Sunday, May 17, 2009

A Doll, not a Baby


Waiting to board the plane, I watched a mother with her two daughters. One of the daughters was swinging her doll by the leg. I said to my wife, "why is she swinging her baby by the leg." My wife said, "it is not a baby, it is a doll." I remembered an hour earlier how the priest said that we won't treat things with respect when we see them as separate from ourselves. Later, on the plane, I asked my wife if our daughter swung her doll by its leg. "No," she said, "it was her baby."

Why did she
deserve
2
be
treat-
ed
like
this

Help me

Yikes

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Mu From the Dog's Mouth



Q: Does a dog have Buddha nature?
A: Mu

I asked my son whether he had a name for his new son, born today (5/16/09, 6:45 am). "No," he said. "How about the Japanese name for 'no,' 'mu,'? I asked. "No," he said.

The Mu koan is as follows: A monk asked Zhaozhou, a Chinese Zen master (known as Jōshū in Japanese): "Has a dog Buddha-nature or not?", Zhaozhou answered: "Wú" (in Japanese, Mu).

For less explanation see: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2000/07/Does-A-Dog-Have-Buddha-Nature.aspx

Friday, May 15, 2009

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Discovering Emptiness in a Spinning Top


When I looked at th-
e spinning top the w-
ords became concent-
ric circles.

The Wednesday night reading group has been reading Nagarjuna's "The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way" for a while now. We are just getting into the best part. And it is no more difficult than figuring out a child's top that you spin with your forefinger and thumb. Here's why:

Last night we talked about how emptiness is not the same as believing in nothing (nihilism). And that emptiness means "no abiding self," or in the case of a child's top (which wasn't mentioned), no essence.

Barbara was quick to say that hearing these ideas and practicing with them are very different. So today I went to the Blanton Art Museum and the Ramsen center to practice (shirking my volunteer duties to AZC).

First I ate in the Blanton's new cafeteria. I don't like to see art with my stomach growling. Then to the museum store where I found a child's top. It had words printed on a flat round disk. I spun it and voila, the words turned into concentric circles. That proved it, I though. In one spin I saw how foolish both Nagarjuna and Barbara were. It was obvious that the essence was the top standing still (with words), and when moving, is just appeared different (with concentric circles). I was satisfied that my mission was accomplished, and left the store (I though it was too expensive to buy the top that had disproved emptiness at $3.26).

Walking out to the street, I started thinking about a hypothetical top that is attached to an electric motor. The normal state (essence) of that top would be the concentric circles, and seeing the words would be just an abnormal view of the top. But suppose that one day the motor dies and the top comes to a stop. Then has its essence changed (a contradiction for if essence changes then it is not essence)? Then my mind went to the earth, which spins and rotates as if there was no tomorrow. What is the essence of that (a spherical object in motion?). I started to doubt the validity of my "there is an essence" argument.

A minute later, as I went outside, I saw an old truck with scratches, dents and faded paint. So what was this truck's essence, it if had one? Was it the way it was yesterday, the way it is now, or the way it will be tomorrow? Suddenly essence disappeared and Nagarjuna (and Barbara) made more sense.

Nagarjuna wrote,

For him to whom emptiness is clear,
Everything becomes clear.
For him to whom emptiness is not clear,
Nothing becomes clear.

Please come and help us sort out the thinking of this 2nd century Buddhist saint. Find out why he is thought of by some to be the next (2nd or 8th?) Buddha.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Sleeping Samurai


I sat quietly imaging
that I was a sam-
urai sleeping and
fully awake.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Monday, May 11, 2009

Holding Paper


So today I tried
to hold the
paper without
touching it.

Most
of the
time I was
too relaxed or ^stressed.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Faceless from Afar


We are faceless from
afar, but powerful neve-
rtheless as we con-
gregate.

A friend sent this picture from China today:
That and the Buddhist concept of sangha inspired my drawing.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Friday, May 1, 2009

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Monday, April 27, 2009

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Birthday Dinner Drawing



At my daughter's and her boyfriend's birthday dinner, I got to do my first iphone drawing on his iphone.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Friday, April 24, 2009

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Monday, April 20, 2009

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Passage of Time (NOT)



Some say that time passes
though I spent a lot of
time in school looking out the
window & never saw time
passing [n]or even time stan-
ding still.

?????

Reflections on Talks on Buddha's Lists

During a recent Appamada Intensive our students gave talks on Buddha's lists. Here are my reflections on their talks.