Andrew Furst's Blog, page 65

Beaver Brook Falls – A One Minute Meditation

Spring humors

the ornery tantrums

of winter

The drama

unfurls over

Beaver Brook

Clouds, hail,

sun and blue skies

the weapons

on the field

But true love

still prevails

Beaver Brook Falls – Keene, New Hampshire

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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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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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Sunny II- Tiny Drops (Photography)

A few shots taken at DeCordova Sculpture Park & Museum

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All Tiny Drop photos Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

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April – Sara Teasdale – Compass Songs

The roofs are shining from the rain.

The sparrows tritter as they fly,

And with a windy April grace

The little clouds go by.

Yet the back-yards are bare and brown

With only one unchanging tree–

I could not be so sure of Spring

Save that it sings in me.

 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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The New Jim Crow – Religious Liberty Laws

Estimated reading time: 10 minute(s)

It seems almost banal to make these points about the barely veiled same-sex marriage discrimination laws sweeping the country’s republican controlled state legislatures. But when it comes to the codification of hatred in the American justice system, we cannot and should not remain silent. Religious liberty laws are the new Jim Crow.

As Martin Luther King Jr. pointed out “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” I would add that it is not a smooth curve.  As the civil rights movement can attest, shifting from a mindset of African—Americans being property to full citizens has taken the full lifespan of this country.  The mind of this nation is slow to change and if often has little to do with reason or consistent application of morality.

“The arc of the moral universe ... bends towards justice.” I would add that it is not a smooth curve.
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It is not hard to draw an analogy between the so-called “Religious Liberty” laws and Jim Crow.  Both are expressions of the painfully slow way in which society admits and moves on from its failings.   In defense of our failings we employ all the greatest attributes of humanity in a sinister way.  These include our sense of morality and our power of reason, as well as our evolutionary traits of tribalism and fear of the unknown.

In a universe that is neutral to justice and the plight of the individual, there is little negative feedback to fend off the regressive tendencies of humanity.  Evolution in society can only occur through relentless pursuit of justice within the jurisdiction of our nation’s constitution.

The New Jim Crow

In many ways religious liberty legislation is the same if not worse than Jim Crow.

Jim Crow provided a means for businesses to deny service to someone based on a genetic trait. Religious liberty legislation does the same.
Jim Crow supporters cited cherry picked Biblical references to support its position while ignoring the contradictory teachings of Jesus.
Jim Crow rationalizations were focused on Christian ethics (however inaccurately). But it ignored other religious ethical systems. Does religious liberty include Sharia Law?  A true religious liberty law would allow anyone of any religious affiliation to refuse to comply with state and federal laws that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.  For instance it would allow Muslims, Christians, and Jews to be exempt from murder charges when they stoned adulterers in accordance with their scriptures.
Religious Liberty is provided for in our nation’s constitution. How is it that these so-called religious liberty laws are needed to supplement the first amendment?

Let’s not hide behind the concept of religious liberty.  These laws are no such thing.  They are same sex marriage discrimination laws, pure and simple.

A true religious liberty law would allow anyone to refuse to comply with state and federal laws
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I see two practical assessments of this legislation that would appeal to those who may support it.  First, this is a costly effort, when so many red states are slow to recover from the great recession.  Is it in your best interests to be paying your legislators for this kind of work?  Second, why are we providing businesses with a way to do less business?  Is it desirable to help businesses find ways to decrease their own revenues.  How does that play out for their employees; lower wages; fewer hours?

These bills don’t make moral sense and they don’t make economic sense.  If you’re looking to be consistent with conservative values, religious liberty laws don’t feel like it.

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

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Patience

I’ve never been a big fan of televangelists, But this isn’t bad advice.

Quotes -The path to right view is an arduous walk through fields of manure.

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Ave Maria – Sunday Morning Coming Down

Ave Maria

Back on the classical music theme, please enjoy this rendition of Ave Maria.

The song is actually titled “Ellens dritter Gesang” or “Ellen’s Third Song” named for Ellen, the lady of the Lake in Walter Scott’s poem of the same name. It is probably Shubert’s most recognized work.

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

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Heaven and Hell? – Say What?

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

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What To Get The Guy Who is Everything

April 8th is my mothers birthday.  She’s 76 this year.  She’s shares her day with a long dead asian prince-warrior, turned mendicant, turned Buddha.

I’m going to call my mom tonight and wish her a happy birthday.

But what do you do for the guy who is everything?  Buddha, reality, the awakened one, the Tathagata?  I mean giving is wonderful, better than receiving, I say.  But what to give?

I just had an idea.  A smile. One for every Buddha I meet today.

How about you?

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The Oxherd Series – The Ox Transcended – Modern Koans

The Oxherd Series is a collection of 10 images and commentary on the quest for enlightenment.  Its source is the Zen tradition. What you're reading here is a satirical, but not all together purposeless, treatment of these so called stages. Using excerpts from one of my favorite cartoons, Bob's Burgers, I hope to bring this old story into the present.

Here’s a koan for you:

At what point do you transcend the fact that there is a cross dressing 2400 lb steer in your kitchen?

My teacher would often say, “I don’t like the word practice, the word cultivate seems more appropriate.” Practice implies getting ready for something – the big game, the recital, or your times tables test.  But life isn’t broken up into scrimmages and games.  It’s always on. Today’s effort counts the same as yesterday’s.  If you make a mistake today, you will experience the consequences, no matter what. The same goes for making a great play or a kind gesture.  It all counts.

It is important to avoid the instinct to view enlightenment as an end
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Cultivation, a farming word, seems more appropriate. The more mindfully we go about our plowing, planting, feeding, and caring for our crop, the more likely we will reap a good harvest. But when the spring comes and the grain starts to dwindle, the farmer must begin anew.

This stage in the Oxherd series can often be misunderstood to say that there is an end to cultivation. The poem puts it enigmatically, abandoning the whip and the rope. But I would say no.  This is transcendence.  Think of it like this. When we first learn to feed ourselves, the task of making a meal has an end in mind.  When you’ve eaten, your efforts have served their purpose.  But for some, the art of cooking can be a pleasure. Your creations take on a life of themselves – e.g. New – Baconings). The fact that you have to eat has not gone away, but the act of cooking is the act of living itself.  Something that can be done fully and well.

It is important to avoid the instinct to view enlightenment as an end. It doesn’t show up on the calendar, its an aspect of being and thus always there. It’s there whether you’re practicing how to knit or actually knitting.  Whether you’re practicing your instrument or actually playing it.  When you’ve transcended the idea that there is a difference between practice and doing, the idea that you can do one without the other becomes ludicrous.

Astride the Ox, I reach home.

I am serene. The Ox too can rest.

The dawn has come. In blissful repose,

Within my thatched dwelling

I have abandoned the whip and ropes..

Next: Both Ox and Self Transcended

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 then their answers.

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

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Promise of Universal Suffrage?

Quotes -The path to right view is an arduous walk through fields of manure.

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