Yearly Archives: 2010

Films/Books, Out and About

Californian Sun – Shining

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Walking up the hill in the early morning
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to find Hotei had arrived already. Full of joy – together.
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Later, in town. Oranges – on a tree!
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and from Disneyland, or maybe outer space….these trees!

Film Review:
K-PAX. This is a film in which a psychiatrist comes up shining, compassionate, thoughtful and kind. And patients get better. What could be better! Serious matters such as life and death and cause and effect are set against a backdrop of mystery. All this, coupled with humour, making this a must watch again film.

Dharmaflix has a review too.

Curiosities, Falls Between the Cracks

Hippocrates

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Thanks to Walter for his comment on this post which included this translation of the quote by Hippocrates, the Greek Father of Medicine:

Ars longa,
vita brevis,
occasio praeceps,
experimentum periculosum,
iudicium difficile

Usually translated as:

[The] art is long,
life is short,
opportunity fleeting,
experiment dangerous,
judgment difficult.

A pause now, for thought…..

See also here for more on the Oath.

Also Jacks comment (and Angie’s) on the The Other Side Of Medicine – Easing Death.

This post has been modified on 3rd August. The Hippocratic Oath and the quote above, while related, are not the same thing. It would seem….

Teachings

Something To Bow To – The Buddhist Altar

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While I am traveling I carry a photograph of Rev. Master Jiyu and that is, in effect, my altar. What I bow to. The image is of her leading a procession for a ceremony done during Jukai. (Jukai is a set of ceremonies when people formally become Buddhist and receive the Buddhist Precepts during one of those ceremonies.) The procession is called Following where the Precepts Lead. She is wearing the hat worn by those on an Alms round, carries a small alms bowl and uses a staff. She is a simple monk pilgrim on the road. Anybody who wants to follow along may do so. I like this image, taken many years ago, and it seems a fitting one for me to carry with me as a travel about.

Anyway, somebody who went to Jukai this year at Throssel sent me a link to a posting on her blog in which she describes setting up an altar. I rather like the direct way she thinks about the business of having an altar – the altar gives the Buddhist something to bow in front of…. The Buddhist can always do with something to bow in front of, and if there is no altar handy – well there are lots of other things to bow in front of. I thought you would enjoy this article as much as I did. Here is the start of it.

Not long after my week long retreat at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey, I gave some thought to the Reverend’s comment “If you haven’t already got an altar, now is the time to get one”. So, looking around the room I found these items to put together to provide an area for Buddhist practice. The altar gives the Buddhist something to bow in front of, and bowing is very important to Zen Buddhism.

Daily Life, Overcome Difficulties

The Other Side Of Medicine – Easing Death

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Modern medicine is good at staving off death with aggressive interventions—and bad at knowing when to focus, instead, on improving the days that terminal patients have left.

From an article in The New Yorker.

The subject matter discussed in this article is dear to my heart. I have not had a chance to read the whole thing but what I have seen looks interesting.

Thanks once again to Julius in London who regularly turns up valuable web content.

Out and About

Coming Full Circle – Portland and Back Again

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As late as it is I can’t let another day go by, and especially not this day, without posting. It must be a little over a month ago since I left Portland heading towards this temple where I stayed until July 5th. (See the Dharma Talks page.) Then onwards to north east Oregon, upwards into Idaho and Washington. Just in case you missed the reference in an earlier post I recorded this one evening while visiting a couple in Washington.

The Palouse from Mugo on Vimeo.


I was in Montana for nearly two wonderful weeks. Then in the past few days, on the road again to spend time with congregation members in Sandpoint Idaho. Where I fell asleep by a lake and got sun burnt! Eight hours on the road on Sunday had me driving into Seattle at around 4.00 pm. On the way I stopped beside the great Colombia River in the blazing heat and recorded this video….

From The Columbia River, Washington State, USA from Mugo on Vimeo.

in which I make reference to a series of great floods which shaped the country through which I have been driving these last weeks.

Yesterday a ferry ride over to Bainbridge Island. Today a three hour drive down to Portland to return the car to it’s home at the Priory. Tomorrow a short train ride to Eugene.

Uh! I hear the train whistle in the distance. Better get to bed now. Early start tomorrow. This evening. Sitting in a garden packed full of plants and features in the fading light. Talking with a long standing congregation member and his wife. Eating ripe fruit. Drinking iced tea. I’m once again reminded of how very fortunate I am to be welcomed into the hearts and homes of so very many good and kind people. Thank you all.

The lasting impression of this trip is of sitting still while the world chases by like a movie. Sometimes the film stops briefly and a memory takes up residence, only to fade with passing time. These videos and others I’ve recorded give you a small impression, of my impressions. They are just movies. Which you watch go by, while sitting still.

Many thanks to Reverend Margaret for the loan of her car.