from Mindfulness in Plain English
For all practical purposes, if all of your enemies are well, happy and peaceful, they would not be your enemies. If they are free from problems, pain, suffering, affliction, neurosis, psychosis, paranoia, fear, tension, anxiety, etc., they would not be your enemies. Your practical solution to your enemies is to help them to overcome their problems, so you can live in peace and happiness. In fact, if you can, you should fill the minds of all your enemies with loving-kindness and make all of them realize the true meaning of peace, so you can live in peace and happiness. The more they are in neurosis, psychosis, fear, tension, anxiety, etc., the more trouble, pain and suffering they can bring to the world. If you could convert a vicious and wicked person into a holy and saintly individual, you would perform a miracle. Let us cultivate adequate wisdom and loving- kindness within ourselves to convert evil minds to saintly minds.
When you hate somebody you think, "Let him be ugly. Let him lie in pain. Let him have no prosperity. Let him not be right. Let him not be famous. Let him have no friends Let him, after death, reappear in an unhappy state of depravation in a bad destination in perdition." However, what actually happens is that your own body generates such harmful chemistry that you experience pain, increased heart beat, tension, change of facial expression, loss of appetite for food, deprivation of sleep and appear very unpleasant to others. You go through the same things you wish for your enemy. Also you cannot see the truth as it is. Your mind is like boiling water. Or you are like a patient suffering from jaundice to whom any delicious food tastes bland. Similarly, you cannot appreciate somebody's appearance, achievement, success, etc. As long as this condition exists, you cannot meditate well.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Protest this Saturday
I will be there in spirit. I'm not about to drive 5 hours one way to Seattle, burning oil, to protest the War. That would be silly.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
War with Iran is Unacceptable
With regards to the media coverage/chatter/drums of war beating regarding Iran, I just need to say that it seems like the administration is deliberately acting to enlarge the threat that Iran poses. Bush, as is typical, is pouring gasoline on the flames, blowing oxygen into the flames.
Iran is not a friend of the West. Iran is against Israel. Fine. The way to deal with a potential threat is not make it worse. Could it be that the reason some Iranians don't trust the US, much less Bush, is because of our historic role in toppling democratically elected leaders and installing puppet regimes?
If its about the oil then at least have the cojones to admit it. Oil addiction is no joke. I don't have first hand knowledge, but my understanding of heroin and meth addiction is that the addict is obsessed. The drug takes over the person and uses him/her to continue to have itself used and abused. Oil addiction is not unlike meth addiction. Just know that in my humble opinion, ANY blood for oil, American, Iraqi, or Iranian or human blood is entirely unacceptable.
The fact is they don't have nuclear weapons. This is a case of a self-fulfilling prophecy. We keep accusing them of having nuclear weapons so they figure they better actually get some before its too late. Strengthen and give credibility and validity to the IAEA. Hans Blix was right, Iraq didn't have weapons. By going through international, transparent channels we can achieve the most credibility.
Bush and Co. got it so totally wrong about Iraq. There is absolutely no reason to take one word that they say about Iran seriously. War with Iran is off the table.
Before I hear one more word about Iran we need to re-investigate what happened on 9-11.
Iran is not a friend of the West. Iran is against Israel. Fine. The way to deal with a potential threat is not make it worse. Could it be that the reason some Iranians don't trust the US, much less Bush, is because of our historic role in toppling democratically elected leaders and installing puppet regimes?
If its about the oil then at least have the cojones to admit it. Oil addiction is no joke. I don't have first hand knowledge, but my understanding of heroin and meth addiction is that the addict is obsessed. The drug takes over the person and uses him/her to continue to have itself used and abused. Oil addiction is not unlike meth addiction. Just know that in my humble opinion, ANY blood for oil, American, Iraqi, or Iranian or human blood is entirely unacceptable.
The fact is they don't have nuclear weapons. This is a case of a self-fulfilling prophecy. We keep accusing them of having nuclear weapons so they figure they better actually get some before its too late. Strengthen and give credibility and validity to the IAEA. Hans Blix was right, Iraq didn't have weapons. By going through international, transparent channels we can achieve the most credibility.
Bush and Co. got it so totally wrong about Iraq. There is absolutely no reason to take one word that they say about Iran seriously. War with Iran is off the table.
Before I hear one more word about Iran we need to re-investigate what happened on 9-11.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Matsutake madness
This past weekend we went on our semi-regular pilgrimage to the dunes of Oregon to see what bounty the fall rains and plentiful pine mulch with a certain mycelium could offer. We were blessed. We are up to our necks in matsutake. What a fantastic treasure of nature.
Ursula LeGuin
I recently finished reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin. This was an interesting and enjoyable read. She is so creative and intelligent! I love the concept of being in kemmer, both for Gethenians and for Terrans (always in kemmer) what a concept! Highly recommended. I should add that this was one of those books that was acquired years ago, but only recently read. I have many books I want to get to, but for some reason it always has to be the right time for a certain book, otherwise I can't really get into it. For example, I've had the book Thought Contagion for awhile now, but the last time I tried reading it I fell asleep.
Vipassana meditation book
A few nights ago I did a google search for "the meaning of life" and came across a website called stevepavlina.com wherein, steve pavlina tells a remarkable story about his personal journey and experience. While surfing through some comments, I then came across a free web book on meditation. I'm still reading it but just want to post about it. I'm on the fifth chapter and its very interesting. I've always been interested in meditation but have yet to summon the discipline to start a regular practice.
Please check out these sites and tell me what you think of them.
Please check out these sites and tell me what you think of them.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
John Frohnmayer for US Senate
This gentleman is running for Gordon Smith's seat. Based on a quick glance at his website, I have to say I support his candidacy. He's for impeachment for all the right reasons. I suppose being Dave Frohnmayer's brother shouldn't count as a strike against him.
His participation in Corvallis Open Forum isn't biasing my endorsement either, really.
His participation in Corvallis Open Forum isn't biasing my endorsement either, really.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
this is fucking bullshit
let us please have a show of hands, is this fucking bullshit or what?
Are we really just going to sit here while this trend continues? How bad does it have to get?
Tell me.
Are we really just going to sit here while this trend continues? How bad does it have to get?
Tell me.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
why i love public radio
I just heard the most amazing nun on the radio. Her name is Sister Joan Chittister, and well, if you have the time, please check it out here.
Which brings me to another point. People say there are two sides to everything. First of all, that is a simplistic and inaccurate statement. There might be two sides. But more likely, there might be 15 sides for all we know. Many questions, the important questions especially, are quite often beyond the description of words, much less the answers. Secondly, as we progress as a species, some things become one-sided. (Slavery is evil and must be stopped, for example) There appears to be emerging a global consensus in the area of, for lack of a better term, progressive thought. I believe this convergence, which originates from the most diverse and varied points/individuals, (its decidedly not coming from the establishment) to be indicative of greater truth. That is to say, in a nutshell, we're right.
Those of us who believe in one love, that we should strive for equality and justice for All, those of us who deplore the raping, pillaging and fouling of our Earth, those of us who struggle to find hope in a society dominated by a massive concentration of wealth and destructive power the likes of which the world has never seen, those of us who are less concerned with someone's religion and sexuality as we are with the tangible results of our lives (are you bringing forth more love or less, more compassion or less?), those of us who hold sacred exisiting human life in addition to the embryonic, even as we work to minimize the need for the practice of ending embryonic life, those of us who consider the coming generation when analyzing our actions, We are on the right path.
We should question and vet, we should play devil's advocate, and we should always consider all viewpoints, but there comes a point when, as in science, truth emerges and naysayers expose themselves as less than credible. To continue to insist the earth is flat despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary doesn't serve any positive purpose in the long run. Ask yourself, is holding this belief contributing to a better world or does it feed my pocketbook/ego? Does it lead to equality and justice for All? or does it maintain the status quo?
Honest disagreement is a part of the process, there are countless questions left to be debated and investigated, but I think there are a great number of critically important issues where a broad, all-inclusive consensus exists despite every effort by the powers that be to confuse and conquer.
Am I trying to wage class war? I'm not waging anything, the ruling class has left a trail of blood from here back to the dawn of history. I'm fighting for survival.
Which brings me to another point. People say there are two sides to everything. First of all, that is a simplistic and inaccurate statement. There might be two sides. But more likely, there might be 15 sides for all we know. Many questions, the important questions especially, are quite often beyond the description of words, much less the answers. Secondly, as we progress as a species, some things become one-sided. (Slavery is evil and must be stopped, for example) There appears to be emerging a global consensus in the area of, for lack of a better term, progressive thought. I believe this convergence, which originates from the most diverse and varied points/individuals, (its decidedly not coming from the establishment) to be indicative of greater truth. That is to say, in a nutshell, we're right.
Those of us who believe in one love, that we should strive for equality and justice for All, those of us who deplore the raping, pillaging and fouling of our Earth, those of us who struggle to find hope in a society dominated by a massive concentration of wealth and destructive power the likes of which the world has never seen, those of us who are less concerned with someone's religion and sexuality as we are with the tangible results of our lives (are you bringing forth more love or less, more compassion or less?), those of us who hold sacred exisiting human life in addition to the embryonic, even as we work to minimize the need for the practice of ending embryonic life, those of us who consider the coming generation when analyzing our actions, We are on the right path.
We should question and vet, we should play devil's advocate, and we should always consider all viewpoints, but there comes a point when, as in science, truth emerges and naysayers expose themselves as less than credible. To continue to insist the earth is flat despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary doesn't serve any positive purpose in the long run. Ask yourself, is holding this belief contributing to a better world or does it feed my pocketbook/ego? Does it lead to equality and justice for All? or does it maintain the status quo?
Honest disagreement is a part of the process, there are countless questions left to be debated and investigated, but I think there are a great number of critically important issues where a broad, all-inclusive consensus exists despite every effort by the powers that be to confuse and conquer.
Am I trying to wage class war? I'm not waging anything, the ruling class has left a trail of blood from here back to the dawn of history. I'm fighting for survival.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
The War
is over. The Ken Burns PBS documentary, The War, that is.
I've been watching it all along and don't know what to think. People say it was a necessary war. I put this notion to the folks at last week's forum and some responded saying that it was the Geneva conventions that created the conditions for WWII to happen in the first place, and thus could have been avoided with better foresight at the conclusion of WWI. A man in the film said that evil exists. I'm not so blind as to think that evil doesn't exist. Evil being defined as a capacity within people to commit horrendous atrocities on other people and the Earth. Indeed, we are all witnesses to evil in this day and age, as our (p)resident lays waste to a million innocent people in Iraq so that he and his buddies can steal their oil. Blood for oil? are you fucking kidding me? WTF? Of course, they can't admit the truth, they must disguise their intentions with high flying rhetoric about democracy and freedom, even as they desecrate the Constitution and piss on REAL democracy.
But I digress. I think Ken Burns' documentary is timely and valuable in that it so clearly illustrates how the present occupation of Iraq is anything but necessary, taking the points from the documentary at face value. It so clearly illustrates how overwhelmingly united and determined and willing to sacrifice the nation was during WWII, traits that are conspicuously absent today.
The documentary falls short though, by not refuting the notion that war is inevitable. In fact, I daresay it glorifies war. Evil exists but better solutions exist for preventing war, and terrorism, i might add. Just because people, 99.99% men, have waged wars for thousands of years and indeed, all of recorded history, doesn't mean that we can't envision a future free of war. In a world consistently full of dichotomies, I believe that now that we have fully realized our capacity for destruction and death, we have a responsibility to fully realize our hitherto latent capacity for creation and life. We can and we must.
We few who care frequently come back to the notion that the ignorant sleeping masses must be woken up. How to achieve this in a world of relative plenty and plenty of distractions? Bread and Circuses, as John Bogle (among others) said. Should we be ready for the inevitable collapse and hope to ride it out? or actually try to slow the train down, as I've suggested in the poll? Tonight I'm leaning toward gettin off while the gettin's good and hope to survive. I'm utterly stumped as to how to swim against this massive current and furthermore, get many others to do so as well.
Everything and everyone are connected. Life is a miracle to be cherished and relished. I suppose I should just be grateful for my conscience, and just take it day by day, doing what I can, when I can, trying to create alliances with others, trying to encourage more love and joy and less hate and fear.
Why are we so impatient? Why do we insist on creating change overnight? Who am I to think that I know better than those I call 'asleep'?
I've been watching it all along and don't know what to think. People say it was a necessary war. I put this notion to the folks at last week's forum and some responded saying that it was the Geneva conventions that created the conditions for WWII to happen in the first place, and thus could have been avoided with better foresight at the conclusion of WWI. A man in the film said that evil exists. I'm not so blind as to think that evil doesn't exist. Evil being defined as a capacity within people to commit horrendous atrocities on other people and the Earth. Indeed, we are all witnesses to evil in this day and age, as our (p)resident lays waste to a million innocent people in Iraq so that he and his buddies can steal their oil. Blood for oil? are you fucking kidding me? WTF? Of course, they can't admit the truth, they must disguise their intentions with high flying rhetoric about democracy and freedom, even as they desecrate the Constitution and piss on REAL democracy.
But I digress. I think Ken Burns' documentary is timely and valuable in that it so clearly illustrates how the present occupation of Iraq is anything but necessary, taking the points from the documentary at face value. It so clearly illustrates how overwhelmingly united and determined and willing to sacrifice the nation was during WWII, traits that are conspicuously absent today.
The documentary falls short though, by not refuting the notion that war is inevitable. In fact, I daresay it glorifies war. Evil exists but better solutions exist for preventing war, and terrorism, i might add. Just because people, 99.99% men, have waged wars for thousands of years and indeed, all of recorded history, doesn't mean that we can't envision a future free of war. In a world consistently full of dichotomies, I believe that now that we have fully realized our capacity for destruction and death, we have a responsibility to fully realize our hitherto latent capacity for creation and life. We can and we must.
We few who care frequently come back to the notion that the ignorant sleeping masses must be woken up. How to achieve this in a world of relative plenty and plenty of distractions? Bread and Circuses, as John Bogle (among others) said. Should we be ready for the inevitable collapse and hope to ride it out? or actually try to slow the train down, as I've suggested in the poll? Tonight I'm leaning toward gettin off while the gettin's good and hope to survive. I'm utterly stumped as to how to swim against this massive current and furthermore, get many others to do so as well.
Everything and everyone are connected. Life is a miracle to be cherished and relished. I suppose I should just be grateful for my conscience, and just take it day by day, doing what I can, when I can, trying to create alliances with others, trying to encourage more love and joy and less hate and fear.
Why are we so impatient? Why do we insist on creating change overnight? Who am I to think that I know better than those I call 'asleep'?
Monday, October 01, 2007
I like Mike...Gravel
The Newshour has been doing interviews with all of the major candidates for president, even Mike Gravel tonight. This guy is for real. He's got some good ideas and he's not bought off by big corporate campaign money. After seeing the interview I thought about re-registering Dem to vote in the primary.
Something else unrelated, i meant to post this before, but forgot. who are these people and why would they be saying these things?
Something else unrelated, i meant to post this before, but forgot. who are these people and why would they be saying these things?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)