Posts tagged Balance and Sexuality

The circle-triangle-square is Sengai’s picture of the universe. The circle represents the infinite, and the infinite is at the basis of all beings. But the infinite in itself is formless. We humans endowed with senses and intellect demand tangible forms. Hence a triangle. The triangle is the beginning of all forms. Out of it first comes the square. A square is the triangle doubled. This doubling process goes on infinitely and we have the multitudinosity of things, which the Chinese philosopher calls ‘the ten thousand things’, that is, the universe.

The trouble with us linguistically-minded beings is that we take language realistically and forget that language is of no significance whatsoever without time. In truth, language is time and time is language. We thus come to think that there is in the beginning of the world a something which is real and concrete, such as a world of galaxies which though formless and nebulous is yet real and tangible. This is the foundation of the universe on which we now have all kinds of things, infinitely formed and varied. It is thus that time itself begins to be thought of as something concrete and real. A circle turns into a triangle, and then into a square, and finally into infinitely varied and varying figures. In the same way the Biblical account of creation has turned into historical truth in the minds of many. But Zen is very much against such fabrications.

circle-triangle-square

Genkoan Temple
May 3, 2007
Takagamine, Kyoto, Japan

Pulled from the blog Intense City

Sisyphus by Titian “The Myth of Sisyphus” In the essay, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd: man’s futile search for meaning, unity and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternal truths or values. Does the realization of the absurd require suicide? Camus answers: “No. It requires revolt.” He then outlines several approaches to the absurd life. The final chapter compares the absurdity of man’s life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. The essay concludes, “The struggle itself…is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

Sisyphus by Titian

“The Myth of Sisyphus”

In the essay, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd: man’s futile search for meaning, unity and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternal truths or values. Does the realization of the absurd require suicide? Camus answers: “No. It requires revolt.” He then outlines several approaches to the absurd life. The final chapter compares the absurdity of man’s life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. The essay concludes, “The struggle itself…is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine (~1340) Barna da Siena Saint Catherine’s first visceral experience between her and Christ was at the age of five.  He appeared before her, smiled at her and blessed her.  It was enough to leave her in a state of euphoria.  Soon thereafter she devoted her life to him.  Who wouldn’t?  A source of jubilation that is as intangible as it is real, absolutely beyond the material world.Striving for completeness, she sacrificed everything for him.  She concentrated her virginity to Christ.  She flagellated herself in an effort to repent her sin and the sin of all man.  She became mute for years on end and fasted for weeks at a time.  But deep within her was a sense of doubt.  She once confessed that she felt possessed by evil spirits, not by the love of Christ.  An imperfect belief drove a wedge between her and the feeling of inimitable, eternal love.  Catherine of Siena had the resiliency and faith within her to eventually overcame this sense of doubt.  After years of devotion, she was finally ready to consummate the union between Christ and herself.  Her trials had only brought them closer.  In 1367, at the age of 20, she became the bride of Christ.  In the small wedding ceremony, attended by select friends and family and presided by God, Jesus perfected their love by placing a ring made of his own foreskin on Catherine’s finger.  This act was founded in the Christian belief that God resurrected Christ and took his body to heaven.  Thus the only part of Christ’s body that remains in this world would be the result of his circumcision.She proudly wore the ring that no one else could see and only she could feel.  A symbol of her quiet, everlasting jubilation.  Despite of, or because of, her intimate relationship with Jesus, she was canonized by the Catholic church in 1461.  In 1940 she became a joint Patron Saint of Italy along with Saint Francis of Assisi.  Then in 1970 she became the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church.  Finally, in 1999, Pope John Paul II made her a patron saint of Europe. 

The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine (~1340)
Barna da Siena

Saint Catherine’s first visceral experience between her and Christ was at the age of five.  He appeared before her, smiled at her and blessed her.  It was enough to leave her in a state of euphoria.  Soon thereafter she devoted her life to him.  Who wouldn’t?  A source of jubilation that is as intangible as it is real, absolutely beyond the material world.

Striving for completeness, she sacrificed everything for him.  She concentrated her virginity to Christ.  She flagellated herself in an effort to repent her sin and the sin of all man.  She became mute for years on end and fasted for weeks at a time.  But deep within her was a sense of doubt.  She once confessed that she felt possessed by evil spirits, not by the love of Christ.  An imperfect belief drove a wedge between her and the feeling of inimitable, eternal love. 

Catherine of Siena had the resiliency and faith within her to eventually overcame this sense of doubt.  After years of devotion, she was finally ready to consummate the union between Christ and herself.  Her trials had only brought them closer.  In 1367, at the age of 20, she became the bride of Christ.  In the small wedding ceremony, attended by select friends and family and presided by God, Jesus perfected their love by placing a ring made of his own foreskin on Catherine’s finger.  This act was founded in the Christian belief that God resurrected Christ and took his body to heaven.  Thus the only part of Christ’s body that remains in this world would be the result of his circumcision.

She proudly wore the ring that no one else could see and only she could feel.  A symbol of her quiet, everlasting jubilation.  Despite of, or because of, her intimate relationship with Jesus, she was canonized by the Catholic church in 1461.  In 1940 she became a joint Patron Saint of Italy along with Saint Francis of Assisi.  Then in 1970 she became the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church.  Finally, in 1999, Pope John Paul II made her a patron saint of Europe. 

Nature-nurture is dead because they’re really the same thing. Nature is the thing we must understand first, in terms of how things get wired in utero and the phases of brain development. The piece that used to be called nurture is genetically driven changes that come with things like stress, hormonal differences, neglect, abuse, drugs, or toxic substances. Understanding the genetics we’re born with and how they get modified by our upbringing and environment is the key.
Louann Brizendine

zackgilbert

A moment frozen it time.  Tension exists in a painting because we know it can have no détente.  This is something cinema cannot provide.  Something must happen unless it is the final frame.    Readers Digest Condensed BooksIllustrated by David Blossom1975

A moment frozen it time.  Tension exists in a painting because we know it can have no détente.  This is something cinema cannot provide.  Something must happen unless it is the final frame.   

Readers Digest Condensed Books

Illustrated by David Blossom

1975

Flickr / leifpeng

© Metin Demiralay

© Metin Demiralay

Perfection is static, and I am in full progress
Anaïs Nin

suzywire

If you meet the Buddha, kill him.

Linji

Something worth repeating should be thought provoking.  I cherish this quote because it encourages us to find our own Buddah - the knowledge of self.  If we see it outside of us, it is false, and we should eliminate it as a possible sense of identity - even if it is Buddah himself.

Satori is the art of knowing which only comes through experience.  The inside feeling of rightness validates the functional mechanics of life.  “You alone are the replete knower and the method of your knowing is the self.”In any fulfilled life there must be time to listen to yourself.  As R. Murray Schafer likes to point out: silent and listen are anagrams - you cannot have one without the other. (photo credit: Irwin Romain Jules Arthur)

Satori is the art of knowing which only comes through experience.  The inside feeling of rightness validates the functional mechanics of life.  “You alone are the replete knower and the method of your knowing is the self.”

In any fulfilled life there must be time to listen to yourself.  As R. Murray Schafer likes to point out: silent and listen are anagrams - you cannot have one without the other.

(photo credit: Irwin Romain Jules Arthur)

The smell of autumn.  The sound.  Endless poetry has been written.  It is one of the joys of the four seasons.  It reminds us of the importance of the senses - there is a vitality in the changing seasons.  The colors of the leaves pictured above.  The sound of walking through them.  The smell of the earth in the crisp air.  The tactile sensation of the experience goes far beyond what can be communicated in image and yet more and more of our time is spent looking at things and less is spent touching things.The Onion ran one of my favorite headlines in recent memory: Report: 90% Of Waking Hours Spent Staring At Glowing Rectangles.  I imagine that the next generation - the generation which lives in an increasingly virtual world of digital books, digital games, distant friends - may revolt.  There might be a movement of the real.  Like the Hollywood New Wavers of the early 70s trying to get at the human experience itself rather than derivative man-eating sharks and laser-zapping ships whooshing through space. Or maybe not.  Today, the greatest asset of these glowing rectangles is not the experience they provide but the accessibility.  The ease of escape.  The low investment.  One thing that cannot be argued about even the most advanced digital media of 2009 is that it has a lower resolution than even everyday occurances - the touch, the smell, the sounds and even the visuals - and yet it is the primary way that some of us navigate through our weeks. [Photo: 35mm Fuji Velvia]

The smell of autumn.  The sound.  Endless poetry has been written.  It is one of the joys of the four seasons.  It reminds us of the importance of the senses - there is a vitality in the changing seasons. 

The colors of the leaves pictured above.  The sound of walking through them.  The smell of the earth in the crisp air.  The tactile sensation of the experience goes far beyond what can be communicated in image and yet more and more of our time is spent looking at things and less is spent touching things.

The Onion ran one of my favorite headlines in recent memory: Report: 90% Of Waking Hours Spent Staring At Glowing Rectangles. 

I imagine that the next generation - the generation which lives in an increasingly virtual world of digital books, digital games, distant friends - may revolt.  There might be a movement of the real.  Like the Hollywood New Wavers of the early 70s trying to get at the human experience itself rather than derivative man-eating sharks and laser-zapping ships whooshing through space.

Or maybe not.  Today, the greatest asset of these glowing rectangles is not the experience they provide but the accessibility.  The ease of escape.  The low investment.  One thing that cannot be argued about even the most advanced digital media of 2009 is that it has a lower resolution than even everyday occurances - the touch, the smell, the sounds and even the visuals - and yet it is the primary way that some of us navigate through our weeks.

[Photo: 35mm Fuji Velvia]