While rummaging through my notes, I found these leftover thoughts on a variety of subjects that were either heretofore unpublished or posted on another blog site:
On Asceticism
It is not necessary to deprive oneself of pleasure in order to achieve one’s spiritual goals.
Spiritual fulfilment can be found by engaging in a sort of active meditation — where we enjoy this moment, this activity, this experience. I’m not suggesting that we be hedonists, seeking constant pleasure; nor am I suggesting that we be ascetics, living an austere life of self-denial. I’m suggesting nothing but an awareness and appreciation of the now.
The point of asceticism, as I see it, is to avoid unnecessary material pleasures. It has nothing to do with depriving oneself of one’s needs. I can stay just as warm — nay warmer — in an inexpensive terrycloth bathrobe as I would in one made of the finest silk. A light simple meal of bread, salad, and some pasta will satisfy me as much (and be more gastro-intestinally agreeable) as a dinner of haute cuisine. And it is not necessary for my wife and I to live in a house with 5 bedrooms and 3 ½ bathrooms when a 2 bedroom bungalow will do just nicely (not to mention the fact that it’s so much easier to maintain). As Thoreau said, Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!
If you want to enjoy all the pleasures life has to offer, then go ahead. Enjoy! But remember that neither a path of self-indulgence nor a path of self-denial will necessarily lead to any spiritual goal.
On Ambition and Usefulness
I’m basically a lazy person. I’ve never had any great desire to be wealthy, famous, or successful. Yet I live a relatively easy, comfortable life. The following parables nicely illustrate my philosophy regarding ambition and purpose.
Chuang Tzu was fishing in the P‘u when the prince of Ch‘u sent two high officials to ask him to take charge of the administration of the Ch‘u State.
Chuang Tzu went on fishing and, without turning his head, said "I have heard that in Ch‘u there is a sacred tortoise which has been dead now some three thousand years, and that the prince keeps this tortoise carefully enclosed in a chest on the altar of his ancestral temple. Now would this tortoise rather be dead and have its remains venerated, or be alive and wagging its tail in the mud?"
"It would rather be alive," replied the two officials, "and wagging its tail in the mud."
"Begone!" cried Chuang Tzu. "I too will wag my tail in the mud."
- - -
Tzu Ch‘i of Nan-po was travelling on the Shang mountain when he saw a large tree which astonished him very much. A thousand chariot teams could have found shelter under its shade.
"What tree is this?" cried Tzu Ch‘i. "Surely it must have unusually fine timber." Then, looking up, he saw that its branches were too crooked for rafters; while, as to the trunk, he saw that its irregular grain made it valueless for coffins. He tasted a leaf, but it took the skin off his lips; and its odour was so strong that it would make a man drunk for three days together.
"Ah!" said Tzu Ch‘i. "This tree is good for nothing, and that is how it has attained this size. A wise man might well follow its example."
On Earth Day
Our detached, disconnected, and fragmented view of the Universe is the underlying cause of all our ills. It is this ego-sensation, wherein we view ourselves as something separate from everything else, that pits two “opponents” — mankind and nature — in a foolish, futile, and ultimately disastrous confrontation.
It is not enough to just see the Universe as a living thing. We need to feel the connection to each and every aspect of our being. Then we afford the Universe, the Earth, and our environment, the same respect we would for our bodies.
This recognition of an annual Earth Day will do absolutely nothing to change the planet for the better. Feeling our connection to each other and our environment must be a full-time occupation.
On Enlightenment
In response to the question If you were enlightened, how would your life be different? I posted this:
Strong wine, fat meat, peppery things, very sweet things, these have not real taste; real taste is plain and simple. Supernatural, extraordinary feats do not characterize a real man; a real man is quite ordinary in behavior.
From "The Gospel According to Zen"
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.
Old Zen Proverb
"They imagine their satori, and themselves after their satori, and that is their personal God, a coercive idol, disquieting, implacable. They must realize themselves, they must liberate themselves, they are terrified at the thought of not being able to get there, and they are elated by any inner phenomenon which gives them hope. There is 'spiritual ambition' in all this which is necessarily accompanied by the absurd idea of the Superman that they should become..."
From: 'Zen and the Psychology of Transformation: The Supreme Doctrine', by Hubert Benoit
What is enlightenment? Who is enlightened? Who is not enlightened?
The distracted, "unenlightened" mind is filled with anxiety and thoughts — wondering "How long will it take to complete these chores?", "How will these actions affect the rest of my day?", and "Oh, I wish I were doing something else".
The undivided or "enlightened" mind is only concerned with this moment — carrying out tasks as simply as any other present moment activity.
On Asceticism
It is not necessary to deprive oneself of pleasure in order to achieve one’s spiritual goals.
Spiritual fulfilment can be found by engaging in a sort of active meditation — where we enjoy this moment, this activity, this experience. I’m not suggesting that we be hedonists, seeking constant pleasure; nor am I suggesting that we be ascetics, living an austere life of self-denial. I’m suggesting nothing but an awareness and appreciation of the now.
The point of asceticism, as I see it, is to avoid unnecessary material pleasures. It has nothing to do with depriving oneself of one’s needs. I can stay just as warm — nay warmer — in an inexpensive terrycloth bathrobe as I would in one made of the finest silk. A light simple meal of bread, salad, and some pasta will satisfy me as much (and be more gastro-intestinally agreeable) as a dinner of haute cuisine. And it is not necessary for my wife and I to live in a house with 5 bedrooms and 3 ½ bathrooms when a 2 bedroom bungalow will do just nicely (not to mention the fact that it’s so much easier to maintain). As Thoreau said, Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!
If you want to enjoy all the pleasures life has to offer, then go ahead. Enjoy! But remember that neither a path of self-indulgence nor a path of self-denial will necessarily lead to any spiritual goal.
On Ambition and Usefulness
I’m basically a lazy person. I’ve never had any great desire to be wealthy, famous, or successful. Yet I live a relatively easy, comfortable life. The following parables nicely illustrate my philosophy regarding ambition and purpose.
Chuang Tzu was fishing in the P‘u when the prince of Ch‘u sent two high officials to ask him to take charge of the administration of the Ch‘u State.
Chuang Tzu went on fishing and, without turning his head, said "I have heard that in Ch‘u there is a sacred tortoise which has been dead now some three thousand years, and that the prince keeps this tortoise carefully enclosed in a chest on the altar of his ancestral temple. Now would this tortoise rather be dead and have its remains venerated, or be alive and wagging its tail in the mud?"
"It would rather be alive," replied the two officials, "and wagging its tail in the mud."
"Begone!" cried Chuang Tzu. "I too will wag my tail in the mud."
- - -
Tzu Ch‘i of Nan-po was travelling on the Shang mountain when he saw a large tree which astonished him very much. A thousand chariot teams could have found shelter under its shade.
"What tree is this?" cried Tzu Ch‘i. "Surely it must have unusually fine timber." Then, looking up, he saw that its branches were too crooked for rafters; while, as to the trunk, he saw that its irregular grain made it valueless for coffins. He tasted a leaf, but it took the skin off his lips; and its odour was so strong that it would make a man drunk for three days together.
"Ah!" said Tzu Ch‘i. "This tree is good for nothing, and that is how it has attained this size. A wise man might well follow its example."
On Earth Day
Our detached, disconnected, and fragmented view of the Universe is the underlying cause of all our ills. It is this ego-sensation, wherein we view ourselves as something separate from everything else, that pits two “opponents” — mankind and nature — in a foolish, futile, and ultimately disastrous confrontation.
It is not enough to just see the Universe as a living thing. We need to feel the connection to each and every aspect of our being. Then we afford the Universe, the Earth, and our environment, the same respect we would for our bodies.
This recognition of an annual Earth Day will do absolutely nothing to change the planet for the better. Feeling our connection to each other and our environment must be a full-time occupation.
On Enlightenment
In response to the question If you were enlightened, how would your life be different? I posted this:
Strong wine, fat meat, peppery things, very sweet things, these have not real taste; real taste is plain and simple. Supernatural, extraordinary feats do not characterize a real man; a real man is quite ordinary in behavior.
From "The Gospel According to Zen"
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.
Old Zen Proverb
"They imagine their satori, and themselves after their satori, and that is their personal God, a coercive idol, disquieting, implacable. They must realize themselves, they must liberate themselves, they are terrified at the thought of not being able to get there, and they are elated by any inner phenomenon which gives them hope. There is 'spiritual ambition' in all this which is necessarily accompanied by the absurd idea of the Superman that they should become..."
From: 'Zen and the Psychology of Transformation: The Supreme Doctrine', by Hubert Benoit
What is enlightenment? Who is enlightened? Who is not enlightened?
The distracted, "unenlightened" mind is filled with anxiety and thoughts — wondering "How long will it take to complete these chores?", "How will these actions affect the rest of my day?", and "Oh, I wish I were doing something else".
The undivided or "enlightened" mind is only concerned with this moment — carrying out tasks as simply as any other present moment activity.
---
The light of the One shines now; and it does so on Its own. There’s nothing “we” need to do but look.
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