For example, when you sail out in a boat to the middle of an ocean where no land is in sight, and view the four directions, the ocean looks circular, and does not look any other way. But the ocean is neither round or square; its features are infinite in variety. It is like a palace. It is like a jewel. It only look circular as far as you can see at that time. All things are like this.
Eihei Dogen Zenji, Genjo Koan

For most of my life, my spiritual practice has been Zen Buddhism. I have taken some other side trips and explorations, particularly of my religion of birth, Roman Catholicism, but I have always returned to Zen. In particular, I have followed the Zen practice brought to the US by Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi, who founded the San Francisco Zen Center. I lived in San Francisco for 17 years and while I had dabbled in sitting meditation since my late teens, I had no regular practice until I quit smoking cigarettes and nearly lost my mind. I knew intuitively that meditation was about the only thing that would work for me, so at a friend’s urging I made my way to the Zen Center, where they gave me extremely brief instructions and sat me down on a couple of cushions.

For the first year of sitting I battled with terrible anxiety and fidgeting, my mind and emotions were all over the place, but after a time I settled a bit and found a groove. The Zen taught by Suzuki Roshi to his students, and his students to me seems like something you can hang your hat on. “Nothing Special” was what he told his students, meaning you don’t have to adopt a macrobiotic diet and walk around in a robe with a sour expression on your face all the time. Zen is about experiencing reality in its fullest sense. Suzuki was a priest in the lineage of a great Japanese Zen master by the name of Dogen.

Eihei Dogen was a 13th Century Japanese Buddhist who traveled to China and studied Zen with various masters there, bringing back what he learned from them and founding the Soto School of Zen in Japan. Interest in Dogen has expanded worldwide in the last century since his writings were widely published in Japanese. Dogen emphasizes the practice of “Just sitting”, setting aside(but not necessarily discarding) pursuit of enlightenment in ritual, koan practice and study and simply sitting with bare attention on the breath, as a complete experience and expression of enlightenment in the moment.

Some of Dogen’s writing is simply beautiful, I love this passage from Sansui kyo(Mountains and Waters Sutra):

All beings do not see mountains and waters in the same way. Some beings see water as a jeweled ornament, but they do not regard jeweled ornaments as water. What in the human realm corresponds to their water? We only see their jeweled ornaments as water. Some beings see water as wondrous blossoms, but they do not use blossoms as water. Hungry ghosts see water as raging fire or pus and blood. Dragons see water as a palace or a pavilion. Some beings see water as the seven treasures or a wish-granting jewel. Some beings see water as a forest or a wall. Some see it as the Dharma nature of pure liberation, the true human body, or as the form of body and essence of mind. Human beings see water as water. Water is seen as dead or alive depending on causes and conditions. Thus the views of all beings are not the same. You should question this matter now.

Dogen’s writing is filled with wonderful ambiguity and layers of meaning that reveal themselves over time. Some of this is due to the basic ambiguity inherent in the written Japanese and Chinese languages in which Dogen wrote: this shines through in good translations. When I first encountered Dogen I could make neither heads nor tails of what I read. As I have practiced over time and read and re-read him certain passages seem to work their way into my consciousness and lodge there.

If you are interested in taking a look at Dogen, English translations have proliferated over time, but I happen to like Moon in a Dewdrop, an edition of translations by various prominant Western Zen Practicioners, many of them Suzuki Roshi’s students. According to a recent Dharma Talk by Kazuaki Tanahashi, a complete edition of Dogen’s Treasury of the True Dharma Eye(Shobo Genzo) is forthcoming from Shambala Press.

Did Rishi Vatsyayana physically explore all that in kama sutra before creating the text ?

Did the sculptors of various sensual sculptures in india, have people standing in such pose before them, while they created such sculptures ?

The difference between a creation that is produced as a result of physical experience and that which is produced as a result of intuitive experience is that in the former, the focus is on, and remains on, the physical aspects as experienced through the senses while the latter transcends limitations of physical senses and inspires experience of the essence.

The difference is similar to that between a dead body and a living body- the vital living aspect. Howsoever perfect the dead body is, and imperfect the living body may be, the latter has a vitality that makes it engaging which the other lacks.

This is the reason the realisation aham brahmasmi cannot be experienced purely through experience from physical senses.

This origin of kama sutra, through intuitive experience in the mind of a realized sage, makes it much more than a manual on sex. It is a tool aiding in living dharmically, while experiencing life, assisting in fostering awareness and intuition, leading up towards realization.
So are the other texts, sculptures, dance forms and music of bhArat. They have the quality of rasa- that which inspires experience of the vital, by the discerning viewer/listener/reader.

bharatiya samskriti, comprising of such texts, scuptures, dance forms, music, thought and spiritual outlook, derivative of intuitive experiences, aids in sustaining dharma in society and inspires people to realise themselves.

A couple nights ago I went to a meditation class led by my new psychiatrist, something he calls psycho-dharma.  It was pretty awesome, in retrospect, although at the time, I was a little at a loss.  Sitting Indian-style, eyes closed, legs falling asleep and lower back increasingly aching in a room with twenty other strangers for forty-five minutes is really weird at first.

I’ve had several meager attempts at meditating in the past — consulted with a Japanese-Zen master (told me to start out staring at a white wall for an hour a day), been to a meditation class at a Thai Buddhist monastery (incomprehensible chanting, prayer, incense, and trance-like “walking meditation”), spoke with a yogi in India (gave me some books on role of yoga and meditation in love, family life, and everything up to world peace) — but nothing specific ever clicked. As interesting as it was, I found the process quite frustrating and with various people thrusting more religious beliefs on me, often intolerable.

But seriously, what’s the point of meditation?  Every religion, spiritual path, faith, etc, seems to advocate reaching some higher plain of consciousness. There have been these medical  studies on the power of prayer, and they’ve proven that the brains of a Buddhist monk and a Catholic nun (in the program I watched) have significantly altered brain waves and blood pressure when they are meditating or praying.

So…if this process, some process, alters our brain function for the better, puts us in a healthier more peaceful place, yeah, attempting to get there can only be good.  Right? Right.

Especially for people with chronic psychiatric issues?  Hopefully.

After we meditated (after I tried to focus, fidgeted, panicked, became overwhelmed with emotion, and then tried to focus again), we spoke about the experience (a too-long discussion comparing human meditation to our pet cats’ and dogs’ here-and-now existence and what the difference is), and then read a text.  The Heart Sutra (full text; Wikipedia page).  It’s supposedly a very important Buddhist text, as well as one of the shortest.  And it’s far out.  Here’s an excerpt:

“See first all five heaps—all five parts to a person—as being empty of any essence of their own. Your body is empty; emptiness is your body. Emptiness is nothing but your body, and your body is nothing but emptiness. The same is true of your feelings, and your ability to discriminate between things, and the other factors that make you up, and all the different kinds of awareness that you possess: all of them are empty. And thus we can say that every existing thing is emptiness.”

It’s my homework to contemplate this text this week.  You know, it never ceases to amaze me how advanced and (if I can even say) ahead-of-its-time ancient Eastern thought was.  While most of us were still illiterate pagans, living in mud huts, eating muddy roots, and just getting by, all of this was happening in India.  Everything that exists is emptiness.  Well, golly gee.

Whether this works or not, it’s nice to be putting together a schedule.  Meditation on Sundays, Scrabble Club on Mondays, Yoga on Tuesdays (or Wed or Thurs, haven’t figured that out yet).

Have a great day folks!  I’m trying…

Monday, 11.30.09

Tuesday, 12.1.09

(Guest DJ will be none other than the legendary MC Lyte!)

Wednesday, 12.2.09

Angie Stone Free Listening Party for her upcoming album, “Unexpected” at 271 W 119th St @ 5:30PM

Thursday, 12.3.09

Friday, 12.4.09

Honey Larochelle has a special show in celebration of World AIDS Day tonight!

She has been invited back for the 2nd year in a row,

to perform at a celebration for people living with AIDS.

FREE to the people who want to come and support the cause:

FRIDAY DEC.4th 6pm-9pm

Union Settlement Association

104th st. Btwn 2nd and 3rd Aves.

Free Food, Performances, Guest Speakers, Information.

PLUS…

Saturday, 12.5.09

Sunday, 12.6.09

(Hosted by Jessica Estevez of IHeartDilla.com and Cion Burris of Brokn.Englsh!)

Vale la pena escuchar los sútras de la boca del propio DeRose.

El libro que tiene en su manos se llama Sútras, Máximas de Lucidez e Êxtase. En una época, cuando terminábamos una clase, leíamos un sútra. Y dejábamos que el conocimiento condensado flote por unos instantes en torno a nosotros. Cada uno de nosotros continuaba después su día con esa perla de sabiduría dentro de sí.

(Sútra: aforismo, frase corta que contiene conocimientos)

Pa kao što znate sajam učeničkog preduzetništva će se održati sutra na Beogradskom sajmu, u hali 14. Potrudili smo se da pripremimo što bolju prezentaciju našeg proizvoda. Ali sada bismo želeli da se obratimo vama dragi čitaoci i damo vam par infomacija.

Sajam uživo je određeni servis koji ćemo praktikovati sutra. Na našoj twitter stranici twitter.com/trenix moći ćete da pratite redovne informacije o tome kako se situacija na sajmu bude odvijala. Pošto će prostor biti pokriven bežičnim internetom potrudićemo se da vam prenesemo atmosferu pomoću redovnih apdejta, slika, informacija… Za sve koji to ne znaju, Tviter je tip društvene mreže u realnom vremenu gde korisnici imaju mogućnost da u 140 karatkera odgovore na često postavljano pitanje “Šta radiš?”. Možete se besplatno registrovati i pratiti druge ljude i saznati šta to oni rade u nekom trenutku. Najveći atribut tvitera jeste široka integracija u druge sisteme, počevši od ostalih društvenih mreža, mobilnih telefona, programa… Tako da vas pozivamo da sutra pratite našu tviter stranu, jer će tu sigurno biti zanimljivih stvari.

Kako nam možete pomoći? Pa jednostavno podelite ovu stranu sa vašim prijateljima na fejsbuku, majspejsu, tviteru… Nije komplikovano, verujemo da ćete se snaći, a nama mnogo znači I da, i dalje verujemo u živu reč, tako da pričajte o nama…

Poslednje, ali ne i najmanje važno, dođite sutra na sajam i uživo nas podržite! Obećavamo sokove i slatkiše… Dođite i vidite šta smo mi to sve lepo spremili, kako to T-LED lampa radi uživo, za šta smo sigurni da interesuje mnoge. U svakom slučaju zabava zagarantovana. Ukoliko želite da stupite ukontakt sa nama, informacije možete pronaći ovde.

Vidimo se sutra! Poželite nam sreću!

Kode :  VCJB-AAC030

Bahan : Nylon Sutra

Warna : Seri

Harga Eceran : Rp. 35.000,-

Harga Grosir : Rp. 32.000,- / pcs (minimal pembelian 3 pcs)

Harga Kodian : Rp. 29.000,- / pcs

Note : Untuk pembelian di atas 2 kodi, potongan harga Rp. 3.000,-/pcs

Harga belum termasuk ongkos kirim

Batas pemesanan : minimal 1 minggu pada hari kerja

Kode : VCJB-AAC029

Bahan : Nylon Sutra

Warna : Seri

Harga Eceran : Rp. 33.000,-

Harga Grosir : Rp. 30.000,- / pcs (minimal pembelian 3 pcs)

Harga Kodian : Rp. 27.500,- / pcs

Note : Untuk pembelian di atas 2 kodi, potongan harga Rp. 2.500,-/pcs

Harga belum termasuk ongkos kirim

Batas pemesanan : minimal 1 minggu pada hari kerja

As we draw near to the end of 2009 the question on everyone’s mind is “Where’s the party?”. Desitara has the answer and it is called ‘Lalu -O- Bama After 6 ‘. It is a series of DJ nights which will happen every Friday night, starting from the 20th of this month till New years eve.

Each night the party lovers will get the chance to unwind and let their hair down to the swaying beats of some of the best DJs in the country and perhaps the world.

To add to more color to every party we have a great contest going on every Friday. One lucky person will win free passes to the most sought after New Years party at hotel Sandesh, Mysore -a 4star hotel. These winners will then stand the chance to win the Grand Prize – An all paid trip for a couple, to the beaches of Bangkok.

That is not it, all those who join the Lalu -O- Bama After 6 event on desitara stand a chance to win free passes to the Grand New Year’s party at Hotel Sandesh.

Venue: Sutra nightclub, Lalit Ashok Bangalore. Sutra is among the leading nightclubs in Bangalore, catering to the needs of the city’s nightlife enthusiast. It will host all the Friday night parties till New Years eve. Sandesh The Prince- the 4star hotel in Mysore will host the grand New Years Party. The highlights of the new years party include Bollywood star night, Rock Shows, Special Dance performances by stars and many more such exciting performances .

For those who are still wondering what Lalu and O Bama have to do with this, make sure you make it to the parties or simply log on to desitara.com as we unfold the secrets, every Friday night.

I’ve read the Kama Sutra (read? seen?), and I have to say, Alice Stockham’s Karezza Manual is much, much better.

Atasan Mukenah ini terbuat dari bahan nylon sutera super. Bahannya yang dingin dan jatuh membuat kita nyaman memakainya . Bisa juga di pakai sebagai Jilbab atau anda tinggal menambahkan bawahannya….dan jadilah mukenah manohara

Kode : VCMN-SS002

Bahan : Nylon Sutra

Warna : seri

Harga Eceran : Rp. 150.000,00

Harga Grosir : Rp. 135.000,00 / pcs (minimal pembelian 3 pcs)

Harga Kodian : Rp. 125.000,oo / pcs

Harga di atas 2 kodi : Rp. 115.000,00 /pcs

Note : Harga belum termasuk ongkos kirim

Batas waktu pemesanan : minimal 1 minggu pada hari kerja

harga Rp.150.000

mopdel baju ini

batik fashion

fancy bag ekonomis

Sebuah hasil karya asli jogjakarta

harga : Rp 75.000

Kode : VCMK-SS001

Bahan : Nylon Sutra

Warna : Seri

Harga Eceran : Rp. 225.000,00

Harga Grosir : Rp. 200.000,00 / pcs (minimal pembelian 3 pcs)

Harga Kodian : Rp. 185.000,00 / pcs

Harga di atas 2 kodi : Rp. 175.000,00 / pcs

Note : Harga belum termasuk ongkos kirim

Batas pemesanan : minimal 1 minggu pada hari kerja

Mini Dose of Philosophy
When I want a mini dose of yoga philosophy, I go to www.Swamij.com. This site, largely based on the teachings of the Himalayan Masters & Swami Rama (the lineage I align with as a member of the Himalayan Institute), gives me just that – a clear, concise dose of wisdom!

Thanks and Gratitude
I’ve been thinking a lot about “thanks & gratitude” as Thanksgiving Day nears, and I was wondering – when we list out our items to be thankful for, is it ever as simple as the present moment? Of course we could list out our jobs, our health, our family, and our loved ones’ achievements, but what kind of energy would envelop this country on November 26th, if we all simply sat in absolute contentment and thanks for the moment we gather at the table?

Could our experience be even more meaningful if we were simply grateful for being alive, with all the emotions (joy, love, pain) that are the essence of being human? Forget the list, in spite of the list, if we have no list – can we just be content?

Contentment Comes From Within
Yoga Sutra 2.42 teaches us that “from an attitude of contentment, unexcelled happiness, mental comfort, joy, and satisfaction is obtained”. This made me wonder how disadvantaged people can develop an “attitude of contentment”, to which they answer: Contentment comes from within: We humans seem to always be seeking satisfaction in the external world and our internal fantasies. Only when we comfortably accept what we currently have will be able to do the practices that lead to the highest realization.

Perhaps I’ll just try being “content” this Thanksgiving….

Namaste,

Michele

Getting lazy with the descriptions today, so I’ll just add them only if the flyer is lacking…

Monday, 11,9.09

Tuesday, 11.10.09

(Come see me get my cameo-on in the “Cherry Popper” video! At least I think so… Lyriqs 2 Go said my footage MAY or MAY NOT be used. LOL)

(Same block as Bob’s… no excuses!)

Wednesday, 11.11.09

Thursday, 11.12.09

Attention: NEW PARTY! 90’s jams all night…and the DJ lineup is STUPID! I’d follow these DJ’s anywhere…Did I mention it was free?

Sutra was one of the first spots I was introduced to while starting out in photography. Home to many a legendary night, where celebs mingle and party with us normal folk in a spirit of positivity and good times, it is easily one of my favorite places to party in NYC. Ariel and John always show me so much love, and it was the natural choice come time to celebrate my 30th birthday a few months ago. Come out as Sutra celebrates 5 years on the scene!

Friday, 11.13.09

I’ve only been to one Art Battles event, and it was epic… this time, four artists will be battling two on two. It will be Leif McIlwaine & Ben Angotti VS Andre Trenier & Marthalicia Matarrita.

While the painting is happening – there will also be a B-Boy vs. Tap battle on the dance floor.

Goodie Mob (especially my boo, Cee-Lo), Scarface AND Slick Rick? Nuff said…

Saturday, 11.14.09

(Lineup includes Hasan Salaam, Division X, Lady Che, YC the cynic, Marcel Cartier, Maximil of Regime Change, and many more!)

Sunday, 11.15.09

If you’re in Jersey or feel like taking that PATH train into Newark, check out this event on Sunday… Newark might be my new chill spot…

Fotos por @Guarizo e @l_salamandrine