GrandmasterP

Koans. :-)

They're all just stories told by folks as it were - huddled around a campfire, at night; for reassurance and to keep the shadows at bay.

"Buddhism is not any special teaching. It's our human way." Suzuki ( in Chadwick: ' Crooked Cucumber' : 1999, p.184).

That last one can be a kicker. I can still remember the first ( and last) time I tried roasted butternut squash. E- W! :-( Utterly foul.

Wood pigeons round here have to keep their heads down. Shooting chums describe those chaps as " The filet mignon of the skies" .

Not 'gripping the ground' with the toes is good advice too. Lots of beginners do that in QiGong.

" BOGOF on Tibetan paraphernalia plus double points this week. Find them in the Crisps and Nibbles section right next to the nuts."

I left before due to product- placement advertising passed off as posting and buttoned-up moderation in equal measure. Some things seldom change for the better.

Sounds good. Bending knees is easy enough to remember. I had a go at learning a Tai Chi form over the summer with a teacher who runs a class in the local community centre. Man you needed some memory for that.

Aye. Doesn't matter how many millions he has. No woman is ever going to even look at a guy who doesn't have a diploma. ;-)

I once observed a Reiki class where the teacher was demonstrating how to send 'remote healing'. Her Reiki students each had a large teddy bear to 'practice' on. So remote healing for the leg of someone and they did the business on teddy's leg and so on. Struck me as being a bit intrusive but their intention was undoubtedly good.

+1 " Just cultivate." ( Was it Dogen who said "Just sit"?). All that words do is to get in the way sometimes.

Out with the dogs today and a bright sunny morning. I'm watching the dogs sniffing about on the field and the shadow of a bird possibly a crow quite a big shadow 'flies' across the ground. Right across the field past the dogs and towards me and then away behind me. I never looked up to see the bird. The bird's shadow was profound though. One of those 'dog walking' moments.

Close enough. Round these parts there's only the latter anyhoo.

Yep. Lookin' for those ' competent Taoists.' Good to see they are still around here on TTB. ;-)

"There is a story I would like to tell you about a woman who practices the invocation of the Buddha Amitabha’s name. She is very tough, and she practices the invocation three times daily, using a wooden drum and a bell, reciting, “Namo Amitabha Buddha” for one hour each time. When she arrives at one thousand times, she invites the bell to sound. (In Vietnamese, we don’t say “strike” or “hit” a bell.) Although she has been doing this for ten years, her personality has not changed. She is still quite mean, shouting at people all the time. A friend wanted to teach her a lesson, so one afternoon when she had just lit the incense, invited the bell to sound three times, and was beginning to recite “Namo Amitabha Buddha,” he came to her door, and said, “Mrs. Nguyen, Mrs. Nguyen!” She found it very annoying because this was her time of practice, but he just stood at the front gate shouting her name. She said to herself, “I have to struggle against my anger, so I will ignore that,” and she went on, “Namo Amitabha Buddha, Namo Amitabha Buddha.” The gentleman continued to shout her name, and her anger became more and more oppressive. She struggled against it, wondering, “Should I stop my recitation and go and give him a piece of my mind?” But she continued chanting, and she struggled very hard. Fire mounted in her, but she still tried to chant “Namo Amitabha Buddha.” The gentleman knew it, and he continued to shout, “Mrs. Nguyen! Mrs. Nguyen!” She could not bear it any longer. She threw away the bell and the drum. She slammed the door, went out to the gate and said, “Why, why do you behave like that? Why do you call my name hundreds of times like that?” The gentleman smiled at her and said, “I just called your name for ten minutes, and you are so angry. You have been calling the Buddha’s name for ten years. Think how angry he must be!” --Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

It is now.

Virgin on the ridiculous IMO.

I was rather hoping that someone else might explain it. I can't. :-)

Anybody else salute solitary Magpie's whenever spotted? I always do thusly... " Bonjour Pi, et commen ca va avec votre enfants?" Always strike me as being French somehow do Magpies hence that salute.

Good idea. How about for starters...... " What was your face before your parents were born?"

Just been reading Chadwick's biog of Shunryu Suzuki the Soto Zen guy . Somebody asks Suzuki... " Is there a Hell and if so what's it for?" Suzuki.... " If you want one there can be and then it's great place for cultivation."

8 strands here. I'm lazy and it's the easiest one to remember and do.

Seems a lot to have to remember.

One can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar. Now that's the truth soaring crane. Nice name BTW.