Battle of Human Brain -vs- Computer Soft / 将棋電王戦

Japanese got their own board game, equivalent of the

western Chess, which called Shougi (将棋).

Like Chess which was originated from Persia, Japanese

Shougi came from China (but now Chinese and Japanese

one got quite different).

Like a Computer Soft ［Deep Purple］ which defeated the

Champion Garry Kasparov, Japanese has been developing

the computer soft for Shougi many years and having its

international competition.  With the growing confidence

they challenged the top Shougi player Yonenaga and won.

So, the Shougi Soft developers and the top professional Shougi players fought second year

round.  It was called Shougi Denoh-sen（将棋電王戦） a group match between 5 top players and

the computer soft which were the top 5 of the 22nd International Shougi Soft Competition.

The results was, the Computer Soft won over the Human Brain in 3 won, 1 lost and 1 draw.

The Computer Soft called [GPS Shougi] which said to be able to read 280,000,000 moves per

second defeated Hiroyuki Miura 8th Dan (regarded to be the top of tops) in 102 moves.

—— (this is the most concise Japanese article from Jiji-press.com, I found)

Ａ級棋士も屈し３敗目＝ソフトにプロ負け越す－

将棋電王戦第５局

第２回将棋電王戦第５局で、コンピューターソフト「ＧＰＳ将棋」に敗れた三浦弘行八段（左）＝２０日午後、東京都渋谷区の将棋会館

　将棋のプロ棋士５人と５種類のコンピューターソフトによる団体戦「第２回将棋電王戦」の第５局が２０日、東京都渋谷区の将棋会館で指され、先手の三浦弘 行八段（３９）が１０２手で、将棋ソフト「ＧＰＳ将棋」に敗れた。プロ棋士が公の場でソフトに敗北したのは３回目となり、団体戦は１勝３敗１分けで負け越 した。
　三浦八段は１９９６年、当時将棋タイトル全７冠を保持していた羽生善治３冠から棋聖位を奪取し、７冠を崩したことで知られる。現在も順位戦Ａ級にランクされるトッププロの１人。
　ＧＰＳ将棋は、１秒間に２億８千万手を読むとされ、第２２回世界コンピュータ将棋選手権で１位になった最強ソフトだった。（2013/04/20-18:42）

対局後の記者会見で三浦八段は「団体戦の負け越しを決定させてしまい、申し訳ない。ＧＰＳ将棋がこれほど強いと知っていれば、もっと危機感を持って臨めたと思う」と悔しさをにじませた。
ＧＰＳ将棋は最大で１秒間に２億８千万手を読むとされ、第２２回世界コンピュータ将棋選手権で１位になった最強ソフト。現役Ａ級棋士を破ったことについ て、開発メンバーの１人で東京大総合文化研究科の金子知適准教授は「勝敗の実感はありません。ただ貴重な対局の時間を過ごせたことを感謝します」と話し た。（2013/04/20-20:55）

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The question is, as Computer Soft evolves, in any future, can Computer replace the Human Brain.

My view is not.  In Chess or Shougi, the move is strictly follows the Rules, in other words, all the

move is within the pattern.  Only the combination of following move is immense though, that

is what the computer is extremely good at by checking all of them in the lightning speed.

(Computer Soft may work in the Medical field and in the Legal field where the strict rules rules,

still only as an assistant to the Human Judgment. —– Computer can not guess, out of pattern.)

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In comparison, Human Life has to encounter many many irrational occurrences, and its move

wouldn’t be in clean sequence.  Chess’ move is strictly one after another, never able to make two

moves in the same time, but in real life ten troubles may come at once which could be in utterly

out of context.  And even worse, we can’t read the future move but only vaguely speculate.

If computer can give right answer, this financial mess of the world could never happened.  😀

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In the same time, often it is a waste of time try to think = it might be right, but might be wrong.

Try thinking may create yet another enemy, “Your own Brain” = “What silly me” and make you

even more disappointed and depressed.  = better take it light-hearted, and follow the hunch.

It’s mean, to take the decision, first conceived in its instance, and not to worry too many facts.

If it turned out be right = congratulation.  🙂      If it was wrong = scratch your head or cry loud.

This is the reason, better to take it Detached.   You may not get the moon, but never go to hell.

Human brain is not seeking the answer but the way to contemplate “NO answer”.

(This is the reason why no computer soft can replace the Human brain.  😀 )

Still, Life continues.   Definitely tomorrow will come.    Don’t worry.

This is what “Peace of Mind” mean.  😀  

___/\___

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Ship Stubnitz in Canary Wharf

I’ve been visiting the Ship Stubnitz many times and talked about in many posts here.

In early days she was in the King George IV dock in the east London.  Then she moved

and moored in the several different docks,  but now she is in the Canary Wharf.

(5 minutes from the Jubilee line’s Canary Wharf station).

She looks pretty impressive isn’t she.

Where to moor the ship need to have funny negotiation behind with the London

Port Authority.   And it was said to be depend on the whim of the Authority.  🙂

What so ever the story, She to be in the Canary Wharf is very convenient to us. 

(In comparison to have an awkward journey to east London, not to mention to

climb over a barbed-wire fence.  😀 ) 

So, these days many groups are using the ship for their meeting or as an event venue

and the photo above was a gathering of the video film makers = Open Video London.

And the another group, slub.org is having  Experimental Digital Sound demonstration.

( commonly known as Techno —– still, I noticed, their rhythm was pretty good.  🙂 )

If you have an image of London, as a red brick’s traditional town scape, you must be

disappointed to be lost in the grass and steel structures in the Dockland. 

Still, this is the another face of the London.

Yet, supposedly the modern concrete structure still giving strangely ancient temple

like impression. —– I like this paradox.  🙂     And this is the same feeling I’m having

from the Ship Stubnitz = 60 years old ship interior giving the SiFi like atmosphere.

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Machine in MUSHIN — Where KAIZEN came from ?

The people who read the previous Post [Zen is DO —- ] feed me back

“It explained the Zen mechanism extremely clear, — then the question is,

you wrote Zen also liberate the mind and the creativity — How a

Machine like mind can have a creative idea in the same time ?”

—– I knew this question would come soon or later. 🙂

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A Japanese working practice called [Kaizen] (改善) is now even in the English dictionary

(but not in this spell-check yet. :-)) = It was translated “continuous improvement”which is

widely practiced in the Japanese work-front.

Japanese worker’s almost machine like accuracy, consistency and the

dedication toward their work is notorious to the west. = Their work ethics

is nothing but the traditional  Zen  which forms the basis of the Japanese

psyche.  = Hence, they work like a machine = in Mushin.

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But, to have [Kaizen] is yet another feature on their work-front.   [Kaizen] is, to have

better adjustment of the way of production to a modification of the machine, even a

production line’s configuration —– in fact anything, for the sake of better quality,

productivity, or for the safety of the working environment, which was conceived or found

by the workers who has been doing particular job. (Hence knows it best.)

If its adjustment is not too big, it could be done by themselves. Otherwise the modification

may be carried out by the expert engineer, who follows the proposal. (of cause, proposal

should be studied by the senior engineers first, or even management level discussion.

I’ve seen this process in the Honda factory in Suzuka by myself.)

—– So, machine-like worker is still capable to analyse the situation and

able to find the better adjustment or alternative approach.

This is a proof of “Machine-like Mushin” and “Open-minded free thinking”

can exists side by side, in the same time.

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As a matter of fact, to create the Samurai Sword, and to push its quality to

a level of the technical limit has been achieved by the endless efforts to work

better, hence make the Sword stronger. —– It’s mean a man-machine with

a hammer, work in Mushin still has the eyes and an active brain to analyse

and find the better approach.

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Being in Mushin, hence having no useless thought or a thought anything else

of the work-on-front, mean the mind is completely filled with the subject

—– say, the Sword-Making. = Zen described this

“the Sword Master is in Ichijo (Oneness) with Iron and a Fire”

—– (a western (a bit wrong) translation in “Mindfulness”)

Still, the hands are working exactly like a machine, perfect accuracy and the consistency

thanks to the perfectly programmed Motor-region of the brain.

Superficially, we calls it Mushin because of no conscious thinking is there,

instead we do it without conscious, so, the brain is not blanc or idle, far

from it, unconsciously the brain is working with full conviction.

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While walking on a street, we never consciously think how to move each foot.

Because the whole movements and to keep the balance of whole body has been perfectly

controlled by the Motor-region of the brain, like the most advanced self contained machine.

While leaving its walking business to the autonomous machine, we can have a freedom for

watching nice bottom etc or pay attention to traffic, even find a philosophical answer.

Likewise, while Sword-Maser hitting the iron, even if the hands moves

automatic, his eyes can see the minute details of the work-piece. = any

short-coming should be noticed.    As, all the process were handled

subconsciously, this minute detail were observed in the at-most silence of the

perception.  Any noise, useless brain activities would mask this minute sign.

= The matter is, to open this subconscious perception by eliminates the noise.

Lord Buddha called this Clear eyes.

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If you take the meaning of Mushin as just [empty the THINKING]  you miss

the part, concentration of your subconsciousness = Mindfulness.

(In fact, Mushin and Mindfulness are not separate notion or psychological phenomenon =

those are just different words.)   Because of subconsciousness is invisible, it is impossible to

objectively manipulate, or discuss in words, let alone to teach others.

(remember, how to learn to ride a Bicycle.  🙂 )

This is the reason why Buddhism, Zen teaches the people by the repeating practice.  Unless

you learn and become able to follow this subconscious mechanism, you can’t learn Zen.

And that is why, talking or reading about Zen is utterly useless. 

Only the way to experience and to learn is by Doing.

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Crucial point in Doing is, unlike imagining or having fantasy, to find a way of

improvement, it got to be rational and technically feasible = even an intuitive

idea, it never be mambo-jumbo, but quite scientific.  No body imagining that to

sprinkle a holy water from a church could solve a malfunction of the machine.

Even in the darkness of subconscious, our mind is very rational and sane.

(Well, in most of the case, among most of the people.   😀 )

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So, let this subconscious to see, listen and perceive = as this perception is

completely open, therefore, able to see almost invisible, inaudible = we

can see the better solution.    Or conceive the idea, which has been blocked

by the idiosyncratic thinking.   This is the liberation of the Mind, in Zen.

= And this is the mechanism behind the creativity or  [Kaizen].

___/\___

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Zen is DO — NOT sitting Idol

Life was not made by what the one (wishfully) think (most of the thinkings

are to find a justification, excuse) but by the deed, what the one did and

do on the moment.

It is the matter of how to deal with the situation.   The situation shows what to DO.

We only need actually DO. When the situation forced us to respond, in most of the case

it is not our choice but the MUST = hence we have to DO unconditionally = and very

little chance to indulge with own EGO = in other words, be in SELFLESS.

We become almost a machine to carry-out the task. —– This is in fact,

what the Zen is.   Zen is not a fancy mind-game.

It is the systematized clarification and the direction of what and how

we have to DO, and to live.

So that, to follow the way how to make a tea could be a Zen. How to fight with a sword

could be a Zen too. —– Found a Cherry blossom, and to try a “Why not” kind of

approach to shoot, and struggle to DO it, is also a Zen. Ha ha ha 😀

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— Who said, Zen is to sitting and meditate = meditate in Mushin ?  Joking.

All the Indian religion takes Meditation as a traditional practice though, do nothing and

sitting is not a Zen. (Such as Yoga Meditation is said to be aiming to have a harmony

with the soul of the universe = to fuse one’s Atman to Brahman.  Though

Lord Buddha himself denied very existence of such Atman.)

So, the idea of Zen Meditation must be invented by very lazy monk to excuse his work.

—– “Don’t be lazy, do something”   “Yes, I’m busy sitting” !   😀

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—– Do something in Mushin will increase the efficiency of the work,

therefore able to achieve more productive life.

In contrast, Do nothing and in Mushin mean Body is idol, the Brain is empty,

it’s just a rug-doll isn’t it ?  Still the Mind is wishfully believing, such practice

could make the person “noble” and reaching to higher consciousness (Really?)

Isn’t it strange ? If it was Buddhism, the Mind supposed to be empty, yet still

having such wishful thinking is a self contradiction.

It is nothing but a delusion. 😀 😀 )

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Zen is to grasp the situation and clearly see what the task on front.

And carry-out its task without any quibble or hindrance

as if nothing else is on the table.

With a clear awareness, that no-one-else would do on my behalf, and no-one

but myself can do, kind of confidence and the determination.

And DO it as if it is the only and the last chance to DO in the whole life —–

to a task, even if it is yet another daily chore.

—– Sound very heavy isn’t it ?   Though, there is a knack, to make it so easy,

just DO it in Mushin.

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= When you face its task straight, there is nothing else you can conceive,

because there is no thinking of alternative, or escape, hope of help from

others, even a notion of next-time, because of Mushin.

Since, the task was carried-out almost machine like accuracy and the efficiency, it will be

cleared without having even a time to have a complaint, therefore, what you feel is

only a sense of achievement and a satisfaction. =

Having a sense of fulfilment and relaxed peace.

This is the Zen.   Having the life all through with this sense of fulfillment

and the satisfaction, on the very end, what can you complain ? =

There only be a peaceful Nirvana.

—– This is the Buddhism of what

Lord Buddha taught.

___/\___

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Decoding the Human Dream

There is a very interesting report in the SCIENCE Magazine, that the

Japanese researchers had successfully decoded the man’s Dream.

(In fact, I’ve read the article in the Japanese news though, to save a work of translation

I quote the Abstract in the on-line magazine, of which you can see its original in this link.)

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[ Visual imagery during sleep has long been a topic of persistent speculation,

but its private nature has hampered objective analysis. Here, we present a

neural decoding approach in which machine learning models predict the

contents of visual imagery during the sleep onset period given measured

brain activity, by discovering links between human fMRI patterns and

verbal reports with the assistance of lexical and image databases.

Decoding models trained on stimulus-induced brain activity in visual

cortical areas showed accurate classification, detection, and identification

of contents. Our findings demonstrate that specific visual experience

during sleep is represented by brain activity patterns shared by stimulus

perception, providing a means to uncover subjective contents of dreaming

using objective neural measurement. ]

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The actual studies were to match MRI patterns during the dream (of cause, while sleeping)

to the patterns when the volunteer actually seeing the photographic image of each objects.

Hence, when the same pattern appeared while sleeping, the image in the

dream should be the same object which the volunteer could tell.

And this test has been repeated 200~250 times on the 3 volunteers. —– I guess, those

volunteers must be very very patient to be a guinea-pig who was asked to SLEEP and

DREAM while wearing the helmet with electrodes as well !

What a nightmarish pains-taking experiments !   (While sleeping, the MRI live image was

observed and when dreaming brain activity was detected, the volunteer was wake-up

and asked what was in the dream. = Once the cohesive consistency was established,

observer can tell what was in the dream, before volunteer reviled the contents. )

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After all, virtually all the brain activities are in the business of matching

the pattern.   Cognition mean capture the pattern.   Then matching its pattern through

categorization to lexical pattern. = Thence, we can process it in the pattern of word.

If its pattern matches to the knowledge or existing memory pattern, we say

understand.   And if it matches the pattern what we deduced from other

pattern, in logical process or inference, we say comprehend.

So, the same pattern of stimulus trigger the same pattern of reaction = hence consistency

maintained.  (If expected amount of oxygen doesn’t come = pattern was broken, we die.  🙂 )

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Pattern of brain activities doesn’t necessary to be a visual objects. It can be a word or even

a notion.   So that, in near future, human mind could be peeked or even spied rather fancy way.

Only a trouble I see is, existence of particular visual pattern such as car or mountain doesn’t

define any meaning.   Same image could appear in totally opposite context.

Even if I saw Osama bin Laden in the dream and it was detected —– it doesn’t mean I’m a

terrorist.   Far from it, in the dream, I could be a soldier chasing him. 😀

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So, it is not much different from an Access Pass-word by Pr-registered Finger-print Pattern or

Voice Pattern kind.   It is still long way from meaningful practical application

to decipher human mind though, it’s definitely a start.

(To discover general = common to any body’s brain activity Pattern is crucial)

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Buddhism = Science

—————————————————————- ( Buddha 2009 )

While giving a thought to the well known established notions in the Buddhism, after

Lord Buddha’s teachings, such as “See the things in Clear eyes” “Detachment”

even “Selfless mind” then “Don’t believe, but Think yourself” and the fact that

Lord Buddha did ignore the question which was beyond our scope (unknowable),

such as what about the after-life or what is the structure of the universe.

(Stark contrast to other so-called Guru who pretend to know by telling the made-up stories.

—– Who does ever know about the next life or heaven or hell, not mention perpetual soul.)

= I realized, isn’t this, What the Science is ?    Or the attitude to be a Scientist.

When Enlightened man told the truth, he dare to tell groundless story.

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“Right thinking” meant to be nothing other than a Rational thinking.

See the things with Clear Eyes meant to be “See the FACT”, and “Think

YOURSELF” meant, it shouldn’t be any enigmatic special belief but the

Truth which can be comprehensible in anyone’s rational thinking.

As all the factual phenomenon follows the rationalism, anybody knows,

Nothing appeared from nothing.   Nothing happens without cause.

—– Based on the facts, and with the way to observe and analyse it in

strictly objective and rational way, then deduce the truth, is THE Science.

In this process, there shouldn’t be ANY bias of personal thinking, judgement,

preference or special belief = it got to be absolutely Detached from the SELF.

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Truth is independent from any person, let alone anyone’s Fantasy. =

Whether you believe or not, it’s there. —– This is the Science and what

Lord Buddha taught.   (Yet still he was aware of notoriously unreliable our

perception, he spent great deal of his teachings to deal with this matter and

found a technique to eliminates the cause by way of the practice which lead

a person’s mind to a state of  Mushin.) =(This is the core of the Buddhism)

Therefore, if there is so-called Buddhist’s teaching which say anything other than a fact

and beyond the rational comprehension, it is not his original teaching. (Only a problem was,

in this world (in the Dharma) there still be the Unknowable exists.  There is a sect called

Tantra has been trying to deal with it without any tangible answer —– If they could give

any reliable result, they could have been employed by the Pentagon or Russian KGB though,

on the history, deeply spiritual noble “Third eye” which said to be in contact with the Dharma,

still not able to predict such as Earthquake even a single occasion. = If science can’t handle nor

Buddhism can.)  So that, any fancy stories were later invention only to glorify Buddhism.

Buddhism is to Enlighten a person, beyond the personal Life and one’s Mind is out of scope.

What Lord Buddha taught was, how to get clear eyes to see the truth in the life

by get rid of the dubious belief and the delusion, by emptying the mind

(get Mushin), not to trap into yet another dogma.    Dogma is not a Science.

Truth is like a dry skeleton, it has no decoration. —– and needn’t to be. 😀

(This is why my Buddha 2009 is bare minimal skeleton and the head is a clear

void which reflects the Wheel of the Life.  And the heat keep moves its pattern

continuously = never stay the same = This shows what the Dharma is.)

___/\___

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Window Work

As the main cause of my recent junk-mountain trouble, the tough-guys appeared to

fit the new windows.

There is an obvious reason to be a big hulky guy —– first, to remove old window and

its frames —– with sheer brutal force.  😀    (Less than an hour, 4 windows had ripped out. )

And new double-grazed, framed windows were fitted in machine like efficiency.

(Of cause, they’ve been doing the same for hundreds of the windows.  🙂 )

So, this is it —– yet, the Door fitting,  Asbestos panel removal,  new Electric cabling

etc.  still to come.    So, I’m still in a chaos to shift the mountain right to left again.  😀

While windows were removed,  strong wind has blown through the flat which made me

feel standing chilly outside.    Though, next day,  may be thanks to double grazing,  room

temperature is two degrees  higher than before. = visible benefit is here. 

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Yet still, with funny practice, people keep higher heating while keep the window half open

= not much Energy saving.  (Because of  an Area heating system,  residents having boiling hot

water and regardless how much use of central heating,  bill is fixed = not cheap though.)

It was a legacy of the left-wing council = same ideology of Communism = expecting the people

to have rational mind and keen to work together for the common benefit. 

Unfortunately, man doesn’t behave like that.  Disintegrated society doesn’t have one Ethos.

—– Still, to make up so called positive friendly text saying that “We were born with good

nature hence we can live friendly happy world”  is easy, and may attract more reader to a Blog

though it is just an empty sweet words.    Real solution and the Enlightenment has to come

from  facing the situation straight with clear eyes —– or to know how  greedy and silly we are. 

—– Sorry, I’m a pessimist.  (I don’t see rosy world. —– that’s why Buddhists call it Samsara.) 

I need a blind or to get new curtain at least.  😀

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Is Science, Belief System ? / Is Zen, Belief System ?

Lord Buddha ordered his disciples, [Don’t believe, think Yourself].

It’s mean if anyone thinks, the answer will be found by themselves.

And it’s mean, it doesn’t need to be any special person or special brain = Answer is within

a reach of anyone’s common-sense and comprehension.

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There is no fancy mambo-jumbo in the

Lord Buddha’s teachings.  Everything is obvious fact.  Like The Four Noble Truth, who

can deny it is not true.   Life’s sufferings, illness, get old and die, are the hard facts.

And his observation, there are cause of those troubles, is nothing strange view at all.

If anything happened there must be a cause.    Then, there is the way to overcome those

sufferings —– could be true, because that is exactly what

Lord Buddha found and taught which is applicable and effective to to anyone.

The most crucial matter is, that the way to overcome sufferings is not by a

fancy belief and its placebo effect, but an actual change of the mind-set

through practice, which is not a trick but an extension of existing mechanism

of the brain activity, such as to extend our unconscious action of the body.

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Like a physical phenomenon, such as Gravity, whether you know the theory, or understand

its mechanism or not, at least you know the effect which you can easily observe.

Whether you imagining (and believe) small green man pulling invisible string, or resorting

with hypothetical particle Graviton causing Gravity, the phenomenon itself exists as a fact,

hence, the science has been accepted as the truth and it is not in a belief system.

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In the same context, Zen is a system to utilize a mechanism of the brain

carrying out the action without having a thinking process, and such action

is ubiquitous observable fact.   (Zen calls this [Mushin] )

Whether you are aware or not, we are walking without noticing which muscle is contracting,

or reading this blog without aware of your eyes are capturing the pattern of the letters,

even without having a conscious of that you are reading this = Until you start to think and

become conscious, consciousness of the self is not exists. = (Self is our invention by thinking)

Those function of neurological mechanism is the fact and far beyond the belief system.

And a mechanism of our brain, which tend to ignore the repeating signal,

hence we can be apathetic to the signal, is an existing phenomenon,

therefore it is not in our imagination.  Fact exists long before the belief.

And the practice which enhancing those mechanism to deal with a cause of

the problem was what uniquely proposed and taught by

Lord Buddha.

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Lord Buddha’s view that we could live on those unconscious mechanism

in the brain, and as those unconsciousness has no self-conscious, we could

live selflessly, was his theory.

As the water is running down because of the Gravity is an observed fact. Hence, this

running water can be used as a power source is a theory. As everybody knows, this theory

has been successfully implemented in a water mill or electric power generator. Likewise,

Lord Buddha’s theory has been implemented as the Buddhist’s practice and

actually it works. This practice and its effect is not relying on the placebo effects or belief.

It actually trains and changes the way of the person processing the signal,

hence changes the perception towards such as a cause of fear, even a death.

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Therefore, the effect of Zen practice is a real fact.

Not in a belief or in an imagination.

This is the reason how Zen practice has been used even in the sports training.

Zen is not imaginary fancy story but a practice which brings a tangible effects.

Key is Just try, Just DO, and see What happens in your Mind and on your Life.

___/\___

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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)

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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.  😀 )

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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.

___/\___

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Wayne’s world in [Misuse Exhibition]

 

After year of absence, I went to see my friend artist Wayne Chisnall on the opening

of an exhibition titled [Misuse : Creating Alternatives] at the Cass Bank Gallery

in Whitechapel. London.

In fact Wayne has been very busy exhibiting his work all over the country and I’ve been

receiving his invitation quite often though, he gave me the notice month ahead —– after

a while, I forgot. —– But this time, he gave me a reminder on the day.

“Oh, yah yah, it’s today in deed” = So, I went.

—– May be I’m getting lazier or may be busy with burning issue of “somebody else’s

burning bottom” = It’s a bad tendency of “If I were asked, just help it” Zennist’s policy.

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What so ever the excuse, to see the old friend and catch-up with what we been

doing, or get the news of other friends, is a pleasure.   So, we can find the

consistent core of the person, even under the changing situation of the life.

——– (Incidentally,  Right photo left is Dan, who created a coincidence of  me to start this Blog ! )

The exhibition was loosely themed in a context of how the artists interpret the existing object.

= some were converted the object to other use or made a thing with different material.

—– So, if I may bluntly say, many of them were a kind of boring second-class work.

= On a process of creation or design something new, the approach of [If Not] is

the easiest way, which in most of the case end up “Just a reverse of the same thing”

(others are well made — “So, I messed it up = this is my art”  kind of rubbish)

—– one of exhibit, a common concrete-mixer was churning sun cream. = Yah, obviously it is

doing something different from it was intended = So what ?   It’s a sign of a poor brain, not

mention rack of artistic inspiration. (Creativity tests, how freely, how far you can go 🙂 )

Or, [boring] was an ironical message to the people expecting to see good art ?  😀

If it was not sun cream but, say something a lots of empty bottles of cosmetic, manicure bottles

etc. the artist could made-up a brah, brah “Signify the waste and vanity of the consumerism etc”

—– (Though, could it mean sexism ? —– but now, even a man using cosmetics. 😀 )

Other work showing some fancy modification of alarm-clock, such as the one got many

additional hands, or heavily dented and broken. —– ? ? ? — where is a creativity ?

Unlike those, Wayne’s work consistently intrigued me as his imagination

always gone such far and his process of creation stays completely in enigma.

Utterly out of context, or I wonder, is there so-called context ever in his mind ?

Such as his old piece, [Nails ball] = Yes I can see they are old nails and they were hit and

nailed in.     Though, the story ends here = our rational brain can see nothing other than

bunch of nails, but the piece appealing direct to our emotion (or hit straight to our fear ? )

I have no idea how this artist reached to here —– was that obsessive endless action, more

akin to a kind of neurological symptom ? —– as a mater of fact, most of the real artist is this

kind of maniac. = even without conscious and often without control, just keep doing it.

May be his love toward old nails started like a small child collecting the objects while believing

a kind of magic spell. 🙂 —– From there to create nail ball, is utterly out of normal

imagination, out of normal function or usage, still as it was driven by dark deep

urge, it started to show its own micro-cosmos, which strikes our emotion and

boggles our mind. —– Hence, it made a piece as an Art.

Above all, the end product is a piece worth keeping, and looks beautiful enough.

Wayne’s other and new work is on the same trail hence there are no explanation why it got such

shape or structure.  Surely it was made out of small wooden boxes etc. which showed his skill to

be an accomplished craftsman. —– yet again almost obsessive endless work with

perfect accuracy, has created totally new micro-cosmos, it’s quite a demonic.

—– In the small cavities or windows, a kind of object of magic spell   🙂

I wonder, whether the magic spell is in the objects or in his mind —– or in my mind ?

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—– Incidentally, after knowing him over ten years, I found from his lines on the palm, how

he is an emotional man, which he admitted it. = Despite his soft, smiley face, this artist

completely hiding his heavily emotional up and down of which most of his friends even noticed

(of cause, I haven’t interrogated his girl friend yet 🙂 )  still, able to keep himself away from

such as alcoholism or drug addiction is remarkable. (It’s an indication of good discipline in his

youth = good family back ground) 

Like the emotion in his dark chasm, his creativity and its source of inspiration

came from deep bottom of his subconscious though, something peculiar was

that he is letting the material to express its own soul or spell, not his emotion.

This is the Zen situation, the maker Wayne created the Piece, but in his selfless

state. —– Selfless ?  If so, who created this = The resonance of the universe did.

So, that is why, it was a micro-cosmos.  You need to hear this very Resonance.

He is a man born to be an artist, and he is communicating it in subconscious

channel, direct to your subconscious, not to your rational thinking brain.

(Your brain would only say “What a hell of this. I can’t make sens at all”—– Your brain is

too noisy to hear this almost inaudible resonance.

= Hence, you need to hear it, in your heart or in your subconsciousness.)

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—- As the exhibition goes on till 22^nd March, I recommend you to pay a visit to

the gallery and see and feel Resonance or the Spell of Wayne’s work by yourself.

The Gallery information = www.thecass.com 

The details of  Wayne Chisnall’s work.

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PS :

While talking with him, I just asked “When you conceived the Idea on the very

beginning, was that an image or a text ?” —– He explained me that it was

always a vague image and not necessary a final image.

– ( This is the sketch / Doodl of Wayne’s Orifice piece when he got the idea in very first instance

– —– it’s shows the stage of development and on the end, it came to the stage, rationally

– figure-out and listing up the material etc. = just an image alone couldn’t be built —– technical

– skill and good management of project is essential)

There are two kind of brain and the personalities.

The one, handling the information in the brain in Graphical way, the other

handle them in written notion or say, in text.

The former is good in remembering the face but not the name. The later can remember the

name well, but not the face.    (You know this very well   😀 )

My eldest brother was extremely good to remember the names, the words, its meanings etc.

anything written, though, utterly useless for the face. (So, he became a professor of linguistics,

teaching German, French and English)    I was born opposite.  Name will gone in two minuets

and spelling is hopeless, still even a face I had one glance, may stay after 30, 40 years  (able to

guess its ageing !)  and I still remember a scene of me looking up the temple

when I was 2 years old, like a photograph !

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I met many art students some of whom I gave photographic training.

Then, I noticed that a person who is good in drawing and has good graphical memory was

having trouble to compile their project-report explaining how it was conceived and developed.

But, the other who can explain well, how original idea came and then developed with other

reference etc. was very bad to draw sketch. (obviously no talent for art)

And, I realized that, this is the case again, it was a matter of the brain type.

A person who got artistic talent is not necessary good to explain it in text.

The other, who try to approach art from textual understanding has no skill

for graphical expression = Hence, become a so-called conceptual artists.

—– or may be Conceptual art was created for those people, in order to save a skin of

Art school. (at least they can grant a degree and justify hugely expensive tuition fee. 😀 )

Very interesting and very very funny.

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