CLICK ON THE PHOTOGRAPH OF EARTH
TO ACCESS LENS,
A Moment in Time
an
Interactive Feature of the NY Times
“Earth covered by thousands of virtual photographs
corresponding in location to where they were taken by Lens readers
at One Moment in Time, 15:00 UTC May 2″
A lovely and rare gift. Enjoy!
R.R., A.E., J.D.
In February 1966, flood waters north of Ma’an, in Jordan, brought down into the Hasa Valley near Petra a single dying specimen of the species called Struthio Camelus Syriacus -the ostrich or, as the Chinese call it, the Camel Bird of Arabia. Since no ostriches had been seen on the Arabian Peninsula since 1941, the unexpected appearance of even one specimen gave hope to some optimists that these ostriches – which once roamed freely through Arabia—were not extinct but in hiding. MORE [Aramco World Magazine]
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LONE BIRD
by
Jamie Dedes
nests raided
fellows slaughtered
webbed walk a bit slower
beaked breathing a bit harder
feathers thinning, damp
eyes clouded
drifting on life’s waters
ancient memories locked in cells as
wispy dreams, cloudy visions
unpredicted pleasures, comforts
a woody bush still green
a flourish of flower that dances
lonely shelter, secluded
some food, some water, some young
like the bush, she survives
like the flower, she dances
like the seawater that pours from the clouds
she returns from crisis
life goes on
endurance is its own reward
lone bird lives
·
Photo credit ~ Ann Cervova, Public Domain Pictures.net.
Commercial interests with their advertising industry do not want people to develop contentment and less greed. Military interests in economic, political, ethnic or nationalist guises, do not want people to develop more tolerance, nonviolence and compassion. And ruling groups in general, in whatever sort of hierarchy, do not want the ruled to become too insightful, too independent, too creative on their own, as the danger is a threat that they will be insubordinate, rebellious, and unproductive in their alloted tasks. Robert Thurman
♦
Robert Thurman holds the first endowed chair in Buddhist Studies in the West, the Jey Tsong Khapa Chair in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies. After education at Philips Exeter and Harvard, he studied Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism for almost thirty years as a personal student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has written both scholarly and popular books, and has lectured widely all over the world. His special interest is the exploration of the Indo-Tibetan philosophical and psychological traditions with a view to their relevance to parallel currents of contemporary thought and science. Columbia University, Department of Religion
♦
Robert Thurman won the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Prize in June of 2007. In addition to that and the accomplishments listed in his Columbia University bio above, he writes for BeliefNet and cofounded Tibet House in New York, which is dedicated to preserving Tibetan culture. One of his more recent books is Why the Dalai Lama Matters, subtitled “His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World.”
In the video below, the acceptance presentation for the TED Prize, Dr. Thurman talks about our hyperlinked world. He describes a world in which we can know anything at any time. This means that we are always aware of the suffering of others and cannot ignore our inter-relatedness. We cannot ignore the misery of others. He suggests that this is in effect a mass enlightenment and a step toward Buddhahood. J.D.
Video posted to YouTube by TEDtalksDirector.
Photo credit ~ Robert Thurman courtesy of Tenzin Nyima licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic via Wikipedia. The lotus illustration below is from PD Clipart.org.
Don’t say that I will depart tomorrow
even today I am still arriving
Call Me by My True Names, Thich Nhat Hahn
ABOVE THE RIVER, BELOW THE SKY
by
Jamie Dedes
We sat here some million years ago
on this hilltop below the sky.
Nudging one another,
questioning grandmother moon.
We sustained our bodies on sweet cumulus,
and sparked our spirits with starlight.
It’s many æons now since you left
to stand a tree on a tropic isle.
I have flitted there and back again,
finding our quirky queries still sage.
The golden moon is yet our intimate.
The wisdom today is the old wisdom:
no blame below boundless sky
nor above this resounding river.
·
Photo credit ~ Peter Griffin, Public Domain Pictures.net.
Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926) Zen Monk, Dharma Teacher, Social Activist, Writer, Poet, Peacemaker
Nhat Hanh is now recognized as a Dharmacharya and as the spiritual head of the Từ Hiếu Temple and associated monasteries. On May 1, 1966 at Từ Hiếu Temple, Thich Nhat Hanh received the “lamp transmission”, making him a Dharmacharya or Dharma Teacher, from Master Chân Thật. MORE [Wikipedia]
Though a Zen Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh combines traditional Zen with techniques from Theravada Buddhism, the wisdom of the Mahayana tradition, and ideas of modern Western psychology to teach meditation and spiritual values and practices in a way that resonates for people from diverse religious, political, and cultural backgrounds. He is a writer, poet, and peacemaker with over 100 books published (many in English). He was suggested for but never received the Nobel Prize for Peace by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Since 1966, Thich Nhat Hanh has lived in exhile in France. Based at Plum Village, a meditation community in the south of France, he is a leading Buddhist teacher, encourages engaged Buddhism (a movement for social activism that he founded), and conducts humanitarian efforts.
Thich Nhat Hahn coined the term “interbeing,” a pointer to the Buddhist principles of impermanence and nonself, which bring light to the idea and ideal of the inter-connectedness of all things. He founded The Order of Interbeing, the members of which include lay people. Link HERE to brief summaries of each of the fourtheen mindfulness trainings of the Order of Interbeing. J.D.
“If in our daily lives we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind.”
~ from Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
Here is a meditative interlude. The title of this post is a quote from the meditation, which is an excerpt from an album called Graceful Passages: A Companion for Living and Dying. It features spiritual teachers from many traditions offering advice to the dying – in other words, advice to all of us. Today and everyday : in metta, A.E., R.R., J.D.
Video posted to YouTube by pantheist46n2.
Gayle Rose a.k.a. Bodhirose, Poet Blogger
Bodhirose (Bodhirose’s Blog) has been blogging about family life, things of the spirit, and her ashram-life experiences since August of 2010. In this short time, her sincerity and authenticity has earned her a loyal following. We so appreciate the ideals expressed in her most recent poem, that we asked permission to share it with readers here. J.D.
♥
NO BLAME
by
Bodhirose
Brown or white we won’t demean
Orientation will all be seen
Your beliefs different than mine
That’s okay we’ll be just fine
Call to prayer five times a day
Or none at all, we still can play
The dress you wear is not my same
Makes no difference, there is no blame
Language, culture, a variety
Makes for interesting diversity
Sexual preference, I don’t care
Love of all is my sacred prayer
Discrimination against our own
Is a hateful trait to be de-throned
Release all intolerable distinctions
Of racial, gender, religious institutions
Open mind, open heart
May compassion be our mark
♥
Photograph and poem courtesy of Gayle Walters Rose and Bodhirose’s Blog. All rights reserved, 2011.
Video posted to YouTube by WellHowdyWorld.
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was “thank you,” that would suffice. ~ Meister Eckhart (c. 1260 – c. 1327), German mystic, theologian, and philosopher
“Gratitude is a memory of the heart. If we can remember, why can’t you?”
Gypsy photo courtesy of KarenFayeth.
Gypsy (the grandkitty) and I blog together at The Cat’s Meow. She’s the creative/spiritual inspiration. I do the keyboarding. As you can see, Gypsy is rather outspoken.
Originally the blog was entitled The Peaceable Kingdom. We changed it when we realized that surprisingly – or perhaps not so surprisingly – that name didn’t invite traffic. It does, however, encompass the meaning and intent of the blog. While we hope to brighten the workday for readers with funny, cute, or inspiring videos and beautiful animal photos, the underlying message is about respect for our younger brothers and sisters in nature and for the connections among all sentient beings. Many of the posts are about interspecies friendships: animal and animal, animal and human. The implied question we posit is that “if they can do it, why can’t we?”
Animals give us so many gifts (lessons) including: companionship, unconditional love, and gratitude. This lion does indeed have “memory of the heart” as the Gypster says: Ten years before that video was taken, Anna Torres, who runs a nonprofit animal shelter on donations and the proceeds from her teaching job, rescued the lion, Jupiter. He was starving and dehydrated and ill. She cared for him and still does and he is grateful and shows it.
CHIAROSCURO PLEASURES
by
Jamie Dedes
♥
Midnight blue, so long and empty
it swallows the moon to fill heart
and still the strings of that beat
playing amber vibrato on the
dew breezes. It stings with lusts of
whispered secrets, of river speak.
Listen, before the mourning dove.
·
Pink pale love found, lost again.
Time and mind drift on ‘til there sets
a lotus peace. In that place full now
with chiaroscuro pleasures, neither
the moon or the sun, nor even stars.
Pure internal verities, unalloyed joy.
♥
Photo credit ~ Petr Kratochvil, Public Domain Pictures.net.
SUSPICIONS
by
Jamie Dedes
·
suspicions I harbor deep at heart
some inkling of unity beyond division
of mystical, not mythical
of cup, not sword
lost in strange exotic search
found in the old oriental prescriptions
the angel wings of compassion and wisdom,
the sacred in ordinary time
the simple me and thee of
the anointed, appointed, awakened before myths and dogma
something sweet in orthopraxy, not orthodoxy
in ontology, not theology
the clear light of universal wonder
funding a commonwealth of saints
healing broken hearts and our war-weary world
·
Photo credit ~ Johnson Cherian, Public Domain Picures.net.
A more evolved person would say: “What’s the big deal? It’s only a load of lumber. He’ll probably bring it tomorrow.”
Except, it feels like a big deal.
I put my life on hold to accommodate his schedule. “Thursday morning before 11:00″, he confirmed on the phone two days ago. It is now after 6:30 p.m. and the appointed length of lumber has not been delivered as promised.
The spot for storage is cleared. The prepared dumping site is barren.
Tomorrow is no good. I have appointments and he has other commitments. That’s why we agreed that he’d come today.
Good grief, here’s a mature man who is a member of a stalwart island family and he has not kept his word. He is supposedly trustworthy.
Come to think of it, I have noticed subtle gestures from his wife when I saw them together. She usually leaves a group setting when he joins the conversation. He sort of takes over the conversation.
Once she said it was their anniversary. “Congratulations. How long have you two been married?” I asked.
“Oh, I’ve only been married to him for 15 years”, she said. “I was married before. My first husband died. The children are from my first marriage.”
The absence of enthusiasm was as good as a confessional.
She continued, “He’s a good man, though. Been a good father to my children. But, you know…at times, I find myself wishing he’d talk about something other than his antique cars and farm machinery. He’s always looking for more information or parts. I know he wishes the kids would show a little more interest…”
A Gift From My Guides
Yes, I’ve noticed that little ‘something’ whenever we’ve talked.
Let’s face it. He’s a great hulk of a man who talks too much. He is not a man of his word. He bores his wife to death and most people just want to avoid him. He’s like all the rest of the people who never do what they say. If anyone asks me about his service, I’m going to be honest. People like him should not get away with this kind of nonsense. Look at this! It’s 7:30 p.m. No truck, no phone call and no lumber. And even worse, I did no writing today until now. I couldn’t concentrate with one ear at the door. He’s really screwed up my day.
The phone rings. 7:47 p.m. Why does that time appear on clocks so frequently in my life? What does it mean?
“Hi, I’ll swing by now and bring your lumber. I promised I’d call first.”
“Thanks. See you in a few minutes.”
The poor man. He’s still working! It’s going to be dark before he finishes unloading the lumber. He’s had a hip replacement in his retirement and he’s still working so hard. He must be starving. I’ll offer him something to munch on. I should have told him to not bother tonight.
Suddenly his white truck backs into my driveway. He parks perfectly by the prepared spot. He jumps out of the truck and cheerfully sets up the rigging for unloading the lumber all by himself.
“You’re working awfully late, aren’t you?”
“Well, I was doing a little fix-it job for the local Kids Klub and it took a little longer ’cause when I gave one of the young fellas a ride home, turned out his mother needed her washer fixed. Then, when I got to the lumber yard, some guy had jimmied his loader so I gave him a hand, you know, just so he could get out of my way. Then Old Rex Thornton drove in and wanted to know what he could do with his old ’49 Chevy. He figures he’s ripe for the old folk’s home. So after we had a little chat about it, I suggested we go and have a look at it. It’s in great shape. By gar, I think I’ll buy it. Then he got to showin’ me some of the other stuff that he wants to get rid of. I know lots of people who will be interested. Turns out his wife was having trouble with an old clothes line that she still wants to use – you know how women like the bedding to smell fresh…”
Link HERE and scroll down to read the guided commentary that follows this story on Amy’s site.
We cannot rest on the notion of the “innocent civilian.” Morally, when it comes to a free and powerful nation like ours, I believe there are no innocent civilians. If I pay taxes, I am a combatant.” Rick Steves, historian, author, TV Personality in Travel As a Political Act
On Memorial Day: in the hope that the human race will work to find solutions other than war, which is not a solution at all.
THE SUN AND THE MOON ARE FREE
by
Jamie Dedes
Why do I write this in ink so black
it melts the pages of my journey?
·
It is a peaceful night here.
The stars are tossed across a
clear, dark velvet sky like the
garden fairies dancing at dusk.
·
The moonlight reaches down
to embrace me in its silver light,
its touch delicate as a whisper.
·
What of you, dear brother?
And what of you, dear sister?
Are they free by you …
the moon and the stars?
·
Is the night sky at peace?
My ink burns to bone and
melts the pages of my journey
for you …
– who were born of violence
– who were born into violence.
·
Your pain and your losses are
not mandated by any god.
The murders, the maiming, the
hunger, homelessness, loneliness …
the disenfranchisement: man made.
·
Why do I write this in ink so black
it melts the pages of my journey?
Because I fear, because I know
my fragile, cherished kin, I KNOW –
·
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
– for what we have done
– what we have not done
– we are culpable.
♥
PEACE:
IT’S A DECISION
NOT A PRAYER
Photo credit~ Peter Griffin, Public Domain Pictures.net
It has become exceedingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. Albert Einstein, German-American theoretical physicist
If you are viewing this poem from the homepage, you will have to click on the post title to see it lay out properly. Thank you!
DESTINY
by
Jamie Dedes
·
The unconscious wake of the city canyon lined
with monolithic buildings, a modern Stonehenge –
an outright lie, the feeling that a wee human can
do anything walking down this asphalt valley
·
though wise hawks flee to the countryside and those
thrusting window ledges are home to pigeons who
coo piteously at the traffic below, a parade of some
silly folk wearing fetching clothes and trusting
·
their sugared dreams to the midnight winds and
others arrogant who trip the ego fantastic and
hammer at their expectations with stone fists well
weighted by iron beliefs. It’s all mythology because
·
cultures die, worlds end, nothing should surprise,
but better to play and pretend our end didn’t begin
a century ago with the Wrights at Kitty Hawk and
that somehow, somehow we’ll outsmart our destiny.
Photo credit – Peter Griffin, Public Domain Pictures.net.
This year is our time of greatest opportunity to renovate our new retreat home and to acquire and protect the adjacent 38-acre private nature preserve. If we can complete the renovation as planned, we will have a retreat center that operates in the same efficient and welcoming manner that beautifully continues the Dharma culture we have at IMC. Just as we do at IMC, the retreat center will offer retreats freely, with no costs to participants. MORE [Gil Fronsdale, Insight Meditation Center (IMC), Redwood City, CA]
We do not represent or speak for the Insight Meditation Center (Vipassanã Buddhism) in Redwood City, California, U.S.A. However, we did want to be sure that our Bay Area friends and readers know about this new retreat center and that our readers from around the world know they can link anytime and from anywhere to IMC’s audio dharma where they can listen to discourse and classes by some very dear and wise Buddhist teachers.
We are all greatful for the benefits we have received from this sangha and its teachers, especially Gil Fronsdal and M.B. J.D.
For more about Gil Fronsdale, the Retreat Center, and current plans:
Video posted to YouTube by insightmed .
Link HERE to make a donation.
Photo credit ~ Insight Meditation Center, Redwood City, CA , all rights reserved.
I know that I haven’t powers enough to divide myself into one who earns and one who creates. Tillie Ollsen (1912-2007), American writer and feminist
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I READ A POEM
by
Jamie Dedes
I read a poem today and decided
I must deed it to some lost, lonely
fatherless child to embrace her
·
along her stone path, invoke sanity
I want to tell her: don’t sell your
dreams for cash or buy the social OS
·
Instead, let the poem play you like a
musician her viola, rewriting lonely
into sapphire solitude, silken sanctity
·
Let it wash you like the spray of whales
Let it drench your body in the music
of your soul, singing pure prana into
·
the marrow and margins of your life
Let the poet-shaman name your muse
and find you posing poetry as art and
·
discover the amethyst bliss of words
woven from strands of your own DNA.
Yes. I read a poem today and decided
I must deed it to a lost fatherless child
Photo credit – Jaime Junior, Public Domain Photographs.net
CECIL DAY-LEWIS (1904-1972)
BRITISH POET LAUREATE (1968-1972)
·
C. DAY LEWIS AT LEMMONS
by
Jamie Dedes
I discovered the Anglo-Irish poet Cecil Day-Lewis (C Day-Lewis) quite by accident the other day when I was preparing my Sunday news feature for the main site of an online poetry community with which I am involved. On the basis that we all benefit from knowing our roots and connections – no matter our occupation – I always start off with a snippet about a poet who either was born or died on the day of the posting. Cecil Day-Lewis died on May 22 in 1972. He was the British Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death. There’s lots about him and his work that nags for my attention, but one poem really struck home.
At Lemmons (1972), according to the C Day Lewis website (HERE), was written by Day-Lewis on his deathbed at the home of Sir Kingsley William Amis (1922-1995), the English poet, novelist, critic, and educator. Amis is quoted as saying that, “At no time did Cecil mention death. My own strong feeling is that he came to draw his own conclusions from his physical decline and increasingly severe – though happily intermittent – bouts of pain, but, out of kindness and abnegation of self, chose not to discuss the matter.” This last poem, which demonstrates a wonderful grace and acceptance, was published posthumously.
AT LEMMONS
by
C Day Lewis
Above my table three magnolia flowers
Utter their silent requiems.
Through the window I see your elms
In labour with the racking storm
Giving it shape in April’s shifty airs.
·
Up there sky boils from a brew of cloud
To blue gleam, sunblast, then darkens again.
No respite is allowed
The watching eye, the natural agony.
·
Below is the calm a loved house breeds
Where four have come together to dwell
– Two write, one paints, the fourth invents –
Each pursuing a natural bent
But less through nature’s formative travail
Than each in his own humour finding the self he needs.
·
Round me all is amenity, a bloom of
Magnolia uttering its requiems,
A climate of acceptance. Very well
I accept my weakness with my friends’
Good natures sweetening each day my sick room.
·
Photo credit ~ Copyrighted cover art (fair use) for Peter Stanford’s biography of Day-Lewis,C Day-Lewis, a Life. Definitely on my reading list.
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet
THE KEEP SMILING BAG
by
Jamie Dedes
A lifetime ago I had a job in social work where I was privileged to work with folks who were everyday heroes in desperate circumstances. There were many things we could do to help our clients. Sometimes, though, I found that what people felt was most bracing and cherishable were small, personal, keepsake kinds of things: like THE KEEP SMILING BAG. A Buddhist might call it a Metta Bag, a Catholic, a Caritas Bag, a Jew, a Chesid Bag. A Native American might consider it a Medicine Bag. Since I learn from all and affiliate with none, I just call it THE KEEP SMILING BAG. It’s full of little reminders of how one might help oneself in difficult circumstances. These are certainly trying times. You may have a few people in your life who could use a KEEP SMILING BAG. You might even prepare one for you. If you do this, do it with intension.
Here are the supplies you’ll need to gather:
STEPHEN BATCHELOR (b. 1953), Buddhist teacher, author, scholar
Author of Buddhism Without Beliefs
Stephen Batchelor is a contemporary Buddhist teacher and writer, best known for his secular or agnostic approach to Buddhism. Stephen considers Buddhism to be a constantly evolving culture of awakening rather than a religious system based on immutable dogmas and beliefs. In particular, he regards the doctrines of karma and rebirth to be features of ancient Indian civilisation and not intrinsic to what the Buddha taught. Buddhism has survived for the past 2,500 years because of its capacity to reinvent itself in accord with the needs of the different Asian societies with which it has creatively interacted throughout its history. As Buddhism encounters modernity, it enters a vital new phase of its development. Through his writings, translations and teaching, Stephen engages in a critical exploration of Buddhism’s role in the modern world, which has earned him both condemnation as a heretic and praise as a reformer. MORE [About Stephen Batchelor from his website]
In this video, Stephen Batchelor presents his view of Karma and Rebirth and the reasoning that supports his perspective.
Video posted to YouTube by ForaTv.
They grow together
but they aren’t even fraternal
Body and Soul by Sharon Bryan, Poetry Magazine 2002
UNBOUND
by
Jamie Dedes
he broke the cocoon
tripped into a sea of sky
free to simply be
The BeZine 