Andrew Furst's Blog, page 138

One Minute Meditation – Barrows Falls

 

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. 

Barrows Falls

Barrows Falls is set in the southwest corner of Monson, Maine. The town is most often identified with the start of the Appalachian Trail.  Last year, I went there with my mother in law, wife, and the boys to get out of the house for some fresh air and blue sky.  

Spring hadn’t fully asserted itself in Piscatiquis County. On the ride to the falls, we saw huge ice boulders on the river, remnants of the jams that winter left behind. Snow was still ubiquitous.  But none the less, the melting was clearly in progress. The teeming falls were proof that winter was receding.

Hard Times

This was a difficult time for my wife’s family. Her grandmother has been in a nursing home for several month’s suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and her prognosis is not good. Her husband, a World War II veteran and loyal care giver was also struggling. His body, which so ably served him through the Pacific theater and the Korean War, began fading.  At 92 he took it in good humor, but it was difficult to watch such a wonderful man suffer the indignities of age.

There are times in life when the pace at which difficulties accumulate is overwhelming.  Like the raging waters of the spring melt, it feels like nothing can be done to abate them.  Trying to confront all of what life can unleash on you is like facing down a tornado. Sometimes its better to seek refuge then take on the storm.

Taking Shelter

Each morning when I meditate, I begin by taking refuge.  Over the course of three breaths, I repeat this phrase in an act of utter surrender.

I take refuge, In Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

The surrender is as complete as I can muster. I release the delusion of control. I release the view that any action that I might take, any thought that I might express, or any gesture I might offer could protect me from what this world can dish out.  The surrender is in body, breath, and mind. Taking refuge provides a great sense of relief.  My body surrenders all tension, the mind all thoughts, and the breath is returned to itself. It brings peace immediately.

Refuge is the critical first step in saving yourself.  It is surrendering to Other Power.  Recognizing that if not by the grace inherent in this present moment, I would not be alive.  If not for the grace of those who support and protect me, I would not be safe. If not for the miracle of this abundant planet, I would not even exist. Acknowledging these things turns the mind to gratitude and good will.

Namo Amitofo, the mantra of the Pure Land School of Buddhism, means to trust in the power of other – completely.  For me, just knowing that I can and do rely on others, provides immense relief.  Trusting in other power is like falling backward into a safe and comfortable bed.  The feeling is deeply tangible.

Right View

I shot this video from the vantage point of a bridge over the river.  From this place of refuge, I was able to rise above the dangerous rapids and appreciate the beauty of nature in its powerful form. In life, developing an appreciation of the vantage point we have can be the difference between a satisfying life and destitution.  If we insist that we can take on the forces of nature on our own, we not only fail to get the upper hand, but we absorb the failure alone. This can be devastating, especially if we believe we have no one to turn to.

Maybe it’s an appreciation that comes with age and a multitude of failures, but I have found so much gratification in simple things like the budding of trees and a clear blue sky.  I’ve had the advantage of seeing how dependent I am on others, and that success relies on our ability to seek and rely on others.

When I tell my son that there is so much pleasure that can be had from a breath of cold clean air,  he nods in half-hearted acknowledgement.  When I try to convince him that success isn’t doing it all yourself, I don’t think it registers.  I think we all need to take a few on the chin before we’re forced to contend with the power and vastness of the universe.

If we have the wherewithal to look to others for refuge, we will discover a rich and gratifying life.  If we miss the opportunity, the loss can be immense. Its your choice. No one can make it for you.   Choose refuge.

Stream Enterer

Entering the stream
Against the current we must
be able to seek refuge

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Tiny Drops (Photography series)
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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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Say What? – You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet

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  

You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.

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Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

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Relics – Glimpses On a Friday Morning Walk

The Relics series are throwback articles from previous years. They seem timeless enough to be relevant today.

Try as you will, you cannot annihilate that eternal relic of the human heart, love. - Victor Hugo 

Morning Walk

Friday Morning Walk
Capturing the neighborhood
One glimpse at a time

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Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 

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Modern Koans – Why Right Intention?

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

 

The Eightfold Path Series

This is the one of several posts I will be offering titled the Eightfold Path Series. As I've reflected on my experience, I've come to see the Path as both the practice and the fruition. As we inch closer to realization of our true nature, we discover that the wisdom, ethics, and concentration prescribed in the Buddha are the most natural expression of our being.

John Daido Loori Roshi's book Invoking Reality was transformational for me. In it Roshi turns the path on it's head in a way that uncovers it's challenge to us. The path and the precepts are not rules and regulations that lead to punishment by the karmic cosmos, but a way for us to see our true selves by looking through the prism of these personal dimensions. I see the path  and the precepts as questions, not rules.  Let's explore them.

Why Right Intention?

On the heals of the previous post on Right View, I want to talk about Right Intention.  This step is the second and final element of the Wisdom part of the path.  It deals with how we discipline the mind in order to realize freedom from suffering. Wikipedia offers this OK definition:

And what is right resolve? Being resolved on renunciation, on freedom from ill will, on harmlessness: This is called right resolve. – Wikipedia

I’d recommend applying questions like the ones I asked in the post on Right View. Are we being asked to toe an ideological line, or are we being challenged to examine our thoughts in an effort to uncover the true nature of mind? Of course I feel it’s  the latter. Otherwise, this ornery man would not entertain being a Buddhist.

One could certainly use this ideal to pacify resistance to the prevailing social order, thus preserving the institutions in power.  Are wholesome actions (which presumably arise from right intention) always pacifistic?  Is harmlessness the same as inertia? Nothing could be further from the truth.  Buddhism is called the Stream Enterers path, because we are asked to fight the prevailing currents to seek the truth. Lodro Rinzler put it well.

Please Don’t Start Meditating (Unless You’re Willing to Change) – Lodro Rinzler

Free Will?

Another interesting challenge here is the issue of free will and responsibility.

Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
– Mahatma Gandhi

The Vedic traditions seem to adopt a causal chain that relies on intention, belief, and thoughts.  So it seems clear that they acknowledge free will.  But do they? If we are to adopt the principle of not-self (antaman) then who is responsible for whose actions? This is all very fuzzy and requires intense examination.

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. Get Each Week's Modern Koan in your email box

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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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Franklin on Writing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Franklin on Writing

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One Minute Meditation – Jordan Pond Daydream

 

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. 

Jordan Pond Daydream

What could be better than a late summer sunny day on Jordan Pond at Acadia National Park.  Barely a breeze, cool temperatures, all accompanied by tea and popovers at Jordan Pond House.  It’s  like a good nap, the experience is free from worries.  It’s a guilty pleasure unspoiled by to do lists, bills to pay, and the anxiety inherent in every day. Watching the water lazily shift, draws you in hypnotically.   Notice your inner disposition, all the feelings and sensations that come with this connection to nature.

Daydream

undulating thoughts
draw deeply on the heart strings
noticing the mind

The Song Daydreaming by Alexandre Klinke is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

Get Each Week's One Minute Meditation 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)

 

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Verse Us – Cynical – A Video 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.  

Cynical

I recommend viewing this in full screen.

“Drums of the Deep” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Cynical

The wilderness teaches distrust.
All alike, we’re a meal for the next.
The switch evokes our sapience.
Snakes profess this truth to the nestlings.

Careful, detached waiting is a virtue.
The staid demonstrate longevity,
while the heady lurch toward probable demise.
But I confess a scarecrow’s hope
to find companions in the ravens.
Coveting the shivering, wasteful
swell of love.

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Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
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Verse Us (Poems I Write)

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Tiny Drops – Winter Reminiscence

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.

 Winter Reminiscence

Click on images to view the full size slide show.

broke window landscapecoffeecornered beardelectric stationPats Dairylandredbones fourGet Each Week's Tiny Drops in your email box

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Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
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 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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Say What? – Stop Being Buddhist?

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  

Stop Being Buddhist?

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One Minute Meditations
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Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

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Compass Songs – Wild Geese

 
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.

Wild Geese

by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

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Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)
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Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
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