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#1496 - Friday, July 18, 2003 - Editor: Gloria
Lee Love ~ E-zendo
I wrote this for the ClayArt list, but thought
I'd share it here too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We all come to clay by
different paths.
I decided to become a potter at my zen teacher's
funeral. It
went something like this:
I helped attend my teacher during his illness with
lymphoma. I
was one of a half dozen male students that attended him. We
each took a
different day of the week. I think one of his sons
took the 7th day. We
would help my teacher up to the 3rd floor, where he slept, when
he couldn't get
about on his own. I carried him on
my back on several occasion.
About 6 months after his
illness was diagnosed, he went into remission.
I took this opportunity to ask him to let me to take priest
vows. I had studied
with him the total of about 6.5 years by then.
He told me he would make me a
zen priest, but wanted me to talk to my wife about it and think
about it for one
year. I told him that Jean and I had
spoken about it many times and she
supported my decision. But my teacher said that
marriage was important and
that every married student that he allowed to become a priest
ended up getting
divorced. So he said, "take care of your
marriage, and in a year, I will give
you the vows. " I agreed to wait a year.
Six months later,
he died. At the funeral, I decided that I
didn't
want to start over with another teacher. And that
because my teacher said he'd
give me the vows, that was good enough for me, and if I lived my
life as though
I had taken the vows, that it was as good as taking them from
him. The only
reason you need the papers, is if you want to marry and bury
people. I
figured, because my teacher had 12 dharma heir priests, that this
aspect would
be taken care of by them.
I was fortunate to be
able to attend my teacher's body while the
traditional 3 days before cremation was
observed. Constant meditation periods
were held during the 3 days and I took my turn at being one of
the "bell
ringers" during that time (the lead time keeper of the
mediation period.) The
person who came out from California, to direct the funeral
preparations was able
to find a traditional nailess casket, made by a Hassidic casket
maker.
Usually, what people do, is put the body in a disposable
cardboard liner that is
then put in a rental casket. For cremation,
only the body and the cardboard
box is put into the oven. But with a nailess
traditional pine box like what
the Hassidic craftsmen make, you can just put the whole casket in
the cremator.
I was really taken by
the craftsmanship that this plain pine casket
represented. I decided, because of the
craftsmanship of this casket, which
was very similar to the craftsmanship of Shaker furniture, that I
wanted to
become a potter and make urns for people's ashes, with the same
spirit that this
Hassidic casket maker did. That was March of
1990. In the fall, I enrolled
in my first evening clay class at the UofMN. I
didn't make a very logical
choice.
I am currently
studying traditional wood block printing with a teacher
here in Mashiko. If you ever visit the Messe museum, you'll
see his
illustrations in the covered bridge on the way to the museum
buildings. He
also made prints that are sort of charactures that you see
everywhere, of
Hamada, Leach and Yanagi. He is also a fine
potter, but has not fired his
noborigama in many years. He is a living, breathing,
"Unknown Craftsman."
One time, someone
asked my teacher, Itoe Sensei, why he didn't fire his
noborigama any more. Itoe-san
answered: "A couple birds made a nest in the
chimney of the noborigama. I didn't think I
should disturb them."
--
Lee In Mashiko Ikiru@hachiko.com
.
"With Humans it's what's here
(he points to his heart) that makes the difference.
If you don't have it in the heart, nothing you make will make a
difference."
~~Bernard Leach~~
(As told to Dean Schwarz)
Jan Barendrecht ~ NDS
The enlightenment issue is a non-issue when born
to parents like those
of Jnanadeva: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8107/bios1.html
Prevent the formation of childhood conditioning
and childhood enlightenment is the case.
excerpt:
-----------------------
Once, when Swami Ramanand visited Alandi, Rukhamabhai prostrated
towards him in reverence.
Seeing the spirituality in her face, Ramanand blessed her with
good spiritual children.
Rukhamabhai smiled wryly and told him that her husband was an
ascetic and was actually his disciple.
Ramanand went back to Benares and told Vitthalpant to go back to
Alandi and resume the married life and have progeny.
Vitthalpant went back and shocked the whole community by resuming
his married life
(In India, once a person takes sanyas, one can not resume the
material life under any circumstances).
They had four children in quick succession. Jnaneshvar (hereafter
refered as Jnanadeva) was the second child.
The eldest was nivritti and Sopana was the third male child. The
last child was his sister, Mukti.
One may appreciate the names: nivritti, and jnana are sopana
(ladder) for attaining mukti.
-----------------------
Hur Guler ~ NDS
well, i cannot top this
story. that's why hindus dominate the
mythical devotion genre.
on the other hand, if it was an american soap opera, pretty rukha
would fall in love and have an affair with the powerful cardinal
rama
and spin the "thornbirds II." after getting rukna
pregnant, the
cardinal rama immediately releases the husband vitta from his
priestly mission, so he could hurry back and assume the married
life,
thinking the child is his.
listening to the stories of longing by his love torn mother, the
child jnana grows up with the mission to save the world from the
evils of devotion. once he reaches the age where he is
proficient in
nondual-lingo, jnana starts giving satsangs in california.
he finds
the same 20 people who show up at every satsang, mentally
comparing
jnana to the mythical gurus that they've only read about.
jnana then
realizes the impossibility of his nondual mission. luckily
jnana has
another talent. he takes up a career in singing sappy love
songs in
bars to the hopeless lovers who never recovered from their lost
love. jnana knows full well that this is the heart which
wine cannot
console and yet the songs in him sing themselves despite himself.
Jerry Katz ~ NDS
The following comes from the Universal Life Church:
http://www.ulc.net/shop/default.htm
"Special Title" - $10.00
Your title will be recorded in the
permanent church records. Nice 8x10 certificate is inscribed
with your name, title, and date issued. Another great gift
idea. You must select a title from drop down list:
Abbe
Abbess
Abbot
Ananda
Angel
Apostle of Humility
Apostolic Scribe
Arch Deacon
Arch Priest
Archbishop
Archcardinal
Ascetic Gnostic
Baron
Baroness
Bible Historian
Bishop
Brahman
Brother
Canon
Cantor
Cardinal
Channel
Chaplain
Cleric
Colonel
Cure
Deacon
Dervish
Directress
Disciple
Druid
Elder
Emmisary
Evangelist
Father
Field Missionary
Flying Missionary
Free Thinker
Friar
Goddess
Guru
Hadji
Healing Minister
High Priest
High Priestess
Imam
Lama
Lay Sister
Magus
Matriarch
Messenger
Metropolitan
Minister of Music
Minister of Peace
Missionary
Missionary Doctor
Missionary Healer
Missionary of Music
Missionary Priest
Monk
Monsignor
Most Reverend Christian
Mother Superior
Mystical Philosopher
Orthodox Monk
Parochial Educator
Pastor
Pastor General
Pastoral Counselor
Patriarch
Peace Counselor
Preacher
Preceptor
Priest
Priestess
Prophetess
Prophet
Rabbi
Rector
Religious Preacher
Revelator
Reverend
Reverend Father
Reverend Mother
Right Reverend
Saintly Healer
Scribe
Seer
Shaman
Shepherd
Sister
Soul Therapist
Spiritual Counselor
Spiritual Healer
Spiritual Warrior
Starets
Swami
Teller
Thanatologist
The Very Esteemed
Universal Philosopher of Absolute Reality
Universal Rabbi
Universal Religious Philosopher
Vicar
Wizard
-----------------------------
Me, I can't decide between Druid or Universal Rabbi. But I have a feeling if I get both titles I'll turn into Woody Allen.
Jerry
David Holmes ~ HarshaSatsangh
Gurus, gurus everywhere
The ones outside inform and entertain, thrill and disappoint
The One inside liberates
As you please . . .
Worship a personality, a hill or a Bodhi tree
Or just let it all be what it is
Take the dust at another's feet
Or take the dust is at your own feet
It's all just as dusty
(Just keep your credit card and your dignity)
Love is Love
And one day Love will find itself and be free
And that day has already come
Polluting the ether with more words .. . .
Sitting at the feet of my Sangha friends . . .
Feeling there are no strangers in the Heart . . .
Letting gurus be friends and friends be gurus . .. .
I am home.
Blessings to you all . . .
Smiling and shining in one another
Love,
David
FREYA ~ NDS
There is a very funny and well-made film
recently out on VHS and DVD called
"The Guru", which has been described
as "campy Bollywood musical meets
American screwball comedy".
Something some of you non-duelers will no doubt appreciate
in this film is the satirization of the American/Western tendency
to
"buy into" anything that smacks of
Eastern spirituality, without knowing what
it is, for instance, how they assume that ALL Indians and
their mannerisms are
spiritual, when they are just being......Indian.
There is a very funny scene about "spiritual sex", and
the singing, dancing and the ultra-bright colors
are fabulous! Something for everyone!
cheers,
Freyja
Jerry Katz ~ NDS
I sent a couple of notes on viewing this list as an ecosystem. I came across the following piece by Swedenborg at http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/instructor/gloss/psychobiology.html
Swedenborg made observations about the behavior of our spiritual bodies in the other world. I slightly modified it to apply to this list, or lists, instead of "the other world." See how much sense it makes in places. Note how the list, like "the other world," is -- or could be -- a place where boundaries loosen considerably.
1. Individuals on the list cannot
think by themselves but only in
groups. (note: when you
think about this list or any list you're involved in, see if you
think about the list as a group energy or vibration and not
a single person or cluster of identifiable individuals. This
jibes with a foundational thought I had about Nondual Activism a
couple of years ago: "I'm suggesting that a person on these
lists can know a felt group of many and can act as the group, and
that this has power even if no one else knows that the felt group
is, through an act of attention, a part of the action.")
2. No one can lie on the list, i.e., think one
thing and say
another.
3. External environmental features are
functionally related to
internal affective and cognitive states.
4. Similarity of affective states brings
interpersonal
co-presence.
5. Intelligence and power on the list are
functions of good
uses acquired. "Good uses" are actions
performed for the sake of others rather than self
only.
5. On the list the insistent denial of truth causes insanity.
6. There are no degenerative diseases and death
on the list,
but there are deformations and nonfunctioning
elements.
For example, antisocial feelings and attitudes
produce a
deadening of the senses, a darkening of the field of
vision, and a general cold invades and slows the
body. By
contrast, altruistic and sociable feelings and
intentions
generate warmth and a quickening of all bodily
functions
and uses.
7. On the list every individual feels compelled
to act out
their feelings and thoughts. Under these conditions,
the
person soon evolves a clear hierarchy of motives by
which
the person is ruled. It is easy, Swedenborg reports,
for
others to predict your behavior as soon as they know
and
see your motivational or affective hierarchy. A
person's
"ruling love," or chief drive and motive
in life, shows in
the person's facial expression, body posture and
appearance, and matching verbal behavior.
8. Growth on the list amounts to the continuous
and never
ending exploration or deepening of the packet of
affections
we brought with us from offlist. Since on the list
affections create ecology, it can be seen that
external
evolution of the list matches the internal growth of
the people. But it is to be remembered that no one
can
exist separate from some group, hence the list is
characterized by disparate group evolution
which is one
of the striking features one notes when traveling on
the
list (what a marvelous anthropological field it must
be!).
--------------------------
It might be interesting to start a list initially dedicated to itself as a list community. The common interest will not be anything other than the list itself. People will be assigned care of the different spaces that I spoke of in an earlier post. When all that is looked after, then people will be invited who have something to talk about. Let's say the topic is nonduality. The new members of the community will have to interface with the keepers of the spaces. What's the purpose of all this? To empower the list, the group. To charge it in a way that hasn't been done before.
I started a new list called Listcology. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Listcology/
Daily Dharma
In 1989. during a retreat for psychotherapists
held in Colorado, Fritz
Perls made the statement, "You are you, and I am me, and
if by chance we meet, that's wonderful. If not, it couldn't be
helped."
Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a poem in reply:
"You are me, and I am you.
Isn't it obvious that we 'inter-are'?
You cultivate the flower in yourself,
so that I will be beautiful.
I transform the garbage in myself,
so that you will not have to suffer.
I support you;
you support me.
I am in this world to offer you peace;
you are in this world to bring me joy."
~Thich Nhat Hanh
From personal notes.
Blessings to all. May peace and peace and peace be
everywhere.