Oh My!

My posting here at Dharma Path has really dropped off as of late hasn't it? Mostly due to things at work just ramping up exponentially in the past month or so.

Sorry for not getting back to everyone who has commented here. Please do keep commenting, I love reading your input. When things settle down a bit I really want to open things back up to a two-way (instead of a one-way) conversation. I miss connecting with you all.

Here's something I wish I had a little more of lately:

Wind stirs the bamboo,
But once the wind passes,
The bamboo is silent.
Geese land in a chill pond,
But once the geese fly away,
There are no reflections.
In the same way,
Once the red dust passes,
The mind is still.

The affairs of the world are often euphemistically referred to as red dust. This is the involvement of the world that is hard to brush away and yet equally hard to hold on to. We may seek meditative detachment, but as long as the stimulation of the world continue to blow through our minds, the true stillness of meditation is impossible.

If we do not involve ourselves with the difficulties of the world, there will naturally not be any suggestion or stimulation present. Then the mind will be still. The still mind is capable of the most supreme states of existence.

Obviously, total withdrawal from the tribulations, dangers, sensual temptations, and entanglements of everyday life would be one way of doing this. If you feel ready to do this and you have that option, they you should do so. You will find satisfaction and happiness very quickly. But if you are obligated to remain in the world for some time more, and still want to practice the art of tranquillity, you must execute withdrawal on a more microscopic scale. Then stillness is possible for at least short periods.

Stillness
365 Tao
Deng Ming-Dao
Daily Meditations

Sharing

Just wanted share three things with the readers of my blog. First, I wanted to make public my list of Buddhist bookmarks that I have put together at delicious (see mini-browser window below).

Now, what's cool about the list below is that it's being displayed in a mini-browser within a browser. It's called Bitty Browser. Click on the "About Bitty Browser" link in the Bitty window. That's the second thing I wanted to share, it's a technology that's just too cool to keep to myself!!

The third and last thing I wanted to share was del.icio.us. delicious is yet another web based bookmark manager. It's just so no frills that I love it!! Check it out if you're interested in this sort of thing. I dumped all my other web based bookmark managers for this one. The really cool thing is that as I add more links to the list they just show up here automagically (on top)!! It's just WAY COOL (IMHO)!!

dying

i sit here
breathing
as you lay there
dying
you breathe too
we breathe together

today is your last day
on this earth
you die
with such dignity
such strength
i'm impressed

but also, i'm scared
i'm afraid of my own death

but being here
now
with you
in your hour
helps

thank you dear friend
thank you