Peering at Water's Reflections

[Twilight Hue]

April 22, 2010 Thursday

Reflection seems to be a past-time for me lately in that I dwell on numerous occasions on how I have progressed or digressed in life so far. A recap. I tend to retrace my steps as far back as I can possibly remember and try to weigh in the factors and influences of what has happened up until now at the present moment and muse over on how it's shaped my perspectives and being. I oftentimes try to remember my earliest infancy and childhood and try to catch the flickering flashes of my very first acknowledgements of the environment and how I had collated them into some kind of meaning, the subsequent tutoring by my parents, and finally the world itself. All is no longer clear as it used to be, yet all of which had undoubtedly steered me to this point in life right now.

When I look back into time so to speak, I conceptualize the many paths that my life could have taken of which some are viewed with relief in that such events had occurred in a manner that they did, and some rife with painful regret of which I dearly wish I could change. All of which in its sum holds influence and has manifested a relationship and formed the person typing on a keyboard in the year 2010.

Looking ahead I see a pristine canvas of which to "write" and "paint" on. Restricted only by karma haunted with speculatory illusions and ghosts. Now riding a raft of kapok and steering directly by the hands and feet of experience, this journey continues on whether I'm ready for it or not..... -NM-

 

[Twilight Hue]

December 13, 2011 Tuesday

This entry is directed mainly towards people like myself who oftentimes experience difficulty in accepting direct truths primarily, yet not entirely limited towards a social cultural context. Foremost, I tend to be a hopeless romantic by way I view things mainly due to the fact that the direct naked truth at times can be exceedenly diffucult to accept at face value, or when not fully clear on any issue, there arises a need for some type of fit rather than just letting it be as it is and leaving at such. Rather, I tend to cringe and get emotional at the futility of these things. Subsquently, the karma generated becomes a real ***** in dealing with it due to entrapments that are created to which at times are notably diffucult to let go of.

There is a pain involved in how the ego can lead you to conclusions about something and in cases where any sure conclusion can't be arrived at, it's the resulting wondering, dwelling, and replaying that tears you apart so badly. Happens again and again.

How do you let go of such things? The simple and most direct answer is to simply let go.

If you want a clean house you need to clean the house then you get the proper result. If you want to lose weight you just diet, exercise, and lose the weight. It's really that simple at the core. To let go, you just let go. It's as simple as that.

Whats incouragably difficult however in light of this simplicity is reminding yourself of the real answer to which upon facing, we have a tendency to run from and frantically create numerous alternitives that cannot realistically work soley due to the fact that direct truth oftentimes is not whooly pleasent or preferable to engauge. In other words, we flat out dont like it over a slew of reasons. In such cases, I feel that personal avoidence of such things can on the long run aggravate coming to terms, even if any sucessful short term avoidence beneifits initial relief. It just dosent provide the nessessary closure. Letting go, even if the issue remains exclusivly open and incomplete on your part, is directly that closure to which the issue in question needs to be unduly accepted as it is, then once this is truly accepted and acknowledged for what it is, as it stands, life can subsequently entail less suffering by that simple act of detachment. (It's importiant however to note this should not ever be ingorance but rather acknowledgement, and then letting such things to pass allowing them to dissipate. Does that sound familier from somewhere?)

There's undoubtedly a pristine canvas that lies continually ahead to where many good and pleasent things potentally await. It's therefore in my opinion a grave folly to think you cannot intimately smile or be happy ever again in light of any present curcamstances. Don't ever cheat yourself out of that beautiful and precious gem. Life will still be painful and intense yes, but need not be insufferable.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Febuary 18, 2012 Saturday


I was reviewing the seminars held at the Berkley Zen Center in 1999 involving Zen and Nichiren Buddhists, and came across a rather profound question..Here is a segment from the seminar's transcripts toward the end;

Zen Master Dogen In conclusion, in the hundreds of years since this Sutra was transmitted into China, to be turned as the Flower of Dharma, very many people, here and there, have produced their commentaries and interpretations. Some, moreover, have attained the Dharma-state of an eminent person by relying on this Sutra. But no-one has grasped the point of the Flower of Dharma turning, or mastered the point of turning the Flower of Dharma, in the manner of our founding Patriarch, the eternal Buddha of Sokei. Now that we have heard these [points] and now that we have met it, we have experienced the meeting of eternal buddha with eternal buddha; how could [this] not be the land of eternal buddhas? How joyful it is! From kalpa to kalpa is the Flower of the Dharma, and from noon to night, even though our own body-and-mind grows strong and grows weak, it is just the Flower of Dharma itself. The reality that exists as it is is a treasure, is brightness, is a seat of truth, is mind in delusion, the Flower of Dharma turning, and is mind in realization, turning the Flower of Dharma, which is really just the Flower of Dharma turning the Flower of Dharma.

The question being: How do you interpret ....."mind in delusion the Flower of Dharma turning, and the mind in realisation turning the Flower of Dharma?" I think I understand this intellectually as I see it describing practice and realisation, but have yet to experience such as the Flower of Dharma turning the Flower of Dharma, in which I view as a full realization in which practice, realisation, and awakening are indistinguishable.