ilumairen

It is the forceful manner that I am taking issue with. I'm not looking for agreement, but I am requesting enough openness that individuals don't feel shut down before they even type a word.

Karl and MH, can you explain to me how the positions you have set forth are not reification?

Ditto.

To clarify, I was not thinking concepts like Dao, but rather every day experience.

I don't know scripture, and have been fond of saying I'm not Buddhist. But to me it's been that point of realizing that there is nothing to hold together, nothing that can be done, not a single thought that is going to make this very moment other than what it is, and I've been free. Free to simply be. And in this moment of freedom the taste, texture, and coolness of my glass of apple juice is the taste of 'heaven' itself.

invasive

thrive

bloom

At this point it was intentionally left open, so as not to give the impression of there being a certain response that I'm looking for. Thank you for the shot. :cheers:

The love in my heart is always there; it is not dependent on flowers. And yet it is still enjoyable to me when moments come when this love can be shared.

Hi Zanshin, Yes, that has been an unexpected bonus. I thoroughly enjoy the older couples who slow down and wave, and sometimes stop to offer words of encouragement. Another bonus has been the neighbors who stop by, smile and ask questions, and sometimes share a cold drink and their own stories. Sometimes they leave with divisions from the plants, or self-seeded plant babies, and that which I cultivate spreads happiness in it's own organic fashion.

I wash the floors, with a bucket of warm water, and a wash cloth. It's simple, but I find that by connecting with the everday life I am living without pushing thoughts away, or adding to them, as the floors get cleaned the clouds in my mind drift away on their own as well. A cup of hot cocoa is enjoyable afterwards.

harmony

I have experienced many 'gasping dreams' in my life, and have experienced states where the question of staying or going was asked. To me the blackness meant I was not yet prepared. I experienced a state that could have been equated with the hungry ghost realm - not where I would like to end up, if indeed that is what would have happened. I also experienced a state that could have been equated to the demigod realm - again not so pleasant. Then I came to the realization that I was creating these states. And the only way 'off the wheel' was to embrace my humanity. I do not seek death. I embrace the life that I have, understanding and accepting that the time of my bodily death will come when it does, and the fewer constructs I am holding when it does the better off I am. My response was sincere, although your milage may vary.

While unsure of the terminology you use, in my experience I accepted the desire to live. I stopped meditating for a bit, and focused on caring for the gift that this sacred body is. For me the experience was a deviation from my path which focuses on helping others - something that may prove more difficult without the body/mind. I have read (and been told) that the 'blackness' (which I labelled nothingness) was brought about by my wrong understanding of emptiness. I accepted this, and adjusted accordingly.

unperturbed

The following story comes from Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, PH.D. The notes include mention of a Talmudic version of the tale - The Four Who Entered Paradise . In the Talmudic version three of the four go mad after gazing upon the ancient female deity, Shekhinah. One night four rabbinum were visited by an angel who awakened them and carried them to the Seventh Vault of the Seventh Heaven. There they beheld the sacred Wheel of Ezekiel. Somewhere in the descent from Pardes, Paradise, to Earth, one Rabbi, having seen such splendor, lost his mind and wandered frothing and foaming until the end of his days. The second Rabbi was extremely cynical: "Oh I just dreamed Ezekiel's Wheel, that was all. Nothing really happened." The third Rabbi carried on and on about what he had seen, for he was totally obsessed. He lectured and would not stop with how it was constructed and what it all meant ... and in this way he went astray and betrayed his faith. The fourth Rabbi, who was a poet, took a paper in hand and a reed and sat near the window writing song after song praising the evening dove, his daughter in her cradle, and all the stars in the sky. And he lived his life better than before.

This person likes you too Nungali.

IMO There is apparent and relative gain from some practices. And in the big picture - not so much. But, as I live at this intersection where such accidents, and worse, have occurred I will continue my various practices. One of those practices is gardening. There was a multiple fatality accident here before I moved in. And people identified this place with death - repeating stories of where bodies were. I built up a mound of dirt, and carefully placed rocks. Then planted flowers that the birds and other wildlife enjoy. I acknowledge both the death that has occurred and life. And now people talk about the flowers... We can drive ourselves crazy with these concepts, and trying to figure what it is we're supposed to do with the understandings that we've found. My choice is acceptance - and flowers. YMMV

So, a few years back on a beautiful summer day, a man on a bicycle ran the stop sign by my house, and was hit by an oncoming truck. Help arrived within minutes, and the man physically survived - mentally not so much. His wife, who was a stay at home mom, and father in law showed up one day - with his children in the back seat of the car. And you can believe that I did not feed them platitudes about giving up issues, or surrendering fears. I shared what information I was willing to, and then calmly explained that there were things she did not want in her head. The lives of that whole family were changed in an instant. They experienced a very confusing and profound sort of loss. And all of the pretty words in the world were not going to change that.

My perspective: We aren't Tao. We are people. We, as human, are the universe experiencing loss and gain - although beyond our experience stated designations do not exist.

Those are pretty words. I'd be more interested in your own words though...

Halo

Filling one's mind with gratitude, savoring the joy of being, and writing poems about the simple treasures to be found in daily existence...

assimilation