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#1945 - Sunday,
October 10, 2004 - Editor: Gloria Lee
When I have arranged a bouquet,
in order to paint it
I go around to the side
that I have not looked at.
- Pierre Auguste Renoir
photo by Sam Pasciencier: http://home.hccnet.nl/sam.pas/heres_looking/photos/photo_15.html
Be awake
Love yourself and be awake ~
today, tomorrow, always.
First establish yourself in the
way,
then teach others,
and so defeat sorrow.
To straighten the crooked
you must first do a harder thing ~
straighten yourself
You are the only master.
who else?
Subdue yourself,
and discover your master.
he Dhammapada, Words of the Buddha
Life of the Buddha Documentary
Part I
http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/tv/bos/archief/bb.20031207.rm
Part II
http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/tv/bos/archief/bb.20031221.rm
Ben Hassine from Awakened Awareness
At Zen cafés, Tokyo trend-setters nurture inner well-being
Kaori Shoji IHT
Thursday, October 7, 2004
TOKYO Fashion-conscious natives of Tokyo are turning their
attention inward these days - what they eat is as important as
what they wear. Several years ago, the Tokyo fashion slave
wouldn't have been caught dead dancing at a less-than-happening
club; now the same people refuse to be seen in the presence of
ugly (read: unhealthy) food products.
No longer content to swill frappuccino at the nearest Starbucks,
they are opting for Japanese green tea, "matcha,"
ground young tea leaves concoctions and the gentle, caffeine-less
"hojicha," which is made from roasted tea leaves - all
consumed in any of the Japanese-style "wa" cafés that
are cropping up all over the city.
In their clean, green-leafy atmosphere (all these establishments
are smoke-free), one finds a menu virtually free of all traces of
animal protein and oil. There are organic soy milk products in
place of cream and milk shakes, healthy Japanese sweets instead
of butter-saturated pastries. Most popular are the
"onigiri," or rice balls - palm-sized packets of rice
with dried fish or salted plums wedged in.
...
"I never knew it would be possible to feel this good on so
little calories, but I do," says Junko Kawase.
She also says that a steady Japanese café diet has made her more
sensitive, more feminine and more attuned to what makes her look
good. "I think over all, that a Japanese diet keeps a person
calmer and more patient."
It is also more ecological. A huge part of the success of green
café franchises lies in the simplicity of their operations.
Compared to burger chains or Western-style cafés, there is less
trash, almost no grease and drastically less industrial
detergents used on the premises.
Customers relax in a décor scheme that speaks of Zen and nature.
"Simplicity is a must," says Tohru Takeda, who runs one
of the Ony café franchises. "The fare we provide wouldn't
taste the same in a cluttered or overly decorative
environment." -more-
Jerry Katz from NDSN
photo by Sam Pasciencier: http://home.hccnet.nl/sam.pas/heres_looking/photos/photo_18.html
Seeing Clearly
"Enlightenment does not
mean to become dead like a Buddha statue. An
enlightened person still thinks, however he knows that the
thinking
process is impermanent, unsatisfactory, and empty.
"Through practice we can see these things clearly. We need
to
investigate suffering and stop its causes. If not, wisdom can
never
arise. We must see things exactly as they are - feelings are just
feelings, thoughts are just thoughts. This is the way to end all
our
problems."
~Ajah Chah
From the web page, "In A Still Forest,"
http://www.abhayagiri.org/dhamma/TreeinaForestpt2.html
DharmaG from Daily Dharma
this is thanksgiving weekend in Canada.
my father died of cancer on thanksgiving.
the gifts i received because we were able to
make peace about our differences, that he was
honest about what had happened when i was a
child, have been multifold. i was able to access
the deep love we had and i was with him when he
died. it has been some years now but this weekend
always carries the memory and reminder of him.
many times i felt as an orphan, from leaving home
very early. one of the pieces that runs from this
is i have a deep desire to connect with and connect
others together. to create supportive groups. i have
done this in many ways through my life. as i am also
an introvert, it is a paradox. solitude & connection.
on thanksgiving weekend, the big family deal comes up
and i envy people who have large extended loving
families. my daughter's father is completely gone and
there is no family contact there. my relatives live in
Scandinavia. this weekend a friend i work with is
adopting me and my daughter for thanksgiving dinner.
in the community, because i am not fundamentalist
christian it is harder to find people with similar
interests. i have deep heart friends all around the
world from life/satsang/retreats. for me, the online
is one touchpoint. when i lived purely to serve
clients and (god/what is), i discovered i needed to
nourish the part that requires connection with other
on the matters of the heart, free of dogma and ritual.
when i would meditate, i used to see one light. at a
certain point i began to see/feel other lights. it
came to me that another piece of the awakening is that
as we begin to realize it is not "individual", we are
moving into another aspect which is groups awakening.
i know this runs counter to the ones who then see only
themselves. as i talked with other satsang teacher
friends recently, i have found some are beginning to
feel this as well. it is so new that there are no words
for it, and yet it is arising potential and a calling
to come together. a coming together of consciousness not
as one in a seat in front of others, but more and more
awake finding each other, deepening the awareness in ways
that extend out through all hearts.
so when i and others wonder about why anyone is on the
net, i find at this point i resonate with the ideas of
collective consciousness, of manifesting exchange as part
of the noosphere. and that we are no longer able to do
this on our own in caves, but that the very technology
that enables us to connect and reach others is part of our
evolution, and necessary for this planet and humans if we
are to survive. the extension of the internet is no less
a product from the earth and consciousness than anything
else.
today i give thanks for the internet, and for all of you.
love,
--josie--
from nondualnow
photo by Sam Pasciencier: http://home.hccnet.nl/sam.pas/heres_looking/photos/photo_36.html