Run for a Bus

On the way to a weekly gathering of the Wireless Wednesday

(WiFi Net geek’s work shop) at Greenwich,

I saw a back of a bus just gone from the stop.   Then the bus was stopped on a traffic light.

Can I catch it at the next bus stop ? —– should I run or not ? —– In fact, I did and managed

to get on board. (otherwise, it could have been another quarter to half an hour wait, as this service is

rather poor) —– it may not be an old Buddhist’s like hassle.

Is it ? —– Seeing a back of a bus, therefore accept the bad timing = is this, a grown-ups decent

contemplation ?    Rush to the next bus stop instead and catch it, isn’t this an effort we should give ?

(Don’t laugh this, as a mediocre Bus story = take it as a metaphor as we are always facing

this kind of situation every day.)

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When we faced a difficult situation,  even impossible or  too late.

One attitude is to give up, forget it, and just get on the life. This is one of the way to

keep one’s peace of mind.   As it accept the situation and follow the fate, it is quite

Buddhist’s like contemplation, some might say. —– is it ?

—– In reality, this is all about what we call [Decision making] in our life.

To see a possibility or feasibility (in comparison to one’s ability) and challenge it to do.

How important and how big the possibility = expectation to succeed.

Don’t expect too much. Know the one’s limit and the size, is the wise man’s advice,

hence, to [know who you are], and to have [humble life] is in fact, a kind of safe bet.

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In the early time, Buddhism took this approach, hence hundreds of rules of [Don’t do this]

of which some sect even calls them as Dharma (to call man’s words as Dharma is nothing but a

preposterous arrogance though) —– normally, do nothing would cause fewer possibilities of

making mistakes.

It looks true, as it would give a kind of peace at least  😀

Therefore, abandon the ordinary life, cessation of relation, complete detachment to the mess of

human life, not to do this and that etc etc —– then a question arose, what for we are here ?

—– is this what the Dharma created us for ?

What Buddha denied was the ego and the useless thinking. But those so-called rules are

nothing other than an artificially composed man’s idea remote from the human nature.

This was the beginning of the Mahayana Buddhism.

Exactly same logic to deny the ego / self was used to deny the idea to deny the human nature.

Hence the Mahayana approach was established = do what you need to do, suffer as you

have to suffer = this is what the Dharma is.

But when the one does something, what extent the person should go ?

What is within the limit of the Dharma, which isn’t go into the ego and the greed, obsession

—– then, the idea of  [Middle-way]  was developed.

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So, the real Buddhism wouldn’t impose you “not to run for a bus” 😀

Far from it, Dharma will count the effort of a person.

Since the Dharma is not for the degeneration, but for evolution and active development

= unless otherwise we are not here today as us, and being extinct long ago.

Run for the bus = the reason why the bus showed its back and halted on the traffic light was = it gave

an opportunity for me to run.    Take a risk.   Challenge the project which you conceived = you to

have conceived the idea was for you to challenge it task = otherwise the Dharma wouldn’t

have chosen you to conceive its idea in the first place.

Do your best. Just do it.

___/\___

—

Zen Decision

” Decision making without Thinking “

Notion is an abstracted idea of the real existence.

Like a categorized idea of ” Red ” and its Notion.  The person must  have seen thousand of different

hues before its  Notion was established  with  the group name of  Red.  Even if one’s image of Red is not

exactly same to other person, still we can communicate with others using this Notion or Word, since

as long as it has more than 60 % of  the image of the color  in common, we can communicate externally, and

internally  for the thinking process as well.  Its mean the  two system to conceive the object can go parallel ,

one is by the Word (conscious) and the other is using an  image of the original color (Subconscious process).

This Dual System making the Human intelligence unique and making the complication of

our mind hard to understand and elusive. ——— (Hence it made the Buddhists to argue 2500 years)

——————–

As I used to take photos of the flower, we in trade needed to distinguish the minute difference of

the color in different film and the different lenses.  Then I realized my eyes got different perception in

left and right eyes,  since the imaging processors, the right brain is connected to the left eye and left

to the right (crossed connection),  the processed result couldn’t  be identical. (nobody got it same)

And nobody know what is the real color. (So, the industry needed to invent  Electronic Color Analyzer to

define the exact color with the communicable numeric information)

For the sake of communication and the convenience of the thinking process,  we sacrificed the accuracy

and the reality of the raw information  which the senses and feelings  are relying on.

——————–

The trouble of the Notion (and its processing system in the brain ) is, as it uses the second source

informations(as it has been abstracted), it can alienate the reality. ( Thats why we often hear the inner voice

” M m m, its not quite” )

Also the intellectual process using the Notion (as the conscious thinking process),  it often creates own

rule of the filtration or choice of information (bias) and its own logics for the decision making.

So that, when the result was put up on front of the real world,  it can be utterly wrong.

( We tease  it ” Its a wishful thinking “, ” Too much thinking “, ” You read too far “, ” Too much pretense”etc )

——————

This is the reason,  why the decision made on the spot  when the raw information has reached to the

sensory system (see, hear etc) is more accurate. (provided, the sensory is clear, and the

subconsciousness which react to the informations is not deluded)

And this is the reason  when a Zenist making his decision,  he rely on this Instant Judgement.

(So called “Intuitive”  “spontanious” or “first impression” are nothing but this Instant Judgement—–

which is often claimed to be a speciallity of  women——and its accuracy is feared of.)

———- The Zen practice is to clear the senses and the mind, by way of the Selflessness.

Like walking without any conscious of ” I’m walking “, we can make perfect decision, based on the

” Subconscious Data Bank ” (Refer the post)  As we have far more facts and the memory of previous cases,

even the Mythical Memories stored there, we can have far more accurate judgement, in fraction of a second.

(Notorious Zen-mondo of Rinzai Zen is based on this instant judgement——-originally though)

———- we can call this instant judgement, the decision made by the Dharma.

———- sound great isn’t it !—– Yet, if this judgement was wrong,  Zenist would have no regret, as it was

his (her) own Karma. ! ! !  ——– (so, don’t blame me  Ha Ha Ha  😀 )

This is how a Zenist can have less complication in their life and able to live in peaceful mind.