The Origin of the Species was published 150 years ago today. It’s publication ushered in a new era for biology and began a debate between science and faith that rages still.

As yesterday, I have to declare an interest. I’m a zoologist. Yes, really I am. I have been lots of things in my life so you’ll have to get used to the things that I say I am ….most of which will be true!

My own copy of The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection is a very well thumbed paperback with a classic introduction by another great zoologist J. Maynard Smith. As you can guess I am a fan. It is as good an explanation as you can hope to get of how the world came to be the way it is. The theories that Darwin postulated 150 years ago have been supported by all of the geological and physical discoveries made since then and have withstood all of the challenges thrown at them by scientific and rational minds up to the present moment. The theory has also survived the abuse and misuse it has been subjected to by eugenicists and supremisists and assorted cranks over the years.

The theory of evolution tells us how the current state of the living world arose but making sense of it is a different matter. As living breathing creatures we have awareness and, maybe uniquely, we are aware that we have awareness. This is what we typically call consciousness and it opens up a whole pandoras box. We look for meaning and purpose to our existence and for answers beyond our 3 score years and ten. We look for answers, and having found them, formulate yet more questions.

When Buddha was asked whether the universe was finite or infinite he refused to answer, saying that any answer would be speculation.  We may never have all of the answers to all of the questions but how we use our self-awareness is important. We can choose respond positively and with creativity and, as buddhism has it, evolve morally and mentally without limit.

We can look to the wonder in the natural world and the explanations that Darwins fantastic theory brings and learn to respect and value all around us.  That is a sensible use of our self-awareness in these times of credit crunch and climate change.

Revolutionaries have an extremely nasty habit of trying to rub out the past.  The leaders of the French Revolution, for example, quickly disposed of the traditional calendar, replacing it with a brand new system that began with the Year 1. The idea was to purge France of all its old tainted ways, forging a new revolutionary society free of aristocratic privilege, titles, fashions and, of course, religion.  Very quickly, everything old became suspect in France.  One had a far better chance of surviving the Reign of Terror by embracing the new.

The murderous Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia took a page from the French revolutionaries.  The Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, set out to annihilate the country’s colonial past in a policy known as Year Zero.  Pol Pot’s followers murdered vast numbers of intellectuals and teachers – the people who preserved Cambodian history and traditional culture.   “We are building socialism without a model,” Pol Pot said.  “We wish to do away with all vestiges of the past.

I see a similar kind of thinking now threatening northeastern Pakistan.  Taliban forces recently occupied the Swat Valley,  an area with an incredibly rich Buddhist history.  According to tradition, Buddha himself journeyed to Swat during his last reincarnation and preached to the local villagers.  And by the 6^th century A.D, Buddhist pilgrims from as far away as China flocked to the valley, a  lush land of orchards and rushing mountain streams.  One early Chinese account describes as many as 1400 Buddhist monasteries perched along the valley walls in the 7^th century.

Taliban forces want to eradicate this rich history.  They have twice tried to blow up 7^th century Buddhist relics, and one of their blasts badly damaged the museum in the main Swat town of Mingora.  In a news story two days ago in The Himalaya Times, the museum’s director raised the prospect of much greater destruction now that foreign archaeologists and tourists have fled the region.  Without international eyes on Swat, Taliban leaders could become emboldened to destroy the region’s great cultural treasures.

I personally think the Taliban is a revolutionary force more than a religious one.  They are all about political control.   I sincerely hope the Pakistan government will do all it can to stop these dangerous men before they destroy the visible remains of Swat’s glorious past.

10. Warung lontong WC sudah bermetamorfosis menjadi tempat siskamling.

9. Listrik. PLN. Tapi di sini sudah bertahun-tahun, jadi tidak demam panggung seperti orang ibukota.

8. Motor rusak.

7. Komputer juga rusak. Installer XP tertinggal di asrama. Saya bawa ke tempat servis dan hasilnya kurang baik.

6. Ada sinetron “Antasari” di Metro. Saya tidak mengerti politik atau jurnalisme, tapi pemberitannya berpihak sekali. (Tapi apapun kesalahan Metro akan dimaafkan karena pilihan anchor-anchornya yang… euh, bagus. )

5. Ternyata masih ada band yang menjual musik cengeng di KFC! Dignity, boys.

4. BOEDIONO IS RESIGN™

3. Akhirnya melengkapi koleksi Buddha. Dua buku terakhir tidak bagus.

2. “Speedy” adalah sebuah misnomer.

1. (Akan diposting beberapa hari lagi. Ini sesuatu yang agung dan akbar.)

Feng Shui has nothing to do with Religion! You see me in this blog in front a Buddha statue. There are many who worship Buddha, Christianity, Judaism and other religions and Feng Shui is not one of them! New Age feng shui can give this misconception that you must believe or have faith in Feng Shui for it to work. Or that you must use an object like a Chinese Dragon statue, or Buddha statue, horse, etc for the Feng Shui to be activated. This is not true in Classical Feng Shui that began in 618 during the Tang Dynasty in China. Feng Shui is religion-free and faith free.

-Pamila Faye
http://www.fengshuiwithpamilafaye.com

 Sanchi is a small and charming central Indian town. It is so small, that wherever you decide to stay, the Buddhist stupas are walking distance. They are on a low hill and can be seen from the National Highway running through Sanchi, from the trains that pass through Sanchi, even from the pool in our hotel!

The Great Stupa at Sanchi

The most enduring image of Sanchi has to be of the Great Stupa and its toranas (gateways). Begun by emperor Ashoka in the 2^nd century BC, it was added to by succeeding dynasties. Till the 13^th century, Sanchi was a spiritual centre where Buddhists would come from far and wide. Monasteries, temples and stupas were built here, patronised by the prosperous merchants from nearby Vidisha. Now a lot of them are in ruins, but they are well preserved. The site is a World Heritage Site and is protected by the ASI.

Temple 18 - that's what its called. Quite an uninspiring name for those towering pillars which look uncannily Greek.

Stupas have a terrace where devotees circumabulate. This is the medhi or terrace of stupa 3 (again, that's what its called)

So what were we doing in Sanchi? We were there for a work trip for a book that we were doing with Madhya Pradesh Tourism – Buddhist Circuit in Central India. Apart from Sanchi, we also had to visit some Buddhist sites around it, which are not part of the regular tourist circuit – Sonari, Satdhara, Andher and Murelkhurd. Getting to these sites is an adventure in itself. Except Satdhara, the others are not connected by motorable road and are well-guarded by jungle, hills are streams.  

 The people of Sanchi are courteous and always willing to help. Even though Parvati and I walked to and from the stupas at odd hours, we never felt uneasy. If you’re the lazy type there are always autos at the base of the hill willing to ferry visitors up and down for a small sum. But for those who have the time and inclination, there are the ancient stone steps leading up the hill. The walk is a good way to meet people: other travellers and locals.

Sanchi Town at dusk from the Stone Steps

Pilgrim-travellers, Monk-guide. This is a group from Sri Lanka with their guide. Lots of pilgrims from Sri Lanka visit Sanchi annually, and most stay at the Mahabodhi Society-run Guest House

Sonari was where we went next. The car would only go as far as Sonari village from where the stupas were a three kilometre walk – over two hills and across one stream. Our guide, Surender Singh Baduria navigated through the shrubbery.

In Sonari Village. A woman and her house.

Phew. The uphill task

Our guide took this picture of the stream on the way. Notice the two river nymphs perched on the rocks.

There were times when the landscape looked completely untouched by any human presence, not even small huts in the distance. Would it have looked just the same 2000 years back when the Buddha’s followers trod over the same hills to reach the stupas? Or would there have been cart tracks, and footprints and frequent human settlements?

  There are two main stupas at sonari and a monastery. The site is on a clearing, which is surrounded by unending forests on every side. The caretaker of the site, Bhagwan Singh, came to greet us with his dog. The only resident on the site, he has lived here for a year now and says he will never leave.

Mr Surender Singh, Bhagwan Singh and Parvati who's taking notes

 Of the four, only Sonari and Satdhara were accessible, so Satdhara was our next destination. Parvati and I were tossed about in the car during the drive (which can only be done in a four-wheel drive). There are some 8 stupas here set in some really breathtaking natural beauty. The stupas overlook a river which flows in the valley below.

Mr Surender Singh showed us some ancient paintings on a rock-face on the mountainside which takes a somewhat steep climb downwards. Parvati wouldn’t come, so I risked my life alone (and barefoot). Here is the proof:

See? The rockface is twice as tall as Surenderji. The photographs of the rock paintings are in the book

The Grand Stupa of Satdhara

Our book is almost out on the stands. The Buddhist Circuit in Central India will appeal not only to Buddhist pilgrims, but to anyone interested in Buddhism, Madhra Pradesh, our built heritage, Sanchi, the excursions from Sanchi (like Gyaraspur and Udaigiri)….

 Here’s the cover, so that you know what to look for when you reach the bookstore:

(not house because my parents are still awake and I didn’t want to answer the awkward “Jane why are you carting around the most unusual stuff we own,” question.)

A yellow construction hat for when I dressed up as Mrs.Bob the Builder for a theater awards ceremony. (None of my peers recognized me but someone little brother did chase me around singing the theme song from the show)

A sign that says Angel (not legna). For the record I think the sign recognized that I do not deserve the title of white wing wearer and punished me by shooting some of the blue feathers straight up my nose. It was not pleasant.

A small collection of stone animals with creepy smiles on their faces.

A small gold statue of Buddha that quite possibly randomly appeared on my bookshelf on day. I am not sure what Buddha was trying to tell me with his random appearance, but unless he was asking for an appearance on my blog, I feel that I might have missed the point.

And a statue of Napoleon Dynamite, because my life wasn’t embarrassing enough already.

<3 Keep Blabbing

Jane

Revolutionaries have an extremely nasty habit of trying to rub out the past.  During the French Revolution, the National Convention disposed of the traditional Gregorian calendar, replacing it with a  brand new system stripped of all Christian influence.  It began with the Year 1. The idea was to purge France of its old tainted ways, forging a new revolutionary society free of traditional aristocratic privileges, titles, fashions and, of course, religion.  In time, however, everything old became suspect in France.  One had a far better chance of surviving the Reign of Terror by embracing the new.

The murderous Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia took a page from the French revolutionaries.  Its leader, Pol Pot, set out to annihilate the country’s colonial past in a policy known as Year Zero.  Pol Pot’s followers murdered vast numbers of intellectuals and teachers – the people who preserved Cambodian history and traditional culture.   “We are building socialism without a model,” Pol Pot said.  “We wish to do away with all vestiges of the past.

I see a similar kind of thinking now threatening northeastern Pakistan.  Taliban forces have long targeted the Swat Valley there, an area with an incredibly rich Buddhist history.  According to tradition, Buddha himself journeyed to Swat during his last reincarnation, and he preached to the local villagers. And by the 6^th-century A.D, Buddhist pilgrims from as far away as China flocked to the valley, a beautiful lush land of orchards and rushing mountain streams.  One early Chinese account describes as many as 1400 Buddhist monasteries perched along the valley walls in the 7^th century.

Taliban forces want to eradicate this rich history.  They have twice tried to blow up 7^th century Buddhist relics, and one of their bomb blasts has badly damaged the museum in the Swat capital of Mingora.  In a recent news story in The Himalaya Times, the museum’s director raises the prospect of much greater destruction now that foreign archaeologists and foreign tourists have fled the dangerous region.  Taliban leaders, after all,  would prefer to destroy humanity’s cultural treasures far away from the eyes of the international community.

I think the Taliban is a revolutionary force as much as —or possibly even more than—a religious one,  and I hope the Pakistan government will do all it can to stop these dangerous men before they destroy the visible remains of Swat’s glorious past.

Patung Buddha dari Gandhara, abad ke-1 atau abad ke-2.

Gautama Buddha nama aslinya pangeran Siddhartha pendiri Agama Buddha, salah satu dari agama terbesar di dunia. Putra raja Kapilavastu, timur laut India. berbatasan dengan Nepal. Siddhartha sendiri (marga Gautama dari suku Sakya) konon lahir di Lumbini yang kini termasuk wilayah negara Nepal. Kawin pada umur enam belas tahun dengan sepupunya yang sebaya. Dibesarkan di dalam istana mewah, pangeran Siddhartha tak betah dengan hidup enak berleha-leha, dan dirundung rasa tidak puas yang amat. Dari jendela istana yang gemerlapan dia menjenguk ke luar dan tampak olehnya orang-orang miskin terkapar di jalan-jalan, makan pagi sore tidak, atau tidak mampu makan sama sekali. Hari demi hari mengejar kebutuhan hidup yang tak kunjung terjangkau bagai seikat gandum di gantung di moncong keledai. Tarolah itu yang gembel. Sedangkan yang berpunya pun sering kehinggapan rasa tak puas, waswas gelisah, kecewa dan murung karena dihantui serba penyakit yang setiap waktu menyeretnya ke liang lahat. Siddhartha berpikir, keadaan ini mesti dirobah. Mesti terwujud makna hidup dalam arti kata yang sesungguhnya, dan bukan sekedar kesenangan yang bersifat sementara yang senantiasa dibayangi dengan penderitaan dan kematian.

Tatkala berumur dua puluh sembilan tahun, tak lama sesudah putra pertamanya lahir, Gautama mengambil keputusan dia mesti meninggalkan kehidupan istananya dan mengharnbakan diri kepada upaya mencari kebenaran sejati yang bukan sepuhan. Berpikir bukan sekedar berpikir, melainkan bertindak. Dengan lenggang kangkung dia tinggalkan istana, tanpa membawa serta anak-bini, tanpa membawa barang dan harta apa pun, dan menjadi gelandangan dengan tidak sepeser pun di kantong. Langkah pertama, untuk sementara waktu, dia menuntut ilmu dari orang-orang bijak yang ada saat itu dan sesudah merasa cukup mengantongi ilmu pengetahuan, dia sampai pada tingkat kesimpulan pemecahan masalah ketidakpuasan manusia.

Umum beranggapan, bertapa itu jalan menuju kearifan sejati. Atas dasar anggapan itu Gautama mencoba menjadi seorang pertapa, bertahun-tahun puasa serta menahan nafsu sehebat-hebatnya. Akhirnya dia sadar laku menyiksa diri ujung-ujungnya cuma mengaburkan pikiran, dan bukannya malah menuntun lebih dekat kepada kebenaran sejati. Pikir punya pikir, dia putuskan mendingan makan saja seperti layaknya manusia normal dan stop bertapa segala macam karena perbuatan itu bukan saja tidak ada gunanya melainkan bisa bikin badan kerempeng, loyo, mata kunang-kunang, ngantuk, linu, bahkan juga mendekati bego.

Dalam kesendirian yang tenang tenteram dia bergumul dengan perikehidupan problem manusiawi. Akhirnya pada suatu malam, ketika dia sedang duduk di bawah sebuah pohon berdaun lebar dan berbuahkan semacarn bentuk buah pir yang sarat biji segala macam, maka berdatanganlah teka-teki masalah hidup seakan berjatuhan menimpanya. Semalam suntuk Siddhartha merenung dalam-dalam dan ketika mentari merekah di ufuk timur dia tersentak dan berbarengan yakin bahwa terpecahkan sudah persoalan yang rumit dan dia pun mulai saat itu menyebut dirinya Buddha “orang yang diberi penerangan.”

Pada saat itu umurnya menginjak tiga puluh lima tahun. Sisa umurnya yang empat puluh lima tahun dipergunakannya berkelana sepanjang India bagian utara, menyebarkan filosofi barunya di depan khalayak siapa saja yang sudi mendengarkan. Saat dia wafat, tahun 483 sebelum Masehi, sudah ratusan ribu pemeluk ajarannya. Meskipun ucapan-ucapannya masih belum ditulis orang tapi petuah-petuahnya dihafal oleh banyak pengikutnya di luar kepala, diwariskan dari satu generasi ke generasi berikutnya lewat mulut semata.

Pokok ajaran Buddha dapat diringkas di dalam apa yang menurut istilah penganutnya “Empat kebajikan kebenaran:” pertama, kehidupan manusia itu pada dasarnya tidak bahagia; kedua, sebab-musabab ketidakbahagiaan ini adalah memikirkan kepentingan diri sendiri serta terbelenggu oleh nafsu; ketiga, pemikiran kepentingan diri sendiri dan nafsu dapat ditekan habis bilamana segala nafsu dan hasrat dapat ditiadakan, dalam ajaran Buddha disebut nirvana; keempat, menimbang benar, berpikir benar, berbicara benar, berbuat benar, cari nafkah benar, berusaha benar, mengingat benar, meditasi benar. Dapat ditarnbahkan Agama Buddha itu terbuka buat siapa saja, tak peduli dari ras apa pun dia, (ini yang membedakannya dengan Agama Hindu).

Beberapa saat sesudah Gautama wafat agama baru ini merambat pelan. Pada abad ke-3 sebelum Masehi, seorang kaisar India yang besar kuasa bernama Asoka menjadi pemeluk Agama Buddha. Berkat dukungannya, penyebaran Agama Buddha melesat deras, bukan saja di India tapi juga di Birma. Dari sini agarna itu menjalar ke seluruh Asia Tenggara, ke Malaysia dan Indonesia.

Angin penyebaran pengaruh itu bukan cuma bertiup ke selatan melainkan juga ke utara, menerobos masuk Tibet, ke Afghanistan dan Asia Tengah. Tidak sampai situ. Dia merambah Cina dan merenggut pengaruh yang bukan buatan besarnya dan dari sana menyeberang ke Jepang dan Korea.

Sedangkan di India sendiri agama baru itu mulai menurun pengaruhnya sesudah sekitar tahun 500 Masehi malahan nyaris punah di tahun 1200. Sebaliknya di Cina dan di Jepang, Agama Buddha tetap bertahan sebagai agama pokok. Begitu pula di Tibet dan Asia Tenggara agama itu mengalami masa jayanya berabad-abad.

Ajaran-ajaran Buddha tidak tertulis hingga berabad-abad sesudah wafatnya Gautama. Karena itu mudahlah dimaklumi mengapa Agama itu terpecah-pecah ke dalam pelbagai sekte. Dua cabang besar Agama Buddha adalah cabang Theravada-pengaruhnya terutama di Asia Tenggara dan menurut anggapan sebagian besar sarjana-sarjana Barat cabang inilah yang paling mendekati ajaran-ajaran Buddha yang asli-. Cabang lainnya adalah Mahayana, bobot pengaruhnya terletak di Tibet, Cina dan juga di Asia Tenggara secara umum.

Buddha, selaku pendiri salah satu agama terbesar di dunia, jelas layak menduduki urutan tingkat hampir teratas dalam daftar buku ini. Karena jumlah pemeluk Agama Buddha tinggal 200 juta dibanding dengan pemeluk Agama Islam yang 500 juta banyaknya dan satu milyar pemeluk Agama Nasrani, dengan sendirinya pengaruh Buddha lebih kecil ketimbang Muhammad atau Isa. Akan tetapi, beda jumlah penganut -jika dijadikan ukuran yang keliwat ketat- bisa juga menyesatkan. Misalnya, matinya atau merosotnya Agama Buddha di India bukan merosot sembarang merosot melainkan karena Agama Hindu sudah menyerap banyak ajaran dan prinsip-prinsip Buddha ke dalam tubuhnya. Di Cina pun, sejumlah besar penduduk yang tidak lagi terang-terangan menyebut dirinya penganut Buddha dalam praktek kehidupan sehari-hari sebenarnya amat di pengaruhi oleh filosofi agama.

Agama Buddha, jauh mengungguli baik Islam maupun Nasrani, punya anasir pacifis yang amat menonjol. Pandangan yang berpangkal pada tanpa kekerasan ini memainkan peranan penting dalam sejarah politik negara-negara berpenganut Buddha.

Banyak orang bilang bila suatu saat kelak Isa turun kembali ke bumi dia akan melongo kaget melihat segala apa yang dilakukan orang atas namanya, dan akan cemas atas pertumpahan darah yang terjadi dalam pertentangan antar sekte yang saling berbeda pendapat yang sama-sama mengaku jadi pengikutnya. Begitu juga akan terjadi pada diri Buddha. Dia tak bisa tidak akan ternganga-nganga menyaksikan begitu banyaknya sekte-sekte Agama Buddha yang bertumbuhan di mana-mana, saling berbeda satu sama lain walau semuanya mengaku pemeluk Buddha. Narnun, bagaimanapun semrawutnya sekte-sekte yang saling berbeda itu tidaklah sarnpai menimbulkan perang agama berdarah seperti terjadi di dunia Kristen Eropa. Dalam hubungan ini, paling sedikit berarti ajaran Buddha tampak jauh mendalam dihayati oleh pemeluknya ketimbang ajaran-ajaran Isa dalarn kaitan yang sama.

Buddha dan Kong Hu-Cu kira-kira punya pengaruh setaraf terhadap dunia. Keduanya hidup di kurun waktu yang hampir bersamaan, dan jumlah pengikutnya pun tak jauh beda. Pilihan saya menempatkan nama Buddha lebih dulu daripada Kong Hu-Cu dalam urutan disandarkan atas dua pertimbangan: pertama, perkembangan Komunisme di Cina nyaris menyapu habis pengaruh Kong Hu -Cu, sedangkan tampaknya masa depan Buddha masih lebih banyak celah dan pengaruh ketimbang dalam Kong Hu-Cu; kedua, kegagalan ajaran Kong Hu-Cu menyebar luas ke luar batas Cina menunjukkan betapa erat taut bertautnya ajaran Kong Hu-Cu dengan sikap dan tata cara jaman Cina lama. Sebaliknya, ajaran Buddha tak ada mengandung pernyataan ulangan atau mengunyah-ngunyah filosofi India terdahulu, dan Agama Buddha menyebar melangkah batas pekarangan negerinya -India- bersandarkan gagasan tulen Gautama serta jangkauan luas filosofinya.

Sumber:

Seratus Tokoh yang Paling Berpengaruh dalam Sejarah

Michael H. Hart, 1978
Terjemahan H. Mahbub Djunaidi, 1982
PT. Dunia Pustaka Jaya
Jln. Kramat II, No. 31A
Jakarta Pusat

Another essay by The Zen Daddy [see Contributors]

Greetings and salutations to all, and a happy Thanksgiving day! The Zen Daddy is back to talk about an important concept: not serving the cushion, but allowing the cushion to serve you.

Life is busy, whether we’re looking for a job or trying to keep one, and we can allow ourselves to get wound way too tight and let meditation slip by the wayside. The Zen Daddy himself is currently going through a round of this, compounded with some physical issues that are interrupting his usual practice. The thinking was, “I’ll start again when I can sit as I usually do,” but the physical issues have been ongoing, and space between sittings grew. A few days ago he finally made it back to the cushion. He sat down, gently rang the bell, composed himself, and unexpectedly started sobbing. The constant pressure at work from working on a high-visibility project, the recent death of a friend, and lack of practice had pulled him so far to one side that he needed centering, and that began once he sat down.

So what lesson does the Zen Daddy bring from this story? The lesson is twofold: first, meditation is for you. If you can’t physically sit in traditional pose, sit in a chair, or lie down on the floor. Anything you can do to keep that consciousness of being in the moment going is much better than doing nothing just because you can’t do it the way you want to. Second, sometimes you have to let go and let your meditation session be what it wants to be. If you’ve got a reasonably disciplined practice and emotions are overwhelming you, maybe your meditation needs to be about sitting with those emotions and observing them. We’re not meditating so we can be a slave to the machines, we’re simply stoking the transforming embers of the dharma so we can remember our Buddhahood!

Enjoy your day!

Find yourself. Find somebody else. Find some chips. Eat them.

Four simple sentences that could help change your life. I believe they were passed to us straight from the Buddha himself. To be honest, I couldn’t swear to it. If I think about it, I think I might have bought the sentences at a car boot sale. From a bloke called Mike. He was a bit of a dickhead, but very wise.

Well hello, greetings, salutations, what’s crackin and the like!

It’s been a while hasn’t it?  About 5 months by my count, and I can count to potato!

But thanks to the hard working um….workers?  of webpress….I gots my account back.

Thank you Anthony….I love you…

*tugs nipple clamps*

So…let’s see…so everything is about the same….for the most part….except I am currently sans job and living with relatives.  Wait no, that’s the opposite of ‘the same’ isn’t it?  Well, I’m just a big barrel of FUCK YOU today aren’t I?

So, a short update since my last blog:  I didn’t go back to school, lost my apartment, wife was put in a hospital and got a dog!

I’ll elaborate more a little later on…

For the past 3 or 4 months I’ve been living with a faulty smoke detector. It was been beeping non-stop, day and night. 

I’ve been getting out of bed 5 or 6 times a night to push the little button to reset it. It lasted a couple hours at first, then the time between beeps decreased, until finally, it was just a constant whine.

It frayed my nerves unlike anything I’ve experienced. The constant noise and interruption was almost too much to take.

Of course, it was a dead battery. I knew this – and I tried my very best to pull that sucker down to replace it. As it was plastered to the ceiling and jammed against the wall moulding, I had no idea how to make it stop completely. So I just kept pressing the button like a good dog.

Months of this beeping. Months. I seriously thought I was going to lose my mind. 

I had my step stool permenantly placed under the bugger, and attempted in vain to pull it down, to twist it off, to hack at with with the vacuum. I needed a man, someone strong and knowledgeable to just make it quiet.

I’ve lost sleep, had a constant headache and been irritated more than I care to admit. But the beep! beep! beep! didn’t stop, and neither did my annoyance. What a massive pain in the ass.

Until, at last, I post photos on Facebook… and Yamel gives me a bright idea. And it worked.

God be praised! Allah! Buddha! Christ! Jehova and all his witnesses! Ja! Krishna! Mother Earth! Father Christmas! There is peace in this house once again!

And now all is quiet and I can hear myself think. I can hear Echo’s dainty footsteps on the carpet when she tries to stalk me. I am quiet inside and outside. I am sleepy and know I will slumber interrupted. I am so grateful for good ideas that I don’t even know how to express it.

It’s like love. When all the noise stops, the love just flows so easily. And that, my friend, is exactly what is happening. And it’s been held up a bit … so it’s rushing in fast and strong. Oh, peace, what lovely, soothing, comfort you are. 

It’s like hearing blue and green and lilac all at once. If they made a sound, it would sound like this …

Meditation is one of the most important parts of Buddhism. The Buddha himself expressed the vitalities of the art because it is one of the few, if not only, ways to really bring one down to a completely undisturbed level.  Every day our minds fill with clutter from everyday trouble and “Dukka” as the Buddha stated. Dukka, which is basically all the negativity we experience in our day to day lives that keeps us from true happiness, is easily avoided if we can sit ourselves down and think about two things: does what we are doing truly make us happy, and how can I let go of these past problems that are holding me down.  One of the biggest occurrences of negative Karma is Dukka created by our regrets and feelings of disgrace.  Though the Karma of regret and disgrace is in no way completely unavoidable, we can shorten the length that we feel these feelings and prevent them from effecting our day to day lives longer than they have to.  This is done through meditation.  When we practice meditation we are practicing mindfulness, and mindfulness in lameness terms is being aware of your thoughts, your surroundings, and your actions, so if we are aware of the feelings then we can easily put an end to them.

Over the past couple of months since school began again I started from not being able to follow a regular meditation schedule to really not even meditating at all.  I think that a big part of it was the fact that I was afraid to even start due to the fear of being distracted during mid-meditation.  The biggest problem is that I have not really been aware that meditation can be done anywhere in any situation.  Meditation is simply mindfulness.  Though it is good to sit down in our meditative posture and send out good energy through prayer every day, I have found that there are multiple levels of meditation.  If we are mindful of all the clutter running through our heads when we are walking, working, and partaking in our everyday lives, then we can easily filter and and get rid of those bad feelings, thoughts, and emotions that we start to experience.  After we do this then everything we do becomes smoother and more efficient due to the lack of distractions holding us back, and with efficiency we learn to work at a much quicker pace as well, allowing us more time to actually sit down and go into our deepest forms of meditation.  After I started doing this again I felt the world lift off of my shoulders.

I guess this is just my advice through experience to those who practice the Buddhist walk without meditation.  Many of those people are still pulled into the negativity and distraction of everyday life and find it hard to be truly happy.  Enlightenment is a step by step process, and if we don’t take every step and skip one, then we will eventually be exhausted by taking large quick steps and stumble to a stop.  If we keep stopping over and over and time keeps catching up with us, then we will simply have to start over and over and Nirvana will seems like nothing more than an inaccessible goal.  Buddhism is made of pieces, and if we are missing pieces, then the puzzle will never be complete.  We wouldn’t want pages to be missing from the book we are reading, or nails to be missing from the house in which we live in would we? The book would make no since and wouldn’t be entertaining nor enlightening, and the house we are living in would fall to the ground much quicker than that with all of it parts.  So I ask you:  think about the importance of meditation, and ask yourself, why am I struggling and rushing up a stair set skipping multiple steps,  when smoothly taking one step at a time would making my life experience so much easier?

Agenda for today: breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.

The Buddha (c. 563 – c. 483 BC)
Indian spiritual teacher

So, what have you checked off on your agenda today? Perhaps, it is better to ask, what have you listed on your agenda today?

Conscious breathing brings our present into focus. For me that is exactly what observing my breathing does. Nothing fancy. “Am I breathin’ ?” is my first self query. In, out, in, out. “O.K.., I’m good for awhile”, I confirm to myself.

What is your breathe like right now? Nothing fancy?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, experiences with “nothing fancy breathing”.

Agenda for today…… (Thank you, Buddha, for your gentle reminder. Namaste,)

This is the first in a series of posts of the spoken words of the Buddha.

“Each person is owner of his deeds, heir to his deeds, his deeds are the womb from which he is born, his deeds are his kin for whom he is responsible, his deeds are his refuge; he is heir to his deeds, be they good or bad.”

From the Anguttara Nikaya, 5:161 (spoken by the Buddha)

Have a life question? Want to know your fortune? or maybe you want to know if you would get your wish?

Well, Buddha Fortunes app is here to answer. Shake your iPhone till a fortune stick is jiggled out to get your answer. Once done, you can save or share Buddha’s wisdom with friends.

Get more details here.

Buy it from the App Store.

‘Buddha’ on Loan to new restaurant Umi Nom in Brooklyn, New York

Umi Nom -433 De Kalb Ave.-Brooklyn -718.789.8806

I am pleased to announce that the owner of New York Vintner’s Shane Benson, who is also owner of “Buddha’,  has put the painting on view at Chef King Phojanakong’s newest restaurant, Umi Nom in Brooklyn, New York. I have always been a big fan of Chef King, especially his Lower East Side restaurant Kuma Inn and as an artist its great to be associated with a talent such as his. Here is a little something about the man and his achievements:

Chef King received his formal culinary education from the esteemed Culinary Institute of America, and graduated in 1998.

Chef King went on to train under Daniel Boulud at Restaurant Daniel and David Bouley at Bouley Bakery and the Danube where he sharpened his classical training and knowledge of the craft. Other New York kitchens where Chef King has worked include: Jean-Georges, The Grocery, and Cendrillon. He was co-executive chef at Beekman Kitchen in New York and executive chef at Fatapples in El Cerrito, California before venturing on his own.

In May of 2003, the chef opened Kuma Inn on the second floor of a Lower East Side tenement in New York. Chef King brings all his experiences together, including the flavors he grew up with, to the community dining style from the Philippines, his education with some of the world’s best chefs, and exposure to the freshest ingredients to offer a unique dining experience. Within the first year, Kuma Inn was rated “one of the city’s best places to eat 2004” by New York Magazine. The New York Times wrote, “It is Filipino mama food and fantastic.” King has received numerous accolades from various premier publications.

Another restaurant is in the works which promises to continue taking diners to new and exciting culinary heights.

The restaurant ‘in the works’ is called Umi Nom and is now open in Brooklyn and receiving great reviews. If you are in the city, stop by for a great meal and to view ‘Buddha” in person … and say hello to Chef King!  Thanks to everyone who discovered the painting on their own and sent in emails and comments. Checkout Umi Nom’s public fanpage for more information.

What did the Buddha think of loving-kindness?

When most people think of Buddhist practice, they think of meditation.  But the Buddha himself taught that metta, loving-kindness practice, was an essential aspect of the path to lasting happiness.

I like to think of meditation and loving-kindness as two wings of one bird.  For strong flight, a bird needs both wings.  For us to soar in our practice, we need both meditation and metta. In fact, the deepest meditation and metta are indistinguishable; they are really one.

Here is what the Buddha said:

“Bhikkhus [students], whatever kinds of worldly merit there are, all are not worth one sixteenth part of the heart-deliverance of loving-kindness; in shining and beaming and radiance the heart-deliverance of loving-kindness far excels them.

Just as whatever light there is of stars, all is not worth one sixteenth part of the moon’s; in shining and beaming and radiance the moon’s light far excels it; and just as in the last month of the Rains, in the Autumn when the heavens are clear, the sun as it climbs the heavens drives all darkness from the sky with its shining and beaming and radiance; and just as, when night is turning to dawn, the morning star is shining and beaming and radiating; so too, whatever kinds of worldly merit there are, all are not worth one sixteenth part of the heart-deliverance of loving-kindness; in shining and beaming and radiance the heart-deliverance of loving-kindness far excels them.”

From the Anguttara Nikaya, 11:16 (spoken by the Buddha)