Wayfarer64

I gotta go with basic quantum mechanics holding all sub-atomic activity to be based on possibilities more than facts- or in other words - consciousness as choice or idea becomes energy and matter. Each moment all of matter is in a state of incredible change or flux- seemingly popping in and out of the realm we call "reality"...If What we think of as solid is mostly the "idea" of different kinds of solid; then the open-ended choices for our own energies and ideas to transform us must be pretty vast. If some choices seem to last and last - as in the mesurement of various half-lives of elements - then some of our choices and ideas may also last beyond a life-time... This is very interesting to me too -But there is no "surity" to any of my speculations. Quantum physics is still only another idea from man's mind that may or may not hold water. It does however abide well with Taoist ideas of change and energy. I'd like to think the mathamatical quest for a unified theory of everything (which Einstein hoped to write an equation for) already exists in the consciousness of Buddha nature or Taoist transcendence...That everything is pretty much a sort of everything else having a different idea of itself and yet continually becoming something new at the same time...! This is an astounding way to look at life. There is no anchor or net or balance except in a collective consciousness that agrees to keep things as they are... in a state of constant change! But I have no idea what so ever about the frequencies of my thought patterns, or how to develpoe a control of such a thing if I could find it. Please explain this as yr able... If what I wrote rings true for ya, than any quest taken is in the "right " direction and may lead to bliss. It is how we proceed that gets us anywhere, not the direction we head towards. The idea of thought control through meditation does not appeal to me. I generally try to "empty" my mind to find a peacful state, not consciously force enlightenment -which I think is impossible and counter to finding it. Striving gets in the way of progress sometimes. Let it be. It seems that we can harm ourselves trying to understand somethings when "out of our element"... Like the recent passing of Steve Irwin, who died trying to understand something that he scared into killing him!

I guess he is best known in this context for writing a foreword to the Wilhelm/Baynes translation of the Yi Jing. http://www.iging.com/intro/foreword.htm Its a good read in itself and shouldn't be ignored as part of Taoist thought... Enjoy!

Hi again- Any New Yorkers Out there?- There will be a poetry reading on the 30th of Sept. from 4:30-7:30. I will read from the Wayfarer Sonnets...Sorry about the confusion in schedualing it got me too! The Tomkins Square Public Library 331 East 10th Street [near Avenue B], New York, NY 10009-5099. Thats-At Tompkins Square Library Gallery Please join us for a Commingling of the Disciplines I've been invited to show some non-Taoist art(a tribute to Jimi Hendrix) at the great cultural center in the East Village (NYC)... September 13th 2006 6-8 PM in the Gallery of... The Tomkins Square Public Library 331 East 10th Street [near Avenue B], New York, NY 10009-5099. Thats-At Tompkins Square Library Gallery Please join us for a Commingling of the Disciplines Opening: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 6 to 8 Curated by Jeffrey Cyphers Wright and Valery Oisteanu With works by Luigi Cazzaniga Peggy Cyphers Steve Dalachinsky Rob Edelman David Hatchett Lilly Hatchett Amy Hill Patrick Goldsmith Charles Mingus, III Valery Oisteanu Lori Ortiz Yuko Otomo Jim Power Michael Savage Barbara Slitkin Ilka Scobie Carol Ross Bruce Weber Jeffrey Cyphers Wright There will be a poetry reading on the 30th of Sept. from 4:30-7:30. I will read from the Wayfarer Sonnets...Sorry about the confusion in schedualing it got me too! Call at (212) 228-4747 or e-mail at [email protected] There will be other poets and art-works from each poet as well... I'm showing a small tribute piece I did for Jimi Hendrix - titled- "I Don't Mind". It was shown once before at CBGB's Art Gallery way back in 1993...But it didn't sell and I've not exhibited it again - 'til now...

Dear Cloud- I will try to spend some time with this quandry. I have often thought of Tibetan Buddhism as an archaic form of cultural backwardness. There is no seperation of church and state, which is a very important factor in governance to me. (That our own culture is becoming more of a theocracy then ever is also worrisome to me. ) I have dealt with many problems of doctine and dogma in every religion I have studied, which is most of them that I have ever heard of. My experience with the Dalai Lama I will also re-evaluate. But the feeling was of compassion between us in a seemingly mutual awareness of the suffering and transcendence of suffering to be found in life. It remains a source of comfort and strength for me. Also I have read that the Dalai Lama has said his biggest regret in life was not to have experienced physical love-making with a woman, and the shared experience of being true lovers. This would seem to me that there is a degree of a non-doctrinaire in the man. Though it could just be admitting to a case of horneyness on his part... I for one do not hold him to be God-like or devine so much as a human who has stretched his potential for compassion to a remarkible degree. Misogyny is a serious problem world wide. From the burka's fetter to any sex-slave forced onto the market; women have been degraded and objectified, used and abused, reviled and discarded. I'm not sure that the objective truth can be reached as long as males call the shots, but I for one am willing to hold the Tibetans accountable for their cruelties as much as I hold the Han Chinese up to be reviled for their cruelties. Much of what I have gleaned from the article at hand I have also read in Chinese propaganda meant to under-mine the Dalai Lama. So for me the source is somewhat in question as well. It seems an extremely out-dfated version of Tibetan society. They are still on a rocky path towards "modernization" much as the Arabs are going through in a very different context of huge wealth and Western rather than Chinese directions given... In both cases it would seem that women have become the scape-goats for male weaknesses. As societies shatter into brutality or just remain brutal; or struggle out from brutality; women have usually been the uniting/civilizing factor. From the Jewish exodus to the taming of the American West... I say - May the female power to tame the beast within men always prevail! I actually once did a painting called "Why the Pack Howls" an Abstract-impressionist work about this subject I'll get it online sometime soon...In the mean time I WILL try to follow this expose and get a better grip on the subject. You seem very passionate about this and have gotten my attention. But please be patient -the week ahead is a real doozy for me already... I'm putting together two different law suits -one for damages in a flood I am still cleaning up from, I am selling off most of my possessions this month so I can just paint and not have to work a day job - which is a tough experience in non-attachment for me right now... And I have a Poetry reading at the Thompkins Square Public Library (East Village NYC) -on the evening of the 9th, so I need to practice some to be in good form for it ... But this is a serious matter to me and i will get to it eventually.

This is great! I was hoping to find a thread like this! I think that the Confucian line has taken a strong hand in Chinese/Taoist tradition, but may have swung the whole sytem of thought to "the right" or to a more authoritarian state-oriented philosophy. The hermits who first came up with the reading of burnt turtle shells had their minds in a very different place than Confucus who wanted very much to be the power behind the throne... As I understand it the idea of "morality" is different in traditional Chinese culture then what we are used to in our puritanical/ prurient America. Just sexual morality alone sets us apart... There, sex is part of one's staying healthy, like diet and nutrition, with little or no thought of it being dirty or sordid- at least as far as your non-kinky druthers would allow. "golden showers" would not be concidered a healthy response to sexual urges....But I may be reaching for qualifiers here... The whole idea of corruption is pretty different though-out Asia. One must pay-off officials to get almost anything done on a business level. If there is money being made they get a peice of it, period. This is so in every Asian country I've done any business in (about 8 or 9)...where even small amounts -(by US biz #s )- a few hundred dollars - gets their attention. It is treated much like taxes are here. No one likes the over-head but its inevitable. And it may even work better than our giving congress the purse-strings for our tax money, just to end up in their croniey's pockets! Anyway- What brought me into Taoism is my interpetetion of the philosophy as allowing the right and wrong of situations to be found within the situation not some predetermined ethic to be found in behavioral guidlines. All things in their own time. (turn, turn, turn)... The aim as I think about it- is for one to find an awareness, or to be in the moment and interact (live) within the moment to be the best person you can be... That niceness and comfort or weath and power are not goals in themselves, just attributes to use as the time and place call for them. While humility, honesty,compassion & self-awareness are always traits to emulate and strive to make part of one's charracter with some degree of durability. Which may be thought of as Perserverence in "the right ". This makes Taoism unique to me, as "the right" is suggested by inner thought processes and a link to conscience more than by doctrine or dogma. We get to think and act for ourselves moment by moment in the constant flux of life... This is a liberating doctrine that upsets the authoritarians among us- be they Chinese or born-again Texicans...

I scanned this document and find it interesting on many levels, but also fascinating like a snake I know to be dangerous as well. The nest of Platonists at Maverick Philosopher would love it. It is all about what was read and what the readings mean to the writer and how right the writer can be in undermining the beliefs of others by questioning the itellectual underpinnings of the subject-here Buddhist thought and practice. But there is no life experience to back it up. I have "met" the Dalai Lama. At least he offered a blessing to me as he passed- This at St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC some two dozen years ago. I was part of the human chain meant to keep the throng of people away from him and his entourage as they left the building. I can still close my eyes and remember the RUSH of pure compassion that took over my whole sense of being for a few moments as he held my eyes with his own gaze. There was an incredible sense of spiritual bliss and connectivity in those moments and a sort of "white light" experienced that surounded the whole scene in those moments as well. I spoke of this with others there and several had similar experiences to share at that time, while many did not... Those that did not feel such energies did not doubt our experiences but they did not share it. (I am sure a few may have doubted what we told them happened to us but that does not undermine what was shared by many). Yet, I am sure such an exchange of energy happens everywhere that true Holy men and women contact other senscient beings. I for one hold Plato and Nietche to have intellectual merit to get people to think, but they have little to offer in the way of transcendent spiritualism. Or constructive views of our reality for that matter. I'll take quantum mechanics over their "explainations" of the world any day...

Dear TL- I learned Judo when a kid, (my father was also a student), wrestled in High-school, studied Hung Gar Kung Fu with Grand Master Bill Chung for several years & studied with a 'Home school" martial artist in Taiwan -(disarming techniques from a sitting position etc...) and generally felt myself to be a warrior that stopped bullies and thugs from getting away with intimidations and throwing their weight around... And I too have learned to value a more quiet approach to problem solving. Often enough just standing up to the wrongs we come across serves to deter them, no violence is needed, just a show of courage does the job. But I'm still glad I know how to fight if needed. This is a mean old world sometimes, even as we strive to stay in the light. And the ready jump into violence that I see in guys ( and gals) -much younger than I, is pretty scary. We did not have guns in school when I was coming up. We fought plenty but there were few if any weapons at hand... These are tough times to find our way through and over the angst our society produces, and to keep a cool head and to protect our loved ones and our property. But if we look at history we have a somewhat more civilized way of life then the dark ages offered... Part of the problem may be that the USA does not have a "habit of civilization" yet, we are still pretty rough & tumble as a nation. Egypt has been civilized for 5,000 years China almost as long, Iraq and Iran have held and now seem to have lost their grip on civilization over that time period. Europe has been growing out of barbarism for a couple/few thousand years... But America was still "taming" the West and wiping out great and quite peaceful (human sacrifice aside), native civilizations just 150 years ago. This over simplifies - but violence remains a part of our culture. I think Taoism allows for violence when it is called for, (Buddhists should disagree here)...but it is still always to be concidered a poor choice or last choice. My coment was meant as an expression of regret that other threads were so uncivilized in language and that vitriolic sort of thing does provoke many people to put an end to it. A harsh sort of "quiet time" being imposed upon miscreants who disturb the peace kinda thing... But 'nuff of this... too much time on the negative drains energy needlessly...-Peace-

How did Falun Gong enter the picture? The motive stated in the article was as an angry coup-de-grace to an argument some few days before...The thread seems to have become a sort of post-office game... where the message gets changed from lips to ears to new ears etc...If the Chinese Govt. hopes to use the tragedy to further its anti-Fulan Gong propaganda why should we participate...I have heard no follow up on the story as yet. But it is troubling that a temple should foster such carnage- maybe the farmer was just bonkers?!

My dog Hector had Buddha nature. I know a grumpy black man with small ears and huge heart to have Buddha nature. I once saw a monkey on Bali that was evil incarnate, but it was a handsom beast of a monkey and looked quite noble...Neither idealized looks nor cercumstance seem to be apt ways of judging our fellow beings on this planet, if any given incarnation may be Beatific or loaded with Maya,or both! We can sometimes get to the heart of the matter and see each-others' inner spirit reaching toward Buddha-hood. But I doubt we can tell from the outer flesh and blood-( but maybe in the eyes?) who may be on a path towards enlightenment much less if they found Nervan-aH...

The circle is complete!...I asked Paul Dolinky over at Golden Lantern to help me research the postures of Buddha, he asked Sean, and suggested I join the Tao Bums ... Today I get an email from Paul and I add the link Sean found to this site via Paul and cyber-space at its best!- Thanks Sean!- http://www.kheper.net/topics/Buddhism/mudras.html I hope this saves you the effort of adding the link yrself...

David McInerney created the site from a sub-site for his own haikus and soon attracted other poets and their works...To later become a full-on magnet for poets and readers etc... Paul Dolinsky, who is an editor there- ( http://www.thegoldenlantern.com/ ) - has become a good friend in cyber-space. He has been VERY supportive of my recent publication- The Wayfarer Sonnets - http://www.lulu.com/pdgart - and extremely kind in his advice for me concerning a possible career change helping people adapt /adopt Feng Shui into their living-space. He has also aided me in researching Buddha's postures and mudras and their meaning as symbols of passive activity, ( wherein one's physical attitude perfectly reflects the inner state of consciousness)... It is a site with lots of poetry and perhaps slightly more Buddhist than Taoist content but as the Zen content is so Taoist in nature , perhaps not... Be that as it may, a kindness permiates the site that I've found rare in life much less cyber-space...[ by the way I was rather dismayed at some vitriolic entries here by a well-known (& well hung) member of the glitterati... very rude language that would not be typical in civil conversation, but could instigate a justified physical response from a gentleman in any case - if directed toward a lady or himself]. But back to kindness & light... Though TGL is not set up as an inter-active community as Tao Bums is, there is a feel of quiet seclusion once there, as if in a garden. David & Paul have found great links and the contributers offer a typically peaceful offering in word and content.

I like to think that each moment has its own most important thing for each living creature so that there is an endless web of most important things all inter-mingled and changing all the time...every instant there is a ball swishing through a hoop, a pure note hit on a blues-harp, a shared moment lasting eons for lovers in a cool bed, a rabbit safely down its' hole, or conversly a coyote with a hare in its jaws off to feed the pups...each most important thing changes once the moment is accomplished... the Tao of the moment is transcended and the next most important thing pops into being a trillion/zillion times a second... That makes just about everything the most important thing! So, Awareness of each moment's possibility for transcendent joy may qualify as my answer- but that's just my answer for now...And it doesn't seem that important already!

The only thing that comes to mind is the reference to foxes in the last hexagram of the Yi Jing (I Ching)... #64 Before Completion where there is a warning that a fox - having almost crossed a frozen stream may become lax in it's wariness and allow its tail to dip in the water- or break the ice at the last moment... As in other words - we must always be careful and not allow supposed success to lull us into letting our guard down in perilous undertakings-such as crossing water...It ain't over til its over... I am sceptical about the shape-shifting lore of fox-women stealing men's yang force. It seems a bit misogynistic if not paranoid about the female powers of seduction...The sharing of Yin and Yang energies is an important and revitalizing part of love-making, not something to fear. Precious energies and even bodily fluids can safely be shared between the sexes...(This is supposing that the valid Taoist idea of men curtailing their ejaculations and reserving their yang force is not being practiced at the time). But safe-sex is still a good idea in many cases that come up... So keep that rascal wrapped - if in any doubt! Sorry if this is off topic! More traditional ideas of the fox remain of a creature that is very smart and remembers the lay of the land and knows the territory it inhabits very well indeed. I hope this helps ya-

I too will join the challange - a bit late but I just heard tell of it...I will also use the time-gap to read the messages here to see if there are any helpful hints to glean from other's experiences with this. The first time I tried to go vegetarian I was four years old and had just seen a TV program called Modern Farmer that showed a graphic "day in the death" of a Chicago slaughter-house. (This was very early morning TV in 1958)...So when my mom began to realize I was serious it became a real problem for her as there were no health-food stores readily available in 1958 New York City... After three months I succumbed to the smell of frying bacon and the deal was off. From then on the story was that I had "Quit" not lapsed. I have been on several diets just to loose weight-being middle-aged has slowed my matabolism -so this opportunity is very welcome. I will need to finish what small amounts of chicken and egg-salad I have in the fridge - I will not waste food... And hope to begin on Monday -labor day...And last as long as I'm able-but hope to do ten days with some experimentation of a mixed diet -one that encludes cooked brown rice... The hardest thing to give up will be morning coffee- do ya think there's any wiggle -room with that item?