First Cause

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Full moon over Mount Shasta, California.

All things born of causes end when causes run out;
but causes, what are they born of?
That very first cause – where did it come from?
At this point words fail me, workings of my mind go dead.

Master Ryokan

The rest of the poem to follow tomorrow, hopefully

Five Senses? – Six In Buddhism

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The five colours blind the eye.
The five tones deafen the ear.
The five flavours dull the taste.
Racing and hunting madden the mind.
Precious things lead one astray.

Therefore the wise person is guided by what she knows
and not by what she sees.
She lets go of ‘that’ and chooses ‘this’.

Laozi, Daodejing

This is a variation on the teaching of Bodhidharma on the five senses. Our senses being hungry and craving to be satisfied. Making it that much more difficult to choose wisely. Mind is regarded as a ‘sense’ in Buddhism and as with the other five is not regarded as seperate on a fundamental level.

Sitting And…..

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Hadah cupa coffee
lined faces and limps
scars – brows dark
pain walking
in the sun

Alfa Romeo
smart-casual man
paste e insalata
Espresso (not for me)
Yum!

Back to
forest seedlings
planting and growing
sitting and knitting
OMG…a snake!!!

In the town and in the forest, moving back and forth. It is interesting to have only limited time on a computer. It is doing me good.

A Pause For Contemplation

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Woodland garden in spring – Black Forest.

What is of all things most yielding
Can overcome that which is most hard,
Being substanceless, it can enter in
even where there is no crevice.
That is how I know the value
of action which is actionless.

But that there can be teaching without words,
Value in action which is actionless
Few indeed can understand.

Lao Tzu (6th century B:C:)

Think about it!