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)

IT MAY TAKE 'TWO HANDS' TO HANDLE A 'WHOPPER'....BUT, IT TAKES COMPLEX DELUSIONAL SYSTEMS TO HANDLE RELIGIOUS DOGMA....

Or to clasp, in prayer, to Jesus; a single hand, on an extended arm, to demonstrate allegiance to or worship of a Dictator; going down on both hands and knees to worship Allah. For some Hindus', It takes 6 arms to handle the forces of Evil........I just acquired a sleek, new Hindu Bronze sculpture of Kali, a symbol of both female empowerment and the dissolution of the perpetuation of cruelty...... Kali sprung from the anger of the goddess Durga to slay the demon Raktabija . During this struggle a new demon emerges from each drop of Raktabija’s blood as it hits the ground; to prevent this, Kali laps up the blood before it can reach the ground. She is also said to have been born when the goddess Parvati shed her dark skin; the sheath became Kali—who is also called Kaushika, “The Sheath”—leaving Parvati in the form of Gauri (“The Fair One”).

                                   Isn't this depiction of the Christian God, Jesus.....just as absurd?  

WITH 'EASTER' ON THE HORIZON........ WHAT'S ON TV? ..... VOTE FOR 'BEST JESUS'....WILL IT BE MAX VON SYDOW....OR......ADRIEN BRODY?

OR...

let's watch Charlton Heston part the Red Sea with his shepherd's staff......it's in Vegas, now.....with Ozian flying Hanuman monkey godlets, suspended by invisible wires, over magical auras......I certainly don't have the genes for all this stupidly dogmatic dumbeddownness.....but, yes, I can see where it's coming from.......neolithic cavemen's craniums...too bony and thick for much pre-frontal cortex.....praying for the gentle hands of Jesus.   

squint....to see Jesus, ready to feed burgers to the strarving masses of true believers

CALM WATERS

“Concentration is a cornerstone of mindfulness practice. Your mindfulness will only be as robust as the capacity of your mind to be calm and stable. Without calmness, the mirror of mindfulness will have an agitated and choppy surface and will not be able to reflect things with any accuracy.”

“Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at bottom is about not trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are.”

― Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are.......

Alice̲ C̲o̲l̲t̲r̲a̲n̲e̲ ̲– J̲o̲u̲r̲n̲e̲y̲ In S̲a̲t̲c̲h̲i̲d̲a̲n̲a̲n̲d̲a̲ ... This month, a half century 'late'....is on the Cover of DOWNBEAT Magazine........my LP of her music has stretched out grooves from its many revolutions on the turntable, ridden by a diamond stylus....

‘Mere’ Causality: Arguments, Objections, and Good Principles

 Too polite to refuse tainted food, tendered by his followers, the legend goes......The Buddha died of food poisoning...........A contrast to the Western Way.... being tortured, nailed, pierced and left in the sun to die......