Quantitative Easing

When I was doing a voluntary work in a mountain shelter where we’ve been taking care of

up to 100 guests.   Still, 3 times every year we have to accommodate 300 guests for two ~

three nights at the so-called golden week on May and September, and the New Year holiday.

To feed 300 guests was nothing but a war. We keepers were in a constant battle of

cooking, serving, and washing. (In the same time, some senior keeper had to go out

to search missing person and some had to treat the injured person and so on)

In the kitchen front, we had only 70 or so dinner plates, and in such situation, serving a

meal of fixed menu, Cary Rice (because it can be served on one plate and a spoon = easiest

to serve and wash. ( No complaint. —– It’s a 2300m high mountain called Yatsugatake in

Nagano pref’ where snow fall could be up to 2m deep, winter temperature could be

dropped to -20 degree C. —– mind you, we keepers weren’t paid. We even had to pay a transport

to get there from our pocket.   If you don’t like don’t come,  was the base of rules.

Once in February, I learned how to live alone, without making even a single word,

as the owner has gone to the town and didn’t come back one month, just listening a

roar of snow storm and boiling noise of water on a stove was the life.

How nice to be in the remote mountain. 😀 )

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When I was washing the dish to cater 300 guests, I noticed that the same plate is coming

back every 10 minutes —– I know it because the plate got minute spot on its edge.

While serving the guests, 70 plates rotating ( go-out with Cary Rice on it, and coming

back as an emptied plate ) = 4~5 times rotation would serve 300 people in 1 to 2 hours !

300 guest were served and they are satisfied (on the face. 😀 ) by the rotation of  70 plates.

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It was an ingenious and intriguing imagination (joke), when I saw the economical situation, I found

the funny analogy between so-called Credit Crunch and the rotating plates. — as long as the plates

rotates 5 times in an hour or so, everybody will be fed before they feel hungry, or 300 guest were fed

and all of their stomachs were filled,  despite of only having 70 plates, 300 portion of the

requirement was fulfilled = 4.3 times more wealth has been created.

But if the speed slow down, someone end of the queue would be starved.   To alleviate the situation,

hand out a plate to each with a promise of that the food would be served soon = it’s called credit.

—– though, fundamental problem was, there are only 70 plates.

To calm the frustration of the guest, hand out 230 more paper dish to cover all 300 =

this is so-called Quantitative Easing. 😀

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Everybody is expecting to get a meal while holding a paper dish in their hand.

We mankind has created funny system of economy and the false environment. — what’s this ? ? ?

—– I rather like to have, not a falsely inflated economy and uncertain promise, but to bring

fresh food material and cook by myself and eat = down to the earth humble life.

( Of cause, I know the politician and the bankers would say “ Don’t be limited by 70 plates,

create more wealth and spend it” —– ? ? ? Really ? —– [aren’t they stashing the wealth

created there, into their own pocket ? ]

It doesn’t need to see 70 plates. Everybody can see something utterly wrong

in the socioeconomic system today.  Raise your voice.  Make politician,

bankers to take notice.  So, go to the street,  join the protesters.

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Conflicted view to Steve Jobs

Some people pointed out that my view toward Steve Jobs in two previous posts are conflicting.

Appreciate him in respect of his Zen influenced attitude but in the same time showing an

almost a hatred toward him. —– this is true in certain extent.

There is a very clear reason. From the beginning I didn’t like Apple at all as I’ve described before.

Then, I learned a life history of him and his background —– born as a child of Syrian father

and an American mother, but as their marriage was not accepted by their parents, Steve was grown up

in the adopted family, Jobs. —– those conflict embedded in his psyche lead him to seek the Zen

which gave him an ultimate confidence to be HIM and the mental strength.

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People having a stereotype towards the Buddhism that it is a teaching of peace and harmony.

Though, as I wrote long ago in a Post [ Third aspect in Zen ] there is yet another aspect =

Zen as a technique of Mind Engineering.   How to reprogram one’s mind and give a confidence.

The most famous Sword Master Musashi Miyamoto who wrote [ Book of the Five Rings ] was an accomplished

Zen Master too. —– Still, he was a killer of 30 odd people — (said to be, as I wasn’t there 🙂 ).

And lots of opponents who fought with him were also Zenist.    Being a Zen Buddhist doesn’t mean they

avoid the fight and settle peaceful draw.   One has to die.    The matter in there was only how to kill

in the most efficient way.  Live as a Samurai, death is a part of their Karma and the contemplation.

This is nothing but the Zen Buddhism.

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Zen can give completely open eyes of Mushin,  hence the reaction or decision-making is

the reflection of the Dharma, thus the result would be the most appropriate and the best.

In this aspect, Steve Jobs has accomplished the task what he needed to Do.  Which

he conceived the idea with his open-minded way ( having no dithering to the conventional

thinking or hesitation to others ).

I appreciate this, in relation to the Zen. —– though, I hate the way how Apple exploited the others.

Dharma did give him the best idea of the product design, though I quite doubt of the

well thought-out (second thought driven by the greed) business model to enslave the

consumer = too much tactical thinking and the greed subjecting others was excessive. 

Zen will make a person to perfects the task,  but to harm others

would lead to the repercussion of the Karma to him.

I give certain appreciation to the products, though I wouldn’t make myself to become

a slave or their colony.

My freedom is more precious than few hundreds pound gadget   😀

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I hate Apple.

Since I’ve put quotations from Steve Jobs on my previous post, some of the people got a

misconception of that I am a fan of Apple products.  Far from it, I am a proud Apple hater.

Never attracted to buy any of their product, therefore I don’t have any, except some discarded junk for spare-

parts. ( A power adapter with broken connector for Mac’ laptop, I bought for £1 from an Odds and Ends box

of a shop, wasn’t too bad for a  24 V power supply to use with stepping motor, as it is smaller

and having a built-in  fold-away main plug  )

The reason why I hated them since very beginning was, I hate their sales tactics.

Only designed and schemed for the way of money sucking system, was utterly repulsive to me.

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Storing digitized music signal in a solid-state memory was a natural evolution, as I was seeing the last moment

struggle of Sony trying to cling the market by their Mini-disc, I really pitied them with a question Why ?

Though, I didn’t buy Apple’s iPod, as I saw their greed to monopolize the Music distribution system by their

monopolized  iTunes.  ( Before, I’ve been annoyed by their Mac’ design. Everything is incompatible with PC.

All the connectors are exclusive, not only the style of it, but the signal protocol, format etc, hence it needs to

have all sorts of converter. — On top of this, they are much more expensive, selling to the snobs who want to

show off. —– I despise those kind of snob most. ( Just watching heavily compressed signal of downloaded

porno, what  is the point to have so-called “ good in graphics Apple Mac “ —– don’t make me laugh.)

( Me to use bloody expensive full-frame Canon was not for fancy pretence, simply because no other camera

allow me free to use another manufacturer’s lens, even hand-made lens, while keeping auto-exposure function.

You can’t do this with any another camera —– I had no choice. )

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The reason why I did put a post quoting Steve Jobs’ word ;

>>> you are not going to usea piece of plywood on the back,  even though it faces the wall and

nobody will ever see it. You will know it’s there,  so you are going to

use a beautiful piece of wood on the back.

—– is to say, in real life, he didn’t cut even a single piece of wood to make his product.  He was

not a programmer nor electronic engineer. — He only know the design spec’ which can sell.

He just pressurized others to make it —– in notorious draconian way.

Apple didn’t make any of their products, from single component (nearly 80% came from Japan )

to final assembly (in China).

But got most of the profit for themselves thanks to their inflated price.

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I can imagine the pressure who supplied the component, had to face —– such as to make it 1mm even thinner

out of already minuscule 3mm high, and even with reduced price.

Everybody had to work for Apple while dripping their blood and under a fear of instant dismissal.

He was a man lived in grudge and the revenge against the people who has kicked him out of Apple before.

No wonder such obsessed hi-tensioned psyche shortened his life. I don’t think he had a happy life, neither he

gave any happiness to other people —– he only sold an empty vanity, a Myth to the mass.

When Steve Jobs realized,  that their brain couldn’t keep hold the Myth for ever, they opened the design of

APP to the outside designer ( in fact it was an ingenious solution ! ) and started to sell the APPs designed by

somebody else.  Yet another exploitation of others while running their money-making  machine for them.

And this must be the reason, why his Hero was real Ninja —– who got a deadly efficiency, able to carry out

a duty [to kill] in a most ruthless dirty manner —– contrast to useless fantasy in Superman or Spider-man.

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Seeing his death, and seeing the wane of Apple, flood-gate was opened for the people to speak out.

So, I’m very curious to hear, how Steve Jobs could able to force his concept in their product design system.

( Steve Jobs invented nothing. He just used the existing technology and the components only in smaller, pretty

package = putting a lot more together, in order to give an illusion to the users that they can do a lot more.

—– To do this, the supplier of the component, such as camera, touch-pad etc had to work bloody hard to

make it even smaller with higher spec’ to fill the requirement of the Apple)

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And interesting to see, how such as the Korean industry who got used to just copy, is going to do their future

business without having a sample to copy 😀

(—– It’s mean, the inspiration of Steve Jobs was at least unique to him and impossible to copy.

—– in this aspect, he WAS a unique man —– all the technology in the iPhone has been known

to the electronic industry though,  nobody else,  other than Steve Jobs

actually made it to iPhone )

It’s a funny paradox here. — (It’s easy to do, still nobody else but him did do.  He Just Did It.

It was a good sample, how to keep an Open-Mind.  And if it needs to be done, Do it.  😀 )

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Quote of Guess Who ?

[ When you are a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers,  you are not going to use

a piece of plywood on the back,  even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it.

You will know it’s there,  so you are going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back.

For you to sleep well at night,  the aesthetic,  the quality,  has to be carried all through.]

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[ Your time is limited,  so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

Don’t be trapped by dogma —– which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.

Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions down out your own inner voice. 

And most important, have the courage to follow heart and intuition. 

They somehow already what you truly want to become.

Everything else is secondary. ]

—– If you are familiar with Zenist’s word,  it may sound one of them.

Or if you are an artist,  it sounds somebody,  accomplished Japanese craftsman’s words.

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They are the words of  Steve Jobs’ who just left this world.

On the first glance,  I couldn’t  imagine that this is the words of  Steve Jobs’ but somebody a Japanese Zenist.

Then I learned that when he was young, he was a fanatic of the Japanese culture, especially Zen.  (He married to his wife through the Bhddist ceremony)

From those words,  I guess,  it might have formed his base of the psyche to be a creator, as his

words are typical expression of mindfulness and showed the confidence to be a free minded person.

Steve Jobs learned his Zen from Soto-Zen Master Kobun Otokawa through Walking Zen Practice —– he was

made to walk round a rock,  endlessly round and round and round —– and he mastered the Mushin.

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When he conceived his first gadget business ( iPod ), he knew what makes the product as a desired object,

learned from the Japanese products, especially such as Sony’s Walkman and their CD player = down to the

minute detail of craftsmanship ( [ use beautiful wood, where no one would see ] kind 🙂 ) not only the sound

quality = hence it can sell with a premium price.  Yet still, if the gadget is a electromechanical product

he knew, he may not able to compete with Sony,  though the time was his side = end of  the mechanical era.

Digital sound technology has been established long since.  So that the matter was only the size of  memory.

Luckily for him, the size of memory was increasing every day, the price was dropping day by day.

So, he was able to produce beautifully made iPod, with new recording format of  MP3.

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Unlike mechanical system ( if you remember, think the battle of U-Matic and VHS video system ), digital

electronic system is very easy to design a distinctive own format just using a  key-board, which can still be

copy-righted = hence Apple could easily establish the monopoly of  MP3 and easily organize monopolized

Music distribution / download system using Internet.  Everything was there for him to utilize.

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—– One episode of him to enforce this view was, when he visited Japan last year in summer, stayed at

Kyoto,  he bought Ninja throwing knife, and on return journey,  it caused a trouble with Kansai Airport

security who confiscated it.  Mr. Jobs who was going to fly by his private jet argued with the officials saying

” Who is going to hijack my own aircraft ? ”  😀

Peace for his departed soul.

___/\___

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Simple LIFE / Humble LIFE

Simple life —– well well well. I’m well aware that I’ve been using this word rather casually and often.

After all, Zen Buddhism is not what we talk or think, but practice.

So, in practice am I having simple life ? ? ? —- In one glance, it is untrue.

I’m doing too many things and being involved too many activities —– often not necessary they

are what I’ve intended.  They just happened and came to my hand.

But, this is the most important core teaching in the ZEN.

When I do anything I only do one thing ( at a time ) = because of I’m doing only one thing,

it is very simple.   Just Do It.

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Then Humble Life —– ?   This is definitely true on me.    Anyone can see it in distance.

May be indistinguishable from a vagrant.   Far remote of any concept of fashion, still strangely people says,

they can find me in the cloud easily since I’m looks always the same 😀

A secret behind of this, I’m buying the same cloths, some time many at once —– my signature attire of

white pullover, I got almost identical 5 of them.

When I buy underwear or socks kind, I buy many of them in one go, or after gave a close look and when

I found it is a good product, I go back to the shop and buy up many of them.

Like the socks, if they are all same made, I don’t need to have a trouble to find a matching pair 😀

After all, I’m lazy to think what to ware ( I don’t care the package, the matter is the contents ) —– if

the package is the same, I don’t need to think about when I put.   It’s true isn’t it ?

Laziness lead to the simplicity.     This is what the humble life become simple life. Ha ha ha. 😀

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While having much enough to think about for a project or design, I wouldn’t like to spare the time to

mundane things —– sorry I wouldn’t pay much of attention to the room decoration.

Zen wouldn’t chase two rabbits, since we got only one life.   ( And we don’t wait to have another

life to finish the project —– as nobody ever did = nobody ever enlightened in the next life, 

since no such things ever exists in this world —– even Dalai Lama had to learn the Buddhism

from scratch = where all the wisdom supposed to be accumulated in his previous 13 lives ? )

So, Just Do It,  while it is in your hand.

___/\___

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Bang in Trinity Gallery

Last Friday night,  there was an opening of an Art exhibition and the performance at the newly opened

art gallery called Trinity in Greenwich (5 minutes from Cutty Sark ship) (Click here for Info’)

Exhibition was titled [ Emblem – Deconstructed and Destroyed ] = installation using a lots of books, created

by Christina Mitrentse and the performance of   fire-play to burn a book = ( so, Destroyed ? )

May be only an Artist who is using fire powder to create ( or destroy ?) the Art =

Aoife Van Linden Tol  prepared the fuse and the explosive powder on a book.

( She is a qualified and licensed explosive handler !  )

While Aoife was preparing,  an Art Writer Douglas Park  recited a text he wrote for Aoife’s creation.

Then, she put light on fuse — Bushu shu shu shu  😀 —– And Bang , Pang  Pang —– !  😀

Then, it’s so-called Art Talks.

In the gallery floor, Christina’s installation. —————— And Aoife’s victims or her Art.

Something very unusual of this gallery is the structure of

the building,  hence floor plan for an art-space.

It got great height = 3 stories height and straight wall, but not

an expanse of  floor or side wall.

It’s mean, it is very useful for a kind of display or

performance having interaction with the

space above / another level of existences or

its symbolic expression.

In addition, outside garden having a lots of trees = good spooky back ground !

( In fact, I got quite few idea pretty suited for this space  🙂  )

—– unfortunately exhibition is only untill 2nd October.   Still, the gallery is having the series of

exhibitions,  I’m sure  next events should come soon. =

Check their website to find farther info’  <  http://www.hivelondon.org  >  <  Trinity  on  Facebook  >

—-

Panda Babies

Oh, Cm’on,  you got to be joking. —– No no, they are REAL Panda Babies.   Not soft toys  🙂

Born in China and hand reared by personal attendance, even when a baby they are the well behaving

Confucius Pandas  !  😀

They are the precious baby (hence not cub, and sleeping on the Futon mattress) of Panda,  in

the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Base.

When I found this photo in a Japanese news site, I couldn’t stop to join this fun.

It’s definitely make anybody smile.    And everybody ought to join the circle   🙂

Have a happy smily day.

(  The original news site   <  http://www.jiji.com/jc/p?id=20110928090039-1443782&j3  >  )

___/\___

—

ZAFU — What ?

Some time ago I encountered a Zenist blog complaining that somebody stole

his Zafu (Small cushion), because of this, he couldn’t sit and meditate.

He said ” It was a jealous conspiracy, obstructing  me to get enlightenment ”

—– Whoa ! ! !    😀

I

I think after I’ve read this, I wrote a post saying “ Don’t bother Zafu,

you can sit anywhere and practice Zen in any manner”   😀

And after I wrote previous post [Water bowl Zen] I got an image of

Buddha walking with his disciples —– m m m ?

Without any reason,  suddenly I imagined that if they are all carrying

their own Zafu. —– Ha ha ha 😀

—

So that the photo right is [ Shariputra who got his Zafu under his arm, asking a question

to Buddha]. —– of cause, I’m kidding. —– you know how funny it is.  Of cause there wasn’t a Zafu on the

time of  Buddha,  as no body needed it,  since they don’t sit in a style of Lotus posture.

Can you imagine a group of bhikku, posses nothing,  yet carrying a Zafu for comfortable sitting ? 

—

I wrote somewhere “So-called image of Buddha meditating” was a mis-representation of

Buddha just having a break and taking  rest.  Like all the Indian, Asian people, when they sit and

having a rest,  they just sit (so-called half Lotus),  not twisting the legs.

The iconic Lotus posture was a later invention which even needs a Zafu to keep body balance, which mean

it is not a natural way to sit. —– Buddhism had gone too much posturing.

It is not a way to follow the Dharma,  or  the Nature.

—

So,  Shariputra carrying a Zafu was a sheer joke.  😀

In fact the wire figure was originally made as a Royal Guard of the Emperor’s Palace.  🙂

It’s good to have a joke some time  😀      ( Zen Buddhism is not for having  grumpy life )

___/\___

—

Bowl of Water Zen

When I was talking about Zen practice with others, someone mentioned a BBC news which

showed a group of Chinese Zen monks are walking while carrying a bowl of water

as their Zen practice. —– “ Oh, what a good idea. It’s a good practice to learn Zen Mind “

—

( It’s easy to try this.  Fill the water to the top of bowl about 8″  big and holding it to your chest high and walk.

By doing this,  you can observe your state of the mind,  how steady and calm your mind is.

Strangely you may find,  the more you concentrate and gaze the water the more it shakes  😀

—– when your mind is almost detouched from the water or whole action,  then the water become still and

make no drip while you are walking —- then you can fill even more water reaching to the edge.  It’s a fun !)

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In this blog, I’ve been talking that any action could be a Zen practice, hence in one post I talked about

[Lemon Zen] and the other post, [Walking Zen] in fact I also mentioned about the effects of even riding

a bicycle or typing —– any repeating action could have the same effect to reach

a state of the Mind of No-Mind or Mushin.

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In fact everybody is doing the action of walking in Mushin = nobody is thinking when and how to move

the right leg after left leg has moved. —– It’s all done unconsciously.

So that, the practice of Mushin ( and the Mindfulness of cause — if a part of the brain is not fully engaged

for the walking, we can not automatically adjust the leg movement following the slight change of a condition

of the road surface) is not necessary an exotic funny action.

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Then inevitable question arose —– if the walking is the practice of Mushin which everybody is doing,

why not everybody is an accomplished  Zen Master.

Here is a funny but fundamental paradox of the Zen Buddhism.   When the Mushin in walking is the

Zen, it is the Zen. —– but otherwise it is just an unconscious action of walking.

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Buddha didn’t perform any fancy or peculiar action. It was just a simple ordinary daily life, yet

as it was repeated every day, each action was almost identical every time.

This simplified and fixed way of each practice is the requisite condition of [the Life in Mushin].

Buddha’s life style was the text-book and the disciples were learned and copied those action, and in the process,

disciples learned the Mushin ( or the state of the No-Mind  was developed  in them).

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Because of the state of the mind can not be learned by the word, but only by the practice ( like any

emotion,  unless a person has experienced it,  the description of feeling couldn’t make any sense )

and this is the reason why non of the ancient scripture was actually talking about No-Mind, but only No-Self.

( No-Self = No-Mind —– still able to live as a person is because there is the enough program in our

Subconsciousness which is invisible —– like what I am talking here, is a new interpretation after Freud invented

a notion of  Subconscious = which was not exists in the ancient time )

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And there is yet another paradox in the Buddhism.

To live the Life in Mushin is what all about the Buddhism though, no-mind, no thinking, BUT unless it

was  understood as the Buddhism,  it wouldn’t become the Buddhism.

Anybody can carry a full of water in a bowl, and time to time the one may need to do it.   Just carry a cup of tea

happen to be full to the edge, from kitchen to a table —– some may succeed it while making no single drip, yet

some may make a mess.  What makes a difference ?

Calm mind, hence a steady hand is the crucial point here = a kind of thought “ Oh, I’ve put

too much. I’m silly. I would spill a mess on the floor. etc. “ would make a hand even more

wobbly and the tea would drip here and there   😀

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A person can practice this and acquire better coordination on the hand, so that it will be programmed into

the motor legion of the brain and may become a routine movement.   But, that all.

BUT, if a person practised this, under a file name of the Zen Buddhism, the file become

accessible in any moment when it need to have a calm mind in your life.

Carrying a full of water as Zen, it become the Zen with its effects.

Once a person acquired this file with the attachment of the notion of Zen and its spiritual implication,

the file would be applied to any action and any situation in the Life, hence, walking is the Zen, cutting a lemon

is the Zen, and even facing Tsunami Wave could be handled in a calm mind and able to act in the best way

or see the fate with calm clear eyes.   (Sorry to the victims of Tsunami)

With this Paradox ( has to live without thoughts, preconception etc, still needs to organize its notion of

Mushin as the practice of Zen Buddhism) Buddha has asserted “ There is the way, which is to be

pursued as the way of Buddhism “ since in his earliest teachings as one of the Four Noble Truth.

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This notion makes the difference between Mushin to just to be an ignorant thoughtless.

Though, the notion itself is nothing complicated = just to be aware [to carry a bowl of water is for Zen]

—– with this awareness, just Do It and keep doing it —– then suddenly you will find that you can do it without

spilling a single drip of water, and realized while doing it you didn’t need to think anything = Just Did It !

———-

Then observe yourself, while doing even other things, are you just doing it as well, without having any

useless thought ? (You may achieve this in few weeks or may be taking few years. Just carry on. —– then you

might be noticed, you have been having no upheaval in your life and strangely, quite unexpected

or too good to be true kind of coincidences has been happening, yet no one can tell why

—– Just carry on with your LIFE without questioning. ) —–This is a Zen Buddhist’s LIFE.

___/\___

—

Think Yourself (2)

Gosh, it was the February of last year when I talked about this in a post  [ Think yourself ].

On that time I wrote the reason why Buddha ordered his disciples not just follow his words but

think it by themselves,  was,  let the Buddhism to evolve by taking new thinking according to

the change of the world. —– This is true. — And the Buddhism did it,  in deed.

Then after I wrote previous two post about will-power —– I realized there was also a hidden meaning in

the Buddha’s words “ Think yourself “ —– he must be thinking the other effect in the brain when

people think about the subject again and again.

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You might remember when you were a child, you asked a rather silly question to your parent and

annoyed them such as why we can’t get a stars in the night sky,  I want to have one   🙂

We grown up and know more and better ( how far the stars are ),  and also we tired-out to think about

such question = effect of the brain fatigue and the acclimation to the same signal.

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There are two different kind of the results you can get out of a question, say what is the answer of

[ 1+1 = ? ] —– with straight arithmetic, it is [ 2 ] but when you tired to question again and again = the question

itself would ware-out.  ( may be not 1+1 kind but pretty awkward abstract notion such as

where we came from for what purpose and where are we go after life. etc etc )

When the question disappeared, no problem left = just carry-on your life.    Ha ha ha 😀

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Despite your expectation Buddha didn’t give any of those answer, he was silent = famous

roaring sound of silence.   But ordered to think yourself.

By doing so, you will get the answer of Ha ha ha 😀 :-D.

After all this is the very answer you need to have to live your happy life.

Leave the question to a Philosopher who was born to be a grumpy philosopher.

You don’t need to have grumpy life.  —  This is the Buddhism.    Ha ha ha 😀

Have a nice day 🙂

___/\___

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