Wednesday, 4. June 2008, 17:06:24
hi,
Some of you have perhaps been wondering why i haven't been about so often; we have adopted an ex-racing greyhound, who had reached 4 stopped doing well, has scars all over her and was abandoned. She is very nervous and it took along time to get her to come to me in the kennel let alone outside the kennel into the scary world beyond.
but in taking that time to get her trust enough to follow me outside and come meet Jessica (my border collie) and Thom my brother we set foundations, solid foundations, for her future.
By essentially learning about her, by being humble in front of her nervousness (looking away, standing/sitting side on, giving off canine calming signals (licking ones lips, yawning, blinking) ) by showing her moderation, (not pushing her to go faster than felt right for her) and by showing her compassion and caring (loving her for who she was there and then and not loving an illusion of whom she might be or who i wanted her to be) i earned her trust and knowledge about her.
She is now living with us, and those same principles applied through the methods of gentle training mean she is coming on in leaps and bounds at her own pace and for her.
This experience taught me how we take forgranted our wish and often need to enforce our view of a situation, our way of doing things onto others (people and animals) ...
And i thought i wonder what wouldhave happened had i not shown humblness before her nervousness, if i had walked in front facing reaching for her with no regard for her other than superficially.
What if i had not been moderate in taking things a steady pace set by Rhia (her name), had dragged her out of the kennells or tried to instead of being patient enough to earn her trust.
What if instead of loving the nervous dog in front (or to the side of me in this case) i had wanted her to be other than she was and tried to make her express behaviour she was not ready to yet?
Maybe if i did one or all of these things her reaction would be defensive, or perhaps she'd just have slunk away to hide or something else entirly .... and instead of now living with a loving, increasingly curious, slightly playful dog (and she has only been here since sunday morning) things would be very different.
Is this not the same with people though? we have expectations of what a 'taoist' or 'dao cultivator' is or we don't like the labels at all and shy away from labels so much we chastise others who use them ... either way do we not all soemtimes try to force others into our expectations, to go at our pace not theirs, to ignore their feelings ... to in essence ignore some of the most fundemental and central teachings in the TTC.
Perhaps if it works with dogs in this case it might work with people also?
Needless to say the experiences with Rhia are both joyous and humbling, tinged with moderation and lots of mutual compassion and caring. Chapter 67
Everyone in the world calls my Tao great
As if it is beyond compare
It is only because of its greatness
That it seems beyond compare
If it can be compared
It would already be insignificant long ago!
I have three treasures
I hold on to them and protect them
The first is called compassion
The second is called conservation
The third is called not daring to be ahead in the world
Compassionate, thus able to have courage
Conserving, thus able to reach widely
Not daring to be ahead in the world
Thus able to assume leadership
Now if one has courage but discards compassion
Reaches widely but discards conservation
Goes ahead but discards being behind
Then death!
If one fights with compassion, then victory
With defense, then security
Heaven shall save them
And with compassion guard thempeace to you
beccaxx
http://truetao.org/ttc/complete.htm
Photobucket, Rhia's photos
Sunday, 25. May 2008, 22:33:59
In a temple high in the mountians there was sweeper, he was lower than the lowest novice, designated to sweep up the mess the novices and higher monks left behind. Always the sweeper was the butt of jests, and jokes and alwasy he smiled a little smile of amusment at it all. When the sweeper was asked by one quiet novice why he didn;t report them to the higher preists, he asnswered "ahh but with all the abuse i get, they are teaching me My Way as no book or sutra can. So why take offense at the best teachers in the mortal world?"
The young novice, also becomae a sweeper and there like his first true teacher chose to stay, learning the gift of non attachment....
Tuesday, 13. May 2008, 12:39:05
The truly still mind, with which you were born, is the mind that moves freely. Without ignoring anything, it reacts wholeheartedly to everything it encounters, to everything on which it reflects. And yet, for all that, it is the mind that is never seized by anything, but is always ready to react on the spot to whatever it encounters next. The mind that is still is the mind that never forfeits its freedom and is able to constantly keep rolling and rolling and rolling.
- Soko Marinaga Roshi (1925-1995)
3
Charity
has no label,
compassion no religion,
wisdom no dogma,
empathy no rules.
Integrity
needs no laws,
enlightenment no temples.
Living in total harmony
with Tao
is beyond culture,
oneness
with Tao
beyond philosophy.
Emptiness and silence
cannot be defined.
The Way
has no name,
for it is
Tao.
peace to you
beccaxx
ps, my apologies for the month and a half absence i've been caught up in deadlines, assignments and exams.
http://www.dailyzen.com/w_quote.asp?quote_id=0http://truetao.org/theway/wayistao.htm
Sunday, 30. March 2008, 14:57:25
To have sun inside when it is sunny outside is progress,
To have sun in ones being when life is raining;
This is the way of Dao.
Sunday, 30. March 2008, 14:38:55
To practice Zen, you need deep roots.
People with deep roots are rare.
In the past anyone could practice Zen.
But not now.
Zen depends completely on yourself.
It’s much harder, especially now.
- Sheng-hi
Cultivation - daily practice - application - meditation - Daopeace to you
beccaxx
Saturday, 29. March 2008, 19:12:22
Today I was visiting a local old cathedral (with family) during the visit a number of things fell into place for me.
There is a compassion in the natural cycle of life and death there is no seperation of life and death in following the way of Dao we accept and follow the way of death and yet this is not something to shy away from for it is also the way of life of compassion, moderation and humbleness and in following these ways and acceptances we may know a unity with the heavens that will take our breaths away and overwhelm our senses in such a way as the true nature of all things is revealed in blinding clarity.
In feeling this i knew then that realisations that had gone before had been but precursors to this new beggining a rebirth of internal spirit.
This epiphany is like seeing the world for the first time on many levels to truly feel in a part of me that will i suspect forever feel this now the ebbs and flows of the dao as never before, hints and glimpses i have had but never this.
A serenity pervades deeper than ever so firmly rooted yet flexible and blowsy as the veriest leaf.
Words are probably not adequate for the task and i am no wordsmith to forge those that do but intuition tells me this is not something that just happend it occured because the seeds had been well sown and cultivated. Probably i have not done near enough justice to this experience or to its meaning and depth nor do i claim any special ability or knowledge i hope i've shared well enough to give something to those who read this. peace to you
beccaxx
Saturday, 15. March 2008, 16:31:17
I climb the road to Cold Mountain,
The road to Cold Mountain that never ends.
The valleys are long and strewn with stones;
The streams broad and banked with thick grass.
Moss is slippery, though no rain has fallen;
Pines sigh, but it isn’t the wind.
Who can break from the snares of the world
And sit with me among the white clouds?
- Han-shan
Not much more to add to this sooner or later dao cultivators will understand. peace to you
beccaxxDaily Zen quote
Saturday, 1. March 2008, 22:12:46
How high is your MIND POWER ?
The Zen master Hakuin used to tell his students about an old woman who owned a tea shop in the village. She was skilled in the tea ceremony, Hakuin said, and her understanding of Zen was superb. Many students wondered about this and went to the village themselves to check her out. Whenever the old woman saw them coming, she could tell immediately whether they had come to experience the tea, or to probe her grasp of Zen. Those wanting tea she served graciously. For the others wanting to learn about her Zen knowledge, she hid until they approached her door and then attacked them with a fire poker. Only one out of ten managed to escape her beating.Dao and Zen are not always found in books and temples be open hearted and find dao in a cup of tea. 
peace to you
beccaxx
Sunday, 24. February 2008, 17:46:34
It Will Pass
A student went to his meditation teacher and said, "My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I'm constantly falling asleep. It's just horrible!" "It will pass," the teacher said matter-of-factly.
A week later, the student came back to his teacher. "My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It's just wonderful!'
"It will pass,"
the teacher replied matter-of-factly.Life has it's ups and downs often all at once each will pass in time .... attached none attachment is how i'd describe what dao cultivation points us to, feel whatever one feels but do not grasp it too firmly or set excessive store by it, cultivate internal harmony so like the bamboo during a storm one gets bent here and there but never breaks. I have found this to be particularly true in my life, the more cnetred internally i become the less ruffled or bent i get or remain.peace to you
beccaxxhttp://goto.bilkent.edu.tr/gunes/ZEN/zenstories.htm
Sunday, 24. February 2008, 12:06:14
China page ~ story ~ Never Afraid to ask
Be humble, and never hesitate to ask
ZiGong asked, saying, "On what ground did KungYu get that title of Wen?"
The Master said, "He was of an active nature and yet fond of learning, and he was not ashamed to ask and learn of his inferiors! -On these grounds he has been styled Wen."
tr. James Legge Analect or Lun Yun, 1-15
-Confucius During the time known in the Chinese history as 'Spring and Autumn' , there lived an aristocrat by the name of Kung Yu (Kung was his last name, and Yu first name). He as a learned and humble man. After his death, the Duke of Wei awarded him the honorific title of 'Wen'. Thus he became known as Kung WenZi.
ZiGong, a student of Confucius who also came from Wei, didn't think Kung Yu was worthy of such high honor. One day, he asked Confucius, "Why was he given the title of 'Wen'?"
Confucius replied, "Kung Yu was diligent in learning and very smart. Yet he was humble and not afraid to ask questions of people who are not as smart or learned as he was. That is why he deserved the title of 'Wen'."
The story is told in Analect, Chapter 5, Section 15. Ever since, the phrase, "Be humble and not hesitate to ask those who may be lesser than you are." [bu chi xia wen] has been a motto to one and all.peace to you
beccaxx
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