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January 23, 2025

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People are married to their expectations, their desires.
These are the things they "love"
=> their desires.

Than they go out into the world world to find those that are "MADE" responsible to fulfill these desires and if the don't they will be pushed in one way or another to deliver.

That "pushing" can and is done in many ways, soft, harsh, clever, creative ...you name it

IF it does not work finally divorce is taking place ..the discarding of something or somebody and a new one is sought to do a better job.

The old sages came to understand that psychological mechanism that causes Dukkha or suffering and developed ways to deal with these desires.

There is nothing there in the streets of the world. Whatever happiness, love or whatever, if it exists is only to be found inside the house.

The ultimate teaching is telling the world to love their enemies. These teachings are not about the enemies nor about their actions that made them seen as enemies. Not at all, these teachings have nothing to do with the enemies. Nor does these teachings say that you should love your enemies, not at all they are not even advising you ...they just tell you that love or whatever is YOURS and it is up to you whether or not you give it out and only for your own reasons.

Understanding these simple teachings sets you FREE

I like what Suzuki Roshi said in this vein:

“Even though you try to put people under control, it is impossible. You cannot do it. The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischievous. Then they will be in control in a wider sense. To give your sheep or cow a large spacious meadow is the way to control him. So it is with people: first, let them do what they want, and watch them. This is the best policy. To ignore them is not good. That is the worst policy. The second worst is trying to control them. The best one is to watch them, just to watch them, without trying to control them.”
― Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

Very good, more wisdom from Henry Sukman. His expression of being here now is quite important – and reads like poetry: -
“As this happens, we begin to open up more to our actual experience in the here and now. We notice the whistle of the wind in the trees, the distant hum of traffic, and the sounds of a neighborhood. We relish the play of light and shadow, and we feel the magnificence of the weather, whether sunshine, cold mist, or crackling thunderheads.
...We are returning to a natural appreciation for being, for the gift of living itself, without any need for accomplishment.”

Yes, he addresses the fact that we have become habituated to ‘living in our heads’ in the sense that we tend to see life through a series of conditioned concepts, through thoughts, opinions and ideas. It’s sad to say that such have become the norm producing the inevitable on-going climate of anxiety, distrust among neighbours and nations – and generally the separation from each other, nature and ourselves.

@ Ron E

It seems a matter of choice, selective choice

Those that narrow their awareness to to the here and now, they too attribute meaning and value to what they are aware of.

It seems that humans can direct their awareness, their consciousness, their thoughts to distant "objects" , Where objects can be everything you can imagine, or to a restricted selection as available through the senses in the here and now ... bu ... in all cases they have to give what is theirs to it.

John Butler, was an farmer in his early days and farmers are used to restrict their attention to the here and now but that by itself doesn't make a person a sage, a zen master etc. ... they have to became aware of their awareness.

It reminds me of an Indian tale. A king, grateful for the help received from a charcoal burner, donated the man an field with Sandalwood trees., When He, the king passed by many years later, the man was still making charcoal, this time of the precious sandalwood and very little was left. The King told the man to bring the remaining pieces to the market and on receiving lots of money for it the man was shocked and felt sorry upon which he asked the king to give him a new piece of forest.

So it seems that the here and now is not enough. One has to attribute meaning to it and value and THAT is only appreciated in a small circle of humanity


Hi um. Nice to hear from you. "So it seems that the here and now is not enough. One has to attribute meaning to it and value and THAT is only appreciated in a small circle of humanity."

The thing with the here and now is that it is always so, whether we are aware of it or not. In fact, it is the only thing that we can ever know for sure, everything else, our thoughts, concepts etc. are just thoughts and concepts happening here now.

I take your point - although I'd reckon that more people slip into the awareness of here/now at times when they are just sensing, say a view, a fresh fall of snow or witnessing a birth. But yes, it's soon all lost in the constant stream of thought.

I don't know about attributing meaning and value to it, that just makes it into another thing, an object to be pursued and added to the construct of me and mine. But hey ho! whatever happens just happens whether it's in the form of a Hitler or a saint - or us wrecking the planet!

I was out walking along the coast earlier where age-old rocks were being pounded by the sea. Even if we destroy ourselves and the organic world around us, the million year-old rocks will still be here, perhaps ready to see another, somewhat different organic world. Nothing is lost or wasted in the universe.

@ Ron E.

https://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/passages/chuang-tzu.htm

These are all different translations of the conversations between the cook Ding and the Duke. They are seen as an example as to how live life.

It is my understanding that Ushiyama Roshi does the same when he at the end of his "Master Dogen's Zazen meditation hand book" when he points at the way how a driver drives a car after combining the different elements as an example of how to do Zazen ..after having explained that zazen and living life are one and the same thing

Yet .. although living the here an now, being aware of it, the common driver does not appreciate his driving beyond being boring

Obvious they are aware and not aware at the same time.

P.S.
If you live somewhere a the west cost that walk must have been impressive

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately..." Thoreau emphasizes living with purpose and connecting with nature.

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