Andrew Furst's Blog, page 28
June 18, 2017
UU Sangha Poem Cameo
A poem from my book Clouds Tell Us made a cameo in the latest installment of the UU Sangha Click on the link to read the issue (the poem is on page 10)
If you don’t know, the meditation group that I lead has its home at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading UU Churches are often home to western Buddhist groups. The UU Sangha magazine is produced by the UU Buddhist Fellowship; a confederation of those groups across the country.
Take a look, it’s usually a good read and they have a gathering semi-regularly called the UUBF Convocation that I recommend.
Clouds Tell Us is a collection of poetry exploring the intersection of nature and our humanity. What does it mean to be awake? What is it like to actually be alive? Could anything be more important than being awake for life? Nothing brings us back to it more than spending time in nature. This book hopes to inspire you to rediscover your connection with nature and to rekindle your humanity.
Of course the best way to get my books, artwork, and other goodies is to support my work on Patreon
At Patreon you can make small monthly micro-contributions that help support my work. 
If Patreon doesn't work for you, then drop me a one time contribution at PayPal.me
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June 17, 2017
What’s The Difference? – Say What?
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Say What? is an ongoing series of laconic exchanges on Buddhism in the format of a comic strip.
Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst
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June 14, 2017
Busking – Verse Us (Poems by Me)
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Verse Us - Poems I write: haiku, senryu, mesostics, free verse, random word constructions, I might even use rhyme or meter once and a while.
Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst
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June 11, 2017
Why Are Christians the Most Persecuted Minority in The World? – Dialectic Two Step
The image displayed shows the results of an Open Doors 2016 study of the top 50 nations where Christian’s face persecution. It should be noted that the study is in the context of an organization whose goal is to evangelize. Evangelism takes as its foundation the idea the Christianity is a superior religion to the local majority religion.
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To begin, I want to call out what facts I consider to be solid.
Christianity is the largest religion. A larger population is subject to a larger variety of phenomena; including acceptance, rejection, and persecution. People who adhere to Mithraism do not get persecuted. But that’s because their population is 0.
One point of contention I have is with the casting Christians as a persecuted minority. Christianity is the largest religion in the world. Even if we ignore 1600 years of post-Constantine history and look at the last century, persecution by Christians on non-Christian states and between Christian states have been highly lethal. There’s a certain “pot calling the kettle black” element to this rhetoric.
Christianity claims the following “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. Apostasy is contentious. It seems like a perfect recipe for conflict.
But in the same way that a woman never deserves to be raped, a Christian, by virtue of their religious choice, should not be persecuted. Disapproval, dissent, and disagreement are all on the table. But harming another on the basis of religious affiliation is fundamentally wrong.
I feel compelled to note that the majority of states on this list are Muslim. This is not surprising given the competition between Islam and Christianity for the hearts and minds of humanity.
The next group is Marxists states. And last, there are states where Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity intersect.
Viewing the data in this light, it seems that a vast majority of persecution arises out of interreligious conflict.
I think we have to call out the role that Islam is playing in inter-religious conflict.
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I think we have to call out and protest the role that Islam is playing in exacerbating inter-religious conflict. But the list above is the view from the Christian side. There is also a view from the other side that needs to be acknowledged. There’s a lesson there.
Who’s Right?
I think there is a reasonable argument to be made that religions can’t all be right. In fact, I personally feel that none of them are right; not simply because there are no logical proofs for any supernatural religious claims, but because being right is not what religion is about.
The word religion means to reconnect with the divine. God, by definition is incomprehensible, indescribable, and beyond our senses. Flying in the face of that meaning, religious institutions offer dogma; claims of certainty about the divine. Conflict between religions on points of dogma seems contradictory to its purposes.
Conflict between religions on points of dogma seems contradictory to its purposes.
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Within the Christian community the value of eccumenacle engagement is immense. Communities are strengthened where differences are set aside. If that isn’t God weighing in on the argument, I don’t know what to think.
As the world gets smaller and global religions begin to share the same crowded spaces, there are more differences to be set aside. There are larger communities to foster and there are more opportunities to reconnect with the divine.
If there is a God, I see her waiting, ever patiently, for us to grow up and understand that we are all part of creation. We each have our own divine connection that needs to be fostered, respected, and held to the standard of the golden rule. There are many dogma that need retiring. These are not failing of a God, but of the fragile and fleeting wills and minds of men.
Religions appear, thrive, and go extinct. The divine remains.
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History moves forward; progress continues. Religions appear, thrive, and go extinct. The divine remains. There is a lesson there, we have a short time to learn it. Peace be with you.
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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
Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst
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June 8, 2017
From: The Pythagorean Sonnet – Concrete Poetry – Compass Songs
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From: The Pythagorean Sonnet
From: The Pythagorean Sonnet
Part of a series of concrete poems from the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry founded by Ruth and Marvin Sackner
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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.
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June 5, 2017
At What Point are We No Longer Human? – Modern Koans
What is the point at which we are no longer human?
• Is it when enough of our physical body is removed?
• Or when the brain no longer functions, but to what level?
• Or if our brains can be kept alive and we can still think and communicate?
• Or even when our consciousness can be moved to a computer?
• Even if our brain was transplanted into another animal?
Response:
At no point in any layer of your nicely constructed thought experiment, is there an inherent state of humanity. A physical body in and of itself is not human. A brain in and of itself is not a human. A consciousness in and of itself is not a human. The underlying pattern here is that there is no inherent underlying “anything” – or to use the Buddhist terminology – all things are empty of inherent existence.
All things are impermanent. Forms are endlessly shifting; blending from one state to another; completely and inextricably interdependent. Where a person ends and the environment around her begins is utterly indiscernible. You will never find “it”.
That said, we are perfectly capable of operating within this framework, that’s never been at question. It’s only when we become, as Daniel Dennett terms it, greedy reductionists, that we get disturbed by these kinds of questions.
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I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Modern Koans is an ongoing series that recognizes that good questions are often more important than their answers.
The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man. ― G.K. Chesterton
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Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst
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June 2, 2017
Southwest II – Tiny Drops (Photography)
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Hunting Elk
Route 66 – BW
Wagon Mound 0 BWIf you enjoyed this post, please like and share.
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All Tiny Drop photos Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
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May 30, 2017
My First Lithographs Are Going Out to Patreon Supporters
I just finished framing up and sending my first (mostly successful) lithographs to be sent to my Patreon Supporters ($3 and above).
Over the past several month’s I’ve been incrementally learning the process of lithography using a process called kitchen lithography. I used a book titled Kitchen Lithographie, translated from the French, by Émilie Aizier.
The process had a few key advantages for me:
It uses non-toxic materials
It uses, mostly, readily available materials
The process has been both interesting and frustrating. It is definitely an art that requires a lot of trial and error. The book provides some good descriptions of science behind making lithographs and novel approaches to producing a printing plate with aluminum foil, cola, and vegetable oil. But sorting out the acidification process required maybe 10 plus attempts. Inking the plate was a complete disaster on many iterations. But after 15-20 or so attempts I produced a decent enough series of 8 prints, some of which are in the mail to patrons.
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How To
If you’re interested in trying kitchen lithography, I recommend getting the book to read about the materials and the process, but supplementing it with some videos and my notes below. Good luck.
Get the book
The outline of the process on the bottom of this page is also a very helpful summary of the books intent.
A few video’s I thought were helpful
From the author
A slightly different process using some different materials, but offering some good details on technique
This was the best
Here is a scan of my notes on the process:
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May 29, 2017
What People Were Reading – May 2017
Here’s a selected list of what people were reading here on andrewfurst.net in May 2017:
Carl Sagan on Delusions – Quotes
The Fount – Tiny Drops
Does Christianity Make Sense? – Modern Koans
Women & Sex – Dialectic Two Step
Where is Truth? – Dialectic Two Step
Stillness – Tiny Drops
The Miracle of Dead Ends (Nuthin)- Verse Us (Poems by Me)
Why Bad Things Happen To People? – Dialectic Two Step
Meditations on Gratitude – Science
Enough Is Enough – Dialectic Two Step
At Patreon you can make small monthly micro-contributions that help support my work. If Patreon doesn't work for you, then drop me a one time contribution at PayPal.me
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May 27, 2017
A Walk Through Ward Reservation – A Three Minute Meditation
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A nice spring walk through Ward Reservation in Andover, MA. You’ll see a red wing blackbird, active herons nests, a great horned owl and owlets, a muskrat, a white tailed deer, and more.
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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.
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Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst
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.
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