Here is something a bit different. Carved Book Landscapes by Guy Laramee Scroll down through the images and you will find some carved green mountains with a Buddha Statue.
Thanks to Julius for the link. Spot on as usual.
Monthly Archives: June 2012
Hands Of The Buddha
An article in The Buddha Diaries titled Blessing caught my eye this morning. The author is asking about a Buddhist baby blessing/naming ceremony for his grandchild. He then goes on to contemplate, it would seem to me, the matter of spiritual authority. How does it go, By the authority vested in me I declare you….etc. etc. This whole matter of ceremonial, it’s significance to us, who is empowered to celebrate them and…who isn’t! And why. So much surrounds this business doesn’t it. Here is the last paragraph of the article:-
It occurs to me sometimes, without arrogance I hope, that I might now myself be empowered to pass on that blessing from my father, with the intention described yesterday by Than Geoff. It need not be with the ritual “laying on of hands,” but can be practiced silently, without the ritual. It’s more of a thought, an energy, and in fact I experience it every day in the practice of metta, as a prelude to meditation. But here’s the odd thing: the ritual does speak to me, alluringly, at some deep level of my being. When I find myself thinking about it, I actually feel a tingle in my hands that seems to want release… But then I accuse myself of presumption, and quickly back away. I still await the opportunity to overcome my reserve.
My teacher would use the term sanctifying the mundane. I took this to mean we can engage with existence in such a way that we encounter a depth or sanctity to all that we touch, see, hear, smell, taste and know. And this comes about as a consequence of finding that depth or sanctity within ourselves and at the same time (ah hem) not getting over large in our own heads! Humility and self reflection keep us safe.
The only way forward, it seems to me, is to walk on and regard all one encounters with reverence and respect. Which includes that which we call myself. As for the question of spiritual authority. You could call that the light of the Buddha which shines through us without questioning where or what it illuminates. Hands are blessed gifts, hands being our main instrument for making contact with that which we call not myself. No wonder they tingle!
There And Back Again
Where have you been?
There and back again
To see how far it is.
That’s what we would say as kids when asked where we had been. I have been there and back and there and back several times in the past days. All good stuff except for time spent in the rain admiring the wild flowers on the side of the M6 motorway while waiting for the rescue truck! No photos of the flowers however here’s a couple of pictures for you.
Shed art spotted by blog reading companion while out on a walk today.
Champion Beagles at a petrol station. sad eyes.
Beagle pack. Talking to the proud owner as I filled up with petrol I caught the sense of what they are all about. What they are bred for. That’s hunting. What is it about the eyes of those hounds? Their sad eyes drew me in.
Forgetting Is Walking On
Best feet…
We say best foot forward.
And taking the next step.
And As we walk on distinctions between near and far are lost.
We talk about Going on, always going on.
But did you ever think about
how
the foot that steps out
quickly becomes
the foot that is behind
in the past?
Forgetting is
walking on.
With a bow of gratitude to the woman who inhabits her feet shown in the photograph.
Fields Of Merit
Fields of Merit
Let us enter
with compassionate
intention
the fields of (spiritual) merit.
And play there
for the benefit of all.Thus does
self pity
evaporate.The Buddha Smiles.
For a dear friend as she walks into her future…