Pic: Mug at Dharma Drum Mountain’s Bookshop at Jinshan
OMG!
Oh my God?
Ohmigosh?
OMB!
Oh my Buddha!
My own Buddha-nature… too.
Previous Taiwan Adventure:
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/taiwan-adventure-5-more-more
Pic: Sign for ‘Homage to (or refuge in) Amitabha Buddha (Amituofo)’ in Taoyuan
Another still and well-meaning ubiquitous sign,
to remind fleeting passers-by to be mindful of Buddha…
but how many are mindful of what his name means?
More and more I hope!
Namo Amituofo!
Next Taiwan Adventure:
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/taiwan-adventure-6-oh-my-buddha
Previous Taiwan Adventure:
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/taiwan-adventure-4-a-makeshift-bridge
Pic: Worm crossing at gate of Sun Moon Lake Peacock Park
What one thing is
to one
is another thing to another.
The gate track in the rain
is a bridge
over stormy waters too.
Next Taiwan Adventure:
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/taiwan-adventure-5-more-more
Previous Taiwan Adventure:
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/taiwan-adventure-3-when-shelter-does-not-shelter
Pic: Drizzly evening at Shilin Night Market
The rain has stopped.
But it drizzles on…
Not the sky,
but the dripping awnings.
What irony,
when that which keeps the rain out,
keeps the rain coming.
Next Taiwan Adventure:
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/taiwan-adventure-4-a-makeshift-bridge
Previous Taiwan Adventure:
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/taiwan-adventure-2-when-time-stands-still
I turned the digital clock off
before stepping out of the house.
Since all will be away for some time,
there’s no need for anyone to know the time.
And in the house, everything is ‘frozen’ still,
as if time does not pass.
Reminds me of the Buddha’s definition of time
as the measurement of change.
Next Taiwan Adventure:
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/taiwan-adventure-3-when-shelter-does-not-shelter
Previous Taiwan Adventure:
http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/wish-you-are-here
Herd mentality is paradoxically individual mentality
based on delusion and/or selfishness.
If herds always unite,
predators will have no luck in capturing their individuals.
Likewise, if predators unite as herds,
they will always be able to capture their prey.
Since Bodhisattvas do manifest as animals at times (to help various beings),
isn’t it a scary thought
that the animals one eat
might be Bodhisattvas?
Then again,
even if they are not already Bodhisattvas,
all beings are future Bodhisattvas…
and Buddhas too.
To someone who is unhappy over middle management:
Remember… the pivoting point for change is the big boss; not anyone else (who is not the big boss). The secret is to focus on changing the big boss’s mind to improve management.
If you focus on changing the wrong person to better the situation, it’s like trying to [...]
A Tit for a Tat (149)
Tit: If you have twins, would you dress them the same?
Tat: Why would I want to confuse them?
Tit: And others!
Tat: And myself!
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/eat-a-mango
About aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/02/logo-for-a-tit-for-a-tat-series
: . skip to main skip to sidebar Buddhism in the News Loading . Saturday , June 26, 2010 The . Cure Just like a fever breaks , last night I felt a deep and rejuvenating release from the rising waters that had crested yesterday with my , discouraged post . It isn't the cure of liberation from the cycle of suffering and rebirth but rather a break in the fever that is discouragement . Writing out my emotions has long helped me process the disorienting thoughts that ensnares all of our minds . It is a form of honesty , which is a trait that I've been blessed and cursed with . Blessed in the sense that it helps me dissect confusing emotions with direct and exacting examination but cursed only in the sense that such honesty means facing sometimes painful and uncomfortable realities . Yet ,: , . skip to main skip to sidebar Buddhism in the News Loading . Friday , June 25, 2010 Buddhism , the Dalai Lama and Quantum . Physics I have deleted the post on Buddhism and quantum physics because it appears that I didn't fully understand quantum physics before attempting this write-up . I apologize for any confusion that I might have created . I do still believe though that there is a strong connection between Buddhism and . science James R . Ure PHOTO CREDIT Gail Atkins Posted by They call him James Ure at 10:36 AM 5 comments : NON SEQUITURS UNITE said . I wish you'd left it up but with your comments . if only because it's your personal understanding and perspective here that counts your purpose as I understand it was never to define quantum physics for others , rather to allow: . skip to main skip to sidebar Buddhism in the News Loading . Wednesday , June 16, 2010 Green . Buddhism Our environment is the ultimate middle-path . In order for life to exist and thrive upon Earth the environmental conditions must be perfectly balanced for optimum benefit . It is because of the importance of this delicate balance that , as a Buddhist , I am also a committed . environmentalist So , as you can imagine I've been watching with horror like everyone else the volcano of oil gushing night and day from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico . Ultimately this BP disaster has come about from our collective greed for cheap fuel at the expense of our greater environment to power our excessive . lifestyles Part of this lifestyle comes from a long human tradition of the ignorance that: . skip to main skip to sidebar Buddhism in the News Loading . Tuesday , June 15, 2010 Comment from . Management I was hoping that things wouldn't come to this but I guess now that the blog is getting increasingly popular with each passing day I am seeing an alarming increase in spam comments . Some of these comments include links to sites that can be offensive to some people and I don't wish to have that kind of advertising on my Buddhist blog . However , unfortunately that now means that I will have to approve comments before you'll see them post . Thank-you for your patience , continued readership and I apologize for the . inconvenience James Posted by They call him James Ure at 5:28 PM 0 comments : Post a Comment Older Post Home Subscribe to : Post Comments Atom ShareThis Option: . skip to main skip to sidebar Buddhism in the News Loading . Sunday , June 13, 2010 You Can't See the Whole Sky Through a Bamboo . Tube You can't see the whole sky through a bamboo tube . Japanese proverb The perceptions of our daily life are like looking up into the vast , detailed night sky through the confines of a bamboo tube and stating definitively that we have an accurate picture of its reality . The bamboo tube is akin to our perceptions of the world , which are seemingly real holograms of reality based on ignorance that we are separate from everything else . Perceptions that place us at the center of a world that has no center . Perceptions limit us to only what we can perceive with our limited sense organs sight , smell , touch , taste , sound We are like ants living amongst: . skip to main skip to sidebar Buddhism in the News Loading . Thursday , June 10, 2010 Einstein Understood Non-Duality and The Present . Moment Before he died , Einstein said Now Besso an old friend has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me . That means nothing . People like us know that the distinction between past , present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion . James While in Buddhism we acknowledge the past and future we teach not to deal too much upon them because the past has past and the future is determined in the present moment . Yet , Einstein is right as well that time is part of the mindstream without distinction between them because the past and future were and are also the present moment in the moment they are experienced . Another way of: . skip to main skip to sidebar Buddhism in the News Loading . Wednesday , June 09, 2010 10 Questions for the Dalai . Lama The thing that I like about the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist teachers taking questions from everyday people is that you get such a wide variety of queries that most people can relate to . Sometimes you read an interview of the Dalai Lama or other teacher where deep , philosophical questions are put forth from some journalist or documentary . director At times , they are so in-depth and esoteric that I don't even understand what's being asked I do like deep , philosophical questions and dialogues from time to time but sometimes it's like drinking to quench my thirst from a fire hose . So , it's with joy that I present one of ten questions for the Dalai Lama from: . skip to main skip to sidebar Buddhism in the News Loading . Friday , June 04, 2010 Burma Building . Nukes A new investigation has revealed that Burma has begun a nuclear weapons program with the help of North Korea . A documentary made by the Norway-based group Democratic Voice of Burma says evidence has come from top-secret material smuggled out of the country over several years . The investigation found the south-east Asian country was a long way from producing a nuclear weapon , but had gone to great lengths to acquire the technology and expertise to do so . Read the full report : Click on this sentence The most important agreement that Burma must satisfy is its agreement with the IAEA . It signed an agreement with the IAEA in 1995 that it would not pursue nuclear weapons under a
Elephant Journal Engaged Buddhism: Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi Though many know him well as the Pali scholar responsible for prodigious English translations of huge pieces of the Tripitaka, the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi has emerged in the last few years as one of the globe’s most important and industrious Engaged Buddhist leaders. Born Jeffrey Block in Brooklyn [...]: skip to main skip to sidebar Buddhism in the News Loading . Wednesday , June 02, 2010 How Do Love Your Self if There is No-Self Buddha is well known for teaching that there is no such thing as a self but something I have struggled with for some time is , how does self-love fit into that context My therapist is trying to help me love myself more because I don't always have the best self-esteem . I believe the Buddha too has taught about the importance of . self-love So , my dilemma from a Buddhist standpoint is , how can I love my self if attaching importance which love does to a degree to a sense of , self is delusion that causes suffering That conversation with my doctor brought this to the surface , and I'm fairly perplexed by it . One is always learning on this path , so , I'd love to