Mind activities of a Stone boy

身是菩提樹， 心如明鏡台， 時時勤拂拭， 勿使惹塵埃。    菩提本無樹， 明鏡亦非台， 本來無一物， 何處惹塵埃？  

If a man keeps dwelling on sense-objects, attachment to them arises; from attachment, desire flares up; from desire, anger is born; from anger, confusion follows; from confusion, weakness of memory; weak memory --- weak understanding; weak understanding --- ruin; But the man who is self-controlled, who meets the objects of the senses with neither craving nor aversion, will attain serenity at last. In serenity, all his sorrows disappear at once, forever; when his heart has become serene, his understanding is steadfast. The undisciplined have no wisdom, no one-pointed concentration; with no concentration, no peace; with no peace, where can joy be? *** Bhagava Gita [2.62-66] http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-02-61.html

人心如水，混濁的水要經過一夜才能澄清，但是，要把泥沙已沉澱的清水攪濁，卻只需幾秒。 慈母對孩子關心無限，無怨無悔，若人人把這分心擴大到眾生，世界就安樂太平了。 修行的法門如坐禪、念佛，都是為了收心，修行收心是為了改掉假我，找回真我。 病痛使人脾氣變壞，脾氣壞又使身心更不舒服；要補充精神資糧，才能避免這種惡性循環。 在大樹下乘涼的人，比冷氣房中的人更愜意；因為心滿意足，一草一木都是美景。 修行人的心境要像鳥飛過白雲，魚躍出水面一般， 不為消失的事物煩心，讓心靈安詳

This poem speaks to me today as I am feeling a bit sad for no particular reason. Bittersweet A poem by Rumi -- In my hallucination I saw my beloved's flower garden In my vertigo, in my dizziness In my drunken haze Whirling and dancing like a spinning wheel I saw myself as the source of existence I was there in the beginning And I was the spirit of love Now I am sober There is only the hangover And the memory of love And only the sorrow I yearn for happiness I ask for help I want mercy And my love says: Look at me and hear me Because I am here Just for that I am your moon and your moonlight too I am your flower garden and your water too I have come all this way, eager for you Without shoes or shawl I want you to laugh To kill all your worries To love you To nourish you Oh sweet bitterness I will soothe you and heal you I will bring you roses I, too, have been covered with thorns Madonna's version.

I saw this movie probably twenty years ago when it came out. I vaguely remember that it was a very inspirational movie. I was such a lonely young man who knows only love in theory. My take away from the movie is that one has to love everybody in order to gain love from that special someone. That message has stuck in me ever since. Twenty years later now, to love everybody still remains a elusive goal. I could only try and work hard on it. Watching this movie this past Saturday on the Solstice night brings a fresh perspective again. The story of the movie somehow reminds me of the practice of Buddhism. We are given constant rebirth to the human realm to have the chance of practicing spirituality. We'll do it again and again through lots of sufferings and misgivings.. then one day finally awakened and learned... Then really work hard toward the *goal*... I saw this post by a monk online and found it very appropriate. The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new lan...

Satipatthana Sutta (The Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness), which is the one of the core scripts for Theravada Buddhism school. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satipatthana_Sutta ) I found this a pretty good interpretation on "contemplating the body in the body". http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Mindfuless-Of-Body.htm This is even better interpretation: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html Here is the Chinese translation regarding that contemplating the body/feelings/mind/mental qualities in the body/feelings/mind/mental qualities 安住於身，循身觀察 安住於受，隨觀感受 安住於心，隨觀心識 安住於法，隨觀 諸法

translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the monks, "Monks!" "Yes, lord," the monks replied. The Blessed One said: "When a monk is intent on the heightened mind, there are five themes he should attend to at the appropriate times. Which five? "There is the case where evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — arise in a monk while he is referring to and attending to a particular theme. He should attend to another theme, apart from that one, connected with what is skillful. When he is attending to this other theme, apart from that one, connected with what is skillful, then those evil, unskillful thoughts — imbued with desire, aversion, or delusion — are abandoned and subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, and concent...

This is a very easy and effective way to bring myself back the the present. I can just tell myself what I am aware of at that moment... it will bring me back the present moment when I find myself lost in thoughts, the future or the past. I am aware of my chewing on food now.. I am aware of the sensation of my finger tips when I am typing.. I am aware of the brightly lit monitor as my eyes stare at it. I am aware of the calling of my wife..

"life is finite nothing is forever all problems are relative" ~~Bob of Holland

I found this one to be read frequently.. Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Pleasance. The Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying, "Bhikkhus," and they replied to him saying, "Reverend Sir." The Blessed One spoke as follows: "Five things should be reflected on from time to time, by the bhikkhu who is intent on the higher consciousness. What five? When evil unskillful thoughts connected with desire, hate, and delusion arise in a bhikkhu through reflection on an adventitious object, he should, (in order to get rid of that), reflect on a different object which is connected with skill. Then the evil unskillful thoughts are eliminated; they disappear. By their elimination, the mind stands firm, settles down, becomes unified and concentrated, just within (his subject of meditation). Like an experienced carpenter or carpenter's apprentice, striking hard at, pushing out, an...

I just watched ARGO last week. It is a fascinating story about one CIA spy rescued the six hostages out of Canadian embassy in Tehran. You must admire the courage of this CIA agent but at the same time how unsophisticated of Iranian region at that time. Now, you're done with the movie and went to the web to search for more information about the incident. You came to realize that the movie did not portray the real incident objectively. The movie screen writer/director just adapted the real event to a very compelling story to tell. It seems fraud in that regard. a bit disappointment... So, it is to say about Lance Armstrong's story. How can a cancer survivor win 7 tour de France? It turned out that he treats. It is a great disappointment... So, on to this new movie about Journey's new vocalist, "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey". It is such a powerful story and a very inspiring one. Then, you realize how corrupt the  Philippines  society is....

Gangaji reminds me that the freedom is always there. Having strong desires and getting addiction to things are inevitable in life. Instead of suppressing them, one could try fully embrace them and learn what they really are. In the mist of strong emotions and feelings, there is always a freedom to be still and not to be swayed by the desires and habits. The freedom is always there..

The fifth mindfulness training, the mindful consumption, has always been a challenge to practice. Over the new year holiday retreat at the Blue Cliff Monastery, a lay man said that it is possible to consume alcohol mindfully. I wonder how he did it. I surely can't do so. Every time I drank a bottle of beer, I immediately notice that I could not think as clear as I would like to. Yes, sometimes, that is a sensation that I would like to enjoy, but these days, I sense that it is a loss of clarity in mind. My brain cells are getting killed. So, is it possible to mindfully consume the unmindful things? My life experiences tell me no in the most cases. Still, we could learn a lot from our mistakes so we don't make the same mistakes again. In that regard, we do mindfully consume the unmindful things....

If we practice identifying the causes of our suffering, we will see that sometimes is due to craving and sometimes it is due to other factors. To say, "Life is suffering," is too general. To say that craving is the cause of all our suffering is too simplistic. We need to say, "The basis for this suffering is such and such is an affliction." and then call it by its true name. IF we have a stomach ache, we need to call it a stomach ache. If it is a headache, we need to call it a headache. .... It is true that the Buddha taught the truth of suffering, but he also taught the truth of "dwelling happily in things as they are". To succeed in the practice, we must stop trying to prove anything. IF we touch the truth of suffering with our mindfulness, we will be able to recognize and identify our specific suffering, its specific causes, and the way to remove those causes and end our suffering.

Over Thanksgiving I took a road trip and visiting the places mentioned above. They are all wonderful experiences. Each place offers something unique about it.I must admit that traveling within the US could be as rewarding as traveling outside the country. Yogaville feels like a place out on its own. Who will have know that such a spiritual place will exist in the farming country in VA. Hopefully, the open and spacious energy from that place could radiate all over VA one day. We arrived there on the Thanksgiving day, but there is no Thanksgiving term mentioned the whole day. We went to the level 1 Yoga class right before the dinner. Polyface farm did not really live up to my expectation. I thought that it would be a farm with organic vegetable plots, too. Instead, it is a farm with poultry, rabbit, cow and pigs. I was greeted by friendly cats. One was so friendly that I could pick him up and we went together to see the rabbit house in the field. The rabbit house is an interesting i...

Sow a thought and reap an act. Sow an act and reap a habit. Sow a habit and reap a character. Sow a character and reap a destiny.

This one is relatively close to what I am learning right now. It is nice to see how this older master is still so nimble. Wish I will be the same when I reach his age. Another one is somewhat similar.

Here is another attempt by TED. The Pursuit of Happines s I, like, everyone else sentient being would like to live a happy life forever and ever. Perhaps, it is good to start from understanding what happiness is.

This morning I saw this message in my inbox and decided to read it carefully. It speaks to me so well these days.. "Whenever you are feeling an extreme emotion, whether it is anger, hurt, despair, or even bliss and you act on that feeling, there can be no clarity. The feelings are here to be felt. True action or inaction has to come from what lies beneath all feelings. Ultimately, each of us has a responsibility to ask ourselves, “What do I want?” If you want peace, it is here regardless of what you have done or what you are feeling. If you want war, you know how to go to war. We all do. What do you want for yourself, for all victims and all victimizers? What do you want for all? What a challenge. What an opportunity, right now. I send you my love and support." ---Gangaji