Failing Bio 101

DHS 141



Have been reading Krishna Menon's Notes On Spiritual Discourses this evening (pdf copies can be found online easily). One of the notes pulled me right out of Vedanta and back into Zen. Note 46 is:

What is meant by "Water does not flow"?
Water as water, or as the element water, is both in the flowing water as well as in the stagnant water. So the flowing-ness or the stagnancy does not go into the make of water. Therefore, water does not flow, nor does it stagnate.

Similarly, the ‘I’-principle is both in activity and in inactivity. Therefore it is neither active nor inactive. The ‘I’-principle shines unchanged: before, during and after every activity or inactivity.

This method, of understanding the objective world and the ‘I’, not only establishes one’s self in the right centre, but also destroys the samskaras relating to them.

Remind you of anything? Reminds me of Case 29 of the Mumonkan, or Gateless Gate

The wind was flapping a temple flag, and two monks were arguing about the flag. One said, "The flag is moving." The other said, "The wind is moving." They could not agree, no matter how hard they debated. The sixth patriarch, Eno, happened to come by and said, "Not the wind, not the flag. It is the mind that is moving!" The two monks were struck with awe.

Mumon's Comments:
It is not the wind that moves, it is not the flag that moves, it is not the mind that moves. How shall we understand the sixth patriarch? If you gain an intimate grasp of its meaning, you will see how the two monks, intending to buy iron, got gold. The patriarch could not repress his compassion for the two monks, and so we have this disgraceful scene.

Wind, flag, and mind moves,
All confirmed as guilty of error.
Only we know our mouth is opened,
we do not know our speech went wrong.

To which Kōun Yamada added this commentary (in part) in his book The Gateless Gate: The Classic Book of Zen Koans:

There is another interesting story in the same category as this koan. During the Tokugawa period in Japan, a venerable master of the Sōtō sect by the name of Sonnō lived in Sendai. One day one of his disciples came to visit, bringing melons as a gift. The master, much pleased with both the gift and his disciple, suggested they try some of the fruit. Sonnō said, "It's very sweet." "Yes," replied the disciple, "It's very sweet." Then the master smilingly asked, "What do you think, is the melon sweet or the tongue sweet? If the melon is sweet, the sweetness has nothing to do with the tongue. If the tongue is sweet, the sweetness has nothing to do with the melon. Where does the sweetness actually come from? Try to tell me that!"

At this point i would have run for my life. As soon as the master started smiling you knew he had a weapon hidden somewhere and was ready to use it, but the disciple was much braver than i could ever be so he tried to offer a response.

The disciple thought for awhile and then replied, "It comes from the causal contact of the tongue and the melon."

Uh oh..... that came right out of Biology 101 or Buddhism 101. Even i know better than trying that one. I think he just asked for a beating.

The master retorted, "That answer is merely from the theoretical standpoint of Buddhism. It contains no experience of the Zen monk!" The monk asked him, "If so, where does it actually come from? Please give me a turning word."

Cheeky bastard, brave soul, or someone deeply committed to finding the Truth? Oh well, he asked.

Master Sonnō gave him the following instruction: "Where does it come from? Even the Buddhas and Patriarchs cannot tell you. If you search for 'where,' you will find the whole universe is the melon and that there is no tongue outside the melon. Or you will find that the whole universe is the tongue and that there is no melon outside the tongue. In the world of reality, there is neither subject nor object. The real fact transcends both mind and things. We call it the essential activity of no-thinking, which has been transmitted from Buddha to Buddha, from patriarch to patriarch. From now on you must exert yourself all the more intensely." The monk was deeply impressed.

Now let us look at the koan in the present case. Is the situation not the same? If you say the wind is moving, the wind is all and is quite alone in the universe. There is no flag or mind outside the wind. If you say the flag is moving, the flag is the only thing in the universe. There is no wind or mind outside the flag. If you say the mind is moving, the mind is all. Nothing exists outside of it. The true fact transcends all these three, and what is that? You must search for it deeply by yourself.

Yamada continues but finishes by making his point perfectly clear:

But from my point of view, Mumon, too, was was mistaken to comment as he did [the mind is moving] because the true fact transcends all moving and non-moving. It is just....what?!

Don't you love it when they spell it out so clearly? It is just....what?!

It's just... well you know
This and that and nothing more
One coin with no sides?

Headwinds

DHS 140



Brutal day out on the road today. Had to fight 24 mph head winds going south and the same as cross winds going either east or west. Didn't get a break until i turned the bike north and headed back home in the afternoon. Brutal. And i'm pooped.

TransAm Travel

OK, it's official — i just bought my return air ticket online using my United Frequent Flyer Miles.

Here's my schedule:

July
- During the day on 17th: Ride from Florence back to Eugene
- Late afternoon of 17th: Drop my bike off at Paul's Bicycle Way of Life
    (Probably the 6th Street shop)
- Evening of 17th or Late morning of the 18th: Dinner or lunch with
    internet friends if possible.
- Morning or early afternoon of 18th: Bus to Portland
- 19th & 20th: Portland Japanese Garden, Powells Books, Sightseeing
- 21st: Very early morning flight to Chicago.
    * Chose a 5:45 am flight because that puts me in Chicago at
      ~2:40 pm, which gives me time to take the train
      from O'Hare into the city to connect to another
      train out to Lockport. Will be home around 6:00 pm.

Living And Celebrating

DHS 139



How about a few interesting Albert Einstein quotes?

"A person starts to live when he can live outside himself."

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

(And while he didn't 'say' it, this was on the sign he had hanging on his office wall)
"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."

Al's right, until you can get outside of yourself, outside of your ego, outside of all those thoughts and ideas about who you are, you aren't living, only eating and breathing enough to stay alive. I have often talked about the difference between existing and living and am always surprised when i meet people who don't seem to understand the difference.

It's trips like this TransAm ride, or the Shikoku Henro Trail, or the trek to Everest Base Camp that allow me to see the difference the most clearly. While on the trail, you are forced to face life straight on, look her right in the eyes and deal with her smiles or anger, whatever she feels like dishing out that day. There is no running inside and locking the doors, there is not running to the car to escape the weather — there is just you, what you happen to have with you at that moment, the willingness to accept the situation, the will power to see it through, and the confidence in yourself to stand tall and persevere.

That's life. And that's where you realize that not everything that's counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted. All the friendly people you meet. All the smiles you see. All the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. All the music. All the flowers. Their infinite numbers of colors and smells. All the rainbows. All the ice cream cones on the side of the road. All of those moments sitting on a rock overlooking another outrageously beautiful view. All those evenings when you go to bed after a very difficult day telling yourself 'I did it!'

Al was right, we are all but dead when we lose sight of the mystery that life is. We have gazillions of theories, equations, and formulas, but they really do nothing by explain what we think life is. However, the true story is behind those theories, equations, and formulas. These paint a beautiful landscape that can captivate everyone who looks at it, but the smart one's realize it is still a painting and take a peek behind the easel. That's where your real life is.

So don't stop questioning. Never give up asking 'Why?' Never give up searching. Never give up stretching yourself. Never give up experiencing. Never give up curiosity, even when people tell you to stop asking why. Never surrender your soul. Always aim for the ultimate. Know that in return for never surrendering you will be granted the ultimate prize — a life worth living and celebrating.

Maladjusted And A Pain In The Butt

DHS 138



I put new tires on my bike Saturday before my ride just to see how they would handle, and found that it rode like a brand new bike. The ride was smoother and the bike handled much, much better.

I don't want to put any more miles on them until i actually start my TransAm ride so i took them back off this morning and put the old tires back on. That's when trouble started. Unfortunately.

Me and brakes have never gotten along. I think it's because we're so much alike — i'm maladjusted and the brakes are hard to adjust. After replacing the front tire, the front brakes seemed to adjust fairly well and fairly easily.

The back tire went on the wheel without a hitch, and then on the bike, but i just could not get the back brakes to adjust. If they were centered the brake lever was too soft. If the brake lever was tighter, the brake pads were off center and one side drug on the rim.

After 45 minutes, i finally got them adjusted to something acceptable, changed clothes, and headed out the door for today's ride. Two miles down the road i noticed that there was a "bump" in the back tire as it went around. It was very clearly periodic so it was off balance in one particular spot. Sort of felt like the tire was going flat? I watched it but that wasn't the case? Was it not seated on the wheel correctly? I pulled over at 2.5 miles and checked, but it looked OK. However, the rear brakes were now dragging on the rim so i had to try and adjust them again. The only thing i could get to work ended up with a very soft brake lever; soft enough that i sure hoped i didn't have to make an emergency stop.

To see if the tire wasn't set on the wheel correctly, i let all the air out, worked my fingers and thumbs around the circumference to break the seal between the bead and the wheel, and then re-inflated it. Then off again. Weak brake and the periodic bump, bump, bump, .... continued. Crap. Double crap.

Let the air out again at 8 miles and tried again since i can't see anything wrong with the wheel. Opened the quick release and made sure the wheel was completely seated in the drop outs. Unfortunately, still no better so i went home. Total ride, 16 measly miles.

Have no idea what i'm going to do. I'll take the wheel off again tomorrow, take the inner tube out in case it's crinkled (wild guess) and put the whole thing back together again. Will then work on the brake again as well. Then out the door for another ride.

Stand Still When Lost

Daily Heart Sutra (DHS) 137


I set aside an hour this evening to clean out what used to be my email inbox but which has morphed into a complete rat's nest. Low and behold, there at the bottom of the list of messages was one i had sent to myself 2 years ago with this poem in it.

Stand Still

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

David Wagoner

I no longer remember why i sent this to myself (other than i liked it) but on rereading it, i find it very interesting where he says, "Wherever you are is called Here,/And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,/Must ask permission to know it and be known."

Is "Here," and maybe "Now" as well, a complete stranger? Powerful, certainly — getting to know her could completely and unalterably change your life, especially if you get to know her intimately — but complete stranger? (That's a good homework question ... for myself ..., what does it mean to know something "intimately?")

I would never have thought to say that we need to ask permission to know here or now. That's not at all how i see the situation. Rather, i see it as a simple process of opening yourself, inviting them in, and then quietly accepting their presence in your life. No announcements need to be made. No permissions need to be requested. No acknowledgments need to be offered.

In fact, it would wrong to say that you need to acknowledge their presence or ask their permission. Why? Because by doing either of those, you are objectifying the situation; on the one hand there is here and now, and on the other hand there is you. And neither of those is true when you actually visit them. There is only here and now and that includes everything that could ever be counted, spoken about, or acknowledged, including you. In fact, in the "real" here and the "real" now there is nothing, and everything, all simultaneously, with no objects involved and no time involved. It is pure emptiness, pure being, and no more.

However, he is right when he admonishes us with, "If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,/You are surely lost." In this case, take his advice and stand still. Or, pull out your zafu and sit still. Don't sit with any thoughts of "you" or "sitting" or "still." Simply sit. Life knows where you are. Let it find you while you breath in greeting.

DHS 136