For years, up until my early forties, I was drunk on thought fortified with the certainty of belief. Fortunately for me, I found a way to help detoxify myself, but it is still a moment-by-moment affair.
Recovering alcoholics continue to say, “I’m an alcoholic”, even as they stay on the straight and narrow moment-to-moment, day to day, year to year. Likewise, I would have to say I’m a thinker, recovering from certainty in thought moment-to-moment, day to day, year to year. (Really! I’ve sobered up a lot. You should have seen me before.) Continue reading ‘Sobering up!’
'He who conquers self...'
The details of Buddha’s Four Noble Truths vary somewhat depending on the source. I recently dug up the source for the version that I found most useful. Why useful? Mostly because it was the most sensible and succinct I’d seen.
Nevertheless, I had a minor problem with how the Third Noble Truth was stated, and long ago changed a word or two. Rereading my original source makes me want to revisit this and ponder why I revised in the first place. Here is the sequence of events:
The original says: “He who conquers self will be free from lust. He no longer craves and the flames of desire find no material to feed upon, thus they are extinguished.” Continue reading ‘He Who Conquers Self’
While twisting myself in the odd yoga shapes the morning I thought, this is nuts! No normal animal on the planet would do this. In fact, no other animal can be found doing most of the things our species does. Working, resting, and engaging in the basic biological functions is all that we have in common with other species. And we even go out of our way to embellishing those aspects. Just consider the fancy bathrooms we have (photo below).
The common view is to see all this as being what makes us unique, special, superior, advanced… “higher beings” no less. Looking at this from a symptoms point of view helps me avoid such a “pat myself on the back” biases. Continue reading ‘The Nutty Things We Do’
(this is the working title and draft cover)
I wrote this Yoga manual[1] in 1979. While it still holds up well, I decided it’s worth updating. As part of this, I am attempting to sum up the Principles (the “spirit of yoga”) as I see it today.
Yoga is a process, not a destination. So many folks think of yoga as something you need flexibility for. Just the opposite. If anything, the more flexible you are, the harder yoga becomes. Again, unlike most secular things in life, yoga isn’t about the destination. It is about the journey…the way. Continue reading ‘The Spirit of Yoga’
I never ever use the word exquisite, but this morning while standing on my head I thought, “How exquisite this moment of perfect balance feels”.
I went on considering other facets of life: work, eating, speaking, shopping, etc. In all cases balance is possible, but is often only partial and so, seldom exquisite. Why? It is such a wonderful sensation!
One clue is impartiality, another aspect of balance, and as we know… Continue reading ‘Exquisite Balance’
Grandma, 82, reading the paper
The use of chairs in the West is ubiquitous. One of the most important life style changes I ever made was giving up my use of the chair fifty years ago. Chairs (and sit down toilets) are good examples of my motto, ‘short term pleasure attracts long term pain; short term pain attracts long term pleasure‘. The physical ease a chair provides gradually robs the body of an important part of its natural capability. Over time that bring long term pain. This is easy to see, for example, by comparing older Western people with older Japan people. Continue reading ‘Chairs: One of Our Big Mistakes’
Bathtub Tai Chi
I have found that multitasking is generally inefficient. My desire to do more and more (rather than less and less) deceives me into thinking I can actually accomplish more and more doing various tasks simultaneously. This make is almost impossible to be as careful at the end as at the beginning, no matter what I am doing. Well, I finally have learned my lesson. I’m not sure it is learning that accounts for my increased wisdom in this matter. More likely it is because I’m older and have less energy to run around chasing after desires as in my youth. Continue reading ‘Bathtub Tai Chi’
Leaving Meiji park after yoga
After settling down in Tokyo, I began going the humungous Meiji park to do yoga in the morning before work. While standing on my head and watching people walking off in the distance, I noticed something very odd. The people had an obvious bob in their gate as they walked. Initially I wondered if they were walking that way on purpose for I’d never seen such a sight before. Then I realized I’d never actually watched people walking while doing the headstand.
All it took for me to see our human way of walking as it actually occurs was a 180 degree (upside down) change of perspective. These days it is difficult for me to notice this ‘bob’ in people, when I do yoga down at the beach. The novelty wore off; I guess familiarity breeds blindness.
Continue reading ‘Headstands and Apes’
Of the two, students are obviously the most important consideration. After all, teachers can lead students to water, but thirst determines whether students drink. Thirst is the weak link. As chapter 41 puts it, When the best student hears about the way, he practices it assiduously; when the average student hears about the way, it seems to him one moment there and gone the next… and so on.
Never-the-less, cultures place great importance on the teacher, so what makes for a good teacher? Usually the answer centers on how capable the teacher is, and their command of the material. However, after home schooling my kids, I discovered the more important, yet under-recognized, side of teaching lay deeper. Continue reading ‘Teachers and Students’
NotTheConstant Name and I have been knocking about in ‘what is the tao‘ a little, which is always great fun. I woke up following a pleasant Saturday afternoon siesta reflecting on the best ‘way’ (road, principle, speak, think) to approach life.
Why this endless debate over the best way to approach life – what to do, and how to do it? The first thing I notice is how it draws those of like-mind together and pushes those of unlike-mind apart. It seems we are driven to project our own preferences and inclinations onto others. This keeps the social pot stirred, so to speak. No doubt our social-tribal instinct is pulling off this bio-hoodwink(1) Continue reading ‘The best tao? (road, way, principle, speak, think)’
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