Monday, February 23, 2015
Via Tricycle: Nothing Need Be Done
Nothing Need Be Done
A 1988 interview with Gary Snyder, from the newly published anthology Nobody Home: Writing, Buddhism, and Living in Places
A 1988 interview with Gary Snyder, from the newly published anthology Nobody Home: Writing, Buddhism, and Living in Places
One morning in 1984, a letter posted on the other side of the world clacked through the flap of my door in Cape Town. It was from the poet, environmental activist, and longtime Buddhist Gary Snyder, a warm response to questions about his writing. I was a graduate student at the time and had been reading his work after a friend gave me a copy of his 1967 collection A Range of Poems. That first letter was the beginning of a long long-distance friendship and an ongoing conversation.
It started as an intellectual exchange and became an exploration of practice. As a young person living in a society demarcated by the paranoid logic of apartheid, I found it refreshing to meet the spaciousness of Gary’s way of seeing. His delight in wildness. Poems that opened up the idea of social justice to include nonhuman beings and the living world. The truly radical realization that things are not things but process, nodes in the jeweled net. And in all this a tendency simply to walk out of the narrow prison of dualistic thought.
Over the years, what has kept on bringing me back to Gary’s writing and to our conversation is his steady articulation of this vision in practice: Buddhist practice, the practice of writing, of being a householder, of living in places.
Nobody Home: Writing, Buddhism, and Living in Places puts together three interviews and a selection of letters from around 30 years. We recorded the first interview, an adaptation from which follows, in 1988 at Kitkitdizze, Gary’s home on the San Juan Ridge in the Sierra Nevada, where he is also a member of the Ring of Bone Zendo. It was a hot day in late August, and Carole Koda, his new partner, sat listening throughout.
Via Daily Dharma
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 22/02/2015
“O que tira a mente do momento presente é o desejar compulsivo. O
desejo está intimamente relacionado com a sua história: com o seu
passado e com as marcas do seu corpo emocional, que agem como buracos
que você tenta preencher através de coisas. Você deseja uma coisa -
consegue essa coisa – e se sente preenchido. Porém, esse preenchimento
dura muito pouco, porque você tenta preencher um buraco interno com algo
de fora. Isso não é possível. O máximo
que você consegue é viver a ilusão, por um curto espaço de tempo, de que
o seu buraco foi preenchido. Esse buraco só pode ser preenchido de
dentro para fora, ou seja, somente quando você se harmoniza com o seu
passado.”
“Lo que saca a la
mente del momento presente es el desear compulsivo. El deseo está
íntimamente relacionado con tu historia: con tu pasado y con las marcas
de tu cuerpo emocional, que actúan como agujeros que intentas llenar a
través de cosas. Deseas una cosa - consigues esta cosa - y te sientes
satisfecho. Sin embargo, este relleno dura muy poco, porque intentas
llenar un agujero interno con algo de afuera. Esto no es posible. Lo
máximo que consigues es vivir la ilusión, por un corto espacio de
tiempo, que tu agujero se llenó. Este agujero sólo puede ser rellenado
desde adentro hacia afuera, es decir, sólo cuando te armonizas con tu
pasado.”
"What takes the mind away from the present moment is compulsive desire. Desires are closely related to our history, our past, and the imprints on our emotional bodies, which are like holes that we try to fill up with things. We desire something, we get it, and we feel satisfied. However, this satisfaction doesn’t last very long, because we’re trying to fill an internal hole with something external. This is not possible. The most we can achieve is to live in this illusion for a short time, believing that the hole was filled. This hole can only be filled from the inside-out. In other words, it will only be filled when we can be in harmony with our past."
"What takes the mind away from the present moment is compulsive desire. Desires are closely related to our history, our past, and the imprints on our emotional bodies, which are like holes that we try to fill up with things. We desire something, we get it, and we feel satisfied. However, this satisfaction doesn’t last very long, because we’re trying to fill an internal hole with something external. This is not possible. The most we can achieve is to live in this illusion for a short time, believing that the hole was filled. This hole can only be filled from the inside-out. In other words, it will only be filled when we can be in harmony with our past."
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 21/02/2015
“Shalom, shanti, piece, paz... Conscientes ou não, todos estamos em
busca disso, mesmo quando acreditamos estar em busca de realizações
materiais, afetivas, sexuais e espirituais. A paz é a mais elevada das
virtudes; é o fruto maduro da árvore da consciência. Mas, para realizar a
paz se faz necessário chegar a um acordo com o desejo. O desejo é o
gerador do apego e do tumulto interno.”
“Shalom, shanti, peace, paz... Conscientes o no, todos estamos en busca de eso, incluso cuando creemos estar en busca de realizaciones materiales, afectivas, sexuales y espirituales. La paz es la más elevada de las virtudes; es el fruto maduro del árbol de la conciencia. Pero para realizar la paz es necesario llegar a un acuerdo con el deseo. El deseo es el generador del apego y del tumulto interno.”
"Shalom, shanti, paz, peace... Whether we’re aware of it or not, we are all in search of peace – even when we believe we’re in search of material, romantic, sexual or spiritual experiences. Peace is the highest virtue: it is the ripe fruit of the tree of consciousness. In order to achieve peace, we must come to an agreement with desire. Desire generates attachments and inner turmoil."
“Shalom, shanti, peace, paz... Conscientes o no, todos estamos en busca de eso, incluso cuando creemos estar en busca de realizaciones materiales, afectivas, sexuales y espirituales. La paz es la más elevada de las virtudes; es el fruto maduro del árbol de la conciencia. Pero para realizar la paz es necesario llegar a un acuerdo con el deseo. El deseo es el generador del apego y del tumulto interno.”
"Shalom, shanti, paz, peace... Whether we’re aware of it or not, we are all in search of peace – even when we believe we’re in search of material, romantic, sexual or spiritual experiences. Peace is the highest virtue: it is the ripe fruit of the tree of consciousness. In order to achieve peace, we must come to an agreement with desire. Desire generates attachments and inner turmoil."
Via Daily Dharma
| ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Review: A Lost History of the Baha’i Faith
Books that simultaneously address family history and religious studies appeal to both of my literary obsessions, and hence tend to be among my favorite reading material. Several years ago Prophet’s Daughter by Erin Prophet told the story of the rise and fall of the Church Universal and Triumphant in a way no one else ever could; the author being the ultimate insider yet also a complete outsider.
An insider in that she was a participant in all the events she describes, but an outsider in that she entirely rejects the belief system constructed by her parents. The finest book in the literature about Edgar Cayce, in my opinion, is Sidney Kirkpatrick’s biography Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet, because it goes into greater depth about the extended family of Edgar and Gertrude, their parents, siblings, children,and cousins, than any before or since.
It is not unusual for the descendants of a movement founder to find themselves at odds with the authorities who gain control of a religion’s governance. The entire family of Elizabeth Clare Prophet is now in such a position, but far more extensive are the descendants of Joseph Smith, Jr. Although the Utah Mormon church accounts for about 98% of LDS membership worldwide, most of the prophet’s descendants ended up in the Reorganized LDS church, which in 2001 became the Community of Christ. It is far more theologically liberal than the Utah church, for example having ordained women since the 1980s. According to certain traditions, the family of Jesus found themselves alienated from the authorities of the early Christian church. Although the Gospels name four brothers of Jesus and mention unnamed sisters, by the fourth century church authorities decided that he could not possibly have any siblings because Mary was a perpetual virgin, and this remains official church doctrine among Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some Protestant groups. Although earlier historical records indicate that people had been recognized as blood relatives of Jesus in the first century, they were ultimately defined out of existence because they conflicted with a dogma based on metaphysics rather than history. But no case of a split between a prophet’s family and the religious authority structure of a faith community is as extreme and antagonistic as the example of the Baha’is. Eric Stetson has brought to light what he aptly entitles A Lost History of the Baha’i Faith, predominantly the unpublished writings of Shua Ullah Behai, grandson of the Baha’I founder Baha’u’llah. The collection includes the works of a dozen other individuals, almost all descendants of Baha’u’llah who have been not just alienated from, but demonized by the religious authorities who govern the contemporary Baha’i community.
The highest current authority is the Universal House of Justice, an all-male governing body that was first elected in 1963, six years after the death of the only Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi. The office of Guardian was ordained by the Will and Testament of Abdu’l Baha, oldest son of Baha’u'llah and grandfather of Shoghi Effendi, to last in perpetuity. But the Guardian was supposed to be a lineal descendant of Baha’u’llah, appointed by his predecessor; and Shoghi Effendi died without leaving a will and after excommunicating all his relatives, including his parents and siblings. Hence the Guardianship was declared abrogated. In this context as with the previous generation of leadership, excommunication is combined with shunning, and those shunned are called “covenant-breakers” and described as having a contagious spiritual disease. There are now several competing sects based on various claims by non-descendants to inherit the mantle of the Guardianship, but none of these have been supported by any of the Baha’I descendants. The new book now available is the work of an earlier category of “covenant-breakers,” those excommunicated by Abdu’l Baha, including two of his brothers and all their families—one of whom, a nephew, is the primary author of the book.
Stetson’s excellent introduction and conclusion are scholarly rather than polemical in tone, but the notes and comments in the body of the book show his admiration and sympathy for these excommunicated relatives. The surviving descendants who cooperated with Stetson and encouraged publication of the book have a positive message of inclusion and reconciliation. But like the great-great-great-nephews and nieces of Jesus, their very existence is an “inconvenient truth” to the belief system as it evolved under ecclesiastical authority over time.
The forthcoming volume of correspondence of Thomas Moore Johnson reveals a hitherto unsuspected connection between early American Baha’is and the HBofL. The phrase “Religion of the Stars” appeared as a catch-phrase of the astro-Masonic late 19th century group the Oriental Order othe Magi. The OOM, as it turns out, involved both Ibrahim Kheiralla, the first Baha’I missionary in the US, and some correspondents of Mr. Johnson. Mr. Kheiralla, who died in 1929, is one of the many “covenant-breaker” dissidents whose writings are included in A Lost History of the Baha’i Faith.
Make the jump here to read the original post
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 20/02/2015
“O nosso trabalho transita entre a esfera da ativação da consciência maior e a esfera da purificação dos porões do inconsciente. A ativação da consciência maior é quando você tem acesso à lembrança de quem é você; é quando você de alguma maneira entra em contato com expressões do Real, e experimenta fragrâncias da bem aventurança (amor, paz e liberdade). Mas essa experiência só é possível quando você já purificou em algum grau as marcas do passado do seu sistema, pois é justamente isso que te impede de sustentar o êxtase. Esse é o trabalho de cura e transformação do eu inferior, que tenho chamado de “ABC da Espiritualidade”. Essas duas esferas de trabalho precisam ser contempladas simultaneamente.”
“Nuestro trabajo se mueve entre la esfera de la activación de la
conciencia mayor y la esfera de la purificación de los sótanos del
inconsciente. La activación de la conciencia mayor es cuando tienes
acceso a la memoria de quién eres; es cuando de alguna manera entras en
contacto con expresiones de lo Real, y experimentas fragancias de la
bienaventuranza (amor, paz y libertad). Pero esta experiencia sólo es
posible cuando ya purificaste en algún grado las marcas del pasado de tu
sistema, porque eso es precisamente lo que te impide sustentar el
éxtasis. Este es el trabajo de cura y transformación del yo inferior,
que vengo llamando "ABC de la Espiritualidad". Estas dos esferas de
trabajo precisan ser contempladas simultáneamente.”
"Our work transitions between the spheres of activating our higher consciousness and purifying the dungeons of the unconscious. When you activate your higher consciousness, you can access the remembrance of who you are. When, in some way, you come into contact with the expressions of what is real, it allows you to experience the bliss of the fragrance of love, peace and freedom. But this experience is only possible when you have purified the marks of the past in your system to some degree, because that is precisely what prevents you from sustaining ecstasy. This is the work of healing and transforming the lower self, which I call the ‘ABC of Spirituality.’ These two spheres of work need to be addressed simultaneously."
"Our work transitions between the spheres of activating our higher consciousness and purifying the dungeons of the unconscious. When you activate your higher consciousness, you can access the remembrance of who you are. When, in some way, you come into contact with the expressions of what is real, it allows you to experience the bliss of the fragrance of love, peace and freedom. But this experience is only possible when you have purified the marks of the past in your system to some degree, because that is precisely what prevents you from sustaining ecstasy. This is the work of healing and transforming the lower self, which I call the ‘ABC of Spirituality.’ These two spheres of work need to be addressed simultaneously."
Via Daily Dharma
| ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
Friday, February 20, 2015
Via Qwerty: Two Nice Jewish Boys Post Pic Of Their Unicorn Wedding Entrance, Internet Goes Wild
As far as wedding themes go, unicorns have to rank somewhere at the top of the list after drag and before Sir Ian McKellen officiating.
For one gay Jewish couple, the choice was obvious — ride in on a unicorn, blow everyone’s minds. So that’s what they did (which might be a Modern Family reference), and this photo surfaced shortly thereafter:
Just look at that woman’s face on the right. Pure joy. Like all her girlhood dreams all just came true.
But as is almost always the case, the internet took the photo and ran (galloped?), and we’d be remiss if we didn’t give some top-notch captions a proper shoutout.
For one gay Jewish couple, the choice was obvious — ride in on a unicorn, blow everyone’s minds. So that’s what they did (which might be a Modern Family reference), and this photo surfaced shortly thereafter:
Just look at that woman’s face on the right. Pure joy. Like all her girlhood dreams all just came true.
But as is almost always the case, the internet took the photo and ran (galloped?), and we’d be remiss if we didn’t give some top-notch captions a proper shoutout.
Here are our favorites:
- Looks like they have a… stable relationship.
- In the least derogatory way possible, that is as gay as it gets.
- Now I want to see a gay Hindu wedding where they ride in on an elephant dressed like a wooly mammoth.
- “Tonight, we ride.”
- Did no one else get the Friends reference here? The old lady’s gone! She’s no longer haunting Phobe! She’s seen it all!
- … so unicorn is kosher?
- Jewnicorn… anyone? Ok I’ll go…
- Those are some good looking Jews.
- Hmm. Kinda thought they would ride bareback….
- How brokeback mountain should of ended.
- 50 shades of neigh
- FAKE! Everyone knows unicorns aren’t Jewish!
- Is that unicorn horn circumcised?
VIA FB: Did you know that Baha'u'llah uses a "subject of boys" metaphor to describe himself?
Did you know that Baha'u'llah uses a "subject of boys" metaphor to describe himself?
The “beloved” (q.v.) in Persian lyrics is, as a rule, not a female, but a young male, often a pubescent or adolescent youth, or a young boy. // (Encyclopaedia Iranica)
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/homosexuality-iii
The “beloved” (q.v.) in Persian lyrics is, as a rule, not a female, but a young male, often a pubescent or adolescent youth, or a young boy. // (Encyclopaedia Iranica)
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/homosexuality-iii
\\ For whereas in days past every lover besought and searched after his
Beloved, it is the Beloved Himself Who now is calling His lovers and is
inviting them to attain His presence. //
(Baha'u'llah)
http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/gwb-151.html#gr2
Some more background information here:
https://books.google.co.nz/books…
(Baha'u'llah)
http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/gwb-151.html#gr2
Some more background information here:
https://books.google.co.nz/books…
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 20/02/2015
“Nuestro trabajo se mueve entre la esfera de la activación de la
conciencia mayor y la esfera de la purificación de los sótanos del
inconsciente. La activación de la conciencia mayor es cuando tienes
acceso a la memoria de quién eres; es cuando de alguna manera entras en
contacto con expresiones de lo Real, y experimentas fragancias de la
bienaventuranza (amor, paz y libertad). Pero esta experiencia sólo es
posible cuando ya purificaste en algún grado las marcas del pasado de tu
sistema, porque eso es precisamente lo que te impide sustentar el
éxtasis. Este es el trabajo de cura y transformación del yo inferior,
que vengo llamando "ABC de la Espiritualidad". Estas dos esferas de
trabajo precisan ser contempladas simultáneamente.”
"Our work transitions between the spheres of activating our higher consciousness and purifying the dungeons of the unconscious. When you activate your higher consciousness, you can access the remembrance of who you are. When, in some way, you come into contact with the expressions of what is real, it allows you to experience the bliss of the fragrance of love, peace and freedom. But this experience is only possible when you have purified the marks of the past in your system to some degree, because that is precisely what prevents you from sustaining ecstasy. This is the work of healing and transforming the lower self, which I call the ‘ABC of Spirituality.’ These two spheres of work need to be addressed simultaneously."
"Our work transitions between the spheres of activating our higher consciousness and purifying the dungeons of the unconscious. When you activate your higher consciousness, you can access the remembrance of who you are. When, in some way, you come into contact with the expressions of what is real, it allows you to experience the bliss of the fragrance of love, peace and freedom. But this experience is only possible when you have purified the marks of the past in your system to some degree, because that is precisely what prevents you from sustaining ecstasy. This is the work of healing and transforming the lower self, which I call the ‘ABC of Spirituality.’ These two spheres of work need to be addressed simultaneously."
Via Daily Dharma
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)