Mark Foote

Sometimes when I walk out of a movie, I feel myself to be whoever was the hero or heroine of that movie. A kind of transference, I guess. I think that transference is easier to find when someone looks like me and has a body like mine. That is to say, that I relate not only to the story in the film, but also to the way the star carries themselves, the fact that their bones hang together and move in a manner similar to mine. There are many people of African, Asian, and indigenous descent whose bones don't exactly hang together and move in the same way mine do, me being of European descent. My belief is that a lot of racial prejudice begins there, and that the only way to really act without such prejudice is to realize action by the inconceivable, as it were: There’s a third line about actualization in Dogen's “Genjo Koan”: Although actualized immediately, the inconceivable may not be apparent. (“Genjo Koan [Actualizing the Fundamental Point]”, tr. Tanahashi) Kobun Chino Otogawa gave a practical example of that third line, even though he wasn’t talking about “Genjo Koan” at the time: You know, sometimes zazen gets up and walks around. (Lecture at S. F. Zen Center, 1980’s) Activity of the body solely by virtue of the free location of consciousness can sometimes get up and walk around, without any thought to do so. Action like that resembles action that takes place through hypnotic suggestion, but unlike action by hypnotic suggestion, action by virtue of the free location of consciousness can turn out to be timely after the fact. When action turns out to accord with future events in an uncanny way, the source of that action may well be described as “the inconceivable”. I have found that zazen is more likely to “get up and walk around” when the free location of consciousness is accompanied by an extension of friendliness and compassion, an extension beyond the boundaries of the senses. Gautama the Buddha described such an extension: [One] dwells, having suffused the first quarter [of the world] with friendliness, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; just so above, below, across; [one] dwells having suffused the whole world everywhere, in every way, with a mind of friendliness that is far-reaching, wide-spread, immeasurable, without enmity, without malevolence. [One] dwells having suffused the first quarter with a mind of compassion… with a mind of sympathetic joy… with a mind of equanimity that is far-reaching, wide-spread, immeasurable, without enmity, without malevolence. (MN 7, Pali Text Society Vol I p 48) Gautama said that “the excellence of the heart’s release” through the extension of the mind of compassion was the first of the further concentrations, a concentration he called “the infinity of ether” (Pali Text Society SN Vol V p 100-102). The Oxford English Dictionary offers some quotes about “ether”: They [sc. the Brahmins] thought the stars moved, and the planets they called fishes, because they moved in the ether, as fishes do in water. Vince, Complete System. Astronomy vol. II. 253 (1799) Plato considered that the stars, chiefly formed of fire, move through the ether, a particularly pure form of air. Popular Astronomy vol. 24 364 (1916) (https://www.oed.com/dictionary/ether_n, as of 6/19/2024) When the free location of consciousness is accompanied by an extension of the mind of compassion, there can be a feeling that the necessity of breath is connected to things that lie outside the boundaries of the senses. That, to me, is an experience of “the infinity of ether”. Dogen didn’t offer an explanation of his third line, but he did provide a case study from the literature of Zen: Mayu, Zen Master Baoche, was fanning himself. A monk approached and said, “Master, the nature of wind is permanent and there is no place it does not reach. Why then do you fan yourself?” “Although you understand that the nature of the wind is permanent,” Mayu replied, “you do not understand the meaning of its reaching everywhere.” “What is the meaning of its reaching everywhere?” asked the monk again. Mayu just kept fanning himself… (“Genjo Koan [Actualizing the Fundamental Point]”, tr. Tanahashi) The wind that reaches everywhere was actualized immediately in Mayu’s fanning. (The Inconceivable Nature of the Wind) The failure to easily identify with persons of other races whose bodies move differently than mine can likewise be a failure on my part to identify readily with gay men who carry themselves as women, who have learned/adopted a posture and carriage more readily associated (by most of us) with women than with men. I bring all this up, because I think it speaks to the reason that prejudice still persists in the modern world. Compassion is key, yet the compassion required is the compassion extended beyond the boundaries of sense, that results in action out of the free location of consciousness by the inconceivable.

--- Peter Carroll, Liber Null A post on my own website, Take the Backward Step: Nisargadatta said: You are not your body, but you are the consciousness in the body, because of which you have the awareness of “I am”. It is without words, just pure beingness. Meditation means you have to hold consciousness by itself. The consciousness should give attention to itself. (Gaitonde, Mohan [2017]. Self – Love: The Original Dream [Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj’s Direct Pointers to Reality]. Mumbai: Zen Publications) “The consciousness should give attention to itself”—in thirteenth-century Japan, Eihei Dogen wrote: Therefore, …take the backward step of turning the light and shining it back. (“Fukan zazengi” Tenpuku version; tr. Carl Bielefeldt, “Dogen’s Manuals of Zen Meditation”, p 176) That’s a poetic way to say “the consciousness should give attention to itself”. ... In his “Genjo Koan”, Dogen wrote: When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point. (“Genjo Koan [Actualizing the Fundamental Point]”, tr. Robert Aitken and Kazuaki Tanahashi) Given a presence of mind that can “hold consciousness by itself”, activity in the body begins to coordinate by virtue of the sense of place associated with consciousness. A relationship between the free location of consciousness and activity in the body comes forward, and as that relationship comes forward, “practice occurs”. Through such practice, the placement of consciousness is manifested in the activity of the body. Dogen continued: When you find your way at this moment, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point… (ibid) “When you find your way at this moment”, activity takes place solely by virtue of the free location of consciousness. A relationship between the freedom of consciousness and the automatic activity of the body comes forward, and as that relationship comes forward, practice occurs. Through such practice, the placement of consciousness is manifested as the activity of the body. You could say that's all about "giving the Kia more freedom and flexibility". Regarding "it is a fragment of the great life force of the universe": There’s a third line about actualization in “Genjo Koan”: Although actualized immediately, the inconceivable may not be apparent. (ibid) ... Dogen didn’t offer an explanation of his third line, but he did provide a case study from the literature of Zen: Mayu, Zen Master Baoche, was fanning himself. A monk approached and said, “Master, the nature of wind is permanent and there is no place it does not reach. Why then do you fan yourself?” “Although you understand that the nature of the wind is permanent,” Mayu replied, “you do not understand the meaning of its reaching everywhere.” “What is the meaning of its reaching everywhere?” asked the monk again. Mayu just kept fanning himself… (ibid) The wind that reaches everywhere was actualized immediately in Mayu’s fanning. (The Inconceivable Nature of the Wind)

Apologies, Daniel! Your questions reminded me of the questions in "What Was It You Wanted", I don't know why:

ziran song unfolds a haboob of the mid-brain dust-cloud darkened sky

Something I'm writing now about "one-pointedness of mind"--Bhikkyu Thanissaro is the American abbot of a Theravadin monastery in the San Diego area, if I understand correctly: “One-pointedness of mind” has been taken by different people in the Buddhist community to mean different things. The modern Theravadin teacher Thanissaro Bhikkyu, for example, has disputed that the term could actually refer to the mind as a singular point, and instead posits that the reference is to a singular object of attention: A Pali sutta, MN 44, defines concentration as cittass’ek’aggatā, which is often translated as “one-pointedness of mind”: cittassa = “of the mind” or “of the heart,” eka = one, agga = point, -tā = -ness. MN 117 defines noble right concentration as any one-pointedness of mind supported by the first seven factors of the noble path, from right view through right mindfulness. MN 43 states further that one-pointedness is a factor of the first jhāna, the beginning level of right concentration. From these passages, it has been argued that if one’s awareness in concentration or jhāna is truly one-pointed, it should be no larger than a point, which means that it would be incapable of thinking, of hearing sounds, or even of being aware of the physical body. However, this interpretation imposes too narrow a meaning on the word ek’aggatā, one that is foreign to the linguistic usage of the Pali Canon. … (Thanissaro concludes: ) Show your lack of contempt for your meditation object by giving it your full attention and mastering concentration… Gather the mind around its one object. (https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/CrossIndexed/Uncollected/MiscEssays/OnePointed160822.pdf; parenthetical added) In my experience, “one-pointedness” has more to do with the singularity of the sense of self than with single-minded attention to a meditation object. A teacher in modern India, Nisargadatta, described the self as “the consciousness in the body”: You are not your body, but you are the consciousness in the body, because of which you have the awareness of “I am”. It is without words, just pure beingness. (Gaitonde, Mohan [2017]. Self – Love: The Original Dream [Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj’s Direct Pointers to Reality]) For most people, the consciousness associated with “I am” is at a single location in the body at any given moment. Nisargadatta went on to say: Meditation means you have to hold consciousness by itself. The consciousness should give attention to itself. (ibid) Gautama spoke of making the surrender of conscious activity the object of thought, in order to hold on to the singularity of consciousness: … making self-surrender the object of thought, (a person) lays hold of concentration, lays hold of one-pointedness. (Gautama the Buddha; SN 48.10, Pali Text Society vol. V p 174) Thanissaro wrote 'cittassa = “of the mind” or “of the heart”'. I would guess that's the same as 'my heart, my mother, my heart, my mother, ka in my body ...'. Extrapolating further, "ab" or "one-pointedness of mind", the heart-mind, is being offered to the serpent, to a symbol I would say of the energy of the ligaments in the sacrum and spine. I would say that the energy of the ligaments and of one-pointed consciousness, both symbolized by the ankh, is being offered to Nefertari's movement of breath, in the illustration of Nefertari and Isis:

The kingdom is within

I think we've all heard the advice about allowing the chi to flow from the tailbone to the crown of the head. Some Zen teachers, including Shunryu Suzuki, have also advised keeping the chin tucked in--Suzuki said there would be no strength to the practice without it, or some such! I'm thinking these two pieces of advice might account for the object rising from the crown of the serpent's head, and the beard from its chin. Ok, far-fetched. Just noticing that the beard in the illustration above appears to be touching the rim of the vessel being offered by the figure on the right. Research. The serpent is Nehebkau, associated with the afterlife. The bird is the Bennu bird, a symbol of rebirth. The beetle is Khepri, symbol of the rising sun, creation, the renewal of life. The figure in-between the bird and the snake is evidently Maat, symbol of justice and order. So birth and death, with justice in-between. The papyrus unfolds in order, so first death, then with justice in-between, rebirth--and a beetle with spells for the new life. Having some trouble finding the source of this image, although a very similar depiction can be found on the extreme right end of the papyrus of Meshareduisekeb, singer of Amun (here). The description of that papyrus is: The papyrus belongs to a woman who bears the title of “singer of Amun”, held by high-ranking women, who accompanied rites for the deity in the temple with music and song. The scenes, which cover most of the papyrus surface, start with the representation of the deceased in front of the snake deity Nehebkaw, guardian of the entrance to the Underworld, and a member of the court of Osiris. A series of scenes follows, which evoke in abbreviated form various important spells of the Book of the Dead: the heart scarab bearing its particular magic formula (spell 30), or the four rudders of the sky (spell 148). At the end of the papyrus is a peculiar representation. A cow emerges from a mountain, that is Hator as Mistress of the Necropolis and patron goddess of the afterlife. She is followed by a deity emerging from the same mountain – which in thus a representation of the West – carrying the rising sun in her arms. The sun emanates beneficial rays on the ba of the deceased woman. So we are seeing the beginning scene of the papyrus. Apech, where did you get the illustration you posted from? I could not find a museum source, using Google lens. At any rate, I am fascinated by the vessel that is being touched by the beard of the snake god. Wonder what is being offered.

My understanding of the teachings of Gautama the Shakyan is that the first four concentrations end in automatic activity of the body in inhalation and exhalation solely by virtue of the location of consciousness. The five further concentrations end with the cessation of habit and volition in the activity of the mind in feeling and perceiving, presumably feeling and perceiving solely by virtue of the experience of consciousness without habit or volition. The first three of the further states Gautama declared as "the excellence of the heart's release" through the extension of the minds of compassion, of sympathetic joy, and of equanimity, respectively,. The extensions were each the extension of "the mind of" beyond the boundaries of sense in all directions, and without limit. Some objective, particular instruction, although Gautama declared that some were freed through the further concentrations and "intuitive wisdom", while others were freed through "intuitive wisdom" alone.

My gut reaction is that they will contact you. My only experience has been in dreams, usually just before waking on a night when I got enough rest. Meant the world to me, to realize a good feeling with someone I had lost, in those dreams. Still does, when on the rare occasion they occur. If you want contact, live right, and get enough sleep. Have faith.

Sorry, Cobie, that my post got away from me before I was half finished. As you can see, I'm going for an entirely different interpretation... (though--ya' know, if might come down to the same thing, coming from the same place).

Fascinating to me that the staff associated with the medical profession is not the caduceus, but the Rod of Asclepius. Checking Wikipedia, turns out there's a very good reason for that association: The most famous temple of Asclepius was at Epidaurus in north-eastern Peloponnese.[3] Another famous healing temple (or asclepeion) was located on the island of Kos, where Hippocrates, the legendary "father of medicine", may have begun his career. Other asclepieia were situated in Trikala, Gortys (Arcadia), and Pergamum in Asia. In honour of Asclepius, a particular type of non-venomous rat snake was often used in healing rituals, and these snakes – the Aesculapian snakes – crawled around freely on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept. These snakes were introduced at the founding of each new temple of Asclepius throughout the classical world. From about 300 BCE onwards, the cult of Asclepius grew very popular and pilgrims flocked to his healing temples (Asclepieia) to be cured of their ills. Ritual purification would be followed by offerings or sacrifices to the god (according to means), and the supplicant would then spend the night in the holiest part of the sanctuary – the abaton (or adyton). Any dreams or visions would be reported to a priest who would prescribe the appropriate therapy by a process of interpretation.[4] Some healing temples also used sacred dogs to lick the wounds of sick petitioners. (Wikipedia, "Rod of Asclepius") What I wrote in 2013, when you first introduced me to this image, Apech (lightly edited): The presence of the god (Set, both sides) is an indication that support is realized not through the direction of any conscious activity, but solely through the experience of the location of awareness and the ability to feel in the necessity of breath. The hieroglyphs on the top of the pillar are in praise of the king of Egypt, but they also depict an orb like the sun, which is perhaps the Egyptian “akh” or consciousness freed of any fixture to location. The toes of the god rest against either side of something shaped like the sacrum of the body; close-ups show that not only is the footrest of the god the shape of the sacrum, but it is also segmented in five parts like the sacrum. The nerves which exit between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae and the first vertebrae of the sacrum allow an ability to feel in the lower legs and along the soles of the feet, right to the surface of the skin. Feeling for the placement and orientation of the legs and feet is absorbed into the sense of location in the occurrence of awareness... (From the Temples in Egypt) About Set: In Ancient Greek, the god's name is given as Sēth (Σήθ). Set had a positive role where he accompanies Ra on his barque to repel Apep (Apophis), the serpent of Chaos. (Wikipedia, "Set (deity)") The knot is where the placement and orientation of the legs and feet can enter into the activity that aligns the sacrum with the vertebrae of the spine. The role of the stretch of ligaments in controlling the reciprocal muscular activity of that alignment will be realized in part through the alternating stretch of the two sets of ilio-lumbar ligaments, roughly corresponding in the illustration to the reeds that rise on either side to make contact just below the knot, and the reeds that are a part of the knot: Not sure what your last illustration is intended to represent. Hmmm. The smaller figure rests on a leg of the bird and the tail of snake, just as the ball of Set's feet rests on the sacrum. The ankh coming off the knees, echoes the role of the knees in the illustration involving Isis and Nephthys. Two turns in the neck of the bird, and in the tail of the snake--alignment at T12-L1 and atlas-axis? Wings on the snake as well as the bird, the free location of consciousness? Any clues on the significance of the jug, Apech?

whoops

God unravelling just beyond the city lights just behind the eyes

As I'm sure you know, Thrice Daily, martial arts instruction is all about the instructor. Certainly, my advice to someone who is deciding which art to pursue would be judo. Second on the list might be Tai Chi, particularly Cheng Man-Ch'ing's lineage. Tai Chi because there's less pretense of the form being useful in confrontation, while at the same time imparting amazing lessons in cross-body coordination and bent-knee discipline. I suppose the reason your daughter is interested in kung-fu is precisely because she wants to be able to respond with force if necessary. Well, if the instructor is good, that will be discouraged. If not, waste of time and money. Really good instructors, who emphasize relaxation and openness, are rare. I hope your daughter finds one. If a good martial arts instructor is not available, then she should learn to free-style rock 'n roll, and take it to the clubs where people dance in close proximity (so to speak). Probably not what her dad wants to hear!

Not fond of Bankei. Nevertheless--my explanation of what he's driving at: There can… come a moment when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention at a certain location in the body, or at a series of locations, with the ability to remain awake as the location of attention shifts retained through the exercise of presence. When the free location of consciousness is accompanied by an extension of the mind of compassion, there can be a feeling that the necessity of breath is connected to things that lie outside the boundaries of the senses. "You see and hear all things, no matter what they are"--things beyond the range of the senses can sometimes end up manifested in activity: Although actualized immediately, the inconceivable may not be apparent. (“Genjo Koan [Actualizing the Fundamental Point]”, tr. Tanahashi)

I took judo classes in high school and college. I think the arts you're looking for are the ones with actual competition, like wrestling, boxing, ju-jitsu, and judo. Judo is literally "the gentle way", but there's often strength mixed in there, especially with the judoka of Europe and North America. If you can find a judo dojo where the instructor depends on relaxation, timing and balance, then you can make some progress with the skills you were looking to practice. Not to mention learning to fall, which has saved my ass a couple of times, in my senior years! I managed to earn my second brown, might have had the first if my instructor had not been called away to the hospital to attend his father (sometimes if it's a close call, the tournament managers will want to speak to the coach, to decide if someone should be promoted). To win one of the three student ranks, it's only necessary to win two out of three matches, and with the instructor's approval you can win one by half a point instead of a full point (not quite a clean throw). To be promoted to a black belt, there are more matches, and more wins are required. I always figured the idea was to demonstrate a clear mastery of the art, beyond the specific mastery of a technique (and beyond what many of the other students who were also competing for the black belt had attained). I think there are parallels in the world of Zen. There's a clear mastery of some aspect of seated meditation required--in addition to dedication to the temple--in order to be cleared to teach. At the same time, I think it's possible to master that aspect of seated meditation without ever experiencing "the wind that reaches everywhere": Mayu, Zen Master Baoche, was fanning himself. A monk approached and said, “Master, the nature of wind is permanent and there is no place it does not reach. Why then do you fan yourself?” “Although you understand that the nature of the wind is permanent,” Mayu replied, “you do not understand the meaning of its reaching everywhere.” “What is the meaning of its reaching everywhere?” asked the monk again. Mayu just kept fanning himself… Kobun Chino Otogawa, a Zen teacher from Japan who came to help set up the Tassajara monastery in the late sixties, described the experience more directly: "you know, sometimes zazen gets up and walks around." That's the ability you want to rely on, if you are ever threatened with violence (IMHO). Got nothing to do with what you see in front of you, and everything to do with a far-reaching mind of compassion. You can read more about that, here. Anything that improves balance and coordination can't be all bad! I used to love pinball machines, they had new ones in the bar I lived above in San Francisco, back in the eighties. Get yourself one of those wooden pinball machines, they're great! I used to work one with my toes in junior high, forward and back.

That was jarring! IMO, you should have closed, "it's better IMHO", showing your clear willingness to give deference to the opinions of others. You're not forcing your opinion on anyone, just submitting it for consideration--that calls for "IMHO".

Look out kid It’s somethin’ you did God knows when But you’re doin’ it again ...Look out kid Don’t matter what you did Walk on your tiptoes Don’t try “No-Doz” Better stay away from those That carry around a fire hose Keep a clean nose Watch the plain clothes You don’t need a weatherman To know which way the wind blows Look out kid You’re gonna get hit By users, cheaters Six-time losers Hang around the theaters Girl by the whirlpool Lookin’ for a new fool Don’t follow leaders Watch the parkin’ meters ...Look out kid They keep it all hid Better jump down a manhole Light yourself a candle Don’t wear sandals Try to avoid the scandals Don’t wanna be a bum You better chew gum The pump don’t work ’Cause the vandals took the handles (Subterranean Homesick Blues Written by: Bob Dylan) Good advice, IMNSHO.

It's an odd prescription, that Isis/Nepthys painting. Especially if I sit my sloppy half-lotus (ankle on opposing calf) with the left leg uppermost, I seem to have to find activity in the abdominals associated with each leg and the arms relatively quickly. Something I missed when I was first learning to walk, I think--hope for me yet! Sometimes I look to the pool of water fed by a spring that Gautama described, when the action is particularly in the lower half of the abdomen (shades of Isis and Nepthys), but if I come back to coordination of the activity of the body by the free location of consciousness, I usually wind up balanced under the diaphragm as in the Isis/Nepthys painting. The activity there is often controlled by the stretch of ligaments between 1st and 2nd lumbar. The apes, activity in the transverse abdominals. When I'm really out of my mind, I can now: 1) Relax the activity of the body in inhalation and exhalation; 2) Find a feeling of ease and calm the senses connected with balance, in inhalation and exhalation; 3) Appreciate and detach from thought, in inhalation and exhalation; 4) Look to the free location of consciousness for the automatic activity of inhalation and exhalation. (Applying the Pali Instructions) and stay out of my mind a little longer, IME... Y, IDK... WTF!

symbolic dreams, no! just before waking, so real rising, in wonder

LMAO. IRL, BTW, AFAIK, & ICYMI, YOLO. OMG & BRB!

My hat is off to Zorro Dantes, for those supremely unpopular opinions. Nickel a vibe, a dime to dance with a stranger... those were the days!

Isis and Nephthys. So, you get your goddesses on either side, supporting what looks like the sacrum or the lowest vertbrae with their knees while resting on the equivalent of the ilio-tuberal ligaments, and supporting the space immediately above the sacrum with their mystical gestures (something to do with the arms and hands)--get the baboons giving their holy hallelujah up the ribs, wind up with a presence of mind like the sun held under the diaphragm. Abbreviated in the symbol for Hermes, the sun indicated by the notan of the crescent? IMHO.

Well, IMHO, WTF, STFU, you don't say! I took a class in telecommunications once, the three-letter acronyms were out of control... Not sure I agree with you though--it's just a way of being polite, when it's used properly, IMO.

Law? gravitation the weight of the body, sinks the mind moves, freely