Andrew Furst's Blog, page 94
November 19, 2015
Letting – Ikkyu
Quotes -The path to right view is an arduous walk through fields of manure.
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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)
Meditations on Gratitude
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The post Letting – Ikkyu appeared on Andrew Furst.
Lower Buttermilk Falls – A One Minute Meditation
Enjoy another video taken in Ludlow VT at Lower Buttermilk Falls in August 2015.
Meditation:
Feel the sound of the bell gently ringing.
Let open your mind and senses.
Let the rhythm of your being and your breath be guided.
These Meditation Videos Are Best Viewed In Full Screen
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.
Get Each Week's Minute Meditations in your email box First Name:
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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
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)
Meditations on Gratitude
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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November 18, 2015
Kaput – Verse Us
It’s all loosely based on an apparatus
built out of what’s present.
But the storyline seems a little too upbeat.
Crammed into a white box with windows.
The woman at the door had to admit
that the light could be a little harsh –
take the necessary precautions.
But really,
It’s more like a quilt
made up of sharp abandoned pieces of love, hate, (be)longings, and comfort food.
Verse Us - Poems I write: haiku, senryu, mesostics, free verse, random word constructions, I might even use rhyme or meter once and a while.
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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
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)
Meditations on Gratitude
If you enjoyed this post, please like and share.
The post Kaput – Verse Us appeared on Andrew Furst.
The Heart of Impermanence – Tiny Drops
Sensations, perceptions, impressions, and consciousness are also like this. – line from the Heart Sutra
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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)
Meditations on Gratitude
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November 17, 2015
Prayers or Hard Work? – On Paris
“I am a Buddhist and I believe in praying. But humans have created this problem, and now we are asking God to solve it. It is illogical. God would say, solve it yourself because you created it in the first place.”
— H.H. the Dalai Lama on the Paris killings and terrorism.
The post Prayers or Hard Work? – On Paris appeared on Andrew Furst.
After Enlightenment? – Say What?
Say What? is an ongoing series of laconic exchanges on Buddhism in the format of a comic strip.
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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
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)
Meditations on Gratitude
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A Night In Late Autumn – Francis Duggan – Compass Songs
by Francis Duggan
The sky is dark the countryside is quiet
But the spur winged plovers cry out in the night
Above their territory they call and fly
Perhaps the hunting fox is prowling by.
The possums hiss on gum tree in the park
And in a yard nearby a terrier bark
At wailing tom cats fighting on the street
For the right to mate with a female in heat.
The night is calm there’s scarce a puff of breeze
And boobook owl hunting for small birds in the cypress trees
Repeat the same call over and again
And frogs are croaking in the pond and drain.
The countryside may seem quiet after dark
But in the sky above the nearby park
The spur winged plovers cry out in the night
Perhaps a fox has driven them to flight
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.
Get Each Week's Compass Song in your email box First Name:
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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
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)
Meditations on Gratitude
If you enjoyed this post, please like and share.
The post A Night In Late Autumn – Francis Duggan – Compass Songs appeared on Andrew Furst.
November 16, 2015
Tell Me A Story – When In Rome
Tell Me A Story is a an ongoing series of lightening story prompts. The rules are simple
Set a timer for 5 minutes
Read or view the prompt
In the comments section below write a short story, poem, or rant as you are moved in the moment
Prompt: See the photo above. What uncharacteristic gesture did this Roman make and what fairly well known custom did it lead to?If you enjoyed this post, please like and share.
The post Tell Me A Story – When In Rome appeared on Andrew Furst.
What is the Middle Way? – Dialectic Two Step
Estimated reading time: 5 minute(s)
What is the Middle Way?
Lama Surya Das recently tweeted:
For me, the Middle Way is Buddha’s greatest teaching.
I’m inclined to agree. It informs us in every part of life. It is a tool to discipline the mind, a key to right view, and a balm to sooth suffering.
Nagarjuna is recognized as the Buddhist scholar saint who articulated the Madhyamaka – the school of the middle way. At its core is the subtle teaching of sunyata or emptiness.
For the mind, the middle way is a map. It helps us avoid the pitfalls of extreme views. Politics is the perfect example. Election rhetoric is all about candidates differentiating themselves from their opponents. If one candidate talks about pacifism, the other will speak about increasing military spending. If another candidate promotes austerity, their opponent will cry out for spending.
Adopting the radical stance on one side or the other is foolhardy. There is always a balance between the hawk and the dove, the conservative and the liberal. Cementing yourself into a particular position is out of line with the impermanent nature of the world. This is called attachment.
Attachment contradicts right view. So the middle way is right view in this regard. If we see right view as transcendent, unattached to any particular position, then this becomes clear. Being capable of applying conservative and liberal principles when needed is the wise way. A strong defense is a great deterrent to war.
So middle offers us a remedy for our everyday mix ups with attachment and suffering. If we can view our situations with the fluidity and openness of transcendence, we will not get sucked into the hostility and quarreling that comes about when you choose an extreme view.
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
Get Each Week's Dialectic Two Step in your email box First Name:
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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
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)
Meditations on Gratitude
If you enjoyed this post, please like and share.
The post What is the Middle Way? – Dialectic Two Step appeared on Andrew Furst.
November 15, 2015
Patreon – A Simple and Inexpensive Way To Support My Work
You may have noticed the new Patreon Image in the sidebar. What is Patreon?
Patreon lets people make small monthly contributions to creators whose work they want to support. Most people pledge anywhere from $1 – $5 a month and in return creators offer rewards for their ongoing patronage. It’s secure, easy on the budget, and it helps creators like me continue to do what we do.
When I come home from work, I spend a lot of time writing, teaching Buddhist meditation, blogging, and creating all kinds of art. I offer most these things free.
I write two articles daily for this blog – free,
I’ve authored two books – all proceeds support Dharma activities,
I teach Buddhist meditation – free,
I produce biweekly minute meditation videos – free,
I offer meditation retreats every year – free,
I publish a biweekly comic strip – free,
I create art and photographic prints – free,
and I’m always coming across new mediums in which to create.
I’m asking you to click on the Patreon link to help support this work in a small but meaningful way. If you contribute a few dollars a month, I’ll make paid products and custom items available to you for free. You’ll get advanced notice on upcoming books and you can participate in pre-release feedback and review. Basically you’ll get a better look at what I do and you’ll have my gratitude.
So the rest is up to you. Click on the link and thank you.
The post Patreon – A Simple and Inexpensive Way To Support My Work appeared on Andrew Furst.
