Andrew Furst's Blog, page 121

Modern Koans – Does Enlightenment Make Us Dysfunctional?

Modern Koans is an ongoing series that recognizes that good questions are often more important then their answers.

The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man. ― G.K. Chesterton

 

Does Enlightenment Make Us Dysfunctional?

Here’s one of those impossible questions I got the other day.

Question: Does a person who, through a focused meditation practice, attains enlightenment, become a dysfunctional member of society?

My Response: Meditation practice is not the acquisition of some new quality. Enlightenment is our birthright.  It is our nature.  As individuals, if there is any work, it is in undoing our determination to go out and get enlightenment.

So what do you think?  It’s a bit of a chicken and egg problem.  We are told we each have Buddha nature.  Yet we suffer.  If we are born enlightened, what happens?  For those of us who exalt the Buddha’s message of suffering and the cessation of suffering,  how do we explain the fact that, without exception, we all fall into dissatisfaction?  We seem to be both perfect and damaged goods all at the same time?

Perhaps, enlightenment isn’t the goal of our practice. As individuals maybe we can only seek to find the balance between the suffering that comes with surviving and our inherent capacity for liberation.  In that sense, maybe we’re always balancing between being functional and dysfunctional members of society.

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
One Minute Meditations
Tiny Drops (Photography series)
Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)
Dialectic Two-Step
Modern Koans (interesting questions)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

  

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Quote – Shinran on The Vow

Shinran on The Vow

 

The Vow

 

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One Minute Meditation – Cascade Spray

 

One  Minute Meditations is an ongoing series of short videos, poems, and commentary intended as a meditation.  Offered as an opportunity to step back from your cyber routine and settle into a more natural rhythm, if only for a minute. 

This video “cascade spray” was shot in Melrose, MA.

Cascade Spray

a cooling shower
spray from above washes over
blood and mind cooling

 

These videos are produced for those of us who spend an inordinately large amount of time in the cyber-world.  They are not a substitute for unplugging from your devices and taking a stroll near trees, water, or a patch of unkempt grass.  Getting out into the world - touching, smelling, hearing, and seeing nature is the best way to reconnect with our prime purpose.  What is our prime purpose? We are feeling and sensing machines.  We are the universe looking back on itself. We are witness to the wonders and dangers of living in this corner of the cosmos.  We are the seekers looking for connection a little further beyond yesterday's borders and boundaries.

But sitting and staring at the screen robs us of the sustenance that we rely upon for wonder and sanity.  These videos are an opportunity to bring the sensations of nature to you, while you're in the cyber-world. Its an opportunity to relax your gaze, resettle your posture,  and regain some depth in your breath.  Listen and watch the video and allow your self to open up and recharge.

Most of these are best viewed in full screen

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
One Minute Meditations
Tiny Drops (Photography series)
Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)
Dialectic Two-Step
Modern Koans (interesting questions)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

If You Watched The One Minute Meditation, How Do You Feel? Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. 

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Verse Us – Wide-Eyed – A Poem

Verse Us - Poems I write: haiku, senryu, mesostics, free verse, random word constructions, I might even use rhyme or meter once and a while.  

wide-eyed

Hovering,
Hugging the rippling ether.
Light, marked by absence and presence to the eyes
Floating in and out of existence
Like the burning incense that produces it.

A thick rush of luxuriant perfume
Its (smell) effect, the drop of the chin
Gifts the heart a holiday
Carried on verses arriving through the gateway of my nose

– Andrew Furst

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Tiny Drops – Lines of the World

Tiny Drops is an ongoing iPhoneographic series. The images represent moments of noticing on my part.  For you, they are an offer to pause, observe, and take that noticing into your life.  All photos are mine unless noted otherwise.

These works by Andrew Furst are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Lines of the World

Click on images to view the full size slide show.

guardian angelRiverway Bridgesubway commuterGet Each Week's Tiny Drops in your email box

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
One Minute Meditations
Tiny Drops (Photography series)
Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)
Dialectic Two-Step
Modern Koans (interesting questions)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 FIVE LIMITLESS THOUGHTS

May all living beings have happiness and its causes

May all be free from unhappiness and its causes

May all dwell in equanimity, free of attraction and aversion

May all quickly find the great happiness that lies beyond all misery

May all enjoy inner and outer peace now and forever

NAMO AMITOFO

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Principles? – Say What?

Say What?  is an ongoing series of laconic exchanges on Buddhism in the format of a comic strip.

This shirt is dry clean only. Which means... it's dirty. - Mitch Hedberg  

Principles?

 

A Few Words On Principles.

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
One Minute Meditations
Tiny Drops (Photography series)
Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)
Dialectic Two-Step
Modern Koans (interesting questions)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

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Compass Songs – Life by Charlotte Brontë

 
Compass Songs is an ongoing series of works by poets that I enjoy. Poetry, as the Zen Masters have said, is like a finger pointing to the moon. It speaks the unspeakable.

At 1:30 AM on Thursday July 2nd, 2015 my Father in Law Arnold Poland passed away, loosing his battle with cancer.

Life

by Charlotte Brontë

LIFE, believe, is not a dream
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
O why lament its fall ?

Rapidly, merrily,
Life’s sunny hours flit by,
Gratefully, cheerily,
Enjoy them as they fly !

What though Death at times steps in
And calls our Best away ?
What though sorrow seems to win,
O’er hope, a heavy sway ?
Yet hope again elastic springs,
Unconquered, though she fell;
Still buoyant are her golden wings,
Still strong to bear us well.
Manfully, fearlessly,
The day of trial bear,
For gloriously, victoriously,
Can courage quell despair !

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
One Minute Meditations
Tiny Drops (Photography series)
Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)
Dialectic Two-Step
Modern Koans (interesting questions)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 

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Dialectic Two-Step – Am I In Nirvana?

Dialectic Two-Step  is an ongoing series of my thoughts on questions that come my way.

Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. - Octavio Paz  

Am I In Nirvana?

Someone asked me and a few others this question on an online forum.

Question: I have no desires (no material ones at least), no emotions (one emotion I did feel was anger, but I don’t even feel that anymore). I just feel secure and safe, at peace. What is this? What am I?

A few people responded with answers like – congratulations you’re in Nirvana, you’ve achieved Moksha.  Here’s my answer – which is markedly different.

Response: I would consider seeing a therapist and performing a more sustained self-examination. Humans cannot survive without the satisfaction of material and emotional needs. Either you’re not being honest with yourself, or there may be something wrong.

I would also be wary of claims you’ve achieved enlightenment.

Question: Please tell me, how could I perform a more sustained self-examination? And why would I not be honest with myself? And what could be wrong?

Response: Great Questions.

In response to your first question, I’d recommend talking with a therapist. Over the long term you might consider meditation.

I’m not saying you’re intentionally being dishonest. But for me, meditation practice has been very useful as a counterpoint to my personal delusion that I’ve got it all together.

Sitting quietly with yourself tends to uncover and amplify my little quirks, emotions, and other chinks in my calm collected self-image. It also reminds me that these are an inherent quality of being human.

If, as you say, you have no emotions, then you’re losing an important part of your humanity. This could be a dissociative state or worse some form of sociopathy. It’s seems worth checking out.

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
One Minute Meditations
Tiny Drops (Photography series)
Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)
Dialectic Two-Step
Modern Koans (interesting questions)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 

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Five Minute Meditation – Evening at Ogunquit Beach

 

One  Minute Meditations is an ongoing series of short videos, poems, and commentary intended as a meditation.  Offered as an opportunity to step back from your cyber routine and settle into a more natural rhythm, if only for a minute. 

Evening at Ogunquit Beach

Another break from tradition, with a new five minute meditation.  This was shot during an impromptu visit to Ogunquit after driving my father in law home from another two week stay at a Boston Hospital to treat an opportunistic infection.  Everyone was happy for him to go home, and we got to enjoy a lovely evening at the Cliff House hotel and take in a show at the Ogunquit Play House. This video was shot in the evening at Ogunquit Beach.

There are brief instructions to be read in the beginning of the video, so you’ll want to be sure and begin with  eyes open. Once the instructions are complete, I welcome you to close your eyes as you like.

Evening at Ogunquit Beach

A Five Minute Meditation by Andrew Furst

In this five minute meditation, allow your body to synchronize with the rhythm of the surf.

At the end of each 1 minute interval, a singing bowl will ring. Allow the sound to reverberate up and down your spine and throughout your body.

Let the sound bring your body, breath, and mind together into the present moment.

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
One Minute Meditations
Tiny Drops (Photography series)
Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)
Dialectic Two-Step
Modern Koans (interesting questions)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

If You Watched The One Minute Meditation, How Do You Feel? Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. 

 

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Sunday Morning Coming Down – Love Travels Faster

Sunday Morning Coming Down is an ongoing music  video series.  The songs fit my definition of music for a lazy couch bound Sunday morning.

Love Travels Faster

The Halo Benders is a collaboration between Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and Doug Martsch of Built to Spill.  I first saw Beat Happening in Cambridge in the early 90’s.  Fronting the radically minimalist drum, bass, and guitar combo, Johnson came across as a blend of Jim Morrison, a male stripper, and Michael Hutchence. His deep droning voice is immediately recognizable to anyone who has heard him before.  Doug Martsch in contrast is a guitar hero who has a penchant for writing well-constructed indie pop songs.  Together they put together some great duets including Love Travels Faster.  Enjoy

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
One Minute Meditations
Tiny Drops (Photography series)
Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)
Dialectic Two-Step
Modern Koans (interesting questions)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 Love Travels Faster

by The Halo Benders

Dry little dutch town drove you away
Chemistry set keeps your mind at play
Bottle in the waste the bin
(You look a lot like someone I used to know)
Searchin for the voice that makes a boy a man
Alley entrance alley view
Never let on what he meant
Or what you meant to learn
But love travels faster
(Nothing’s faster than that or)
Love travels faster
(There’s no reason so theres no…)
Love travels faster
(Reason to get out)
Rural girl unpolished pearl
Wild unruly used to pushin small town limits
Early career decision….. prepare
They can watch the forest, girl
For all you care
Muscle car to superstar
Slashed tires unpaid fines unreported crimes
Now there’ll be no more abuses to endure
But plenty meet it out
Love travels faster
Love travels faster
(faster than airplanes
faster than cats
faster than robots
faster than that
faster than matter
faster than thoughts
faster than atoms
faster than…)
Love travels faster
Goosebumps rising when you take a gander
There’s admiration hidden in the disrespect they hand her
She somehow escaped the cure for being so self assured
You know someone knit that hat
So there must be something back there
A safety net safely stowed
And never to be used
Love travels faster

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