Posted on January 20, 2009
living in historic times
Many historic events have taken place during my lifetime. Many of these Earth shattering events were of the negative sort. The common thread with the negative historic events was the suddenness, the abrupt change of mind set, change of direction. 9/11, the Kennedy and King assassinations, one day your life is one way, the next day everything has changed. Today’s historic event – the inauguration of Barack Obama -was two years in the making. It was more of an historic transition rather than an event.
Once again, I point to karma; one moment building on the previous moment, incremental changes in perceptions, slowly, methodically bringing us to today. And so tomorrow will build on today’s historic moment, incrementally changing perceptions, slowly, methodically bringing us into the future.
FollowPosted on January 14, 2009
zen mind, physical mind
I’m reading Steven Pinker’s The Blank Slate, my favorite quote so far – “thinking is a physical process”. But, you ask, “Who’s doing the thinking?”.
When you pick up a book from a table, what’s picking up the book? The answer is a combination of muscles, ligaments, and tendons, along with nerve impulses, all working in conjunction with one another giving you that certain physical ability. Thus it is with your mind, various areas in the brain work in conjunction with environmental stimuli giving you the ability to think. There is no “who” there, just an organic procedure based on a genetic architecture developed over eons of evolution. Such is the miracle of life. Who could ask for anything more?
I have to get back to work.
Posted on January 2, 2009
my president right or wrong
In an Op-ed today in the NY Times, in relation to Indian democracy Gurcharan Das says: “When you have millions of gods, you cannot afford to be theologically narcissistic. It also makes you suspect of power”.
I think this can be said about American democracy and about one’s own sense of self. Those religious fundamentalists who endorse monotheism tend also to endorse conservative politics. I’ve always been suspicious of the term “Lord” – having a political connotation – being synonymous with “God”. In using those two terms as in “the Lord thy God”, politics and religion become interchangeable. The fact that western monotheism has it’s origins in a male dominated, tribal, herding culture gives one pause to wonder which came first, the lord or the god.
In the converse, the idea of religious freedom gives rise to political freedom. In America, if one can choose his or her own god, one should also be able to choose his or her lord and visa versa. An infallible leader, a demigod, whether it be the “man of the house” or the man in the Whitehouse can provide one with a sense of comfort in a seemingly unpredictable world. Yet in this country we embrace the fact that the only constant in Nature is change. We possess the freedom to reinvent ourselves as well as reinvent our government. And in doing so, we can adapt to a changing world – which is so much easier than trying to change the world to conform to an ideology. Clearly, we are not a product of intelligent design obeying the rules of the designer but rather one of many evolving life forms changing with the times.
Posted on December 7, 2008
the trickster
We all have a tendency to believe the illusion of duality. This – is me. That – is everything else. When I die everything else goes away, but I will go somewhere else. This is the illusion of existence.
Belief in this illusion is the essence of delusion. Getting behind the illusion is experiencing the sound of one hand clapping. This – nothing more, nothing less – to experience this, is enlightenment.
Posted on December 5, 2008
zen for the 21st century
The essence of zen as I see it, is to realize your position in space and time. This is not the same as understanding your position in space and time. Realization goes beyond understanding. And realization is not predicated on ones intellectual capacity. We are all here. Now. In the present. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that fact. What is necessary though, is an understanding of how the “self” gets in the way of ones ability to attain this realization.
Today, neuroscience and computer science’s work with artificial intelligence provides scientific evidence to support the zen notion that the “self” – what one might perceive as the mind – is a creation of the brain. The idea of “self” is a human trait which has evolved over the eons to help humans survive in the world.
In some zen forums using neuroscience to explain the “self” would be considered heresy, for zen has its roots and traditions in eastern culture. But in the 21st century, shaved heads and zen meditation robes have little relevance in a quest for spirituality; instead, it’s just staring at the pointing finger.
