 Muse in the Morning |
for as long as living beings remain,
until then may I too remain,
to dispel the misery of the world.
–Shantideva, The Bodhicaryavatara
(The Way of the Bodhisattva)
Phenomena XXVII: living
 Spark
|
Category: Art
Jun 23 2009
Muse in the Morning
for as long as living beings remain,
until then may I too remain,
to dispel the misery of the world.
Jun 22 2009
Pont du Gard (A Photo Blog)
Near the town of Nimes, and built either in the last century BCE or the first century CE, the aqueduct and bridge known as the Pont du Gard may be the best remaining example of the genius that was Roman engineering.
Jun 22 2009
Muse in the Morning
| Muse in the Morning |
of what we have thought:
it is founded on our thoughts,
it is made up of our thoughts.
If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought,
pain follows him, as the wheel follows
the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.
–Dhammapada, verse 1
Phenomena XXVI: transgressing
 Bruise
|
Jun 20 2009
Three Small Towns In Provence (A Photo Blog)
Carpentras dates at least to Roman times.
Jun 19 2009
Muse in the Morning
| Muse in the Morning |
to both destroy and heal.
When words are both true and kind,
they can change our world
–Siddhartha Gautama
Phenomena XXV: words
 Warp
|
Jun 18 2009
Muse in the Morning
| Muse in the Morning |
And the desire to hurt
‘Til sorrows vanish.
–the Dhammapada
Phenomena XXIV: resisting
 Game Pieces
|
Jun 17 2009
Muse in the Morning
| Muse in the Morning |
whether a thing is pleasant or unpleasant.
The love of pleasure begets grief
and the dread of pain causes fear;
he who is free from the love of pleasure
and the dread of pain knows neither grief nor fear.
–Paul Carus, Chapter XLVIII: The Dhammapda, verse 29
The Gospel of Buddha: Complied from Ancient Records
Phenomena XXIII: dreading
 Sky Ensnared
|
Jun 17 2009
The Night that I met Allen Ginsberg 20090616
Dr. Whitehead, Dean of the English Department in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas swung a pretty big stick in his heyday there. He was able to get important persons of letters to come and give free (well, at least to the public) readings of their material. Notable amongst them were Ken Kesey and Allen Ginsberg. Mrs. Translator and I went to both of those.
The fliers had been distributed around town for a week or two. They were pretty much generic, essentially saying “Famous poet to give reading at the U of A on such and such date at 8:00 PM”. Well, Mrs. Translator and I decided to go, as we try to be cultured individuals and I was very familiar with Allen from reading.
Jun 16 2009
Muse in the Morning
| Muse in the Morning |
who are fully aware of the nature of food,
whose dwelling place is an empty and imageless release,
the way of such people is hard to follow,
like the path of birds through the sky.
— The Dhammapada, 92
Phenomena XXII: perceiving
 Window
|
Jun 15 2009
Muse in the Morning
| Muse in the Morning |
comprising useless words,
is one single beneficial word,
by hearing which one attains peace.
Better than a thousand verses,
comprising useless words,
is one beneficial single line,
by hearing which one is pacified.
–Sahassavagga, The Dhammapada, 100-101
Phenomena XXI: hearing
 A Thread
|
Jun 14 2009
Café Discovery: Writer’s Block
I believe that the so-called ‘writing block’ is a product of some kind of disproportion between your standards and your performance … one should lower his standards until there is no felt threshold to go over in writing. It’s easy to write. You just shouldn’t have standards that inhibit you from writing … I can imagine a person beginning to feel he’s not able to write up to that standard he imagines the world has set for him. But to me that’s surrealistic. The only standard I can rationally have is the standard I’m meeting right now … You should be more willing to forgive yourself. It doesn’t make any difference if you are good or bad today. The assessment of the product is something that happens after you’ve done it.
–William Stafford
(Warning: Graphics inside)
Jun 12 2009
Muse in the Morning
| Muse in the Morning |
but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.
Your body and mind will become clear
and you will realize the unity of all things.
–Dogen Zenji
Phenomena XX: Belief
 Etching
|