According to Buddha
Life is easy for the hu/man who is without shame, impudent as a crow, a vicious gossip, vain, meddlesome, dissolute. But life is hard for the hu/man who quietly undertakes the way of perfection, with purity, detachment and vigour. S/he sees light.
way down
i spend the whole day
way down
watching
***
wall at the Alberta Aviation Museum ~ Etown Alberta ~ February 2019
Confusing quote, I thought detachment was the key.
Forgive me for interjecting, Mike, but I think the point is that purity (of ethics and conduct, speech and action, etc.) is not won in a finger snap; it takes hard work (usually over a great many years) until achieved, or even just approached.
or even just approached…
thank you Hariod.
yes layered…those Buddhas puzzle me too…I’m a sloppy buddhist learning along the way…never to fall at the feet of any “ists’…or ‘isms’…but to read what makes sense to me in the moment…often I do ponder further but only for a while…words can be superfluous 🤓 I was reading a piece yesterday on detachment and compassion…
“Viveka and viraaga are the two Paali words which have been translated as “detachment.” The two, however, are not synonymous. The primary meaning of viveka is separation, aloofness, seclusion. Often physical withdrawal is implied. The later commentarial tradition, however, identifies three forms of viveka: kaaya-viveka (physical withdrawal), citta-viveka (mental withdrawal), and upadhi-viveka (withdrawal from the roots of suffering).
Kaaya-viveka, as a chosen way of life, was not uncommon during the time of the Buddha. To withdraw from the household life, renounce possessions, and adopt a solitary mendicancy was a recognized path. The formation of the Buddhist monastic Sangha was grounded in the belief that going out from home to homelessness (agaarasmaa anagaariya.m pabbajati) could aid concentrated spiritual effort. Yet to equate the renunciation which the Buddha encouraged with a physical withdrawal which either punished the body or completely rejected human contact would be a mistake”…. still chewing on it all Mike….many smiles hedy ☺️🤓✌️
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj author of I Am That writes: “You must know your own true being as indomitable, fearless, ever victorious. Once you know with absolute certainty that nothing can trouble you but your own imagination, you come to disregard your desires and fears, concepts and ideas, and live by truth alone.” 🙂
nice…’nothing can trouble you but your own imagination’…thank for this Mike ☺️🤓
I imagined you’d like it Hedy!
Yes thank you Mike ☺️
The Way requires diligence every moment, of every day.
yes…if it can even been attained in this life time…I don’t know ☺️ but I like the words of Gautama Buddha…sunny smiles enjoy your garden 🌞🤓🌷
Wonderful how you took a common wall and stripped it down to its essence.
Thanks kindly Terry…it was housing airplanes ☺️💫🤓 have a happy day ~ smiles hedy 😄
A wonderful series, Hedy, vaguely reminiscent of certain of the (English) St Ives group of painters from the 50s & 60s — beautiful geometric abstractions.
thank you they felt right to me…it was the video from Christian Löffler that led me to the colour palette ☺️🤓 sending you joy ~ smiles hedy
The question remains unanswered: why is it always easier to do evil than to do good?
Hariod Brawn: ” purity (of ethics and conduct, speech and action, etc.) is not won in a finger snap; it takes hard work (usually over a great many years) until achieved, or even just approached.”
Eddie Two Hawks: “The Way requires diligence every moment, of every day.”
Paraphrasing Jesus: “Broad the way, wide the door that leads to death and many walk therein; narrow the way, small the door that leads to life and only a few find it.”
These are observable truisms but recognizing them does not answer the question: Why? Throughout the millennia religions and philosophies have tackled the problem but no real solution came forth, nor comes forth. Some know how to walk the straight and narrow and do, most will not. Methods such as practicing detachment, self empowerment through self discipline and self sacrifice and pushing oneself to live in compassion work against the easy false way, but the false way of self righteousness, bigotry, lust and greed remains the easier choice. So the question is why does living a selfish life always easier than living the selfless one? Can we answer that without falling into blame or using current or traditional scapegoats?
Thank you kindly Sha’Tara…I was taught ‘naming. shaming and blaming never work’…I think we live in times with a new wave of scapegoating…I just read Julia Shaw’s work about evil is in the eye of the beholder…and an evil empathy exercise….so I don’t know…I can’t answer the question 🤔🤓✌️💫 appreciate your comment ~ smiles hedy
I listened to that only yesterday :o) … Namaste!
well diespringerin I also have listen to your music I’m using one for a post I made next week…connected world and I so love music…nameste ☺️💫✌️
Yes, wonderful connections/synchronicities… 😊 Have a great weekend! Namaste 🙏🌍🎶✌️
you too many smiles and joy our way Despringerin ☺️💫✌️
a nice selection of photos.
thank you Gavin…appreciate you saying ☺️🌞😎💫
It’s so stunning and I’m impressed how consistently you let this color/light topic flow through your series of photos. I would like to take an example and work more consistently like you, Hedy. That is so impressing. 🙂 🙂 smiles over the pond 🙂
yes I have worked to see that my little visual narratives…flow with colours and tones…I use Lr and some presets that I tinker with until it feels right tin my hedy head 🤓☺️ it’s made post editing more fun for me…thanks for noticing Markus…many smiles back from sunny Etown spring is arriving 🌞😎
Love how you processed the pictures!
Rabirius I appreciate your comments…thank you kindly ☺️🤓💫 sending you joy ✌️
Wow Hedy, your eye is just….I don’t know! Deadly accurate? That sounds all wrong. 🙂 But it’s true, you seem to size up any subject and get the best out of it. Perfect processing too, once again. These are beautiful and make a really fine series.
I studied these images for a while something about them the white the lines and then I listened to the song and thought I’d put them together…I enjoyed playing in Lr…it was during a deep freeze week 🤓thanks for saying Lynn…humbled ☺️
I like hearing about the process, and it makes perfect sense, the gazing, the music, the gathering,, and working out the details in LR. Oh, and the weather, I’m sure that contributed too. Yes. (Funny how the photos are pale and warm at the same time.) 🙂
I’ve always wondered about detachment. Though it may prove useful in dire straits, what is the point of becoming so detached one can’t feel anything? 🙂
There is this great misunderstanding about detachment: that it creates a cold, unfeeling state. It’s entirely the opposite! Detachment is not uncaring, it’s giving oneself the freedom to expand one’s feelings beyond the closed group, the family, the tribe, the nation, the belief system. Detachment is inclusive which can become very painful in a world such as this one, hence the need to practice compassion in order to remain mentally sane if one chooses the path of detachment. Also of note, it is quite impossible to reach a state of self empowerment while remaining attached… to whatever or whomever, for the attachment becomes the millstone that directs one’s efforts. So I’ve been taught and so I have experienced and am experiencing.
Thank you for clarifying. I admit I know so little about Asian cultures and schools of thought… 🙂 (Apart from the practice of Yoga and one Astral travel we’ve already mentioned) I must say I am considering meditation more and more. I really long for peace. 🙂
(Grief has taken too much toll.)
Bonne soirée mon amie.
when I worked with a death doula…she taught me/us the difference between grief and mourning…it is often the hardest Brian…creating a new self-identify…was toughest to me…Sha’Tara has explained detachment beautifully…keep writing and talking and know some days we will experience that pain…sending you all good things and much love…hugs and joy to you ☺️ hedy
Accept the reality of death.
Let yourself feel the pain of the loss.
Remember the person you lost.
Develop a new self-identify.
Search for meaning.
Let others help you, now and always.
I’d never heard the word “Doula” before. Interesting. And yes, Sha’Tara has explained it very well.
My concern is not about me. I’ve “accepted” that death. It’s my daughter I am concerned about. There is no greater sorrow. And yes she has to build a new identity. And that is where I try to help her the most. And I can imagine it was toughest for you. Sorry to hear that. (Not to mention meaning… that is mostly gone for me…)
Love, joy & hugs back.
Brian
I’ve learned we are stronger than we think…and yes her experience of sudden death is very different…one can always reach out to Sarah Kerr…it’s a connected world…here is her link 🤓
https://soulpassages.ca
Yes some of us are stronger. She is. (I am too but after all it is my “job”) 😉
I will look Sarah Kerr up. Thanks
she is lucky to have you Brian…strong hugs and yes check her out ☺️🤓
thank you for these words Sha’Tara…I appreciate them and these ‘the need to practice compassion in order to remain mentally sane if one chooses the path of detachment’…compose a beautiful day ~ smiles hedy ☺️🤓
I have been taught to witness Brian…I appreciate Sha’Tara words…I’ve also attached this maybe you already know it…BIG hugs and I hope you have some moments of peace and joy today 🤓✌️❤️
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/harris/bl141.html
There are moments of peace. Fortunately. And moments of… “victory” for my daughter when she overcomes a big hurdle. She had a presentation last week with the NGO and the (difficult) “client” she’s doing a big project for. I’ve been playing “red team” for her, checking and proof-reading stuff. Meeting went very well, and she was very very pleased. 🙂 <3
a big project may be exactly what she needs now…you stay close and give her all you can…I believe you will both be able to reinvent yourselves…for sure I have learned one changes through loss…sending you both strength and all good things especially with those unpleasant beings 🤓☺️💫
Thank you. My thoughts entirely. One additional source of concern was that she hadn’t landed any major project in months, just little things and she was getting a bit desperate. But then the big project landed and it’s kept her on her feet. (With me editing and reviewing in a hurry for “tomorrow’s meeting. Fun and a sense of usefulness.)
Dankje wel Hedy.
that’s wonderful I can feel the energy as you write me here…sendning you both all good things 🤓☺️❤️💙
And thank you for the link. I’ve downloaded the pdf and will read with all due… focus. 🙂
I often find I re-read and re-read Buddhist philosophies…often wooly yet clear…have focused day Brian ✌️🤓
Reading over and over again is always good. I will start your text tonight.