Herd THIS

I realized* today why I didn't get Alan Watts.

Alan Watts, it seems, read D.T. Suzuki and then put on airs about being an authority on Buddhism (which to a post-14 year old, he was NOT). Buddhism was a commodity which Alan frequently sold through books**, lectures, seminars, and propounded on Radio and TV. Buddhism was merely a constant source of CASH for Alan. It was a religion - Alan worshipped CASH. And he has quite the legacy because of it.

But, except for "Big Hind, Big Fart," Buddhism is free. It is not bought, sold, traded or bartered. The Beats got that. Alan didn't. Unfortunately, Alan died an alcoholic with a full ashtray - results of a compulsive-addictive personality disorder. Oh well...

Somehow, when I was 14 I sensed that D.T. Suzuki was the source of that which Alan channeled to radio and TV. I read only two of Alans books and discarded both as regurgitation (vomit). The first authentic book on Zen I read was a reprint by D.T. Suzuki in 1964 - 30 years after it was first printed. I still have it today. It has somehow escaped both donations to the library and paper pulping. (P.S. Some of the REAL CRAP® you might have is worth $$$. Check before you pulp it!)

And that Ox is a Zen Figurine (frame 4) from a collection of 10 Ox Herding Figurines from prewar Japan - given to me just 50 years ago. It seems like only yesterday.

*satori

**don't be cheap, buy them ALL.

Faith, Hope, and Charity

If America's founding fathers were anything, they were critical thinkers.

Note: f = German "s" so fenfe = sense &c.

Old Ben Franklin was at the top of his game when America was being hatched.

Some of his most creative writings - as published in the Pennsylvania Gazette or Poor Richard's Almanack - were collected in the above book which I recommend to everyone who is not recovering from a recent surgery.

An excerpt is posted for your edification. Click on each image for a larger view.

Ever the wise-guy, Franklin declared the timely death of his competition in the "Courteous Reader_," (forward) of:
Poor Richard's Almanack, 1733
Poor Richard's Almanack, 1734
Poor Richard's Almanack, 1735
and
Poor Richard's Almanack, 1736
a joke that lasted FOUR YEARS running!
“Richard Saunder” was an astrologer and almanac writer of the previous century in England! Even THE AUTHORSHIP was a twisted parody. It's not Leeds, but Saunder that is dead!

Note the "year of publication" above. From the beginning, Franklin was making a parody of both the "errors in astrology" and "since the creation" beliefs.

Northern Sky

If you are standing in the Northern Hemisphere and looking at Polaris, the sky appears to rotate counter clockwise. That is because the Earth is rotating toward the East.

You see, the sun does not come up in the East, the horizon goes down.

Who was Milutin Milankovitch and why should we care? I don't know and we don't care!

Now, back to the topic at hand.

The ancient academic Buddhists put a design in coins [very rare] which represents the apparent rotation of the northern sky.

Above is the complete design (reconstructed from my microscopic examination).

Below is a rather good photocopy of the charcoal on parchment facsimile taken in the field (somewhat magnified).

I was put onto the trail of this astronomical representation by a so-so book called "Hamlet's Mill." It remains one of the most rewarding books that I have ever read. However, it it a long and laborious read.

I could throw in something kinky here by mentioning that "Lishu Darling was born a woman, wrote many texts then changed herself into a man via gender bending self initiation and ritual empowerment." But I won't. This post is not, after all, about Unbounded Wholeness. It's about the northern sky at night.

Half Astrology was behind the myth of the Magi. We know that the Manger, with its northern ass ans southern ass, was visited by Jupiter (Dios P'ter - the heavenly father) who seeded us 'Jesus' of IXEUS (the fish man) fame. Born in Pisces. What a concept!

BTW: Who knows how many asses have visited the manger since? Just wondering.

And what do Astrologers have to say about the birth of IXEUS?

Star Chart 1

Star Chart 2

Star Chart 3

Star Chart 4

What we have (not) is agreement!

You know what they say: "From half-assed beginnings..."

But (not butt) for our coin from Taxila and the Buddhist design? Well, it shows that - at least on a clear night - the Buddhists didn't have their heads in a cloud! Get my point?

Return of the sun...

The Evangelical Rejection of Reason

"THE Republican presidential field has become a showcase of evangelical anti-intellectualism. Herman Cain, Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann deny that climate change is real and caused by humans. Mr. Perry and Mrs. Bachmann dismiss evolution* as an unproven theory. The two candidates who espouse the greatest support for science, Mitt Romney and Jon M. Huntsman Jr., happen to be Mormons, a faith regarded with mistrust by many Christians." MORE...

and the Newt???

*Evolution's five intermediate forms.

Only Turkey is behind the United States in science education... and WE certainly have our problems with belief.