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Monday May 28th


Marcia:

<snip>
I am not talking about thought. Mind has to
exist for thoughts to happen but thoughts
don't happen just because there is mind. A
mind can be empty of thoughts.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce:

No offense, but this is
balderdash. Thought
creates the concept of
"mind" because it fears
extinction. Without
thought, the is no
"mind" -- and no Santa
Claus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ed:


Perhaps another way to state this might be
that it is the concept "me" that fears the extinction
of self-perpetuating conceptualization. E.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Yes, very empty, like the stillness in the mountains here,
occasionally interrupted by the sound of a soft breeze
through the trees, but rarely by a storm :)
And without (conscious) thinking, perception continues,
the car can be driven, the cleaning of the house is done.
Mind is the potential for all this functioning and stopping
it completely would equal physical death.

Peace of mind,

Jan

________________________________________________________________________


David Hodges:

Last night I rented "Why did Bodhi-Dharma Leave for the West". It instantly
jumps onto my all-time best list, along with Mayakovsky's "Solaris", and de
Sica's "The Bicycle Thief".

This movie is "about" Zen, meditation, the search for enlightenment. A
young man leaves his ailing mother to go study with an elderly Zen monk in
the mountains. There, he finds that the monk has adopted a little orphan
boy. Together, the three of them form an unlikely household. The elderly
monk teaches the young man with koans and sayings that form the spiritual
background of the lush imagery. The young boy becomes a complex character
in his own right as, left alone for hours by the two meditating men who
care for him, he has adventures with birds, other small children, and an
escaped cow that mature him until, at the end, he almost seems to be a
replica, in miniature, of the old monk.

The movie is long, slow, unbelievably poetic, beautifully photographed.
This movie has the best visual metaphors for spiritual experience I have
ever seen. The ending is incredible but I won't give it away.

Warning: this movie requires patience, especially the first hour when you
are not quite sure what is going on. But it rewards your attention and by
the end it is completely riveting.

A Reviews of Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? is here:
http://www.epinions.com/mvie_mu-1066282

David

________________________________________________________________________


Harsha:



I wanted to introduce you all to Jan Barendrecht, a long time contributor to
the Internet Spiritual lists. Jan has written informatively and
authoritatively on the "Raw Food Fruitarian" diet and the mystical
experiences related to Kundalini Shakti and how to interpret the symbolism
of it in various scriptures. Jan's writings are based on practical and
experiential knowledge as well as in-depth understanding that comes from
living the truth for many decades. In the following essay, Jan relates the
ancient Epic of Gilgamesh and interweaves the concepts of Alchemy, Eternal
Life, Immortality, and the Kundalini Shakti Symbolism.

The full essay can be read on the HarshaSatsangh Website.

http://www.harshasatsangh.com

Introduction
Jan Barendrecht

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest known written stories, the
earliest versions date to about 2000 B.C. The epic hails from ancient
Babylonia, a kingdom that was located in the area between the rivers Euphrat
and Tigris in what is now Iraq. The epic was originally written on clay
tablets in cuneiform, the wedge shaped characters of the Sumerian language.
The fullest surviving version of the epic, however, was written in Akkadian,
another Babylonian language.

By Jan Barendrecht

________________________________________________________________________


Michael Read:

Turn attention within. Allow the one-pointed concentration to arise
as it will spontaneously do. Therein the light shines and the truth is
revealed. The well-spring of life is ever flowing. From this all that
is appears in its infinite glory.

Understand that all of the illusions, the pain and suffering, the
arising of desires and the ending of desires, the maya, the lila, and
all transitory beings arise, move about, and are consumed in the
well-spring of life.

Neither you nor i are real. We are played characters on the stage of
universal life. Understanding this to its most logical conclusion is
rare. When the character first begins to perceive itself as
illusory/transitory it may feel that life is without meaning and thus
feel fear, anger or despair.

Conversely, the character may shout out in joyful liberation upon
discovering the truth of its existance. Or it may attain the fullness
of objectless being.

Whatever the case of the relative position of the character in the
play it has no choice in the matter of what it will do or how its life
will play out.

Every being from the great sages and saints to the most debauched and
villanous are formed by the eternal force of life. Understanding this
simple yet powerful situation often brings about the greatest
compassion. And the great ones amongst humanity see themselves as
truly no better than any other being.

>From one character to another character an offering - allow the
intuition of life to guide you within to the well-spring of being. It
is calling you with the subtle power of divine love.

Namaste - Michael

________________________________________________________________________



I came across this site, Jim Dreaver, up in your neck of the woods,
Sebastapool, CA. He gives talks and classes. Seems like nice fellow to
connect with.

http://www.realization.org/page/doc0/doc0083.htm



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Just got this note back from Jim Dreaver. What a beauty!

<snipped>
...something I just wrote, a Memorial Day gift for you. Many
blessings....
Jim

THE AWAKENING

To be an enlightened leader, just be an enlightened person
and lead naturally. --Zen saying

Wisdom teaches us that the way to enlightenment, to inner peace,
happiness, and freedom from fear, is to give up all ideas about
enlightenment, and just be here now. The most potent spiritual
practice is to simply be very present in every moment. It is to be
aware of awareness itself. It is to know ourselves as the
consciousness, the timeless witness, behind every thought,
sensation, and feeling.

Then we don't need to attach to any one belief, story, or point of
view for security. Instead, we live with an inner spaciousness in
which all perspectives can peacefully co-exist. Our core identity and
meaning no longer depend on any image or concept of ‘self,’ nor on
any person or situation outside ourselves. They stem directly from the
beauty and power of the energy, the life force, vibrating within and
around us.

The more we connect with this energy, the more our words and actions
are guided by love, by the deeper wisdom we sense and feel in each
moment. Such an approach ensures the most favorable outcome to every
undertaking. Then, no matter what is happening in the marketplace, no
matter what the challenges before us, we are always at peace within.

As we learn to embody the clear, relaxed presence that is our natural
state of being, we become an example to others. In this way we share
the awakening that will bring harmony to our relationships, our
communities, our world.

--Jim Dreaver, author, THE WAY OF HARMONY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



I did an interview with Jim Dreaver, it is at:

http://www.allspirit.co.uk/jimdreaver.html

I would love to meet him, be able to attend one of his talks.

Gill

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