Ryokan, an 18th century Zen monk wrote: " Without a bit of ambition left , I let my nature flow where it will. There are ten days of rice in my bag, and by the fireplace a bundle of wood Who prattles of illusion or nirvana? Forgetting the equal dusts of name & fortune, listening to the night rain on the roof of my hut, I sit, at ease, both legs stretched out." So, the other day I was musing how it might be easier if we just got euthanized at 50 (I'm 52) - you know, something like Soilent Green is People! I mean, a few thousand years ago, (and in some places, much more recently) I would most likely be dead by now anyway. But as humans we have this incredible attachment to living. I'm not sure why, really. We tend to treat death as if it's something to be avoided. You do know it's inevitable don't you. In fact, much of the difficulty is the great struggle to resist death in all its forms. Much of this looks like "There's something wrong!" O...
Conditioning - subtle and pervasive. We can call it belief or ideas, mental constructs, habits, it really doesn't matter. The point is that it appears to be there, points upon which we fixate. We believe we ARE or we are NOT enlightened. We believe that there can only be one or ten or fifty enlightened people on the planet at any given time. We believe that everyone is already enlightened. It doesn't really matter what the fixation, whether it is a 'good' one or a 'bad' one - in some way it is still holding us to an angle of vision, a perspective. The question is, "Who the hell said it had to be this way or that way???" People are constantly quoting someone or some scripture to me to prove their point, as if I give a damn! Sure, I love quotes as much or more than the next person. I collect them like stamps or coins, but I also recognize that they give a flavor, they point a direction. I never take them as unalterable Truths. "It takes three mill...
As it is stated above, the purpose of this blog is about Awakening. It all started, in a way with Kyle MacDonald. If you don't know about him, I suggest you check out his website at http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/ Kyle decided he wanted a house and wondered what how he could get it. He decided he would utilize the idea of the game "Bigger and Better" to trade one red paper clip up until he got a house, and he did it. This caused me to think. My teacher used to say, "Be Bold. If you want to hunt, try for rhinoceros. If you want to steal, go for the government reserve. If you fail, everyone will say, 'It couldn't be done,' and if you succeed, everyone will say, 'How Great!" Into my mind came the words, "One Million Awake" and I decided to start this website and blog. Please feel free to subscribe, etc. and to visit the website itself (if you didn't come from there) at www.onemillionawake.com. I have chosen this space to blog as ...
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