Flower of Bamboo 竹の花

I found a report of the bamboo flowering in the many corners of Japan from north to south.   The Bamboo said to open their flowers only once in every 100 years, 120 years.  And after the flower, all the plant dies leaving only their seeds behind.  It seems it is their tactics of the survival as the species when they noticed that they are going to die, so, they made flowers and the seeds.  As a plant, I don’t think they got any thinking let alone any delusion or fantasy, they only follow the Dharma = the rules of the nature.  If the nature is going to have the problem, it’s the problem to us too. —– I don’t know why this news caught my eyes among the mountain of the Youtube viz.   Still in my view, there is no such things like a coincidence = there must be the important to be noticed. —– If it would be a kind of natural disaster, there could be a certain area of Japan, not from all over Japan = if is it like the trouble of climate change ? —– in that case the news should come even from the Philippines or China as well.  There are many spooky stories such as, before the ship sank, all the rat run away (rat knows the fate of the ship, before-hand) or strange behaviour of the animal before the earthquake etc. —– Something very serious might happen soon. 

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Snap-shot by DD-Pinhole

All the photos here were taken by my ” Wide-angle Double-density Pinhole” on

Canon 5D Mk-III.  In fact on that day, I went for a walk only with this lens (?)

and the Tamron 500 mm Mirror lens, hoping to see Parakeets.

Original pinhole got about 60 degree of view though, with the additional concave

lens ( from a Canon Zoom lens) the angle was greatly widened to nearly 100 degree.

You may guess that the Pinhole Camera needs to have long exposure though,

with the advantage of Hi-ISO digital camera, such as with ISO 12,500,  the shutter

time can be  1/80~1/8 like this outside shot. —– who care with slightly

blared photo on 1/4 or 1/2 slow shutter any way.  😀

The best thing was,  no visual details were given in the image,  

no further information would be needed.   Photo has atmosphere only.

So, the photography (for me at least) purely a fun.

No complicated notion about the subjects or message in the photo 

= image or the subjects were there just as they are.

To see the world in clear eyes, the world showed its fuzzy nature.

This paradox is what the Dharma is.

 ___/\___

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Poor Nature

This poor friend is what I found on the pavement. (The actual size is 45mm across)

He is the largest Stag Beetle I came across in this country ( Japanese Stag Beetle is twice big.

—- Notorious Killer Wasp which we call  Suzume Bachi ( Sparrow Wasp )is 2″ big, by the way ).

Though,  when somebody saw this Beetle on the pavement, the person might have thought, this is

a big cockroach and stumped on him,  hence his broken stags and crushed body.—— How shame.

—

Once before,  I saw the collection of the cockroaches came from all over the world at a Lab’ in

the Imperial College,  from the hissing cockroach to 4″ big sandy brown / black striped beautiful one.

Though, common cockroach is the public enemy number one.  This hatred is almost chemically

programmed in the mind.  Therefore the person who saw a black insect, wouldn’t have given a shred of

thought or time and instantly crushed him with almost automatic reaction.

So, it must be too much to ask to give a close look and distinguish him out.

So, I only can  say, it was his misfortune to venture out the woods and came to the building area.

—

Zen asking instant judgment and reaction though,  preceding to its action,  the clear eyes to see and

distinguish the situation, has the crucial importance. ( Of cause, I wouldn’t expect to the people

able to distinguish a stag beetle, as they may never seen or learned it before —– even myself have seen

it less than 10 times over 30 odd years living in this country )

—– So, I only hope, behind the one dead body,  yet another 10 are still surviving somewhere in the woods.

And I’d like to ask the people who got a big garden to leave the pile of log or trunk of dead tree ( leave it

as 3~4 feet high ) for them to nest inside.

In south London,  there is a green area called Peckham Rye Common and it was once named the dirtiest

park in London by a news paper. Then the local Council / Southwark  took an action —– clean up all the

dead wood, concreted the pond floor removing all the water plants.  Pond used to have larvae of such

as Damsel Fly, and Newts were crawling among the water plants.—– I complained to the Council and

they replied that they are having consultation of naturalists —– What sort of scientists ?  Bollocks.

” Who the Scientist ?”  ” We can’t reveal the name, to protect identity ” —– It’s just a smoke-screen.

Utterly bollocks and nothing but a vandalism to the Nature.  Clean up,since insects gone hence birds gone.

Nature is not clean and tidy.  Dead tree and rotting wood is the essential part of it.

We shouldn’t forget —— We humankind is the most dirtiest, harmful toxic part of it.

With a kind of guilty conscience  we need to pay back to the Nature —– we should be humble

since, soon or later the Nature will kick us back.  Look, the Planet Earth is becoming barren land.

Pakistani top-soil was washed away, Russia and Amazon are burning, American mid-west,

north-west Africa, Australia are drying up ——- to mention but few.

And this is the manifestation of the Karma.  We are picking our fruits.  Toxic bitter fruits.

___/\___

NATURE and NURTURE

When people talk about  Nature and  Nurture,  those notions are regarded to be the counter idea.

But in reality,  they are entwined  inseparable factors.

Now a day,  nobody denies  the fact  that the Gene combination affect one’s development which even

include the one’s psychological disposition and behaviour pattern.

——————–

The most obvious but most overlooked fact in this field is, ——— that the Child is Nurtured by

the Parent who is having the same Gene like  their  Child.

Except the adopted child,  a half of the boy’s Gene come from the Father,  and the Gene which makes

a baby to a man, came from the Father’s  Y-Chromosome which is identical to the one  the boy got.

———- Assuming the Father behave under the tendency of the Gene set,  and the boy is growing up

seeing his ( Role Model’s ) behaviour pattern,  while boy himself having  (at least half of )  the same Gene

which giving the same drive to behave in the same way.

So that the reproductive process’ two key factors,  Nature and  Nurture are working toward same direction.

—————— I’m certain,  this is the common knowledge,  when the person reached to the age of 40th

everybody discover (whether the one feel comfortable or not ) how he (her) is a faithful reproduction of

his Father or Mother,  not only the physical appearance or voice but also the posture and the mannerism

or the way to think and handle the things as well.——- ( Rough Father’s Child tend to be rough too )

Even if you are not aware of this,  your wife or member of family knows this.

Which part is Genetic and other came from unconscious learning is hard to tell —– since it is entwined.

(So,  the scientists are studying hard for the Identical Twin,  but the one was grown up in the foster family

—— it is in deed, very interesting field )——- So far, mostly peculiar story of the twin come up to the news

such as, the twin grown up different family without knowing each other,  yet still having had identical life.

It seems, The Karma is a part of the Nature——- fixed on the time of the birth. ——- Does this mean,

CAN’T WE escape from the KARMA ?