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.

from RICH IN SHEEP to WELCOME

A few people have questioned me about how the Teachings of the Buddha could be transliterated into the Gospels. An example of butchered (pardon the pun) 'rich in sheep' becoming 'welcome' is given in Chadwick:
Any number of things - neck of a turtle ---> yoke of an oxen - were transliterated by the Greeks (Gospel of Matthew) from the wrinings of the Buddhists of Bactria to be thereafter harmonized into gospels of Byzantium (325 CE). One easy place to look is jesus is buddha. Yes, there's Spinsky.

Scholars noticed these 'cultural borrowings' in christianity well before 1875 when publications on the subject began to appear. Why, after 135 years, is this information not widely circulated? With the advent of the internet, there is are trickles that may become streams. What, therefore, are internet surfers, at long last, starting to clearly see?

1) That the Moses myth is based on Akhenaten. [a PDF]
2) That myth of Jesus is based on the Buddha. (c. 1882)
3) That myths are the rule rather than the exception.


Is this a wake up call that the many sleeping will answer?

No.

The slumber of their sleep is beyond hypnotic, it is a crystallized belief.

Revisiting Rebirth

O.K. Some people don't get it.

Try reading a little. THIS book is a start.

Hell, even THIS article is a start. [a PDF]

What would cause young children to think they remembered living before—and dying before? For the past forty years, doctors at the University of Virginia Medical Center have tried to answer that question. Researchers have investigated more than 2,500 cases of young children who reported memories of previous lives. Now, Jim B. Tucker, M.D., a child psychiatrist who currently directs the research, shares these studies with the general public.
Children who report past-life memories typically begin talking about a previous life when they are two to three years old. The children tend to show a strong emotional involvement with the apparent memories and often cry to be taken to the previous family. In many cases, parents have taken their children to the places they named, where they found that an individual had died whose life matched the details given by the child. During the visits, some children have recognized family members or friends from that individual's life. Many children have also had birthmarks that matched wounds on the body of the deceased individual.

This isn't voodoo mojo Feng Shui. It's science. Thinking allowed is thinking aloud.

Don't believe* it, consider it.


The Boy Who Lived Before: This documentary screened in 2005 as part of the television series ”Extraordinary People” broadcast in the UK. “The Boy Who Lived Before” featured the investigation of the case of Cameron Macaulay by Dr. Jim Tucker, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia.

*Belief is an emotional disease in my lexicon - akin to pork for the Jews and Muslims.

Wecome to hell - now suffer!

Women don't get it. Newborns have big eyes and they look so cute.

But what is going on is that the wheel of dharma is being turned by desire and yet another salient being is condemned to the continuance of hell (the seemingly endless cycles of birth-death).
In just one city, there are three babies born every hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. That's actually a bit more at 75 babies a day and 27,375 a year.

That's 5 Woodsides or almost an entire Monterey added to the planet each and every year!

Play the VIDEO

And the photographer, not to be outdone, was seven months pregnant when she visited Delhi's baby factory! It's up to the men in the world to detach from fathering children. Women can't do it alone and a monastic order of monks (who swear and keep an oath not to touch a woman) is just a small start on the right path.

Am I saying that EVERY man should reject the idea of fathering children?

YES!
Looking for the tabernacle [body] maker,
through the many cycles of birth.
And in not finding him,
painful are the cycles of birth.

No more, maker of tabernacles [embodiments],
for you [Mara] have been seen.
You shall make my tabernacle [body] no more.

The rafters [ribs] are broken
the ridge-pole [spine] is sundered
the mind [understanding] approaches the Eternal.

[For] I [now] understand peace is the extinction of desire.

Zen Practice is Zazen

"Studying Zen (sanzen) is zazen. For zazen, one should have a
quiet place. Spread a thick sitting mat. Do not let in drafts or
vapors; do not admit rain or dew. You should secure and maintain
the spot where you place yourself. There are traces from the past
of those who sat on a vajra [seat] or sat on a rock; they all spread a
thick layer of grass to sit on. The place where you sit should be
bright; it should not be dark either day or night. The technique is
to keep it warm in winter and cool in summer.

Cast aside all involvements and discontinue the myriad affairs.
Good is not thought of; evil is not thought of. It is not mind,
intellect or consciousness; it is not thoughts, ideas or perceptions.
Do not figure to make a buddha; slough off sitting or reclining.
You should be moderate in food and drink. Hold dear the passing
days and nights, and take to zazen as though brushing a fire from
your head." source

academic source

Truth-on a sliding scale

The above is my favorite illustration from any book that I have ever encountered.
Perhaps I will delve into it just a bit. At one extreme, you have "hot" emotionalism which leads people to _scream_, _cry_, _shout_, _fart_, and dance with snakes. At the other extreme you have "cold" rationalism where people reflectively think, reason, and dare to understand. Revelation comes not from emoting but rather from reflective thinking.

Emotionalism knows no wisdom. Rationalism needs no wisdom.

Now I am not addressing ENTJ personality types here. Nor am I addressing INTJ folks. Nor am I even referring to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®. There is some value to the MBTI® assessment. Especially where you are trying to cure a "sick company" or dysfunctional board of directors.

I am talking about a party of one - YOU. And I am talking about how you are going to cope in an increasingly difficult world - one where poverty is the norm.

"The prognosis for the next few years is bad with a chance of worse."

Today I am a:

slightly expressed Extravert
slightly expressed Sensing personality
moderately expressed Thinking personality
moderately expressed Judging personality

Other days, I am other things than slightly ES and moderately TJ... personality is dynamic and, like everything else in nature, subject to change. I am most often ENTJ. Not that it matters because it doesn't. I'm retired. If my conversation at PEET's offends thee, rip out your ears. But, please, go somewhere else to do it.

It's the "T" part - THINKING over emoting. I recall one incident at the SFZC when Brad gave a talk about Shobogenzo (and his book Sit Down and Shut Up). During the questions period, a woman went on and on in a testimonial about how sitting Zazen had brought her compassion to full fruition. I studied the absence of reaction in the room and eventually she noticed it also. This was clearly not a cry-in.

Thinking people have to throttle their ability somewhat to get along with groups. Emotional people have to curb their emotions to get along with groups. It's like the ANS and Nishijima... balance.

Sick joke:

What do 5,000 battered women have in common?

(Pounding fist on table and screaming) "They just won't learn to listen!"

Analysis: Battered women are often paired with insecure men who lack emotional maturity, coping skills, and often have severe anger control issues (the anger arises from a general lack of ability to compete in the job market, gain and keep the respect of others, hold one's own ground in a conversation, and a propensity to self-medicate with alcohol or narcotic substances). These women often have serious issues of their own - co-dependence being one.

Battered voters have an instrument of revenge - the ballot. If and when these voters wake up to the realization that they have been battered by the emotionalism of right wingnut radio and other republican thugs, they will tune them out, cast them out, and never return their support.

the Oxford Comma

Why the Oxford comma is important. The Oxford comma is found before the final "and" in a series of nouns, e.g., "We bought apples, oranges, and pears." The Oxford comma is even more important in a string of nouns such as this, "We like soup and sandwiches, peaches and cream, and cookies and milk."

Besides following some in-house "book of style" or "accepted practice", there's no reason not to use the Oxford comma, unless it's to confuse readers!

<< http://unlikelywords.tumblr.com/post/10316821782/why-the-oxford-comma-is-important-via-peterc >>

In the translations of archaic languages, the matter of punctuation, usage, and context do matter. Punctuation, by use of additional little marks or character embellishments, was used by the ancients. The use of ancient (archaic) punctuation is not well understood.

Let's face it. Subtle changes in punctuation can make profound differences in meaning (cognitive content).

Buddhism is NOT a conversion...

Everyone - almost - is born awake (budh). Then, over the next six or seven years, they are lulled off to slumber the sleep of culture, religion, superstition, fear, and violence.

Buddhism is a rejection of violence and fear. For many, it also becomes the rejection of superstition and religion. Culture is something that is resilient to change.

"To awaken is to:
learn the art of living
master the mind and bring it back to... the present moment
to unite mind, body and reality.

To awaken is to:
bring the reality of the present moment to life
become aware of the present moment
live the present moment." source

Movie day in Elementary School!

Even Kempo and Mumon did not know

A student monk once asked Master Kempo, "I understand that all Buddhas enter the one road into Nirvana. Where is this one road?”

Kempo, raising his walking stick, drew the figure "one" and said, "Here it is."

Later, the student monk went to Umon to ask the same question. Umon, opening his fan, said; "This fan will reach the thirty-third heaven and hit the nose of Sakra Devendra, the highest deity in these heavens. It is like the giant carp of the Eastern Sea tipping over a rain cloud with its tail to make the rain pour down."

Mumon's Comments:
One master walks on the deep ocean and raises dust. The other, standing on the tip of the high mountain, fills the heaven with white waves. The one holds the point, while the other liberates everything; together each supports the teaching with one hand. Kempo and Umon are like two powerful camels colliding. Seen from the truth, even Kempo and Mumon did not know where this one road really is.

They reach the goal before taking the first step.
They complete the speech before their tongue moves.
Even if they had foresight long ago, the origin of the road lies ahead of their foresight now. (e.g. they lost 'beginner's mind.')

the CORRUPTION of Public Education

Sadly, the Fundies in Texas have too g*d damned much to say about what gets into textbooks for State-supported Public education.
In this case, the illustration carries a qualifier: "...one of the books of the Hebrew Bible." The implication here is that there are other - non-Hebrew - bibles. Obviously there are many bibles (books) which are not Hebrew.
In the second case, there is no qualifier. To make matters worse, this second citation comes from a Biographical Dictionary - as if Naomi were a real (v. mythological) person. There is no evidence outside of Hebrew Folklore that most of these Biblical characters were anything other than inventions, cultural borrowing, or renamed non-Hebrew historical characters. For examples, read The Bible Unearthed.

Texas Fundamentalists are deciding what to include in the content of California textbooks. California should write, edit, and publish their own textbooks.

For those of you who believe archeology supports the bible, HERE is a general statement that might help you out.

MORE lunacy.

The secret of life...

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, say no more.

Buddha light is not Buddha lite.

"You're a republican, aren't you?*"

Buddhism [a PDF] is the first developed science of meta-cognition (thinking about thinking).

As a group, conservatives tend to act on emotion (e.g. fear) rather than reason.

As a group, progressives tend to act on reason (e.g. consequences to the food chain) rather than fear.

Koan practice [a PDF], which nearly all Buddhist Sects encourage, is about developing reasoning. And Zazen provides an opportunity to think sans the interactions that ignite emotions (DUH!).

As you have already been informed, there are few graduate schools of psychology which do not explore some of the concepts developed and tested by the early Buddhists. I don't know if Pat Robertson's college or Jerry Fall-Well's College, or Jimmy Swaggart's College even have graduate programs in psychology. Like LRH, they might just be more interested in washing the brain than developing it.

Buddha light is not Buddha lite.

*A question asked to confirm a suspicion.

Mysterion?

Click on the image above for full size...

break wind

First and foremost, I concede that one can not know anything remotely called 'truth' at all about Hebrew unless one is born and raised a Moabite or Ammonite.

But about breath, spirit, wind, and the like:

Who, me? Zazen Doggie.

You know, when the sunshine is just right and the temperature out-of-doors is warm, I (of all doggies) am willing to go along with my daddy to Peet's providing:
1) Somebody remembers my pillow,
2) Somebody saves me a chair, and
3) I am allowed to sun my face in peace.

Is that asking too much? It it?

Best regards,
Shiro

p.s. I am NOT sleeping.

Letting some light back in...

Well, something was going on in the Levant and it was not traditional!

That something was, of course, Buddhism. And Buddhism was not about making war - or making a lot of sons so that they could go to war for you at a later date. Buddhism was about here and now (Luke 17:21) - and peace (Matthew 5:9).

For a backward population of caravan robbers and nomadic goat herders, all THIS peace talk was a totally alien concept. But it was there (in Jerusalem [here is a PDF]) and it had the ruler's support. It was as if the anchor of Seleukos II was on one side of the coin and the wheel of Dharma was on the other. Did I mention, THAT is exactly the case?

A century or two later the folks were still talking about it - through the distortions of time, space, and culture. And that alien monasticism was re-branded the Essenes.
Click on above article for a clearer view.

Thereafter, what scholars started to see in ever more clarity was that Christianity - once thought to be the Hellenization of Judahism - was obviously the Hellenization of Buddhism. In short, the old school was wrong - dead wrong - yet again for yet another time yet (&c.)! (and Yet, yet, yet.)


Matthew 13:31 – 33, 44 – 49 is a retelling of old Buddhist teachings.

Rather than go on, I'll recommend a book as a starting point.

A Pix sez 1,000 words

Please click on the above and study the full-size graphic!
There ARE remarkable exceptions to the norm. And right wingnut hate radio touts them frequently. 1 in 300,000,000 (one out of three hundred million) CAN beat the odds. But the odds of you winning the local Super Lotto are 10x greater! How weird are they?

See my post on stupidity - there are no limits!

Perfection

We should be careful about using the word 'perfect.' However, I have the perfect little dog. When I call him, he acts like I do not exist - even if I am in the same room. Without this interaction, my sense of self might become inflated.