PEACEFUL INTROSPECTION IN AN AGE OF ANXIETY........

The Buddha Shakyamuni, in a pose of enlightenment, the passive left hand having it's palm facing out, in an active gesture of peace, bearing no aggression, and the active right hand resting in the lap in a gesture of meditation. As the Buddha has broken through the boundaries of egocentric existence and relaxes into compassion. All Buddhist art celebrates this supreme moment and leads the viewer toward the Buddha's experience of selfless enlightenment. The earliest forms of Buddhist art were semiabstract: bodhi-trees, wheels, stupas, and even the Buddha's stylized footprints served as supports for contemplating what was ultimately beyond words or forms. As the Buddha continually taught, it was not he who was continually revered but the possibility he presented. "Don't look to me," he said, "but to the enlightened state." I WATCHED FIFTEEN MINUTES OF THE NEVER-ENDING TRAUMA......'THE NEWS'....THIS MORNING......WHICH, AS IT HAS ALWAYS DONE, JUST PERPETUATES OUR NATIONAL ANXIETY AND HOPELESS DESPAIR........PERHAPS, A BILLION OF US SHOULD TURN OFF THEIR EVER-HELD SMARTPHONES AND TV SETS, FOR A FEW MINUTES OF TRUTHFUL INTROSPECTION.....IF THEY COULD 'ONLY' FIND THE TIME.....HOW ABOUT 23 MINUTES A DAY?......BEING AWAKE, ALERT, YET RELAXED AND 'PRESENT'.....AND, 'YES'....THOSE ARE SNAILS ON HIS HEAD.....GIVE THAT SOME THOUGHT....

YET...IT IS HUMAN NATURE TO COMPLICATE EVEN THE SIMPLEST MEDITATIONS

the madness of futility will manifest, from dreaming,

in the minds of those who think there is Meaning...

we are just gleaning for Being..

seeing is a product of the senses

that, in this realm, operate in the limiting manner

of our species' genetic, celestial mechanics;

thus, we seek "others" that consent

to our own delusions of immersive introspection,

and when that is not forthcoming,

we are thrown into entropy and chaos.......

the secret is Stillness of Mind and hearts

with unending and limitless forgiveness and understanding. (VERISTES)

"we must change the inside to change the outside........

the outside is a constant, in the bigger picture.....

which "seems" to change, depending on our own perspectives.....

the inside is mutable and capable of transmogrification through consciousness,

attitude and unknown and uncontrollable factors

even the brain's chemistry can change,

if not through will and resolution,

by a change in the dispensation of energy

and the utilization of good will and concern........

it is through love for others that we begin to love ourselves.

and it is through love of ourselves that we are energized to love others....." (Veristes)