nature. It was only a product of imagination.
In other words, if we follow the Nature/Dharma, we are
naturally live in the Middle way. Likewise, to live in Now, if we don’t
cling Past, neither indulge imagined Future, we only deal with Now.
In the same way, Mindfulness is not a special notion, it was the state
of Mind, when there was no other imagined matter / things, but seeing
the subject on front = what else can you think of ?
— in short, there wouldn’t be any of those issues exists in the Mushin.
= Mushin mean, live Selflessly. So, it became to clear / too clear that
the script writer of the Mahayana has written those Crèche from an
overheard rumor “That the Enlightened said to live in Middle way,
live in Now and facing the life in Mindfulness”etc etc = and started
mimicking the antic = pretending of “Middle way” “Mindfulness”
“Live in Now”etc. and talked a lot blah blah — While not knowing
what the “Middle way” was = because he hasn’t even experienced the
Mushin, there was no way to know what the real “Middle way” was.
The people who doesn’t know, talk a lot, to pretend !
Still, the matter IS very simple. = once you vacated (emptied) your
Mind, what you can see is only the matter on front (= no memory
of the past, neither imagined future) = when the matter only on
front exists, what else to think about = this is Mindfulness.
And when you follow what you instantly conceived (on that Moment
= so-called intuitive perception) is the way of the Dharma.(what else ?)
(Because the Dharma is rational and harmonious as a whole system,
inherently, there is no extreme = this IS the very Middle way)
—– You see, it’s so simple in real (practical) life.
But, “talk about” the misconceived concept is much more complicated.
Because, such concept (=Crèche) is in the intellectual thinking, BUT
Zen Buddhism is a matter in the state of Mind (the way to handle the
data in the Brain) so, try to find the meaning by way of thinking is like
“To THINK HOW to ride a bicycle” instead to make own body to
“LEARN it”. 😀
___/\___
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Still, this is the Zen
Seeing a scratch on the surface of the washing-up
bowl in my kitchen which I’ve been using since I have
started to live in this flat, I realised that the dirt or
stubborn coating on the surface of this plastic bowl
could be removed by just scouring hard. —– I was
thinking to remove such limescale mixed stubborn
dirt needs to use a strong chemical such as limescale
remover kind of acid.
—– There was the choices.
Throw away old bowl and buy new one.
Anyhow, it was only a couple of pound cheap item though, strangely
I couldn’t find the same shaped one in any shop.
Other choice was do nothing. = as it has been used 15 years, why not
another 15 years. — utterly lazy and sound hopeless though, to make
nothing happen is a kind of peaceful choice and cost nothing too.
One of the famous Japanese monk, Ryokan said to have one pail and
he used it for everything, to wash his foot to serve a rice. So, use one
bowl only for washing-up many many years wouldn’t make any crime.
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If I can clean it by just scouring, why not to try. = When a spoon edge
made a scratch, a scouring pad made by metal mesh should work well.
—- So, I did. (to the half extent) It IS a simple work = just scouring,
scouring and scouring. The more scour, bowl become the cleaner.
While scouring, I just scouring (=Mindfulness) = no thinking.(Mind is
in the Mushin / Void state.)
This is the Zen. —– soon or later, the bowl will get perfectly clean state.
Exactly the same process, the Japanese Sword was perfected. (Strangely,
we aim always the better — who asked ? or because of our nature/Dharma)
You may laugh though, the bowl which became clean is the equivalent
of the enlightened soul.
—– Yet another teachings may say, neither a bowl nor soul kind of
things was there in the first place, who get enlightened ?
Good question.
___/\___
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