The Delicacy of a Perfect Vase

I am looking at the long-forgotten amphora,

Dust on its sides, its hips are wide,

No, I haven't forgotten you my long-lost friend, you are as perfect as ever,

Who put so much work into your shape, who chose the color scheme worthy of the high Olympus,
Your left side is matted to match the handle, and your right side glees of orange, reflecting the
fullness of an elaborate cherry palette on the inner side of the thin neck,

I see the hound shape raising from your depth, he is jumping to his master, who is a nymph or a goddess contemplating the veil prepared by the Arachna, the greatest of human weavers they said,
who lost only to the goddess herself, never did she gave up, forever bitter....

I see the young breeze clouds gathering on the west, they are foretelling a good beach day,
and the spider web of the phosphoric threads is there too,

Your sculptor was a man, an old man with young hands, he listened for the wind, he smiled on the adversity, and he had his wine when he wanted to,
His many years of artful concentration made it easy to create the shape worthy of the high Olympus,

...as though he knew I would be watching it on this summer day, and thinking of him and of you.

what is Zen?

"Zen" is a transcendental state. The word itself comes from the Sanskrit "dyana" which means "meditation". In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Dhyana is defined as "focusing of related or same sanskaras (fine mental elements) on the same spot". Thus the meditation process becomes a  non-breakable "focusing". As it intensifies so does your capacity to concentrate. Concentration is non other than the statement of intent, because it is a play of attention - to concentrate on something. We "pay" our attention, even.

So that is what "Zen" is semantically, but spiritually, it is freedom. Zen is suchness, and Zen is otherness. There is no way to adequately describe it, so the Eastern schools of Zen have come up with an irrational process, leading directly to the state of "being there". The maxim "this mind is a Buddha" is one of them.

To "be there" is intending of "thatness", the final destination, the exalted state, the Samadhi, which is where it begins. In truth, I don't think there is a way of knowing what that is exactly, unless someone is already there, like a teacher, who you can copy, or you practice hard and get there through practice and study. The way is long and hard, and sometimes easy and pleasant depending on what you make out if it. The capacity to "make out of it" in other words to utilize what you know along with your latent capacities is in fact "being there". It is taking reins of you conscious decisions, thus applying  act of consciousness and willfulness to your acts.

There is no doubt that a teacher is important as a beacon, as a guide or a light ahead, but I don't believe in the cults of teachers or gurus or whatever, and as I said in my previous posts - the greatest teacher is within. Learn to trust him so you wouldn't have to chase the shadows of the ancestors for the rest of your life.

Plus. the famous esoteric paradigm of "the teacher cannot teach it the student cannot learn it" comes into play too. I think that it means that even though the teacher can help in understanding the basics, the goals, and the path itself, or pointing out direction he cannot do it for you - you are the one who has to apply the effort and traverse the pathway. In other words, a finger pointing at the moon is not the same as the moon itself. As for the student....well, getting it is more in the realm of a blessing than study. I truly believe we all have it. Some more so than the others perhaps due to the circumstances of life, but we all have it, and with the good method, it is all revealed.

There are basically two methods to progress in Zen Buddhism. One is Sitting meditation, which leads into "shikan taza", a Zen version of Samadhi. Another is koan, or a riddle. I think "Zen" in itself is a riddle since no one knows exactly what it means and how to get where....

Now what is it that the Zen practice is leading oneself to? The foundational Zen tale about Buddha's student getting it with the smile points to the utter simplicity and accessibility of enlightenment to every one. And indeed, Zen welcomes everyone, however as anything human it is bound to have hierarchies and authorities, who however as known from the recent Zen history are actually not in anyway perfect or impervious to carousing, but in fact have been very successful in embracing it and it even helped some to pass into the Buddha-Land sooner. But in general, everything should be moderate, but satisfactory, because preventing yourself from doing something will just increase the blockage and thus the battering ram capacity of the mind.

Zen is not a shortcut to enlightenment. But promoting austere simplicity is hard in this ever so big marketplace, where people choose spiritual lifestyles and pay the money to be there. So, the whole enlightenment thing becomes somewhat of a clown affair. I am not saying that it is not possible, but to derive the most of benefit from this time-honored practice one has to put themselves in a right mind set and stop indulging. Again, that's not an easy thing. There are many roads leading to Rome though so not all is lost after all.

I came from being interested in Zen, to reading and meditating to dropping it. I think the dropping is important as formlessness is, as there is no way of describing it simply, but it is in everything and everywhere, and that's where Zen's transcendentalism comes in. Like shamanism and paganism Zen teaches to revere life, even that which has to perish from your hand. As you know quite a few Japanese warriors where "followers" of Zen. However, what they were followers of was less of the religious aspect, such as salvation etc. but the substantial capacity of Zen to relax the mind, which is in itself a consolation to an always worried lord. That and a concentration paired with the profound observation of nature and its phenomenon produce a very refined taste, superior aesthetic, and a natural calm, which in a very neutral zen way can be called happiness.

Flowers

Flowers.....flowers.......flowers.....

Flowers...


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Flowers....................flowers...............flowers.......................flowers

Atman, Buddahism and Other.

Greetings All!
Today's discussion is about Buddhism and various aspects of Vedic Religions.
Buddhism has gained tremendous popularity here in the States, and all around the world, and there are many kinds of Buddhism practiced, such as the

1) Theravada, earlier Buddhism taught in its original cradle in India and Southeast Asia, emphasis on the right living and awareness.
2) Various Mahayana schools, into which fall the Tibetan Buddhism as a whole, as well as Chan and Zen Buddhism in Japan.
3) Vajrayana, the Diamond Vehicle Buddhism, is differentiated from the Mahayana as being rather "Tantric". Tantric Buddhism took deep roots in Mongolia, Tibet, Japan, and various countries around the world due to the efforts of some very prominent lamas and teachers.
Buddhism, especially the Mahayana Buddhism is popular because it is easily accessible, and is the everyman's religion, metaphorically speaking. Buddhism doesn't stop anyone from reaching enlightenment for any reason. Everybody has a Buddha waiting to bloom within and the Buddhism practice revolves around accessing the right teacher, and the right kind of method for you.

Depending though on which kind of Buddhism is closer to your heart, your idea of enlightenment will probably differ as well. Beyond mysticism and obscurity , Buddhism is about awareness, a very keen awareness, and it prophesies something similar to the Tat tvam Asi, You are that of the Vedas, only through its own terminology. As Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet have rightfully pointed out on one of the Kumbah Mela Darshans, which is the greatest spiritual gathering in India, and probably in the world, "You call it atman, and we call it anatman, but meaning is the same". The atman being referred here is the Sanskrit word for the lesser soul, dwelling within us. Lesser, because there is a greater one, the Eternal Brahman, we have that in us, and this is truly the Mahaguru, the Seer, and the Sage in us - our Atman, our Soul. There is no greater teacher they say. And this is truly the seat of the Satchitananda - the tripartite Being/Awareness/Bliss. In my opinion this is the essence of Vedanta.

As you can see, this is simplicity itself:) Although it takes a while to understand these concepts.

Buddhist teach anatman, they do not consider the soul to be "it", "one" but rather a conglomeration of many many different elements. According to them, the truth lies in the universal nature of "Buddha", the "awakened one". However, I have to agree with His Holiness, that beyond the outward form and practice, they are same.

In Buddhism as in the other Vedic religions one is invited to take a look within and introspect on what exactly is going on, in that "within". This is great work, but it is not enough to just look, one has to also see, and to that extant there is a great set of practices, of which many revolve around sitting down with a straight back and watch your thoughts emerge and disappear.

Although "soul" may not be a word preference for some people, I think, in the depth of their personal meditation many encounter some sort of  a command center, central shine, light, which is what is being referred to as Atman in the Vedic religion. Although of itself and within, it doesn't seem to belong to the body, it is as though it was installed in the body, and operates on its own accord.

Indeed, although we say "me", "my body", "my soul"  - how much truthfully can you say that you are in charge of your body? Thinking about it - not much. And the questions are plenty, while answers - few. If you think that you are in charge of your body - don't get ill. Move where you want to at once. Say what you feel, and do what you want....Easier said than done, and so we come back to the initial question.
There are a lot of things to be considered, when referring to the body as "my". And that is of course a deeper realization of the selfhood. Not unlike "Know Thyself" of the Ancient Greeks.

Whether you choose Buddhism or not, if you take this path, you are doing some sort of a practice, a yoga, which is basically introspection and an attempt to restrain the senses. at least in the beginning.

The restraint is not there to hurt you, and deprive you of your favorite things that make your life enjoyable, but to help you to better see yourself, not in the context of things that you want but separately from them, as a Soul. Once that is achieved you can gradually start to want again. In actuality you never stop wanting, just sort of wrap yourself up in the protective cocoon. However, on one point the cocoon does break, and if all done right there is a butterfly waiting to fly out, into the world.

I greatly revere the source of this knowledge, which is most likely non-human. Its scope is just too rich,  and its lore too immense to be assigned to anyone individual, or even a group. It cannot be discussed in one post, but I think it is a good beginning.

And for the conclusion, please remember that "Namaste" actually means that "the divinity in me salutes the divinity in you" Atman within me salutes the Atman within you. Such greeting paves the way for peace, understanding and love in the world. Namaste!

With Love,
Iggy.