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Why look for proof, for understanding,
just realize that the vision
in front of your eyes can't be,
not as you see it.

What is any miracle,
other than an apparition
within this vision?

What is proof,
other than an explanation
that satisfies
within this vision.

Understand it?!
It is not possible!

Look at it!
You cannot be!
Here, walking, talking
in the middle of an
empty infinity.

THAT is the miracle.

--Manchine

_________________________________________________________________________

GLORIA LEE

This past Friday, I went into Wash DC to see the Tibetan
Village on the Mall.
Their very finest craftsmen were demonstrating their arts.
Several monks were
continuing the sand mandala underway all week, which
requires a steady touch.
Fine colored grains of sand are put in a slender metal
funnel and then rubbed
gently with a metal wand so that the slight vibration causes
a few grains at a
time to drop out the small opening. The intricacy of this
design is incredible.

The painting of the Thangkhas, religious images of Buddha
and Bodhisattvas are
also finely detailed. As well as painting, some are created
by an applique
technique of rich materials and fine sewing. Pashima shawls
hand woven of tiny
fine threads. The lettering of their texts is traditionally
hand carved into
wooden blocks for printing. The enormous amount of time to
do these crafts is
quite obvious, not to mention the time it takes to learn to
do them well. It
all gives an impression of having all the time in the world
to do something
just right.

At the Buddhist temple in a tent, there was a continous
round of teachings and
chantings. And the tent was full to overflowing. It's very
encouraging to see
such interest. The end of the talk I heard, the monk asked
how many might be
returning for the next talk an hour later and half the crowd
raised their
hands. He told the rest that if this might be their only
hearing of Buddhist
teachings they might wonder what they got from it, but to
think of Buddhism as
being not about getting but more about what one might come
there to leave. He
made a few points about dropping stuff and said the essence
of the message is
how to relax and leave worries behind. Everyone clapped. The
Tibetans certainly
do have a very noticable serenity and kindly cheerfulness in
their willingness
to talk to anyone and everyone and patiently answer
questions.

There were more crafts and yaks and a nomad's tent and a
huge prayer
wheel,dolls in Tibetan costumes. Anyway, I'll soon put a few
pictures in the
files in a Tibetan folder..the flash camera ones I haven't
got back yet.

A sample of their various arts can be seen at this website:
http://www.beliefnet.com/features/dalailama/tibetanarts.html

Be sure to at least see the incredible Sand Mandala pictures
at:
http://www.artnetwork.com/Mandala/

On Friday, 50,000 people showed up to hear the Dalai Lama's
talk on the mall.
It was non-political, focusing on the illusory nature of
wealth and power, and
the role of hope and generosity toward others in bringing
happiness.

A video webcast of his talk in Wash DC will be available
July 5th 7:30,
continuing until Aug at this site:
http://www.beliefnet.com/features/dalailama/index.html

________________________________________________________________________________\


GLORIA LEE FORWARDS:

namaste. Continuing on with the excerpts from "The prayer of
the frog" by
Anthony de Mello.

Regards Gummuluru Murthy
------------------------------------------------------------------------

RELIGION: HOW SPIRITUAL ORGANIZATIONS GROW

On a rocky seacoast where shipwrecks were frequent there was
once a ramshackle
little life-saving station. It was no more than a hut and
there was only one
boat, but the few people who manned the station were a
devoted lot who kept
constant watch over the sea and, with little regard for
themselves and their
safety, went fearlessly out in a storm if they had any
evidence that there had
been a shipwreck somewhere. Many lives were thus saved and
the station became
famous.

As the fame of the station grew, so did the desire of people
in the
neighbourhood to become associated with its excellent work.
They generously
offered of their time and money so new members were
enrolled, new boats bought
and new crews trained. The hut too was replaced by a
comfortable building which
could adequately handle the needs of those who had been
saved from the sea and,
of course, since shipwrecks do not occur everyday, it became
a popular
gathering place - a sort of local club. As time passed the
members became so
engaged in socializing that they had little interest in
life-saving, though
they duly sported the life-saving motto on the badges they
wore. As a matter of
fact, when some people were actually rescued from the sea,
it was always such a
nuisance because they were dirty and sick and soiled the
carpeting and the
furniture.

Soon the social activities of the club bacame so numerous
and the life-saving
activities so few that there was a show-down at a club
meeting with some
members insisting that they return to their original purpose
and activity. A
vote was taken and these trouble makers, who proved to be a
small minority,
were invited to leave the club and start another.

Which is precisely what they did - a little further down the
coast, with such
selflessness and daring that, after a while, their heroism
made them famous.
Whereupon their membership was enlarged, their hut was
reconstructed ... and
their idealism smothered. If you happen to visit that area
today you will find
a number of exclusive clubs dotting the shoreline. Each one
of them is
justifiably proud of its origin and its tradition.
Shipwrecks still occur in
those parts, but nobody seems to care much.

________________________________________________________________________________\
_


BRUCE MORGEN

Sometimes nonduality is very beautifully pointed toward,
which is all that
words can do in that regard. Most of the time, the words
appear too mundane to
be of such an exalted llk, but that is a mere appearance.
Look more deeply,
with all the clarity you can muster. Drop your assumptions
about what "should"
be happening and kick them aside -- you might notice that
the nondual does not
preclude the mundane, but rather effortlessly and
exquisitely encompasses it.

MIRA

I am always hanging around in this Salon, reading words,
savouring their
ordinary mundane and plain taste. Ah, and then I stumble
upon your words Bruce,
which remind me again why the ordinary tastes so superbly
extra-ordinary. How
could it be that one can point to the non-dual only in less
than ordinary
words? Words are already nondual by nature. It is only
interpretations that
split them into this duality of exalted/mundane. What they
arise from precedes
such interpretations, so what quality could they possibly
have? Your words have
exactly the right taste, Bruce, thanks.

________________________________________________________________________________\
__

MANCHINE

On the way in to work today, I realized I was looking at
clear snow capped
mountains below a tapestry sky of high alto cummulus, after
a week of
devastating rains....

I realized that it was nothing compared to the weekend, at
home in the house,
where for some unbenown reason I had been heavily graced
with the presence of "
" AM, no intention, "appearing" out of nowhere over and
over. Being in awe and
joy and thanks... and this view this morning, no more, no
less... just a part
of IT, the same part.

I AM THAT, you know what I mean?

________________________________________________________________________________\
____

ANDREW MACNAB

Projective geartrain spins like crazy clockwork calculating
machine. Clatter of
output finger on archaic keyboard interface device...
Projected response
projects..."Judi's feeling feisty"... Projection engine
resumes cruise mode.

________________________________________________________________________________\
_

JAN KOEHOORN

Time

In the good old days, time was considered and absolute
thing. Isaac Newton
thought so, and so did the rest of the world. Albert
Einstein proved that there
isn't such a thing as absolute time. He said that time could
be different for
different observers. To me, time is only there when thinking
is there. No
thinking, no time, for example when in deep dreamless sleep,
or between two
thoughts.

________________________________________________________________________________\
_


GURU DAVE

Friends,

to celebrate my recent rumoured but not yet hotly debated
enlightenment..we
will be convening with Harjap, an enlightened colleague, in
London's Hyde Park
and listening to some informal enlightened banter while
cruising the cool beats
of London's free biggest music party 'Party in the Park' or
taking a dip in the
serpentine lake

It's bound to be packed so I suggest we convene somewhere
Hyde Park Corner at a
civilised hour and then we can ruminate onwards from there.

That's Sunday 9 July 2000 at 13:00

If you need to come later then contact me ASAP so we can
find a way of meeting
(by using mobile phones)

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