Playing with Perspectives

[UnbornTao]

Quote

But now I realize that apart from a few special days now and then, life mostly does consist of one dull, insignificant day after another. Human beings are attracted to drama and variety. The humdrum we hold in disdain. Wrapped up in the routines of our daily lives, we let them slide by unnoticed. But I believe that hidden in these ordinary, unremarkable routines of life is a great truth that requires our attention.

The business of living is not in the least special. In a sense it all comes down to two things: eating and excreting. These activities are common to all life forms. Every creature on earth is born, through eating and excreting helps maintain the balance of the great chain of being, and dies. In the realm of nature, these activities are essential to the continuity of life, and they give value to each being’s life. People are no different. If human life has meaning, it lies above all in the essential fact of our physical existence in this world. This is what I strongly believe.

By contemplating life as it is, stripped of all extraneous added value, I found I could let go of a myriad of things that had been gnawing at my mind. Through the prosaic repetition of Eiheiji’s exacting daily routines for washing the face, eating, defecating, and sleeping, this is the answer that I felt in my bones: accept unconditionally the fact of your life and treasure each moment of each day.

— Kaoru Nonomura, Eat Sleep Sit.

 

Edited May 27 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Edited May 27 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

By attempting to modify, add to, withdraw from, or hide - acts rooted in misrepresentation - we are conceding that our experience of ourselves and of life is not enough as it is. As a result of this way of relating to others, a continuous struggle emerges as our underlying condition.

Edited June 23 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Fear is so accessible and constant a condition for us that it often goes unnoticed, receding into the background of our experience--subtly and grossly tainting the way we live.

Edited May 30 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Quote

Students today can't get anywhere; what ails you? Lack of faith in yourself is what ails you. If you lack faith in yourself, you'll keep on tumbling along, dragged this way and that.

— Rinzai

 

Edited May 27 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Notice how language subtly influences the way you hold infinity to be "something"--an object, a perception, a state or experience, something "huge" out there to be attained. Seriously, whatever you have regarding this "absolute" matter is not it. At best, it is a grounded notion or possibility; at worst, a complete fantasy based on wishful thinking.

Whatever it is remains to be personally realized by you and you alone--and will remain so until you are completely, entirely, and profoundly conscious of everything there is. So be humble and do not fool yourself. And when you do, admit it instantly and keep inquiring.

Edited June 16 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Enjoying the Shogun TV show.

Edited June 1 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

The mind is constantly struggling for certainty and safety.

Edited March 19, 2024 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

How could we approach real personal transformation or change?

Can your attempts at "resolving" yourself, or life, ever be effective?

For instance, feeling inadequate, you might pursue strength, popularity, or wealth to pacify inner lack - hoping these will "fix" you. I’m not disparaging such efforts but pointing us toward investigating their motives. Don’t use doubt to undermine action; instead, do what you want, but clarify why.

It’s like being blind and - wanting to recover your sight - going about changing your surroundings. This analogy reveals how we address only superficial manifestations, leaving intact the very conditions that source our struggles.

What recurring challenges do I encounter? What’s the root of this condition?

Edited Sunday at 12:07 PM by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Loved Dune: Part Two.

Might read the books at some point.

 

 

Edited June 1 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

AI-generated.

Edited March 19, 2024 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

 

[UnbornTao]

I made a lentil stew not long ago.

[Photo]

Ingredients:

• 1 can cooked lentils
• 1 can mixed vegetables (carrots, potatoes, green beans, peas)
• 2 tablespoons homemade red chili pepper sauce with olive oil (spicy!)
• 1/2 glass tomato sauce
• Minced basil
• Rosemary or cumin
• Hot paprika
• Pepper mix
• 1/3 red onion
• 2–3 garlic cloves
• Salt
• Water

Took about 10 minutes or so.

Pretty good, in my opinion--and spicy! I might use fewer vegetables next time, maybe just half the mix. Personal preference.

Edited May 28 by UnbornTao

[Nemra]

@UnbornTao Sorry for writing here.

I can almost taste and smell it, as if I were eating it. 🤤 One of my top favorite dishes.

[UnbornTao]

Just arrived! It wasn't easy to find or reasonably priced on second-hand digital markets, but here it is, finally.

Edited May 29 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

On 3/19/2024 at 8:30 PM, Understander said:

@UnbornTao Sorry for writing here.

I can almost taste and smell it, as if I were eating it. 🤤 One of my top favorite dishes.

Thank you! Definitely one of my favs, too.

Edited March 21, 2024 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

Quote

When no discrimination is made between the self and the not-self, you open the gate to the highest wisdom.

– Hakim Sanai

 

Edited May 28 by UnbornTao

[UnbornTao]

A sense of emptiness accompanies the lack of authentic self-expression.

[UnbornTao]

What do you want to be up to before you die?

[UnbornTao]

For happiness in life, what’s basically needed is to enjoy your experience, no matter what it is, and to set goals for yourself to move toward every day. This creates a sense of hope and meaning.

Edited May 28 by UnbornTao