Dog mourns the loss of Friend Beaver
This is a Youtube clip ” Vella (dog) mourns the loss of Beaves (beaver)”
I was told to watch. And I found myself I can add anything to say.
So, just watch and give a tear or two for them.
[]
When I was living with cats (mind you, with up to 9 of them) I even
bemused how they can read my mind.
And able to know when I was coming back, all together waiting
behind of front door. (looked like a gathering of tadpoles. 🙂 )
[]
The video clip seemed to be uploaded today, and it said to be
when the friend beaver, Beaves was suddenly found dead,
the mate Vella came into really deep mourn.
___/\___
___/\___
[]
Huineng vs Shenxui — Poetry Contest
Provably the most well known Zen story was a contest to became
6th Patriarch of the Zen.
For the contest, the most respected top monk in the monastery,
Shenxui wrote a poem as the answer to the 5th Patriarch, Hongren
who request to show the Zen mind,
“Mind is like a mirror, I polish the mirror diligently for
no dust to settle on it”
When an illiterate low-rank monk Huineng who has been working
in the kitchen of the temple heard this, he asked friend monk to
write his poem contesting Shenxui’s,
“Since Mirror is not exists in the first place,
where dust could settle”
Hongren saw Huineng has much deeper understanding of Zen,
he chose Huineng for his successor.
[]
This story showed what all about the Zen and its pathway
in amazing clarity.
Shenxui was a well educated, well learned monk, hence he must
have read hundreds of scriptures and understood the attitude to be
a good Buddhist. (in this extent, his answer / poem was quite
appropriate and correct though, it was more like a posture of
Theravada monk, still on the way to the enlightenment, in other
words, he hadn’t broken the barrier, or gone to the other side yet. )
In contrast, Huineng had showed exactly what the notion
of Void in Zen Buddhism.
— How Huineng could get this, while working in the kitchen.
[]
As a son of peasant, Huineng had no education and illiterate hence,
he had no chance to read and study Buddhism other than just pick
up the words, what other monks were talking about.
Anyway, he had to work every day as a casual labourer in the temple,
still, those every day’s continuous repeating work gave him to gain
the essential mind-set to be a Zen Buddhist = Unconditionally
accepting (humble) to be a lowest working monk, hence there
couldn’t be any possibility left to have desire or even an Ego.
And as day by day, the same work continues, the mind
became empty = just the hand repeating the work.
Yet still, by keeping eyes clear, he could see the crux of human
existence = how the Life exists = what the World and the Dharma is.
And he was able to make the straight connection of his state of mind
and the observation, to each notion. In effect, he had mastered the
Zen in DIY. Zen doesn’t need to be literate but to have clear eyes to
see inside and outside, with the direction of few key-word.
(This straight connection is behind of
“Sudden Enlightenment” and the “Direct Transmission” )
[]
And this observation lead me to see an amazing parallel in
the history of Buddhism.
Founder of Zen, Master Bodhi Dharma had to establish the way
of Zen in DIY, as there was no text book exist then, even worse in
foreign country. And the situation was more or less the same, when
Lord Buddha started his own teachings = NO Buddhism
textbook at all, of cause, let alone whether even Vada was
available to the public in written form. 😀
Shen[]
But this is what the Buddhism is.
Since, it is the matter of one’s mind-set and the programming of
one’s subconscious = the one has to do it by oneself.
It is literally Do It Yourself / DIY = A book might give a hint, still
the one has to DO the work (practice with good insight) =
Book wouldn’t do the work on behalf. 😀
(Put Buddhist book in a memory of “Automatic Voice Generator”
and make voice out-put of script, wouldn’t make
the Machine enlightened — very fancy though. 😀 )
[]
—– Whether the stories (given in the Platform Sutra) has true
historical fact or not, to make the story in this way itself, was the
reflection of their understanding then = and expressing
supremacy over other sect of “Just reading scripture and sitting”
Illiterate Huineng was THE very typical sample in Zen.
___/\___
[]
PS : Still, there are many questions left. Zen understanding could
be gained without words, since it is not knowledge based intellectual
understanding but to customising the perception and behavioural
pattern in the subconscious level though, whether to compose
a stanza without having enough knowledge of lexical pattern is
possible or not ? And the script telling the story, “Platform Sutra”
was written long after with a lots of diviating history.
—– Yet the fact is, the mummified body of Huineng has been kept
in the monastery till today and still sitting there !
(you can see the photo by Googling it) —– If he was not such a
great Master in real life, no such things could ever have happened.
[]
ZEN Photography
There was a very tricky question, what is Zen Photography.
Before talk about photo, what is Zen is harder enough.
Still, in few occasions, to see a photo — m m m ? !
THIS must be the Zen !
[]
The Matter is, how the visible image contains beyond of what it shows.
= How invisible, unknowable element has been captured in the photo !
Not a mere suggestive image but has overwhelming power of existence !
Which has been seen by the clear-eyes of Zen, and captured in Mushin.
= Mushin mean without a manipulative intention.
It is even better if it was in Ichijo with the subject, or the photographer
was completely absorbed by the subject.
And such photo starts to shows its own “raison d’ etre” as strong as the
existence of the subject itself, because the Dharma of the subject and
the Dharma of the photographer has been fused together, or in Ichijo.
[]
There are some different approach among the so-called Zen paintings.
Some did symbolical approach, such as a drawing of a Potato.
—– Humble, ubiquitous, utterly insignificant object, still, because it is
utterly insignificant, this could be the Universe or the Dharma.
But this is a very intellectual approach, expecting the viewer to see it
in Zen context. —– To convey this concept, may be it’s even better to
leave a paper blanc, hence, [nothing] could mean everything =
the whole Universe.
In the same time it would save a ink and a time, bother to draw anything. 😀
—– Something similar but different approach is, just one straight line or
a circle on the paper = in this case, it is not only a superimposed idea in
a drawn-line but the action to draw it, was the Zen.
[]
In the photography, the same symbolical approach wouldn’t necessary work.
A photo of one potato would leave little imagination of anything else.
It is just a potato = “Is this a symbol of Universe ? You got to be Joking” 😀
In the other-hand, photography is very easy to make an ambiguous
confusing image, by just make it out of focus, burred image or almost
disappearing over-exposure, under-exposure, even with multiple exposure,
and those vague image makes our brain to abandon to read the
meaning of the image, we were left in the blanc mind, wordless.
[]
Intellectual symbolism works in a way = “It shouldn’t be just a boring
Potato. It must be something behind, otherwise the painter wouldn’t have
worked to draw this”
In contrast, it is very difficult to see a meaning from a photograph,
since even in a photo with intentionally placed potato looks the same as
an accidental photo of potato. (Drawing wouldn’t be made without
intention, still, even an accidental click makes one photo. :-))
Unless the meaning was clear, we wouldn’t go behind and the graphical
digital manipulation of a photo would rarely convey this meaning,
because we see it only as a graphical purpose in after process, not in an
original meaning, unless the effect match the subject naturally.
[]
—– in the time of film photography, high-temperature development of
high-speed film created rough-grain photo which showed harsh reality such
as in Sebastiao Salgado’s photo, though, to mimicking the effect with digital
manipulation in high-contrast only creates irritating harsh image =
photo looks harsh but not necessary make the reality looks harsh !
In other words, superficial graphical effect doesn’t affect much to the
meaning of the photo, let alone in its spirituality. (In Paintings, spirituality
is relying on mostly in its narrative subject and our subconscious connect
it to a spiritual legend or feeling of owe = it’s in our imagination.
But in photography, it also emanated from its atmosphere or enigmatic
air which makes our perception suspicious.)
[]
Spirituality in the photography lies in either overwhelmingly
strong reality of the subject which provoke our imagination, or
ambiguous depth of air in the image which strikes our emotion.
Therefore, the Zen photography (visual, not a wishful conceptual photo,
which can hit a subconscious of the viewer, before reading brah brah)
exists in two different direction.
One is finely detailed photo of overwhelmingly heavy subject.
Other is a hint of rather humble object still having full of
ambiguous air. —– Either case, the photo will hit the viewer
straight, with the former, facing with overwhelming reality, owe
to the Dharma, the later, with its unknowable field of infinity.
In either case, we just abandon the thinking, standing alone
naked, dumbstruck.
This is the Zen Direct transmission.
[]
WHAT to Eat and HOW to Eat
I spent most of my youth in the mountain (rest of the school time).
Especially in a mountain shelter as a voluntary keeper (小屋番)
—– in a hind sight, I was very lucky to have this kind of life as it has shaped my
life-style and its backbone = and made me physically and mentally indestructible.
(save some cuts and bruises. 🙂 )
[]
Another aspect, what I’ve gained there was the opportunity to deal and observe
literally ten of the thousands of people, often in the condition of their limit.
When people face their limit, it expose the core of their disposition in harshest way.
Some are become utterly an animal of Ego and Self-preservation. Some were
completely lost. Still some can maintain the human spirit and the wit.
[]
An interesting observation we made was the eating habit of the people,
and a kind of consensus among us was that the people who are not
eating enough good food in their daily life, tend to make a complaint. 🙂
The shelter situated 2300m high in the mountain where the water boils 85 degree
centigrade. Naturally the boiled rice is far from ideal or might say only edible.
Hence, the person who complained about it never had own experience to cook the rice
in such high mountain. And the others complained the poor ingredient such as not
much meat in the Cary-rice is rather poor looking, gray-skinned person.
In contrast, a person who just eat contented was always having good skin-tone and
well-fed, healthy looks type and often high in social scale. 🙂
[]
Because of eating is the most fundamental element to form ourselves,
WHAT to Eat determine who you are. And it reflects one’s back ground of
up-bringing (cultural and family, more than a personal preference).
But HOW to eat, reflect the personal disposition. (In the same family,
same food still, each one eat their own way — one might eat rather messy and so on)
Therefore, to observe HOW the person eat, we can see what this person is,
and what sort of mind-set the person possess.
Eating messy with chewing noise is the worst. Waste the food is a disrespect to the
food producer and the whole nature who provided the food for us, and the life itself.
[]
What you can eat is also restricted by the situation.
To understand the situation and environment of the mountain shelter, where all
the materials were brought up by the shoulder of the volunteer keeper, no wonder
it is far from ideal hence easy to complain, yet still, some are just accept what
was offered, and eat contented. — This mind-set shapes the person’s whole life.
As eating is the basis of the life, it is parallel to the life, numerous phrase, metaphor
using the food, such as “Eat humble pie” “Cold turkey” “Scrape the life” etc etc. =
HOW you eat is synonym of HOW you live.
[]
And what you were given on a dish has exactly the same meaning as what
you were given on your life. You may complain, or you may eat it contented
= result is to end up grey-skinned frustrated man or positive man with nice shiny-skin.
—– A funny joke I heard before said “Have you ever seen healthy looking
staff in a [Health Food Shop] ?” the people fussing about the food too much,
such mind-set = a delusion makes the person even more unhealthy. 😀
(I wouldn’t imply junk-food obesity has nicer shiny-skin.
It’s need to be judged by seeing whole body. 😀 )
—– Don’t fooled by a buzz-word “Hungly-Spirit” —– Its meaning is not
just ASKING more. Now the Millionaire Richard Branson had eaten a
poor meal yet in full in each moment, while building up his business.
That is where very energy came from.
[]
A Buddhist’s term “Live in its moment” mean, when you were given even
meager meal, “The food on front” is the food you have to eat in full.
Take it and swallow it as there is nothing else, which could be the last food in the whole
planet. You will not have any another choice, another Life.
[]
So, all of us, the volunteers had witnessed and learned, a man who couldn’t eat even a
meager food contented, wouldn’t reach any better food all through the life, as the
self-centered Ego is just stacked in the mind.
Under one’s Ego and Greed, any food is not good enough.
Don’t waste the time for complaining. The time is limited.
[]
But if you cook, it is a totally different story. Don’t cook bad meal.
Spend the same time and the cost, it could be a good meal but could be bad meal too.
Cook bad meal is the waste of the food material and the time.
Even worse, it may not give you enough energy and the health.
—– So, be mindful, when you eat, or cook. =
It lead you to have mindful, fulfilling LIFE.
___/\___
[]
Japanese Multi-function Knife / 十徳ナイフ
This is one of my longest serving mountain tool, multi-Function Knife.
Japanese name, Jyuttoku Knife (十徳ナイフ) literally mean 10 function Knife
though, most of this kind were having 4~6 functions. (Otherwise it become too big to use comfortably.
= While using one function, rest of 9 tools of bulk and dead weight are still in the hand. 🙂 )
So that, I never seen the one which got 10 or more functions ever.
[]
You must be familiar with well known Swiss Army Knife though, they only started to come
to Japan after 60s. Before it, Multi-Function Knife in Japan meant this type, and as far as
I know it was designed soon after great war and said to be one of the clever export item to
American in 50~60s. —– Before electronic goods or car, this kind of cheap cottage industry
products were the export items from Japan. (And must have item for mountain life though,
I’m not sure they are still sold in Japan now.)
[]
I bought this knife when I joined my Hi-school Alpine Club.
Since then, this knife has been always with me in the field or in the mountain.
Not only that, this knife is in daily use as well in my kitchen as a small-knife and a can-opener.
In fact this is the only can-opener I ever had in my life. 🙂 As this one works perfect and
I’m quite contented, I didn’t need to buy anything more.
—– So, I would say, I’m a humble minimalist. 😀
[]
When western friend saw this, all of them said
“Why knife and fork are in the same hand ? :-)”
“It’s a western view. Sir” “We don’t eat a steak on a plate in the mountain” 😀
—– Some of the people may chose a life in an ideal settings while possessing ideal goods
though, it’s their life. I don’t care others, neither I would brandish Buddhist’s Dogma kind,
and never say use the same can-opener 50 years is anything to do with Zen,
but to say this is my life.
[]
Some of you might think, the one’s confidence is proportional to the amount
what the one can spend. It’s utterly wrong.
Spend nothing is also from one’s confidence.
Life is not what you can buy and possess but what you are doing and have done.
___/\___
[]
Our Perpetual Life ? ? ?
I’m in a mess of clearing and sorting out the mountain of junks piled-up in the past ten years
or so. (Not a clean Zennist’s like situation. 😀 —– I’m doing too many things hence people
keep asking my help or advice, since my help is free 😀 = there is no time to let them go.
And I’m getting a help from others too = I don’t think I should isolate myself from this world.)
—– Only the trouble was, when I was busy making something for an art event kind, it was
always in a hurry, and soon after, another project might start = therefore, the materials used
etc has been just piled-up. What makes situation even worse was, I buy “Could be useful,
one day” kind of things, or picking up them from the street.
They are in a shallow box etc, though, box on top of box has built mountains. Ideally, I should
have line of shelves in a warehouse with multi-indexed stock management system though, it’s
a far fetched dream for a humble poor man. 😀
No doubt, in a clean-up process, something unexpected item coming-out between
a pile which I’ve been looking for, or completely forgotten. A ha, it’s here. 🙂
[]
What annoying trouble I found was, after years, a cleaning blush kind of cheap
plastic product and particularly the Tesco bags has been disintegrating.
I don’t think the manufacturer expected the people would use their products more than a
year, hence they used cheap material to make-up the item. —– So, I shouldn’t be surprised.
And the Tesco is Proudly announcing that in consideration for the environmental issue,
their bag is biodegradable.
It’s mean, me to left those things under the pile was solely my fault. —– still, I feel annoying
was = may be I still expecting the same must be there intact = my Ego and the greed.
The real trouble is, once I touch them, those disintegrating materials in deed
disintegrates and the small flakes scatter all over, literally spreading a mess.
It’s not funny.
[]
Even though we know nothing is permanent, still the system has to work in an
assumption of every components stays the same in a same condition.
In order to keep the same condition, our body is keeping the same body-temperature and the
same constitution such as the same salinity of the blood (well, more or less) and so on.
To keep the body in the same condition, the parts which is naturally worn-out will be
replenished and renewed constantly = And to make it same as the original, DNA template was
used though, to keep copying again and again, mistake would occur.
It’s the same to a Chinese whisper, once mistaken, the same wrong-pattern will be copied.
Wrong pattern of Gene could create cancerous cell. On the end, our body became no longer able
to keep its function. It’s a system bleak-down. —– This is how we get old and die on the end.
[]
Against this situation, many researches are tackling those problems.
Only a week ago, one Japanese institute announced that they found a chemical which would
prevents the brain cell deteriorates and prevents Alzheimer developed = disease would be
prevented by just an injection.
Another institute succeeded to continuously clone the mouse, over 5 years, 27 generations
so far, and made more than 580 cloned mouse = while preventing the deterioration of
the genes and their futility. Life science is really advancing in amazing speed.
[]
So, we human could gain the perpetual life in foreseeable future while
leaving other life form and biodegradable plastic to disintegrate. —– ? ? ?
Is it anything to welcome ?
Because, the matter is not just our internal system. We have to see the implication to the
external system as well. Those systems are closely intertwined as a total system called
Dharma in the Buddhist’s term, which has been refined throughout the time, in past billion
of years. We may not able or allowed to tinker one corner without affecting the other part.
Our perpetual life could be detrimental to the planet’s Ecosystem. 😀
—– Well, I should talk about this serious subject in the near future.
___/\___
[]
Chichibu yo-matsuri / Zen Ethos
Those are the Photos I found in a photo blog Tokyobling.
Tokyobling is reporting from Japan very actively with quite vivid nice photos
and those are from Chichibu yo-matsuri (秩父夜祭) of Saitama (埼玉) =
next north to Tokyo.
Virtually all the traditional festival in Japan is for the local Shinto God.
Hence, Chichibu Yo-matsri is for the Guardian God / Chichibu Daimyojin (秩父大明神) who
said to be the abater of the wolf in Chichibu mountain.
Because of the Wolf God, the festival held in the night, hence Yo-matsuri
( yo or yoru mean night)
Being as a Mountain God, Chichibu Daimyojin is the guardian of the mountain people /
Matagi (またぎ) and Sanka (山窩) all over Japan, who’s occupation was hunting and
wood-crafts, and their descendants too. (Matagi and Sanka remained only in the legend now
still, all the shoe makers and leather crafts men said to be originated from the Yoshino (吉野)
mountain, behind the Nara city. As they’ve been the supplier of the foot-ware and the parts
of armories to the Nobles and Samurai alike thousand of years as a tradition.
When I did (or helped) a research of the Industrial Sociology study, I met a group of the
construction workers who was the Sanka from Chichibu mountain. In the site, they live
according to their religion, wearing their own white uniform and praying their God everyday
= they had their own shrine of the Chichibu Daimyojin brought with them ! )
In this stone-age, I have no idea how many people is worshiping
Chichibu Daimyojin now, still in the photographs, I found pretty strong Ethos
is clearly remaining and prevailing.
See the head band of the grandfather holding a baby in the photo.
Head-band was extremely neatly tied. —–Then, see the other’s. Not as neat as the
grandfather, still, all of them tied their band in the same style. = All the people sharing the
same Ethos therefore even a cheeky computer-gamer start to behave in a discipline of a
traditional young man without him even noticing it. (It’s a spirit of the Matsuri. 🙂 )
(Hence, Carl Jung called it Collective Unconsciousness)
[]
To tie a head-band in THE occasion, is a strong Japanese tradition.
It is not only tie a hair or stop the sweat getting to eyes, it is to tie the MIND.
For a determination or concentration of the SELF, but also to declare or display it to others.
We tie a head-band with the Determination to go with the fate.
In this reason, even the Sward Master Musashi Miyamoto (said to be) tied
a head-band when he fought with his arch rival Kojiro Sasaki. (and Musashi won)
Because of its Samurai and Military connotation, western people has a kind of fear toward
Japanese tie their head-band though, it is not so far from a Hindu people tie a string on
their wrist. —– Normally, a head-band was tied on one’s back to prevent its loose-end
sagging down to block eyes. So that, tie it up on front may be a Shinto tradition
( in a Matsuri, it is always on front) though, what grandfather’s head-band impressed me
was, its neatness. Functionally, it may be the same though, as it got to be tied in anyway,
do the better. It wouldn’t take more than extra one minute yet the difference is clear.
This is the mind set of the Zen. (Zen is a Mind-set to concentrate and DO the
task better, what ever it may occur in the Life, its mean any body’s any Life,
regardless whether it was a Shinto practice or Christian’s job.
DO the things better and achieve better Life is the Universal Aim of the man.
This is the reason why Zen was often regarded to be Atheist or Non-religion.)
(And this is the reason why Japanese products were often over quality and hard to
compete with cheap copy in its price. 😀 )
[]
What so ever the life, you live and die. In anyway, it would be more or
less the same. STILL, aiming the better and do the best, regardless whether
it makes any difference or not, is the way of the Zen. DO it and DO the BEST.
(down to the minute details, keep DOING its best, this Mind-set is the matter,
not necessary the result, since it is a Pathway to aim the goal =
but not the goal itself — goal / Nirvana would BE given by the Fate or Dharma)
By doing so, you wouldn’t loose a bit. Since, you couldn’t possibly loose anything because,
you yourself is not exists in the first place. Hence, you don’t need to afraid of ANYTHING,
even a death. The person lives here isn’t you but the Darma (Rule of the Universe),
hence you can live with full confidence to be the Dharma or a part of it.
This is what [Selfless] really mean (not sacrifice the self by own idea) and What
Lord Buddha taught. —– or What he revealed, What the Dharma is.
___/\___
[]
3-11
It is 3-11 again.
[]
It’s already 2 years since. It is the past though, still over 315,000 people in Japan
forced to live in their temporary accommodation, many of them are still not able
to find a job with various reason, it’s mean for them nothing is over yet.
And we couldn’t forget over 2,300 peoples are still missing.
[]
Zen doesn’t give a sit to the past. Though, the trouble is, this trouble is
still very front of those people suffering = it is a burning issue on their hand.
So that, today lots of gathering has been held to commemorate the lost lives,
or protest gathering against the nuclear issue, but more importantly those people
working to take care of victims are doing their job same as yesterday.
(and has to do tomorrow as well).
[]
Some relatives of our Alpine Club’s member or their friends had been directly
affected though, the rest of us, fortunate enough not to have a hand burning are
exchanging the mail or gave a thought on their blog.
The words quoted in my friend’s blog “We are grateful still given to be here”.
(In my given life, I was rather lucky happen to be here, not under the Tsunami.)
So, my burning issue on this moment is, this very life given to my hand here.
Since the moment when I was given this life, my hand is burning.
(I know it will keep burning until the moment it cease off = Nirvana.)
So, if I were allowed to join the pray,
Peace to the people who happen to lost their lives,
and to the people who is still suffering.
___/\___
[]
Orchids Photos of Sing Lee
I received beautiful photos of Orchids from my friend, Sing Lee of China.
Sing Lee used to be a quite unique Chinese Blogger who showed impressive photos of
their Shang-tang mountain and many beautiful flowers there until his blog/ WordPress
altogether were blocked by their authority.
So, on behalf of him, I put his photos here, for the people of the world to see.
As he wrote before, those Orchids were found deep in the Shang-tang mountain, and
brought to the city, they could be very rare new variety or even new species though,
I don’t have the eyes to tell its name. —– So, just enjoy its beauty !
And I hope his well-being away from the suffocating air pollution.
[]
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