Farewell Chris, it was a long battle and now you can rest in peace. Namu amida butsu.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Lifecycle
Another long absence from the blog. The Mountain Hut has been drenched in tears as I prepare to say farewell to my brother in law, who is dying of cancer. He's off to a better place, whatever his destination. I feel so sad for my sister and their son, who is only 6. I know how I'd like to feel, and deal with this: serene, understanding, and compassionate. However I'm a red-and-swollen-eyed mess, who hasn't eaten properly in weeks and gets headaches and stomach aches from the stress. Acceptance is hard to find. It's all so unfair.
(edited: ok, "whingeing" is a little harsh. I'll add "sad")
(edited: ok, "whingeing" is a little harsh. I'll add "sad")
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Yum!
Sometimes it's nice to get out of the hut (um, like I don't go to work every day?) and go somewhere I've long heard about:
The Fo Guang Yuen Art Gallery
I went with my lovely friend Hui who has exhibited there before (link to her fabulous work here) as a celebration for her finishing her PhD. She had previously told me the place was packed at lunchtime so we arranged to go early.... and it was almost deserted! The menu soon showed that while they do cater to the lunch crowd they have turned into a mainly afternoon tea place, with many delicious cakes. We had lunch (Hui had noodles, I had dumplings; all vegetarian of course*) and then we explored the meditation hall upstairs and the gallery downstairs. What a lovely oasis of peace in the middle of a bustling city!
The Tea House also had a great selection of books and Buddhist things (statues, rosaries, etc) and the atmosphere was wonderful. A tiny bit out of the way of my usual life, and only open for lunch Monday-Friday, but I'll definitely go again and take other friends.
*I'm not sure what the deal is with Chinese vegetarian food that it has to contain "vegetarian meat" - I know it's usually made from gluten or tofu, but why not make a really good tofu dish, rather than food containing "vegetarian ham"? Hmmm.
The Fo Guang Yuen Art Gallery
I went with my lovely friend Hui who has exhibited there before (link to her fabulous work here) as a celebration for her finishing her PhD. She had previously told me the place was packed at lunchtime so we arranged to go early.... and it was almost deserted! The menu soon showed that while they do cater to the lunch crowd they have turned into a mainly afternoon tea place, with many delicious cakes. We had lunch (Hui had noodles, I had dumplings; all vegetarian of course*) and then we explored the meditation hall upstairs and the gallery downstairs. What a lovely oasis of peace in the middle of a bustling city!
The Tea House also had a great selection of books and Buddhist things (statues, rosaries, etc) and the atmosphere was wonderful. A tiny bit out of the way of my usual life, and only open for lunch Monday-Friday, but I'll definitely go again and take other friends.
*I'm not sure what the deal is with Chinese vegetarian food that it has to contain "vegetarian meat" - I know it's usually made from gluten or tofu, but why not make a really good tofu dish, rather than food containing "vegetarian ham"? Hmmm.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Karma
Recently I requested a book from interlibrary loans called "Sweeping Changes: Zen and the art of household maintenance" by Gary Thorpe. (Mandatory link to Amazon here although with a slightly different title(?), but I suggest ILL. Much cheaper, and you won't have the book making more clutter!)
Gary talks about seeing cleaning not as something to be done quickly and then move on to something more fun, but as a small meditation in itself. Did you ever notice how pictures/movies of Zen temples always seem to have a monk or novice outside sweeping up leaves in the garden?
The book is broken up into short chapters, making it a quick and easy read and certainly encouraging me to get up between chapters and do a few things.
We all know the Buddhist concept of fusessho （不殺生/ふせっしょう）: "thou shalt not kill." One amusing moment in the book was when he related the story of a Buddhist teacher and friend in Hawaii who had a problem with cockroaches. Gary writes:
After decades of coping with this problem, he now kills them as he encounters them - with Buddhist compassion - wishing them "better luck next time."
Excellent.
Gary talks about seeing cleaning not as something to be done quickly and then move on to something more fun, but as a small meditation in itself. Did you ever notice how pictures/movies of Zen temples always seem to have a monk or novice outside sweeping up leaves in the garden?
The book is broken up into short chapters, making it a quick and easy read and certainly encouraging me to get up between chapters and do a few things.
We all know the Buddhist concept of fusessho （不殺生/ふせっしょう）: "thou shalt not kill." One amusing moment in the book was when he related the story of a Buddhist teacher and friend in Hawaii who had a problem with cockroaches. Gary writes:
After decades of coping with this problem, he now kills them as he encounters them - with Buddhist compassion - wishing them "better luck next time."
Excellent.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Desire
I was going to call this post "Envy" but I realised I didn't need to be envious, and if I exerted myself I could actually achieve something similar! A few links today to homes/blogs which encourage simplicity and minimalism:
1. Victor & Soeun's Romantic Loft: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2007-entries/11-victor-soeuns-romantic-loft-021235
Fabulous use of a very small space (a 518 sq ft apartment in New York).
2. Churchlady's apartment: http://www.flickr.com/photos/churchlady32/sets/72157621814401207/show/with/3786749539/
Want!
3. Miss Minimalist's blog: http://www.missminimalist.com, especially this post: http://www.missminimalist.com/?p=40
Can you imagine how easy it would be to concentrate on meditation or even reading a book, in such uncluttered surroundings? I spend a lot of time wishing my flat were somewhat like these, and generally Not Actually Doing Anything. All thought, no action. I am inspired!
1. Victor & Soeun's Romantic Loft: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2007-entries/11-victor-soeuns-romantic-loft-021235
Fabulous use of a very small space (a 518 sq ft apartment in New York).
2. Churchlady's apartment: http://www.flickr.com/photos/churchlady32/sets/72157621814401207/show/with/3786749539/
Want!
3. Miss Minimalist's blog: http://www.missminimalist.com, especially this post: http://www.missminimalist.com/?p=40
Can you imagine how easy it would be to concentrate on meditation or even reading a book, in such uncluttered surroundings? I spend a lot of time wishing my flat were somewhat like these, and generally Not Actually Doing Anything. All thought, no action. I am inspired!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
笠羅漢 (kasa rakan) "The statues with straw hats"
...my own completely inadequate translation! A "kasa" is a straw hat, and a "rakan" is in Chinese "luohan" or in Sanskrit "arhat" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakan (Am I the only person who sees "arhat" and thinks "asshat"? I hope not!)
In this cartoon version of a Japanese folk story (Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi), the old couple find they have no food or money to buy food, so the old man goes off to town to sell the straw hats he has been making. On the way he is caught in a rain storm, and seeks shelter in a grove with sixteen rakan. He decides they need the straw hats more than he needs food, so gives his hats to them and goes home. [By the way, the old woman is ok with this - he apologises for not bringing back any food and she says that his giving the hats to the rakan is just the sort of thing she likes about him - which makes him blush!] That night, the couple are visited by a ghostly procession bearing a coffin, which the pall bearers leave behind. In it is a treasury of "koban" - gold coins. By the door they find one of the old man's hats, and when they visit the rakan they see that one of them is hatless. So, they know that the riches they received were given by the rakan! And they lived happily ever after...
It's a beautifully illustrated story, and it reminds me of a simpler time when gods seemed closer and more intimately entwined in daily life.
Also, for those seeking the solitude of the mountain hut, the couple's house is perfect - in a bamboo grove, with little by way of furniture or decoration. Something to learn from, in many ways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at8JhEgEb8g
In this cartoon version of a Japanese folk story (Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi), the old couple find they have no food or money to buy food, so the old man goes off to town to sell the straw hats he has been making. On the way he is caught in a rain storm, and seeks shelter in a grove with sixteen rakan. He decides they need the straw hats more than he needs food, so gives his hats to them and goes home. [By the way, the old woman is ok with this - he apologises for not bringing back any food and she says that his giving the hats to the rakan is just the sort of thing she likes about him - which makes him blush!] That night, the couple are visited by a ghostly procession bearing a coffin, which the pall bearers leave behind. In it is a treasury of "koban" - gold coins. By the door they find one of the old man's hats, and when they visit the rakan they see that one of them is hatless. So, they know that the riches they received were given by the rakan! And they lived happily ever after...
It's a beautifully illustrated story, and it reminds me of a simpler time when gods seemed closer and more intimately entwined in daily life.
Also, for those seeking the solitude of the mountain hut, the couple's house is perfect - in a bamboo grove, with little by way of furniture or decoration. Something to learn from, in many ways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at8JhEgEb8g
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Chuffed
Gosh, I seem to have *actual real people* reading the blog. How very kind of you!
Just when I thought peace was reigning upstairs (I think the noisy bloke has been replaced by another less noisy bloke) I now have recurring drama in the form of a young girl who likes to have very public outpourings of drunken grief, especially in the wee small hours. This block used to be so quiet! *sigh*
I've become interested in the case of a missing boy in the US, Hasanni Campbell. Poor mite was reportedly kidnapped back in August and hasn't been found, but the parents (foster parents) never seemed quite right in their protestations. I'm sure it's too late for the lad now, but what a waste of a tiny life. Here's a jizo for you, Hasanni!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jizo
Just when I thought peace was reigning upstairs (I think the noisy bloke has been replaced by another less noisy bloke) I now have recurring drama in the form of a young girl who likes to have very public outpourings of drunken grief, especially in the wee small hours. This block used to be so quiet! *sigh*
I've become interested in the case of a missing boy in the US, Hasanni Campbell. Poor mite was reportedly kidnapped back in August and hasn't been found, but the parents (foster parents) never seemed quite right in their protestations. I'm sure it's too late for the lad now, but what a waste of a tiny life. Here's a jizo for you, Hasanni!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JizoIn Japan, Kṣitigarbha, known as Jizō, or Ojizō-sama as he is respectfully known, is one of the most loved of all Japanese divinities. His statues are a common sight, especially by roadsides and in graveyards. Traditionally, he is seen as the guardian of children, particularly children who died before their parents.
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