Yearly Archives: 2011

Overcome Difficulties, Teachings

Stepping Out IS Forgetting

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The following quote and photograph came today in an email from a regular reader.

Each year my potted rose (which D bought me years ago) dies back and I cut the stems to stumps, then in the spring this happens!

roses.jpg

And there was this too:
I have been thinking for a while that I needed some physical object to remind me to look up and not believe the voice (that has me looking down and low). A sort of ‘get real!’ call. So, yesterday I put on my bodhi leaf with morning star pendant:

Then there was this….

Rise up!
Rise up and greet the dawn.

Step out!
Step out and the Great Earth,
Leaps joyfully.

Walk on!
Walk on and forget…

This is from your post 11 April 05. Maybe I should work on the forgetting part.

For one who has been, and still is, dealing with so much that is testing I can only applaud you, and your family, on your various ways forward. Oh! The Stepping out IS the forgetting. Think about it.

Teachings

Being There – Witness or Onlooker

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Sometimes the merit of simply being there has incalculable benefits. Being witness. Allowing the sight to enter in. Just that. Just that, can bring benefits.

What is the difference between one who looks on, in the sense of idle curiosity, and one who witnesses? Well it has to be intention. I’m sure there has been much witnessing in Japan, however this image is most touching in it’s witnessing quality. Note the monks hand held up in a one-handed gesture of prayer (gassho).

So, what about watching the news. Watching all those images of the wave carrying everything before it. Watching as the power station exploded… Watching, watching, watching. Or simply bearing witness? Watching the news need not be mere entertainment – it can be an active offering. Of compassion.

Thank you to Michael in Canada for this link. And sorry to those whose comments I’ve not responded to, yet.

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Proud Companion And Carer

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Mattie.jpg

Here is a comment left by Angie uplifted to here as a posting.

As the proud companion & carer of a former Temple Cat from Reading Priory, one Matthew (Matty) Cat, aka as MC, I welcome Orlando to the (possible) status of Jade Mountains Temple Cat – perhaps. The Prior at Reading at that time was reluctant to take MC on as she knew she was away a lot. Being Siamese he attached strongly to one person & each time the prior went away he got more & more upset. Eventually he was shut in the utility room as he had wee’d in other rooms in the Temple!

One time the prior knew she would be away for several months. I had a vacancy in my household & heart for a cat & had been waiting for one to show up. I always remember the joy of having Matthew at first – it was like me & the dog became a family when he arrived to join us. He was fostered at first but everyone decided he should stay. He was a teenager then, now he’s 13 & still as handsome as ever. It is the only time I have experienced love at first sight when I first met him.

This and That

Networking For Good

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Just wanted to draw your attention to this amazing project that sprang up through the use of Twitter and has resulted in a book which will raise funds for the Red Cross in Japan.

What started as a tweet has turned into an eBook project to benefit survivors of the earthquake and tsunami that have claimed the lives of more than 11,500 people and left more than 16,500 missing in Japan.

The project, “2:46” — or #Quakebook, as it is known on Twitter — has drawn dozens of international writers, artists, translators and contributors, the project’s organizers say. According to the Quakebook blog, sci-fi novelist William Gibson and musician and artist Yoko Ono also have contributed to the eBook, which will be available for purchase on Amazon.com.

Proceeds will go to the Red Cross in Japan, organizers say.

From Twitter to ‘Quakebook’ CNN Website.