maybe the mice were just after the cheese sandwich in his pocket, that he brought with him for lunch.but the motto of the story is,never cross a field of tigers an mice without a carton of cream in your pocket :rofl:
Exactly! But now you have to deal with Keith, and cheese sandwiches and cream won't help you with him.
Amitahba said: "Let any man speak my name and I will raise him to Nirvana. He only need speak my name without the desire to ascend to Nirvana." Accolyte said: "But lord, no man can do this. They will all speak your name so they can go to Nirvana." Amitahba said: "This is so." -BlkBks
Interesting. Like a catch-22. The mind is confronted with a dilemma. To achieve the reward, one has to not desire the reward. How is this done? It can't be done unless you no longer seek reward. In this case, it seems that the reward is escape. When you no longer seek reward or escape, that's better than nirvana; perhaps that is nirvana, whatever that is. But I don't know, I'm just guessing. Once, someone told me to stand in a corner, and no matter what I do, don't think of a white bear. Of course, in order to do this, I needed to remember what it was I wasn't supposed to be thinking about. That fucker is not my friend anymore.
That's the basic gist, actually. You can't get to Nirvana through selfish actions. So the whole name-saying gesture is useless. That said, there are a few buddhists called Amitahba buddists who do nothing but chant Amitahba's name in the hope that they'll eventually say it without the desire it would raise them to Nirvana. *sigh* Way to miss the point, poor buddhists. -BlkBks
Here is something to lighten things for the evening: The pupils of the Tendal school used to study meditation before Zen entered Japan. Four of them who were intimate friends promised one another to observer seven days of silence. On the first day, all were silient. Their meditation had begun auspiciously, but when night came and the oil lamps were growing dim, one of the pupils could not help exclaiming to the servant, "Fix those lamps." The second pupil was surprised to hear the first one talk. "We are not supposed to say a word," he remarked. "You two are stupid. Why did you talk?" asked the third. "I am the only one who has not talked," bragged the fourth pupil. ____________________________ Be well, if not better . . .
One time I had taken a large amount of psychedelic mushrooms, I chanted namu amitahba butsu. I had just read to say this mantra online and it will take you to pure lands after death. I didn't give it much thought, it just seemed like a holy saying. Well I said it about 3 times during the trip, instantly their was a sudden change in consciousness. Everything stopped, and I was propelled into an ocean of cosmic light. For long periods I would have no contact with my body, but would be part of a flowing pool of primordial ooze. For moments there was no other, there was only the one. There was no longer conflict because everything was whole. I was kissed by the divine, brought down through the cosmos by a divine being whose name came up as Jamu. I walked the earth as pure as Buddha and Jesus for hours until my ego was finally brought back by an upsetting girlfriend and the effects of the mushrooms subsiding enough. Even though it doesn't usually work as easy sober, I think it right state of consciousness this words are very very powerful. I could not believe that it had such a profound effect. Even the Hare Hare Krishna Mantra can be potent enough to raise your to heavenly states.
I say the Hare Krishna mantra all the time, it never fails to make me feel somewhat better. When tripping it is very powerful.
Pretty hardcore, right? Being in his position would evoke some serious mystical philosophy in me...but uppermost in my thoughts would be, please don't let me fuck up. I suppose I'm kind of like that about life, I figure. -BlkBks
Me,,I fuck up all the time, and then go on a tirade of self-hate, which my wife hears, and adds to it, blaming me for causing stress and being crazy. My son, however, adds a bit of relief. He usually calmly says,,"Dad,,chill". My prayers never have helped me not to "fuck up" when my "fuck uppance" is due.
Ah zen koans. They always gave me some nice peace of mind, reading them. This one was always one of my favorites: Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku. Desiring to show his attainment, he said: "The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no relaization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received." Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry. "If nothing exists," inquired Dokuon, "where did this anger come from?"
