tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42429155428418800822012-02-16T11:25:11.379-06:00Simple Mind ZenThe Ordinary Mind School of Zen Buddhist practice
<br>after C.Joko Beck, Diane Rizzetto and Ezra Bayda.<br>Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.comBlogger2561100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-54922965773021781472012-02-16T11:05:00.002-06:002012-02-16T11:10:28.662-06:00They Call Us Crackers* Sometimes"When they go, Ghana will be here. They are like mice on an elephant's back. They will pass...He is just part of Africa." --All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes by May Angelou
The American writer and poet, Maya Angelou was among the last of a generation who were raised under the full weight of segregation. As a child in rural Stamps, Arkansas, Ms. Angelou was privileged to be the grand Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-9494930942958423282012-02-08T14:13:00.004-06:002012-02-08T14:18:28.957-06:00Imagining Heaven“Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would get in.” Mark Twain
Does heaven exist; if it does, what’s it like, how do you get there? What is more thought provoking, curious and confusing than the subject of heaven? Many faith communities have a teaching on this subject. It is known variously by names such as: paradise, enlightenment, majesty, nirvana. With Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-8638843175259873632012-01-27T15:43:00.009-06:002012-01-30T14:36:14.136-06:00Transformation of Believers"Religious conflict occurs more from the belief-attitudes than from the religion's beliefs."
The attitudes of religious minded people can determine the perception of a given religion. Generally spiritual minded persons fall into two ends: dogmatic believers or spiritual believers. Regardless of differences in religions, dogmatic believers are often at the core of religious conflict; while Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-56774940386429306612012-01-18T13:36:00.009-06:002012-01-19T10:07:28.271-06:00Pissing In the Wind"The shadow gone autonomous is a terrible monster in our house..."
The Shadow by Robert Johnson
As children most us learn that you can't spit into the wind or throw sand into the wind; you get back the same result: it flies into your own face! But somewhere along the way to adulthood we seem very often to forget this truth. Many of us seek to level our relations with others by these very meansSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-91995564479243644172012-01-12T16:42:00.008-06:002012-01-19T18:05:57.875-06:00What Part of Me Believes That?"Sometimes we are startled. Where did that come from? I didn't know I felt so strongly." -- Robert Johnson, writer, Jungian psychologist
As a student and one associated with the late Carl Jung, Robert Johnson carries on Jung's work. Jung, unlike many of his generation, was one who believed that the base root of most all personal problems is not functional, some described such as "toxic", "games,"Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-30701665080963903722012-01-05T15:31:00.008-06:002012-01-10T17:28:16.938-06:00The Bulgarian Orthodox, Who Are They?"and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." Matthew28 19-20
In the world of Christian Orthodoxy, the orthodox are world wide; they are communities who hold fast to the values and norms practiced by the earliest Christians prior to the split of the Greco-Roman church inSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-36984950156243703502011-12-28T14:27:00.004-06:002012-01-05T14:09:25.666-06:00In the Presence of Gods and Goddesses"People can get so over-involved with searching for mythic connections that they forget they also have personal associations to the symbols." Robert Johnson
Many times we dream of events from our past waking day, a sort of summation or re-hashing of events, or their parts. The mind in its curious method dissects, injects and reintroduces the subject in a way that is different from the events of Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-1949540158557348732011-12-13T20:00:00.001-06:002011-12-13T20:01:49.115-06:00Saint Nicholas of Bari, Was he "Real?"There are many traditions to share with one another at this season, some old, some new enough to be rediscovered! Recollecting the date, December 6th is the feast of Saint Nicholas of Bari, the Simple Mind writes a bit about this personage. More often called Saint Nicholas of Myra or more often, Santa Claus was indeed a real person. As a saint of the Church and a most highly favored saint of Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-61826426596728677312011-12-03T15:27:00.000-06:002011-12-03T15:27:55.487-06:00Illness, a Look With New Eyes"I will act as if what I do makes a difference." poet and writer, William Blake Debilitating illness has plagued mankind as long as anyone may imagine. Yet the human spirit ever resourceful, ever hopeful, bounds back into the realms of life. Unable to quash the spirit and its boundless potential, Susan Nessim was inspired to write about her spiritual, physical and medical journey with Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-31639091346826075532011-11-30T18:51:00.000-06:002011-11-30T18:51:07.620-06:00Beautiful but Empty"Men have forgotten this truth... The eyes are blind. One must look with the heart." --The Little Prince by Antoine de St.Exupery
The Little Prince, a story by the Frenchman, explorer, adventurer and nobleman, Antoine de St.Exupery recounts in an extraordinary way some of the most beautiful and deepest truths in the passage of a life. Writing the story of the Little Prince, St.Exupery Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-24662792951835429712011-11-21T14:45:00.003-06:002012-02-06T16:50:13.979-06:00No Simple Subject is Evil..."The fall of the first human being from... wisdom to folly was neither wise nor foolish..." On Free Choice of the Will by Augustine of Hippo
While it touches all of us at one time or another, evil is no simple subject. Most of us have many questions and much confusion when confronted with an evil face, sometimes our very own face. Today many are squeamish about the subject itself. In the Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-13994138569141771372011-11-14T16:50:00.001-06:002011-11-14T16:51:15.686-06:00Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Relation Between Man and Vegetable"More servants wait on man than he'll take notice of." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Many over the eons have conceived of, and written of a conception of nature, herself. However in 1848 the American thinker, Ralph Waldo Emerson, engaged himself in the "Free Soilers" movement with other contemporaries such as the future president, Abraham Lincoln and emerged with an expanded notion of Nature. He wrote Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-87814597886489443242011-10-27T11:52:00.016-05:002011-10-27T11:52:00.158-05:00Some about Kundalini and the Tantra"The general idea prevailing about Kundalini, both in the East and in the West, is of a fabulous power... lying dormant, waiting to be roused..." --The Secret of Yoga by Gopi Krishna
When the subject turns from more commonly known Western ideas present in Judeo-Christian mysticism such as Incarnation, to ideas prevalent in the East then brought West, such as Kundalini Yoga or other HathaSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-21546372420528721872011-10-20T11:43:00.005-05:002011-10-20T11:47:53.725-05:00How May I Help?Sometimes we want to help others. When we give assistance to others it comes in different ways. It may be quiet, relying upon the attentiveness of the other, or it may be directly spoken. Sometimes they appreciate our assistance; sometimes others just want to struggle on their own without assistance. The help of others isn't always wanted.
How then may we help? Zen teacher Joko Beck has written Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-13686082326299957902011-10-12T11:34:00.007-05:002011-10-18T15:35:45.642-05:00High Water
"Anyone so venal as to assert her [own] right to inherit... clearly knew no humility," writes author Thulani Davis. Davis, a thoroughly American woman, who records her search for her ancestors, the family that is her own inheritance continuing to the present. She writes of a time long ago, the struggles of that Civil War era family, and their lives. "[She] took an almost hysterical Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-2220493901288994302011-10-05T11:35:00.010-05:002011-11-07T09:34:20.013-06:00Confucius, the Meaning of Ren and Yi"If what you don't want for yourself, you shouldn't to do others, then you would like others to do for you what you would indeed like for yourself." --Confucius (also K'ung Fuzi), ancient Chinese philosopher
While "the gentleman understands Yi, the small/mean man understands Li," wrote Confucius, Analects IV:16.
Here in the United States many of us grow up with the occasional, "Confucius said.Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-71439572256632832242011-09-28T14:59:00.004-05:002011-10-18T16:13:22.671-05:00Mozi and Universal LoveThe Chinese thinker, Mozi, a contemporary of the Greek Socrates, was born after the death of Confucius about 480 BCE. While largely known for his ideas on two terms, profit and usefulness, Mozi rests as a profound influence in traditional Chinese thought for his writing on universal love.
Writing in her recently published book, Confucius and Confucianism the Essentials, author Lee D. Rainey Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-40276498953383518992011-09-15T11:09:00.005-05:002011-11-17T14:16:35.509-06:00Questioning, the Piety of Thinking"For questioning is the piety of thinking." --Martin Heidegger, 20th century Existentialist philosopher
In the mind of philosopher, Martin Heidegger, questioning was not anything without thinking. Thus in his view, a questioner is not a dissenter; rather they are listening. All questioning, he believed, gets started from initial listening, that which precedes and guides the questioner. FollowingSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-38186603595237691972011-09-10T14:32:00.004-05:002011-09-15T09:16:41.571-05:00Mahayana Love*"The Dharmakaya of the Buddha is always present, always alive... Vairochana is made of light, peace, flowers, joy..." -- Cultivating the Mind of Love, by T.N. Hanh
Mahayana teachings as presented by Suzuki in his book, Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism, are complicated and simple; they're essential, and overlooked; it is central to understanding, and experience by practitioners of all stripes. Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-31906591465989042022011-08-31T10:10:00.002-05:002011-08-31T11:20:20.740-05:00The Doctrine of Suchness and the Dharmakaya"The light of Dharmakaya is like unto the full moon..." Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism, by D.T. Suzuki.
Considering the "doctrine of Suchness," D. T Suzuki writes, "it appeared to all speculative to be of use in everyday human lives... it must pass through some practical modification before it fully satisfies our spiritual needs... this modification of pure reason is necessary from the humanSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-66984209298178081502011-08-23T19:37:00.002-05:002011-08-23T19:42:06.857-05:00An Overview of Mahayana Buddhism according to D.T. Suzuki"Mahayana is not content to make us mere transmitters or "hearers" of the teachings of the Buddha..." --Suzuki
Many who ponder the Way, or the ideas of Eastern thought, particularly Buddhism make the assumption that it is a belief, a practice, a way that originates in the Far East. Yet nothing is further from the truth. Buddhism is, in its origins, a faith coming directly to the East and later,Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-77140335584865920272011-08-11T16:45:00.000-05:002011-08-11T16:45:43.855-05:00Mahayana Buddhism"Mahayana is a living faith. We cannot ignore the significance of Mahayanism." --Suzuki
The Buddhist thinker and teacher, Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, wrote a volume about the Mahayana which is titled, Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism. This book first appeared in English translation in 1907; a later edition was produced from that translation in 1963, and still later, another edition was rendered Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-63229148518715897992011-08-04T12:33:00.005-05:002011-12-30T12:24:24.929-06:00Imaging the Kingdom of Heaven"When you enter into my Kingdom." --Bible, Matthew Chapter 18
Many write, speak and think of the "kingdom of heaven" as a concrete afterlife place; they believe that the Christ's teaching was geared to the how and why of getting there. In doing so, many miss the perhaps most obvious and subtle of points. Jesus, the Christ was a Jew and the Jews of the time did not espouse a concept of heaven as Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-18262080544157411642011-07-28T15:58:00.001-05:002011-08-02T19:22:32.530-05:00Transformation and Self-Forgiveness"You cannot forgive yourself until you commit yourself to personal change." Forgiving Yourself by Beverly Flannigan
Both books written by Beverly Flannigan, Forgiving the Unforgivable and Forgiving Yourself are two of the most helpful books I've encountered on this pithy subject. Not only does the author assist the reader in identifying the possible wrong doings, harm and hurt they perpetrate toSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-39427239176522144732011-07-20T17:01:00.004-05:002011-09-28T15:11:19.176-05:00Imagination, An Ability of the Heart"I love you with all my heart." --by the many, the millions who have said and felt so. And J. Hillman, author of the Force of Character
Reading the book, The Force of Character by James Hillman carefully, one stumbles upon many great and grand insights. It may take a few reads to grasp its themes. "Character used to be spoken of in terms of 'the of heart courage,' or the 'heart of generosity Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-65711899717126297302011-07-15T11:43:00.004-05:002011-07-15T11:45:12.401-05:00Friends with God " Unchained from Judaism, the parent of Christianity, one easily comes to the idea that God doesn't care what you do, or what your will be..." -- a Simple Mind
Writing with a very different understanding of the cosmos, author, Neale Donald Walsch in his book, Friendship With God, writes: "God does not care what we do because of why we are here." Some will easily argue that his conception of Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-7170767478268769172011-07-07T17:08:00.001-05:002011-07-13T15:43:18.225-05:00Imagining and the Soul"What converts this "it" into me"? --The Force of Character by James Hillman*
Writing about character isn't so fashionable these days; in our psychologically steeped society, we are conditioned to think more about personality, ego, identity, integrative structures, and other such rational terminology for what has been thought of in previous generations simply as "character". And despite the Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-44123498589823889392011-06-30T14:01:00.000-05:002011-06-30T14:01:18.009-05:00Joy, the Radical Dimension"There is no peace without justice" --Pope John Paul II
Joko Beck in her book, Nothing Special, Living Zen, observes "When someone insists, 'I am never angry,' I am incredulous. Since anger, and its subsets, depression, anxiety, resentment, jealousy, gossip and backbiting and so on-- dominate our lives, we need to investigate the whole question of anger with care... For the psychologically Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-53286004769670593772011-06-24T16:02:00.002-05:002011-06-25T12:53:45.634-05:00No Two Buddhas For Parents"Religious practice is about atonement." --Nothing Special by Charlotte Joko Beck
Charlotte Joko Beck writes in her book, Nothing Special, Living Zen, "I listen to many people talk about their lives, I am struck that the first layer we encounter in sitting practice is our feeling of being a victim--our feeling that we have been sacrificed to others' greed, anger, and ignorance, to their lack of Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-82020414225271417222011-06-16T15:27:00.002-05:002011-06-17T15:42:39.978-05:00Love and Death"Death is our enemy, our last enemy." Love is Stronger than Death by Peter Kreeft
Death the stranger, death the friend, wait... death is all of us. Death is a mother, death is a lover... Philosopher and author, Peter Kreeft will not allow his reader to loiter in Love is Stronger than Death. The topic for many is wholly unexamined, and yet at some time it will greet each and all. "Life is alwaysSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-2204104360391147062011-06-12T14:14:00.009-05:002011-06-13T10:30:50.095-05:00The Most Personal Words"Words become more personal the more emotional they are." The Path to Love by Deepak Chopra
In loving practice, the "most valuable things you can learn about yourself is what you mean by the words, I love you." The phrase is complex because it involves you, says Chopra. This phrase has both past and present contained within; it is filled with self-expectation, and expectations for others. Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-65605341393266064352011-06-03T09:14:00.004-05:002011-06-11T16:30:34.059-05:00Resolving Fears"Most of us go into relationships to find security; we want to be with someone else who makes us feel safe… Spiritually the answer to fear… [is] you are already safe." The Path to Love by Deepak Chopra
Writing about a compelling topic, a concern for individuals and societies the world over, Deepak Chopra in his book, The Path to Love, makes a simply profound observation. That is the simple Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-52737497506516535332011-05-25T10:44:00.000-05:002011-05-25T10:44:51.413-05:00Blame, Seeing Someone Like Us"It's not your fault, but I'm blaming you anyway!" --Unknown "Looking deeply, we are not fooled by signs." by Thich Nhat Hanh
While one person may fancy himself as clever to place blame regardless, another may be more skillful and clear thinking to realize that carefully looking, they are not fooled by signs. And so it is the way. Some of us are more skillful at any given time than others, but Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-52022205190688313272011-05-21T14:43:00.011-05:002011-05-25T08:50:16.636-05:00Seeking Someone to Cover the Holes"We find the courage to go on, even if it's only for one more breath." --At Home in the Muddy Water by Ezra Bayada
When practicing with relationship issues such as loneliness, Zen author, Ezra Bayada writes in his book, At Home In the Muddy Water that we find the courage to go on, even if it's only for one more breath. As we stay with the loneliness, the hole of loneliness gradually heals. We Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-81872456566953390132011-05-15T16:04:00.002-05:002011-05-15T16:07:28.282-05:00The Great Truth Just Moved"There is in truth deception, and in deception, truth." -- a Simple mind
An old story about Mara, the evil one, goes like this: One day Mara and his disciples came upon a man in the road. His face glowing, they curiously inquired into the cause of the man’s pleasure. It seems the man had just discovered something of the Truth. Upon reporting this to their master, Mara, the disciple was perplexed Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-3867758728509142372011-04-29T11:29:00.010-05:002011-04-29T12:43:35.483-05:00Gravity Always Prevails, Common Sense"We do not [like to] live according to common sense. We don't like the critical voice; we don't like to come down." --Nothing Special: Living Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck
We like compliments; we like flattery. They make us 'feel special.' "What 's the difference between the sound of the [cooing] dove and the sound of a critical voice?" asks Joko Beck in her book, Nothing special: Living Zen. It Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-84811326340109550982011-04-14T18:05:00.013-05:002011-11-17T14:37:22.252-06:00Jung: The Psyche, an Androgyny“The most important aspect of the psyche is the “soul-image.”
--Inner Work by Robert A. Johnson
For psychologist Carl Jung, the understanding of dreams and making the unconscious conscious are at the heart of the individual. While there are, in his view, other significant factors influencing one’s behavior and thoughts, for Jung archetypes and dreams are a pathway. The concept of archetype comesSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-6004162287842106692011-04-07T10:54:00.001-05:002011-04-07T10:55:03.995-05:00Your Neurosis, a Low-Intensity Religious Experience*“Jung’s studies and work led him to conclude that the unconscious is the real source…" Robert Johnson
Jungian psychologist and author, Robert Johnson writes about many things in his book, Inner Work. Most importantly he details the value of the ‘inner world’ of individuals. The inner world as he describes it follows along the ideas of his mentor psychologist Carl Jung who defined the term: the ‘Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-13315770782378502252011-04-02T13:00:00.006-05:002011-04-18T09:15:39.185-05:00The Divine Puppet Show"Physical freedom means that there is nothing to hinder me from acting as I choose to act." Augustine: On Free Choice and the Will, translated, edited by Thomas Williams
As a vital current in Western thought, the subject of freedom and will are no small issues. Owing back to ancient times, at least the thought of Aristotle, philosopher and theologian Augustine of Hippo writes a slim but in depthSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-57925061923186108172011-03-27T17:03:00.001-05:002011-03-28T20:14:34.773-05:00Days for the Dead"Celebrations and festivals are necessary for society and for the individual. They are about cultural identity, life transitions and personal identity." --Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts by C. Stepanchuk and C. Wong
Around the world societies and individuals celebrate, commemorate and remember. In doing so, festivals of many places serve tradition, often ancient. Festivals and other remembrances Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-37825635160013138012011-03-21T11:06:00.008-05:002011-03-21T11:17:43.065-05:00Shintoism and Japan Today"Human beings have the potential to become Kami." --The Essence of Shinto: Japan's Spiritual Heart by Motohisa YamakageIn the Shinto mind there are many, many symbols of heaven here in earth. Armed with no other knowledge, the casual observer while traveling in Japan may remark upon the many shrines. There are about 80,000 Torii-gated Shinto shrines in Japan. They are located throughout the Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-28900099910382995352011-03-17T13:06:00.005-05:002011-03-21T09:38:08.988-05:00Shinto Tokyo Governor: Japan too greedy, Punishment from heaven'Gaman,' a Japanese word meaning 'to endure,
to persevere.'
His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Japan, Emperor Akihito, 77 years old, in power since 1989 at the death of his father, Hirohito, who was enthroned as the "Son of Heaven." While this phrase is very odd to western ears, within a non-theistic religion such as Shintoism, it is perfectly sensible. Under the context of Shinto tradition, Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-40488573524551840592011-03-04T08:32:00.007-06:002011-03-09T12:56:55.156-06:00Melchizedek, a Jew and other Torah FiguresMelchizedek-- Heb. meaning, "the god Zedek is king."
The Hebrew name Melchizedek appears in many current documents as if something new to humankind is being uncovered. In fact the name means in English, the god Zedek is King. It is also the name of the ‘mysterious’ (Greek word meaning ‘the initiate(d)’) personage mentioned in Genesis 14:18-20.
He is also mysterious because little is actually Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-28334583446100204572011-02-24T22:29:00.009-06:002011-02-25T10:42:38.617-06:00Consciousness, Everything That Rises True~ For traveling friends, because education truly is a two-way street ~
"feel your lightness and let it merge with others..."--Tao Te Ching"Many poets are not poets... they never succeed in being themselves.""It is therefore literally true that anyone who rests content with philosophical or theological speculation about God is supremely ignorant." --Thomas Merton"Pushed to the extreme, Mind canSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-27082396970639403382011-02-18T08:59:00.000-06:002011-02-18T08:59:38.231-06:00Beggars From CalcuttaCarl Anderson writes boldly in his book, A Civilization of Love, "there is no gap between love of neighbor and justice." Attempts to contrast justice and love, serve to distort them both. Within justice is the meaning of mercy itself. To pursue justice without love is to engage in revenge. Love is not about revenge. From the earliest time, religions have pursued the liberation of the self, Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-56117942467630150182011-02-14T08:59:00.001-06:002011-02-14T09:00:46.550-06:00Touching the Feet of Sainted VashishthaThe Ideal of Forgiveness, a tale from India.
~For my friend of 30 years, Alka Urwati~
Gopal's Eternal Brother
Once there was a great king named Vishwamitra. One day he learned that there was a saint in his kingdom whom everybody adored. The name of this saint was Vashishtha, and everyone gladly touched his feet. Now, although Vishwamitra was a very great king, nobody used to come and touch his Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-2638581719942931772011-02-05T16:54:00.003-06:002011-02-07T13:35:16.400-06:00The Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister MoonI am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. --John 8:12
Saint Francis of Assisi: He is the saint who sings, the saint who laughs, the saint who kisses, who plays the violin by bowing a stick on his arm, a dancing angel. He is the saint who joyfully sings to nature, who joyfully loves the nature God has created. He does so not asSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-70951120122933233002011-01-27T14:16:00.002-06:002011-01-29T14:21:52.683-06:00Elder Son, Beloved ChildYou have to keep searching for your body's deeper need, the need for genuine love. Every time you are able to go beyond the body's superficial desires for love, you are bringing your body home and moving toward integration and unity.”--Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son
"Often I have asked friends to give me their first impression of Rembrandt's [Dutch painter 1606-1669] Prodigal Son. Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-22674550071846874572011-01-22T13:24:00.001-06:002011-01-22T14:06:56.878-06:00Kumbum Chamtse Ling Monastery"Our escape route was long and hard for people more used to the sheltered life of Lhasa." My Land and My People by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama
Tenzin Gyatso, as he is customarily named, more often called the 'Dalai Lama,' especially in the West,approves and supports the Tibetan Mongolian Cultural Center, the Kumbum Chamtse Ling monastery located in Bloomington, Indian; it celebratesSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-75770916903694118232011-01-08T15:33:00.015-06:002011-11-21T13:26:10.801-06:00Love and Betrayal in CommunityFellow thinker of Maritain, French theologian, Emmanuel Mounier wrote in his book, Personalist Manifesto that "Capitalism reduces a person to a state of servitude irreconcilable with the dignity of a man; it orients all classes and the whole personality towards the possession of money; the single desire of which chokes the soul." He advocated for the idea 'incarnation,' that persons are Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-83833919019186534532011-01-08T15:29:00.007-06:002011-01-12T10:49:30.937-06:00Love & BetrayalLove & Betrayal
Peter the Shepherd: When they had eaten their meal, Jesus said to Simon Peter,Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said, you know that I love you. Then feed my lambs, replied Jesus.
A second time the Lord asks, Simon Peter, do you love me? Yes, Lord, replied Simon Peter. Jesus replied, then tend my sheep.
A third time Jesus asked him, Simon, son of Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-68180542874417960912011-01-03T16:15:00.004-06:002011-01-06T16:37:29.207-06:00Modern Conflict, Ancient Egypt"When Israel was a child then I loved him, and I called him out of Egypt." --Hosiah 11:1
While there are two thousand years of Coptic history, many outside of the middle east are wholly unaware that the intensification of what some call a 'holy war' between Christians and Muslims is again on the front burner. Today it is more often Christian communities who are suffering. Egypt and Iraq are twoSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-25834843130857447162010-12-28T15:59:00.004-06:002010-12-28T19:04:29.177-06:00Logic at the Edges"Words do have edges. So do you." Eros the Bittersweet by Anne Carson
Continuing her thoughts into Sappho's poem, fragment 31, author Anne Carson writes, "When I desire you, a part of me is gone. Your lack is my lack..." In this classical view, then, Eros is expropriation. Robbed of vital senses, limbs even, the lovers are left with essentially less. This attitude is grounded in the oldest of Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-66868439944797660282010-12-16T11:44:00.006-06:002010-12-21T16:16:11.684-06:00Culture Needs Eastern Wisdom"The horizons of the world are no longer confined to Europe [or the West]." -- A Thomas Merton Reader, essays by Thomas Merton
While some visitors here may be confounded by the name of this blog and its stated aims, be no mistake, the "raft is not the shore, nor is the wave without the water." The winds are in the waves. This is everyday mind. Writing in his collected essays, Theologian, and Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-14490271439344087162010-12-11T16:44:00.007-06:002010-12-14T15:21:39.242-06:00Eros Is a Verb"It was Sappho who first called eros "bittersweet." --Eros Bittersweet by Anne Carson
While hard to translate when applied to ancient gods, for the woman poet, Sappho who wrote the surviving poem Sweetbitter, the Greek word glukupikron translated into English might be thought of as bittersweet. Meaning a sort of sweetness when applied to eros and then a disappointment, or "first sweet and thenSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-82275723893567504072010-12-02T21:07:00.010-06:002010-12-16T11:05:44.524-06:00Personalism as Belief, as Philosophy"So then in love, in freedom, there is a conscious will for another person's good, an unqualified good, a good unlimited, that is a person's happiness." --author unknown
Personalism stands great as a philosophy and a compass for modern man. It is what the modern, current of 'human rights' stands upon; it supports the modern view of relationships, especially marriage, and it advocates the rights Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-53810555242810457382010-11-30T15:27:00.004-06:002010-12-16T11:07:16.864-06:00The Present of a Secret, the Little Prince"Men have forgotten this truth... The eyes are blind. One must look with the heart." --The Little Prince by Antoine de St.Exupery
The Little Prince, a story by the Frenchman, explorer, adventurer and nobleman, Antoine de St.Exupery recounts in an extraordinary way some of the most beautiful and deepest truths in the passage of a life. Writing the story of the Little Prince, St.Exupery writes Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-16587226091904336802010-11-22T11:51:00.003-06:002010-12-16T11:08:47.256-06:00Love, Sex and SensualitySentimentality must be clearly distinguished from love--Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyla
So much of our deepest, spiritual longings center around acceptance, both of self and other. We want to freely love and be loved, what some call "unconditional love." Yet in the everyday world, in the practice life, this can be confusing, contradictory even. We consider the element of free will and Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-4538261885787479772010-11-18T11:56:00.004-06:002010-11-22T11:23:12.415-06:00Sadhana, the Realization of Beauty"A thing is only completely our own when it is a thing of joy." Sadhana by R. Tagore
Reading further into the writings of Rabindranath Tagore, he writes in his book, Sadhana several essays on different topics, combined together to create the whole of harmony as he sees it. The realization of beauty, of beauty-harmony, as he describes is in terms of the realization of what is real. "The greater Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-67227233984657978422010-11-15T14:28:00.003-06:002010-11-15T14:35:16.411-06:00Sadhana, the realization of life"There is a bond of unity between our two eyes which makes them act in unison." Sadhana; the Realization of Life by Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali poet, mystic and writer known for his elegant, lyrical writing style; he also is known for his Nobel Prize win for literature in 1913. Writing in his philosophical prose style, Tagore's book, Sadhana, the Realization of Life, Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-73781909437546779602010-11-11T04:20:00.035-06:002012-01-09T10:24:52.733-06:00Mandala or Mandorla?"Happily...we have a solution. This is the mandorla... It is far too valuable a concept to have lost." Owning Your Own Shadow -- by R. Johnson
"Everyone knows what a mandala is, even though mandala is a Sanskrit term borrowed from India and Tibet. A mandala is a holy circle or bounded place that is a representation of wholeness..... the Tibetan tanka [for example], a picture generally of the Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-6352048702998982452010-11-08T14:54:00.003-06:002011-10-20T20:12:50.621-05:00Paradox as Religious Experience"Every human experience can be expressed in terms of paradox." Owning Your Own Shadow by R. Johnson
Writing about the all too human experience of strong and contrary emotions appearing simultaneously, Robert Johnson, Jungian analyst and author, writes in his book, Owning Your Own Shadow, that when "we approach the shadow, we examine a very powerful aspect of our personality, almost universally Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-78374845512783338962010-11-04T15:27:00.041-05:002010-11-04T21:27:16.415-05:00The Buddhahood of Ordinary People"Those whose karmic inclination led them on the right path, ended up realizing their true nature and became enlightened." --Mud and Water by Bassui, ed. by A. Braverman
Bassui notes that "the way of the lesser vehicle and path of expedient means, are all established as temporary dharmas... What ordinary person does not have karmic inclination for the Way?" Further, he writes, "there is no ice Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-17287890595234563372010-11-01T13:39:00.007-05:002010-11-02T14:04:45.212-05:00Heretics and the Buddha"During the time of the Buddha, there were some who slandered him and became disciples of heretics and demons." -- Mud & Water by Bassui, edited by A. Braverman
While some might wish to think of "Heretics" in conjunction with an event such as the Christian-fueled Spanish Inquisition or the Crusades of Europe, fewer would bring the name of the Buddha to mind. Yet the great master, Bassui does. Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-66385715292319166012010-10-28T00:23:00.014-05:002010-10-28T10:59:12.527-05:00Aristotle and the Akratic"Weakness of the will is something we all think we know; many feel that we experience it ourselves." --Weakness of Will by William Charlton
The good that I would feel to do; the good that I would not feel and do... is the subject of a talk by Saint Paul in one of his biblical letters to the Romans (Romans 7:15), is often attributed by modern commentators to a 'weak will.' Modern philosophers Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-65776640342457380202010-10-25T20:54:00.002-05:002011-12-05T12:11:24.964-06:00The Secret of God's Heart"You are the secret of God's heart."
The most valuable thing you can offer is your possible or potential spirit. This is what you have always available to offer, what you need to live your own love story. Like the seed watered, your love is without beginning and without end. Watering the seeds of your love, is a practice that makes you grow-- but it is only a practice, not an end. For, if your Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-67378693462800109472010-10-21T16:51:00.009-05:002010-10-27T12:23:08.934-05:00Malthusianism and ScientismThe overproduction of people may lead to an overwhelming burden upon the earth. Science will answer for this concern.
The 19th century Protestant theologian, Thomas Malthus proposed that at some point in the foreseeable future, the world would likely be overpopulated and resources would not be readily available for its inhabitants. Therefore man's fecundity, his most creative output should be Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-38220967081083888872010-10-18T04:36:00.084-05:002010-10-23T16:51:36.407-05:00Blinded by Sympathy"What makes sympathy so weak is its lack of objectivity." Love and Responsibility by Karol Wotyla
Writing about the path from sympathy to friendship, Wotyla in his book, Love and Responsibility, writes that "one in sympathy" may be thought of as one who experiences with; it means above all else, what results in the way of emotional energy, energy which strongly tends to unite persons. In the Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-45531467617763428602010-10-14T15:58:00.004-05:002010-10-16T11:47:00.922-05:00Beyond Guilt and Shame"When people forgive themselves, we sense their merger with something big and beyond us; then it is we, who feel shut out and betrayed... forgiveness can provoke jealousy and anger... Forgivers have found the way to peace, while the rest of us watch in confusion, anger or envy." Forgiving Yourself by Beverly Flannigan
Writing further on the essential subject of self-forgiveness, Beverly FlanniganSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-44343197837044962812010-10-11T01:51:00.006-05:002010-10-16T11:51:33.227-05:00Abandoning the Most Basic Fears"Some, especially those in spiritual communities, may imagine that the jewel of life never has conflict, argument, or upset--and of how little we know or appreciate it..."
-- Nothing Special, Living Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck
I have a dream," said Martin Luther King;
even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth; we must become the change we wish to see in the world,"
said Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-35460452036151459672010-10-07T11:21:00.004-05:002010-10-07T13:06:58.464-05:00Becoming Alive, the Kingdom of Happiness"This is the practice of living deeply in the moment. If you worry too much, you will suffer." --Going Home by Thich Nhat Hanh
Know that, says Thich Nhat Hanh, "the Kingdom [of heaven] is not for tomorrow, the Kingdom is not a matter of the past. The Kingdom is now. We need food today... We need to be alive in each moment. We need the kind of food that makes us alive in every moment of our life Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-37583347377767320402010-10-04T21:09:00.003-05:002010-10-07T13:07:38.854-05:00Does God Need To Be Famous?"We can still remain a free person. Free from what?" Going Home by Thich Nhat Hanh
Writing in his book, Going Home, Buddhist Monk and scholar Thich Nhat Hanh writes, musing about the fame of God, God the Father, as he calls it. He says, "there is another dimension of life that we may not have touched... it is very crucial that we touch it... the dimension of the sky, heaven, God the Father...Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-47767230914649066572010-09-30T11:40:00.002-05:002010-10-07T13:07:56.671-05:00Rosh Ha-Shanah, New YearIn recognition of the recent conclusion of the Jewish New Year 5771 observances, Rosh Ha-Shanah, and the High Holy days occurring annually about September each year, the Simple Mind revisits a most beautiful piece of literature contained within the Jewish Cannon, Sh'ir Ha-sh'irim also known as the Song of Songs or the Song of Solomon. Each new year is commenced by days of reflection, alms giving Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-9983633890470700692010-09-27T18:42:00.003-05:002010-10-07T13:08:26.113-05:00What You See Is Not Always Golden*"When psychologists don the cloak of expert in areas in which they have no more authority than the average man--that is, when they invade religion, ethics, and politics--they will often be found...to be wearing very little, and sometimes nothing at all." --The Emperor's New Clothes by W.K. Kilpatrick
In the story of The Emperor's New Clothes originally as written by Hans Christian Anderson, Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-77153997382602238602010-09-23T18:36:00.004-05:002010-10-07T13:08:46.481-05:00The Legend of Chang ErIn commemoration of the Chinese Moon festival, or the Mid-Autumn festival as it is sometimes called, the ancient Legend of Chang Er is recounted here. The festival falls upon a full moon, usually the month of September. After the New Year celebration, this is perhaps the most important of Chinese traditional festivals. Families gather; Yue bin, moon cake, is traditionally eaten.
There are Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-60698630880644405192010-09-20T16:38:00.012-05:002010-10-07T13:09:59.607-05:00The Meaning of Looking at the Self with Hatred"The root of life and death is the discriminating mind." Mud and Water by Bassui
"Looking at one's self is as intense as hatred for the enemy. What is the meaning of this?" When you awaken to your true nature, wrote the Zen master Bassui, you cut off the wheel of reincarnation. Awakening to your many virtues, you bring benefit to the lives of others also. Bassui wrote, "In the self, there is Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-56751823882198197692010-09-13T17:24:00.003-05:002010-10-07T13:10:18.199-05:00Kahlil Gibran, the Poet On Friendship"In the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter..." The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Written in his best known English language volume, The Prophet, poet, philosopher and artist Gibran writes about the subject of friendship most importantly. He, Gibran, the son of a Maronite Priest was born in Lebanon in the late 19th century. His family immigrated to the United States and lived in Boston Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-2606928957829382372010-09-09T12:43:00.007-05:002011-10-03T14:07:20.506-05:00Kabbalah, Lurianic Mysticism"The test of love is in how one relates not to saints and scholars but to rascals." -- A Passion for Truth by Abraham Joshua Heschel
The great Jewish American theologian, A. J. Heschel writes in his book, A Passion for Truth at length about the origins and meaning of the mystical tradition within Judaism. Many today have discovered the ancient mystical traditions of Judaism; not having ever Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-10601106124286017442010-09-07T14:07:00.003-05:002010-09-09T10:58:09.053-05:00Feminism, a Failure to Appreciate"Then all of them together, crying loudly, moved to the malevolent shore that awaits anyone who has no fear of God." -- Inferno, Canto III by Dante
In his belief, born of experience first as a cloistered monk and then as a Jungian therapist, Thomas Moore comes now to realize that "what was really at the root of those unsettled lives was religion... I didn't always realize the extent to which Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-19830471736667401852010-09-02T10:42:00.004-05:002010-10-07T13:10:41.612-05:00Inside the Grail Legend“...if one is to find the Grail, [that] means not to fall prey to a mood.” The Holy Grail as interpreted by Robert Johnson
There are many, many truths to be gained from study of this most unique of legends, the Holy Grail. Following the lead of Carl and Emma Jung and Marie Louise von Franz, Robert Johnson writes in his book, He, that “what the Grail myth is telling us is that in his Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-60687383841927345542010-08-30T19:03:00.002-05:002010-08-31T15:16:36.205-05:00The Grail Legend, Signs of Life"...the man is distinguished by the feminine elements." The Grail Legend by Emma Jung
Continuing in the classic story of the Holy Grail, a myth made noble by its telling and re-telling, the author Emma Jung, wife of famed psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, writes that the myth is known since the middle ages. Over time it develops and refines itself through the numerous spiritual awakenings experienced bySimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-20688667030055333322010-08-26T05:26:00.079-05:002010-10-07T13:12:04.338-05:00The Legend of the Holy Grail"It is one of those fairy tales... in which the search for a 'treasure hard to attain." The Grail Legend by Emma Jung and M-L von Franz
Despite the popularity of comedies and parodies about the Holy Grail, Monty Python most famously, there is in European folklore and myth, the tale of the Holy Grail. The Grail Legend as written by Emma Jung and completed after her death by Marie-Louise von Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-26725254607544175902010-08-23T15:28:00.002-05:002010-08-30T19:14:46.749-05:00The World of Jesus' People"Thus...Rome established or supported friendly kings... thereby governing through subsevient agents in lands where Rome itself did not choose to rule... Friends of Caesar." Judaism in the Beginning of Christianity by Jacob Neusner
The ruler of the Bible,Herrod and his sons, were local Jews selected by the Romans to rule. Developing the region as they wished for political and economic gain, Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-4346560745732101272010-08-16T13:27:00.001-05:002010-08-16T13:30:47.787-05:00Reclaiming Our Innate Happiness"We are made to seek happiness." The Art of Happiness by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
"The basic, underlying nature of the human being is gentleness," so writes His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. In his book on the subject of happiness, The Art of Happiness, His Holiness writes poetically that "if we look at the very pattern of our existence from an early age until our death, we can see the way in Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-13776486638799162072010-08-12T07:11:00.010-05:002011-09-28T15:15:44.837-05:00The Religion of Ahimsa"Man is higher than the brute." MK Gandhi
Writing about Ahimsa, Gandhi briefly describes is as, "the world is full of violence, himsa, and nature does appear to be red in tooth and claw." He writes of a belief that man is more than a brute and potentially superior to nature. "If man has a divine mission to fulfill, a mission that becomes him, it is that of non-violence, ahimsa.
"The religion Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-66349102821710406062010-08-09T05:01:00.013-05:002010-08-27T14:01:07.410-05:00Jung and the West, Regarding Kundalini*"If some great idea takes hold of us from outside, we must understand that it takes hold of us only because something in us responds to it, and goes out to meet it." --C.S. Jung
In 1932 renowned psychologist Carl Jung, former student of Sigmund Freud, delivered a scholarly paper, now collected into a book, Visions, at a psychoanalysis conference in which he discussed the practice and symbolism ofSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-75771978709400438102010-08-05T06:49:00.088-05:002010-08-16T13:40:28.372-05:00Rama Is Strength for the Weak"Rama is but a synonym for God." --The Way to God by MK Gandhi
The power of the name. Rama writes Gandhi is his book of short meditations, The Way to God, "is the strength of the weak. This strength is not to be obtained by taking up arms... It is to be had by throwing oneself on his name." So it is, Gandhi writes, that the soul needs the "matchless and pure strength of pure faith."
"There is Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-49008347768407567302010-08-02T12:41:00.002-05:002010-08-04T10:07:11.877-05:00Spiritual Intuition within Sufism"Rumi was fully aware that... spiritual awareness and comprehension had dimmed since the time of the Prophet[Mohammed]." -- Sufism: Love and Wisdom by Jean-Louis Michon & Roger Gaetani
Writing in his book, Sufism: Love and Wisdom, French scholar Jean-Louis Michon notes that "both the Sharia path and Tariqa path, the laws and spiritual path, existed from the beginning." He attributes a decline Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-86705686646571309742010-07-26T00:54:00.019-05:002010-08-04T08:38:58.075-05:00Mature Innocence in Love*"Innocence is a mystery greater than evil." James Hillman
Innocence in the soul suggests a state in which one exists unwounded by the everyday challenges and trials of the world. Recovering innocence is to refrain from self-cruelty, or the equally prevalent cruelty inflicted upon others, to work and live in such a way as to gain in the strength needed to live a creative life. Spirit moves in Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-26114971585165682512010-07-24T12:51:00.003-05:002010-08-04T08:44:35.258-05:00The Prosperity of Perfection"The soul prospers in the failure of perfection."--Thomas Moore
While we may perceive events either as immanent or as transcendent, the soul of a person knows no time but its own. When relating to others, it isn't always easy to open the soul to another, to risk opening the self, hoping that another person will be able to tolerate its sometimes rationality, and sometimes irrationality. It may Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-76728596024430211412010-07-15T12:09:00.001-05:002010-08-04T10:08:17.077-05:00Long Term Commitments Can Be Dangerous"Our faith must be alive; it cannot just be a set of rigid beliefs and notions."
--Thich Nhat Hanh
Hanh writes, "In the beginning we might have embarked upon the path of Buddhism thanks to a belief in re-incarnation." However, he continues by noting that as the world in its impermanence moves, so must we. Continuing our practice and touching reality as it is, we may find that our beliefs change.Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-62953554862670149032010-07-13T15:42:00.001-05:002010-07-15T11:58:27.466-05:00Sufism"Whoever has no Master, has Satan as his Master."
Sufism has been part of the corporeal body of Islam for most of its history. The term sufi is known from at least the eighth century C.E.; it is from the word for wool (suf), a symbol of purity by the wearer of such a garment. The suf indicated also that there was an obvious degree of spiritual proximity to God. It is a representation of the Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-29443710383134666212010-07-08T00:11:00.122-05:002010-07-10T16:44:57.334-05:00The Origin of Satan"All converts understood that baptism washes away sins and expels evil spirits[from the body], and conveys to the recipient the spirit of God." The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels
In her book, published in 1995, The Origin of Satan, famed historian and author Elaine Pagels, perhaps best known for her work on The Gnostic Gospels, writes of a history in the West, of the developing idea of the 'Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-81874489553430784762010-07-05T10:10:00.087-05:002010-09-02T11:45:40.098-05:00C.S. Lewis, Apostle to the Skeptics"By the very act of arguing, you awake the patient's reason; once awake, who can foresee the result?" C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Chad Walsh writing in his delightful 1949 apology, first serialized in the Atlantic Monthly magazine, later published in book form has much to say about the genius of the Irish author, Lewis whom he likens to Saint Paul. No "Christian apologist in the English Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-45901426549718946252010-07-01T06:07:00.024-05:002010-07-01T20:20:13.983-05:00Other Mudras"the soul must empty itself to be filled with God." by St. John of the Cross
While many perceive the yogic mudras as part of esoteric Asian practice, the Simple Mind would confer with others who see them as signs and gestures, common in all human communities. Everything from the simple upheld hand to hail a taxi in New York to the upturned palm to indicate sincerity in Beijing or honesty in RomeSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-66550254085762932952010-06-28T15:08:00.004-05:002010-07-01T20:12:58.831-05:00The Sign of the Cross"The sign of the cross is a Christian practice and is associated with the catholic side of the church --Roman, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran and some United Methodists and Presbyterians. There is nothing in United Methodism that either forbids or encourages the practice.
Since The United Methodist Church is, generally speaking, a product of the Protestant Reformation, it has a piety that tends toSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-42266047795987419792010-06-17T03:59:00.016-05:002010-07-01T20:18:36.565-05:00Copts in Egypt"When Israel was a child then I loved him, and I called him out of Egypt." --Hosiah 11:1
There are two thousand years of Coptic history. Otto Meinardus writes about this fascinating story in his book of the same title, Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity. "The history begins with the traditions of the visit of the holy family to Egypt... to fulfill the Old Testament prophecy" regarding theSimple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-39846934294928934352010-06-14T15:44:00.006-05:002011-12-30T12:28:07.361-06:00A Light in the Cage"...there is no man who is not shaken for an instant by the eternal." --I Asked for Wonder by Abraham Joshua Heschel
Writing in his book of short essays, theologian Abraham J. Heschel writes for the interest of the lay reader about many topics in Judaism that are close to his heart. Using these essays as a springboard into the mind of this giant in Jewish thought, one clearly derives a sense of Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-34821819351298702752010-06-10T05:28:00.015-05:002010-06-10T05:28:00.269-05:00Spirits Calling"My soul glowed from the fire of your fire. Your world was a whispering water At the river of my heart." --by the poet Rumi
While in love we often fear, often unconsciously fear, that another will subsume us, that we will drown in relationship, and to some extent this is true. The ego must move aside for the opening to the path to love. Love and the soul however will not be lost or drown in Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4242915542841880082.post-57968397781941358712010-06-07T05:34:00.004-05:002010-06-07T05:34:00.205-05:00New Ways in Taoist Lands"We now come to the second Southern school, which has no connection whatsoever with the first Southern school."
--Taoism, The Parting of the Way by Holmes Welch
Much is written in the context of Taoism about a "northern school" and a "southern school" but what is the meaning of these two developments within Taoist thought? The most simple explanation is that the "Northern School," while Simple Mind Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06445584278684040056noreply@blogger.com0