hmm wow what is that meow?? that sounds really cool about the seeing the "fist" as what it really is and not as what we call it...i want to learn more..any good sites or books??
love earthangel
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

meow Wrote:
> the hwadu- does that mean
> separating an object from what we call the object?
> like you mean "fist" is just a word we have given
> to the actual body part, and you're trying to see
> it as what it really is instead of associate it
> with the arbitrary word it was assigned?
Looks like your dabbling has brought you some understanding! Now, get out of your head and see the "fist" for what it really is! I don't yet see it, but, hey, why wait?

And you know, there are a couple of preconceptions necessary, it seems to me, to really go all out with Buddhism. One, is that what we are deluded. We don't really experience life as it really happens. Another, is that it's possible to experience reality. Another is that Buddhist practice affords a person that possibility. Another is that it's worth all of the everything that the practice entails.

> anyway, enjoy the peace & quiet!
Same to you. Really.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

hey there...hmm yes that sounds so interesting...i need to look more into this!! take care and have a wonderful day!
love earthangel
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

earthangel Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hmm wow what is that meow?? that sounds really
> cool about the seeing the "fist" as what it really
> is and not as what we call it...i want to learn
> more..any good sites or books??
> love earthangel
> xoxoxoxo
There are so so so many. So many. One of my all-time favorites is a British guy named Alan Watts who was so cool. Dead now. [www.alanwatts.com]

Another dead one is a Korean monk named Seung Sahn. [www.kwanumzen.com] I haven't looked at this website but I do know that this guy is supposed to have been an enlightened person, and that he was highly respected.

An American guy who is still alive, but he's old so who knows how much longer he'll be around, wrote a great book called "The Three Pillars of Zen". [www.windhorsezen.org]
I don't kno wwho wrote this article. I read only the first paragraph. It's more of that mysterious, esoteric language that Zen / Seon has become known for. When I lived in Thialand, there were monks who discounted Zen writings. One monk told me they write beautifully, but they don't KNOW what the words mean! Maybe he's right. Just the same, there's something in these writings, that I feel very strongly about. So, I'm here and I'm glad to be.

There's a website on Korean Buddhism. www.koreanbuddhism.net The temple I live and practice at is connected with this website. There are a few Dharma Talks given by the abbot of my temple. Here's a short excerpt from one of them.

"In each moment, we must maintain samadhi (meditative concentration). But where does such a state of mind come from? Samadhi reaches from this life and into the one beyond, originating in wisdom. Accordingly, finding your true self is equal to finding wisdom. Thus, we must perceive that place of our original being. When you return to this point, we will find that the “I” actually does not exist in the way we believe it does."

Jibberish? The words of someone who knows, sees, experiences things that are beyond my immediate reach? My friend Sunmi says that they believe this man to be enlightened.

Here's a link to the entire Talk. It's not so long. [www.koreanbuddhism.net]

Also, there are lots of podcasts. There is so much. Find a person in your area.

If you like any of this, then brace yourself for an onslaught from me!!



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

Hey there ...well thank you soooo soooo soo much for all the info..i will check it out later tonight or int he moring!!! sounds soo great!!! what a wonderful man you so helpful....
have a wonderful day!!
love earthangel
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

GENERAL STUFF

I wrote this and the next three entries on May 21. It’s now the 26th.

I want to say it now and say it plainly. I don’t read other people’s diaries. No doubt I could benefit from reading other people’s diaries. I might read others’ diaries if I felt I had more time. But there is so much work to do here, getting onto a computer is not super super convenient, and, there are other things I should do as well. Giving up is one of the things that I’m doing in this temple life. Reason I’m doing this diary is because I have come to enjoy being a part of this community (you guys) and want to share some experiences. So, I am defensively expressing my feelings of guilt here! Hope you all understand.

One comment regarding understanding! Even if you don’t understand, well, how about accepting? There’s no way in hell that any of us is going to understand everything. And if whatever we don’t understand we don’t accept, then we’re nailing our own coffins in double-time, aren’t we? Accept first, maybe understanding will come more easily if acceptance comes first instead of demanding that understanding has to come first.

Elakti: “Are you there, Troysantos? We are taking over your journal, LOL!”
Yeah, more posts by you all than by me!!

“...do you feel like you've come back to a surprise party?!?”
Yeah it was nice to see all the responses.

Earthangel: you’re really an angel. You keep checking in and leaving a little note. Thanks so much. Really sweet of you.

I went for a medical check up last week. Everything normal. I wanted to have a colon cancer exam but the doctor just said "next time."! I figure that with the way I abused myself with food all these years I just might have the big C word in me somewhere. Stomach cancer or colon cancer. Liver and kidney scored okay. Blood test was normal. But I wonder just how in depth they go during a routine blood test.

My knees have been killing me lately. Can’t sit for very long before the pain is just more than I will put up with. Yesterday I quit early. Tonight I went to a friend’s house at his invitation for a massage to see what he could do about my knee pain. He massaged my knees a bit, inserted some acupuncture needles in one side of my body, and did some other things that I don’t know what to call. Fun, anyway.

Then he pressed my stomach in several places. Well, I still had food in me. Ate quite a bit today. So the pressure of him pushing all that food in there hurt. Or so that seems a logical explanation to me. I told him that dinner was still in there. He said it’s necessary to wait 2 hours after a meal before doing a massage. Yet he still says that I have a health problem in my stomach and, I think he said that my knees won’t heal if my stomach isn’t in good shape. Earlier today he said he wanted to give me some sort of treatment using the stingers of bees. Something like that. I think I’ve heard of this before but really don’t’ know what it’s about. I asked if the bees die. Seems like they must. He said they do, so I declined. There are a million and one strategies for everything under the sun. Why kill bees? Especially now that there is apparently a worldwide shortage of the guys.

There’s an enormous language barrier between us. Another friend went along but he doesn’t speak the best English and I don’t speak the best Korean.

I’ll post this question to the Other Health forum but I want to ask here too. Has anyone had knee pain that you’d associate with eating raw? I don’t recall ever having read that this is a sign of detox. Now my knees hurt pretty much all day. Only when I sit in meditation though does it really hurt badly. I’ll see if I can sit in a chair in the Dharma Hall if it doesn’t get better real soon. My friend said he’d give me more treatment tomorrow.

I recently started wearing sandals that don’t have any cushion at all. Almost as hard as walking on bare ground. And I walk quite a lot. I wonder if this is causing the pain in my knees. The past several days I wear shoes for some part of the day but so far at least, the pain isn’t abating in the least.

Enough.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

LAV: “i feel like bouncing on a trampoline now
u know what they are good for?
doing FLIPS!”
Some of these kids are so good at flips. It must be exhilarating to jump like that. And to intentionally fall flat on your body. You know you can’t do that on the ground. So I suppose to do that anywhere takes a bit of letting go at first. Unless you’re a kid and haven’t yet built up that idea that you CAN’T!

Elakti: “And it seems it is a good environment and ambience to embark on a raw journey. Well, it all sounds highly transformative to me.”
For me, I think this is probably one of the more ideal places to go raw. I want structure from the outside. When I set rules or boundaries for myself, I always break them. When I tell myself I can have anything I want I get really stupid.

I lived at two Buddhist temples in Thailand for 2 years each. A lady once related to me about how she broke her craving for a noodle dish that Thais love but which is really pretty bad for you. She determined to get over her craving. And when she saw it and felt that craving erupt, she stared it down. Both the noodle dish and the craving. Usually she didn’t give in. She had determined to get over that craving. And she eventually did. Now when she sees the stuff, it’s like anything else she is indifferent to.

I haven’t made this determination. But, I have made the determination that once I start training as a novice (in July) I will stare those cravings and those foods down far more often than ever before. I know my past and so I do suppose in the future I’ll give in sometimes. But for the most part, I have made the determination to live with the pain until there’s no more pain. If I do give in (why say now that this or that will happen in the future, right?), it should be mindfully (or, better still, to do the practice that I’m learning here which is called Koan practice). After a year of this, wow, wow, wow …. Yeah, like you say, highly transformative. Thanks for the encouragement.

I am not sure if I’ll leave the temple to buy my own fruit. I have seen nuns shopping but don’t remember seeing monks shopping. Once though I went to the local outdoor market to buy fruit while I was wearing clothing that resembles monks’ clothing. Another customer said something to the vendor about there being a monk waiting to buy something. Nobody seemed really surprised so maybe it’s more common than I realize for monks to buy food.

One thing I’m sure of is that I will never be so cavalier while wearing the clothes of a novice. The clothing is very similar to a monks’ clothes. I just wouldn’t ever dare stroll the downtown streets slopping on an ice-cream or stuffing pastry into my mouth while wearing novice clothing! This much I’m sure of. And I won’t put on street clothes then dash off in the middle of the night to a 24-hour convenience store where nobody knows me to buy a fix of chocolate or potato chips or something else equally wicked. I’m sure.

I said above that I want structure from the outside. When I lived at the temples in Thailand, there was this structure. But the temple life was free enough, and food was easy enough to get outside of mealtimes, and there was usually so so so much (delicious) food that I didn’t really do the practice. Rules around eating are quite strict at these temples where I lived but many people broke the rules often. Few people were so negligent as I was though. This temple here in Korea, on the other hand, is very small. There are only two monks and two other laypeople here all the time. And I don’t feel the freedom to eat willy nilly. At first, I suppose I’ll keep the fruit in my room. But if I start abusing myself with it, then I’ll see about putting it into a room in another house here at the temple. I’d have to be a bit bolder to go there and get it. I see myself getting over the desire for food rather than go into the room to get something to smother a stupid craving. But of course, if it’s not just something emotional, I hope to have the wisdom and the guts to get it. Yeah, transformational. To put myself into a situation where I have every expectation that I’ll get emotional …. I look forward to this one year!

I understand your cravings too. I have them. Even when I give myself a bit of the garbage, yet don’t snowball to #@$%^&*, there’s that feeling every time. Every time I leave the temple there’s that feeling, that craving, that voice that jumps for joy at the chance to go OFFFFFFFF. FREEDOM! I give you a hearty round of applause, really, and a good pat on the back, for your determination to do it, dang it! So do it. Do it do it do it.

Enough.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

BUDDHISM AND RAW FOOD
Yikes, this is a long long one.

Posted by: greenfeline (IP Logged)
Date: May 18, 2007 08:13AM

“I read here off and on, but I am going to jump at asking you a question since you are buddhist and raw like me. From a buddhist standpoint, I often wonder if eating raw is a form of attachment and clinging.”
It could be, or, it could be not an attachment. I sure have attachments to raw. Both the food itself, as well as the image that I project that I am a raw foodist (and other things probably only indirectly regarding food, but I’ll keep this simple). I want others to know this and to see that this is a perfectly viable way of life. Both attachments for me. That’s the emotional part.

The other part of this, for me, is that I really do believe this is a healthful, viable way of life. Never mind that I haven’t yet made it so for myself! Belief … faith!

And I’m eager to let others know that this way exists, and for them to get comfortable with the idea, and, wow, and to even toy with the thought that they might consider in nightmare that they would secretively daydream about trying it out for a day or two, or even a meal or two.

No doubt there are raw foodists out there who don’t cling and don’t attach to the foods or the image or the lifestyle or …. I dare to say that there aren’t a lot who don’t have that annoying static cling (!) but there must be a small handful.

The trick is to let the attachment be. If we can’t let go of the things we cling to (for me, the foods and the image that I want to project), well, let go of the idea that we CAN’T SHOULDN’T attach to them. And if we don’t let go of the idea that we cannot / should not attach to them, well, then live with this level of attachment. The idea is to not stack one layer of self-debasement on top of another, and another, and another … ad nauseum. And kicking ourselves for doing one thing, and for another thing, and …. You saw the big picture long ago, right?

“Isn't it true that in some monasteries the monks, etc... just pretty much eat whatever is put in front of them.
For sure there are monks who will select from only what’s put in front of them. Santi Asoke (the group I lived with in Thailand) has an incredibly strict practice for the monks and female novices. When they do their alms round they accept whatever is given to them. If they wonder if there is meat in something just offered, they ask. If the answer is yes, they’ll give it back and say they only eat vegetarian food. (They’re vegan but will accept things with non-vegan ingredients. Laypeople might eat it but I’ve also seen things get given to villagers because it had a big egg right there as the main part of the food.)

Most monks in Thailand are not vegetarian. They have their reasons based on the scriptures (Tripitaka). Santi Asoke monks have their reasons based on the Tripitaka. Differing interpretations of the Tripitaka. I don’t have any firm belief in what is “right” Buddhist practice except as it applies to me. And even then, that will change according to circumstances. Some people see all this stuff in scriptures as dogma. Empty, meaningless, the blind following blindly. But I don’t see Buddhism that way at all. Not at all. Of course some people do indeed practice in this way. It’s that way for any –ism or any –ity. Or so it seems to me. Same with raw food-ism. Get under the skin of it all. Until a person sees the heart of it, it takes faith. Faith in a religious practice or a spiritual practice, just as in a raw foodist practice, and in the stories and teachings from the raw food “gurus”. Once a person doesn’t need all that anymore, they discard it.

I couldn’t say much about monks’ practices in other countries. Here in Korea I think that all temples have a cook. So the uncertainty is not there like in Thailand where the element of uncertainty is part of everyday life for the clergy.

For me, I cannot understand how any one could be buddhist and eat animals, but I know some buddhists are vegetarian and some are not.
There are reasons that make lots of sense to me. At least if you’re a monk anyway. Even just considering highly spiritual peoples of the world, past and present, I think not vegetarian, for the most part. Most Thais are not, and now I know that most Koreans, even the Buddhists, are not veg. I remember reading that when Westerners go to Thailand, they’re often surprised that few Thais are vegetarian. I lived in Japan for several years many years ago. My last year or so was veg. Few Japanese are veg. And now that I know that very very few Koreans eat veg, I wonder where Westerners get the notion that Buddhists are vegetarian. What “Buddhist” country is mostly vegetarian? Do you know?

How do the people at the temple feel about your "special" diet?
Haven’t had any discussions with people about it. But all the regulars must know. They still ask me regularly if I want this or that. I guess it’s mostly out of courtesy. I have taken part occasionally. Just this evening, a teacher asked if I wanted some ramen. I shook my head, but she asked just the same even though she knows. Sometimes people who don’t yet know ask where my rice is. How come there’s no rice on my plate!!

I work hard mostly every day, from morning until early evening, I’m always in a good mood, never upset with the one lady’s usually harsh tone (harsh words too but I don’t understand what she’s saying!!), and I sit there for two hours of meditation just like the (very very few) others. I have demonstrated some yoga and a breathing technique that some of them had a hard time with, and some of them really enjoyed. So, I don’t know just who sees what and what they feel and think about it all, but, they’re paying attention, I’m pretty sure.

There’s one guy in particular that I hope is paying attention. That’s the abbot here. I’m told his health isn’t so good. I asked this morning why he didn’t come for breakfast. I commented that he never eats. I was told he’s fasting. He told me many days ago that he’s fasting. I don’t know if he’s still fasting or is fasting again. I told the lady who makes food here that if he’d eat fruit he wouldn’t need to fast. I tell people that this diet is good for one’s health. Nobody has mentioned anything about any of them ever trying it out though. Anyway, I’ll be here for more than a year so if I can keep it up, then you’d think someone would get the picture that there’s something to be had here. God, so many benefits on just the everyday mundane level.

Thanks for the questions, and I’m sorry to have gone on so long. Verbose is my middle name!

Troy.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

KIMCHI AND REIKI

I don’t know of any kimchi I’ve ever tried which is completely raw. Seems there’s always some roasted sesame seeds in it. And the salt of course ….

There are various sea animals made into pastes, then used to make the kimchi. At least the stuff here at the temple is vegan, though not all raw because of the roasted sesame seeds. Tastes great.

I know there are people who say that all fermented foods are stimulating and so not the most healthful of foods. I’ve also read, and I think Bryan once wrote in a post, that it depends on how healthy a person is. The gist of it goes something like this I think. If a person is really sick, then something less than the best will still be healthful. But if a person is really clean, then they can’t take those things that are good for sicker people. I really don’t suppose I’m so clean so I suppose that’s why kimchi tastes good to me. Sounds like logic to me. But I won’t stand by it if you point a gun to my head!

Earthangel, you asked if I’ve tried Reiki. Well, yeah, once. A few years back a friend gave me a reiki treatment. He said he’d never seen anyone so blocked up!! He also said I was asleep but I was adamant that I never dozed off. Both are hard for me to believe. I didn’t notice anything at all as a result of whatever he did.

I didn’t know that it comes from Buddhism. I have never heard that it comes from the time of the Buddha. I wonder if the originator was a Buddhist. I understand that it comes from Japan. I think it’s not so old, right? It originated in the 20th century, didn’t it?

Have you had any treatments? Are you learning how to do the treatments?

I’ve heard amazing things about reiki. I’m going to get some treatment soon. I’ve been communicating with a lady who’s agreed to do treatments for free. And a guy who does shiatsu too has agreed to do it for free. I think I’ll go for the reiki first.

Something that interests me a bit more is called Ampuku. It’s related to shiatsu I guess. All three come from Japan (including the shiatsu). In ampuku, I think the person giving the ampuku focuses only on the abdomen. I once read in a shiatsu book that all our nerves coalesce in our abdomens. I’ve read in a Zen book that the abdomen is the seat of our spiritual energy. I’ve had constipation since I was a teenager. (Getting better of course with a much more sensible raw diet but 20 years of constipation maybe doesn’t go away over night.) So for these reasons I have been real interested in ampuku. There’s somebody in Florida who does it, real cheaply, and has an interesting website (it’s called Wellness Therapy, I think.) and a fascinating history with ampuku training in Japan.

Enough.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

LANGUAGE

Yeah, I study Korean. No, I don’t feel like I am making such great progress. In part, the outside conditions aren’t ideal. Sunmi speaks pretty terrific English. She doesn’t speak such terrific simple, clear, slow, Korean. I spend lots of time either alone or perhaps with others but not really involved in their conversations. I just don’t know enough yet to be able to pick out very many words when I hear people speak. Also, I suppose the differences between Korean and English are so great that learning this one from English is a real twist. Since sentence structures are often constructed opposite of each other, there are many many times when I feel like saying a word or a phrase, but no, not yet, that comes later in the sentence. So there’s this hesitation. Lots of thinking. I get real concentrated when I am trying to put together a sentence. The longer it is the more I focus. Or if I’m trying out a new phrase, then, again, I really need to zoom in. Had I come to Korea not long after having lived in Japan this language might be easier. It seems very very similar grammatically to Japanese. And many of the words too, are very similar.

Just as far from ideal are my own internal conditions. I spend lots of time in my own thoughts. (I get lots of Korean practice here – in my own thoughts!) I don’t spend that much time actually using the language with people. Plus I pretty often find other things to do besides study Korean. Like right now, I could be studying! Lastly, I don’t listen nearly as well to others when they speak as would be ideal. No, one more thing. The lady I work most closely with doesn’t speak clearly in the least. Fast, and harsh. Sunmi told me once long ago that she speaks in her own local dialect to me!! Now why in …?!?!

Having said all that, I can oftentimes make myself understood. I don’t nearly as often understand what others tell me, but that’s par for the language course. I guess it’s like a baby learning a first language. I don’t know. But I suppose babies communicate their own needs better than they understand what others communicate to them. No? Seems about right to me.

For sure, there are things that I understand but can not say. Don’t know how to say. But when someone says some things to me, I understand. This often is the case.

Recently I asked Sunim what foreigners use to study the language when they come to Korea for monastic practice. I have read that they are required to learn Korean language. The majority of textbooks are geared, logically enough, to the general population. Language for coffee shops, office work, the movies, yakity yakity yak. Lots of the vocabulary is irrelevant to my life. Lots of the vocabulary is, of course, and all of the grammar. Maybe I’m just looking for an excuse for not being more proficient in this language by now. Anyway, I asked Sunim how foreigners study. He said they go to university. Well…. So I mentioned that I’d like to know what books or CDs or tapes or whatever it is that they use. He said he’d ask around and let me know. This was several days ago. Haven’t heard back yet but I know he’s a busy guy. Still I wonder if he’s forgotten. Or if he will forget. I’ve asked others and have gotten one reply but only one.

Reading and writing are pretty simple. It’s the oral communication that is difficult. And boy, do they ever %^& around with verbs. Changing the form for every circumstance you can imagine. Same with Japanese. Verbs are challenging. And there’s little difference between adjectives and verbs so that muddles things a bit. On the other hand, it makes things a bit easier to learn. It’s really a mixed bag.

I’ve asked myself if I would ever do this again. Learn another language. I have answered yes and I have answered no. This can be really daunting. Can be pretty isolating too. But if a person knows that they have good friends, that helps. Even when you can’t understand the conversation that your friends are having and enjoying, well, relax, they’re still your friends.

Enough.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

hey there..yes i have been into the reiki energy lately..you have to use it and really have the intention to use and you will start to feel it!!!! the more you use it the more you feel it...i copied and will paste the reiki history on the reiki group i am part of on yahoo!! it is wonderful i trully believe in it..and monark is a reiki master/teacher..she is wonderufl and will answer questions if you have any too!! and she has some cool stories about feeling and seeing it work its "magic" so that is awesome you are giving it another try!!! good luck and enjoy the info!!!

In the late 1800's Dr Mikao Usui a teacher of Theology was asked by his students:"Do you believe in the miracles of healing performed by Jesus?" He replied "Yes". "Then why if Christ said 'You will do as I have done' are there not more healers in the world?" Bound by Japanese honour he resigned as Dean to find the answers. He went to study at the University of Chicago for 7 years and found no answers. He obtained a Doctorate in Theology. He then went to India and Tibet and studied Sanskrit, the ancient sacred language of the Hindus but still did not find empowerment. He then returned to Japan and studied the teachings of Buddha who performed the same miracles as Jesus, healing the sick with a control of energy. Buddhists concentrated on healing the spirit and not the body.

Dr Usui then went to stay in a Zen Monastery and asked one of the monks if he knew the way to heal and he said "not any more". In the monastery he read the writings of Buddha in Sanskrit but still no answers. During a meditation feeling he was getting near to the answers he was told to go to a holy place near Kyoto on a mountain called KuriYama and fast and meditate for 21 days. He took 21 stones with him and each day threw one stone down the mountain. On the 21st day he found he could see nothing as there seemed to be a mist all over the mountain and as he threw the last stone away a light appeared. A bright light streamed towards him across to his 3rd eye. His entire vision was full of bubbles - gold, white, blue and violet, each bubble containing the Sanskrit characters he had discovered in Tibetan and Buddhist teachings. A voice told him that these were the keys to healing and not to forget or lose them.

On his way down the mountain, he stubbed his toe badly and putting his hands round it found that it had healed. Arriving back at the bottom of the mountain he went to an inn to eat asking for a full meal. The girl that served him was suffering from a bad toothache and putting his hands on her face, he stopped the pain. He suffered no ill effects from eating a large meal after fasting and on his return to the monastery found the monk in bed with a bad attack of arthritis. Healing the monk was the fourth miracle.

He then spent the next 7 years giving Reiki as he called it (Universal Life Force Energy)to the beggers, who were able then to live normal lives. He was saddened to find them returning to begging and realised that they did not value the healing that was given for free and that therefore there should be an exchange of energy. He then formulated the Reiki principles and taught Reiki in Japan until his transition in 1926. During his life he only initiated 16 teachers one of which was Dr Chugiro Hayashi a retired mariner who then set up the first clinic in Tokyo. Realizing that the war was coming Dr Hayashi trained 2 women who he hoped would survive the war if the men did not. He then stopped his own heart by psychic means in 1941.

One of the women was Hawayo Takata who Dr Hayashi had made Grand Master. (At this time only a Grand Master could attune another Master) She had 'discovered' Reiki whilst about to undergo treatment for cancer and respiratory problems when, after asking if there was an alternative to surgery, was told to try Dr Hayashi's clinic. At the age of 41 she took Reiki to Hawaii and before her transition in 1980 herself trained 22 Reiki Masters naming her granddaughter Phyllis Furamoto as Grand Master. In 1988 Phyllis Furamoto decided that in future Masters could be attuned by other Masters hence the spread of Reiki throughout the U.S.A. and now through Europe. It is estimated that there are in the region of 600 Reiki Masters now in the world and growing. The symbols that Dr Usui 'received' are still those in use although certain others have been channelled to other Masters.

REIKI HISTORY UPDATE

There has been a lot of talk recently about the ‘new’ history of Reiki and unpleasant publicity when Phyllis Furumoto, Takata’s granddaughter’s felt it would be necessary to trademark the word Reiki. Although she originally called herself Grandmaster she has now taken the title of Lineage bearer.

It appears that Hawayo Takata may have been 'given' the title of Grandmaster by one of her students as a mark of respect.



The various books written by Frank Arjava Petter bring a lot of the new history to light and together with several other Reiki Masters in the USA and UK the information is being circulated on the Internet freely.

Usui Sensei as we will call him was not in the strict sense a Doctor. He appears to have become a Dr of Literature but was not a medical practitioner. However, titles in Japan differ somewhat in their discriptive sense to our own and he was nonetheless a very respected man.

He had trained as a Zen Buddhist and regularly meditated on a local mountain and following years of work he decided on the advice of his Zen teacher to try a 21 day fast and meditation in the hope of finding 'enlightenment'. It is believed that on the last morning of his 21 day fast he felt Reiki above his head and realised Reiki Ryoho through this Sattori. (Sattori means enlightenment.)

He made his technique ''freely available to all of the people'' and this is stated in his own manual.

He found that it worked well on various ailments and in 1922 he moved to Tokyo where in April he opened his first clinic and teaching centre.

It is possible that he took his healing clinic to the great earthquake in the Kanto area of Tokyo and that the result of this work made him become quite famous.

Before he died in Marsh 1926 he had taught about 1000 people and attuned 17 Reiki Masters. (Master is the Western term for teacher). These were 5 Buddhist Nuns, 3 Naval Officers and 9 other men. Contrary to what has been said before, Reiki never died out in Japan but has continued up until the present day. The current President of the Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (society) is Masaki Kondo.

The Society has it's own manuals called ''Reiki Ryoho No Shion'' which means Reiki healing Guidebook and this is given to all student members of the society. Mikao Usui had, it is thought, at least 2 manuals of his own and both are owned by the society.

However the society is not interested at present in passing information to the rest of the world but courtesy of another Japanese Reiki practitioner some of the practices are filtering through to West.

There is nothing to suggest that any of the Reiki practices that we are using today are wrong but simply have been westernised to conform to the antipathy to Japan at the time of Mrs Takata's return to Hawaii. Attunements and symbols may be slightly different but nonetheless whatever the name put to your modality of Reiki - whether it be Tera-Mai (tm) , Karuna (tm) or Reiki Plus (tm) it is still Reiki and is being passed on by those people dedicated to keeping the name of Reiki and its wonderful gift to mankind pure and simple.



This is a translation of the original Principles as drawn by Usui Sensei from the words of the Meiji Emperor, they are reported to be written on linen and hanging in a private shrine dedicated to Usui.

They were used by Usui Sensei and his Masters as part of the original ''Reiki teachings'' and still are. They are chanted at the start of Reiki meetings and teaching sessions.

''The secret art of inviting happiness

The miraculous medicine of all diseases

Just for today, do no anger

Do not worry and be filled with gratitude

Devote yourself to your work. Be kind to people.

Every morning and evening, join your hands in prayer,

Pray these words to your heart

And that these words with your mouth.''

- The Founder Usui Mikao

Tribute paid to fellow reiki teachers who continue the research.

Websites giving up to date information –

[www.threshold.ca]

[reikihistory.topcities.com]

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Thank you for the thoughtful post. It gives me a lot to ponder. Regarding buddhists being vegetarians, I just meant inherently for me there is no rationalization, based on teachings of compassion, not killing, and just the way I feel, that would make eating meat acceptable. Keep up with your great posts!

i know isn't he amazing greenfeline??
take care
love earthangel
xoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Earthangel: I read the Reiki stuff. Neat. I'm going to contact that person here who's offered free Reiki.

Greenfeline:
I can only agree that acting on compassion means to not eat the animals. However, I can also understand someone, who, though feeling compassion for animals, still eats them, or eats animal products. The compassion just isn't to the point of giving up the foods. Myself, for example. I eat ice-cream sometimes. Though it's clearly junk, not good for myself, nor the cows that the stuff comes from, the pleasure that I get from eating it is stronger than my compassion for the cows. And I will sometimes eat pastry too. I've been an animal lover since I was a little kid. But, I have cravings and I sometimes give in to those cravings. I don't kick myself in the butt though for having or giving in to them. That wouldn't be very compassionate!



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

hey there..good for you!! being open to new and exciting things..i hope the info helped you answer some questions you were wondering!! i thought it better to give it all to you then try to feed you bits and pieces haha!!
good luck and let us know how it goes!! enjoy your beautiful day!
love earthangel
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

>Did you get your name from the response by the Korean monk Seung Sahn?<

Hi Troy,
I really enjoy reading your stories and experiences-- somehow just reading about your temple life is calming.

No, my name is just one I thought up for this forum (my 'regular' name is Sharrhan, which means refuge & sustenance-- I gave myself that name in 1978, and it's a Hindi name). I'm intrigued, though-- would like to know more about the response by Master Seung Sahn.

I've mostly been working with the teachings of Lu Dongbin (Lu Yan or Ancestor Lu)-- his 'Sayings', 'One Hundred Character Tablet' and 'The Secret of the Golden Flower.'

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2007 03:18AM by kwan.

Hey kwan what is your birth name?? ilove how you have all these names haha..i would love to do that as well!!
good good
well take care hun
love always
earthangel
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

ALAN WATTS – GREAT DHARMA LECTURES

This guy, Alan Watts, said the coolest things. The coolest things. He may have been enlightened, I don’t know. But there are lots of things he said that sure suggest that he experienced something that I haven’t experienced. He’s dead now but lots of his lectures are available for free on www.alanwatts.com/. I’ve subscribed to the podcast.

One thing that I remind myself often is that I have not realized enlightenment because I don’t want to. That’s a paraphrase of something he said in a lecture. It makes so much sense to me. When I really really want it strongly enough, I’ll get it. I guess it’s like that with anything. If I really really wanted to give up donuts, I would. But, no, there is a part of me that hasn’t let go.

As I understand Dharma teachings, we all cling to our unique understanding of life, the world, etc. To realize enlightenment, to become enlightened, means to give up everything one believes about this world, about reality, about everything. Give it all up. All of it. Cling to nothing at all. Not a single thing. But, well, I guess this is a scary thing. I can’t even imagine it myself, let alone say that I consider it a scary thing, but, this is my understanding of Dharma. So, when a person is ready to let go of all that, then the understanding can come. Will come, I guess.

Alan Watts talked about Christianity in ways that are probably not to the liking of most Chrisitains. He talked a lot about Buddhism, Hinduism, and a lot about Christianity. He has lots of favorable things to say about Christianity, but probably certainly not orthodox things. Fascinating just the same. The guy seems to have been incredibly well read. He could go on and on about so many subjects, not just religions. But the things he said about these various subjects were usually poignant.

There are so many nuggets in his lectures but I just want to mention that one. That we don’t want enlightenment, but that if we did really really want it, we would just get it instantly. In that moment that we really want it strongly enough.

Another one, I think, is where he says that so many of these things that we do, even in religious / spiritual practice, reinforce our views / conceptions of the world, and keep us just that far from enlightenment. So when sitting in the Dharma Hall, listening to Sunim give his regular Dharma Talks, I feel that this is one way of staying unenlightened. The idea that we need to sit and listen to this guy tell us things, keeps us from actually getting it. According to Watts, we do all these things that keep us on the path, but don’t allow for us to reach the end of the path. So we meditate and chant, deny ourselves this worldly thing or that one, we do all these things as part of our practice, but which will always be just that, practice. If we really wanted it, there would be nothing to do to get it.

Someday I’ll write some details about this hwadu practice. It’s one kind of Zen practice. The kind that has intrigued me – through reading – for years. Now that my feet are wet, can’t say that I really understand it so well. But I guess I do. I suppose that once I start as a novice (in July? in August?) I’ll get a better handle on it.
Enough.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

I’M NOT CRAZY!; KNEE PAIN

Lately I’ve been feeling really really good. Often. Don’t know where this feeling comes from. And it persists nicely. Just today, sitting in the Dharma Hall, listening to the monk (Sunim in Korean) talk (and of course, understanding a few words per minute!) I noticed how good I felt. I had pains in various parts of my body, but the pain didn’t matter so much. There was a sort of blissful feeling. Call it bliss, call it what I don’t know. But bliss will do.

Yesterday, my friend Hwang-il took me to a big temple, the major temple here on this island. Really nice. Walking up the long entrance, I felt a calm intensity (or intense calm? I have long enjoyed playing with words! But I also enjoy matching what I say with what I feel, as well as I can.). Felt really nice. So though talking with Hwang-il is oftentimes annoying because it’s so difficult, not while we were at the temple. Didn’t matter how difficult it was to communicate.

This morning, it didn’t matter how little I understood. It didn’t matter how (typically) short my attention span was. Something clicked and it felt nice to just be. I feel joy. I don’t really know what to call it. But it’s unmistakable.

I have been amused by so many things lately. The corniest of things. I see a guy fold his sitting cushion and I smile. I see Sun-mi make a facial expression and I laugh. I see the dog sleeping and I chuckle. I’m not going crazy. I am not losing it. I believe I have the awareness and whatever it takes to know if I’m missing a few screws. Nope.

I’ve been telling myself for a while now that I’m so so glad to live here. So glad to do this life. I won’t say that I’m HAPPY, but incredibly glad to live like this. I don’t know what happiness is. But there is an incredibly good feeling.

But the knee pain has been a challenge. If this is detox, then the pain will go away eventually. It’s been about two weeks, maybe 10 days. Still pretty intense. I’ve talked with Sun-mi. She says that Sunim says that it only hurts because we pay attention to it. Just keep my mind on the hwadu (this is Korean for the Japanese word koan – which most of you don’t know either!) and the pain won’t be so bad. I understand this better than ever. There’s truth in this. But, I also know that I don’t have a longer or shorter attention span than I did before the pain flared up. For some reason, the pain is much sharper and more intense than ever. I realize that most meditators go though a period of pain, but I’ve been sitting for many months now. Why has it just now gotten so hard to bear?

I wonder if this is detox. And if it is, then I wonder if sitting on the floor, cross-legged is hampering the detox process. My legs will twitch many times every minute. They twitch from pain. I wonder if it has something to do with blood circulation. Or with nerves.

Just yesterday I experimented a little with leg position. It really helps to keep my legs a bit farther forward than I had been keeping them. I was sitting in what’s called a half lotus position. More stable and solid than the regular cross-legged position, but also more painful for me. Now I sit in the regular cross-legged position, but with my feet and shins farther forward than what I am used to. Much easier this way.

Enough.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

MY FRIEND SUN-MI
They all speak English. One speaks a little. His name is Shi-min. One speaks a pretty fair amount. His name is Hwang-il. One speaks amazingly well. Her name is Sun-mi.

She astonishes me constantly. Maybe I should be finished with this astonishment, but so often I am surprised that she knows this word or that word. And she recalls instantly the translation. A while back she said that her memory had been pretty good at that time. Seems it’s still pretty good. She attributed her good memory to meditation. Doing meditation makes it easier for her to remember things.

She’s been my crutch, my helper, my translator and interpreter, Korean language teacher, and, she’s been a good friend. I really really really enjoy being with her. I enjoy watching her, enjoy listening to her, just enjoy her company pretty thoroughly.

Several weeks ago I got brave and had a really hard conversation with her. I told her that I had feelings for her. I told her that I wouldn’t have told her this if I didn’t sometimes feel that she had feelings for me. But I told her that I didn’t want to get involved with anyone. Especially since I had already decided to do the novice practice for a year. We talked for a little while and it felt pretty good. After she told me that she also didn’t want to get married, boy, the conversation became so incredibly easier. She said that she didn’t want to marry because she didn’t think she’d be happy in a marriage. I don’t remember if I asked why. Anyway, boy, the tension in me cracked and I felt so much more relaxed. Honestly though, I didn’t feel so sure that she was being honest there.

For various reasons, I feel pretty strongly that we humans are perhaps not so ideally equipped for long term, decades-long monogamous relationships. When I first started living with Santi Asoke (the Buddhist group I lived with in Thailand) in January 2000, I was looking for a wife. But there didn’t seem to be anyone interested in me. Then a year or so later, I adopted the prevalent Asoke attitude toward marriage. SINGLE IS BETTER. (Actually, I used to tell myself and others that I would "probably never marry again." I left the door open a bit.) Then not too long after I adopted this attitude, it felt that there were women interested in me! Anyway, since then, I’ve kept the same attitude. Still do. Meaning I still keep the door open a little.

So, who knows, after this year as a novice is up, I may see how Sun-mi feels. Of course, I may, for whatever reason, decide to remain single. Maybe I’ll so thoroughly enjoy the novice life …. Can't believe I'd say this. After so many years single ....



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

hey there wow ....you are doing really amazing with your feelings and detox...i am sure the knee pain is part of the detox you are going through..just stick with it and you will be okay!! don't stress hun....and that is awesome about your friend and you talking and not feeling so stressed and so much tension..That is awesome you are both on the same page right now maybe next year you will be in the same boat still and ready to make a relationship....haha...that will be great
well take care of yourself..you are doing really well i am soo happy you are happy!
good luck
love earthangel
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Interesting. So much of this is interesting to me. What good experiences.

Yes, it seems so peaceful. Except for that danged knee!

I follow a spiritual path (sometimes) and when I was 34 I went to India for 3 months, to the Dera in Beas...I was used to doing some meditation (sometimes) in crosslegged position, but there in the Dera, I was sitting for HOURS at various times of the day for Satsangs and such, by choice (always)...but was unused to it, and whoa! did I get The Knee Thing, too! Probably, like me, you are finding some of your pastry in your joints, heh.

Keep posting, you are relaxing us with your monastery tales.

I need to turn off the tv and meditate again. And proceed with this cleansing and rebuilding raw foodism.

Elakti

hey there hope you had a fabulous daY!! and i hope your knee is feeling a little better..
take care
love earthangel
xoxoxoxoxoxxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

AGRICULTURE, TEACHING, MONEY

I work a lot in the garden. Like it too. But I really dislike the way we do gardening. So many things. Seems ludicrous to me. Earlier today I saw Kong Yang-ju (the lady who makes food for the monks) preparing a garden that I think we haven’t worked in the past. Someone else’s land, I think. It occurred to me, that maybe someone has decided to work more land because there is a new hand here doing a lot of the work. ME. But because I have so many complaints about the way we do this gardening, I decided I don’t want to do more than I’ve already taken on. I told a lady and she said that’s fine. I also told her that I think we should make big big changes in our gardening ways. She says she’s interested. We’ll see what sort of change might happen. I have an idea about how to get the ideas across to them.

Had English class today. But I don’t like this either! I have been “training” for a few weeks now but don’t feel very prepared. Three more training days then it’s my show. I don’t feel good about taking over. So many reasons.

So I thought today that if there were some way I could NOT teach, but just do garden work and a few other things that I really want to do, boy, wouldn’t that be great. But that would also mean I wouldn’t make any money.

I remember when talking with Sunim about this teaching thing. There were a few snags. So he asked if I could just practice as a novice monk and not teach. Not make money. No I told him. I told him that I would need money next year when I go to the US. But I want to pick his thoughts about this idea. Just what did he have in mind? I know a guy who has been to many countries over the years. A French guy. He goes to a country with a little money. When he arrives, he gives his money away. He has always found work and made enough to live, and to go to various countries this way. He hasn’t worried about money. So, I’m wondering if there is some way I can get by without working for money.

Time to get to the Dharma Hall for meditation.

Enough.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

hey there buddy...wow that is awesome that she is interested in hearing your ideas about gardening...that is great!!!!
you sound like things are going really well...except for the class thing..i know it is probably tough at first..but you will be okay!! you can do it
i have faith in you!!!
take care and have a great day!!
love earthangel
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

sun mi , shi nim, su nim.. kong, yang ju .. hey troysantos

its cool that you are taking the time and energy to pay attention to these names and render them correctly, phonetically

its interesting though, that you would also include yang ju's family name

its understandable u would just wish to garden and not teach

gardening alone, u can be solitary with your own thoughts and not the interruptions of questions and interactions that teaching can entail

i mean, it seems like you went up there to deepen your meditation

i think it is cool that you are even given the option to stay there and not teach

if that is what you feel you need, you should try it for a while just to experience what that would be like

perhaps then you would be able to make a better decision

perhaps you will feel restless and then crave the interaction of teaching something valuable and having people that are enthusiastic about learning a new language asking you questions..

and that might also prove refreshing as well

who knows?

life is funny that way

perhaps u just gotta experience just one way

then the other way

your french monk friend sounds like his energy and intent as well as his attitude protects him and makes the life around him one that aligns with his
soul

coolness

hey buddy just stopping in to see how life in south korea is going..how is the gardening going?? are they taking your thoughts into consideration and also not expecting extra garden work since you were so good ...i hope all is well with life!!
take care
much love and good energy your way
earthangel
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

LANGUAGE, BUDDHISM, GARDENING

LAV:
sun mi , shi nim, su nim.. kong, yang ju .. hey troysantos
its cool that you are taking the time and energy to pay attention to these names
and render them correctly, phonetically
I'm pedantic!!

its interesting though, that you would also include yang ju's family name
It's more of a title, I'd say. "Gong yang" translates as something like food for one's superiors. With the Ju tagged on I'm told it translates as "person who makes food for monks". This is what we call her so that's what I'm using in this diary. Language is so darned interesting. So intimate with individual and collective world views, ways of expression, cultures, and who knows what all. Great. Fascinating. I studied Anthropology at university and so studied some linguistic anthropology. Just a bit.

its understandable u would just wish to garden and not teach
There's so much to do around here. So much that I'd like to do. So much I feel I should do. Stuff connected with the temple as well as more personal things. And of course study Korean language. So, time is a part of my reason for wanting to ditch the English teaching. That said, I haven't told anyone but Sunmi. I'm so often timid about taking people's time for my personal things.

gardening alone, u can be solitary with your own thoughts and not the
interruptions of questions and interactions that teaching can entail
Someone once said, "When you're with others, be careful of your speech. When you're alone, be careful of your thoughts." I'm so often in my head when I'm not engaged with talking with someone. Just hypothetical conversations. Oftentimes not any conversation that might actually happen. Time in the garden is such an ideal time to meditate. Of course not sitting meditation. But, as I'm alone in the garden, thinking about this and that, I could instead use that mental energy to do the HWADU meditation. If you know the Japanese word KOAN then you'll understand this word HWADU. Same thing. For instance, "What's the sound of one hand clapping?" Or, "What was your original face before you were born?" Or, "What is MU [a Japanese word for "nothing"]?" These are all common KOANs / HWADUs. Apparently it's common in Korea to work on the HWADU "What is ...?" The object is fist. But of course to go beyond the obvious, the conventional meaning and understanding of fist. Apprehend that, and you understand the universe. Understand the universe, and you see the folly of grasping and clinging at all the petty things in everyday life (they're ALL petty, according to Buddhist Dharma [Dharma, by the way, really shouldn't be eqauted with DOGMA!]). Let go of all the petty things in everyday life and a new world of incredible freedom opens up. This in turn leads to a "happiness beyond happiness." Peace. Freedom. Ultimately indescribable in words. Or, so, this is my intellectual understanding. Adherents of HWADU meditation say this is the fastest way to GET IT. I've been intrigued for years and years so this is my opportunity to get my feet wet. Actually, my knees hurt more than my feet are wet!

i mean, it seems like you went up there to deepen your meditation
I would welcome this sort of outcome. Sure.

i think it is cool that you are even given the option to stay there and not
teach
No, I need to make money so I'll teach to make the money. Doing things you don't want to do is one type of practice. If you can be in those situations, and maintain your emotional poise, then you're doing well. Back off from them, and you miss an opportunity to grow, to get over those things, to feel those feelings and go beyond them. (This is a huge part of the practice of a Buddhist group in Thailand that I lived with for four years. The group's name is Santi Asoke. Cool cool group of people.) And anyway, I really like these kids. I feel that's the most important thing for a teacher. To feel something positive for the students. Technical skills can come.

if that is what you feel you need, you should try it for a while just to
experience what that would be like
perhaps then you would be able to make a better decision
perhaps you will feel restless and then crave the interaction of teaching
something valuable and having people that are enthusiastic about learning a new
language asking you questions..
and that might also prove refreshing as well
who knows?
life is funny that way
perhaps u just gotta experience just one way
then the other way
I really appreciate your thoughts and that you share them with
me. Thanks so much. But I'll teach.

your french monk friend sounds like his energy and intent as well as his
attitude protects him and makes the life around him one that aligns with his
soul
coolness
Your prose is full of coolness \`_`/ *`.`* \^_^/

EARTHANGEL:
how is the gardening going??
Still my favorite activity here. But just yesterday afternoon I was in the garden and Kong Yang Ju came in not long after I got there. I was fixing the hot chili pepper plants to the stakes. Seems like Koreans pretty much use a petroleum based string in their gardens. I've seen it in other gardens. But the stuff doesn't get disposed of "properly" (how would that be anyway?!). After the harvest, the plants and the petro string get tossed aside in the garden area. Well, I don't want to contribute to that. C'mon. Well, when she saw what I was doing, she muttered something. I can never pick out more than a word or two in her sentences. I don't even know if she's speaking standard Korean with me. Sunmi once told me she speaks her local dialect with me! C'mon lady! Well, anyway, she insisted I use the petro string (my own name for it). I pointed out, in really wrecked Korean, a few good reasons, solid reasons, for using electric wiring instead. She wouldn't have any of it. I asked if it'd be okay for me to use the wiring. I didn't understand the words she spoke, but I am pretty good at guessing what people mean from other ways. Gestures, tone of voice, and other things. I think her answer was no. So I told her I wouldn't do this anymore. She stayed in the pepper beds and tied a few more plants. But I started doing something else. After she tied very few plants, she started cutting down "weeds" in a nearby part of the garden. I went back this afternoon to see if any more of the pepper plants had been tied. Nope. Bizarre. I'll tell her that I'll continue tying if she won't object to me using the wiring. I feel legitimate in this decision. So I really feel a sense of relief at feeling justified in not going to tend this work. This is back breaking because I bend over all the time. There are more than a thousand plants in these beds. So I either kill my back or kill my knees. I alternate between bending over and squatting. I minimize the stress I put on my knees so as to let them heal.

are they taking your thoughts into consideration
Regarding burning plastic, well, some are, some aren't. I suppose they're all in agreement, but we're still burning the stuff every day. I've talked with Sunmi and a monk. They both firmly agree with me. But they produce very little plastic. It's the office ladies, I think, that generate the most. And I do suppose they're all pretty busy. It doesn't feel very comfortable for me to push. Someday, I will see what more I can do.

Regarding the gardening ways, well, again, there seems to be some support. The monk, and Sunmi, and a very influential lady here. So Sunmi is reading two books that I borrowed from a local library. They're in Korean. She agreed to read them for me and explain to me how to do gardening in this way because she sees how passionate I am about it. And, maybe in part because this one influential lady expressed strong interest. There are some rather unusual things about this way of gardening. I have some experience with it in Thailand. But I want to see how it goes in Korea. The guy who pioneered this way is a Korean man. He introduced it to Thais. The group I lived with, Santi Asoke, adapted his ways to be more applicable to Thailand. But I can't find any written material in English. Even if I were to go for training, I'd need an interpreter. And apparently there is nobody here on this island where I live who is willing to come and teach us. Because of all this, I had given up on the idea of doing it. Then a minute or less after I told Sunmi that I'd just forget it, she said she'd read the books! YES!! Thank you Sunmi. We talked about it a few days ago. I learned then that I was more eager to get started than she was. So, I've backed off. I've told her that when she's ready to tell me what to do, then I'm ready to start.

and also not expecting extra garden work since you were so good
Who knows what's expected of me?!! I get very little information here. I'm not bitter, but it'd be nice to get some information sometimes. I suppose that what I need to do is get better at the language. So, I'm putting more time into trying to communicate in Korean with people. I can say a lot of things. I can string together fairly long sentences, fairly involved ideas. Lots of different grammar points go through my head as I speak. I speak so so slowly but I guess I usually get my point across. Thing is, when people speak to me, hmmm.... I don't usually get very much. In Thailand, I could communicate so many things so easily. I could have really great conversations with the Santi Asoke people. About things that matter. Here, I can barely tell when someone is asking me a simple question. And asking people to slow down rarely helps. They'll maybe slow down a tiny bit. Just as often, they'll just change the words they use, but don't slow down at all.

So, my message to anyone reading this, if you ever meet someone who seems to come from a different country, seems to be not so comfortable with understanding your spoken English, then speak slowly with them. And using simple words and sentences helps. We don't always know what's simple and what's not though. And speaking clearly doesn't always help. If, for example, a Thai person is used to hearing the word "big" pronounced more like "bik" then you saying "big" clearly and slowly might or might not help. So much is going on inside a person who doesn't have solid command with a language.

Thanks so much for your interest.

More than enough. Sorry.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

WILD FOODS, ENVIRONMENT, REIKI,

Recently got the Korean name of a wild plant that I’ve been eating for quite some time. It’s delicious. Has a wonderful nutty flavor. A friend and I went to a local library to borrow a book on local wild plants. From that book I got the scientific name. With that I did a Google search to get some information. Turns out it’s Fat Hen, Goose Foot, Lambs Quarters, and a bunch of other names. I’ve known the name of this plant, and that it’s edible, for years. But never saw it. Now I know why people like it. Just yesterday, I found a patch of young plants. I picked one and it was so delicious. So delicious. More than usual. Wondered why. I compared the flavor with young plants in another part of the garden. Nice, like always, but the ones in this little patch are sweeter. I wonder why. And the little peach fuzz, especially on the underside of the leaf, is fun. And for some reason, insects don’t seem too interested in this plant. Is there poison in it? I emailed Funky Rob to ask him to send that chart of nutrient content for various wild plants. Sure enough, Fat Hen is on there. Loaded with vitamin A and calcium. Vitamin A ain’t hard to find at all. But calcium is less common in my diet. So this is a welcome addition.

When I searched Google for information, I got lots of hits, of course. The first one had information about how to eradicate this. Afterwards I thought it ludicrous that we humans, the smart species on this planet, right (?), spend time and money to eradicate a plant that is nutritious and delicious so we have more space to plant foods that are less hardy and in many cases, less nutritious. Like iceberg lettuce! America’s favorite lettuce. Crunchy water! The yoga monk (the guy who agrees with me about burning plastic) has read a lot (maybe more than is really good for Buddhist practice) and said a few nights ago that this species isn’t going to last more than another 150 years! I laughed and laughed. Had to shake his hand with that one! I don’t believe it myself. Nor do I reject the idea that we’ll burn ourselves out in 150 years. But we’re animals. Animal populations rise and fall. There’s no way, it seems to me, that we can abuse this planet, and ourselves, and get away with it (get away with murder, or call it, what’s the legal term – involuntary manslaughter?) indefinitely. The question is, when. So, to anyone thinking of having kids, ask yourself how you feel about this. How much longer are we putting off a cataclysmic die-off?

Been eating Purslane lately. It’s not sour yet so the taste is pretty bland, but it’s not bad. I guess it’ll get more sour later in the season. I don’t know. There’s lots of Amaranth growing too. But I’m less crazy about it. I can take a bit but don’t like to eat a lot. It’s okay in a smoothie with bananas though!

Finally met a lady who might give me a Reiki treatment sometime in the next couple of months. We’ve been emailing each other on and off since February I guess. She arrived in May from Viet Nam to spend three months here. She’s been here several weeks but we’ve both been really busy. Talked on the phone yesterday and decided to meet today. So we did and talked for about six hours! Wow. She’s Korean-American, 59 years old, and is a Reiki Master. That means, among other things I guess, that she can effectively teach someone how to do it. Yeah, I know, Reiki practitioners = ducks = quacks. Ducks go quack quack quack. So do Reiki practitioners and all the other alternative quacking ducks. Fine. Mallards are so beautiful!

We talked about Viet Nam and about Reiki more than anything else. Just a few days ago she hurt her back so won’t do Reiki on anyone until she feels well. But she said she’d give me “distance Reiki”. Yeah yeah yeah. The duck hunters are loading and laughing. I hope to have at least one treatment before she returns to Viet Nam. I’ve known several people who’ve had it done and they’ve said it was great.

So, to EARTHANGEL, thanks for your part in this. Had I not procrastinated, maybe we’d’a met up before she hurt her back and I’d’a had a treatment done by now. Anyway, in time.


































RAW FOODS

All this week I’ve eaten so many bananas. Wow. Delicious too. Smoothies for the most part. I bought a box – 13 kilos (x 2.2 lbs is what, about 27 pounds of bananas?!) on Sunday. Then on Wednesday, a lady here at the temple ordered me a box. She asked me on Tuesday and I said okay. I should have just asked her to wait a few days. So for a day or so I had almost 50 lbs of bananas, many ripe enough to enjoy, but hardly overripe. I can eat more if I blend them. They’re great that way too. Nearly everything I’ve ever tried mixing with bananas in a smoothie has turned out great. I’ve got some raw cacao powder that I mix in for chocolate smoothies. Also, great. So I’ve been doing that. But a few days ago I saw that I had lots and lots of bananas getting spotted. So I decided to make chocolate banana smoothies for the kindergarteners. They loved it. And I gave a bunch to the office. I finished off the last of them this evening with a few bananas and a small Swan Lake Melon. Moooooolaaaa.

With the box of bananas that the lady ordered, she also asked if the shop could send their damaged fruit. The Swan Lake Melons and apples. Really nice. I got so much for so cheap. Only had to throw out two or three pieces of fruit. The rest was really good. Koreans are super picky, way too picky, about appearance of their food. I’m happy to get this sort of routine established with the shop. After I become a novice, I don’t want to go out shopping all the time. So if I can get this stuff delivered, and get the stuff they don’t want to sell, for cheap, then great. The bananas were full price and were all good. Gotta make it worthwhile for the shop to deliver the fruit to me for free. So I’m happy to pay full price for the bananas. Still cheap compared with what other shops charge for a box.

I keep my meals pretty simple but do enjoy making and eating / drinking fruit smoothies and green smoothies. Banana and spinach is good. Banana and mallow is good. Banana and Lambs Quarter is good. My next smoothie I am planning on Swan Lake Melon with apple. I don’t have problems mixing melon with other fruits. No problem.

This week has been the highest percentage raw I’ve eaten in a long long time. And I’ve been really for the most part, sensible about eating. Not too extreme most of the time. Pretty regular with times and amounts and getting variation. Felt pretty good most of the week too. Even today, going to meet the Reiki lady, we met at Dunkin’ Donuts! I did have one, but it was small. And that was it. It did taste good. In the past, I rarely went downtown without getting myself a bunch of junk.

One time in the garden a while back, I was pulling weeds in the spinach beds and eating the spinach as I went along. One or two of the kindergarteners wandered out to find me. They saw me eating the spinach so tried it too. They liked it. So they picked a few leaves and ran away. A few minutes later they came back for more. Then ran away again. I didn’t understand a word of what they said but they were jolly. Next time more kids came. They all picked leaves, ate a few, and ran away with their hands full. Seems they were giving the raw leaves to other kids at the kindergarten. I don’t know if the teachers knew what they were doing but I thought it was a great idea. Haven’t seen any of them do it since. Maybe a seed was planted in one or two of them, but it’s unlikely. You should see the garbage that the elementary school kids that I was teaching (at the private language school here before I moved into the temple) were stuffing into their holes. Making holes in their teeth, holes in their brains, holes in everything that don’t benefit from having holes.

Enough.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

Hey there hun...glad to hear things are going well...and that the gardening is getting a little better in terms of what you suggested...sorry that your reiki lady hurt her back..hang in there in time
awesome on the box of cheap fruits that is awesome news!!
keep up the good work
love earthangel
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo