What Photography to do with Buddhism

Someone asked me “ Why Photography in a Zen blog ?”

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The understanding of Zen is so wildly varied, let alone the understanding of the Buddhism.

It spreads from vague spiritualism to an endless peculiar practice.

A reason is that it lays in the person’s subconsciousness. Hence, the person oneself couldn’t

see it clearly, let alone the others, even the teacher.

Since, it was not clearly written down like as a Dogma, and to memorize it doesn’t mean

understood the Buddhism. (Though, some sect says, they got 100 of the rules written down

and follow them is the completion of the Buddhism.)

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My discovery of the Zen came from a peculiar practice = Disco Dancing  😀

With a peculiar mental tendencies habituated in my subconscious, I realized, this is

what people called the Zen —– Like a Pathological diagnosis, I found the symptoms all

matches to the description of the Zen of the past masters =

hence I understood, what I’m living is the Zen.

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So that, in Zen, the matter is a mental state or so-called mind-set, while the one is DOING

something. = Doing it unconsciously with the mind-set of what

Lord Buddha stated = IS the Buddhism. = Hence, able to receive all the benefit to live with

the Dharma. —– Here, it is crucial to be unconscious (=in Mushin). 

We can do a thing without thinking but not able to do thinking without thinking  😀

Try to do Mushin or talking it consciously is just a pretense or mimicry  😀

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Photography is a secondly art (it doesn’t mean second class art 🙂 ) = unlike an abstract

drawing or sculpture, unless the subject is there, its photograph couldn’t be created.

In other words, photography has to follow the existence and its moment.

That moment is the only moment. Photography is to capture and deals with this MOMENT.

As Lord Buddha stated, “Nothing stays the same and they change moment to moment”.

= Photography has to face this situation straight.

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Why and how you encounter its situation or subject was not necessary what you expected or

designed.  = To encounter it was what the Karma has worked.   You may think that

the idea to come to the garden to take picture was what you conceived and planed by yourself

alone though, without Karma has had pulled a string, you didn’t get the idea in the first place.

Whether you are aware or not this is how the system works.

And this system = the mechanism of the Dharma is what

Lord Buddha elucidated. = This is the Buddhism which is applicable even to a non-Buddhist.

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And we have to follow the subject = we didn’t create it, hence this is a secondly art =

we have to accept a humble position to be a secondly creator. Therefore, we have to see

the world with humble open eyes but at most diligent way, down to the minute details.

Once we start to see the subjects, what we are seeing is the environment or most likely

the nature. —– In fact, we are seeing the Dharma.

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When we try to capture and focus the subject, are we thinking what to eat for lunch ? =

Not only the lens, we are focusing what we need to do without any thinking but with full

attention to the subject on front of the camera whole heartedly.

This is the moment of Mushin and the Mindfulness.

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Then “Got it” = but what we got ? —– Even though we might think “I’ve got iconic image”

it is a mere reflection of the subject in the memory card, which could just disappear with a

glitch in a computer. —– And in most of the case, it wouldn’t do anything with the person’s

finance = it is nothing but a selfless, greed less act = expect no reward, still needs to put

so much effort for taking.

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—– Isn’t this Zen Buddhism ? —– If not,  What else   🙂

___/\___

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Is Charity Self-sacrifice ?

There was a search term = [is Charity self-sacrifice ?] came to my blog.

I think I’ve talked about those matters many times yet, it might be better to clarify them again.

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In Zen, there is no notion of [Charity] or [Self], let alone [self-sacrifice].

They are the notions exist only in the Mind, away from the situation. (It was deduced

from the memories = stacked mind with accumulated knowledges from the past 🙂 )

Charity is not a separate notion from one’s deep mind (in fact, whether Mind itself is exists or

just an intellectual hypothesis = artificially abstracted idea —– is an interesting argument)

or in the subconscious.

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Lord Buddha explained “ Nothing stays = only appear to be there in a moment”

in the context of the entwined mechanism of the Dharma as

the Karma = relation of Cause and the Result resulted.

The reaction, which is away from the thinking and we call as a Charity = it is in fact “it is nothing

but a prevailing Dharma” was explained in the post [Compassion and Charity in Dharma] (link)

By reading it, you must be convinced that the Charity is not the act of the SELF, far from it,

it exists because of NO-SELF in the first place.

NO-SELF, still the one was acted in such a manner — Who acted it = Dharma.

This is the Core of the Buddhism. = Acting moment to moment in its best, as

the Dharma IS, hence create the life as total is, What the Buddhism IS.

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Not only the situation, (situation is a mare face or appearance of the Dharma driven by the

Karma concerned) but also ourself is dependent to the Dharma (or we are the Dharma itself),

in moment to moment = hence there is no fixed notion of the Self could exists.

As Self isn’t there, but the Dharma = There can not be the sacrifice of the Self.

The person was just acted according to the Dharma or as the Dharma IS. =

To help others is not a sacrifice of the ONE, but simply it was needed

by the Dharma. (hence, the Dharma acted using the hand of someone)  🙂

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Therefore, it must be clear, there couldn’t be Charity or Self-sacrifice. If any of

those kind of notion exist there, it is a pretense derived from the knowledges

and a Self-conscious vanity.

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So-called charitable act to donate money to the Sect is just a system of sucking.

In most of the case, so-called founder of the Sect is not a holy man but an entrepreneur.

= that how those Sects became so rich and the leader became a millionaire, driving Mercedes

while leaving the followers in poverty.

Yet still, if you need to donate a money, it is in deed self-sacrifice and the

waste of the money :-D.

Since, the fact shows, = how many years the Sect there ? === has they changed the world ?

Where the money donated by the peoples has gone 😀

—– to see and hear what the Dharma says or requested you, IS the matter,

not what the sect tells you.

And to see the Dharma, you need the eyes of Mushin = Mind of No-Mind )

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Do a charitable act in Mushin is easy, just do it = it’s your spontaneous reaction.

(If it’s needed to have second-thought = it is not the matter of charity but the business project

= you have to asses the return in comparison to the investment = this is not Buddhism  😀 )

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Thought over LIGHT (and its visual effects)

You may feel strange though, there is no black and White

image in the Nature.  🙂

May be Monochrome image yes. = Pure B/W image is, in fact human

invention, in other words, it exists only in the brain, or a product of

the brain. = Simply because, there is no [no-colored light] exists =

all the light, even if it looks WHITE, it is just well balanced

mixture of the colors.

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So-called Color was created by the vibration of the Photon =

if you divide the distance of a Photon travels in a second in its

literally the speed of Light, by its number of frequency of the vibration = you get the wave-length.

The light-sensitive cells in our Retina called Corn cells (named from its shape) having the colored

pigment which selectively absorbe and stimulated by the particular wave-length, emits the nerve-

signal to the brain. = Hence the brain interpret those different signal created by each different light

as each different color. —– So that, when those Corn cells sending-out all the color signal evenly =

our brain think it is white and if they are less intensive than the white, the brain think it is gray.

But when the light level is very low = in the dark, the Corn cells couldn’t work well.  Instead, only

the Rod cells which doesn’t have color sensitivity, works. = hence, the visual image which lack the

color information were created in the brain = we feel (some what) B/W image. —– ghostly night

scene of grave-yard was conceived like a bluish B/W image = simply because, only the available

light source came from the stars (provided no Cine-light, or Torch-lamp there) = hence,

the Dracula film is the best in B/W = (it is closer to what actually we have seen) 😀

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As long as there is lots of light which is having all the spectrum of the light, we see

white as white and able to see a colored objects as its own color without color-shift.

Therefore, mirrors in the dressing room of a theater back-stage having many light valves fitted

around. = natural Ring light effect. = no shadow and no color-shift = it is essential for the make-up.

(still, even a white under tungsten-light is shifted to much warmer color of about 3000k)

—– yet still, it is often the case, the white is determined by its relative brightness.

Our eyes were adjusted to see the over all brightness or by the brightest object while varying the

size of the pupil.  And among the objects, see the brightest and relatively having all the spectrum

of the light as the white. = Hence, seemingly the yellow sun is so bright, we feel it is white in the sky.

In fact, all the photographers know, even a dark colored object will become

washed off white if it was over-exposed 5~7 stops more.

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In the natural environment, we are not necessary seeing the surroundings with ideal neutral light.

= not only the color-contribution of the light-source (such as Florescent light has Green cast due

to the Mercury atom) , but also the light was colored by the reflection of other object nearby.

—– May be it is the reason why we feel nicely lit image in a photo = too artificial.

While using color-corrected artificial light (Xenon discharge Solar-Light kind) or Studio-type flash

light, which is giving 5500K color temperature.   The more photographer worked to make every

corner in the scene within 2 stops of exposure difference, it become even more unnatural.

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=== So that, in this occasion, as I’m dealing with LED Ring Light, I’m experimenting

“How to design Non-ideal light source to create natural looking image”

= to make Colored Ring Light. 😀

(I’m going to show its result soon)

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PS :  If you’d like to experiment with LEDs, and try to connect different type of them parallel,

you need to connect a register to each types.   Such as; 

[3~4 Batteries (4.5V~6V) +] —> [100 ohm Register]—> [Blue or White LEDs]—>[Battery – ]

[ ———————– same  +] —> [100 ohm Register] —> [Red LEDs] —–> [same Battery – ]

[ ———————– same +] —> [100 ohm Register] —> [Green LEDs] —> [same Battery – ]

( Those Registers are to limit the current to the LEDs = may need change to such as 47 ohm =

If you connect 10 LEDs parallel, which needs 30mA, x10 of them mean, you need 300mA)

(Exact value is [Supply Voltage – Forward Voltage of LED / Resistance = Current  —– where,

Forward Voltage of Blue or White LED is 3.5V,  Red is 2V, Green or Amber are 2.5V ===

6 – 3.5 / 10o = 0.025 = 25mA  ——- As long as the Current is 50~20mA each, it would be OK)

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Smashed Camera and the Face !

Only yesterday, I managed to stumble on a curb stone and smashed myself on a concrete

car-park.—– Unfortunately, my camera was on my shoulder hence,

the camera was smashed too.

 

I was landed on the concrete, over my specks apparently fallen before me, hence one of the lens

cut into my forehead.  I was amburanced to a hospital and my face was stitched and patched up. 🙂

The hospital’s handling of my case was what we know well = I was left waited more than two hours

still bleeding yet just sitting on a bench. (While waiting, blood pressure etc were taken by nurses)

Then I noticed, despite of my camera being smashed and the view screen was shuttered, yet

amazingly it was still functioning, even more of my amazement, a Zoom lens fitted on the camera

= Canon’s 8~15 mm F4 Fish-eye lens was still working perfect ! ! !

(with its fragile movable structure, Zoom lens couldn’t survive this kind of shock = this is the

exceptional case !  = May be Canon designed it for the photographers with rough

and tumble in mind 😀  = Anyhow it was a good news in a bad situation 🙂

ERA[]

On my life, I don’t have accident or should I say only seldom = On the Ski, I’ve

broken 3 Skies but never broken any bone or heavily cut myself.

On the climbing, I’ve fallen 10m and about 5m —– still always landed on my rucksack hence never

injured. (other small falls were the nature in the climb 😀 ) Therefore, I had no experience of the

hospital, except the one when I was attacked and hospitalized in 24 hours coma and woke-up there.

So that this occasion was a rare chance to observe all the people involved = local people who saw me

fall was very kind and as he saw the gushed blood, called the ambulance at once.

The ambulance people were very professional (got to be) and I was taken to the hospital in 5 min

drive. —– (then long long waiting started while seeing another patient such as a lady mugged and

injured and so on) —– on the end, the Nurse and the Doctor did very good job to find out the

broken glasses in the cut (down to the skull !) and stitched it up.

—– And, I walked back 15 min to my place in the middle of night = 7 hours after the accident.

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As far as I know, the Zen mind should have an Hyper Vision in such case = when I fell

on the rock, I saw the slow moving details of the rock and the surrounding view.

When my ski caught the tree under the snow and my body was flying forward in the air,

I saw my body in a slow-motion. —– though, in this occasion, I only found myself laying on

the ground = there was a kind of lapse of the time = it seemed to have a jump of memory.

—– Why I couldn’t have seen my falling body nor able to take Ukemi (受身 / Safer

bodily movement to reduce the impact when falling to the ground).

(Bruise on both of my back hands indicates that the hands instinctively moved to protect myself

though, why didn’t hit the ground palm first, as an Ukemi.  ? ) = May be, the Hyper Vision could

have happened only the moment when the Mind was in a fully alerted state, not in an

absent minded casual situation = after 30 years, I still have a moment of absent-minded or lapse

of my mindfulness. —– Or, I must be getting old and getting rotten. 😀

It’s mean, should I look for the protective gear of mountain biker or even a walking frame ?

(May be not a coffin yet)    Ha ha ha 😀

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San-sai (山菜) = Edible Plants from Mountain

Early summer, lots of Japanese goes out field or mountain to gather edible plants.

They appreciates each plant’s distinctive tastes and the flavor which is unique to the season.

= Naturally, I receive my friends Email with those stories and photographs (Link here).  (He was few years

Younger member of the Alpine Club = In his older Posts, you may see that he is climbing snowy mountain

every week and skiing ! = That’s how Japanese is living with the Nature )

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—– those custom was behind of my Bracken story. = for me, as an ex-patriot, it is a sort of nostalgia to my

Japanese taste,  in the same time it is a resistance to the modern western culture “Vegetable comes

from Tesco”, —– but in fact, it often came from a farm other-side of the earth, 

and regardless the time of year.  (Still, I got tasteful great memory to eat full-ripen tomato in the

very middle of dizzyingly vast, red tomato field in a Canary Island which tomato is destined to

a shelf of super market in England.  A farmer stopped me to pick, and gave me the better one  😀 )

For a sake of convenience, it degrading the one’s only life to a life in statistical number.

To live in its moment mean = unique moment = unique to its year’s season. = not standardized

homogeneous pattern, which was mass produced and sold by a Supermarket.

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The stories from Japan is not a kind of surprising news = went so and so place and picked this and that plants then

enjoyed eating them as a Templa and so-on.

(In the photo left, underneath is Wasabia Japonica (that Wasabi /山葵 , comes with Sushi.

They grow in a very clean mountain stream).    And the Small Bamboo Shoots (Takenoko / 竹の子 ).

The big one on top is Aralia Cordata (Udo / 独活).

Right photo is also in the Araliaceae family, Eleutherococcus Sciaphylloides (Koshi-abura / こしあぶら) = may

be not in the west and its bitter taste may be too strong for other than to Japanese ). —– Yet, I noticed, this

Japanese tradition may have some displeasure to the western people which might be originated

from the difference of the natural environment in Japan, and their attitude toward the plants.

= In comparison to the England where only 20% of the land is mountainous,  Japan got their 80% is the mountain

= hence the area where those plants grow is huge and those plants are everywhere = human activities wouldn’t

affect so much (anyhow people wouldn’t go to the same area which got too much competition) and

the plant would recover by making side shoot.

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—– It may sound too funny though, only a week or two ago I discovered that I can use Google and Wikipedia

in Japanese. 😀

Because of my knowledges of the plants are all in Japanese, I didn’t necessary wrote the name of the plant in English

or in Latin before. —– But when I Googled and saw Wikipedia in Japanese, then found the English name, I noticed,

some of the plant which Japanese eat, are the garden plants in the west.

Like Foster, they are quite common in the gardens here, and in Japanese mountain they are everywhere.

= they are easy to distinguish and easy to cook such as to put into Miso soup though, the western people may not

feel comfortable to eat them as they make pretty flowers.

The Japanese “Udo” Aralia Cordata is now widely sold in England with a fancy name of “Aralia Cordata Sun King”

hence people never considered to eat as “Udo” like Japanese does.

There is a very firm idiosyncrasy

= plants in the garden is only for visual pleasure never for eating !

And they may not want to be seen as an hungry people. 😀

Kitchen garden might be only for a show-off of their rich folly and for a talking piece.

—– For a Japanese, nature is not just for looking at. They eat a lot from the nature as well

= literally living together.

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Mindfulness again !

A word most frequently come-up on the Buddhism talking is the [Mindfulness]

= in another word it is a word and its notion is the most confusing and

misunderstood. (hence keep haunting the people 🙂 )

= Misunderstood from the tone of the word which force a person to think,

“I have to Mind to make it full” = trapped into such obsessed idea.

On contrary, Mindfulness is Just Doing the Subject away from any Thinking.

= Whole Mind and the Body was completely absorbed by the Subject.

It’s mean, even an awareness “I have to be in full of Mind” can not be there.

= You can not learn Mindfulness, but you have to learn the subject such as

Tea Making = after 10 years, when you can make a tea without any thinking,

almost automatic = this is THE  MINDFULNESS.  😀

( If a teacher says, “I can teach Mindfulness”, he (she) is a sham )

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Some time before, I’ve described the situation of Buddhism teaching with a metaphor,

“ The teacher who supposed to teach dancing, teach the step, hand movements etc,

without music, without knowing what the dance is”. = Almost like the blinds

touching an elephant and try to explain what the Elephant is. 🙂

Therefore, the unknown part, or the part what Zen teacher couldn’t clarify was left as a myth

of spirituality, and the structural explanation, such as the relation between the notion of

Self, Mindfulness, Mushin, Enlightenment and Nirvana were completely missing.

—– on top of this, sect to sect, they give their own wording, making the situation even worse.

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Contrarily to the popular MISconception, the Buddhism is one of the most

simple religion, or it may not even be a religion at all = just a way to live in a

particular MIND. ( AND, this particular mind is nothing special neither

= Mind of AS YOU ARE. 🙂 )

There are no special name of Divine figure to remember, there is no obligation to chant special

mantra, even no obligation to do something. —– But Just live your LIFE.

Only a confusing or difficult part is, to see this MIND. Or, to see WHO YOU ARE.

Yet, strangely, YOU are nobody else of YOU, hence your Mind is nothing else of YOUR MIND.

—– (That’s why, this is so difficult and so easy ! 😀 😀

And that’s why the scripture says, “ It is there as not there” 😀 😀 )

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To live Your Life as Your Own Life with 100% commitment is the Mindfulness.

In the moment, when me to curve wooden Spoon, I had to concentrate and completely being

“A Man Who curve the wood” = this is the Mindfulness on its MOMENT.

To be in the Mindfulness, there is no another mind to observe such mind.

= Because, JUST DOING IT is what 100% commitment meant.

To curve the wood, hand and the chisel is fused together which follows the grain of the wood

automatically. = this is the [Ichijo] and as there is nothing else but the action of curving

= no another thinking is there. = this is [Mushin]. As the wood is being curved, its shape

is keep changing and no-return. = this is what [LIVE in MOMENT] mean.

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As I wrote before the original word to describe Mindfulness in the Buddhism scripture

(in Pali) is Sati, and Chinese used a letter [念] Nien or Nen in Japanese for this translation.

This letter meant a sort of mind, deepest in the human psyche which form the base of the mind.

And I found in Japanese a word [覚悟] Kakugo seems to be the best suited to represent the

meaning.   This word can be used to describe a determination in the deepest psyche

in the subconscious level.

Hence the meaning is, a kind of mind to BE as {something / somebody} hence, if it

is YOU, a firm commitment to be YOU, or even an absolute commitment to curve a wood.

(No one can have any another mind while using sharp tool, otherwise end-up cutting fingers 😀 )

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So that, when we were absorbed in a subject, it’s a moment of Mindfulness. = so deeply absorbed,

as even an awareness which observing “ I’m doing this” is not there, = is Mindfulness

= Mindfulness has to be in Mushin ! —– In fact, it is so easy JUST DO IT.

—– ( Whether to be absorbed in such subject is fit to be IN YOUR LIFE or not. = This is a matter

related to one’s Karma. = Who you are ?   And I’ll talk about it in the another post. )

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Estranged Buddhism = Pretense of Zen

Some days ago I encountered a man claim to be a Zenist who happened to

have read my blog, [Spoon] post and he asked me what the Spoon is to do

anything with the Zen Buddhism ?

I explained my thought behind of [Spoon] and asked him what is he doing

in Zen Buddhism. 

He said, “ I’m DOING Zen, as I am sitting and meditating everyday”. 

Though, anything beyond this he evaded the question pretending he knows everything

better than me, but it is unexplainable since, the ultimate truth can not be expressed

in the words.

So I asked again, what is his meditation for, is it to see the Dharma and

its Panya Paramita ?  He said “ I’m seeing the emptiness”

And said “ Zenist doesn’t debate” then he became silent.

—– M m m, sound familiar, = not in Zen but in Taoism.

Word to word, it is from the Taoist book, Tao te Ching (道徳経).

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Like the idea of Soto Zen such as [Not express in the words] (不立文字) hence

[Direct transmission of mind to mind] (以心伝心) are all came from Chinese Taoism.

(Hence, to justify this story, famous [Flower summon] = [ Pick a Flower and Smile

Mantra] (捻華微笑経) was written in China.)

Even without the verbal explanation, while living in a Temple, a novice

can learn the Buddhism Teachings in the practice of the dairy life by way

of  [Doing the same everyday] (hence able to learn Mushin).

Though, the trouble was, how to introduce Zen Buddhism to the west.

It is impossible to teach it in one or two demonstrations. = Still it had to be explained,

or written down in an instruction book, which was not in their tradition, not mention

the monk was not necessary good for how to explain it in English.

So that, the explanation of Zen was conveniently borrowed from the

existing translation of the Tao te Ching book.

= Hence, the Zen in the west adopted a Myth in the Taoism.

And pretending to be a Sage, dwelling in the Mythical Truth, became a

stereotype of a Zen Buddhist.  Enigma became their sales point  😀

(But, while believing that the sitting is DOING the ZEN. —– hasn’t they ever

wondered,  why Tea Making or Sword Mastery is Zen too ? —– No wonder,

Spoon carving is too remote for them 😀 )

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Lord Buddha didn’t give a damn to such Myth (Metaphysics) at all.

When asked about those Metaphysical question, he didn’t even bothered

to answer.  = All about the matters to the life is, to live a real life, not to dwell in a

pretense in fancy idea.  Yes, the truth could be empty = so what ?

= Does it mean “Can we live in a vacuum ?” —– Joking, we are still in the same

Samsara and still need to live mundane dairy life = nothing noble or fancy

= any fixed fancy idea or pretense is just a delusion.

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Wu (or Mu in Japanese =無 ), Wu-i (or Mu-i =無為 ) in Taoism is literally Nothing

and Do nothing intentionally.  But Void or Emptiness in Buddhism is the matters in

our perception = uncertainty of our Mind and the Self.  And even though Dharma

is the physical reality, it is constantly changing

= Nothing is certain in both way (See and be seen), hence it can only be

clearly seen by the Eyes of No-eyes, Mind of No-mind. (Mind without

any Preconception or Thinking) = VOID in Buddhism is the metaphor

of this EMPTY MIND.   Hence, live in Mushin is the answer.

Before Zen, Buddhism has to be understood first.  And never mixed up with Taoism.

(Zen is a mere Practice to get MUSHIN = instead to get Mushin, but end up in a

Metaphysics of Taoism is nothing but a waste of time and the LIFE.

= Carving a Spoon is much more fun, than pretending noble EMPTY face

 and do nothing.  😀 )

___/\___

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Effort ?

An exchange of Comments in the [Spoon !] post may highlight the point of this Blog.

A person called [EML to OUTLOOK] commented ;

“ I have learn some good stuff here. Definitely value bookmarking for revisiting.

I wonder how much effort you place to make the sort of great informative web site.”

—

What I replied was ;

“For your eyes, it may looks an effort though, the notion of effort is = If you got to

do it for somebody else or for something obliged to do. (not necessary wanted to do)

But in this case, to sharpening the tool, to carving the wood, to take photos of

it and to write about = all together for no purpose and I have no obligation.

I’m just doing it.

( —– What can I expect and going to do with those utterly useless SPOON  😀 )

If you do something such as a game and completely absorbed in it, you may not

feel you are putting an effort (even though you put so much time and energy)

= same as that.

But, was this for myself ? = Zen doesn’t feel even myself was doing it.

Just the hand was doing it.

This is the Zen in action, or it can be said, living Zen. Zen need no effort.

(This is the reason why such a spoon item is in the Zen Blog)”

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As often I said in this blog, the most big misunderstanding in the Zen study

emanated from the word [Mindfulness].

And even more fundamental misunderstanding is = try to DO the ZEN. —– Zen is

not a kind of activity to DO = Zen is a condition like a body temperature. It might be 0.1 degree

higher or lower even you can do the same though, it might have an effect to the result.

You can not intentionally choose to be higher body temperature = it is just to be, as it is. 

What actually I was doing is such as sharpening tool, carving wood or typing.

Or Sword Master’s case, just fighting with his sword = Zen is just a mind-set behind.

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Mindfulness is the same = you can not actively DO it.

It is whether you were being absorbed in it or not.

This is the reason, why it is hard to understand, let alone achieve it, when you do something

not familiar or not very keen to do the subject. = And this is the reason why I’m keep writing

“Try to do a thing which is familiar to you or very ordinary such as [Cutting Lemon]

or [Walking] as a practice for Zen.  Instead, if you do very peculiar activity = peculiar only

to a sect of religion = until you get used, its strangeness makes your conscious uneasy = as long as

you feel uneasy, you can not settle with the activity = you can not be absorbed in its subject.

( Hence it takes longer time to get used for it become a daily norm = which you can do it

without conscious = automatic)

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The man commented was seeing an [Effort] in this blog, especially to make spoon etc, though

as I wrote in my reply, there wasn’t much effort there. = I got used to do all those process.

—– this is the reason why the Buddhism keep saying [Heijyo-shin / 平常心]

( Mind in ordinary) = Zen is just a condition of the mind in the dairy life and

it is nothing special.

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There is a fundamental paradox in the condition of the mind —– people were

attracted by a peculiarity of a strange religion which give an impression of something special

= which may give a person to feel “I’m special = better than others” —– though, as long as the

person having this kind of arrogant feeling or Ego, there is absolutely no benefit

of such religion other than a placebo effects of such [special] feeling.

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Nothing special or noble, let alone peculiar super-natural vision etc.

in Zen.   Only Zen makes difference in the results in the dairy life.

That’s all.

(The best thing of it is, we can do it without effort = since we can do it while

absorbed in its subject, hence with much higher efficiency 😀

 —– I mean not just carving a Spoon.   😀 )

___/\___

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Compassion and Charity in Dharma

When we saw somebody lost a balance and seemingly fall, we just give a hand to

hold the person. ———- why ? ? ?

Give a thought. —– Why do we need to give a hand to this person ? Why this guy shouldn’t fall ?

Why with my hand, why not other’s ? —– This guy even might have a Karma to fall here, and

hit the head and to die. —– Or, is it to prevent a messy situation developed and don’t want to

see bloody scene ? = are ALL, in the THINKING.

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But without any thinking, instantly we just stretch a hand to support the person.

Have we ever taught to hold a person to prevent fall ?   Who told you to do so ?

= Without any knowledge, without any thought, WE JUST DO IT. = WHY ? ? ?

Because it is in our nature. Instantly see what is necessary, what is right and good.

So that, Lord Buddha explained that this is the Dharma which, we were born with.

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There is no word on the beginning.   So we needed to invent a word for this phenomenon, as

[Compassion].   And after started to notice this, started to talk and teach brah brah brah.

Without we know its whole mechanism and details, we knew it’s there of which we named

DHARMA.   And we knew, it is functioning without we think nor even noticing it. = in other

words, it is there, in the same time it is within us.

—– If we start to think, it is not necessary rational nor beneficial for us.

—– Why, do I need to help this person.   Yet we automatically do it. = don’t need

to think too much. = better leave the matter to the hand of DHARMA.

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And this is what all about the teachings

of Lord Buddha.

His teachings are all not about to reach the Darma, but to eliminate the obstacles

which prevents the Dharma prevailing. — such as “Why do I need to help other = Ego”.

“Has it any benefit for me to do this ? = Greed”.

“Oh, this person is falling, —– should I help but how = too much useless thinking to waste the

time and make it too late”

= So that, the core teaching was to eliminate the useless thinking = without own

thinking we can react to the situation = it’s mean, we can do it without SELF

= Self itself is not exists.  ( He just pointed out the facts and its explanation,

same as the science = anything fancy imaginative stories were added by others)

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Natural flow of inspiration doesn’t necessary having a convenient order or structure.

Lord Buddha’s teachings must be given as his wisdoms, situation by situation on the spot.

The structure and the classification, listing and the numbering must came much later = after

the teachings were written down as the scripture.

Trouble in the Buddhism teachings are, the person who compiled it didn’t necessary understood

what the [Mushin] is or knowing the effect of having the Dharma in him.

Therefore, he only guessed and listed up each description of act from hear-say.  

So that, in the Buddhism Scriptures, each duties were listed

as if it is an each discreet mind and act. (List of DO and DO-NOT)

(It was like a man who doesn’t know the Dancing, to teach How to Step and

How to move Hands all separately without accompanying music  😀 )

In the state of the mind = in Mushin, Compassion, no Ego, no Greed, no

Wrong intention etc etc are in fact, just one mind.  It is an inseparable one state

to see the good or better at once, which also controls action or body movement.

( So, the Best Judgment, Creativity or the Mastery Skill are all bore-out from this)

Though, it couldn’t even be observable by the person. —– If it was in conscious

of the person, such as “ This is a compassion” = it is a sham and just a pretense.

This is the reason why being in the state of  Mushin and in Ichijo is so crucial.

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When your hand spontaneously hold the person,  it was a real compassion and

the prevailed DHARMA.

___/\___

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Win win – Musashi the Sword Master

There was the most strange quote of Sword Master Musashi Miyamoto.

When he was asked what is a secret to keep winning the fight, he replied,

“ Never fight with a man stronger than me” —– !

( I wasn’t there to hear this myself, so I’m not sure whether this quote is true or not though,

from the level of Zen he reached, this word sound quite likely his own word. )

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Enlightenment in Zen liberates one’s mind = Liberate mean, free one’s mind from

all the restriction and the bondage of the ideas.

Free from pretence, rules, stereotypical beliefs even one’s own Ego.

So that, here is a contradiction, why Musashi needed to win ?

Why he needed to avoid to fight stronger opponent ?

But, before that, there was a preceding condition, why needs to fight ?

To seek a fight is driven by an intention from the Ego, Greed for the fame etc etc,

but once he reached to the level of the Enlightenment, he no longer had an impetus to fight.

( But Sword Mastery is not came from the will, but instinctive body reaction = if it

was needed to react in the situation, he could have done without having a will to fight

= it was not him fight, but the Dharma does ).

So that, once Musashi reached to this level, even the other sword master as good as him dear to

challenge him because even if challenge was successful, fight would cost a limb or two = a life of

sword mastery would be lost for ever = no point to challenge Musashi — and it never happened.

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Still the remaining question is, why Musashi uttered such words to spoil the game.   😀

It was because, what the Zen and its natural choice = Middle Way was.

Once enlightened, to cling the idea of Zen disappeared too.

(Conscious idea doesn’t need to be there because everything were controlled unconsciously).

So that, on the occasion, chattering with young novice, what situation required (= a task on front

of Musashi, on that moment ) was to have a good, cheerful conversation.

Why needs to be so serious.  He just took a Mickey out of serious novice.

(To his eyes the people in Sword Mastery or Zen seemed more like a caricature figure then)

Go, Middle way.   So that, the life can have much more fun. 😀

Relax !

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