First snow of the winter -- One and half inches following yesterday's freezing rain -- had to use hot water to open my wife's car door.
Welcome back, Lady Winter. I realize we have had an adversarial relationship in the past, but let's put that behind us, let bygones be bygones, shall we?! Let's be friends!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Anger
"The one who get angry first loses..."
From: Star Trek: Vanguard: Reap the Whirlwind by David Mack. (A truly great entry in a truly great ST series, btw).
Did that quote piss you off? You lose!
From: Star Trek: Vanguard: Reap the Whirlwind by David Mack. (A truly great entry in a truly great ST series, btw).
Did that quote piss you off? You lose!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Buddha Dance
Leona showed me her Buddha-Dance today. You need a partner facing you, and it goes like this (moving slowly, of course, like a meditating Buddha!):
Hands stiff at sides
Bowing in familiar namaste fashion with palms in front of chest
Step right, then left.
Left foot on right knee, then reverse.
Namaste bow again.
Hands to side.
Repeat at will.
Not a difficult or long dance by any means!
Hands stiff at sides
Bowing in familiar namaste fashion with palms in front of chest
Step right, then left.
Left foot on right knee, then reverse.
Namaste bow again.
Hands to side.
Repeat at will.
Not a difficult or long dance by any means!
Goodbye Borders
Went to Borders bookstore .... "Closing, everything must go!" Everything was in disarray, books placed here and there haphazardly... bookshelves $100 each.
Borders was the first big bookstore I ever went to (Ann Arbor (the original location, I believe). For a bibliophile like myself, it was like walking into heaven without being dead... Visiting it today was attending a funeral (only with books!).
Got one of the latest Star Trek books, and "The New Space Opera 2". Lots of other people picking over the remains ... Me too...
Goodbye, Borders. I'll miss you.
The Buddha said everything is impermanent, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.
Borders was the first big bookstore I ever went to (Ann Arbor (the original location, I believe). For a bibliophile like myself, it was like walking into heaven without being dead... Visiting it today was attending a funeral (only with books!).
Got one of the latest Star Trek books, and "The New Space Opera 2". Lots of other people picking over the remains ... Me too...
Goodbye, Borders. I'll miss you.
The Buddha said everything is impermanent, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Misc. Tuesday-ness
My daughter told me today about Buddha Dancers. I asked her what they were like, and she told me they dance very slowly. In all seriousness, she told me that be when she grows up, maybe she will be a Buddha Dancer too.
I like the concept. Not sure what being a Buddha Dancer involves, other than moving slowly, but it sounds like a good thing to want to be.
Saw two white-tailed deer fairly close today, during my walk. Also, two rabbits (but I see rabbits all the time these days, they're not unsual).
Watched episode three of Torchwood with my father, which I am enjoying (of course!). Captain Jack is still pretty cool.
Light rain today. "With a certain mad smile / walking in the rain". Wrote that on my bookcase a long time ago.
Went to a booksale today. Got a whole parcel of Tony Hillerman books. I read some back in the day, and enjoyed them.
Up late tonight. Suddenly got the urge to update my blog, Twitter, and Facebook. None of which I do very often, so I might as well do it while I'm thinking about it.
I like the concept. Not sure what being a Buddha Dancer involves, other than moving slowly, but it sounds like a good thing to want to be.
Saw two white-tailed deer fairly close today, during my walk. Also, two rabbits (but I see rabbits all the time these days, they're not unsual).
Watched episode three of Torchwood with my father, which I am enjoying (of course!). Captain Jack is still pretty cool.
Light rain today. "With a certain mad smile / walking in the rain". Wrote that on my bookcase a long time ago.
Went to a booksale today. Got a whole parcel of Tony Hillerman books. I read some back in the day, and enjoyed them.
Up late tonight. Suddenly got the urge to update my blog, Twitter, and Facebook. None of which I do very often, so I might as well do it while I'm thinking about it.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Buddhist-inspired Doggeral
Follow the Way
Or the Way follows you --
No avoiding the day
When black turns from blue --
Burma Shave!
Or the Way follows you --
No avoiding the day
When black turns from blue --
Burma Shave!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Temple-ing in Michigan
I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Sangha = Community of believers.
Since leaving Korea, I've wanted to visit some of the American temples. In early July, I finally had the chance to do so: twice.
The first one I visited was the Americana [Chinese] Buddhist Temple, in Howell. Howell, a small rural community, is kind of a strange place for a temple if you ask, but there it is. After the July 4th dinner with my brother who lives in Howell, my father and I went to find the temple. I thought it would be close to Howell's downtown: wrong. It was way north, down a dirt road.
The temple itself was smallish, with a few large statues (a laughing Buddha, a standing Kwan-Yin), a locked pavilion, and a meditation hall. I talked with a few men who were working outside, one of whom was a monk. They were nice enough, and invited me to practice with them, but Howell is too far away from me.
http://www.abtemple.org/cgi-bin/abtemple.org/
Last week, I visited the morning meditation session at the Ann Arbor Zen Temple.
I first visited the temple when I was in Uni, some 20 years ago. It hasn't changed much, but there is a nice new big meditation hall (a former bike shop) now.
I got sooooo lost in A2, much to my annoyance. There was a time when I knew A2 like the back of my hand, but not anymore. It took me a half an hour to find the temple itself.
The temple is supposedly Korean Zen, although the only Korean-ness I experienced was the chanting of the 예불. (Which I did not recognize, due to a different beat.) There was a mok-tok (wooden fish-drum), but it wasn't used.
The (all female) monks let a 25 minute meditation session, followed by stretching, followed by another meditation session, followed lastly by a friendly and intimate Dharma talk. There were about 30 people in the hall, mostly men.
Ann Arbor is slightly closer to me than Howell, but still about 45 minutes away. Still, it was a wonderful experience, and it was wonderful to practice with my Dharma brothers and sisters again. I missed the meditation today, but I'll try again in a week or two.
http://zenbuddhisttemple.org/
Since leaving Korea, I've wanted to visit some of the American temples. In early July, I finally had the chance to do so: twice.
The first one I visited was the Americana [Chinese] Buddhist Temple, in Howell. Howell, a small rural community, is kind of a strange place for a temple if you ask, but there it is. After the July 4th dinner with my brother who lives in Howell, my father and I went to find the temple. I thought it would be close to Howell's downtown: wrong. It was way north, down a dirt road.
The temple itself was smallish, with a few large statues (a laughing Buddha, a standing Kwan-Yin), a locked pavilion, and a meditation hall. I talked with a few men who were working outside, one of whom was a monk. They were nice enough, and invited me to practice with them, but Howell is too far away from me.
http://www.abtemple.org/cgi-bin/abtemple.org/
Last week, I visited the morning meditation session at the Ann Arbor Zen Temple.
I first visited the temple when I was in Uni, some 20 years ago. It hasn't changed much, but there is a nice new big meditation hall (a former bike shop) now.
I got sooooo lost in A2, much to my annoyance. There was a time when I knew A2 like the back of my hand, but not anymore. It took me a half an hour to find the temple itself.
The temple is supposedly Korean Zen, although the only Korean-ness I experienced was the chanting of the 예불. (Which I did not recognize, due to a different beat.) There was a mok-tok (wooden fish-drum), but it wasn't used.
The (all female) monks let a 25 minute meditation session, followed by stretching, followed by another meditation session, followed lastly by a friendly and intimate Dharma talk. There were about 30 people in the hall, mostly men.
Ann Arbor is slightly closer to me than Howell, but still about 45 minutes away. Still, it was a wonderful experience, and it was wonderful to practice with my Dharma brothers and sisters again. I missed the meditation today, but I'll try again in a week or two.
http://zenbuddhisttemple.org/
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sitting, Breathing
Doing something new with meditation....
I first tried meditation for a science class at Oakland Community college. We had to do something self-impropy and chart the results, and I tried meditation for 40 days. I'm not sure if this was before or after my meeting Buddhism for the first time in a separate OCC class (World Religions 101: one of the most influential classes I've ever taken: after that, nothing was the same). I don't remember what the results of my meditation-experiment were, if they were good or bad.
Meditation is one of the big-ticket items in the world of Buddhism. If you don't meditate, you aren't Buddhist, and you aren't Buddhist if you don't meditate. (Although some sects, for instance SGI, do chanting instead). While meditation is not restricted to Buddhism, it is inseparable from the image of Buddhism.
I've never been good at sitting meditation. Although: is sitting meditation something you get good at? I'm not sure that it is, to be honest: the harder you try, the worse you would get, I suspect. At any rate, it's hard for me to sit still for 30-40 minutes. So instead, these days, I'm trying for 20 minutes at a time, three times a day. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening.
You read a lot about breath meditation in the Buddhist magazines and website: it's recommended that one try to do ten "mindful" breaths in a row. Instead, I try to take one mindful breath, and then I do it again and again.
I first tried meditation for a science class at Oakland Community college. We had to do something self-impropy and chart the results, and I tried meditation for 40 days. I'm not sure if this was before or after my meeting Buddhism for the first time in a separate OCC class (World Religions 101: one of the most influential classes I've ever taken: after that, nothing was the same). I don't remember what the results of my meditation-experiment were, if they were good or bad.
Meditation is one of the big-ticket items in the world of Buddhism. If you don't meditate, you aren't Buddhist, and you aren't Buddhist if you don't meditate. (Although some sects, for instance SGI, do chanting instead). While meditation is not restricted to Buddhism, it is inseparable from the image of Buddhism.
I've never been good at sitting meditation. Although: is sitting meditation something you get good at? I'm not sure that it is, to be honest: the harder you try, the worse you would get, I suspect. At any rate, it's hard for me to sit still for 30-40 minutes. So instead, these days, I'm trying for 20 minutes at a time, three times a day. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening.
You read a lot about breath meditation in the Buddhist magazines and website: it's recommended that one try to do ten "mindful" breaths in a row. Instead, I try to take one mindful breath, and then I do it again and again.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Motto, motto
A new motto:
Renounce what is useless, unnecessary, or unhealthy.
An old motto:
Do it right, and do it well.
Renounce what is useless, unnecessary, or unhealthy.
An old motto:
Do it right, and do it well.
My wife, daughter and I walked in the woods after dinner. My brother has a deer blind/ tree-house about ten feet up a tree, and we climbed up the rickety ladder. We looked over the woods, and my daughter yelled a bit.
I was first down, then my daughter and then my wife. I was walking on the thin trail that led from the tree house to the former potato patch when I froze.
I turned back to my daughter and told her to be very quiet and to move slowly.
Curled up in the grass was a little white-sp0tted fawn, about the size of a medium-sizedl dog. It didn't move, and just lay there blinking at us. Such a cute little nose, and such deep and beautiful black eyes!
We didn't stay long: I snapped a quick picture of it with my cell phone and we took off quietly.
It was my birthday dinner day, and I had seen something I had never seen before Gratitude for the experience, Lady Gaia, it was just what I wanted!
I was first down, then my daughter and then my wife. I was walking on the thin trail that led from the tree house to the former potato patch when I froze.
I turned back to my daughter and told her to be very quiet and to move slowly.
Curled up in the grass was a little white-sp0tted fawn, about the size of a medium-sizedl dog. It didn't move, and just lay there blinking at us. Such a cute little nose, and such deep and beautiful black eyes!
We didn't stay long: I snapped a quick picture of it with my cell phone and we took off quietly.
It was my birthday dinner day, and I had seen something I had never seen before Gratitude for the experience, Lady Gaia, it was just what I wanted!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Over a year...
It's been over a year since I last blogged an entry. But that's okay. Better late then never. Right? Right!
In the last year, I moved from Korea back to the USA. I've spent the last six months living with my 95 year old grandfather, along with my wife and daughter. We live just over a half-mile from my parents house, so that's nice. No job yet, but that is certain to change soon. I hope.
Maple House is a nice place to live. The house was built in the 1920s, but has been heavily modified since then. It backs up on a swamp, and is one house away from the railroad track. I especially enjoy hearing the trains go by, with their clankety-clank whooosedness. We get deer, raccoons, squirrels, and my personal favorite, skunks.
Two days ago, on 3/28/11, my grandfather passed away. He had been sitting in his chair in front of the TV most of the day, where he spent his time mostly sleeping. Dad and I got him up to go to the bathroom (he'd been very unsteady on his feet for the last week), and while he was there, he kind of collapsed bonelessly to the floor. We got a pillow under his head and called 911, but it was too late. He was dead by the time they arrived.
So the last day or so has been funeral-arranging stuff. Maple house feels quiet and empty with him gone. Too quiet, too empty, if you know what I mean. I miss hearing the sound of him arranging and counting his coins on the table. But that's life, you know? And he had a long and full life, and died surrounded by family in his own home.
Grandpa Leo, I miss you.
In the last year, I moved from Korea back to the USA. I've spent the last six months living with my 95 year old grandfather, along with my wife and daughter. We live just over a half-mile from my parents house, so that's nice. No job yet, but that is certain to change soon. I hope.
Maple House is a nice place to live. The house was built in the 1920s, but has been heavily modified since then. It backs up on a swamp, and is one house away from the railroad track. I especially enjoy hearing the trains go by, with their clankety-clank whooosedness. We get deer, raccoons, squirrels, and my personal favorite, skunks.
Two days ago, on 3/28/11, my grandfather passed away. He had been sitting in his chair in front of the TV most of the day, where he spent his time mostly sleeping. Dad and I got him up to go to the bathroom (he'd been very unsteady on his feet for the last week), and while he was there, he kind of collapsed bonelessly to the floor. We got a pillow under his head and called 911, but it was too late. He was dead by the time they arrived.
So the last day or so has been funeral-arranging stuff. Maple house feels quiet and empty with him gone. Too quiet, too empty, if you know what I mean. I miss hearing the sound of him arranging and counting his coins on the table. But that's life, you know? And he had a long and full life, and died surrounded by family in his own home.
Grandpa Leo, I miss you.
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